The Ark Maxim flew through the clouds for most of the day.
Roy stood at the bow of the ship, holding the Log Pose in his hand—the pointer trembled slightly, pointing towards the next island.
"Boss, are we almost there?" Tesoro walked over.
"Soon."
As Roy finished speaking, a patch of green appeared below the clouds.
That wasn't ordinary green—it was a raw, intense green, almost overflowing with color.
Towering trees rise from the sea, their canopies forming a vast expanse that blocks out the sun.
Even from this distance, one could feel the wild and untamed aura emanating from that island.
"Wow—" Yamato, his mouth agape, "This tree is huge!"
Pea, perched on the gunwale, exclaimed with shining eyes, "So many plants... so many plants I've never seen before..."
Enel floated into the air, unleashing his full Observation Haki.
"They're alive. Lots of them. And—" he paused, "They're all quite large."
Roy nodded. "Land."
The Ark Maxim passed through the canopy and landed on a clearing in the center of the island.
The moment the boat touched the ground, a rustling sound came from the surrounding bushes.
Several giant dragonflies with wingspans of several meters were startled and flew away, their wings vibrating and buzzing.
The hatch opened, and a damp, earthy, and decaying air rushed out.
Yamato was the first to jump down, her feet landing on the soft ground. She looked around excitedly. "This is the Ancient Island? Amazing!"
Be careful.
Savi then jumped down.
"Something just doesn't look right here."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a heavy footstep sounded in the distance.
Thump.
The ground trembled slightly.
Thump.
The trees swayed.
Thump.
A Tyrannosaurus Rex, over ten meters tall, emerged from the depths of the forest.
It looked down at the group of "little ones," opened its enormous mouth full of fangs, and let out a deafening roar—"Roar--!!!"
A blast of air hit me, carrying a fishy, foul odor.
Yamato's eyes lit up instantly.
"They're here! They're here! They're here!"
She gripped her spiked club tightly, pushed off with her legs, and charged towards the Tyrannosaurus Rex like a cannonball.
" Thunder Bagua!"
The spiked club whistled through the air as it smashed down on the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head!
boom--!!!
The giant beast, which was over ten meters long, was smashed so hard that its head tilted to the side, and its massive body crashed to the ground, causing the ground to bounce three times.
"Too weak!"
Yamato landed on the Tyrannosaurus Rex, looking disappointed.
I thought we could fight a few more rounds.
Savi's lips twitched. "It's because you're too strong..."
Roy glanced around and began assigning tasks.
" Yamato, Savi, Charon, and Jesus Burgess, the four of you go hunting. Bring back a few big ones."
" Pea, go collect plant samples, but don't go too far."
" Kazami, Bar, you two are in one group, responsible for guard duty."
"The rest of you, come with me, let's go take a look at the center of the island."
The group accepted the order and dispersed.
Yamato, carrying a spiked club, strode into the jungle. Savi, Charon, and Jesus Burgess followed behind, the four of them forming a small team.
" Yamato, slow down," Savi shouted.
"What are you doing, slowing down! You've scared away all the prey!" Yamato without turning his head.
The words had barely left his mouth when the bushes in front of him shook violently—a Triceratops charged out!
That creature was seven or eight meters long, with three horns on its head like three sharp swords, charging straight at Yamato!
"Good timing!"
Yamato neither dodged nor evaded, but instead swung his spiked club horizontally to take the Triceratops's charge head-on!
boom--!!!
The triceratops' horn struck the spiked club, producing a deafening clang of metal striking metal.
Yamato was pushed back two steps, and two deep furrows were dug into the ground beneath his feet.
"You're quite strong!"
She grinned, exerted force with both arms, and suddenly flipped the massive body of the Triceratops to the ground!
Savi seized the opportunity to rush forward, instantly activating his Giant Ape form. He grabbed the Triceratops by the neck, his arm muscles bulging, and with a swift chokehold—snap!
The Triceratops's neck was broken; it struggled twice, then remained still.
"One." Savi released his grip and took a breath.
"Too little!" Jesus Burgess complained. "Who's going to eat this little bit of meat?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the woods. More than one.
Four dinosaurs emerged from the forest—two Velociraptors, one Stegosaurus, and a gigantic Allosaurus.
"Good timing!" Jesus Burgess's eyes lit up, and he was the first to rush forward.
He unleashed the full Strong-Strong Fruit, punching the Allosaurus in the chest—the nearly ten-meter-long behemoth was sent flying backward, crashing through several trees before finally coming to a stop.
The velociraptor pounced from the side, its sharp claws aimed at Jesus Burgess' neck.
Charon flashed to the side of Jesus Burgess, kicking the velociraptor in the belly and sending it flying.
"Don't be careless," Charon said calmly.
"Hahaha! Thanks!"
Savi and Yamato also joined the battle.
The four men rampaged through the dinosaur herd, each punch landing with brutal force, drawing blood with every blow.
Those colossal beasts that dominated in ancient times were no different from punching bags in front of these monsters.
The battle ended ten minutes later.
The six dinosaurs fell to the ground, all dead.
Yamato slung the spiked club over his shoulder and nodded in satisfaction. "That's enough!"
Pea led her gathering team, busy on the other side of the jungle.
She crouched under a giant tree and carefully picked a seed from a plant she had never seen before, placing it into her cultivation bag.
"This... should be a vine-like plant."
"This... the leaves have serrated edges, it might be aggressive."
"These flowers are so beautiful, I wonder if they can be cultivated into new combat plants."
He muttered to himself as he collected the materials, his eyes brimming with excitement.
" Pea, you've picked so many, can you grow them all?" Tesoro asked curiously, having followed along with the Pea out of concern.
"We can manage to grow them!"
The Pea didn't even lift their heads.
"The experimental fields on Hachinosu are huge!"
Moreover, Dr. Gracia would certainly be interested in these seeds.
He stood up, ready to walk forward, when he suddenly stopped.
In the bushes ahead, there was a peculiar plant community—the leaves of those plants were deep purple with fluorescent blue edges, glowing faintly in the dark jungle.
"This is..."
Pea cautiously approached, crouching down to examine it closely. The roots of the plants were embedded next to a dinosaur skeleton, seemingly growing out of the carcass.
"A scavenging plant... and it's mutated..."
Pea excitedly took out her tools and carefully dug up several intact plants, roots and all, and put them into a sealed container.
"Go back and let Dr. Gracia see if he can cultivate any new combat plants!"
Meanwhile, on the hunting team's way back, Charon inadvertently turned his head.
When I found the fruit in the crack in the rock wall, I almost mistook it for a stone.