Chapter 34: Little Garden – Giants, Dinosaurs, and the True "Small Garden"
"Everyone—who wants my special cocktail?!" Sanji elegantly carried a tray forward, the drinks in the glasses sparkling temptingly under the sunlight.
"Me! I want one!" Luffy instantly abandoned training and rushed over, eyes shining.
Seeing this, Sol exchanged a glance with Zoro, then dragged the unconscious Usopp along to join in.
The crew gathered on deck, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
Usopp took a big gulp of cocktail, finally recovering. He asked curiously:
"Hey, Sol—that Armament Haki you're teaching Luffy and the others—besides boosting attack power, what else does it do?"
Sol swirled his glass and explained:
"Armament Haki isn't just for offense. It can also be used for defense—to block powerful attacks. And the most crucial point—" He paused. "It lets you touch the real body of a Devil Fruit user."
"Real body?" Nami tilted her head.
"Exactly." Sol looked at Luffy and Sanji. "Like that Smoker you met in Loguetown—he's a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, so normal attacks don't work on him."
"Ah! That smoky guy!" Luffy suddenly understood.
Sanji blew a smoke ring thoughtfully: "No wonder my kick felt like it went through air."
Sol nodded: "The trickiest thing about Logia users is their 'elementalization.' They can turn their bodies into the corresponding natural element—like lightning, fire, smoke, sand, etc. Ordinary attacks can't hurt them at all."
"I see…" Usopp rubbed his chin. "So if you don't know Haki, you're screwed against a Logia?"
"In theory, yes. Though you could prepare seawater or Seastone to counter them—but don't expect enemies to just stand there waiting." Sol grinned slyly, then dropped another bombshell: "By the way—that one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, is also a Logia user. He ate the Sand-Sand Fruit. So you guys better train twice as hard!"
Luffy shot to his feet with a loud laugh: "Then let's keep training! Zoro!"
"Couldn't agree more." Zoro downed his cocktail in one go and prepared to stand.
"Hey! Everyone—look!" Sanji suddenly pointed at the sea.
A dolphin gracefully leaped from the water, tracing a dazzling arc in the sunset. Nami and Vivi's eyes immediately sparkled:
"Wow! So cute!"
"Wait… isn't the size a little off?" Usopp's surprised voice rang out.
Only then did everyone notice—the dolphin was absurdly huge, its body five or six times larger than the ship!
Nami instantly switched to navigator mode and roared: "Idiots—stop staring! Luffy, Zoro—full sails!"
"Got it!" The two dashed lightning-fast toward the mast.
Sol took a deep breath, cupped his hands around his mouth, eyes glinting: "Sky Dragon's—Roar!"
BOOM! A violent gust blasted from his mouth, slamming directly into the sails. The Going Merry's keel groaned under the strain. The ship's bow lifted almost 45 degrees, plowing a white furrow across the sea.
"Uwaaaaah—!" Usopp clung desperately to the railing. "We're gonna fly!"
After this little mishap, the Going Merry slowly approached shore and anchored at the edge of a primeval jungle.
The air was thick with damp earth scent. Low beast roars echoed in the distance. Towering ferns swayed in the wind—as though ancient monsters might burst out at any moment.
"Wh-What kind of place is this?!" Usopp's teeth chattered, legs shaking like jelly. "Why are there dinosaurs walking around?!"
As if answering him, a velociraptor whooshed out of the bushes. Its sharp claws left deep gouges in the ground. It cocked its head at the newcomers—then whooshed back into the deep forest.
"Waaah—!!!" Nami and Usopp instantly trembled all over, faces deathly pale. "Did we accidentally wander into Jurassic Park?!"
But Luffy's reaction was completely different. His eyes sparkled. He pointed excitedly toward where the dinosaur vanished:
"Hey! Did you see that?! A real live dinosaur!!" He spun around and yelled at Sanji: "Sanji! Make me a super—huge pirate bento! I'm going exploring!!"
Sanji, cigarette in mouth, sighed helplessly: "You idiot—running around in a place like this will turn you into dinosaur lunch…"
At that moment, Vivi suddenly stepped forward with a smile:
"Luffy—can I come with you?"
"Eh?!" Nami whipped her head around in shock. "Vivi?! You're joining the madness too?!"
Vivi gently patted Karoo beside her. Though the oversized duck's feathers were puffed out in terror and its eyes were blank with fear, she spoke softly:
"If I stay on the ship, I might overthink things… I'd rather go adventuring with Luffy to clear my mind."
Nami pointed at the trembling Karoo and deadpanned: "But your partner looks like he absolutely doesn't want to go!"
Karoo: "Quack… (shivering)…"
Usopp watched Vivi and Luffy's retreating backs and sighed: "Vivi's got guts—daring to follow that idiot Luffy onto the island for adventure…"
Nami folded her arms and smiled: "Obviously. She's someone who infiltrated Baroque Works alone as a spy. What's a mere dinosaur to her?"
At that moment, Zoro walked out of the cabin yawning and stretching: "Mmm… slept well. Time to stretch my muscles."
Sanji was inventorying their dwindling food supply. Hearing this, he looked up: "Hey, moss-head—since you're going out, bring back some game. We didn't resupply last town—the ship's almost out of food."
Zoro's lips curved into a provocative smirk: "Oh? You're too scared to leave the ship, huh? Fine—I'll graciously hunt some game for you."
Sanji's forehead vein instantly bulged. His cigarette snapped: "You bastard—stand right there!"
"Huh?" Zoro lazily turned back.
Sanji narrowed his eyes, glaring down from above: "I didn't mishear, did I? You're saying you can hunt bigger game than me?"
Zoro nodded as if it were obvious: "Of course."
"Heh…" Sanji sneered, flicking away the broken cigarette. "Fine! Let's make it a contest! Whoever brings back the bigger catch wins!"
"Who's scared?" Zoro scoffed, hand already on his sword hilt. "Let Sol be the judge."
"Hey hey… I don't want to get dragged into your childish competition…" Sol facepalmed and sighed—but the two were already ignoring him, charging into the jungle in opposite directions.
Usopp and Nami flanked Sol on either side.
"Phew… thank goodness the strongest guy in the crew didn't leave us," Usopp said in relief.
Nami nodded repeatedly: "This should be the safest place right now, yeah?"
Sol suddenly showed a mysterious smile. He reached out and ruffled Nami's hair, asking lightly:
"Nami—do you know why this place is called 'Little Garden'?"
"Huh?" Nami blinked, suddenly sensing something ominous.
"Because—" Sol deliberately dragged out the words, mischief glinting in his eyes. "To the giants—this prehistoric island is just like their backyard!"
As if to prove his point, a deafening crack of snapping trees came from behind. Nami and Usopp whipped around—just in time to see Brogy's mountain-sized face emerge from between the canopy. He casually brushed aside a towering ancient tree like an ordinary person parting bushes.
"Aaaaahhh!" Nami's scream nearly pierced the sky. She dove into Sol's arms like a frightened rabbit.
Beside her, Usopp had completely petrified. His jaw dropped to the ground, teeth chattering uncontrollably:
"G-G-G-Giant?! This… this is a hundred times scarier than dinosaurs?!"
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