A/N: After more than a week no chapter, sorry guys a bit busy.
The next morning, Sabo showed off his hand, which had turned into magma.
"Sabo, you're awesome!" said Luffy, a twinkle in his eyes.
"You got the same power as me?" asked Bartolomeo, looking surprised.
"Yeah. I asked Jack if he had another Magu Magu no Mi," replied Sabo. "And he gave me one."
"Awesome!" said Luffy.
"Guys, sorry to interrupt, but we're almost arrive at Little Garden," Jack cut in.
"What? Really? Where?" asked Luffy, craning his neck toward the open sea to look for the island.
Usopp followed suit, and soon they both spotted it.
"Woah! Go faster, Nami! Faster!" said Luffy excitedly. He couldn't wait to see the giants.
Nami could only sigh before pressing the turbo button so the Going Merry could reach the island faster.
The nearer them to the island, the island become bigger.
"Is that it?" Luffy leaned forward, his eyes almost popping out. "That's Little Garden?"
"Little?" Usopp stammered, sweat dripping down his forehead. "What part of that looks little to you?! It's huge!"
"Yeah, that's definitely it, Welcome to Little Garden... the island that time forgot," said Jack
"Time forgot?" asked Bartolomeo, scratching his head. "Like… what, no Den Den signal here?"
Jack rolled her eyes. "More like, no civilization at all! This island is from the prehistoric era. Dinosaurs, giant plants, dangerous animals...."
Luffy face lit up like a kid on his birthday. "DINOSAURS?!!"
"What does ingredient suitable..." said Sanji before cut off.
"Sanji please cook Dinosaurs," begged Luffy.
"Go away Luffy," replied Sanji while trying to shoo him away.
"I wonder is there any ancient samurai living there," commented Jack.
Jack sighed softly. "Here we go…"
Before Nami could even stop him, Luffy grabbed the ship railing and started bouncing. "Let's go! Let's go! I wanna see a dinosaur! Or maybe a giant eating a dinosaur! Or maybe a..."
"Sit down, Captain!" Nami yelled, smacking him on the head with her map. "We haven't even anchored yet!"
The crew laughed even Sabo and Dragon just shaking their head in amusement. Sailing with Luffy is really fun, unlike their time with Revolutionary Army. Even koala and the other RA member thought the same, for them it likes a vacation.
Jack activated his visor and he saw massive heat signatures, lifeforms bigger than ships.
"Giants, yes. Two of them, if I'm reading this right," he said. "But they're not moving. My guess... they're asleep."
"Did a giant sleep Oni Chan?" asked Bonney
Luffy blinked. "Giants sleep? Like… big naps?"
Jack nodded. "Even giants need rest. And if they've been here for hundreds of years."
"If Giant didn't sleep Zoro might want to change his race and become giant himself," commented Usopp.
"Why me?" Zoro glared angrily.
"Hundreds of years?" Vivi repeated, amazed. "How could anyone live that long?"
Jack gave a small smile. "You'll see soon enough."
Bartolomeo leaned toward him, whispering in awe. "So… if they're asleep, what do we do?"
"Simple," Jack replied. "We wait until they wake up."
Luffy groaned dramatically. "Wait?! But I wanna see them now!"
"Me too," said Bonney.
"Patience," Jack said with a chuckle. "Besides, this island isn't exactly peaceful. Let's make sure it's safe first."
As if on cue, a thunderous roar shook the ground.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAARRRRRRHHHHHHH!!!"
The crew froze. Birds scattered from the jungle canopy, and even the waves seemed to pull back in fear.
Usopp's legs started trembling. "W-what was that!?"
"It looks like a monster," said Nojiko
Jack visor flashed red. "Large creature incoming. Massive heat reading… that's not a giant."
Nami turned pale. "Oh no."
A shadow loomed over the trees ahead. Then, with a bone-shaking crash, a massive dinosaur easily the size of a ship burst through the jungle, its jaws wide open.
"DINOSAUR!!!" Luffy screamed, his eyes shining with joy instead of fear.
"DINOSAUR!!!" Bonney hugged Nami and Nojiko.
"DINOSAUR!!!" Usopp screamed too except his was full of terror.
Jack just chuckled looking at their reaction.
While Kuma, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Dragon, Sabo are keeping their mouth shut.
The creature stomped toward them, each footstep shaking the earth. Its scales shimmered under the sunlight, saliva dripping from its fanged maw. The crew scattered instantly.
Jack raised his hand calmly. "Jarvis... defense protocol."
A blue energy barrier shimmered into existence around the Merry, just as the dinosaur's massive tail slammed against it. The barrier held firm, vibrating under the impact.
"Okay, so it's not friendly," Jack muttered dryly.
Luffy grinned and stretched his arms. "Let me fight it!"
Nami immediately grabbed his ear and yanked him back. "No, you don't! You'll break the ship!"
"Relax nami, Luffy will fight outside the ship not inside the ship?" commented Jack.
Sanji cracked his knuckles. "I'll roast it."
"No!" Jack barked. "We're not starting another barbecue on the prehistoric island."
"Why, it was meat," Luffy glared at him angrily.
"Ok you win, but Trex is considered threatened species so it is better not to eat them," said Jack.
"But I want Meat," replied Luffy.
"Don't you forget my transmutation power, If you want meat I can just the tree into a meat," said Jack.
"Oh forgot about that, Shishshi," laughed Luffy.
The dinosaur roared again, frustrated by the barrier, then turned and stomped away, trees collapsing behind it. The ground finally went still.
"Whoa…" Bartolomeo exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. "That was close…"
"Jack," Nami said, crossing her arms, "I hate to admit it, but that barrier really strong."
Jack shrugged. "That's what it's there for."
"Still," said Luffy, bouncing on his heels. "Did you see that thing? It's huge! This island's awesome!"
***
It had been a few days since Garling finally awoke from his coma and report what really happen at that island to Imu sama.
His body still feel heavy and hurt eventhough he just got a fresh brand-magic tattoo burned on his right arm. But his left arm… the place where Jack had severed his limb… still throbbed with a pain, he had consulted with doctor and Imu and Gorosei had take a look at his wound but they can't do anything.
Until Sommer give his brilliant idea to Garling
"Perhaps Garling, you should carve out the damaged flesh. Let the regeneration regrow it fully."
Everyone was shocked even Gorosei was looking forward it.
Yeah maybe the wound from the sword prevented the regeneration so Garling need to carve out a bit more to remove the thing that prevent the limb from regeneration.
Maybe it will grow back… if the wound isn't tainted.
Garling agreed to try.
They cut away the flesh and a few minutes later it grow but stopped at where the original wound located. The worst happen, the arm stopped grow and it seems remember where the earlier cut happen. and the blood seeping out because it won't close anymore.
If it just leaking out it might be ok, but when wound are not dry it hurt garling so much. Garling gritted his teeth, trembling.... not from weakness, but from pure hatred towards Jack that make him completely lost his hand.
Because of this Imu stopped his regeneration power and burn his flesh so the wound would closed down. After the wound stopped, Imu let regeneration power flow onto him again.
Garling stared at his ruined arm and whispered, "I hate them… I hate that boy. I hate that crew."
He had fought countless monsters in his lifetime. He had slain Rocks D. Xebec himselt... his blade piercing a man the world called unstoppable.
But now?
A rookie, a boy, someone younger than his son. That boy had done what even Rocks failed to do.
He wounded a Holy Knight and stopped regeneration power.
The Five Elders watched Garling slow, painful recovery carefully. None of them spoke at first. Their faces were carved from stone.
But behind the masks…
There was fear.
Someone had bypassed regeneration... a power crafted over 800 years. A power that made them untouchable.
"If this spreads," Saturn whispered, "It won't be easy for us, even Joyboy and Davy Jones."
"If one boy can do this… more may come," Mars muttered.
Imu remembered the Rocks Era clearly. Back then, they didn't strike until they uncovered Rocks weakness.... his lineage, his birthplace, his clan. Only then could they trap him and kill him.
But Jack?
Jack had no recorded weakness, no known bloodline, no ancestral enemy. And yet he could cut their regeneration and overpower one of their strongest knights and even Marine admiral.
Imu clenched the armrest of the Empty Throne.
"Jack F. Corrie… This worthless… must be eliminated."
***
"This Going Merry is really small… I seriously need Franky to make it bigger," Jack muttered while looking around the deck. The ship felt cramped now that their crew had grown, when everyone it outside, they would feel cramped and they need to go inside which he had use spatial technology to make it bigger. And with every new upgrade he planned, the Merry was starting to look more like an overstuffed toolbox than a pirate ship.
Earlier after they landed on this island, Jack had volunteered to stay behind on the ship. It wasn't because he didn't want to explore the Little Garden, actually, he was curious about the giants too, but he had another mission. A much bigger one. He needed time to work on his other projects, the Helicarriers, the next generation Iron Legion, and the special gift he planned to create for the Revolutionary Army. Something so overwhelming that the entire world would be shaken to the core once it appeared.
Although Jack possessed scientific knowledge and advanced technology thanks to the Phastos Template, meaning he could reconstruct, enlarge, and redesign the Merry himself, he refused to take away Franky future moment. The shipwright was meant to be part of their pirate crew. Jack had no intention of replacing or erasing any original Straw Hat member from their destined roles.
"I almost forgot," Jack murmured suddenly, snapping his fingers. "Jarvis, start capturing any frequency or sound wave between 1 Hz and 300 Hz."
"Affirmative. Would you like me to replay the recorded waves now?" Jarvis responded.
"No… not yet. Record them only when you detect Luffy talking to someone, I mean to someone who we can't hear," Jack instructed, narrowing his eyes.
Jack had a theory, one he'd been forming piece by piece. The so-called 'Voice of All Things' might not be magic or haki at all but an advanced sensory ability. If bats could communicate using frequencies humans couldn't hear, then maybe Luffy's strange gift came from something similar… the ability to perceive sound waves far beyond normal human limits and Jack intended to prove it.
***
"Zoro, you can't go alone," Nojiko said firmly as she crossed her arms, blocking his path with a look that allowed no argument.
"Huh? Why not?" Zoro asked, genuinely confused. He tilted his head slightly.
Before Nojiko could answer, Sanji stepped in with a puff of smoke and an annoyed glare. "Oi, Marimo, because you'll get lost before you even step ten meters away from the ship."
Zoro eyebrow twitched. "What did you say, you damn eyebrow cook?" He looked irritated already, hand drifting toward his swords.
Sanji smirked with a mocking tilt of his head. "You heard me, moss-head. You'll probably end up circling the same tree for three hours."
Before the argument could escalate, Dragon stepped in calmly. "Sanji, relax. The suit Jack gave to Zoro has a built-in navigation system. As long as he keeps it on, he won't get lost."
Zoro grinned triumphantly. "Hear that, curly-brow cook? Even the big boss knows I don't need your useless worries."
"Tsk. Don't get cocky, Marimo," Sanji snapped back, flames practically igniting around his foot. "Suit or no suit, your brain still doesn't have a navigation system!"
They were two seconds away from beating each other senseless.
Until...
"Enough!" Nami shouted, bonking both their heads. "If you two fight here, I'll bury you both before any dinosaur gets the chance."
Both instantly shut up.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing, the second exploration group was already walking away. Luffy, Robin, Sabo, Bartolomeo, Koala, Vivi, Bonney, and Kuma gathered together with excitement buzzing through the air.
Their destination? No destination, they just wanted to explore the jungle.
But strangely, they walked towards where Broggy was located, the legendary giant warrior was sleeping.
Author Notes: Hey if you wanted to read 10 more advanced chapter you can go to my patreon.
-patreon.com/zerelix