— — — — — —
The Silver Greatsword.
A fascinating stand-in.
Joey still needed to study it carefully.
Right now, he only had a sketchy understanding of his own Stand.
---
Meanwhile...
Oven and Custard were walking along a trail.
"Huh?"
Custard suddenly stopped in her tracks, eyes wide in shock. "Oven! Oven! Look at this! What kind of dinosaur is that?"
Oven turned his head.
"What the heck is that? Is this even a dinosaur?"
It looked so bizarre.
On Little Garden, a place known for its dinosaurs and enormous beasts, strange things were the norm.
The island was home to many ancient creatures resembling dinosaurs or gigantic predators.
However, this one was... different.
This "dinosaur" had a massive, muscular body with no visible fat. Its back sported pterosaur wings, its head was like a triceratops, and its tail resembled that of an ankylosaurus.
It was a mishmash—a freak of nature.
"ROAR!"
Spotting Oven and Custard, the dinosaur let out a deafening roar and charged at them.
Custard panicked. "Oven! What do we do?"
Still a child, Custard had a lot to learn. Oven, however, remained calm. "Relax. It's just a small fry."
He dashed toward the dinosaur, fist clenched.
BOOM!
With Armament Haki swirling around his fist, Oven landed a powerful punch.
The ground shook.
But...
To everyone's shock, the dinosaur withstood the attack.
Oven's punch—a display of his solid Bronze-level 6 power—was blocked by this creature.
"What the—?" Custard gasped. "That thing's defense is insane! Is it really just a dinosaur?"
Oven didn't reply, lost in thought. Was this even an ordinary dinosaur?
No, it seemed more like a genetically engineered monstrosity.
"Whatever," Oven muttered, shaking off his thoughts. His eyes sharpened. "Doesn't matter what you are. You've got bad luck running into me. You're going into big bro's collection, no matter your origin."
With calculated ferocity, Oven launched a series of brutal attacks. His punches and kicks weren't random—they followed a deadly martial art Joey had provided for him.
Joey had equipped all his siblings with fighting techniques tailored to their strengths.
Oven, a melee expert, practiced a brutally efficient fighting style from another world. Combined with his Heat-Heat Fruit powers, his attacks were devastating.
His brothers and sisters had their own specialties too:
Katakuri mastered trident techniques. Cracker wielded his greatsword with unmatched skill.
The other siblings also had personalized styles, ensuring they didn't rely on raw instinct alone.
Despite Oven's skill, the dinosaur proved formidable, matching him blow for blow.
Custard, watching closely, began to think.
"This thing's defense is insane. Regular weapons wouldn't even scratch it... but maybe…"
An idea sparked in her mind.
Sneaking away, Custard returned moments later with a giant chunk of meat, which he had injected with a potent sedative.
"Hey, stupid dino! Catch this!" Custard shouted.
The dinosaur turned at her yell and instinctively chomped down on the meat, swallowing it whole.
For a moment, Oven froze in surprise, but quickly realized what Custard was up to.
A grin spread across his face.
"Not bad."
Strength wasn't everything in a fight. To make a quick decision was just as important.
Within seconds, the dinosaur staggered and collapsed, its eyes filled with reluctant defeat.
Custard approached cautiously. "Wow! That stuff's crazy! Took it down in just ten seconds!"
Oven nodded. "The sedative was meant for the giants. But yeah, this dinosaur's no joke—probably Bronze-level 5. Without my Devil Fruit powers, I'd have struggled to beat it quickly."
"Big bro's going to love this," Custard said with a grin.
"Definitely."
With that, Custard opened a massive mirror using her Mirror-Mirror Fruit and stored the dinosaur safely inside.
"Hey, Oven," Custard suddenly asked. "The sedative won't wear off too soon, right? It'd be a pain if it woke up."
"Don't worry," Oven reassured her. "Without the antidote, it'll stay knocked out for a month. Plenty of time. Now let's see if there's anything else interesting on this island."
Meanwhile, Oven's other siblings were busy.
The Opera brothers had split into two groups to confront the island's resident giants, Dorry and Brogy.
The battles were fierce, shaking the entire island.
Opera, observing from afar, noted, "These giants have really declined. They've even forgotten how to use Haki."
The fights ended quickly. The brothers had coated their weapons in sedatives, ensuring victory as soon as the giants were injured.
"Mission accomplished," they reported.
Custard and Oven arrived to collect the unconscious giants, storing them in the mirror dimension.
Soon, Joey appeared with three of his sisters.
"All done?" he asked, smiling.
"Yep," Opera confirmed. "The giants are secured."
Excitedly, Custard told Joey about their bizarre dinosaur catch. Joey's eyes lit up.
"A unique specimen like that will make a great addition to my pet collection."
With their mission complete, Joey gave the order:
"Let's head back to the New World. We've got important business to take care of."
The crew agreed, knowing the upcoming trades—and the looming God Valley War—would demand their full attention.
Their ship sailed off, leaving the island behind.
The hunt was over, but the adventure was far from finished.
.
.
.