"Where's Mount Colubo?"
"Head north out of the village, past those woods, and you're there." Garp held a toothpick between his teeth and casually pointed into the distance.
Beyond the village entrance, a dark expanse of primeval jungle stretched across the horizon. Layers of treetops blotted out the sky and sun, allowing only a few scattered shafts of sunlight through the gaps.
"What's in those woods?" Lorne's beast ears swiveled slightly, already picking up faint animal roars in the distance.
"Tigers, black bears, giant pythons, wild boars... you name it." Garp yawned. "The beasts on Mount Colubo are fiercer than those on most islands in the East Blue, and ridiculously big, too. When I was a kid, they chased me around in there for three days and nights. I almost didn't make it out."
"Sounds pretty interesting."
"Interesting?" Garp gave him a sidelong glance. "Then you go first."
"Fine by me."
Lorne strode into the edge of the jungle.
The canopy overhead instantly swallowed all the sunlight. Their surroundings darkened, and the smell of rotting leaves and moss filled the air.
Lorne's ears stood high, swiveling constantly.
"Everything in these woods is watching us." Lorne didn't look back. Instead, he broke into a grin.
His beast ears frantically picked up the scrutiny from every direction. Blood began flowing faster through his body, and a wild instinct deep in his marrow fully awakened.
To him, entering this dangerous jungle was like returning to his own territory.
"Heh, this kid..."
Garp walked behind him, looking completely unguarded, but his gaze stayed on Lorne's back.
"Old man, can't you walk any faster?" Lorne glanced back.
Garp was picking at his back teeth with the toothpick, complaining with a look of disgust. "So many damn mosquitoes in these woods. There weren't this many last time I came..."
"Are you even paying attention to where you're walking?"
"What's the hurry? We've got a long way to go." Garp patted his belly. "Besides, I'm taking you to meet my grandson, not going to war. What's there to be nervous about?"
Lorne stared at him.
This old bastard was clearly doing it on purpose.
Ever since they entered the woods, Garp had deliberately hung back, leaving every possible danger ahead to him.
"Fine." Lorne turned back and clenched his fists. "Then I'll clear the way."
He had barely taken a few steps when the bushes to his left burst apart!
A python thicker than Lorne's thigh shot out of the bushes, its triangular head lunging straight for his neck!
An instant before the python struck, Lorne's beast ears had picked up the sound of its muscles springing into action.
He leaned his upper body back. The snake's head swept past the tip of his nose, washing his face with a foul stench.
"Too slow."
Lorne's right hand shot out like lightning and seized the snake three inches behind its head. His fingers dug hard into its scales, his arm muscles bulged, and he hauled the python straight out of the air!
Thud!
He slammed the python into the ground, leaving a shallow crater. Its body twisted and coiled wildly, trying to wrap around his arm.
Without another word, Lorne brought his other fist down.
His fist struck the snake's head with a visible rush of air. The python's head was driven straight into the dirt. Its entire body convulsed twice, then went completely still.
"Just a snake." Lorne shook the slime off his hand and kept walking.
Garp's voice came from behind him.
"Mm, snake meat's pretty good roasted."
"All you think about is eating!"
"Well, what else? Keep it as a pet?"
Lorne couldn't be bothered to respond and quickened his pace.
Deeper in the jungle, the light grew dimmer, and the terrain underfoot became rougher.
Huge roots tangled together like withered arms reaching out of the earth, ready to trip anyone who wasn't careful.
Lorne's beast ears kept swiveling rapidly. He wove nimbly between the roots without slowing at all.
"Something up ahead." He suddenly stopped.
"Hm?" Garp's voice came from over ten meters away, sounding unconcerned.
"Something big." Lorne's ears locked onto the area directly ahead.
No sooner had he spoken-
"ROOOAR!!!"
A deafening roar erupted directly ahead!
The sound carried a blast of hot, foul-smelling wind, battering the bushes in front of Lorne every which way!
Birds scattered from the trees with shrill cries. The entire jungle trembled beneath that roar!
The ground began to shake.
Thud, thud, thud-
Heavy footsteps drew closer from afar, each one like a small earthquake.
The undergrowth was violently smashed aside, and a huge black shape lunged out of the shadows!
An adult black bear.
Standing upright, it was over four meters tall. Exaggerated muscles lay beneath its pitch-black fur, and its forepaws were broader than Lorne's entire upper body.
Its mouth opened, exposing two rows of stark white fangs. Foul-smelling saliva dripped onto the ground, leaving little pits.
Its hill-like bulk blocked the only path ahead.
"Whoa, that's a big one." Lorne's beast ears abruptly bristled, and his pupils contracted slightly.
His blood raced, his fists tightened, and that wild excitement surged through his chest again.
The giant bear gave him no chance for more talk.
Its four-meter-tall black body reared up, raising a forepaw high above its head before bringing it crashing down toward the crown of Lorne's head with terrifying, rock-splitting force!
The wind pressure arrived before the paw. Lorne's hair blew backward, and the blast swept the fallen leaves from beneath his feet!
"Bring it on!"
Lorne didn't dodge.
He pushed off hard with both feet, shattering the ground, and charged straight toward the bear's paw, which was five times the size of his head!
"Iron Body!"
Every muscle in his body compressed inward in an instant, and a faint metallic sheen spread across his skin.
He raised his right arm and blocked the giant bear's paw head-on!
Clang!!
A metallic crash exploded through the jungle!
A shock wave spread outward from the two of them. The soil beneath their feet sank half a foot, and the blast snapped three nearby tree trunks as thick as the mouth of a bowl!
Lorne's feet sank deep into the dirt. His knees bent slightly, the muscles in his arm pulled taut like steel cables, and his veins bulged.
The giant bear's strength far exceeded his expectations!
"Hss... this beast's strength..." Lorne gritted his teeth as the bones in his arm creaked under the immense force.
Yet his lips spread into an almost crazed grin.
His grit gauge began to stir.
"That's all you've got?" Lorne growled. With a sudden surge of strength in his right arm, he shoved the bear's forepaw upward!
The rebounding force made the giant bear sway. Its forepaw was thrown back, leaving its chest and belly exposed.
Lorne gave it no chance to catch its breath.
"Decimating Smash!"
Like a cannonball fired from its barrel, he closed the distance in an instant. His right fist tore through the air with a piercing whistle and slammed into the giant bear's belly!
BAM!!!
Before you continue