The Merry Go slowly sailed along a wide river, making its way into the island's interior.
On both banks stood towering trees that blotted out the sky. Ferns grew in lush abundance, presenting a landscape straight out of prehistory.
Luffy had already asked Sanji to prepare bento boxes; they were ready to set off at any moment. Without a dedicated 'off-day' in the plan, everything was a high-intensity operation. The slightest misstep could lead to... expansive consequences.
"Giants! And dinosaurs!"
Looking at the strange scenery, a fervent light flashed in Luffy's eyes. Most importantly, "Fighting giants would be incredibly useful for developing Gear Third."
Mainly because he could still get a good fight in.
Gigantic wild beasts appeared along the riverbanks from time to time, every single one of them noticeably larger than any they had seen before.
"M-maybe I should stay and watch the ship..." Usopp's legs had already begun to tremble.
Luffy suddenly sensed something and said, "Staying behind would be even more dangerous."
Just as Usopp was about to ask why, a massive shadow swept over their heads, accompanied by a sharp, piercing shriek.
Everyone looked up to see an enormous, bizarre bird with long tail feathers and a sharp beak flying overhead.
Before they could react, a giant snake, as thick as a barrel and covered in eerie patterns, erupted from the water below. Its maw gaped wide, and with lightning speed, it accurately snatched the strange bird from the air, instantly dragging it into the murky river, leaving only a few feathers drifting slowly down.
Usopp immediately latched onto Zoro's thigh, refusing to let go no matter what. Zoro tried to shake him off with a look of utter disgust.
While Coward Number One was in this state, Coward Number Two wasn't faring much better.
Nami was terrified, her earlier composure completely gone. Almost instinctively, she tightly wrapped her arms around one of Luffy's arms, practically clinging to him.
"Was that a Titanoboa?"
In contrast, Robin appeared perfectly calm, even observing the scene with an appreciative gaze. These were all astonishing examples of ecology, like pages from a living history book.
Vivi was also badly frightened by the sudden display of predation, her face pale. Watching Nami cling tightly to Luffy, she felt scared too but was too embarrassed to grab Luffy's other arm, leaving her looking somewhat lost.
At that moment, Merry, sitting on Luffy's shoulder, seemed to notice Vivi's fear. She turned around, opened her little arms towards Vivi, and gave a warm, encouraging smile.
In Merry's simple understanding, once someone was on the ship, they were nakama who needed to look out for each other.
So she was quite friendly towards Vivi, and even towards Robin.
Looking at Merry's pure, innocent smile and her kind gesture, Vivi felt her heart melt. This truly was an angel.
She thought to herself that Merry, who had done that kind of thing with Luffy back then, must have been coaxed, threatened, or bribed by him.
Just as the atmosphere was already tense, violent tremors suddenly shook the ground ahead, as if something colossal was approaching.
Trees along the riverbank were knocked over in swathes. An enormous head thrust out from the forest—it had a thick neck, a huge mouth filled with dagger-like teeth, and a pair of cold eyes fixed intently on the Merry Go in the river.
A Tyrannosaurus Rex!
The Going Merry looked like a mere sapling before the T-Rex, seeming fragile and precarious.
Luffy had already jumped into action, though he now had an extra passenger attached to him.
Merry looked up and saw that Nami still hadn't dismounted. Puzzled, she turned to Vivi and asked, "Why hasn't she gotten down?"
Seeing Luffy raise his arm, Merry, seated on his shoulder, skillfully jumped off. Nami, however, clearly wasn't as practiced.
Nami had wrapped herself around Luffy like an octopus, not daring to look up. Who would have thought Luffy and Merry had developed such perfect coordination already!
The T-Rex let out a deafening roar that sent shockwaves through the air, its hot, fetid breath washing over them!
It opened its massive jaws, aiming to bite down on Luffy.
But what greeted it was a fist.
"Gomu Gomu no... Giant Pistol!"
The moment it saw the fist, the T-Rex seemed to recognize a familiar attack style.
Someone on this island had also hit it with a fist like that before!
BAM!
The giant rubber fist slammed squarely into the side of the T-Rex's face. The terrifying force sent the colossal creature flying, crashing heavily against the giant trees on the riverbank. It smashed through several trees before collapsing in a heap.
"Sanji!"
Luffy waved excitedly at Sanji. They'd eaten all sorts of meat, but never dinosaur meat before.
Sanji had already lit a cigarette at some point. Looking at the T-Rex, a professional chef's gleam shone in his eyes. "T-Rex tenderloin? A first for me too."
Nami was still clinging to Luffy. That had been really scary.
Her legs were definitely weak.
So, for the moment, she hung onto Luffy like a sloth. But for Luffy, this was a form of torture.
While waiting for Sanji to cook, his mind needed to continue focusing on The Plan, but Nami was in his arms and wouldn't get down.
Consequently, Nami was the first to feel that particular... impact.
Nami's face gradually turned red, her flustered expression becoming even more flustered.
"What are you thinking about?!"
"You?" Luffy was indeed thinking about Nami—about how to pry her off him.
But in Nami's ears, that took on a whole different meaning. She desperately wanted to give him a look of contempt, as if looking at something filthy, and follow it up with gritted-teeth sarcasm. But the reality was that she was thrown into disarray, fumbling and flustered.
"Hey! This isn't inside the room! Stop thinking about those weird things in your head!"
"Is that kind of thing weird?" Luffy asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Of course it's weird! Even if I don't exactly... dislike your reaction, it depends on the place and time!" Nami's eyes darted around. "I know you're at that age, but you can't just do perverted things like that."
Nami knew the shocking things she was saying. Wasn't this just indirectly agreeing?!
"Ms. Nami, are you feeling weak?" At that moment, several hands sprouted from Nami's body and gently peeled her off Luffy.
Nami turned her head and saw Robin's deeply meaningful smile.
"You're welcome," Robin said.
The light in Nami's eyes died.
I'm done for. She noticed.
That black-hearted woman!
...
Just as Luffy and the others were landing on Little Garden, on the opposite side of the island, two rather bedraggled figures were trudging, stumbling through the thick ferns.
"Bleh! Bleh! Bleh!"
Mr. 5 spat dirt from his mouth. His stylish sunglasses had a crack, and his expensive suit was stained with mud and scorch marks.
Beside him, Miss Valentine was equally disheveled, her face smudged with grime. Her beloved parasol had several holes, and her carefully styled hair was now a messy, drooping mess.
Miss Valentine kept touching her rear end, which burned with a fiery, splitting pain. There were some damp patches on her skirt.
Remembering being kicked here by Luffy, her face flushed red over her pale complexion.
***
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