Chapter 45 : It’s Time

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In the Cave of Warship Island

Ikki carefully put away the monkey talisman.

The plan he had proposed earlier was simple but bold: turn Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp into Millennium Dragons to fight back against the Marines. After all, Nelson's goal was to kill the Thousand-Year Dragon and obtain its fabled keel.

It was only fitting for Millennium Dragons to retaliate—it had nothing to do with the Straw Hats. This was a battle against a rogue Marine faction, not ordinary pirates.

In the cave, only Ikki, Nami, Apis, and Psyduck remained, pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Do you think they can beat the Marines?" Apis asked, worry evident in her voice.

Hearing her concern, Nami smiled confidently. "Don't worry! They're stronger than you think."

Apis turned to glance at Ryu, who had been unusually quiet. She noticed that ever since Luffy and the others had transformed into Millennium Dragons and roared, Lord Dragon's eyes had grown brighter, as if awakening a long-buried memory.

Ikki knew this was the dragon's final spark. It was the beginning of the end for Ryu—its last moments before calling its companions. Soon, Warship Island would grow in size, becoming the resting place for the Thousand-Year Dragons to return home.

Just as Ikki prepared to fly out and check on Luffy and the others' battle, a figure appeared at the cave entrance.

The man was slender, with tiny sunglasses perched on his face, a crisp suit, and a distinctive purple pompadour hairstyle. His hand rested casually in his pocket, exuding confidence and cool arrogance.

It was Eric—the mercenary hired by the Marines. He was also a Devil Fruit user, wielding the powers of the Sickle-Sickle Fruit, which allowed him to generate razor-sharp wind blades from his fingers.

"Well, well," Eric sneered, his gaze sweeping the cave. "I didn't expect to find not just the Thousand-Year Dragon outside, but an old one here too."

Nami stepped in front of Abis, her three-section staff at the ready. "Stay back," she warned.

Eric barely spared her a glance. "Annoying pests," he said coldly.

Without warning, Eric swung his hand, unleashing two wind blades toward Nami and Ikki.

Ikki reacted instantly, raising his sword and countering with wind blades of his own.

"Hah," Ikki smirked, his tone icy. "You're Eric, right? You use wind, I use wind. Don't you think you're the one who should disappear?"

Eric's eyes narrowed. Realizing that Ikki might be a formidable opponent, he removed his hand from his pocket and prepared to fight seriously.

Ikki grinned. Perfect. It was time to test his other golden item: the Quincy Bow.

He stretched out his right hand, revealing the cross-shaped bracelet on his wrist. With a focused thought, a glowing blue-white bow materialized in his grasp.

Eric's confidence wavered as he saw the weapon appear. He decided to strike first, slashing with both hands to unleash a barrage of wind blades.

"Let's see you handle this!" Eric shouted.

Ikki, however, remained calm. He drew back the string of the spiritual bow, murmuring, "Wind Barrier... Wind Dispersion."

As the words fell, all of Eric's wind blades dissolved into harmless gusts.

Ikki smirked. His Wind Barrier ability allowed him to control any form of wind. Eric's attacks, made entirely of wind blades, were rendered useless.

Panic set in for Eric. It wasn't just that his attacks failed—it was the radiant glow of Ikki's bow and the growing intensity of the blue arrow forming on it. The sight of it made his legs tremble.

Ikki felt his energy draining as the arrow charged, nearly ten percent of his stamina gone. But he didn't waver. With a final motion, he released the bowstring, sending the glowing blue arrow flying toward Eric.

Eric's eyes widened in terror as the arrow closed in. In that moment, his life flashed before him. He thought of a distant sunset and the fleeting days of his youth, now long lost.

"If God gives me another chance, I'll never chase after Thousand-Year Dragon bones again," Eric thought as his vision blurred. "Isn't it better to live in the present...?"

With a final flash of youthful memories, Eric fainted.

Ikki's arrow hadn't struck him directly, but it had grazed his iconic pompadour, shaving it clean off.

It wasn't because Ikki had shown mercy—it was simply because… he had missed.

"Am I… not cut out to be an archer?" Ikki muttered, sighing in disappointment.

Suddenly, a distant explosion echoed across Warship Island.

Ikki turned toward the cave entrance and saw that a mountaintop had been leveled in the distance—an unintentional consequence of his bow's power.

"Hell! This thing's stronger than I thought," Ikki exclaimed, a mix of awe and sheepishness in his voice. "Looks like I need a lot more practice with this bow."

Just as Ikki prepared to give the unconscious Eric a final blow, he heard gasps from behind him.

Turning around, he saw Ryu rising to his feet, determination in his eyes. The old dragon took slow, deliberate steps toward the cave entrance.

"Wait! Ryu, you're not well enough to move!" Apis pleaded, her voice filled with concern.

As a user of the Whisper-Whisper Fruit, Apis could understand the dragon's emotions and knew how fragile its condition was. If Ryu left the cave, it might mean the end for him.

The ancient dragon looked at Apis with a deep, sorrowful gaze. In a low voice, he replied, "The time has come…"

Apis blinked, confused. "Time? What time?"

Ryu didn't answer. Instead, he spread his massive wings and launched himself into the air.

Outside, Luffy and the others, still in their Millennium Dragon forms, had just finished driving off the Marine warships. They looked up, curious as the old dragon soared above them.

Ryu tilted his head back and roared into the sky.

"The time has come…"

"The time has come…"

As Millennium Dragons, Luffy and the others could now understand the old dragon's words.

From his position, Usopp's dragon form nervously asked, "Wait… what time? What does he mean?"

Luffy's dragon form stared at the ailing Ryu and solemnly replied, "He means his time is almost up…"

Before anyone could respond, a large flock of Millennium Dragons appeared in the distance, their majestic forms silhouetted against the sky.

The newly arrived dragons began circling above Warship Island, forming a protective ring in the sky. At the center of their formation was Ryu, who hovered weakly, yet resolutely.

As everyone watched in awe, the ground beneath them began to quake violently.

Suddenly, an enormous island began to emerge from beneath the sea, its size dwarfing Battleship Island. It became clear that Battleship Island was just a fragment of this larger, hidden landmass.

The abrupt surfacing of the island stranded the surrounding Marine warships, leaving their crews in chaos. Even the Going Merry had run aground in the shallows.

In the sky, Ryu faltered, his wings unable to carry him any longer. His body descended gracefully, as if his mission had been fulfilled.

Apis cried out, tears streaming down her face. "It was true all along… Lord Dragon never left his home!"

Nami's voice broke through the emotional moment, her tone filled with realization. "So that's it… The lair of the Millennium Dragons is here. Their name doesn't come from their lifespan—it's because they return to this island once every thousand years!"

She continued, her analytical mind piecing everything together. "The migration of the Millennium Dragons isn't random—it's instinctive. And the sudden appearance of this lost island isn't a coincidence. It only surfaces once every thousand years!"

But Abis wasn't listening. Her tearful gaze was fixed solely on Ryu, now lying motionless on the ground.