Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Miniature Giant

When Judge was about to leave, he handed Reiju a vial of medicine, instructing her to find an excuse to administer it to Buffon regularly. As for having Reiju stay behind, Moriah had no objections. With Buffon in charge, no matter how formidable this woman was, she couldn’t stir up much trouble; all that was needed was to keep that lecher Absalom in check.

After Judge’s departure, Moriah had a very serious talk with Buffon. In fact, Moriah had mentally prepared for Buffon’s decision to set out to sea alone for a while; he just hadn’t expected Buffon to make the choice so suddenly.

But since Buffon promised he would return, Moriah chose to trust him. After all, Buffon said he would only take Reiju, Saul, Baggio, and Salon—the two men and two zombies—with him. With such a small group, Moriah figured Buffon would probably just make a quick round and be back soon.

Most importantly, Buffon made life cards for both Moriah and Perona in front of them, which made clear how much they meant to him.

As for the real reason Buffon was heading out to sea, there was no way he would say it aloud. Moriah’s stock of corpses had already been used up by him, and the low-ranking marine bodies delivered every three months were far from enough to keep up with Buffon’s needs. He now had to use his identity as a doctor to seek out war-torn regions and continue to strengthen himself.

Perona was the most unhappy with this decision. She protested and insisted on going with him, but Buffon wouldn’t relent. Her recent change from calling him “brother” to “Big Brother Buffon” wasn’t a passing whim; she truly regarded him as family now. So upset, she tore all her zombie dolls to shreds.

Buffon painstakingly stitched them back together and even knitted her a few new outfits, which finally calmed her down a little. She also promised Buffon that she would work hard to improve her strength so she could join him next time he set out.

As for Moriah, before leaving, Buffon gave him a piece of advice: “Relying on external power will never truly make you strong.”

“Heeheeheehee!” Moriah put on his usual nonchalant front, but he knew Buffon was right.

As for Spoil, Buffon kept his promise and brought him aboard as well.

Once they left Thriller Bark, Buffon took out the transponder snail and called Brook.

“Yohohoho! Little Buffon, what can I do for you?” Brook’s trademark laugh rang out.

“Meet me at the usual place—I’ll take you out to sea!”

When they met at the appointed spot, Buffon picked up Brook, told Baggio to take the helm, and led Brook to the laboratory.

He intended to treat Brook’s body with dark matter as well, so that this skeleton man no longer had to hide beneath his cloak all day. This delighted Brook, who hadn’t basked in sunlight for so long, beyond measure. He even forgot to tease Reiju about her underwear and lay flat on the deck, soaking up the long-missed sun.

“Yohohoho! If these old bones don’t get some sun, I really will fall apart from calcium deficiency!”

Buffon shook his head with a smile, then leaped up to the crow’s nest, pondering where they should head next.

Brook, meanwhile, couldn’t help but marvel inwardly, “No wonder they call him Little Buffon—he’s invented something as miraculous as this!”

Glancing at the equally shadowless Saul, Brook seemed to realize something.

Reiju, ever observant, also noticed that neither man cast a shadow. She already knew all about Moriah’s powers from intelligence reports, and knew full well that those whose shadows had been cut away could not stand in sunlight. Yet here were a man and a skeleton, clearly shadowless, basking in broad daylight.

Could it be that Buffon had already found a way to solve this problem?

Considering how Brook was taken straight to the lab after boarding, Reiju was almost certain her guess was right.

This realization made her even more intrigued by this enigmatic man, Buffon.

“Perhaps one day he’ll unravel the secret of lineage factors and truly free himself from his father’s control.” The thought struck Reiju as fanciful, but she couldn’t help but entertain it.

“If that day ever comes, I hope Buffon can also help me escape the fate of being controlled by my father…” Her thoughts wandered further down this path.

A few days later, the Juventus docked at an unnamed island, prompted by a realization Buffon had. Before, he had always navigated with the guidance of eternal pose compasses, but now, without them, no matter how skilled a navigator he was, he simply couldn’t reach the places he wanted to go.

“Apparently, I haven’t stitched together enough corpses—I never even learned how to make compasses!” Buffon sighed inwardly, then dove into the sea to catch a Sea King for everyone’s dinner.

Now, Reiju had shed her battle suit for a pale pink short-sleeved dress, instantly transforming from the seductive officer of an evil organization back into the poised and gracious Germa princess. She sipped red tea elegantly with Brook, chatting with Salon about Buffon’s situation, looking as though she had completely adapted to life aboard the Juventus.

After Buffon dragged the Sea King ashore, he began preparing a fire to cook for everyone. With the pretense of lineage factor modifications, he could now openly use his Flame-Flame Fruit abilities. Salon also brought several barrels of hidden wine from the ship, and the group decided to feast before figuring out where to procure a compass.

Reiju could have easily asked Germa 66 for help—no matter where Buffon wanted to go, she could have someone deliver a pose compass—but she refrained, eager for the thrill of an unknown adventure.

But just as Buffon was about to finish roasting the Sea King’s meat, he turned to grab some seasoning. When he turned back, he found nothing left on the spit but bones!

“Yohohoho! Have we run into a gluttonous ghost?” Brook, having noticed the same, exclaimed in surprise.

Moments later, Saul’s roar could be heard: “My wine barrels are empty too! What in the world is going on?”

Just as Saul tipped the barrel over, Buffon’s sharp eyes caught a tiny shadow slipping out.

“A thief!” Buffon muttered, pulling out his suture needle and darting after it. Unfortunately, the target was so tiny and moved so swiftly that even after three throws, Buffon failed to hit it.

As he prepared to try again, the little thief darted straight into Brook’s skeleton.

A figure, barely five millimeters tall, stood in Brook’s eye socket. The scene struck Buffon as oddly familiar—only the time and place were different.

Now that he’d guessed the intruder’s identity, Buffon knew how to handle it.

“Little thief, don’t run!” Buffon called to Brook.

Brook looked at Buffon in confusion, but then heard a voice coming from his own eye socket: “I am not a thief! I was just hungry and ate a little of the food you left here. Since you’re calling me a thief, I won’t hold back!”

The tiny figure shouted as she raised a fork-like weapon and leapt onto Buffon’s nose.

Just as the fork was about to touch his skin, Buffon’s silk thread spun out, instantly cocooning the little creature like a silkworm.

Buffon held up the end of the thread, displaying the miniature cocoon for all to see. “Here’s the culprit!”

No sooner had he spoken than the cocoon began to expand visibly.

In a flash, a girl with green hair, sun-kissed skin, dressed as an Amazon warrior, appeared before them. Her body kept growing, seemingly intent on matching Saul’s size, but Buffon’s silk threads kept her arms and body tightly bound, preventing her escape.

At that moment, Saul cried out in amazement, “Little one, are you a giant?”

The green-haired girl turned to Saul, ceased growing, and replied earnestly, “My name is Lily Ernstermark, a giant warrior who has eaten the Mini-Mini Fruit!”

“The Mini-Mini Fruit? That’s a new one to me!” Reiju said with a laugh.