Chapter 46: Little Garden

Sanji truly was the greatest chef ever, who else would be able to fix up such great breakfast so quickly and such vast quantities without sacrificing quality.

Even if it was just some scrambled eggs and toast, the amount and quality of them when he had cooked up by the time the sun had fully risen over the horizon was breathtaking, especially with how fast and smooth his hands moved when handling the kitchenware.

Though it didn't take long for at least two-thirds of it to get devoured by our gluttonous captain before we managed to get our share of the meal; even Carue, who immediately started devouring it with great gusto.

And as we ate our meal, I explained to Vivi aeverything about what I was and my knowledge of almost everyone's history and possible future events, as well as my reasoning behind some of my previous actions.

Suffice to say, she wasn't convinced.

"Do you expect me to actually believe all of that?" She asked, "I've heard more elaborate lies than whatever you have cooked up."

"It is the truth, whether you believe it or not." I pointed out.

"Yeah! Rein is not lying!" Luffy added, "She does know a lot about everyone!"

"Really? Then prove it. Tell me something that only I would know."

"Are you sure?"

"Go ahead. I have nothing to hide."

"Okay…" A certain background information came to mind, "The resistance leader is your childhood friend Koza."

"Anyone can find that out with a little—"

"Your first interaction with him ended in a fight, which you lost. After which, Igaram got angry at him, while his father tried to atone for it with his life."

"Wait, how—"

"You then fought him again, and ended up winning this time. You then joined his little band of kids known as the Sand-Sand Clan."

"Okay, that's—"

"Then one day while the lot of you were playing outside, some lowlifes tried to kidnap you. Your friends tried to fight them off, but they got beaten really bad, with Koza getting a cut over his—"

"Alright, alright! You made your point!"

Vivi's cries had me stop my exposition on her childhood, the princess's face burning red from embarrassment as she struggled to keep her calm.

I gave her a raised eyebrow and a grin, "Still think I'm lying now?"

"N-No…" She stuttered as she took a deep, shaky breath, "You couldn't have possibly know things like that unless you… then do you really know the future?"

"Of future events, sure." I nodded.

"Then, Igaram isn't…?"

"He's alive. It wasn't stated how he survived, but the explosion did not kill him."

If it was going by the Canon plot, he would be; thank Goda and his inability to keep some of his characters dead.

The princess let out a long and heavy sigh as she sunk deeper into her chair, "That's… that's good to hear… then, do you know—"

"I'm sorry, but I can't really share too much on the future on account of possible 'spoilers'."

"…Spoilers."

"Captain's orders."

Luffy nodded, his mouth filled with eggs and bacon as he pointed at the princess with his fork, "Yeah! No spoiling the adventure!"

Vivi looked like she was having second thoughts on agreeing to the deal, before letting out a sigh, "I see… guess I can't depend too much on your future knowledge."

"Yeah, sorry for getting your hopes up." I stated, "Though I will try and share what I can without giving too much away."

"Then the resistance's—"

"Nope, a huge major spoiler."

"Damn it."

"What about that Miss All-Sunday?" Nami asked, "From how you talked to her, she must play quite the important role in the future you know."

"Please let that beautiful lady be a future crewmate~!" Sanji swooned on his feet as he prepared Luffy's fourth serving, "Oh, to beholden to her wonderful legs everyday~!"

"Her legs truly are wonderful…"

Even thought the thick fog, her cowboy clothes really made that part of her standout a lot… one of her best traits if I do say so myself… and the way she sat that with her legs crossed… oh my…

"…Um, Rein…?"

I was immediately brought out of my daydreaming as blood flow to my cheeks from the embarrassing realization that the entire crew had witnessed to what amount to a teenager thinking about her crush.

And judging from the widening grin on the navigator's face, she was well aware of who and what I was thinking about.

I let a cough, "An-Anyways! That particular information is a huge, major, world-shaking spoiler, so I can't divulge any of it."

Vivi snapped her fingers, "Damn… I was hoping to get a leg up on her…"

"Th-Then, what about information on the next island?" Usopp asked, "Is Little Garden as dangerous as that lady made it out to be?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, it could be if you want it to be, but the real danger is that it takes the Log Pose… FUCK!"

"Wh-What's wrong, Rein!?"

"I…I may have screwed us up big time…"

I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten one of most crucial plot points of the Little Garden arc, that we would be forced to remain there for two years to wait for the Log Pose to record, and it was only thanks to Sanji getting the Alabasta Eternal Pose that we could move on.

And the only way he could have gotten that was through the Unluckies, which we currently had bound and gagged in the storeroom.

In other words, I may have accidentally trapped us on that Jurassic Park of an island for at least two years, possibly screwed over the remaining plot, and allowed Crocodile's plans to take over Alabasta to come into fruition.

"No, wait, we still have time… If we act now, then…"

"Re-Rein…?"

I turned to the extremely confused Usopp, "Go free the Unluckies, right away!"

"Eh, now?"

"Yes, now!"

"You want to set them free now!?" Vivi cried out, "It's still too soon!"

"I know, but we will be screwed if we don't free them now!"

"But we should wait at least a day before doing so!"

"By then, it might be—"

"Rein, you might not need to do that."

We all turned over to Zoro, who was pointed out the window for us to see, where we saw two very familiar figures climbing onto the railing rather effortlessly considering their small size.

Mr 13 had taken off his onesie and lost its sunglasses, while Miss Friday looked just as ruffled as when I caught her; though she didn't seemed to care as much when her partner climbed onto her back before she spread her wings and started flapping.

"No! Carue, stop them!"

"Quack!"

At the princess's command, the large duck kicked opened the door with a long bang and made a mad rush out of the kitchen towards the fleeing Unluckies as the rest of us followed after.

Mr 13 was quick to react, as he leaped off his partner just as she was taking off, and landed a drop kick upon the running Carue, causing the duck stumbling before tripping and crashing onto the ground.

The otter then somersaulted through the air like he was some pro gymnast and landing perfectly onto his partner's back when she flew on by, before the two swiftly took off into the horizon before any of us could do anything about it.

"Carue!" Vivi rushed over to her mount and gently caressed her in her arms, "Are you hurt!?"

The duck shook her head and raised her wing over where the otter had kicked her, "Quack…"

"Hahaha, those are a couple of cool critters!" Luffy laughed.

"I guess they are Crocodile's personal agents for a reason…" I noted in awe.

"How did they even break free!?" Usopp cried out, "My rope work was perfect!"

"Rather, how did they open the door?" Nami asked, "It was locked up tight!"

Sanji entered the storeroom, before returning back out with Mr 13's onesie and a piece of the rope we had used that had flayed ends, "Well, this answers one of the questions."

"It can shed its skin!?" Luffy cried out in amazement.

Nami knocked our dumb captain in the head in response, "It's an otter, not a lizard!"

"Looks like it slipped out of its clothes to escape." The cook noted, "Then chew its partner free."

"That doesn't explain how they opened the locked door." Usopp said, "It's not like they have anything to pick the lock with."

"Uh, I think they do." I pointed out as I took out what looked like a folded black wire from the keyhole, "I think these are his sunglasses. Or what's left of it."

"Huh, that's rather clever." Nami noted, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Ho-How are you guys so calm!?" Vivi cried out, "With them free, Crocodile will find out who you guys are!"

"I am well aware of that…" Nami grumbled with a sigh, "But it's way too late to be worrying about it. I'm more concerned with the next island right now."

"Ri-Right!" Usopp turned to me, "You never answer my question! Is Little Garden that dangerous or not!?"

I then pointed out to him, "And like I said before, it could be if you want it to be."

"And what about the part about the real danger…?"

"Oh, that it takes a long time for the Log Pose to accumulate before we can move on."

Zoro looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "How long are we talking about?"

"Too long for our purposes." I noted, "Anymore and it would be into spoiler territory."

"No spoilers, Rein!" Luffy called out.

"But I can say this much." I added, "Nami has a book about it."

They all immediately turned to the navigator, who was rather taken aback by my sudden accusation; though I wasn't lying when I said that, for Nami did have a book about Little Garden.

Now if she can remember that she had it before reaching Little Garden, that was a whole different story.

A couple of days soon passed us by as we made our way towards our next destination.

Thankfully, due to the lack of clashing magnetic fields, the chaotic weather patterns and wild currents from the first leg of our journey were nowhere to be seen, much to the relief of everyone.

If anything, the weather had been relatively calm in the days since we left the bounty hunter town behind, so the crew had been in a rather relaxed mood as of late.

"Who wants some drinks?"

"We do!"

"Qwuack!"

With a cheer, Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp accepted the chilled bubbly drinks from Sanji that he gave me and the girls just moments ago; even Carue was getting one, the duck practically inhaling it all through the straw.

Vivi looked down at the drink in her hand, before turning to me and Nami with a small frown, "Is it really okay for them to be this relaxed? Even if it isn't as crazy as before, this is still the Grand Line."

"Eh, it will be fine." Nami assured her as she sipped on her drink, "They will work hard when the seas turn rough."

After taking a long sip, I told the princess, "And being too tense can be bad too. You need to relax your nerves a little."

"That is… true… still, wouldn't we get caught unaware at this rate?"

"And we'll handle it when it happens. For now…" I tapped my glass against hers, "Just chill."

"…yeah, I guess I should…" Vivi let out a small sigh before smiling, "Funny, I can't remember the last time I could relax—"

"Hey, look! A dolphin!"

We all turned to where Sanji was pointing, just as a white dolphin broke through the water surface and leaped majestically into the air, a truly beautiful sight of nature to behold that made me wish that I had brought a Cameko.

Until we realized that the aquatic mammal in question was at least ten times larger than the Going Merry, and that it had generated a giant wave when it dived back into the sea, that was heading straight for us.

Nami immediately called out to everyone, "Evasive maneuvers!"

"Aye-aye!"

Like clockwork, with our glasses now sucked clean and forgotten on the floor, we all rushed to our respective positions as we swiftly got to work adjusting the sails and turning the rudder, moving the ship into position just as the wave hits us.

And thankfully, we were just fast enough to shift the Knight Merry's position so that we would be carried by the wave rather than have it crashing into the side of it and possibly capsize us, though it was a rough ride that had everyone scrambling to keep our balance.

"Hahahahaha! This is so much fun!"

All the while, our captain was laughing up the storm like the ever-excited monkey that he was.

I turned over to Vivi and grinned knowingly, "Told you."

The princess blinked at me, before letting out a giggle, "Indeed, you have."

More days passed us by, with the weather still as peaceful as ever; though at this rate, it felt more foreboding than peaceful, like the calm before a massive storm.

Still, that didn't stop me and everyone in the crew from having a relaxing time, like indulging in my new favorite pastime.

About a year into my training with Sen, he had me take up fishing as a form of mental exercise on patience, mental discipline, and situational awareness; it took me quite a while to get decently good at it, though it was nothing compared to Sen.

It also helped that it doubled as a form of meditation, which helped me to keep my mind focused amidst the chaotic life in this age of piracy.

"…It's not biting." I pointed out.

"It isn't, isn't it?" Usopp noted.

"Not even a nibble."

"Not one."

"…"

"…"

"Wow, you guys suck at this." Luffy told us.

That was the last straw, and Usopp threw his rod onto the deck and shouted at our captain, "You're the one who keeps eating all the bait in the first place!"

"I can't help it! I was hungry!"

"He even ate the fake ones…" I sighed.

"Those were really crunchy!"

"What kind of stomach do you even have…?"

Suffice to say, it had not been going well; it was bad enough that he kept eating the chum we had asked Sanji to set aside for fishing, but he even ate the fake ones that Usopp had carved out from some scrap wood we had intended to use in case we ran out.

We didn't even notice him eating them until we heard him crunching down on them; he even swallowed them without much effort, and without any form of discomfort of any kind.

Made me wonder if eating the Gum-Gun Fruit had made him even less human than I had initially thought; though I quickly cut that line of thinking short before I went too deep into that particular spiral.

"This is getting us nowhere…" I put my rod down and hopped off the railing, "I'll see if there's anything in the kitchen we can use as a replacement."

"Won't Sanji get mad?" Luffy asked.

"I'm sure he's not that stingy."

"Land spotted! Up ahead!"

Our bait issue was immediately forgotten with Zoro's proclamation, fishing rods were dropped as we joined everyone else and headed for the bow, where we saw the island that we were slowly approaching.

Even from a distance, I could see the two massive bone-white 'mountains' sticking out from a dense jungle of trees that were the huge landmarks for Little Garden.

The air had even shifted to that of the warm, humid tropics. It was a really familiar feeling, that of my old home country. Though I could tell that it was a lot warmer, no doubt due to the island's active volcano.

Nami raised her arm, aligning and examining the Log Pose on her wrist, "There's no doubt about it, that's our next destination, Little Garden."

"Woohoo! Our second island on the Grand Line!" Luffy cheered.

"We should be careful." Vivi noted, "I'm a little worried about what Miss All-Sunday had said about this island."

"Did you ever find that book, Nami?" Zoro asked.

"No." She shook her head, before turning to me, "Are you sure I have a book about this place?"

"It's on the shelf, if that's what you're asking." I told her, "I remember it being about an explorer of some kind."

"…you know how little that narrows it down?"

"Hey, it's been two years since I've read the story. Can't expect me to know all the details that clearly."

Usopp turned to me with a pleading look, "Come on, Rein! The island is right there! Give me some details at least!"

I shook my head with an exaggerated sigh, "Sorry, Usopp. Spoilers, and all that."

"Quit using that as an excuse, damn it!"

"Well, we have to make landfall regardless." Sanji noted, "Besides, the supplies we have stocked up are already running low, so we are in need of a resupply."

"Damn it, Luffy!"

"Hahahaha!"

"Urgh… I can feel my can't-stop-at-this-island sickness kicking in…"

It didn't take long for us to find a river for us to sail into, the massive prehistoric trees casting massive shadows over us as we entered further inland, with the sounds of countless wildlife echoing all around us as the scent of wet soil and grass filled the air.

Once we entered the island was when the warmth and humid air was starting to get to me, forcing me to exchange my usual jacket with a white hooded one with short blue sleeves.

I'd even rolled up the legs of my pants to my knees, that was how warm it was.

"Man, just look at this place." Sanji noted, "The entire island is just one massive jungle, untouched by civilization."

"I can't see anything that would deserve such a cute name like Little Garden." Nami noted, before pointing at the massive fern nearby, "And look! I've never seen such plants in my encyclopedia!"

*GYAA!*GYAA!*

"Kyah! What was that just now!?"

"How cute…~!" Sanji cooed before assuring our navigator, "Don't worry, Nami. It's probably the cry of just some bird."

As he said that, the massive 'bird' flew over us; it resembled more like a lizard with feathers and wings with 'claws' like that of a bat's. It let out a few more of its disturbing cries before flying away.

A stunned silence blanketed over us as they all processed what they just saw, before the loud boom of a volcano suddenly erupting rang throughout the island as the ship slightly shook for a moment.

Moments later, a tiger stumbled out from behind the trees, before collapsing onto the grass dead with blood gushing out of the massive teeth mark on its body.

Pretty much everyone immediately turned to me in unison, Nami and Usopp looking particularly pissed and angry at me.

"Alright, alright; I'll tell you." I laughed, "Little Garden is basically an island stuck in the prehistoric period, with dinosaurs and other similar creatures among its many inhabitants."

"Dinosaurs!?" Luffy cried out, his eyes sparkled with excitement, "We can see real dinosaurs here!?"

"How is that even possible?" Zoro asked, "Aren't dinosaurs extinct?"

"You saw first-hand how chaotic the seas in the Grand Line are." I pointed out, "That made interaction between islands neigh impossible, which give rise to unique cultures and biomes. It just so happens that this particular island never left the prehistoric age behind."

"Then…" Usopp pointed at the dead tiger we had passed by, "Th-The one that ki-killed the tiger is-is a… a…!"

"Dinosaur? Most likely."

"I vote that we don't set foot here and get the fuck out of here!"

"Seconded!" Nami nodded in agreement, "Let's just stay on the Knight Merry and wait for the Log Pose to finish recording! And we need to get Vivi to Alabasta as soon as possible—"

"Sanji, prepare for me a pirate lunchbox!" Luffy commanded with a wide grin, "I'm going on an adventure to find some dinosaurs!"

"Luffy, this is no time to play around!"

"What, do you want to come along, Nami?"

"Ah… no good… he's too fired up…"

Vivi then asked our excited captain, "Could I come along with you?"

"Sure, you can!" Luffy nodded, "Sanji, one more lunchbox!"

"You got it!"

"Can I get some of that special drink for Carue as well?"

"Of course, my dear Vivi~!"

"Qwuack!?"

"You want to tag along with him!?" Nami asked the princess, "This isn't some park, you know!"

"I am well aware, but just standing around doing nothing is only going to end up making me think about my worries again." Vivi pointed out, "So, I might as well try and clear my head till the Log Pose finishes recording."

"And you are bringing your duck along…?"

"He's pretty tough! And it will be nice for him to stretch his legs after days all crammed up here."

"Qwu-Qwuack…"

"I don't think he agrees with you…" Usopp noted, said duck hanging his head in dejection.

"In that case, mind if I join as well?"

"You too, Rein!?" Nami cried out.

I nodded with a shrug of my shoulders, "This is my one chance to see real-life dinosaurs; there is no way I'm missing out."

It was like my childhood dream to see an actual dinosaur, instead of those fake models and fossils in museums. And considering what would happen further in the arc, staying close to them would help me thwart some of Mr 3's plans.

More specifically, making sure that Dorry would not get his stomach blown up by a barrel of ale spiked by Mr 5's explosive…whatever he used, and hopefully prevent him and Luffy from duking it out.

But in all seriousness, I just really want to see some dinosaurs.

"Sanji, can I get a lunchbox as well?" I called out.

"Your wish is my command~!"

"Dinosaurs~! Dinosaurs~! Gonna find me some dinosaurs~!"

The cheerful and childish tune of my captain filled the air as he took the lead in this impromptu expedition into the prehistoric jungle, Vivi following close behind while riding on Carue as I brought up the rear of our little expedition team.

The large ancient, extinct fauna all around us made me feel like we had time-travelled millions of years into the past, and were now traversing through an ancient land no other human had been through before.

It was like we were explorers rediscovering an ancient world that was only once known through fossils and in many educated guesses.

If it weren't for the looming threat of Baroque Works, I would be really immersing myself in the explorer atmosphere.

"You seemed rather excited, Miss Rein." Vivi noted with a giggle, "Almost like a kid on a field trip."

"This is a childhood dream of mine." I pointed out, "So you have to forgive me for being a little giddy."

"Though I take it that isn't the only reason you follow us?"

"You truly are sharp, princess."

"I didn't remain undercover this long with just luck, you know."

I rolled my eyes before walking close to her and lowering my voice, "Baroque Works agents will ambush us on this island, and nearly succeed in capturing and wiping us out."

She leaned in and asked, "…which ones?"

"Mr 3, Miss Golden Week, Mr 5, and Miss Valentine."

"Didn't you already beat Mr 5 and his partner back in Whiskey Peak?"

"I did, and they might not show up this time. But it helps to be cautious just in case. You know what they say about cockroaches."

Vivi shuddered before nodding in agreement, "So, what should we do?"

"For now, just—"

"Hey guys, check this out! It's a clam that looks like a squid! A clam-squid!"

Our conversation was cut short as Luffy practically shoved what looked like an ammonite in our face like a kid excitingly showing his parents something he found, its tentacles squirming about in the air as water dripped off of it.

It was really something seeing it and knowing that it was not created using CGI or being an animatronic, especially with how lively the animal was. Oh, if my kid self could see me now…

"It looked more like a snail than a clam, Luffy." I pointed out.

"Snails don't live in the water, silly." He told me, "It is a clam-squid."

"An ammonite… this place really is in the prehistoric era." Vivi noted.

"Say, do you think this tastes like clam or squid? Or both? Can it taste like both?"

"You want to eat it!?"

A loud thud and the ground suddenly shook for a moment, causing Luffy to drop the ancient squid, allowing it to squirm back into the watering hole it called home, much to my captain's disappointment.

Though the ammonite was quickly forgotten when another thud was heard and the ground shook once more, drawing our attention up past the tree line to the long and massive neck of a passing-by brachiosaurus.

"A dinosaur!" Luffy cheered, "A real life dinosaur!"

"An actual brachiosaurus!" I cried out in excitement, "Look at how big it is! That long neck! The way it chewed on those leaves!"

"You really love this stuff, huh?" Vivi pointed out.

"Yeah, I do! Dinosaurs were my obsession in my boyhood!"

"…but you're a girl."

"I meant what I said!"

While the princess was trying to wrap her head around what I just said, Luffy decided to do what every boy in the world wished to do once with a real-life brachiosaurus.

He threw his stretchy arm around the trunk of a nearby tree, pulling himself back as far as he could, and then shooting himself into the air like an arrow from a bow and landing onto the dinosaur's thick neck.

"Don't ride on it!"

"Wait for me!"

"You too!?"

Ignoring Vivi's objections to our admittedly reckless actions, I went into my half-dragon form and flew after him, flying up the neck and landing on its head just as my captain climbed up onto it.

Was it unnecessary? Yeah. Was it worth it? Hell yeah, it was!

While I could easily get the same view from just flying into the air, there was something about seeing it while standing atop one of the tallest dinosaurs around that made it more breathtaking than usual.

We got a full panorama view of almost the entire Little Garden, with the two 'mountains' in the distance along with several active volcanoes spewing out steam from their peaks, as well as the river the Knight Merry would be sailing through to get off this island.

"Wow! What a view!" Luffy noted with a grin, "I'd sure like to eat lunch up here!"

"It is quite the view." I nodded, "Now, where to next, captain?"

"Oh, let's go to those mountains with the weird holes!"

"Sure. Which one?"

"You two, get down from there!" Vivi called out, "It might be docile, but it is still a dinosaur!"

"It's fine! This guy has only been eating leaves! I don't think it even noticed me yet!" Luffy assured her, "Anyway, there's a mountain with weird holes over there! Let's go take a look—!"

The brachiosaurus suddenly flipped its head back and tossed us into the air; I quickly flapped my wings and hovered over it, but Luffy wasn't so lucky as he ended up falling into the dinosaur's open mouth.

Once he was inside, it closed its mouth with an audible chomp, followed by a loud gulp.

"Luffy got eaten!?" Vivi cried out in a panic.

I immediately drew Ryuga and got ready to slice open the neck to save my captain from being the dinosaur's dinner.

Only for a massive sword twice the size of the Knight Merry to cleave right through the thick neck, allowing Luffy to slip out of the severed gullet and into its wielder's massive palm.

"Gyagyagyagya!" The giant laughed heartily as he rested his sword on his shoulder, looking at the stunned Luffy in his hand, "Well, aren't you a lively little one?"

"Whoa, you're huge!" Luffy cried out in awe, "Are you a human?"

"Me? A human? Gyagyagya! You are a funny guy! I am a giant, and Elbaf's greatest warrior, Dorry!"

"A giant!? That sounds awesome!"

Seeing as my captain was no longer in danger, I sheathed my sword and flew back down to Vivi, the princess looking up at the giant warrior in shock while tending to Carue, the duck having collapsed to the ground from sheer fright.

I landed in front of her and remarked, "Well, that was a little too close for comfort…"

"Rein, that's a giant!" Vivi cried out, "A giant!"

"Yeah, it is. Why else would this place be called Little Garden?"

"Wait, you knew that there's a giant on this island!?"

I nodded, "Two of them, to be exact. And they will be essential in dealing with the Baroque Work agents."

"Two of—wait, what do you mean by that?"

"Well, because they would—"

"Come with me!" Dorry called out, his eyes now looking our way with a massive grin on his face, "Let me invite you all to my place for a meal!"

Vivi turned to me, body shaking with panic being written all over her face, as if the thought of sharing a meal with a giant was equivalent to a death sentence.

I rolled my eyes and patted her on the back, "Don't worry. This giant isn't as bad as he looks. Well, if you are being civil with him."

"If…If you say so…"

"Now come on. We can't keep our host waiting."

…
To be continued…

Yup, long time no see!

Seeing that it is the holidays, I thought I would finish up this chapter before Christmas Day and publish it then.

This would be my Christmas present to all that followed and favorite this fic. It is truly astonishing to see so many people liking my story this much.

And it is funny that I'm writing the Little Garden arc, with the manga now in the midst of the Elbaf arc. Talk about funny coincidences, huh?

With that, I thank you all for reading this! And wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year!