Dragon Lord

Wo grinned so wide it nearly reached his gums. Looking at the thumb-sized stone in his shell, he couldn't help letting out another "meow meow meow" laugh.

He hadn't expected to find something like a Deep-Sea Core here.

It was only this much, but it was enough for me to make something happen. Thinking this, Wo's lips unconsciously curled into a crafty smile.

"Meow, meow meow meow hah!" He laughed wildly as though having a seizure.

"Uh... Wo, are you sick?" Aaron paddled through the water behind him. Watching Wo alternate between sinister grins and spasms ahead of him, he wore a worried expression. "Should we find a doctor first?"

"Meow!" Wo rolled his eyes at Aaron.

I'm in a good mood right now, so I won't hold it against a two-legged creature like you! With that thought, Wo sped up and swam onward.

"Hey! Wo, wait for me! Why are you going so fast?!" Aaron hurriedly chased after him, his legs never stopping as he followed behind Wo like a speedboat.

With a few more materials, I should be able to assemble a weapon. As Wo thought this, anyone who looked closely into his eyes would find them flickering with emerald light. Looking closer still, they would discover that it was actually streams of rapidly flashing data!

The nearest and best material... is over there!

Wo looked in a certain direction. The light in his eyes vanished in an instant, and he stared fixedly into the distance. The muscles of his fleshy foot beneath his shell tightened. "Meow!" Like a torpedo, he shot off into the distance.

"Wo, what exactly are you trying to do? We're going to Warship Island soon, so stop playing around!" Seeing Wo dart off again, Aaron got a little angry. He took a deep breath, and the surrounding seawater instantly surged toward him. Aaron's entire body swelled like a balloon, growing to about twice its original size. He stopped inhaling and stared intently at Wo, who was nearly out of sight. The muscles around his waist tensed, and Aaron's legs slowly drew inward until they completely retracted into his pant legs.

Bang!

Human Cannon, fire!

Jets of water burst from his pant legs. The powerful force propelled Aaron forward, and he used the muscles around his waist to fine-tune his direction. He stretched both hands out in front of him to ensure he flew in a straight line. Hovering above the water's surface, Aaron charged toward Wo at several times Wo's speed, shouting, "Wooooo~~~!"

Hearing Aaron's wave-like cries rapidly approaching from behind, Wo impatiently turned his head to look. Then his huge eyes nearly fell out of his eyestalks.

Boing, smack!

In less than a few seconds, Aaron had caught up to Wo. He reached out with both hands, grabbed Wo, and then charged forward at full throttle.

Wo was held out in front of Aaron as they sped along. Fierce winds kept battering him, and everything flashed past in an instant, falling behind him with every blink.

"Meow!" Idiot, stopppppp!

The sensation of speeding like this made him panic a little.

Outside Warship Island.

"Ahhh~~"

Crash, crackle, bang!

With a miserable scream, Aaron crashed into the forest. After smashing through dozens of large trees, he finally came to a stop.

"Looks like the Armstrong Acceleration Spin Jet Armstrong Cannon is still a little immature..." Aaron patted the dust off himself, scratched his head, and unconsciously stuck out his tongue. "It can't slow down at all..."

"Meow..." Wo weakly called out, making his presence known.

After that extreme burst of speed, Wo lay limply on the ground like a puddle of water, staring blankly with lifeless eyes.

He felt that his snail life was pretty much over.

"Ah! Wo, are you okay?!" Seeing Wo in such a dead state, Aaron hurried over and picked him up. Looking down at Wo, he stuck out his tongue a little sheepishly. "Sorry, Wo. It was my first time going that fast, so I had no idea it couldn't slow down..."

"..." Wo no longer even had the urge to curse in snail language. He could only raise his eyes and glare at this blond two-legged bastard with a look that cursed his entire family.

Bastard! You dared use an untested move on this prince? Just wait! Sooner or later, this prince will make you pay!

Thinking of this, Wo suddenly felt that his snail life was meaningful again. His whole body filled with strength, and his eyes refocused as he stared intently at Aaron, roaring energetically, "Meow!"

Just you wait. One day, this prince will give you a proper beating!

Having firmly established his life's goal, Wo shot Aaron a fierce glare, then jumped down from Aaron's hands. Specks of green light flickered in his eyes. After aiming himself in one direction, he headed deeper in without looking back.

Mm... Wo had been played half to death.

"Wo, where are you going? We're supposed to find Luffy and the others! Hey!! Honestly." Since they were on land, Aaron could easily catch up with Wo, so there was no chance of losing him. Thus, he didn't stop Wo and merely scratched his head before following along, wanting to see what Wo was trying to do.

After walking for nearly fifteen minutes, Aaron and Wo arrived before a cave.

Aaron looked around.

The entrance was concealed by lush trees, making it difficult to spot from outside. Without someone leading the way, almost no one would be able to find it.

"Hey! Wo, wait for me!" Seeing Wo enter the cave without hesitation, Aaron hurried after him into the dark cavern.

The cave was long, roughly fifty meters in length, and the farther they went, the wider it became. At its deepest point, it was nearly fifteen meters tall and wide.

The cave was filled with grayish-white limestone, which gleamed pale beneath the faint light and gave off an eerie feeling.

After turning a corner, Wo stopped. He looked at the darkness ahead, then turned and called to Aaron, "Meow!"

"Hm? Wo, do you want me to light a lamp?" Aaron asked as he looked into the darkness ahead.

"Meow!" Wo meowed affirmatively.

Mm... let's not worry about how they communicated.

"But I didn't bring an oil lamp or anything... Ah, I've got it!" After thinking hard for a while, Aaron suddenly clapped his hands. He pulled out the long-unseen bubble bottle from his clothes, opened the cap, and was just about to use his bubble black technology.

Two enormous lanterns suddenly lit up. They weren't very bright, but they were enough to barely reveal the cave's interior.

"So there are lamps here... urgh!" Aaron sighed. Once his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he looked around—and froze.

Its body was covered in green feathers, with pale feathers underneath. A pair of enormous wings protruded from its back, fluttering slightly and stirring faint breezes. Its head was massive, its mouth slightly open to reveal sharp, dense teeth. Its tail accounted for a third of its entire body as it curled up and swayed faintly.

At that moment, the two lanterns seemed to sense Aaron's gaze. They slowly lowered, then stared fixedly at Aaron and Wo.

Those lanterns were not lanterns. They were the monster's eyes.

"Mon... monsterrrrr!" "Meow!!!"

Aaron and Wo screamed. Neither had expected there to be a monster inside the cave.

"Roar!" The monster suddenly roared.

"Meow!!!! Meow?" Hearing that roar, Wo froze. He boldly looked at the monster, and from its red pupils, Wo confirmed his suspicion.

It possessed intelligence! It should be able to communicate!

It really can communicate! Wo thought in wild delight.

Then he carefully began speaking. (The following conversation is in beast language.)

Wo asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Dragon Lord," Dragon Lord answered. Then Dragon Lord asked, "And who are you? Why have you come here?"

"My name is Sineo Grey. I came here to find some materials to..." "Ahhh!!!" Before he could finish, Aaron interrupted him.

Aaron had stretched out both arms and was running back and forth through the cave. At times, he even ran along the cave walls all the way to the ceiling before swiftly dropping back down. As he went back and forth, he got faster and faster, until in the end, the entire cave was filled with Aaron's afterimages.

"Stay still, damn it!" Seeing Aaron act like this, Wo's anger flared, and he couldn't help shouting at him.

Unfortunately, Aaron couldn't understand.

"Hehe? What is he to you? He seems very lively," Dragon Lord said with a smile as he watched Aaron's eye-catching performance.

"Just one of my test subjects," Wo said dismissively.

"Hehe..." Dragon Lord made no comment on Wo's answer. Then he said, "Don't underestimate that boy. He may save your life someday."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Hearing this, Wo fixed Dragon Lord with a sharp stare.

"Hehe... nothing." Dragon Lord said no more, then smoothly changed the subject. "Speaking of which, what materials did you come here looking for?"

"Ah! Wait a moment, let me calculate it." As Wo spoke, that strange green light flickered in his eyes again.

A few seconds later, the light in Wo's eyes gradually faded, and his expression became very strange.

"What? Do you need something from my body? Flesh? Bones? Claws? Or all of it?" Dragon Lord asked with a smile.

"You... knew?" Wo had been wondering how to tell Dragon Lord, only to discover that Dragon Lord had already said it himself.

"Part of the once-mighty Pluton was made from the bodies of our kind," Dragon Lord sighed. Looking at Wo's bewildered gaze, he continued, "Now, I too am about to return to the dragon nest. As long as you agree to one condition, I can give you my body."

"No need." Wo shook his head. "The most important energy source is already here. Even without your body, I can find some random materials and assemble a shell cannon. The only difference would be slightly worse performance."

"Hehe, you're really a good child..." Dragon Lord was surprised for a moment by Wo's answer before speaking with a smile.

"Hey, old man! You can eat whatever you want, but don't say whatever you want. By the maturity standards of my species, I'm already an adult!" Wo said unhappily.

"But I'm already so old I'm about to die," Dragon Lord said unconcernedly. Then he paused. "Help me with something. The reward... will be this old body of mine. Is that alright?"

"I told you, I don't want your body." "It's the reward!"

Dragon Lord interrupted him. He stared at Wo with a serious tone. "Consider this a task I'm entrusting to you. The reward is my body. Is that alright?"

"...Why?"

"Answer me first. Will you agree or not?"

"..." Wo thought for a while, then ultimately shook his head. "No! I, Gree, may not be a good snail, but I won't casually take someone else's corpse and use it!"

"Is that so..." Hearing Wo's words, Dragon Lord knew this matter probably wouldn't work out. He couldn't help sighing inwardly.

"I'll accept your request," Wo continued. Ignoring Dragon Lord's puzzled gaze, he went on regardless. "But you have to tell me why that two-legged creature can save my life. What danger will I face in the future?!"

Dragon Lord was stunned for a moment before smiling. "Alright, no problem!"

"Then what is your request?"

"Dragon Lord!" (Human speech)

At that moment, a clear shout suddenly came from outside, followed by distinct footsteps drawing closer from afar.

"You're not allowed to hurt Dragon Lord!" Apis shouted angrily.

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