Following the mournful whispers and increasingly pronounced tremors, the Straw Hat Pirates traversed the ever-dense and twisted jungle. The surrounding trees began to show unhealthy forms, their branches gnarled and their leaves withered and curled, as if struggling in extreme drought, but the ground beneath their feet was unusually moist, even somewhat muddy.
"That's strange," Nami crouched down and touched the soil. "The soil is clearly wet, so why do the plants look like they're about to die?"
Chopper examined a shrub with yellowing leaves and nudged it with his little hoof. "Their life force is erratic, like they're... 'craving' something specific, not water."
Finally, they arrived at the " Thirsty Forest." The sight before them was astonishing.
This was a vast forest area, where all the trees, vines, and flowers exhibited a sickly, withered, and twisted appearance. Unlike plants from the outside world that would attack with hostility, they drooped helplessly, their branches and leaves trembling incessantly, emitting a persistent, unsettling whimper. Even more bizarrely, at the roots of these plants, covered a thick, wriggling, dark red fungal carpet that emitted a faint, putrid odor! This fungal carpet seemed to be alive, drawing some kind of energy from the plant roots while secreting a viscous liquid that polluted the soil.
"Is it some kind of fungus causing this?" Usopp asked, pointing to the disgusting fungal carpet.
Zoro frowned as he looked at the struggling plants. "They look like they've been parasitized."
Just then, several thick vines covered in fungal carpet sprang up from the ground like dying pythons. Instead of attacking the Straw Hat Pirates, they weakly wrapped around Luffy's ankle, who was walking at the front, and let out an even more pitiful wail, as if they were begging for something.
"Hey! Let me go!" Luffy struggled with all his might, but the vines, though weak, were exceptionally resilient.
"They're not attacking," Allen crouched down, his fingertips gleaming as he gently touched the dark red fungal carpet. His senses penetrated it, immediately sensing a chaotic, greedy life form, like cancer cells relentlessly demanding more, and the pain and despair of the parasitized plants. "It's a twisted symbiosis, or rather... a one-sided plunder. These fungi are drawing upon the plants' 'life essence' and releasing a substance that plunges the plants into a perpetual state of 'thirst,' constantly demanding from the Mother Tree, yet never finding satisfaction."
"The origin of life?" Sanji's expression turned grave. "Like... the 'blood' of plants?"
"More or less." Allen stood up, his gaze sharpening as he looked deeper into the forest, where the fungal carpet was thickest, the plants were in the worst condition, and the source of the intense "anxiety" and "thirst." This " Thirsty Forest " is like a gaping wound, constantly draining the Mother Tree's strength. To sustain the "life" of these parasitized plants, the Mother Tree has to continuously expend enormous life force, gradually weakening itself and thus affecting the balance of the entire island. The aggressive nature of the external plants might also be a form of self-protection under resource scarcity.
"What should we do?" Chopper asked anxiously, "Is it possible to get rid of these harmful bacteria?"
"It's difficult." Allen shook his head. "They're already deeply entangled with the plant's roots and even its life core. Forcibly removing them would directly kill the host plant. Moreover, I can sense that this fungal carpet is a whole, and its core... is over there." He pointed into the depths of the forest.
"In other words, to solve the problem, we have to take down that core member?" Luffy finally broke free of the vines, their rubber fists clashing, their fighting spirit high.
"It seems so." Flames flickered in Ace's hand. "How about we burn it?"
"No!" Flora's voice suddenly came from behind. She and a tall, stern-faced old man, dressed in full forester's attire and carrying a staff wrapped in Qingteng vines, hurried towards them. The old man was the Great Forester.
"Fire is forbidden!" The Great Forest Ranger's voice was deep and authoritative. "The ' Life-Devouring Fungus ' lives in symbiosis with the plants; flames will completely destroy this forest! Moreover, disturbing the fungal sclerotia will trigger a fierce counterattack, accelerating the absorption of the Mother Tree's power!"
He looked at Allen, his eyes filled with surprise and a hint of scrutiny. "Young man, your perception is keen. You're right, this is the predicament facing Ambra Island. We call it the ' Tide of Decay.' It didn't arise naturally, but appeared more than a decade ago when a meteorite crashed near the 'Holy Land.' It has polluted the land, eroded the plants, and is constantly devouring the Mother Tree... We've tried everything, but we can't eradicate it; we can only barely maintain it, watching the Mother Tree weaken day by day..." The Great Ranger's face showed deep weariness and pain.
The truth has finally come to light. The crisis on Ambra Island stemmed from the erosion of the island's life-giving core, the " Mother Tree," by parasitic fungi from outer space.
"So, the key to solving the problem is that 'sclerotium'?" Robin concluded.
The Great Forest Ranger nodded gravely. "Yes, the sclerotium lies on the edge of the sacred ground, protected by the thickest fungal carpet and the most twisted plants. But we cannot approach. The power of the Mother Tree has formed a barrier around the sacred ground, refusing entry to anything that might carry the aura of 'decay,' and even we forest rangers cannot break through... unless..."
He hesitated, then his gaze fell on Allen again.
"Unless one possesses a sufficiently pure and powerful life force, or... an existence capable of completely isolating itself from the aura of 'decay,' it is impossible to approach and destroy the fungal core without alerting the Mother Tree's defenses," Allen added calmly.
All eyes were on Allen. He possessed the World Seed, representing the most primal life force, and also governed the laws of light and darkness, making it easy for him to isolate his aura.
" Allen!" Luffy looked at him expectantly.
Ace patted him on the shoulder. "Looks like we'll have to rely on you again, cousin."
Allen looked at the wailing, Thirsty Forest, and at the faint, painful fluctuations emanating from the Mother Tree deeper within, and nodded.
"Lead the way."