one piece: gene extraction and fusion system Chapter 47: The Mythical Butterfly and the Waiting Trap

"As an ancient island, it really does have its surprises." With a small grin, Mio stood up from his seat.

"Hey, Donli, Broki, sothing's co up. I've got to leave now," Mio called out to the two giants nearby.

Hearing this, Donli and Broki lowered their heads to look at him, expressions filled with reluctant disappointnt. After all, it had been a long ti since they'd interacted with a pirate they actually liked. They had hoped to chat with Mio a little longer, but seeing his urgency, they didn't try to stop him.

Donli chugged down a large bowl of wine and chuckled. "We still don't know your na, friend."

"Kurokawa Mio," Mio replied promptly.

"Kurokawa Mio? What a strange na," Broki muttered, scratching his chin. Then he added with a grin, "I'll rember it. I'm sure we'll et again soday."

"Maybe," Mio responded with a shrug. You never really knew with this kind of world.

He took one last sip of wine and turned to leave.

Erica took the lead, and their group once again moved through the dense forest. This ti, however, the destination seed farther than before. Even after half an hour of trekking, they hadn't arrived yet. But Mio's heart was full of anticipation.

Because this ti—their destination had a Devil Fruit.

Yes, a real Devil Fruit.

Even though Mio had anticipated the possibility, actually finding one still ca as a pleasant surprise. Given how massive Little Garden was, it wasn't entirely shocking to stumble across a Devil Fruit. In truth, the rarity of Devil Fruits often ca down to how hard they were to find. Islands were vast, and most of their regions remained unexplored. One day you could pass through an area with nothing, and the next, a Devil Fruit could sprout there. This kind of randomness wasn't uncommon.

And since Little Garden was an ancient island, Mio figured the fruit would likely be of the Zoan type—maybe even an ancient Zoan species.

Full of curiosity and expectations, the group continued forward.

Another hour passed before they finally reached the destination—a lush clearing deep within the forest.

The area was crawling with ants. But as Erica approached, the insects began gathering around her, forming a straight path on the ground that led to a patch of dense grass.

Following the trail, Mio pushed the grass aside and was imdiately greeted by the sight of a Devil Fruit nestled in the greenery.

It was a beautiful fruit, covered in dark blue spiral patterns. It looked almost too perfect—so much so that soone unfamiliar with Devil Fruits might assu it was poisonous. After all, in nature, fruits that bright and exotic-looking were often dangerous.

"This color and shape don't match any of the fruits listed in the incomplete Devil Fruit guide," Mio murmured with slight regret. "Another one with unknown abilities."

Unknown Devil Fruits were a gamble. Without knowing what power it granted, he couldn't make an inford decision about its use.

He couldn't just eat it himself—what if the power was useless to him?

He couldn't waste it on a system lottery either. What if it turned out to be a Mythical Zoan-type? That kind of loss would sting forever.

"But I can still test it..." Mio muttered to himself before waving his hand. "Warwick, catch the little guy."

Robin raised an eyebrow in confusion at Mio's words, but didn't get a chance to ask anything before Warwick shot into the underbrush like a bullet.

A loud crash followed.

A velociraptor, which had been hiding in ambush, was suddenly sent flying by Warwick's punch, completely caught off guard. The beast crashed into the dirt, dazed.

Without hesitation, Warwick stomped forward, grabbed it, and dragged the struggling creature in front of Mio, holding it down by the head.

"Open its mouth," Mio instructed calmly, picking up the Devil Fruit.

"Understood, Master," Warwick replied, prying the velociraptor's jaws open with his claws.

With a smirk, Mio shoved the Devil Fruit straight into the creature's mouth.

Crunch. Slurp.

The fruit was devoured in seconds.

Monts later, the velociraptor began to thrash wildly. Sothing was clearly happening within its body. A transformation was about to begin—

But it was abruptly cut short.

With a swift motion, Mio unsheathed his blade and beheaded the velociraptor in one clean stroke. Blood sprayed onto the ground.

A notification imdiately popped up on his system panel.

"Congratulations on collecting [Velociraptor (South Sea Butterfly Gene)]!"

"Huh? Butterfly?" Mio blinked at the ssage. "A bug fruit?"

He stared at the screen in disbelief.

A butterfly gene? What kind of ability was that supposed to be—pollen collection?

He rubbed his forehead, exasperated. The na alone didn't scream 'combat potential.' If he had known, he might've just used the fruit in the lottery after all.

Just as he was lanting the waste, events were unfolding elsewhere—events Mio had no clue about.

On the coast of Little Garden, a Navy warship had just anchored.

A marine stood on the deck, telescope in hand, scanning the coastline. Spotting Mio's ship, he adjusted focus and then turned to report.

"Commodore Momousagi, we've confird that the pirate ship anchored offshore belongs to our target."

"They've entered the island?"

"Yes, ma'am. No doubt about it."

"Good," said Momousagi, her eyes calm but sharp. "Then we wait. When they return—we strike."

"Yes, Commodore!"

...

Back in the forest, Mio remained blissfully unaware of the ambush awaiting him.

He was still wandering the woods with Erica and the others, occasionally hunting wild beasts and collecting materials. But his mind was still focused on the Devil Fruit he'd just tested.

"South Sea Butterfly... Why does that sound so familiar?" he mumbled, scratching his head in confusion. "I've definitely heard that na before. But where?"

He walked a few steps, then suddenly stopped in his tracks—eyes wide.

"Wait! I rember now. That was a mythical beast from before I crossed over!"

Before arriving in this world, Mio had been fascinated by myths and legends, and the South Sea Butterfly was among them.

It was a mythical creature.

But there was a certain infamous line about it that stuck out in his mory:

"The sea folk removed its wings and feet, and it still weighed eighty kilograms of at. Very plump. Very delicious."

In short, the beast was caught, butchered, and considered delicacy-grade food.

Mio's lips twitched. His expression slowly turned blank.

"...Are you kidding ?"

This was a Mythical Zoan-type Bug Bug Fruit, South Sea Butterfly form.

And based on that description, the most notable thing about the creature was... how tasty it was.

Mio let out a long sigh and rubbed his temple.

Great. He'd found a Mythical Devil Fruit that specialized in being served with dipping sauce.