Page One's Garchomp was modified from the Spinosaurus Fruit, which was originally a large species. Moreover, Page One was one of the top-ranked Numbers and one of the few Ability Users who, like Jack, prefers beast form.
Now, in his beast form, he stood at around six meters tall. Due to the wing-like fins resembling a shark's pectoral fins growing on his forearms, when Garchomp tucked in his body and extended his wings, he looked just like a jet plane.
Standing upright now, he resembled a transformed jet fighter. Both this characteristic and Garchomp's appearance excited Luffy and Usopp.
Though still rookies, they had learned from Luffy that mysterious objects called Devil Fruits existed on the seas. However, they had no idea that Devil Fruits were divided into three major types, and Page One was the first Zoan-type user they had encountered.
"You two, act normal for once! How does this look like an ally in any way?!"
Sanji hammered his fists on Luffy and Usopp's heads, hoping that they would act a bit more normal. But in the very next moment, he became one of the "abnormal" ones as well.
"Pay-tan, what are you waiting for?"
"Ah, beautiful lady, may I ask why you're blocking our way?"
Thud!
Sanji, too, joined Luffy and Usopp, receiving a punch from Nami from behind.
"Uhh, Sister, what do you think we should do next?"
Page One was bewildered by their weird behavior. In the New World, people either feared him or acted arrogantly, but this was the first time someone had called him cool. Well, he was only eighteen this year, so his vanity was slightly satisfied.
"Wow! The dinosaur talked! Luffy, did you hear that?!"
"That makes it even cooler. Where can you catch a dinosaur like this? It looks like it can even fly. If I could raise one, that'd be super awesome."
"Ahem, well, I heard there's an island with lots of dinosaurs like this…"
Watching Usopp spout nonsense with a straight face and Luffy listening to him intently, a new thought popped into Page One's mind.
[Could these two be idiots?]
He never hesitated when dealing with enemies, but idiots… he felt a little embarrassed about attacking them. Fortunately, at that moment, Yamato and the Millennial Dragons descended right behind them.
"Mill… Millennial Dragons! So many Millennial Dragons! Hey, hey, are you here to take Grandpa Ryu home?"
Seeing Ferren and the other Millennial Dragons appear, Apis's fear instantly vanished.
She was a descendant of the ancient dynasty mentioned by Ferren's father, and by chance, she encountered Grandpa Ryu. Instead of being tempted by the bounty for capturing a Millennial Dragon, she devoted herself to protecting Grandpa Ryu.
Luffy and the others decided to escort Grandpa Ryu because of her.
She was the user of the Whisper-Whisper Fruit. While it didn't enhance her combat abilities, it allowed her to communicate with any animal, making it easy for her to talk with the Millennial Dragons.
"Grandpa Ryu, Grandpa Ryu, look! Your companions have come to take you home!"
The aged Grandpa Ryu lifted his head, gazing at the surrounding Millennial Dragons as a few tears rolled from his eyes.
"Roar..."
"Roar!"
One of the Millennial Dragons seemed to want to say something but was immediately interrupted by Grandpa Ryu. Then, Ferren's father stepped forward. As he looked at the Millennial Dragon, Grandpa Ryu seemed to recall something.
"Hey, Apis, what are they saying?"
Because of the arrival of the Millennial Dragons, Page One and the others didn't take any action. They simply listened to the group of Millennial Dragons talking, but thanks to Apis, Ferren didn't have to act as a translator.
"That Millennial Dragon… seems to be an old acquaintance of Grandpa Ryu."
Millennial Dragons have different groups across the world, but whenever Lost Island reappears, they would always gather here. As a result, even if they weren't from the same group, they could still be related or even have known each other before.
[Senior, why are you here? And isn't this a bit too early?]
[I was afraid… I wouldn't make it in time…]
"Wait, Grandpa Ryu, didn't you say that once you reached Dragon's Nest, your illness would be cured? Your companions are here now, so there's nothing to worry about. They'll definitely bring you back, right…"
Apis sensed something unusual in Grandpa Ryu's words, but he simply reassured her and said nothing more.
Only the other Millennial Dragons knew that Grandpa Ryu's time was almost up. He was merely holding on, waiting for Lost Island to reappear one last time.
"Hey! What are you dawdling here for? Why aren't you leaving?!"
Zoro appeared from the side, followed closely by Eric, who had been relentlessly hunting Grandpa Ryu.
He had also heard the legend that the bones of a Millennial Dragon could grant immortality. Because of this, he teamed up with the Marines to hunt down the Millennial Dragon, hoping to obtain the dragon bones he had always dreamed of. Previously, Zoro had stayed behind to buy time.
Seeing so many Millennial Dragons present, a greedy smile spread across Eric's face. To him, these were countless dragon bones, and if he could get them all, his wish would finally come true.
"Roar..."
"Roar!"
"Ah, got it. Seriously, you always trouble me when something happens, father. Miss Yamato, you and my father should take Grandpa Ryu to Lost Island first. Once I'm done dealing with this guy, I'll catch up.
There's no rush anyway. We still have plenty of time, and taking care of this guy won't take long."
The first roar was Grandpa Ryu telling them about the enemy, and the second was Ferren's father telling his son to teach that guy a lesson.
The environment influences the behavior of intelligent creatures. After living with the Beasts Pirates for so long, Ferren's group had become the most aggressive among the Millennial Dragons. They would never show mercy to those who sought to hunt them for their bones.
"Mill... Millennial Dragons can talk too?!"
"No, wait, it turned into a humanoid dragon! Apis, can Grandpa Ryu transform too? Let's see him transform too~"
Watching Ferren shift from his Millennial Dragon form into Dragon-Human form, Luffy got excited again. He had seen so many interesting things today.
"Grandpa Ryu never said Millennial Dragons could turn into humans..."
Before Luffy and the others could finish speaking, Eric had already made his move. In his eyes, Millennial Dragons were highly nourishing animals, and one that could transform into a human was nothing short of a perfect Millennial Dragon.
The bones of a Millennial Dragon like that must have even stronger medicinal properties. With a flick of his fingers, several air blades shot out toward Ferren from his fingertips.
"Watch out!"
That was Zoro's warning. To him, Eric was a formidable opponent. The air blades he unleashed were incredibly fast and packed a powerful punch—even he would struggle to fend them off.
However, Ferren didn't make any attempt to dodge. He simply took Eric's attack head-on and walked straight through it.
"Since you escorted Senior all this way, I'll let you see what true strength looks like."
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