The Grand Line, a certain sea. Aboard the Straw Hats' ship.
Three days had passed since leaving Whisky Peak.
"Hey, stinking fisherman, are you done with your work? If you have time, go catch some fish. We're running low on food."
This morning, Sanji made a tragic discovery: overnight, nearly two-thirds of the food in the ship's refrigerator had vanished, and supplies were critically low.
There was no need to guess. It was definitely Luffy's doing. The only person on this ship who would sneak into the kitchen in the dead of night to steal food was Luffy.
"Didn't I have Usopp make a few fishing rods? If you have time, go fish yourselves."
Tom had indeed been very busy these past few days, spending considerable time studying that belt he got in Loguetown. He felt this pitch-black belt couldn't be just for storing items; otherwise, the Fish-Man Karate master, Kuroobi, wouldn't have valued it so much.
But after studying it for days, aside from discovering some strange characters carved inside the belt, Tom found nothing else special. He still hadn't figured out why the belt's weight increased severalfold when worn.
Besides that, Tom had also borrowed Nami's nautical chart paper and pens, often sitting alone in a corner, drawing who-knows-what with intense focus.
Once, Nami quietly walked up behind the deeply focused Tom as he sketched. What he was drawing looked like random doodles at first, extremely hard to decipher. But upon closer inspection, it increasingly resembled some kind of weapon blueprint.
At the time, Nami kindly brought Tom a cup of hot water. He then asked for coffee to refresh himself, his tone oddly reminiscent of some bossy young lady.
Nami's face darkened on the spot. But seeing Tom's utterly absorbed demeanor, so different from his usual lack of seriousness—he even looked somewhat capable—she let the minor slight go, softly responded, and went to make him coffee.
However, after taking a leisurely sip, Tom remarked emotionally that Sanji's coffee-making skills had improved again. Nami immediately wanted to rush over and beat him up, but was stopped by Vivi, saving Tom from unnecessary disaster.
Vivi had only known Tom a few days. Her initial impression was of someone strong but flashy. But after this time together, she discovered Tom possessed a level of concentration ordinary people did not have.
This extraordinary focus even allowed Tom to work on the same thing for days, forgetting food and sleep, without feeling the slightest boredom. Even when the others made a ruckus on deck, it didn't affect him—something usually impossible.
Just yesterday, a troubled Vivi went to the bow to get some air and accidentally saw Tom lying on his back with a blueprint over his face, deep in thought. When Karoo came looking for her and stepped on Tom, he seemed completely unaware.
"I don't want to bother you, but I need to tell you something."
Sanji, seeing Tom was genuinely busy, didn't want to trouble him. But he was truly at his wits' end. Without sufficient food, he didn't know how to prepare meals today.
"What is it?"
As Tom spoke, his eyes remained locked on the blueprint in his hands. He used his drawing pen to scratch his head, looking quite troubled, clearly racking his brains over something.
Honestly, it was the first time Sanji had seen Tom so serious. If not for Tom's familiar face and voice, he might have thought it was someone else.
"This."
Sanji tossed a small metal bucket in front of Tom, telling him to look.
"Huh? Isn't this for holding bait?"
Tom saw the bucket was almost empty, with only one worm crawling inside. A sense of bad premonition washed over him.
"So that's where this was!"
Luffy walked over, saw the bucket in Tom's hands, and happily reached in to pick up the worm crawling inside. Without changing expression, he popped it into his mouth, chewing with relish while saying to Tom: "This worm tastes pretty good. Just too few. I ate them all in one go."
Seeing Luffy actually swallow the live worm, seemingly with great relish, Tom was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped. "What are you doing?! That's bait! You can't just eat it all!"
"Now you see why I came to you. Even with fishing rods, without bait we can't catch anything."
Sanji looked at Luffy as if he were a monster, then said to Tom.
"How can you eat something like that?!"
Usopp, bored and seeing Zoro training alone on the other side, curiously walked over to see what Luffy and the others were doing. Witnessing Luffy swallow a live worm, he was so scared his eyes nearly popped out.
The worms in the bucket were ones Tom had dug up from a wet reef two days ago, intended for fishing. Who knew Luffy would eat them all?
A wet reef could be considered a type of exposed reef, but instead of hard rock, it was formed from damp mud. Shallow-water reptiles often lived on them. Tom had dug the worms from one floating on the sea surface, never expecting they'd end up in Luffy's stomach before being used.
According to Vivi, due to their soft structure, such wet reefs would usually be washed away by seawater in a few days, so they weren't commonly encountered.
"I'd rather eat worms than fish? What a bizarre glutton."
"What did you say? You never said I couldn't eat them! And I saw that yellow duck eat them too!"
"He's a duck. It's not strange for him to eat worms. But you look just as stupid as him!"
"So you wanted to eat those worms too? You should've said so! I would've saved the last one for you!"
After a few more exchanges, Tom could endure it no longer and immediately started grappling with this troublemaking glutton.
Vivi watched Tom and Luffy brawl over something as trivial as bait, fighting until both were bruised and battered before stopping.
Earlier, Vivi had heard from Nami about these two, learning they currently held the highest bounties in the East Blue.
But the more she watched, the more unbelievable it seemed. Two pirates deemed by the World Government as the most notorious in the East Blue were actually like this. In the past, she wouldn't have dared to imagine it.
Without bait, there was no point fishing. So Tom had to go catch fish himself.
Time passed quickly. On the sixth day heading to Little Garden, Tom finally finished his tasks.
The day was scorching, like midsummer, making even a slight movement cause one to sweat profusely.
Luffy sat on the railing, joking and chatting with Tom and the others. The conversation turned to the weather.
With it so hot, everyone on board missed the snowy day they encountered upon entering the Grand Line. It had been so cool and refreshing then. Now, they were being roasted by the sun, almost turning into dried persimmons.
"Do you think it'll snow again?"
Luffy stuck out his tongue, panting hot air as he asked.
"While it's still possible, the sea on the first route of the Grand Line is rather special. The seven magnetic currents released from Reverse Mountain cause everything to be chaotic."
Vivi happened to hear Luffy's question. She came to the ship's side, gazing into the sea ahead, speaking seriously. "But you all still need to be careful. Although the upcoming route isn't as terrifying as the first, navigation is still more difficult than on ordinary routes. So you must not underestimate this sea."
"Hey, do you want to try my special drink?"
Sanji held a tray with over a dozen glasses of light-green beverages. Just looking at them felt cool and refreshing. Drinking such a beverage in this sweltering weather would undoubtedly be a pleasure.
Everyone on board happily called for Sanji to bring the drinks over quickly. Even Karoo the super spot-billed duck ran over at top speed onto the deck, waiting for a drink.
Vivi had been stern-faced talking to Luffy and the others, but upon turning, she saw them already cheering for drinks, completely distracted.
Seeing Karoo struggling to position the straw in its cup, Sanji kindly helped. Karoo then bit the straw and slurp—drank the entire glass in one go.
Seeing Karoo's talent, Sanji brought glass after glass, all of which Karoo downed in one gulp.
But after drinking too much, Karoo couldn't take it. It quacked, fell over with its feet in the air, its belly slightly swollen like a balloon, then sprayed out the liquid it had just drunk like a small fountain, earning laughing scolds from the crew: "Stupid Karoo!"
Vivi, standing above, watched Luffy and the others on deck below still leisurely playing with Karoo. The more she looked, the angrier she became. She slammed both hands heavily on the railing, pointing at the still-playing Luffy and others, saying to Nami, who had just emerged from the cabin, "Is this really okay?!"
"Here, for you."
Nami handed a chilled drink to Vivi beside her, smiling. "Don't worry. When something happens, they'll get serious. Nobody wants to die."
"That may be true, but they look way too relaxed."
Vivi took the drink, took a sip, and then saw Tom suddenly jump onto Karoo, saying he'd take it for a few laps to help digest what it just drank.
Before Tom could complete one lap on Karoo, Luffy—joining the fun—used his Gomu Gomu no Rocket to fly over, also wanting to ride Karoo. But he used too much force, slamming into Tom, Karoo, and himself flying off the ship.
Vivi was so shocked she nearly spat out her drink.
"What do we do?! They fell overboard!"
Usopp ran around the deck in a panic, clutching his head.
Zoro and Sanji, seeing the two Devil Fruit users were about to hit the sea, hurriedly ran to the ship's side. In tacit coordination, they both jumped overboard. Just then, Tom and Luffy—one stretching out his arm to grab the railing, the other using his right-wrist net launcher to fire a line and stick to the railing, incidentally pulling Karoo up with his other hand—returned safe and sound to the ship.
Then came two splashes as Zoro and Sanji, who had jumped off, unfortunately both fell into the water.
"What are those two doing?"
"Who knows? Maybe the weather's too hot, and they wanted to go for a swim."
Luffy and Tom stood by the ship's side, looking down at Zoro and Sanji flailing in the water, carelessly commenting, completely failing to notice the two's faces had turned as black as charcoal.
After Usopp pulled Zoro and Sanji up, they immediately started fighting with Luffy and Tom. For a while, the ship was very lively.
Vivi watched dumbfounded. She hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
Nami showed a bright, sunny smile to Vivi beside her. "Staying on a ship like this makes your worries disappear, right?"
Vivi blankly watched the still-playful Luffy and the others. Her mood gradually calmed. Looking at the blue sky and white clouds, with seagulls occasionally flying by and gentle breezes blowing, her long aqua-blue ponytail swayed like willow branches, bringing threads of refreshing comfort in the scorching weather.
In that moment, Vivi felt an unprecedented sense of ease. She lifted her hand to brush aside a few strands of aqua-colored hair from her forehead. The anxiety in her eyes was replaced by vivid brilliance as she looked into the distance.
"Stop fighting! Look! There's something in the sea!"
Usopp, seeing something leap from the sea in the distance, urgently said to the still-fighting Luffy and others.
"So cute!"
Nami saw a dolphin jump from the sea far away, her face full of adoration.
But as it approached, everyone realized the dolphin was dozens of times larger than their ship. Leaping from the distant sea, it soared directly above the Going Merry, its massive shadow engulfing them.
"IT'S HUGE!!"
"Everyone, hurry!!"
Now Luffy and the others had no mood for fighting. They immediately took their positions—pulling sails, steering, rowing, commanding—all orderly and efficient, moving the Going Merry away from the giant dolphin at top speed.
Some time later, after several days of sailing, Luffy and the others finally arrived at the island called Little Garden.
As the Going Merry approached the island, Vivi remembered Robin's words about them being wiped out there. Feeling concerned, she reminded everyone to be careful.
Usopp started worrying again about potential monsters on the path.
Sanji said it was time to resupply food on the ship; they couldn't keep eating just fish. Most importantly, he didn't want the two ladies on board to have fish every meal.
The Going Merry slowly sailed up a river into the island. Both banks were covered with dense jungle, like some hidden realm.
The island was named Little Garden, but it felt anything but small. On the contrary, it was vast and didn't seem as comfortable as its name suggested.
Nami noticed the plants on the riverbank were ones she'd never seen in any book or illustrated guide, which felt wrong. She said the island was dangerous, and Usopp agreed.
Suddenly, a roar from some beast came from the jungle ashore. The massive soundscared Nami and Usopp into clutching their heads and screaming: "WAAAH!"
"So cute~!"
Seeing Nami's delicate, pitiful expression, Sanji's eyes instantly turned to hearts.
But Usopp, wearing an equally scared expression, heard him and thought Sanji was talking about him. He disgustedly said, "What are you saying?!"
"Of course I mean Miss Nami!"
Disgusted, Sanji told the long-nosed guy to go die.
"What's that?!"
Nami looked up, seeing something flying towards them from the sky.
Sanji assured Nami it was just a normal bird and this was just ordinary jungle.
But when the bird flew closer, its sharp claws aimed at Sanji's back as he talked to Nami, everyone realized the "bird" looked remarkably like a lizard—just with a pair of large wings.
"I think everyone should stay alert. This island is not your ordinary kind of fun."
Tom took out his fishing rod and with one strike sent the sneaky lizard-bird flying into the riverside jungle. Immediately after, waves of ferocious beast roars came from the jungle.
Then came a series of rumbling booms, as if the earth itself were shaking. Everyone on board clearly felt the Going Merry vibrate with the sound.
"You idiot! Is this what you call 'interesting'?!"
Nami panicked. "That sound just now isn't something you hear in ordinary jungle!"
"If I'm not mistaken, that sounded like a volcanic eruption," Tom said, holding his fishing rod. He asked Nami, "Is there a volcano on this island?"
"I don't know either..."
Before Nami finished, she saw a tiger on the bank, its body slightly smaller than the Going Merry, moving alongside their ship. She shuddered. "What's that?!"
Tom saw the giant tiger staring fiercely at their ship. He pulled Nami behind him, ready to strike the reckless creature, when the tiger's body was suddenly slashed open in several places, blood spraying wildly. It collapsed into a pool of blood, let out a piercing roar, and fell silent.
"Something's wrong! There's definitely something wrong here!"
Nami was so scared her face turned pale. "Why would the king of beasts fall covered in blood?!"
Usopp was already sweating all over, saying he'd decided not to set foot on the island.
Nami told everyone to stay quietly on the ship, wait for the Log Pose to record the island's magnetism, and leave as soon as possible. She reminded them they needed to get to Alabasta quickly.
But as soon as Nami finished, Tom put one foot on the railing. "This is fantastic! There must be creatures on this island far stronger than that tiger! I'm going ashore to see for myself!"
At the same time, Luffy was also excited, his body trembling slightly, saying to Sanji, "Make me a bento! One packed with meat, so I can enjoy the adventure!"
"You two, wait! Did you hear what I said?!"
Nami saw Tom and Luffy's impatient expressions. As she tried to speak, the two asked if she wanted to come explore with them.
Seeing their excited faces glowing with light, practically blinding her, Nami's clenched fists fell weakly. She turned her head away, tears streaming down.
No way... There are monsters on that island that can defeat giant tigers! Why would you go there?!
Gloomily thinking: I can't stop them. Their energy is just too overwhelming.
Usopp's jaw dropped in shock, looking at Luffy and Tom with a tearful expression.
"Can I come with you?"
Vivi looked at the dense jungle ashore, hesitated, then asked.
Nami wanted to stop Vivi's impulsive decision, but Vivi said if she stayed alone on the ship, she'd just overthink. It would be better to go ashore and clear her mind.
Vivi also said she'd have Karoo with her, so she'd be fine. Upon hearing this, Karoo's body went stiff, nearly petrified, its jaw dropping.
Seeing Karoo's reaction, Nami said with a dark cloud over her head, "It's already too scared to speak."
Sanji, hearing Vivi was also going ashore, offered to make her a love bento.
Vivi automatically ignored Sanji's words and asked him to help Karoo calm down.
Soon, Luffy, Tom, Vivi, and pet Karoo were the first off the ship, heading inland.
The deeper they went into the jungle, the more they heard various beast roars and saw strange shells and plants. Just as Tom and Luffy excitedly wandered around...
They suddenly discovered, in the distance of the jungle, there was a giant creature resembling a Sea King.
While Luffy wondered why a Sea King would be on land, Tom and Vivi exclaimed together: "That's a dinosaur!"
"If there are really dinosaurs here, then this is an Ancient Island!"
Vivi said, shocked.
According to Vivi, due to the extreme difficulty of navigation in the Grand Line and the lack of cultural exchange between islands, each island developed its own civilization.
Some had highly advanced civilizations, while others saw no progress for thousands, even tens of thousands of years, remaining in their original state. Because the Grand Line's climate was utterly chaotic, this wasn't impossible.
Therefore, this island called Little Garden was actually still in the dinosaur era.
As soon as Vivi finished explaining the island's current situation to Luffy and Tom, Luffy jumped onto the neck of a long-necked dinosaur ahead. Vivi immediately shouted, "Don't just jump on it and hug it!"
"Why didn't you stop him?!"
Vivi said to Tom beside her.
"That's not important."
Tom put away his fishing rod and took a few steps forward. "What a joke! Why is this island called Little Garden? Who named it? This is nonsense!"
Seeing Tom's righteously indignant expression, Vivi thought he meant the name didn't match the island's danger level. She agreed, "Right, now that you know how dangerous this island is—"
Unfortunately, before Vivi finished, she saw Tom charge towards a roaring Tyrannosaurus rex, excitedly shouting: "This should be called Jurassic Park!"
"I've always dreamed that one day I could visit Jurassic Park, maybe hunt some ancient creatures. I've dreamed about it for so long, and today it's finally come true! Hahahaha!"
"I love this island! Jurassic Park, here I come!"
Tom's words immediately shocked Vivi until her jaw hit the ground, petrified on the spot. "What in the world are you talking about??????"
Even Karoo was so scared its neck twisted, looking at Tom's back and letting out a few confused quacks...
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T/N :
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