010 Little Fox
Lin Mu didn't know that Marine's three divisions had already taken action against him, dispatching three warships and a total of more than 600 Marine's crusade.
In the canon of One Piece, a response of that scale in a single Blue is massive comparable to when a Buster Call mobilized ten battleships and five Vice Admirals in the Judicial Island incident, though on a smaller scale here yet still far beyond the normal East or West Blue reaction to a lone pirate.
At this moment, he was still riding his own boat, heading for the destination he had inquired about on Kelin Island earlier.
Four days later, a black spot suddenly appeared on the boundless sea level. It was an island, and Lin Mu guessed that this was his destination.
This was a typical approach in the Blues, just like when Luffy first sighted Orange Town from afar in the manga, seeing only a small smudge above the waves before coming close.
As Lin Mu continued to approach, the island gradually showed its appearance.
This is a very vibrant island. The island is overgrown with trees and green, and it looks like a virgin forest from a distance.
It resembled Gaimon's Island or parts of Dawn Island lush, overgrown, relatively undeveloped, matching the style Oda used for small, rural settlements in early chapters.
However, according to the information obtained, Lin Mu knows that there is a small village in this dense forest, with more than 500 people, which is more prosperous than Lin Mu's previous hometown.
In One Piece scale, 500 people roughly matches a modest settlement like Cocoyasi Village before Arlong seized it; villages that size could live quietly until pirates arrived.
Lin Mu chose to come here because when he was shopping for clothes on Kelin Island, he heard from the owner of the clothing store that a group of pirates occupied the place and exploited the villagers.
This was a classic tactic Arlong forced tributes out of villagers, and Captain Morgan ordered heavy oppression so pirates bullying settlements was nothing new.
The owner's relatives were natives of the island, and they fled to Kelin Island in a boat when the pirates came, so the clothing store owner knew about this.
Marine received a report and sent people to come, but as soon as Marine came, the cunning pirates fled into the boundless sea, and the pirates would turn back and kill when Marine left, which was of no use at all.
This mirrors early Marine incompetence in the manga like Captain Nezumi pretending to enforce the law but protecting criminals, or Marines showing up late when Arlong terrorized Cocoyasi until Luffy stepped in.
After all, it was impossible for Marine to live on this island. After all, there were many more important places to protect.
Smaller villages never received full-time garrisons; early chapters stressed that Marines concentrated only in branch bases, leaving entire stretches of seas vulnerable.
Lin Mu came alone this time, and he expected that the pirates would not flee first, and as long as those pirates did not escape, it would become his experience!
Just as Luffy treated East Blue tyrants like Buggy or Krieg as stepping stones toward Grand Line strength, Lin Mu saw pirate bands as pure advancement.
The island is flat all around, and landings are possible everywhere.
Oda often shows beginner-islands without cliffs or harbors, so any rowboat can pull ashore without difficulty.
Lin Mu didn't go around either, he chose a random place and landed on the island, then plunged into the dense forest.
The dense branches and leaves sparsely blocked the sunlight, and the fallen leaves piled up on the ground were so soft that almost every foot of Lin Mu would sink a lot.
The air was a little stuffy, but it wasn't particularly uncomfortable.
Lin Mu did not directly use the speed of Quicksilver to run to the center of the island to find the group of pirates, but chose to move forward step by step, enjoying the beautiful natural scenery of the pirate world.
Characters like Zoro and Luffy have wandered through forests without rushing when not under attack, appreciating islands despite danger Lin Mu adopted that relaxed pace.
Just as Lin Mu was walking slowly through the dense forest, a white shadow the size of a palm suddenly appeared from the left side, hit Lin Mu's knee, and then fell to the ground.
Lin Mu took a closer look, only to realize that the white shadow was actually a slap-sized, snow-white little fox. The little fox was lying on the ground in a "big" shape at the moment, and it was obvious that the impact just now was not light.
Small animals showing up unexpectedly in forests was not unusual in One Piece Luffy once encountered tiny birds and strange wildlife on Dawn Island, and Usopp met unusual creatures in Syrup Village's outskirts but a tame-looking fox this deep felt suspicious.
Dragging the little fox into his hands, Lin Mu's eyes were very curious. After obtaining the gene of Wolverine's ability, Lin Mu's ability to perceive the surrounding environment has become very strong, but he can't sense the little fox's breath at all.
This abnormal trait reminded Lin Mu of how Chopper's tiny hoofprints and reindeer scent could confuse humans before they knew he was a Zoan user so the lack of presence made the fox even stranger.
"It's weird..." Lin Mu murmured.
At this moment, Lin Mu frowned slightly, and then the speed of Quicksilver broke out and moved forward five or six meters, and then saw a wild boar with a length of nearly two meters appearing where he just stood.
Boars in One Piece have sometimes been terrifying just as the giant boar "God" terrorized villagers in Ace's flashback, or how wild beasts on the Grand Line could crush trees so a two-meter boar in a small Blue forest was not a trivial animal.
The wild boar stared at Lin Mu with a pair of red eyes, and after a long snout was wearing thick air, and after a series of humming noises, it rushed towards Lin Mu again.
Obviously, Lin Mu has been regarded as his prey!
Facing the oncoming huge wild boar, Lin Mu did not have any panic, and his figure instantly avoided the impact of the wild boar under the rapid explosion of Quicksilver.
It resembled how Zoro sidestepped a charging sea cow or how Sanji evaded large beasts on Little Garden speed turning brute force useless.
At the same time, Lin Mu lowered his body, and the bone spur sticking out of his fist penetrated deeply into the belly of the wild boar, directly opening a half-meter-long crack.
Suffering such serious injuries, the wild boar fell directly to the ground. Although he continued to struggle, he had lost his mobility and was easily killed by Lin Mu.
"Ding, kill the wild boar and gain 5 experience points!"
After Lin Mu killed the wild boar, the system prompt sounded, but Lin Mu was not surprised at all, because when the wild boar appeared, Lin Mu had already seen a "5" on the top of the wild boar's head.
This boar is about as powerful as a Marine sergeant, so it's no surprise that it has 5 experience points.
A sergeant rank in One Piece is low men like the soldiers under Morgan or Nezumi could barely threaten Zoro or Luffy so a five-point beast felt exactly right.
At this moment, the little fox who was dragged by Lin Mu in the other hand finally woke up shaking his head.
The first time the little fox woke up, his soft body could not help stiffening, but after seeing the dead wild boar beside him, it softened again and sat down in Lin Mu's hands with a fart. Just a sigh of relief.
"Little guy, you're escaping from his pursuit, I'll help you solve it." Lin Mu didn't care whether the little fox could hear it or not, he spoke to himself, and then put the little fox on the ground, indicating that the little fox can leave.
To Lin Mu's surprise, the little fox picked up his front paws and bowed to him, actually thanking him.
This behavior instantly brought to mind how Chopper bowed politely after learning manners from Kureha, or how certain trained animals in the manga showed almost human social habits.
Lin Mu couldn't help but guess who's pet this was, and he was so politely trained?
"Are you like this, are you thanking me for saving you..." Lin Mu thought the round little fox tingling was interesting and couldn't help laughing.
But to Lin Mu's surprise, after he said these words, the little fox nodded, which made Lin Mu feel that his head couldn't turn.
"Can you understand me?"
Hearing Lin Mu's question, there was a hint of hesitation in the little fox's black eyes, and then he shook his head like a rattle.
This made Lin Mu's face darken: "You are so smart..."
The little fox thought that Lin Mu was really praising it, and jumped on the spot happily.
But in Lin Mu's eyes, no matter how you look at it, it looks like a white ball bouncing on the ground…
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