Bai Yun carefully observed the small white snake coiled around his wrist; its scales were smooth and glistened brightly under the sunlight.
Coiled around his hand, Bai Yun felt a distinct coolness on his wrist. Truly excellent.
The more Bai Yun looked, the more he liked it. This hobby was certainly different from most people's; anyone else with a snake wrapped around their wrist would likely be doing a frantic laser dance by now.
Just as Bai Yun was examining the little white snake, a voice suddenly rang out—ethereal and echoing—lending the scene a mysterious atmosphere.
"Do not come any closer."
The mysterious person had said not to approach, so Bai Yun walked toward Luffy and the others.
The more he was forbidden, the closer Bai Yun got—such was the nature of humanity.
"Who are you?"
Luffy posed the ultimate question.
"I... I am! I am the Guardian of the Forest!"
The ethereal voice replied again.
"What?"
Nami and Luffy were confused once more. What was the Guardian of the Forest?
Bai Yun, however, raised his hand to answer, "I know. He said his mother is the Guardian of the Forest."
Nami: "..." "Ah, so that's it."
Despite the ridiculous answer, Luffy agreed. Given his thought process, this wasn't surprising.
"You believe that?!"
Nami was furious at these two "insane" guys.
The person hidden in the shadows was also angry. What 'my mother,' what 'his mother'—was that the point?!
"Damn it!"
"Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Don't come any closer!"
"If you get any closer, I will unleash the forest's punishment!"
"What's the big deal? Who are you, anyway?"
Luffy was also human, and humans can't stand provocation, especially single-minded guys like him.
"This guy is really weird."
"What did you say, Straw Hat brat!"
The hidden person seemed to really hate the word 'weird.'
Nami didn't believe in gods or ghosts—though she was afraid of ghosts.
"I know you're nearby! Come out now!"
Bai Yun nodded in agreement.
"He should be right around here."
A turn, and a destined confrontation.
A box appeared in Bai Yun's line of sight, and growing out of the box was a... massive black afro.
An arm stretched out from the box, holding a pistol. As he locked eyes with Bai Yun, it seemed sweat was dripping from the afro. Should he fire the gun or not?
Even with the muzzle aimed at him, Bai Yun maintained a smile and approached the box.
"No, no, don't come any closer!"
The ethereal voice that seemed to come from all directions vanished, the sound now clearly originating from the box.
Bai Yun ignored him and continued to approach. In his panic, the Box Man had no choice but to fire.
"Bang!"
The bullet struck Bai Yun's right hip, but the impact only caused the area to dent before the bullet was repelled straight back.
Bai Yun currently had the spontaneous replication of both Zoro's and Luffy's abilities, though he primarily replicated Luffy's Devil Fruit power.
He replicated Zoro's physique—Zoro was "tough-skinned and thick-fleshed," after all, with 108 blood bags inside him.
The bullet ricocheted, piercing the Box Man's afro and leaving a hole in his thick hair.
"Mama!"
The Box Man had never anticipated the bullet bouncing back. Terrified, he tripped and fell backward.
Only then did his face emerge. The exposed skin was framed by hair like a bicycle seat, and he had a thick mustache around his mouth and a set of large teeth, one of which was missing... "What was that noise?"
Luffy and Nami were drawn back by the commotion, joining Bai Yun in looking at the Box Man lying on the ground.
The Box Man struggled like a flipped-over turtle.
Nami: "What the—it's just a person."
Luffy: "Haha, interesting! It's the Broom Man!"
Bai Yun: "I think 'Box Man' is a more appropriate name."
Being stared at like this, the Box Man grew angry.
"Hey! Hurry up and help me up!"
He used the toughest tone while saying the most cowardly words... "So, it was the Gum-Gum Fruit."
"It's a Devil Fruit, right? I heard about those a long time ago."
After helping the Box Man up, the four of them went to the edge of the cliff to talk.
"That's right, I'm a Rubber Man who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit," Luffy stepped forward and replied.
The Box Man was stunned. "You? Wasn't it the long-haired kid?"
"I wanted to ask that too, Bai Yun. Why do you have Luffy's ability?"
Nami also voiced her confusion.
"Hahaha, that's because Bai Yun has the ability to imitate others' powers. I call him... Mirror Man."
"I told you he was amazing."
Luffy answered for Bai Yun, looking very proud. This is my brother, my crewmate.
"The ability to imitate others' powers?!"
Both the Box Man and Nami were shocked.
"Can you copy navigation skills too?"
Bai Yun nodded, indicating he could. Nami swallowed hard, feeling slightly threatened.
"That's truly marvelous."
"This is the first time I've met people like you," the Box Man replied.
"I'm also seeing someone who lives in a box for the first time. Are you a rich young master?"
Following Luffy's logic: What are boxes for? Holding treasure. If he lives in a box, he must be a rich young master. Is there a problem with that? No problem at all.
"Yes, I was pampered since childhood... No! What nonsense are you spouting, kid!"
The Box Man was nearly led astray by Luffy. Rich young master, my foot! Have you ever seen a rich young master this haggard?
...
A/N: The journey continues! If you're eager to read far ahead and support this story, consider joining the Eternal Phoenix community. You can find me on Patreon by searching for "Eternal_Phoenix".
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