Treasure Island

"What god? You're just playing tricks. Get out here now, or I'll chop you to death."

Moonlight said coldly, drawing the Kusanagi Sword!

"You ignorant mortals actually dare to..."

Yet the voice rang out again, ethereal and grand. Moonlight grew impatient, slashing out with his sword as he shouted!

"Get out here!"

"Buzz!"

A crescent-shaped Sword Aura suddenly tore through the air, sweeping across everything with incomparable sharpness!

In an instant, ten square meters of forest before them were blasted away by a single slash.

Great trees, weeds, and even earth flew through the air, revealing lions, dogs, deer, leopards, and all kinds of fierce beasts behind the grass—as well as an extremely strange man among them.

The man's entire body was encased in a treasure chest. He was incredibly ugly and short and fat!

At that moment, he stared at Moonlight, who had drawn his sword, with utter horror on his face.

When Luffy and the others saw this man, they were immediately shocked!

"What kind of rare beast is this?"

Luffy was the first to step forward and examine him, pondering aloud.

"This should be a chest, right?"

Usopp frowned.

"How strange. Did a person grow out of the chest? Or was this person born from the chest?"

Nami guessed.

"People are born from their mothers, monsters are born from their mothers, and chests are born from their mothers. What's so surprising about that?"

Zoro, however, remained perfectly calm.

"Insightful!"

Moonlight could not help giving him a thumbs-up.

"Really?"

Strangely enough, Luffy and the other two actually believed him. Even Nami looked at the man in the chest with a puzzled expression.

"Really my ass! My name is Kamon. I'm a human, it's just that..."

Seeing them point and whisper at him, Kamon flew into a rage and was about to lash out. Then he noticed Moonlight's cold smile beside them and remembered that terrifying slash from earlier. His heart clenched, and he hurriedly said respectfully.

"My lords, I am human—a genuine, authentic human. It's just that one day, I accidentally fell from the mountain and happened to land inside a chest. My body got stuck, and I couldn't move. As time passed, the chest grew into my body, so I ended up like this!"

"Huh?"

"That can happen?"

"Is there really someone that stupid in this world?"

"Interesting!"

Hearing this, Luffy and the others froze, staring blankly at Kamon.

Even Moonlight, who knew about this, could not help being immensely surprised when he saw it with his own eyes.

After all, this was a man who had stuffed himself into a chest. The whole thing was just too absurd!

"That's how it is. Believe it or not, just leave. This is my home."

Seeing their bewildered faces, Kamon said helplessly.

"Fine, then sorry for the trouble."

Luffy sighed. He was the most softhearted among them, and he immediately prepared to leave.

"You're lying!"

Nami, however, was not so naive. Looking at Kamon, she saw through his scheme at once.

"I've already measured this island. It's very small; aside from that slope, there's nothing else. And beneath the slope, I found many footprints and signs of battle. You're a pirate, aren't you? You accidentally came to this island, got separated from your companions, and ended up like this by accident."

Nami's eyes gleamed sharply.

With every sentence she spoke, Kamon's face turned a shade paler. By the end, he was white as paper.

"You... you... you know?"

Kamon looked at Nami as if his secret had been exposed.

"Hey, hey, hey, so you were lying all along?"

Usopp was immediately displeased. When had he, the great Liar Usopp and Bluff King, ever been fooled so thoroughly?

"How awful! You actually dared to deceive us!"

Zoro's hand went straight to the hilt of his sword.

"Hey, you don't look like a bad person. Why did you lie to us?"

Luffy, on the other hand, looked confused.

"Hmph!"

Moonlight snorted and said nothing, but a terrifying murderous aura surged from him, making everyone tremble in fear.

"I'll explain. This is what happened. Just as this young lady said, I really was a pirate. One day, my companions and I discovered this place, so we came here to search for treasure..."

Seeing this, Kamon knew that if he did not tell the truth, there would be no peaceful end to this day. He immediately recounted everything from beginning to end in full detail.

Especially when he spoke of finally discovering the treasure and excitedly trying to call his companions, only to carelessly fall from the mountain and get stuck inside the chest. Then he had spent decades living on the island, keeping the rare beasts company while the unreachable treasure remained before his eyes. By the end, he burst into loud sobs.

"So there really is treasure here!"

Nami's eyes lit up at once.

"I never expected your experience to be so bizarre. It's so moving!"

Usopp wiped away tears.

"Tch!"

Zoro curled his lip, apparently never having expected such a thing to exist in the world.

"Mister, you're too pitiful. Don't worry, I've decided to help you find the treasure!"

Luffy was moved, his sympathy overflowing as he prepared to help Kamon.

The others had no objections. To be honest, they were all extremely curious about what sort of treasure this strange man had guarded for decades.

Gold? Jewelry? Or Beli?

Nami and the others began to look forward to it. Only Moonlight wore a grave expression as he looked at the distant slope before them.

This island is very strange. It's so small that countless people should have visited it already. That slope isn't high, yet none of you found anything despite searching in such a large group, and no one noticed it. But you did, and you even found a treasure chest. That alone is unbelievable.

Moonlight kept those thoughts to himself, but instinctively, he felt that this island was far from ordinary!

Kamon was telling the truth, so the problem lay with the island itself!

Moonlight stared gravely into the distance, trying to spot something else. Yet he was disappointed. The island looked completely ordinary, with nothing special about it.

"Mister, these treasures are mine now!"

By then, Luffy and the others had already brought Kamon to the foot of the slope. Luffy leaped up and indeed found a treasure chest. But when he opened it, it was completely empty. Looking at Kamon's eager expression, Luffy gave a cold smile.

"What!"

Kamon, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro all stiffened.

Except for Usopp, Nami and Zoro both knew what Luffy was like, so they instantly understood what he meant. Usopp was angry at first, but quickly understood as well.

Kamon's body trembled, as though the faith that had sustained him for decades had collapsed. Yet he suddenly smiled.

"Kid, you really are a good person. There was actually nothing in that treasure chest, was there?"

He had long guessed that this would be the outcome. He simply had not dared to think about it all these years, insisting on seeing it for himself before he could finally accept it.