After parting ways with Zephyr and his crew, Nicholas continued his flight toward the North Sea. In the New World, even flying through the air, sometimes you couldn't maintain a steady speed due to the abnormal weather. Just a short while ago, Nicholas encountered a meteor shower with fire, as powerful as the scene he witnessed when he traveled from Fish-Man Island to the New World—burning mountains and boiling seas.
As a result, Nicholas had to temporarily stop and rest on an island, waiting for this natural disaster to pass. Since it was getting late, he decided to take the opportunity to rest and adjust his condition. After all, the North Sea was already in chaos, and who knew if Judge could hold out until he arrived? If he were captured, Nicholas might have to fight Kaido or the Navy.
While Nicholas was roasting a goat by the campfire, gifted by nature and trapped in the trees by vines, he suddenly heard a noise from the dense forest. Initially, the sound was faint and indistinct, so Nicholas didn't pay much attention. After all, it was normal for forests to be noisy at night. He remembered a strange incident that happened when he was night fishing on Earth.
Back then, while hoping to catch a big fish, he suddenly heard intermittent, painful cries of a woman from the small forest behind him. At first, Nicholas didn't care, but when another large fish got scared away, he couldn't sit still anymore. He placed his fishing rod beside a tombstone, greeted it casually, and then approached the source of the sound with an incense burner.
When he reached the location of the sound, Nicholas was nearly scared out of his wits. Behind a large tree stood a monstrous creature with a woman's upper body at the front and a man's upper body at the back. The man's face was fierce, while the woman appeared to be in great pain, continually wailing. Noticing Nicholas's arrival, both heads of the monster simultaneously looked in his direction.
Sensing danger, Nicholas immediately ran back to his fishing spot. After all, supernatural beings couldn't be scarier than an airborne military threat, right? He wasn't afraid as an ordinary fisherman in his previous life, so there was no reason to be scared now.
As time passed, the rustling noises got closer, and he could vaguely hear people talking.
"Jennifer, are you sure the treasure is here? I don't see anything."
"Trust me, I got this from that 800-pound fat guy. Supposedly, his ancestor was a great pirate. Do you think I'd let that fat pig crush me just for fun?"
"Hehe, everyone knows you as Jennifer the Pressure Queen. You could probably handle a thousand pounds, no problem."
From the depths of the forest came the voices of a man and a woman, seemingly searching for treasure.
Then, another male voice cut through the cold wind, "Those two idiots have taken the bait. Once they find the treasure, we'll strike."
A cold voice added, "Anyone who knows the Navy's secrets must be eliminated. We can't let this scandal get out!"
The voices came closer and stopped near Nicholas. Only the sound of the cold night wind rustling the leaves remained.
Nicholas, who had already activated his Observation Haki, smiled.
"Interesting."
Suddenly, a shout rang out from deep within the forest!
"Who's eavesdropping!"
After the shout, the forest returned to silence, with only the rustling of leaves remaining.
Meanwhile, Nicholas remained calm, leaning against the roasted goat meat, seemingly unaffected by the disturbance.
High up in the dense canopy in the distance, a pale face suddenly appeared. Through the dense foliage, it peered at Nicholas, who was cooking by the fire.
The wind ceased suddenly, and the dark night became deathly quiet.
As the pale face cautiously observed Nicholas, seated by the fire, Nicholas suddenly turned his head towards the direction of the gaze.
Facing Nicholas's gaze, the pale face visibly flinched.
Nicholas then saw the full form of the pale face: it was a large, fierce-looking bird with a pale human face on its chest. The bird's entire body was as black as ink, blending into the night, with only the pale human face visible.
At this moment, the bird tilted its head, assessing the unexpected visitor in its territory. Sensing no immediate threat from Nicholas, similar to the prey it had hunted before, the bird flapped its wings, emitting a piercing sound, and charged directly towards Nicholas.
Its sharp claws gleamed under the moonlight, showing its vicious intent to strike down its prey in one fell swoop.
However, just as the bird was about to strike Nicholas's skull with its sharp claws, a lightning bolt suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing the bird to stumble. In the next moment, Nicholas opened his palm, and amidst a flash of lightning, he firmly gripped the bird's neck. With a swift motion, he pressed it to the ground.
The bird struggled and flapped, its beak uttering human-like sounds.
"Brother, don't you like me?"
"I bought a little windmill, whoosh~."
"Help! Don't kill me!"
"Hmm... why not count?"
"You're so cruel!"
"There's a ghost! Where? Behind you! Behind you!"
...
Seemingly disoriented by being caught, the bird's voice suddenly shifted to mimic another person.
" Yohohoho! Yohohoho!(X2)Gather Up All of the Crew, It's Time to Ship out Bink's Brew. Sea wing blows, to where who knows The waves will be our Guide O're across the ocean's tide Rays of sunshine far and wide Birds they sing of cheerful things, In Circles Passing by."
"Who dares to spy in secret! Watch me... watch me, what was it again?"
Watching the bird in his hand, which continued to emit various sounds, Nicholas couldn't help but show surprise. "There are many strange creatures in the New World, but this mimicry bird that can imitate voices so convincingly, even to the point of fooling others, is truly a rare and intriguing find."
Even though the bird looked fierce, its eyes still glinted with hostility. If not for being bound by the lightning, it probably would have pecked fiercely at Nicholas long ago.
Despite its ferocity, after three minutes of Nicholas's humane electric therapy, the bird slumped on the ground, giving up resistance.
After all, it couldn't win in a fight, nor could it escape. What choice did it have but to give in?