"Tch, I thought you were several years older than me, same age as Yamato. Turns out you're my age—how the hell did you grow like that?"
"Eat well, drink well, sleep well, train hard, learn some Life Return techniques—do all that and whoosh, you'll shoot right up."
"Ugh!"
Ulti looked utterly baffled, while Moses curled his lips into a smirk, amused by her exasperated expression. He reached out and pinched her white oni horn.
A thoughtful glint flashed in Moses' eyes as he chuckled.
"If you really want to grow taller, Bear Cub and I could fuse, swallow you whole, chew you up, and give you a full-body reshape. Not impossible."
Ulti immediately took a step back, shaking her head vigorously, her eyes brimming with refusal.
"I-I'll just grow naturally, thanks! I'm perfectly happy with how I am now. I'm still young—no rush."
Moses grinned. He was just teasing anyway. A natural beauty was always better—no amount of artificial enhancement could compare.
Not all fruits were sweet and smooth.
Speaking of the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, though, wasn't it in the East Blue, just like the Flame-Flame Fruit?
Maybe he could spare some time to look for it later.
"Moses, come quick! Look what I found!"
Yamato suddenly turned around ahead, her voice brimming with excitement. Moses hurried over and saw, nestled in a bush-made nest, six or seven basketball-sized pale green eggs. Judging by the footprints around the grass, they were undoubtedly dinosaur eggs.
He finally let out a sigh of relief.
At least this trip wouldn't be a waste. If they found one nest, there had to be more.
Motions signaled Bear Cub to swallow the eggs into his belly for storage, then they left the area to search elsewhere.
This island had its own unique ecosystem, teeming with ancient flora and fauna, as well as rare resources long extinct elsewhere.
Though no scholar, Moses had read enough books to recognize plenty of valuable finds, many of which he gathered.
On a sheer cliff face hundreds of meters high,
Moses scaled the rock barehanded, his eyes fixed on a wide crevice where pterosaurs had been spotted earlier.
Now, a smirk tugged at his lips—inside lay a nest of spotted, dark brown pterosaur eggs, each the size of a soccer ball.
He pulled a net pouch from his waist, carefully placing the eggs inside and padding them with soft dried grass and feathers from the nest.
Once secured, Moses leaped from the cliff. His Breath synced with the wind's rhythm, Haki intertwining as gusts wrapped around his body, allowing him to glide smoothly down.
He landed steadily on the ground.
Bear Cub lumbered over to take the eggs, swallowing them into his belly.
But just then, the surroundings fell eerily silent—even the smaller creatures stopped their cries. Intrigued, Moses turned his gaze toward a dense grove of towering trees to his left.
BOOM!
Rows of trees were uprooted in an instant.
A colossal beast emerged—ten meters tall, twenty meters long, its maw bristling with spear-like fangs, drool dripping as it lowered its head. Plate-sized, sulfur-yellow eyes locked onto them before its jaws gaped wide:
"ROOOAR—!"
A deafening roar, thick with metallic resonance and hurricane-force breath, tore through the air like shattering steel.
Tyrannosaurus rex.
The undisputed apex predator of the dinosaurs.
At that moment, a white figure flashed past Moses, their gradient white hair fluttering in the wind.
Approaching the Tyrannosaurus, Yamato stomped the ground and leaped over ten meters high, appearing above the dinosaur's head. Her body spun rapidly as she swung a club shadow, smashing it viciously into the Tyrannosaurus' skull.
Clang!
Sparks flew in all directions.
The club collided fiercely with the snow-white fangs in the raised, gaping maw.
A gust of wind spread outward.
Yamato flipped through the air before landing.
The Tyrannosaurus staggered backward, shaking its head.
"Appraisal."
Strength Evaluation: C
As expected, this was one of the strongest carnivorous dinosaurs on the island.
Its massive size and robust physique undoubtedly harbored terrifying brute strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Yamato hopped around in front of the Tyrannosaurus, swinging her spiked club in a relentless assault.
Seconds later,
Bear Cub transformed into a Carnotaurus hybrid, with Ushiwakamaru and Ulti standing atop his head. The three of them joined the battle.
Soon, the four of them had the Tyrannosaurus howling in pain.
Page One, Hiyori, and Kawamatsu stood beside Moses, their eyes filled with awe.
"It's like a legend—heroes slaying an evil dragon," Hiyori murmured softly.
"Big sis is so lame, getting swatted away by a tail. Bear Cub is awesome, biting off a huge chunk of the Tyrannosaurus' neck in one go. Ushiwakamaru's not bad either, but Yamato's the real deal—she broke a fang with a single swing," Page One acted as the live commentator, narrating the battle while cracking jokes.
"Whoa, Bear Cub just went all out! He flipped the table!" Page One exclaimed.
As he spoke, Moses saw Bear Cub, now fully enraged, suddenly shift into his full Carnotaurus form. Opening his massive jaws, he clamped down on the Tyrannosaurus' head with a sickening crunch—leaving behind a headless dinosaur.
A few more bites later, the entire Tyrannosaurus was devoured clean.
Bear Cub plopped down on the ground, licking the blood from the corner of his mouth. Yamato and the other two wore expressions of frustration—they had finally found a worthy opponent, only for Bear Cub to end it in one bite.
"It's the fruit's ability. The concept of 'devouring' passively activates in the mouth—he can bite through steel like it's candy, let alone flesh and blood," Moses muttered under his breath, unsurprised by the scene.
No matter how tough the Tyrannosaurus' hide was, it couldn't compare to steel.
Watching Bear Cub's body transform again—this time into a Tyrannosaurus—it was as if he were playing a game, having now unlocked the Tyrannosaurus module.
A faint smile curled on Moses' lips as he walked toward Bear Cub, who was mimicking the Tyrannosaurus' roar on the spot.
Seeing Moses approach and raise an eyebrow at him, Bear Cub grinned and opened his maw wide, swallowing Moses whole—along with a chunk of the ground.
Seconds later.
Moses manipulated his body, morphing into a towering Tyrannosaurus hybrid—a dragon-headed humanoid with a thick tail trailing behind.
Standing nearly ten meters tall, his body was covered in dark blue-black scales, muscles bulging like granite, clad in a pair of brown-black shorts.
Clenching his fists, Moses felt Haki surge within him. Dark red flames ignited along his arms. With a thought, he slightly parted his jaws, rapidly condensing and compressing a flicker of fire in his mouth. His eyes sharpened, chest swelling:
"Boro Breath."
A highly condensed dark red spiral pillar of fire erupted from his mouth, roughly two meters in diameter, and in the blink of an eye, it struck the ground a hundred meters away.
Boom!
A terrifying muffled explosion rang out as the surrounding terrain was blasted into a pockmarked mess.
The flames began to spread,
Only to be immediately extinguished by a subsequent blast of icy mist Breath aimed at the same spot.
Clenching his fists, Moses grinned at Yamato and the others:
"I'm gonna go play over there. Do whatever you want."
With that, he dashed off.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Amidst a series of heavy impacts,
Moses quickly ran into the distance.
Moments later, at a small pond in the center of the island, Moses spotted several massive plesiosaurs wading in the water, their necks stretching at least thirty to forty meters high.
Crouching behind a large tree, Moses peered at a patch of grass by the shore.
There, he could intermittently see clusters of dinosaur eggs the size of millstones placed among the grass. Moses suddenly charged forward, immediately drawing the attention of the plesiosaurs.
As he approached, he scooped up several plesiosaur eggs and stuffed them into his mouth.
Within a few Breaths, he had devoured no fewer than ten dinosaur eggs.
"Roar~" "Groan~" "Hiss~"
After his egg-stealing spree, Moses turned and fled, quickly disappearing into the jungle as the enraged dinosaurs gave chase.
After running several hundred meters, Moses burst into laughter. It was quite fun to mess around like this occasionally.
From then on, Moses continued to wreak havoc on the island's creatures, stealing eggs and collecting more "templates" for Bear Cub's transformations.
As time passed,
The sky soon darkened.
Moses returned to the marine ship carrying a large crocodile-like quadrupedal dinosaur, where a massive bonfire barbecue party was already underway.
When the marines saw a dinosaur-man approaching with large prey, they immediately grew wary.
With a loud thud!
The crocodilian dinosaur was tossed onto the ground nearby, and Bear Cub reverted to his original form, plucking Moses from his mouth.
Instantly, the marines' wariness vanished, replaced by jeers and whistles.
Ignoring them, Moses glanced at Bear Cub and said, "You handle the grilling," before heading back onto the ship.
However, Moses did notice a brownish-black Quetzalcoatlus bound in chains on a nearby open patch of ground.
His brow arched slightly, and a smirk tugged at his lips—he could sense a faint chill emanating from the pterosaur.
That Kuzan guy...
After showering in Garp's quarters, Moses returned to the bonfire and took a seat beside Bogart and the others, grabbing a piece of dinosaur meat already roasting over the flames, its surface glistening with juices.
Tearing off a huge chunk, the meat was crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, with an exceptionally firm and savory texture. Bogart chuckled and scolded,
"That was something I've been grilling for ages! Want a drink?"
Before he even finished, he handed over a large mug of freshly poured beer. Moses looked at it quizzically:
"Room temperature? Not very tasty."
Bogart scoffed, "What, you want it iced?"
Taking the mug, Moses conjured an icy blue frost between Breaths, causing a chilling mist to rise from the beer's surface. He raised an eyebrow at Bogart:
"Want it cold? Easy. Just master your Breathing Technique properly, and you'll have everything you need."
He took a huge swig—refreshingly icy.
Then he bit into another massive chunk of meat, thoroughly enjoying the feast.
Watching Moses enjoying himself, Bogart's eye twitched, suddenly finding the beer in his hand tasteless.
He couldn't help but turn to Kuzan nearby and hand over his glass. Kuzan took it, froze it himself with his ability, took a big gulp, and let out a loud belch.
Moses burst out laughing, while Bogart scowled and snapped at Kuzan:
"I meant for you to chill it with your ability, not drink it."
Kuzan scratched his head, confused:
"Huh? My bad, my bad. I thought you were offering me a drink.
Should've said so earlier."
Bogart, still scowling, poured himself another glass and handed it over. This time, Kuzan pointed at it from a distance, and as frost spread, the beer was perfectly chilled.
Only then did Bogart take a satisfied swig.
Moses glanced at the bonfire where Yamato and the others were gathered. They were also grilling meat, but each of them wore a miserable expression—likely because they'd burned it.
"By the way, Moses, I caught that Quetzalcoatlus you wanted. Are we grilling it?"
"I'm not eating it. It's for Bear Cub."
"That weird panda of yours? The Devil Fruit User? What type is it?"
"That's a secret. Or you can try guessing."
"Tch, suit yourself. Don't tell me then."
They chatted and drank beer.
Time flew by, and soon the bonfire party ended.
Moses had Bear Cub swallow the Quetzalcoatlus. They'd caught other pterosaurs before, but never a Quetzalcoatlus—now the collection was complete.
...
Early the next morning, the warship set sail again.
Along the way, they experienced the many dangers of the Grand Line, with frequent maritime disasters.
But with two powerhouses on board, they made it through unscathed.
Riding the swift currents of the Grand Line, another ten days passed before the warship docked at the port of Jaya.
The sun blazed overhead.
It was the hottest part of the day.
Jumping off the warship,
Moses stretched and lazily looked up at the sky, squinting at the beautiful blue expanse dotted with white clouds.
Yamato followed, leaping down and mimicking Moses by tilting her head skyward. She asked curiously:
"What's up there? You're staring so intently."
"Home."
Moses chuckled as he said the word.
"Up there?"
"Skypiea is there. So is the Golden Bell recorded in that journal."
"Golden Bell?" Kuzan, who had also jumped down for a stroll, sidled over with interest. "So the Golden Bell and City of Gold from The Lies of Montblanc Noland are real? You found them?"
"Huh? You know about Noland the Liar? You actually read?"
Moses grinned, neither confirming nor denying, just teasing him. Kuzan's eye twitched slightly.
"Tch, interesting. I do read the occasional fun story."
Then Moses looked up at Bear Cub on the deck and smiled.
"Go to Skypiea and fetch Da Bao. Too many people to carry up—swallowing them all would be annoying."
Bear Cub let out a soft "yip," its body transforming into a massive Quetzalcoatlus with a 15-meter wingspan, and soared into the sky.
Catching the wind, it soon became a tiny black dot, vanishing among the white clouds.
Moses turned to Kuzan with a grin.
"Wanna go play on Skypiea later? Bogart and my grandpa both decided to check it out."
Kuzan scratched his head with a helpless expression. "That guy probably doesn't want to see me."
"Fair enough, I didn't think it through. You can stay below and watch the ship then. This is the Grand Line, after all—pretty dangerous."
Hearing this, Kuzan's eye twitched, and he pursed his lips. "Actually, I suddenly feel like I should go up and see her. After all, I was the one who handed her over to you. I need to check how she's doing, lest you treat her like she's not even human."
"You're the one who's not human," Moses retorted with an exasperated laugh. "Always beating around the bush just to insult someone."
Kuzan let out a cold "heh" and said flatly, "Reconsider your words. Right now, I'm the stronger one."
"True, you are stronger right now," Moses nodded in agreement. "So I apologize—sorry. But remember, I'll definitely surpass you someday. And when that happens, heh heh heh..."
Kuzan rolled his eyes. This brat really knew how to hold a grudge.
Yamato's lips curled into a smirk as she listened to their banter.
After chatting with Kuzan a while longer, Moses felt it was about time and returned to Garp's room to retrieve the East Blue sea chart he needed.
Looking at Garp, who was still challenging himself to stay awake for five days and nights while crunching on roasted rice cakes, Moses couldn't help but sigh.
"Grandpa, get ready. We're heading to Skypiea soon."
Garp blinked at him in confusion.
"Skypiea? Oh right, we were going there."
He patted his head and rubbed his temples. "Been a bit tired lately—my mind's been blanking out."
Moses gave him a look of utter disbelief. "You're acting like you've got dementia. Is this really fun for you?"
"You're just bored. Maybe you should find yourself a partner in your free time."
"I heard you're always calling Tsuru, the HQ's great strategist, 'Auntie Tsuru.' Do you have a thing for her? Trying to rekindle some old flames? I heard you two were recruits together."
"Tsuru? Tsuru's a good woman—wait, no." Garp suddenly snapped out of it and glared at Moses. "Who told you that?"
Moses averted his gaze. "Uncle Bogart's a great guy. He told me a lot of funny stories about your younger days."
That much was true—though Moses had certainly nudged him along. But right now, better to let Bogart take the fall.
Garp's eye twitched in anger.
The next second, he appeared right in front of Moses, who immediately ducked and covered his head. Garp's raised fist hovered—unsure whether to strike or not.
Finally, he let out an amused huff. "That Bogart… getting bold, huh? Daring to gossip about me behind my back."
Seeing the heat had shifted, Moses stood back up and quickly changed the subject with a smile. "It's just that I really wanted to know about your heroic deeds. Can't blame Uncle Bogart for that."
Hearing this, Garp's eyebrows rose, and his anger instantly dissipated. He burst into laughter.
Waving his hand, he said, "If you want to know, just ask me! Why go to him? What does he know about my past?"
Moses sighed in relief and lowered his guard—only for a thud! to land on his head. Garp smirked.
"Nice flattery. But you're still getting this punch."
Grimacing in pain, Moses muttered, "Da Bao's here. Let's get ready to go up."
Just then, Moses spotted two "birds" descending from the sky—one was Bear Cub, the other was Crow Dabao.
Moses leaped out the window, with Garp following close behind, landing on the deck.
Moses extended his left arm, and Crow Dabao, now with a two-meter wingspan, perched on his forearm, tilting its head to look at him:
"Mei, had enough fun? Do you even know the house is about to explode?"
Moses looked utterly confused: "???"
"What do you mean? I don't quite get it. I've only been gone for a little over a month—what could have happened at home?"
"Eriyi can't speak anymore."
"Awakened? What did Doctorine say about it?"
Moses remained fairly calm.
"Crow doesn't understand medical stuff, but from what I heard, there's no major issue for now. Doctorine said the special medicine made from Chopper's Lineage Factor worked."
"Good, I'll go ask Doctorine later. By the way, you said the house is about to explode—no one got hurt, right?"