There are a total of 17 islands in the Kaisia Islands.
After docking the Black Glory, Mio stepped off the ship and looked back at his crew, asking, "Who's coming with me?"
"Captain, I'll go with you," Robin said first, stepping off the ship to stand by his side.
Before disembarking, Mio had already explained the purpose of visiting this island to everyone.
Since Erica and the others had no intention of accompanying him, it made more sense to split up. The Kaisia Islands were massive. Even with the use of Observation Haki, searching as a group would be inefficient and slow.
"In that case, Erica, I'll leave the rest to you," Mio said, nodding.
"Don't worry, sir," Erica replied seriously. "I'll give the orders."
"Alright then, Robin and I will go first." With that, Mio picked up Robin and dashed off in one direction.
Erica waved the tentacles on her forehead, releasing an invisible wave that rippled through the Kaisia Islands. In response, ants began to surface across various islands, scattering in all directions.
Their mission was clear.
First: Locate any Devil Fruits with spiral patterns.
Second: Find beasts that were seriously injured but still alive—Hei Yan and his allies had agreed to incapacitate these creatures instead of killing them outright, leaving Erica's summoned ants to collect and transport them to the Black Glory's shore.
Third: Locate the East and West Kitami Birds.
After issuing her commands, Erica set off to one of the islands with Lilith.
Hei Yan and Warwick split up, each heading to a separate island.
Mashi scratched her head in confusion, her tiny finger pointing between islands one after another before finally settling on one. She nodded to herself and flew off in that direction.
Soon, only the Black Glory and Hanba remained docked along the shore.
The others had all dispersed across the archipelago.
Meanwhile, on one of the islands...
Mio and Robin had already entered the forest. Towering trees stretched high into the clouds, forming a lush canopy so thick that sunlight barely filtered through in some areas.
A soft hum emanated from Mio as he released his Observation Haki, instantly sweeping across a massive radius.
Suddenly, Mio let out a small sound of surprise, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes.
"What's wrong, Captain?" Robin asked, noticing the shift in his expression.
Mio grinned. "We've found some interesting little guys."
They weren't particularly strong—but what caught his attention was that they perfectly suited the name of his pirate crew.
Crows.
"Let's go take a look. There are a lot of them," Mio said with a wide smile. He picked up Robin once again and launched forward in a burst of speed.
Robin, used to this by now, simply held tightly onto Mio's neck, calmly observing the path ahead.
It wasn't long before they reached their destination.
They found themselves at the foot of a low mountain on the edge of the forest. All around them, nestled in the trees, were countless bird nests—each filled with crows.
These weren't just a few crows. There were thousands.
Crows are resident birds. They don't migrate and instead spend their entire lives in their birthplace. So, while Mio wasn't surprised to find many nests here, the sheer number still impressed him.
"There must be tens of thousands of them," Robin said, taking a cautious step back. Her expression turned wary.
Crows were intelligent, social creatures. In large groups, they could be quite aggressive. She had no interest in provoking them.
"Just about," Mio nodded thoughtfully, stroking his chin. Then, his eyes flashed with inspiration. Without another word, he grabbed Robin and dashed back into the forest.
An idea had taken shape in his mind.
He wanted the genes of all these crows.
Every single one of them.
Though individually weak, this was the world of One Piece. Even the crows here possessed superior traits compared to their counterparts on Earth. Fusing the genes of tens of thousands of such birds? The resulting boost wouldn't be simple addition—it would be a transformation.
"Captain, what are we doing now?" Robin asked, still in his arms.
"We'll use a corpse to lure them all out, then wipe them out in one strike," Mio explained quickly, his Observation Haki already guiding him to the perfect location.
He soon arrived at a clearing in the forest.
In the center lay the massive corpse of a lion-like beast, roughly the size of a dinosaur. Such enormous creatures were common in the One Piece world, especially in remote or uninhabited areas like this.
Though the beast was long dead, much of its flesh remained, albeit rotting and partially eaten.
"This'll do," Mio said with a grin. With a flick of his will, the corpse vanished into his inventory system. Then he began moving back toward the crow nests.
Upon returning, the crows were still perched in large numbers, filling the trees like a living black cloud.
Some squawked threateningly upon noticing Mio's return. Others preened their feathers, unconcerned.
"Robin, find a place to hide," Mio instructed, his tone firm.
There were simply too many crows. The corpse would only be enough to lure and kill a few thousand. After that, the rest would surely retaliate. Mio wasn't worried about himself—but Robin's safety came first.
Robin didn't hesitate. She immediately ran and took cover at a distance, finding a spot safely away from the coming chaos.
Once she was hidden, Mio snapped his fingers.
In an instant, the giant beast's corpse reappeared in the center of the nesting area.
The stench of rotten flesh filled the air.
The crows went berserk.
With wild caws, they flapped their wings and swarmed toward the carcass. A massive black tide of feathers and beaks surged through the air—tens of thousands of crows descending on the rotting feast.
The sight was horrifying. A dark cloud of living creatures blotted out the light, and the air was thick with their shrieking cries.
But Mio remained calm.
In fact, he looked excited.
"It's time," he murmured.
His mouth curled into a smirk as he looked down at the feeding frenzy below. In the next instant, his body vanished—appearing high above the scene in a burst of movement.
Then, without warning...
He opened his mouth.
A blazing torrent of flame erupted.
BOOM!