Stomach Baron

Chapter 90: Stomach Baron

This was an island that bloomed like a flower, covered with various types of food-growing plants, emitting a delightful fragrance and incredibly delicious flavors.

There were breadfruit trees, noodle waterfalls, spaghetti grass, ham fruits, chocolate rocks, and all sorts of strange plants.

"Strange, why does this island look so familiar?" Rodney picked a ham-shaped fruit from a tree, took a bite, and tasted the flavor of the meat.

"It tastes great." 

Leicester, sitting by the flowing noodle waterfall, said, "The taste is amazing, and the bugs outside are huge."

When they landed on the island, there were many powerful insects and a group of walking carnivorous flowers on the forest's outskirts. But they were easily dealt with, and following the fragrance, they arrived at the heart of the island, discovering a place full of delicious food. Rodney felt like he had stepped into a world of culinary delights.

"So delicious." Perona bit into a piece of dark chocolate, realizing that it was her favorite flavor.

Reiju picked up a plate of spaghetti growing on the grass, complete with a fork on top. 

"This island is unheard of. Clearly, these are living creatures, but creatures shouldn't be able to produce human-made food like this. It's a natural composition..."

Rodney finished a ham fruit and said, "This world is full of strange things. Don't worry about it. Let's settle dinner here tonight and take some back. Leicester, see if there are any ingredients we can store."

"Understood."

Kuzan sat on a chocolate rock, picked up an egg-like object, and found it to be hot curry rice, accompanied by a spoon.

"I see. So this is it. I've heard of it before, but never seen it," Kuzan said.

Rodney suddenly remembered where this was. He clapped his hands and said, "Eat a bit less of these foods; they can make you gain weight quickly. Damn, Perona, how much did you eat?"

Everyone looked at Perona, whose round face had accumulated some extra flesh, and her slender waist had gained a layer of fat.

Perona: "..."

After three seconds of silence...

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Her piercing scream startled a round, rolling bird that fell to the ground, and the other animals that were enjoying the food and had become chubby also ran away in fear.

"My body, how could this happen?" Perona, with tears in her eyes, looked at Rodney and asked, "What's going on? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Who asked you to eat so fast? I only had one ham fruit." Rodney looked at her speechlessly. This girl ate faster than him.

"So, Captain, what place is this?" Robin, while eating a plate of spaghetti, asked. She had never heard of such a strange island and wanted to ask the extraordinary captain.

"This is the Boin Archipelago, scientifically known as Stomach Baron and also called the Forest of Gluttony. It's a carnivorous plant that grows in groups, floating on the sea, and luring sea kings with the tempting food scents emitted by the plants growing on their bodies. When humans step on them, they close their petal-like islands, gathering all the animals on their surface into their central mouth, using this to feed themselves."

In other words, this was an island that could devour people, and that wasn't a metaphor; it was the literal meaning. It really could eat people.

The farther outward they went on the island, the more powerful the creatures were. However, for Rodney's crew, there was nothing to be afraid of.

The only thing they needed to be careful about was that when the Stomach Baron was eating, all the living creatures on the island, especially the chubby ones, couldn't escape.

Kuzan nodded and said, "Rodney is right. This is my first time on this island, and I've only heard about it before. I didn't expect you all to encounter it. You can have a hearty meal here but remember to exercise more afterward. The fat in these meals is several times more than regular food, and gaining weight will be quick, especially for this little girl, who's eating this kind of food that's easy to gain weight."

Due to its drifting nature, it could explain why the island that Usopp fell on appeared here.

"No, does that mean I have to exercise too?" Perona was about to cry. 

She was a user of the Ghost Ghost Fruit, and her body was relatively fragile, just a bit stronger than an ordinary person. Plus, she hadn't exercised in a long time, so her body was essentially rusty.

Now, asking her to exercise would be like killing her. No, she didn't want to exercise!

"Yes, otherwise, you'll be working overtime for the Stomach Baron here." Rodney didn't reject this food because he frequently exercised, and his body required a lot of energy. This kind of food was just right for him.

Reiju didn't mind either. After tasting each food, he didn't eat too much and put down the plate after finishing each one. He then compared them with the same dishes he had eaten before, concluding, "Captain, I found that the dishes, or rather the fruits here, taste better than the chefs outside. Not many chefs in the Grand Line can beat the delicacies here."

"That's good to know." Rodney's eyes sparkled upon hearing Leicester's words.

With all these dishes taken back, they could eat well for a long time.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

A tremendous rumble echoed as the island, or rather, the petals of the Stomach Baron began to close. The ground gradually became steep.

"What's going on?" Leicester, with one hand still holding the ingredients, grabbed a tree branch with the other. However, the branch couldn't bear its weight and was about to break.

Perona used the tip of her umbrella to hook a tree and hang onto it.

"The Stomach Baron is starting to eat. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. Don't worry, Robin."

"Understood." 

With her arms crossed in front of her chest, Robin grew numerous hands from the ground, holding Perona, Leicester, and herself.

Reiju put on her Germa battle suit and flew into the air.

Rodney used Chakra to attach himself to the ground so that he wouldn't fall as the ground gradually turned vertical.

"Ah, your ability seems much more ridiculous now." 

With this airbending ability, wouldn't it be ridiculous?

He sat on the trunk of a tree, not panicking at all. He even picked a fruit from the tree, opened it, and enjoyed the sweet juice.

As for those round, rolling little animals, due to their weight and inability to overcome gravity, they fell into the gaping mouth below under the approving gaze of Mr. Bull.

"That is..."

Reiju looked up, and several sea kings, lured by the island's fragrance, fell from the sky. Their enormous bodies were easily swallowed by the Stomach Baron, becoming its main course.

*Burp*

A long, long, long belch carried a foul stench that almost made them faint. The Stomach Baron had just finished a hearty meal and slowly closed its petal-like islands.

These creatures were no different from Venus flytraps, luring food to themselves and then delivering a fatal blow.

Nature was like this, full of temptations and deadly traps at the same time.

"Damn, it's really stinky. How much has the Stomach Baron eaten?" Rodney couldn't help but cover his nose. The smell was really uncomfortable.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, retreat!"

"Understood."

After taking the ingredients they could bring back, the group quickly boarded the ship. All the plants blocking their way were dealt with by Rodney, and anything edible was taken as ingredients on the ship...

They slipped away.