At this moment, Ryoma, sailing upon the Grand Line, was in a quite relaxed mood.
As the highest combat power of the World Government, Admirals usually have to handle a great deal of affairs. Most of their energy must be spent on monitoring the Four Emperors of the New World, and the Headquarters must always have top-tier combat power stationed there.
Kizaru had personally set out before entirely because it involved a major event like the Celestial Dragons, and because the Marine Headquarters had roughly locked onto his sailing route, allowing for a precise interception before Reverse Mountain.
But now, entering the Grand Line was like a fish returning to the sea. This vast and climatically volatile sea area was itself the best barrier. To precisely track a small boat with no fixed destination here, even an Admiral would be stretched too thin.
This allowed Ryoma to enjoy a rare period of leisurely sailing time. His daily life was extremely regular. Besides necessary physical and Haki training, he would lie on the deck using a fishing rod made of ice to catch the strangely shaped fish in the deep sea.
The caught fish were flash-frozen using his ice ability to keep them fresh. Occasionally, he could improve his meals by sprinkling a handful of spices "bought" from Whiskey Peak. Grilled fish tasted much better than gnawing on dry meat.
Except for the bizarre weather unique to the Grand Line, which would cause some minor trouble, everything was fine.
One second it was perfectly clear, and the next it was a torrential downpour, with the rain even mixed with hail the size of fists.
Several small waterspouts would rise from the calm sea without any warning.
Ryoma was too lazy to detour. Under the extreme cold air, the violent waterspouts would be instantly frozen into spiral ice pillars, which he would then casually shatter with a single sword strike.
After sailing like this for more than ten days, the outline of an island finally appeared on the distant horizon.
There seemed to be two incredibly massive skulls lying parallel at opposite ends of the island, and several towering volcanoes on the island were spewing thick billows of smoke.
As the small boat continued to approach, the full view of Little Garden gradually became clear before Ryoma's eyes.
The entire island was covered by extremely dense primitive vegetation, presenting a wild, prehistoric style. At least four active volcanoes were in an active phase, adding a bit of violent atmosphere to this green world.
Ryoma steered the small boat along the coastline for a long time before finally finding a suitable small bay to dock.
He steered the boat into the bay and then reached out his right hand to press on the gunwale.
Several crystal-clear ice spikes spread out from his palm, firmly freezing the hull to the reefs on both sides of the bay, forming a stable natural dock.
Ryoma stepped onto the soil of Little Garden, met by a blast of hot, humid air thick with the scent of decaying vegetation and pungent sulfur.
His ears were filled with the sounds of insects he had never heard before and the distant, muffled roars of beasts. The entire world exuded a wild and primitive vitality.
He got his bearings and began walking leisurely toward the smoking volcanoes at the center of the island.
Less than a hundred meters into the edge of the jungle, the ground began to shake violently without warning.
"Roar!"
Deafening roars exploded from the dense forest to his side.
Immediately after, seven or eight ferocious-looking carnivorous dinosaurs, each over seven meters long, burst through the tangled vines and massive thickets. Their crimson eyes locked onto Ryoma, and saliva dripped from their gaping maws.
Ryoma continued walking calmly, but an invisible pressure suddenly radiated from him like ripples on a water surface.
The pack of dinosaurs, which had been charging fiercely, came to a dead stop. Their eyes instantly rolled back, their massive bodies stumbled a few steps under their own momentum, and then, after a series of short whimpers, they collapsed one after another, completely losing consciousness.
Only a few dinosaurs further back, possessing slightly stronger wills, were lucky enough not to faint instantly, but their eyes were now filled with terror as they looked at Ryoma.
They let out several whimpers of submission, tucked their tails, and fled back into the depths of the jungle even faster than they had emerged, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
"Using Conquerors Haki against these simple-minded beasts works surprisingly well." Ryoma murmured to himself, glad to have saved himself the trouble of a physical fight.
He continued forward. Along the way, various ancient creatures attracted by this outsider launched fearless attacks from every corner of the jungle.
There were packs of Raptors launching ambushes with razor-sharp claws.
There were giant Pterosaurs with wingspans exceeding ten meters diving from the sky, attempting to snatch him away.
There was even a true Tyrannosaurus Rex, its body as massive as a small hill and far larger than the previous dinosaurs, lunging at him with its bloody maw open.
It was Ryoma's first time seeing a living dinosaur with his own eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
He dealt with these nuisances easily, but he didn't discard all of them. Frost condensed into tough ropes, dragging several of the largest dinosaur carcasses behind him, leaving a clear trail on the ground.
After all, why waste ingredients that delivered themselves to his door?
He was quite curious about how these ancient creatures tasted.
Pushing through like this, Ryoma soon crossed a fern forest that had been grazed bare.
The view ahead suddenly opened up to a relatively wide clearing, in the center of which a massive bonfire was roaring.
An exceptionally burly figure was sitting on a natural giant rock. His frame was so enormous that the surrounding towering ancient trees seemed slender in comparison.
He was clutching a fragrant, roasted dinosaur leg and tearing into it with large bites, grease dripping down his thick beard.
Seemingly sensing Ryoma's arrival and the "ingredients" he was dragging behind him, the giant figure set down the roasted meat and looked toward Ryoma with a hint of curiosity and surprise in his eyes.
"Gegyagyagya!"
A hearty and unique laugh echoed through the woods, making the leaves rustle.
"How wonderful! It's been a long time since an outsider came to this island!"
The giant grinned at Ryoma and the dinosaurs he was dragging.
"You brought your own meat. Perfect. My cooking skills are quite good, let me treat you to some barbecue."
He paused, his massive nose twitching as he sniffed deeply, then asked expectantly, "Oh... by the way, little guy, do you have any alcohol? Barbecue is best when paired with booze."
Ryoma was affected by the hearty laughter, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face.
"Warrior of Elbaf, I have heard much of your fame."
He responded calmly, "I do indeed have alcohol."
A look of surprise flashed across Dorry's rugged face, he hadn't expected this human to know about Elbaf.
"Oh? You know quite a bit, little guy! Gegyagyagya!"
He was stunned for a moment before bursting into even louder laughter, clearly pleased by Ryoma's words.
Ryoma didn't say much more. With a thought, he pulled several massive oak barrels out of his storage space. With a casual toss, a barrel filled with over a hundred liters of rum traced a parabola through the air toward Dorry.
Thud!
The heavy barrel landed steadily in the clearing before Dorry, kicking up a ring of dust.
Dorry looked at the barrel, which to him was roughly the size of a'small cup', and reached out with a massive hand, easily picking it up.
He pulled the cork and, without even bothering to smell it, tilted his head back and aimed the barrel at his mouth.
"Gulp..."
The spicy liquor rolled down his throat, and in just a few moments, the entire barrel of rum was drained dry.
"Haaa..."
Dorry let out a satisfied exhale and tossed the empty barrel aside, a magnificent grin on his face.
"Excellent! I haven't had a drink in ages. Little guy, you're quite to my liking."
He happily slapped his iron-like chest with his massive palm, producing a muffled sound like a beating drum.
"I am Dorry. And you?"
"Ryoma."
Ryoma gave his name.
"Ryoma? Good, I'll take you as a friend."
Dorry announced happily, pointing toward the bonfire.
"Sit. There's plenty of meat here. Today, we won't stop until we're drunk."
Ryoma didn't stand on ceremony. He walked to the bonfire, found a relatively clean rock to sit on, and tossed the dinosaurs he had dragged along to the side.