Chapter 32: Interlude
The island is cigar-shaped, with the town occupying only half of it and the other half being forest.
There are wild beasts, towering trees, edible wild fruits, and poisonous mushrooms.
The place is quite large and interesting.
Kaizen jumped easily among the branches, shielding his eyes with his hand as he looked into the distance.
"Yo ho ho! It's so spectacular!" Kaizen couldn't help shouting.
Enel was being held by Kaizen and, seeing the scene before him, was a little shocked and couldn't help introducing himself.
"Enel, Enel from Skypiea."
"Haha! These are all good trees. If we cut a few down, we can build a warm home for you."
Kaizen said excitedly, as if warmth was already within reach.
"A warm home sounds really good," Enel said longingly, his face filled with envy.
"Then let's do it!" Kaizen said, jumping off the branch.
"Ah..." Enel, carried by Kaizen, felt himself falling and cried out, tears streaming down his face.
The entire forest was shrouded in dense branches and leaves, with only a little sunlight shining through the gaps.
Walking in such a dark forest, you could hear the roar of wild beasts from time to time.
The men from town came here daily to cut firewood. They usually traveled in groups, as it was too dangerous to go alone.
However, even in groups, some unlucky ones got injured after being attacked by wild beasts.
"Ah! It's a lion ape! It can eat people. Cabin, run!"
At this moment, an urgent cry suddenly echoed through the dense forest.
Kaizen, who was also in the forest, heard it clearly. His eyes immediately turned in the direction of the sound.
Without a word, Kaizen held Enel and rushed towards the source of the sound. Soon, he saw a group of people and a ferocious beast.
A child lay on the ground, and a beast was approaching him step by step, ready to open its bloody mouth.
Meanwhile, several grown men stood aside, not daring to intervene.
"Cabin, run quickly!" people shouted.
However, the child named Cabin was so frightened that he lay motionless, unable to even cry. He just stared at the approaching beast, oblivious to the outside world.
Finally, a man standing by couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to save the child, even at the risk of his life.
But before the man could move, a swift figure shot out, arriving in front of the beast instantly.
"Danger, this man is going to die! He dares to face the lion ape so closely. He'll be torn apart."
After seeing the figure clearly, people couldn't help but speak with regret.
Facing the figure blocking its meal, the beast looked enraged. It roared and swung its massive paw at the person in front.
"It's over, he'll be crushed!" People could already imagine the outcome.
"No, big brother can definitely handle that brute!" Enel's voice came.
Yes, the figure was Kaizen, who had come after hearing the sound.
The lion ape's massive paw attacked, but Kaizen raised his arm and blocked it effortlessly.
"Ha! It's much weaker than Garp's fist," Kaizen said with a sarcastic smile.
Perhaps noticing Kaizen's mockery, the lion ape became even more furious.
It pounded its chest with both fists and roared, making the whole forest seem to shake.
"It's so noisy! Can you calm down?" Kaizen asked the lion ape, annoyed.
The lion ape stopped shouting, clenched its fists, and struck out with both fists. This time, the force was overwhelming, visibly stronger than before.
Kaizen smiled slightly, and with a slight tilt of his body, he dodged the attack. At the same time, he swept his leg, hitting its stomach.
His kick was like a cannonball, sinking the lion ape's belly.
The lion ape screamed and fell backward far away.
"Just protect this forest for me. If you do anything harmful again, I'll roast you and eat you!"
Kaizen said coldly to the lion ape on the ground.
The lion ape seemed to understand and quickly scrambled up, jumping deep into the forest.
"Hey! Kid, are you okay?" Kaizen turned to the child still on the ground and asked with concern.
As if waking from a dream, the child opened his mouth and cried loudly.
"It's so noisy," Kaizen said impatiently, picking his ears.
After the men saw Kaizen's face clearly, they couldn't help but tremble in fear.
"It's actually that pirate. Isn't he a bad guy?"
"But in the dangerous situation just now, he rushed forward without hesitation. That was brave!"
"Should we thank him?"
"I think even so, we can't thank someone like him. A pirate is a pirate. Punishing evil doesn't make him good. Maybe he's pretending!"
"Yes, yes! Pirates are cunning, don't trust him!"
These men talked endlessly, forgetting the frightened child still crying.
Kaizen picked up the crying child and tossed him to the men.
"Hey! How can you bring a child to a place like this? It's outrageous!"
After Kaizen threw the child, he spoke with moderate anger.
One man caught the child and quickly held him protectively.
"This man is really barbaric. He treats a child like that. I really saw him right."
"Let's go quickly. He's scarier than the lion ape."
The men left the forest with the child.
"You little brat, I told you not to come, but you insisted. If something happened, how would you explain it to your parents?"
As they walked, the men continued to chatter and complain.
"Brother, are you okay?" Enel asked with concern.
"Hey, a little beast can't hurt me," Kaizen said with a confident smile.
"Big brother is amazing." Enel clapped his hands happily.
"Okay, a small incident almost delayed our big plan for today."
Kaizen continued walking with Enel in the forest, searching for suitable trees, ignoring the ungrateful people earlier.