"Y-You're kidding, right? What kind of monster are they...?"
The Going Merry had been frozen by Yamato, which slowed Luffy and the others down considerably. By the time they caught up, they were met with the sight of rows of warships destroyed on the ice surface.
Normally, whenever they encountered warships, they would steer clear. Even against weaker Marines, their first choice was usually to flee. This was the case for most pirates—very few would dare to directly confront the Marines.
Yet now, right before their eyes, someone had effortlessly wiped out an entire fleet of warships.
"Hey, Luffy... Are you really sure about this?"
Seeing the scene in front of him, Zoro couldn't help but ask.
Up until now, the strongest person they had encountered was Hawk Eyes. In terms of sheer strength, Hawk Eyes was already at the pinnacle of power, and every swordsman in the world had at least heard of the Strongest Swordsman in the World.
But even Hawk Eyes' feats weren't as exaggerated as what Ulti and Page One had just displayed. Well, against someone like Krieg, Hawk Eyes wouldn't even pay attention if it wasn't for "boredom".
Under such circumstances, outsiders wouldn't be able to truly grasp just how terrifying Hawk Eyes' strength was.
Slicing a pirate ship in half was nowhere near as intimidating as destroying an entire fleet.
Luffy had made it clear—his goal was to become the Pirate King. But to achieve that goal, the people standing before them were mountains they absolutely had to overcome.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I've thought about it for a long time now. I've decided—I'm gonna start eating six meals a day from now on."
"Is there something wrong with your head? What does this have to do with eating?!"
As the ship's cook, Luffy's current appetite was already enough to give Sanji headaches. Now, hearing Luffy randomly declare that he was adding another meal, Sanji began to suspect that they might all end up starving to death.
"Because only by eating my fill can I keep getting stronger!"
"Nami-chan, we need to buy a fridge with a lock as soon as possible. Otherwise, we're really gonna starve to death at sea."
"The fridge isn't the issue here! The real question is—do we really have to fight a monster like that? Can't we just go around them...?"
"Yeah, yeah! Actually, I have a disease where I die if I fight someone stronger than me. I think going around is the best idea. With Nami's navigation skills, we can definitely do it!"
As the ship's two most physically weak members, they both had a strong aversion to fighting monsters.
"Who knows? But if both of them are aiming for the Pirate King, a battle is probably inevitable. By the way, Hercules, since you know her, do you know who her father is?"
"Heraaacross[A very powerful pirate. It's hard to make you understand just how strong]"
Although it was one of the first-generation Heracross, they only had a general understanding of the forces surrounding Arceus. It didn't have detailed intelligence, and even if it did, Hercules wouldn't share too much with Luffy.
Luffy is its important companion, but compared to its creator, there is a fundamental difference. These things are still too early for Luffy to know.
Once he truly reached that stage, he would eventually come to understand it all.
It was at this moment that the sky echoed with a series of cries, as more and more Millennial Dragons revealed themselves. Millennial Dragons from all over the world were returning to the Dragon's Nest at this moment.
The frail Grandpa Ryu looked up at the soaring Millennial Dragons and seemed to regain some energy. As he gazed at Apis, his aged eyes softened with warmth.
"Roar..."
"Huh? Grandpa Ryu, you want me to ride on your back?"
"Roar..."
"Really? You're feeling much better? That's great!"
Since she was too far away, Apis hadn't seen exactly what had happened on the battlefield. All she saw was one warship after another being destroyed.
In her view, the Marines who tried to capture her and harm Grandpa Ryu were not good people, so she didn't care about them.
Grandpa Ryu had always told her that as long as they returned to Dragon's Nest, his illness would be cured. So when she saw him regain his spirit, she felt nothing but happiness.
At this moment, she still didn't understand what one's last burst of strength before death truly meant.
Using the last bit of his energy, Grandpa Ryu carried Apis into the sky, soaring high as he circled together with the other Millennial Dragons.
Meanwhile, on the ice surface below, the ice created by Yamato suddenly began to tremble. A massive shadow appeared beneath the frozen sea, and an island began rising from the depths.
The ice shattered, and after a thousand years, Dragon's Nest, covered in numerous peculiar rocks, finally revealed its true form once again.
"What?....So the island has been underwater all along. No wonder no one could find it for so long."
Standing on a part of the island, Yamato watched the incredible scene unfold. She took out her Rotom Phone, snapped a picture, and created a new post.
The island was full of rocks shaped like Millennial Dragons, but those weren't actually rocks. They were the legendary dragon bones—remnants of Millennial Dragons that had passed away on this island over the centuries.
...
As the Millennial Dragons gathered from all over, they began greeting each other. Meanwhile, Ferren's group, as promised decades ago, started inquiring about the whereabouts of the plates.
However, the information they received only left them even more confused.
Since these dragons had lived long enough, their questions traced back hundreds of years into the past.
[I seem to recall seeing that kind of stone fall from the sky once, but it was taken away by a group of humans with black wings. I have no idea where they went. But I do remember that the egg should have landed on red-colored soil.]
[Hmm... I believe I saw it once too. If you fly west from here for thirty days, then head north for another twenty or so, I think that's where the meteorite fell back then.]
[I remember something similar. The exact location should be... around there. You guys should note it down.]
[I saw the same thing as him, nothing new to add. But be careful of those humans in white clothing. My kin were attacked by them. By the way, you're pretty strong, huh? You guys dealt with so many human ships.]
Various pieces of information spilled out freely. Then, as expected, the Millennial Dragons started engaging in a bit of mutual flattery—praising each other's experiences or appearance. After all, they only reunited once every thousand years, so there was no point in arguing.
Ferren did manage to gather some useful information, and some of it had real value. However, transforming it into practically useful intelligence would require a lot more effort.
Apart from their own habitats and the Dragon's Nest, Millennial Dragons showed little interest in other islands. Unlike Ferren's group, which had long coexisted with humans and had begun to refer to those islands in human terms, they remembered islands by the distance they traveled.
Thanks to Ferren's translations, Yamato's map now had several new markers—some of which were islands where plates had already been found before.
This confirmed that the information was credible, but it also meant that their future workload had just increased significantly. Searching through all these locations would take a lot of effort.
While the other Millennial Dragons continued exchanging information, Grandpa Ryu gently let Apis down from his back. He then found a flat piece of ground and, without any strength left, lay down onto it...
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