Another Goofball!

While they waited for Lina to contact Dragon, Kakarot and the others sat leisurely in a circle, chatting.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow and adding a touch of comfort to the peaceful area.

Once Lina finally finished speaking with Dragon, everyone discussed their plans and decided to explore the island, while also looking for Little Croc, the underling Jörmungandr had mentioned.

According to Jörmungandr, Little Croc occupied a stretch of swamp to the south.

They had to admit that this island was truly enormous. It already resembled a landmass, its area far beyond what they had imagined.

The beasts living on the island were generally immense.

Although there were not many beasts over five hundred meters long, the others were still dozens or even over a hundred meters in size, like moving hills when they walked.

Moreover, the environment here resembled a primeval forest. The trees were astonishingly tall, most standing several hundred meters high and piercing the clouds, as though recounting the vicissitudes of time.

Viewed that way, though, those animals measuring dozens or hundreds of meters might have looked proportionally the same in this forest as ordinary animals did in an ordinary forest.

Their group headed toward the wetlands in the south of the island. As they advanced, they could clearly feel the humidity in the air steadily increasing.

At first, it was only slightly damp, but gradually, the moisture grew so heavy that it felt as though they could wring water from the air.

As the sun climbed higher into the sky, its scorching rays baked the earth, and the surrounding temperature rose with it.

Hot, humid air began spreading around them, making them feel as though they were inside an enormous steamer.

Along the way, no wild beasts took the initiative to attack them.

Occasionally, beasts dozens of meters long cautiously watched them from a distance, their wary gazes seeming to scrutinize these uninvited visitors.

But they seemed to sense the powerful auras emanating from Kakarot and the others, and not one dared rashly approach and provoke them.

As for the beasts over a hundred meters long or even larger, they kept far away, not daring to approach at all.

After all, none of the animals that could survive on this danger-ridden island were fools. They knew full well that there had to be something extraordinary about these seemingly scrawny creatures before them.

Those animals that were too foolish either died young or, even if they were "lucky" enough to grow up, became nothing more than prey for other beasts.

To speed up their journey, they chose to ride a cloud Lina had formed with her Devil Fruit ability.

The cloud was as white as snow, thick and dense like a solid object, and everyone sat very comfortably on it.

With the weather so hot, Lina also cleverly formed a thin cloud above their heads, scattering flakes of snow.

The two clouds complemented each other, creating a wondrous feeling. Sitting comfortably between them, they flew low over the ground, heading swiftly south.

This way of traveling was quite fast. Even if they encountered rare and unusual plants or flowers along the way and stopped to examine them closely or pick some, it did not delay them much.

Whenever she saw an unfamiliar plant, Lilith would cry out excitedly, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

Her eyes were full of contemplation. Could I make money by taking these rare flowers and plants outside and selling them?

Or did these things have any properties that could make them worth selling?

Yueli also gathered a great deal along the way. She was a doctor to begin with and had read many, many books on medicinal herbs and plants.

Many of the unusual plants in this primeval forest looked familiar to her.

There were also many extremely old medicinal herbs. Not only could these herbs be used to make precious medicines that were excellent for the body, but they also had great medical value.

Several hours later, a body of water finally appeared ahead.

In the middle of the swamp lay a clear expanse of water, like an enormous mirror reflecting the sky and the surrounding trees.

Around the water stretched a vast swamp. Its surface appeared calm, but danger lurked beneath it. Bubbles rose from the black mud from time to time, as though speaking of this area's mystery and peril.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar suddenly thundered from deep within the water without warning, like a massive bomb.

This roar was completely different from Jörmungandr's, which carried a hint of a dragon's cry.

It sounded incomparably deep and resonant, like thunder rolling in from the horizon. Although it lacked that same intense penetrating quality, it carried a heavy sense of power, as though it could make the very earth tremble.

With that roar, the entire expanse of water instantly churned like a still lake struck by a massive boulder.

Waves several meters high surged across the surface, spreading in every direction one after another without end, like galloping steeds.

The waves collided and intertwined, producing loud crashing sounds, as though performing a rousing symphony.

Just as everyone stared in astonishment, an enormous object that looked like "land" came hurtling across the water toward Kakarot and the others at tremendous speed.

Looking closely, they realized it was the Emperor Crocodile's back armor, bristling with jagged spikes.

As he swam swiftly, he plowed two deep furrows through the surrounding water. Spray shot out to either side like fountains, forming spectacular arcs.

Where his back armor passed, the water seemed to split apart before swiftly closing again, while the spray it stirred up lingered like white mist.

The spikes on his back armor resembled sharp blades, gleaming coldly in the sunlight and striking fear into anyone who looked at them.

Soon, he surfaced and crawled toward them across the muddy swamp.

From a distance, he truly looked like a ferocious giant beast even more terrifying than the Titan Python.

This Emperor Crocodile was a full eight hundred meters long, with his tail accounting for one-third of his body length.

The ratio of his body's width to its length also reached an astonishing one to eight.

In other words, he was a hundred meters wide, making him look even more imposing than Jörmungandr.

The yellow-and-black armored scales covering his body reflected the sunlight and looked incredibly thick and heavy.

Kakarot estimated that the armored scales on the Emperor Crocodile's exterior alone were probably several meters thick, and their strength might even surpass steel of the same grade.

If his Armament Haki was strong enough, his defensive power would also be astonishing.

And one glance was enough to tell that this Emperor Crocodile's strength had to be immense.

However, what happened next made the corners of Kakarot's eyes twitch.

The shock that the Emperor Crocodile's incomparably fierce appearance had given everyone else vanished as well.

He had charged over swiftly, splashing up countless sprays of muddy water.

Fortunately, Lina had blocked it with a cloud in time, or Kakarot and the others would certainly have been splattered with mud.

Then they saw the little crocodile hurry up to Jörmungandr like a lapdog and stop in front of him.

He kept rubbing the underside of his enormous snout against Jörmungandr.

He really was just like a puppy that had just seen its owner, except that this "dog" was a little large.

Still, the sight was rather absurd.

Little Croc's tail, hundreds of meters long, kept swinging behind him, sending clumps of mud flying.

Jörmungandr also wore a doting expression as he stroked his lower jaw with his hand.

Although, at the moment, Jörmungandr was like an ant compared with Little Croc.

Kakarot could still sense Little Croc's delight, and his eyes involuntarily narrowed slightly.