After the performances concluded, the banquet entered a free-mingling period. The Tontatta scattered in small groups—some continued enjoying the delicious food, while others started playing various fun games. Kaido noticed a few Tontatta playing a game resembling sumo, where two of them pushed each other inside a small circle, and whoever was pushed out lost.
"Wororororo, this game looks fun!" Kaido's interest was piqued, a note of anticipation in his low voice. "Want to try against me?"
The Tontatta looked at each other. Finally, one brave Tontatta stepped forward. "Tontatta! I'll take the challenge!"
Kaido laughed heartily, extending one thick finger. "Good! I'll compete with just this finger!"
"Hey, don't underestimate the Tontatta! We may be small, but our strength is great!" a Tontatta shouted at Kaido.
"That's right, don't look down on us!" the others chimed in.
"Then let's give it a try," Kaido said, amused.
The match began. The Tontatta pushed against Kaido's finger with all his might, his little face turning red with exertion, but Kaido's finger didn't budge an inch. The surrounding Tontatta cheered him on.
"Go for it! Tontatta!"
"Push him over!"
"You can do it!"
Kaido looked at the stubborn little fellow, a glimmer of approval flashing in his eyes. He deliberately relaxed his strength just a tiny bit, allowing the Tontatta to move his finger slightly. Finally, amid the cheers of the crowd, the Tontatta succeeded in pushing Kaido's finger out of the circle.
"Tontatta! I won!" The Tontatta jumped up excitedly, his face beaming with the joy of victory.
"Wororororo, well done!" Kaido laughed heartily, his voice echoing in the night sky. "What's your name?"
"I'm Leo! Tontatta!" the Tontatta answered proudly, puffing out his chest.
"Good! Leo, I'll remember you!" Kaido said to the brave little Tontatta before him, a note of appreciation in his tone.
As the sky darkened, the banquet atmosphere gradually calmed. King Gancho walked unhurriedly to stand before Kaido, a sincere smile on his face. "Thank you for bringing such joy, Tontatta. It's been a long time since we've been this happy."
Kaido gave a slight nod, his deep voice sounding especially clear in the night. "We're also glad to have met you interesting little folks." He paused, then continued. "King Gancho, my purpose in sailing the seas is to collect Devil Fruits. I wonder if your kingdom has any? I'm willing to pay a high price for them."
"Devil Fruits?" King Gancho looked puzzled, his brow furrowing. "What's that?" "They're fruits with special spiral patterns on the surface," Kaido explained patiently, a light of anticipation shining in his eyes.
Just then, Leo suddenly jumped out from the crowd, waving his little hands excitedly. "I know! I know!"
Kaido looked down at the lively little fellow, a flicker of pleasant surprise in his eyes. "Oh? You know where to find Devil Fruits?"
"Yep! That's a Special Fruit!" Leo's eyes sparkled, his voice brimming with excitement. "I found one on the island before and collected it. I was planning to see if I could cultivate more of them." He suddenly remembered something and turned to a companion. "Hey, Calte, I remember you collected a Special Fruit too, right?"
The Tontatta named Calte nodded. "Yes, I found that one by the shore while catching Bull Sharks."
A look of anticipation flashed in Kaido's eyes. "Could you bring them here for me to see?"
"Of course!" Leo agreed readily, grabbing Calte's hand and running off. "We'll go get them right now!" The two tiny figures quickly vanished into the darkness. Watching their retreating backs, a gleam of expectation shone in Kaido's eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, as if he was greatly anticipating the impending discovery.
Soon, Leo and Calte came running back, carrying a box dozens of times larger than themselves.
"Kaido, is this it?" After placing the box before Kaido, Leo and Calte both jumped up to open it and then spoke to Kaido.
Kaido looked inside. Sure enough, they were Devil Fruits. "That's right, these are them. Leo, could you sell me this Devil Fruit? I'll give you anything you want in exchange."
Kaido's main focus remained fixed on the Devil Fruit beside Leo—the very one that was his primary purpose for coming here: the Paramecia Type, Chiyu Chiyu no Mi (Heal-Heal Fruit).
"I was originally going to try cultivating the Special Fruit, but it just won't grow. Since you want it, Kaido, you can have it," Leo said to Kaido.
"And this one, Kaido, you can take it too. These fruits aren't much use to us anyway," Calte added.
"Is that so? In that case, I won't stand on ceremony." With that, Kaido effortlessly took possession of the two Devil Fruits.
Kaido hadn't expected his main objective for coming here to be achieved so easily. Nor had Enel and the others imagined obtaining Devil Fruits could be this straightforward. The Tontatta Tribe truly were too naive.
"King Gancho, actually, I came here with another purpose," Kaido said to Gancho.
"Oh? What is it?" King Gancho asked Kaido.
"The truth is, I once met a seer. He told me many things about this world. Before, relying on his prophecy, I found the City of Gold that Norland once visited," Kaido stated directly.
"What?! Norland?!" The entire Tontatta Tribe grew agitated upon hearing that name.
"Kaido, are you talking about the great hero Norland?" Leo asked excitedly.
"That's right," Kaido said.
Immediately, the entire Tontatta Tribe began recounting the heroic deeds of Norland. It was then that Enel and the others learned that hundreds of years ago, Norland had once rescued the Tontatta, who had since regarded him as a great hero, even making statues of him.
"King Gancho, the thing is, that seer didn't just prophecy about Norland. He also foretold that in the future, the Tontatta Tribe would be enslaved by evil people. That's why I came to Green Bit—to help you," Kaido said to Gancho.
"So that's how it is. Thank you so much, Kaido. Then what should we Tontatta do?" Having heard about Norland, Gancho didn't doubt Kaido's words at all.
"Green Bit is no longer safe now. How about you relocate the Tontatta to my territory? There, I will provide you with my protection," Kaido proposed to Gancho.
"I see... but our kingdom is here on Green Bit," King Gancho said, sounding a bit at a loss.
"Wororororo, don't worry, Gancho. Since we're friends, of course I won't let you down. I'll take your entire country with me," Kaido declared directly.
***
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