The Morisou Tribe

"You can even do something like that?!"

Dill's face was full of question marks. Changing sex was no simple matter.

He only remembered the Okama King's Hormone-Hormone Fruit and the Sick-Sick Fruit being able to do that.

"Are you a Devil Fruit user?"

"What's that?"

Sally shook her head and pulled a round green crystal from her four-dimensional pocket.

The crystal was extremely thin. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary green disc.

"Morisou's Favor, the treasure of our Moriju Clan."

Holding the disc, Sally pressed it to her forehead to demonstrate:

"Just hold it against your forehead like this and wait one minute, and you can change sex."

With that, she hurriedly took the disc off her forehead.

She had contracted that disease too, and becoming male would worsen her symptoms.

Dill looked at Narcissa, the woman determined to be stronger than men.

She hurriedly waved her hands.

"I want to surpass men, not become one;

I want to prove that women are stronger than men!"

Sally's eyes lit up. She seemed to admire Narcissa's dream.

As they spoke, they had already reached the Moriju Clan's settlement.

More precisely, it was a camp.

Dozens of tents stood on the open ground.

They were simple tents supported by a few wooden sticks, with broad leaves for walls.

Never mind keeping out wild beasts-these tents couldn't even withstand a downpour.

Each tent held one or more women. Their conditions were more serious, and they were all lying inside, resting.

Bare-chested boys in grass skirts ran about playing in the camp.

A girl was tending to an old woman.

"What took you so long to come back?!"

Leaning on a walking stick, the old woman shoved the girl beside her away and staggered toward them with a displeased expression.

Dill found the sight rather hard on the eyes, because those two things were nearly hanging down to the ground.

The old woman stopped before them, looked them over, then raised her head and sneered:

"Colluding with outsiders from the sea? You've disgraced our Moriju Clan!"

"Sally, you're not fit to be chief. Hand over Morisou's Favor."

"Greber, I'm the chief."

Sally didn't even look at the old woman as she said coldly:

"If you're unhappy, you can leave my tribe right now."

"Mr. Dill, please follow me."

They walked past Greber one after another, and no one paid her any attention.

A trace of concealed resentment flashed through Greber's eyes, but looking at those sturdy sailors, she ultimately didn't dare say anything.

"That person used to be a man too."

Sally explained:

"The elderly don't get infected, but she was afraid of dying, so she used Morisou's Favor."

Dill rubbed his chin, roughly figuring out which of them were men who had turned into women.

"Those without tops, whose names start with Gre-something, all used to be men?"

"That's right." Sally nodded, her gaze dimming somewhat.

"And men look down on women. Even men who've already become women still look down on women."

"So they refuse to wear tops. They see it as a disgrace."

Guerrero, Greber, and many of the female soldiers wore no tops.

In the Morisou Tribe, sex wasn't something absolute.

Males were naturally stronger than females, and strength was very important in this primeval forest.

"The men handle hunting and fighting, while the women weave clothes and serve the men.

To ensure the continuation of the tribe, only one woman is allowed to become a man each year;

This rule made our situation even harder. In the men's eyes, women are weak, because all the strong ones got that slot and became men."

That was why the previous chief had passed the position to Sally.

Because only a woman wouldn't oppress other women, and could lead the entire Morisou Tribe in working together to get through this crisis.

If the position went to a man who had become a woman, those who had changed sex would certainly continue oppressing the women who had always been women.

"What the hell? That's complete bullshit!"

Narcissa folded her arms across her chest, turned her head, and spat to show her displeasure with this custom.

"But there's still hope for the children."

A glimmer appeared in Sally's eyes. The children who had yet to grow up hadn't been brainwashed by this custom. As long as they left this island, they could not only survive, but live free lives too.

Clap, clap~

She clapped her hands and called out in front of the largest tent:

"Children, come here!"

The boys who had been playing ran over, and the girls came out of the tents as well.

"Big Sister Sally, did you find food?"

"I'm so hungry."

"Me too."

The children gathered together, chattering as they asked about food.

"There will be. There'll be both food and water."

Smiling, Sally pointed at Dill.

"As long as you leave with this big brother, you'll never lack food or water again."

The children all turned their attention to Dill, piping up with questions one after another.

"Big Brother, are you from outside? Why is your hair white?"

"I want to eat rabbit!"

"Me too."

"Moo!!"

Why was there a cow mooing too?

Puzzled, Dill lowered his head to see whether any of these children had prominent horns, but all he saw was a shadow on the ground in the distance.

Following the shadow with his gaze, he saw a ten-meter-tall white yak with bloodshot eyes, constantly sticking out its tongue and snorting.

"Aaaah!!!"

Piercing screams rang out. Terror filled the children's faces as they scattered in every direction.

Sally struggled to keep things under control, shouting herself hoarse:

"Don't run off! Head toward the shore!!"

In the crowded throng, a girl holding a baby was knocked to the ground. Dill hurried forward, picked her up, and handed her to Narcissa.

"Take the children and go. Here's a Den Den Mushi. Tell the people on the ship to come meet you."

Narcissa nodded firmly. Holding the little girl and the baby, she instructed the other sailors:

"Shout as loudly as you can! Gather all the children and take them to the shore."

There were probably over a hundred children of various ages altogether, while there were only five of them.

With the chaos around them, gathering the children was bound to take considerable time.

The white yak nearby began charging. The ground shook, and leaves drifted down.

"Aah!!"

Greber, who had trouble walking, was struck by a tent that collapsed from the shaking. One of its support sticks hit her squarely in the back of the head.

She lay on the ground crying out in pain, but had no intention of calling for help.

This was the fate she deserved.

The Morisou Tribe had originally numbered several thousand, until repeated incursions by the yaks had reduced their numbers to the few hundred who remained today.

The unknown virus had robbed them of the strength to fight back. Whenever a yak invaded, someone always had to stay behind to buy time.

Dill took a machete from one of the sailors, strode toward Sally, and demanded:

"Didn't you say it took afternoon naps?!"

"This isn't that one! It's another one!"

Sally explained, her eyes full of pleading as she met Dill's gaze:

"We'll stay behind and buy time. Please take the children and leave here at once!"

"I don't need you for that."

Boom!

Flames erupted from Dill's body with a boom, and his waist-length white hair whipped wildly.

"Just make sure you don't get caught in the crossfire."