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Grand Line — Aboard the Dove
After Aero was officially appointed as a Warlord of the Sea, all existing bounty posters under his name were temporarily suspended.
That was the benefit of being a "legal pirate" the Marines wouldn't actively hunt them, so long as they didn't breach the agreement.
As one of the seven "legal" pirates in the world, the Hurricane Pirates were now closing in on the second island on their chosen route.
"Man… this island's huge," Ray muttered, peering through binoculars.
"It is big," Eddie agreed, squinting at the coastline. "But according to Buggy's charts, this place is literally named Little Garden. Honestly, I expected it to be… little."
"Let's go ashore and see what's so different about it," Dylan said calmly, tightening the strap on his shoulder bag as the Dove pulled toward land.
Just as the sails were being lowered and they were preparing to dock—
BOOM… BOOM…
"What the— was that a volcano?!" Gin shouted, staring up at the sky as clouds of black smoke rose from somewhere inside the island.
"And a live one, by the sound of it…" Eddie sniffed the air and made a face. "Smells like sulfur."
"Actually…" Dylan hopped up onto the rail, listening carefully, "judging from the sound… that wasn't just one."
Aero shrugged and leapt off the ship. "All right. Let's scout the place."
---
The moment they stepped onto the island, Eddie finally understood the name.
"…Okay. Now I get why they call this 'Little Garden.'"
He didn't get to explain.
Because a gigantic lizard as large as a hill was already charging straight at them.
For a few seconds, no one said a word. They only stared.
Eddie immediately pulled out a handful of Buggy Bombs.
Dylan silently began equipping his weapons.
Every thunderous step of the lizard shook the ground beneath their feet.
From the Dove, the crew reacted quickly cannons swiveled, loaded, and fired.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Smoke and dust filled the air.
But when it cleared the creature stood there, perfectly unharmed, shaking its head in mild annoyance.
"It… it tanked the cannons?!"
The lizard roared and charged even faster, knocking down trees like grass, eyes fixed on the tiny humans on the beach.
Its fanged mouth opened wide.
Aero stepped in front of his crew.
He raised his right hand—
A spiraling wind sphere formed instantly in his palm—
And shot forward.
The Wind Spiral struck the lizard directly in the head.
Its skull caved inward. The massive body flipped back and crashed onto the ground with a deafening thud.
The crew collectively exhaled.
Then came the cheers:
"CAPTAIN!! CAPTAIN!!"
Aero glanced at the flattened clearing left behind by the impact and pointed at it.
"We'll set up camp right here."
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He already knew from Crocodile that the Log Pose would need an entire year to lock onto the next island from Little Garden.
Crocodile had offered to send Aero a permanent Log Pose to skip it but Aero refused.
Because this island was the perfect place to train.
And thanks to Buggy, he now had the method to begin Haki training.
That was his real plan.
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"R—R-R-R-CAPTAIN… THE MONSTER'S MOVING AGAIN!!"
One of the pirates shouted, pointing at the massive lizard as it slowly rose to its feet, shaking off dust.
But before it could do anything, Aero vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared in the air above the creature. His right leg had already transformed into a solid wind drill.
He brought it down.
The drill-like kick pierced the lizard's skull. Blood burst out as the massive body collapsed for good.
Aero hovered briefly in the air, then created a massive tornado, lifting the corpse and dropping it neatly into the clearing.
He landed next to his crew and tapped the huge carcass.
"That should feed us for a while, right?"
Dylan walked up, checking the hide. "We won't finish this in days. The meat will go bad."
"So stuff the cold storage until it's full," Eddie said, waving toward the ship with a grin. "And whatever doesn't fit we make a banquet out of it!"
Dozens of pirates came running from behind them, carrying gleaming butcher knives.
The feast and the training were about to begin.
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