Chapter 100 Small Garden
Chapter 100 Small Garden
After hearing Smoker's dissuasion, Sanai's expression turned sour, and his tone became noticeably colder.
Noticing this, Smoker wisely chose to leave.
[How can a young, energetic guy like that hunt giants...?]
[Aoi Oni and Aka Oni have been there for decades. If it were that easy, it would have been your turn...]
Soon, the cruise ship arrived at Small Garden and anchored offshore.
The Straw Hat Pirates sailed directly along the river into the heart of the island.
However, the cruise ship was filled with helpless tourists, and rushing onto the island would mean feeding them to the monsters.
Smoker approached the crew.
"Why are we staying in such dangerous waters?"
A crew member replied respectfully, "Dear guests, we don't have a permanent marker for navigation, so we need to dock and store the magnet."
"Don't worry, although there are many ferocious beasts on the island, the sea is still relatively safe!"
"Safe?"
Smoker glanced at the clear teeth marks along the edge of Small Garden.
If I didn't know about the island-eating goldfish here, I might have believed you!
"Does it really take a year for the Small Garden's quota to be filled? Are we just supposed to wait here like this?!"
"I also heard there's a legend about the island-eating monster here!"
The crew member smiled professionally.
"Guests can rest assured. Our indicators have recorded the geomagnetism here several times, so it won't take that long. We'll finish in two days!"
"The island-eating monster does exist, but it only appears on islands. So, as long as we stay offshore, we'll be fine!"
"I see…"
Smoker nodded, mostly convinced.
The combat effectiveness of these crew members wasn't even on par with that of navy recruits. If they weren't confident in the situation, they wouldn't have stayed.
After all, they wouldn't risk their lives needlessly.
In that case, there was nothing to worry about…
If anything were to happen to this ship and civilians were killed or injured—whether due to natural disasters or man-made causes—my navy's reputation would take a huge hit.
Suddenly, Smoker spotted Sanai wandering beside the boat.
[....?!]
[Is that a lifeboat...?]
Night fell.
The cruise ship floated on the water, surrounded by darkness, its lights completely extinguished. Unlike the situation in Whiskey Peak, where lights and fires still blazed, now the entire ship was dark, and the tourists had been persuaded by the crew to retire early.
Late into the night, Sanai slowly opened his eyes.
He dressed quickly, grabbed his weapons, and stealthily left his guest room. Seizing the opportunity, he lowered a lifeboat into the water and set it adrift toward Small Garden...
But as soon as Sanai made his move, Smoker noticed.
Smoker stood atop the ship, watching as Sanai slipped away.
"..."
Forget it. We finally ran into each other. I can't just let him die.
With nothing better to do, I might as well see what he's up to.
A black sphere appeared above Smoker's head, its gravity counteracting his own. He floated effortlessly toward the island.
The two landed on the island shortly after.
Smoker used his perception to sense that there were no powerful beasts nearby, so he didn't reveal himself immediately. Instead, he kept his distance, trailing behind.
Soon, dawn arrived.
The view of Small Garden unfolded before Smoker's eyes.
I have to admit, the scenery here is stunning, and the environment is peaceful. The sounds of birds and animals fill the air, coming from the jungle. It's a lively scene that truly lives up to the name of the garden...
As Smoker made his way through the jungle, he was surprised to spot several massive creatures with long necks, calmly eating leaves.
Although he had known about them, he couldn't help but shout in amazement.
"Dinosaurs! Oh my god, real living dinosaurs!! Hahahaha!!!!"
In his past life, he had been an avid reptile enthusiast. Ever since watching Jurassic Park, he had dreamed of seeing real dinosaurs. He never imagined that time travel would make that dream come true.
The dinosaurs merely glanced at the noisy, small creature but continued munching on the leaves, indifferent to his excitement.
"Boom!!"
A dull sound echoed in the distance, and the ground trembled slightly.
[Earthquake?!]
But when Smoker saw that the dinosaurs nearby didn't even flinch and kept eating, he quickly realized what was going on.
[Is this the signal for the giants to fight—a volcanic eruption?!]
Smoker quickly soared into the sky.
Sure enough, in the distance, a massive volcano was spewing black smoke, and two figures, even larger than dinosaurs, were rapidly approaching each other.
"Oh, oh, oh... it's starting!!"
Suddenly, a cry rang out from higher up in the sky.
Looking up, Smoker realized it was a bird—no, not a small one.
Wait… that's not right, it's huge!
A giant eagle swooped down and grabbed Smoker, lifting him off the ground.
From a distance, it would've looked like the eagle was snatching up a mouse.
Smoker: "?!!!"
The giant eagle flew at incredible speed, soaring over Small Garden.
As Smoker glanced down at the scenery, it looked uniquely captivating.
Meanwhile, the two giants finally clashed.
One wielded a knife, the other an axe, and their battle was reminiscent of ancient titans. Wherever the sword and axe swung, rocks crumbled, trees splintered, and the land seemed to shudder as if a typhoon had passed through.
[Oh, oh, oh, is this the power of giants?]
It was a magnificent sight... but unfortunately, the giant eagle didn't seem interested.
Before Smoker could take in a second glance, he was already being carried away.
After a while, the giant eagle returned to its nest.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Deep within the nest, two small heads with long beaks eagerly waited to be fed.
Smoker's face stiffened.
[Are you really treating me like a rat?!]
He quickly twisted in the eagle's talons and managed to escape, pulling a pile of meat out of the dark space. He tossed it toward the nest, then took the opportunity to hide in the corner.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the meat, the giant eagle paused, confused.
It glanced at Smoker, then back at the meat, seemingly baffled by why its prey had exploded into gold coins this time.
[Forget it. No need to overthink it. Feed the chicks first!]
The giant eagle began tearing the meat apart, feeding its young.
As for Smoker, the "rat," he was temporarily forgotten.
Smoker remained still, watching quietly, when suddenly, he felt a sharp peck on his back.
He spun around, only to find a young eagle.
But this one was much smaller compared to the others, its body covered in scars from pecking and scratching.
The young eagle's belly was shriveled, clearly very hungry.
But as it watched its sibling feasting, it could only crouch in the corner, eyeing the food with longing, too afraid to step forward.
Smoker immediately understood the situation.
Every time an eagle hatches multiple cubs, the last ones to hatch are usually the smallest and are often bullied by their older siblings.
If they can't get food, they either starve or are pecked to death by the others.
When food is scarce, the mother might even tear the smaller ones apart, feeding them to her stronger children.
Smoker hadn't planned to get involved, but when he saw the young eagle's hungry eyes, his heart softened.
"He's just a poor little guy…"
He took out some meat and fed it to the young eagle.
The eagle's eyes lit up with joy. It didn't dare make a sound, but hurriedly devoured the food.
For the moment, the eagle mother fed her two young birds, while Smoker took care of the one inside the nest. There was an odd sense of harmony for a short time.
After feeding her young, the mother eagle paid no further attention to the little one and began to rest.
Of course, she didn't notice Smoker. After all, live prey was much easier to keep fresh...
The mountain wind howled, and the little eagle trembled.
After a while, it couldn't stand the cold anymore and leaned against Smoker for warmth.
Smoker couldn't help but smile and sigh at the sight. Looking into the little eagle's big, watery eyes, he couldn't bring himself to push it away.
[That's it. I'm afraid of you…]
He'd barely gotten any sleep the night before and was feeling a little drowsy.
With a sigh, he pulled a blanket from the darkness, wrapped it around himself and the young eagle, and drifted off to sleep.