Chapter 52: Eneru

As the child looked for food he could eat in the wild, he found a fruit that had a peculiar color and pattern within it. The child picked it up to examine it. He then put it in his bag, as he was not sure whether the fruit was edible to eat, so he just continued his search for other things that he could be sure to eat, as he was scavenging in the forest alone.

Meanwhile, Koa and Kuzan, who got the Jet Dials, go to the nearby forest to make sure that everything is in order. If not, Koa himself would destroy the entire Birka instead of Enel. We can see multiple bags that were in the inventory for the Jet Dials, with ten Jet Dials similar in size to Koa, and more than 20 similar in size to Kuzan. There are also other sizes, and when they counted it, it was more than 3000 overall. Koa then tried one randomly, which made a drilling sound and immediately shattered the nearby tree.

"Alright, everything seemed to check out. Let's eat first before we continue with our next agenda," Koa said towards Kuzan, who nodded and found firewood. Meanwhile, Koa's Observation Haki is fully activated, as he was detecting the entire Birka, which made him 'see' every presence that the Birka had. He also detected the kid, but since Observation Haki could not see figures, and the kid's presence was not that strong, he did not mind it.

After a while, Kuzan came back, carrying massive logs with him, which Koa used to start a campfire despite it being the middle of the afternoon. He planned on staying in Birka Island to find the Devil Fruit and would just meet up with the others after finding the Goro Goro no Mi.

As the campfire started, Koa hunted some wild animals to add to their meals, as they were given a bento by Joichiro, but it would not be enough for both of them. As the meat cooked, the aroma and smell traveled throughout the forest, which not only attracted some other wild beasts but also the child who was still foraging for food.

'How dumb of them to light a fire and even cook food, don't they know that it would make them targets?' the child thought as he saw the fire in the distance. He then decided to check them out, as he was hungry, and maybe if he informed them of the impending danger, he would be given some food.

As the child approached, Kuzan hunted and killed the animals that approached them, adding to their food once more. After a while, the child arrived, and the first thing he noticed was that there were so many dead animals around, which were being skinned by Koa and Kuzan.

"Hey you, help us with this if you want to eat," Koa said toward the child, who was still looking at them from behind the bushes, which made the child a little scared and freeze in his place due to nervousness.

Koa then stopped what he was doing and decided to approach the child, as he could feel his fear overwhelming his desire for food, which made Koa feel a little bad for the kid. He did not know hunger in either of his lives, but he had met Ginny, Kuma, and Ivankov, who were former slaves who did not eat if they were punished.

As Koa arrived and looked at the child, he stood for a while, stunned at the massive coincidence, as this child and the one he was looking for were the same. He is Enel, the man who ate the Goro Goro no Mi and nearly destroyed Skypiea in the future.

While Koa was looking at Enel, Enel was even more frozen, as he just noticed how large Koa was. After his initial shock, Koa then snapped out.

"Are you hungry?" Koa said, which also snapped Enel from his fears, as he was reminded of his hunger. He then nodded toward Koa, who gave him a knife.

"Help us skin the animals, and then you can eat. Equal exchange— is that fair for you?" Koa then said, which made Enel nod once again as he answered yes, and he immediately did as he started on a wolf.

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After a while, Koa, Enel, and Kuzan were seen sitting around the campfire, with the sky now dark and the remains of their meal—multiple bones scattered around them. Koa wanted to confirm whether this boy was truly Enel and not just someone with a similar face, as that sort of thing seemed to happen a lot in One Piece. He had lost count of how many women he had seen recently who looked like Nami in live-action.

"So, kid, what's your name?" Koa then asked.

"Enel," the kid answered, introducing himself to both Kuzan and Koa.

"Why are you alone in the forest? Don't your parents worry?" Kuzan then asked.

"I have no parents anymore, so I come here every day to look for food I can eat. If I can't find any, I just sleep without eating," Enel said, sharing his sad story with Koa and Kuzan.

"I see," Kuzan said, then paused—his mind flashing back to his youth, when he had to do anything to survive on the streets: stealing, looting, fighting—whatever it took just to have dinner.

The three had just finished their dinner in silence, as they were rather fond of peace over noise—something that had become a luxury aboard the ship, with Greenbull being a loud and energetic kid, and now, Urf adding to his excessive excitement.

As they ate, Koa couldn't help but glance at the cloth Enel had with him when he first arrived—a rough piece of fabric fashioned into a makeshift bag. Curious, Koa decided to ask about it.

"Enel, what's that?" Koa inquired, prompting Kuzan to look over with mild curiosity as well.

"I found it earlier while I was foraging for food. I didn't eat it since I thought it was poisonous," Enel replied.

As both Kuzan and Koa stared at the object, Kuzan immediately recognized it as a Devil Fruit, while Koa already knew exactly what its abilities were.

"Want to come with us?" Koa asked, without offering any context. The idea hadn't even come up before—he simply blurted it out the moment he saw the Devil Fruit in Enel's hands.