Chapter 57: The Hunger of the Forest — Roots of a Monster
The screen flickered, the lush green "Future" watermark intensifying as the sound of birds and jungle insects filled the air of every island in the world. The scene wasn't a battlefield, but a dusty, run-down tavern on a lawless island in the South Blue.
A young Aramaki, wearing a tattered shirt and his trademark sunglasses, sat alone at a corner table. He hadn't touched the drink in front of him. His skin seemed to have a faint, bark-like texture in the dim light. Across the room, a group of high-bounty pirates—led by a man with a 150 million berry bounty—were boasting about their latest pillage.
"Hey, you! Tree-boy!" the pirate captain barked, slamming a hand on Aramaki's table. "You've been sitting there for three days without ordering food. You're bringing down the vibe. Pay up or get out!"
Aramaki didn't look up. "Food is a hassle," he muttered, his voice dry like cracking wood. "Digesting... it's such a chore. Why eat when the world is full of life just waiting to be taken?"
The pirate captain grabbed Aramaki's collar, but as he did, his hand began to shrivel. The world watched in horror as green, vine-like veins crept up the pirate's arm.
"What... what is this?!" the pirate screamed, trying to pull away.
"I told you," Aramaki said, standing up. "I'm hungry."
Suddenly, the floor of the tavern exploded. Thick, black-tinted roots—harder than steel and pulsing with a parasitic light—erupted from the floorboards. They didn't just strike the pirates; they pierced them. The roots acted like straws, and as the pirates screamed, their bodies withered into husks in seconds.
The tavern, once a den of filth, was suddenly filled with blooming, beautiful flowers. The contrast was sickening: life flourishing on a bed of death.
> [Sengoku]: "He doesn't just manipulate plants. He leeches the very life-force of his enemies to sustain himself. This isn't justice... it's predation."
> [Akainu]: "It is efficiency, Sengoku! Look at the result. The pirates are neutralized without a single cannonball wasted. If this man becomes an Admiral, the Navy will finally have a weapon that doesn't tire!"
> [Borsalino (Kizaru)]: "Moshimoshi? That's quite scary~. He's like a forest fire in reverse. Instead of burning everything, he grows over it until there's nothing left. I wonder... does he have a weakness to my lasers?"
> [Vegapunk]: "The Mori Mori no Mi. A Unique Logia. He is the incarnation of the forest itself. In a world covered by water, he is the king of the land. His potential for terraforming and siege warfare is... beyond calculation."
>
In the Sabaody clearing, even the "Lost" Luffy stopped trying to steer his rock for a second, his instincts sensing a primal danger.
> [Eustass Kid]:"He's a freak! He's just like that old hag Big Mom, taking souls, but he does it with weeds! If he's Rank 44, I'll make sure to bring enough fire to burn his whole forest down!"
> [Silvers Rayleigh]: "Careful, boy. That 'Forest' is reinforced with Haki. You can't just burn a man who can regrow his entire body from a single sprout. Aramaki... he's the Navy's dirty secret, isn't he?"
> [Scopper Gaban]: "Seems like it. He's the type of monster you keep in a cage until the world is ready to end."
>
In current timeline, Aramaki looked up at the sky—the same sky the screen was currently projecting into—and grinned. It was a jagged, cruel expression.
"The World Government wants order?" he asked himself. "I'll give them a garden. A quiet, silent garden where no one breathes but me."