Page One's Garchomp form was evolved from the Spinosaurus Fruit; it was already one of the larger types to begin with, and among the higher-ranked Numberers, he was one of the few, like Jack, who preferred his Beast Form.
Now in Beast Form, he stood around six meters tall. Because the wings shaped like a shark's pectoral fins grew from his forearms, when Garchomp tucked in his body and spread those wings, he looked just like a jet plane.
Right now he was standing upright, looking very much like a transformed fighter jet; whether it was this trait or Garchomp's appearance, both hit Luffy and Usopp right in their excitement sweet spot.
Though they were just getting started, they already knew, thanks to Luffy, that there existed mysterious things on The Sea called Devil Fruits; what they didn't know was that Devil Fruits were further divided into three main types. Page One was the first Zoan-type Ability User they had ever seen.
"You two, act normal for once! However you look at it, this guy is not an ally!"
Slamming both fists onto Luffy and Usopp's heads, Sanji hoped the two could behave themselves, but in the next instant, he became one of the abnormal ones too.
"Little Pei, what are you waiting for?"
"Ah, beautiful lady, may I ask why you're blocking our way?"
Thump!
Sanji joined the ranks of Luffy and Usopp, getting a punch from Nami from behind.
"Uh, sis, what do you think we should do next?"
Page One was dumbfounded by their bizarre behavior. Back in the New World, the people he faced were either terrified or arrogant; this was the first time anyone had called him cool. He was only eighteen this year, and his vanity got a little satisfied.
"Wow! The dinosaur talked! Luffy, did you hear that?!"
"That makes him even cooler. Where can you catch a dinosaur like this? It looks like it can even fly. If I could raise one, that'd be insanely awesome."
"Ahem, well, I heard there's an island with lots of dinosaurs like that..."
Watching Usopp bragging with a straight face and Luffy listening just as earnestly, a new thought popped into Page One's mind.
[Don't tell me these two are idiots?]
He never showed mercy to enemies, but idiots... that made it a bit awkward to make a move. Fortunately, at this moment, Yamato and the Thousand-Year Dragons followed them down as well.
"Th–Thousand-Year Dragons! So many Thousand-Year Dragons! Hey, hey, are you here to take Grandpa Dragon home?"
Seeing Ferren and the other Thousand-Year Dragons appear here, the fear in Apisu's heart vanished in an instant.
She was a descendant of those ancient kingdom residents Ferren's father mentioned, and by a twist of fate she had met Grandpa Dragon. She was not tempted by the bounty for the Thousand-Year Dragons; instead, she started doing everything she could to protect Grandpa Dragon.
Luffy and the others decided to escort Grandpa Dragon all because of her.
She herself was a Whisper-Whisper Fruit user; though it didn't make her any stronger in combat, it did allow her to communicate with any animal, so she had no obstacles talking with the Thousand-Year Dragons.
"Grandpa Dragon, Grandpa Dragon, look, your companions have come to pick you up!"
The aged Grandpa Dragon lifted his head and looked at the surrounding Thousand-Year Dragons; a few tears slid from his eyes.
"Rooar..."
"Roar!"
One of the Thousand-Year Dragons wanted to say something, but Grandpa Dragon cut him off right away. Then Ferren's father walked over, and as he gazed at this Thousand-Year Dragon, Grandpa Dragon seemed to recall something.
"Hey, Apisu, what are they saying?"
Because the Thousand-Year Dragons had appeared, Page One and the others didn't do anything; they just listened to the group of Thousand-Year Dragons communicating. Thanks to Apisu's presence, Ferren didn't have to act as translator.
"That Thousand-Year Dragon... seems to be an old acquaintance of Grandpa Dragon's."
Thousand-Year Dragons had different clans all over the world, but when Dragon Island appeared, they would still gather there. That meant that even if they weren't from the same clan, they might still have ties or even have known each other in the past.
[Old man, how did you end up here? And it's still a bit early, isn't it?]
[I was afraid... I wouldn't make it in time...]
"Wait, Grandpa Dragon, didn't you say your sickness would be cured once you got to the Dragon Cave? Your companions are here now, you don't have to worry anymore. They'll definitely take you back, right..."
From Grandpa Dragon's words, Apisu sensed something off, but Grandpa Dragon only told her to rest easy and said nothing more.
Only the other Thousand-Year Dragons knew that Grandpa Dragon's time was almost up. Right now he was just holding on by sheer will, waiting for Dragon Island to appear again.
"Hey! What're you dawdling around here for?! Why aren't you moving?!"
Zoro's figure appeared from the side, and with him came Erik, who had been chasing Grandpa Dragon all this time.
He had also heard the legend that the Dragon Bone of a Thousand-Year Dragon could grant immortality, so he teamed up with the Navy to hunt them down, hoping to obtain the Dragon Bone he'd dreamed of. Zoro had stayed up there earlier precisely to stall for time.
Faced with all these Thousand-Year Dragons, Erik's face lit up with a greedy grin. In his eyes, they were countless Dragon Bones; if he could get them all, his wish would be fulfilled.
"Rooar.."
"Roar!"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Seriously, this old man always dumps his problems on me... Miss Yamato, you and Father take Grandpa Dragon to Dragon Island first. Once I deal with this guy, I'll catch up.
It's fine if you wait a bit anyway, we've got plenty of time. Finishing this guy off won't take long."
The first roar was Grandpa Dragon telling them about the enemy; the second was Ferren's father telling his son to go teach that guy a lesson.
The environment shapes the behavior of sentient beings. After living with the Hundred Beasts for so long, Ferren's clan had become the most violent among the Thousand-Year Dragons. When it came to people trying to hunt Dragon Bones, they would never show mercy.
"Th–Thousand-Year Dragons can talk too!!"
"No, he turned into a Dragon-man! Apisu, can't Grandpa Dragon transform? Tell him to transform too~"
Seeing Ferren transform from a Thousand-Year Dragon into a Dragon-man form, Luffy got excited again. He'd seen too many interesting things today.
"Grandpa Dragon never said Thousand-Year Dragons could turn into people..."
Before Luffy and the others finished speaking, Erik was already on the move. In his eyes, Thousand-Year Dragons were extremely nourishing creatures; a Thousand-Year Dragon that could become human was one that had cultivated into a spirit.
The Dragon Bone of such a Thousand-Year Dragon would definitely be even more potent. With a flick of his fingers, several slicing wind scythes shot from his fingertips, slashing toward Ferren.
"Watch out!"
This warning came from Zoro. To him right now, Erik was a very troublesome enemy; the wind scythes he sent out were incredibly fast and packed a punch. Even for Zoro, dealing with them was quite a chore.
But Ferren didn't dodge at all; he took Erik's attack head-on as he walked forward.
"Since you escorted the old man all this way, I'll show you what real strength looks like."