Chapter 144: Dream Legion, Unexpected Guest!
Inside the Fairytale Forest.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Piercing sounds accompanied by the crackle of fire echoed.
"Transform · Great Shield!"
The battered Baby 5 turned instinctively, her hands transforming into a massive tower shield.
Moments later, a rain of arrows shot by a group of centaurs bombarded the shield she created.
As an Arms-Arms Fruit user, Baby 5 knew well—her shield could withstand cannon fire.
But now...
She saw the arrows were made of ice—yet bizarrely, the ice burned with flames without melting.
Looking closely, she realized...
Both the ice arrows and the flames were 'Living Creatures'.
[Dream Spirit · Faerie Fire]
[Dream Spirit · Ice Sprite]
The flames and ice, wielding short swords of fire and frost, charged at her.
"Transform · Multi-Barreled Shotgun!"
Baby 5 quickly turned her shoulders into countless short guns.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Amidst the gunfire, she barely escaped the pursuit.
"These guys... what kind of monsters are they!"
Looking at the few remaining mercenaries around her, Baby 5 gritted her teeth.
She knew what had happened in this forest in just a short time.
Those legendary dream creatures that countless biologists dreamed of capturing and studying—were clearly terrifying monsters!
She had witnessed their power.
She saw a Leprechaun easily shatter a giant rock, and a Chimera tear an assassin to pieces effortlessly.
Individually, they weren't top-tier powerhouses of the sea, but strong enough that someone like her, a Devil Fruit user considered 'strong', had to take them seriously.
One or two would be fine.
But the problem was...
Baby 5 had no idea how many dream creatures were in this forest.
Besides numbers, the key issue was...
"Stop attacking them, stupid woman! It's a waste of energy—didn't you see when your companion died? These monsters are immortal."
A voice came from beside Baby 5.
It was Kelly Funk... or rather, 'Kelly-Bobby Funk'.
The top assassin who ate the 'Jacket-Jacket Fruit' and merged with his brother was panting heavily.
Hearing this, Baby 5's expression darkened.
She knew he was right.
Gladius, the Donquixote Family executive who came with her, died not long ago.
His 'Pop-Pop Fruit' had decent destructive power but lacked self-defense.
Before dying, he triggered a massive explosion, taking dozens of dream creatures with him.
But as Funk said, it was meaningless.
She saw the shattered creatures reassemble and revive moments later.
Baby 5 didn't care much about Gladius's death—they were just colleagues, and her feelings for the Family were complicated.
But...
"...If we don't attack, can we escape?"
Knowing he was right, her personality compelled her to retort.
"Escape?"
Funk sneered. "Escape where..."
He looked down.
On his chest were hideous, bone-deep wounds—the reason for his poor condition.
The Funk Brothers' younger brother, Bobby, was born with a monstrously strong body. After merging via the Jacket Fruit, his physical toughness rivaled permanent Armament Haki.
Yet, this tough body was severely injured in one strike by a terrifying creature when he tried to jump out of the forest earlier.
Funk didn't know what it was; he was shot down before seeing it.
But he understood...
"We can't escape... The true monsters of this forest haven't even acted."
"They aren't serious at all."
He said.
Baby 5 fell silent.
In her peripheral vision, she saw a Faerie Fire arguing with another.
Both seemed hit by bullets earlier but were healing rapidly.
"It's your fault for tripping me, or I wouldn't have been hit!"
"Your sword scratched me first!"
"We're fire, swords are fire too, getting scratched doesn't matter!"
"Alright, alright, stop arguing... Get back in formation quickly, the next wave of training is starting—if we perform well, the Mythical Beast Lord and Lord Island Spirit will reward us with 'Golden Essence' today."
The conversation was undisguised.
Yes—all survivors here knew.
These dream creatures could have killed them all instantly.
But they didn't.
Because... they were Training.
Baby 5 sensed it too—the coordination between creatures resembled a 'Legion'.
"This entire island..."
She smiled bitterly. "What Neverland... it's Monster Island."
"Tell me about it."
Funk shook his head.
The next moment, both stopped, leaping to dodge the claws of a nine-headed lion and vines attacking from behind.
"Transform · Cannon!"
"Funk Buster!"
Cannon and fist blasted out, and they leaped over the lion—two of its heads shattered but were regenerating rapidly.
They stopped talking, cooperating in battle.
Despite having no goodwill toward each other.
They cooperated because they knew their only chance of survival.
"The fleets of the nations should be on their way."
Baby 5 muttered internally. "Survive until then, and we have a chance."
To wait for that chance, the survivors in the forest had to unite.
But just then...
VMMM!
Baby 5 saw, in the forest not far away, a group of 'Flame Knights' riding skeleton warhorses, burning with fire, lining up in formation.
[Dream Legion · Flame Knight Corps]
The survivors looked grave—having survived this far, they knew what was coming.
The knights would charge at extreme speed, burning anyone they pierced!
But...
"Hm!?"
The next moment, they froze.
Because abruptly.
The 'Flame Knights' stopped their charge.
Then, as if hearing an order, they retreated into the shadows collectively.
Besides that...
Rustle!
The vines chasing them stopped.
Neigh!
Centaurs halted; Harpies stopped flapping wind blades.
At this moment, the survivors seemed to hear an invisible voice issuing orders—Training Paused.
They even saw the tightly closed forest opening a path not far away.
"Exit!"
Ignoring what happened, they rushed toward the exit.
In moments, they rushed out of the terrifying forest.
Sunlight on their faces almost made them cry.
"Su... Survived!"
Funk exclaimed.
But moments later.
"Hm!?"
They noticed an anomaly.
Not from the forest behind them.
But from the sky not far away.
In the sky, they clearly saw—a figure flying.
Supporting his flight on his back seemed to be...
"A Flower?"
At the same time, Center of the Forest.
Inside the giant Sheep Mask, Hitsujii also looked at the sky.
"Didn't expect this."
His gaze held a hint of surprise.
Yes.
As Baby 5 thought—Hitsujii didn't take these intruders seriously.
To him, they served only two purposes.
First...
[Analyzed Fruits: Arms-Arms Fruit, Jacket-Jacket Fruit, Pop-Pop Fruit]
He obtained the abilities of the fruit users among them. Since his body was the island, anyone stepping on it was analyzed automatically.
Second...
He intended to let these uninvited guests train his 'Dream Legion'.
But he didn't expect...
"He actually came."
Looking at the figure in the sky, Hitsujii turned solemn.
This was why he stopped the dream creatures.
"Although I've saved quite a bit of life essence, letting Lesser Dream Creatures fight that guy... losses would still be too heavy."
The hard-earned life essence was key to his next plan; he didn't want to waste it here.
But then again...
"This guy's ability might solve the essence problem..."
Hitsujii muttered, pondering.
"But the other nations' fleets are coming soon—must deal with this guy before they arrive... Hm?"
Thinking this, he seemed to sense something, looking in another direction.
He sensed another old acquaintance... returning coincidentally.
Hitsujii raised an eyebrow.
Then...
"What a coincidence."
A smile appeared on his lips.
☆☆☆
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