Chapter 44: A D-Grade Bait Delivered Right to the Door!

The ground tilted!
The sky inverted!

In the Temptation Forest, the blood-soaked corpses of the fat creatures slaughtered by Zeed rolled like bowling balls toward the feeding mouth of Baron Tomato, plunging straight down into a bottomless, pitch-black abyss.

Zeed leapt into mid-air, instantly entering the 【Smoke Form】 and transforming into a grotesque and terrifying smoke demon, overlooking the "island cataclysm" from above.

The scope of this island upheaval was not limited to the Temptation Forest in the central zone; it also engulfed the outer regions of the Bandit Forest.

With a quick, sweeping glance, Zeed spotted several giant beasts struggling in mid-air, having accidentally fallen due to the sudden shift of the island's terrain.

Their graceful, powerfully streamlined bodies clearly showed they were not the captive, waste-like creatures of the Temptation Forest, but rather survival-driven beasts tempered by constant battle and struggle in the Bandit Forest.

"It seems my future hunting operations won't just require competing with the other beasts of the Bandit Forest for targets, but also with Baron Tomato!"

Zeed shook his head in mid-air, taking the opportunity to activate 【Beast Breathing: Spatial Perception】 to scan the creatures about to be devoured by Baron Tomato, searching for any unexpected discoveries.

"It looks like Smoker and the others weren't affected by this cataclysm!"

Failing to find any familiar figures among the victims, Zeed felt a wave of relief.

After all, those who had landed on this Boin Archipelago alongside Zeed earlier that day were Smoker, Pacifista creator-to-be Sentomaru, and Vergo—all top-tier prospects from the Marine Elite Training Camp.

Zeed's concern for Smoker and his group wasn't merely out of camaraderie as fellow Marines.

There was a far more important reason.

Each of those three guys possessed a D-rank comprehensive evaluation!

Every single one of them was equivalent to a D-rank bait!

This was an opportunity Zeed would never let slip by!

While the Boin Archipelago was certainly teeming with sea beasts and land animals attracted by the aroma of food, along with countless domesticated "meat dishes," their comprehensive evaluations rarely exceeded E-rank.

At least, Zeed had yet to encounter any large creature on the Boin Archipelago with a comprehensive evaluation higher than E-rank.

Well...
Except for Baron Tomato.

While Zeed had no intention of sparing the densely populated E-rank and F-rank beasts and sea creatures in the Bandit Forest, he was equally determined not to let slip powerful Marine elites like Smoker, Vergo, and Sentomaru who were also stranded on the island.

The value of a D-rank bait was several or even dozens of times greater than that of E-rank and F-rank bait!

Defeating Smoker and the others was far more profitable than killing wild beasts and sea creatures!

***

Just as Zeed was plotting how to "conveniently stumble upon" Smoker and the others, Baron Tomato finally concluded its feeding session for the day.

The ground of the Boin Archipelago shuddered a few times before slowly returning to its original flat contour.

Baron Tomato resumed its supine, relaxed posture.

Zeed dissolved the 【Smoke Form】 and dropped back to the ground.

Following Baron Tomato's meal, the environment in the Temptation Forest became dry and fresh once again.

The previous carcasses of the beasts, along with the stench of blood, had completely vanished into thin air.

Zeed mentally noted the environmental details of the Temptation Forest, intending to return tomorrow to observe and confirm whether this "Forest of Gourmet" possessed self-repairing and regenerating capabilities.

***

Early the next morning.

Zeed stepped out of his treehouse onto the soil of the Temptation Forest, instantly confirming his suspicion from yesterday.

"As expected!

"The delicacies in the Temptation Forest regenerate themselves!

"Once a certain type of food is mostly consumed, it grows back through some unknown, orderly rule!

"What a miraculous island!"

Zeed raised a hand and plucked a cluster of cucumber-like plants from a nearby giant tree.

While it looked like a cucumber on the outside, it didn't grow in individual cylinders; instead, it hung in clusters resembling green bananas.

Zeed temporarily named it the "Banana Cucumber"!

"It looks like a mutant banana and requires peeling, but on the inside, it's purely a cucumber!"

Zeed peeled off the soft green outer skin of the Banana Cucumber to reveal the crisp green flesh inside, and took a crunchy bite.

"Mmm! So refreshing!"

Following the philosophy of balancing meat and vegetables to maintain energy while working, Zeed cut off several large chunks of meat rolls near the ramen waterfall, wrapped them with the Banana Cucumbers, and shoved them into his mouth all at once.

The greasy richness of the fat and the crisp freshness of the cucumber—two completely contrasting flavors—burst simultaneously in his mouth, delivering a wonderfully novel experience.

After finishing his breakfast, Zeed left the Temptation Forest.

Following his cleanup hunt yesterday, compounded by Baron Tomato's feeding activity, the Temptation Forest and the small section of the Bandit Forest bordering the central zone were now almost entirely devoid of wildlife.

If Zeed wanted to continue hunting, he had to venture deeper into the outer reaches of the Bandit Forest.

After a brief journey, Zeed arrived at the Bandit Forest.

Yesterday's "island riot" had inflicted immense panic upon the beasts of the Bandit Forest, leaving them devoid of the manic urge to fight and attack that they had displayed the day before.

With no beasts volunteering to throw themselves at him, Zeed had no choice but to hunt them down one by one.

Whether it was a giant earthworm buried halfway in the soil, a massive green snake coiled around a tree trunk, or a cunning man-eating plant disguised as harmless foliage, none could escape Zeed's sharp gaze.

The quality of the beasts in the Bandit Forest vastly surpassed that of the Temptation Forest.

By noon, Zeed had eliminated more than thirty E-rank beasts.

Such speed and quality of slaughter far exceeded his days of cutting fish in the galley.

"The galley of the New Recruit Training Camp can no longer keep up with my consumption rate; I need to find a larger venue for fish-cutting!"

As Zeed pondered this, he headed back toward the Temptation Forest in the central zone.

"Fortunately, I'll be returning to Marine Headquarters, Marineford soon. The headquarters cafeteria ought to be much larger than the training camp's mess hall, right?

"Surely it won't just house low-level sea beasts; there must be medium or even large Sea Kings there, shouldn't there?

"Once I hunker down for a couple of years and achieve the 'Sword God of Ten-Mile Hill' accomplishment, I'll take my fish-cutting blade over to Wano Country and help Teacher Kaido descale and debone him!"

Upon returning to the Temptation Forest, Zeed immediately sensed the arrival of a familiar guest.

"Hey, Smoker, you're here!"

A knowing, amicable smile spread across Zeed's face as he walked toward the young Marine surrounded by rising white smoke.

"Smoker, take a seat!"

Smoker had arrived, which meant the D-rank bait had arrived!

With Smoker here, could Vergo and Sentomaru be far behind?