Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
At the dock, Riberra Sami was going over the supply inventory with Aldo when a familiar horn sounded from the distant sea—the rough, distinctive call of the Spearfish.
Looking up, they saw a medium-sized sailing ship cutting through the waves toward the inner harbor. On the bow deck, a figure was waving his arms vigorously.
"Boss——! We're here——!"
It was Kahailo.
A smile spread across Riberra Sami's face as he raised his hand in response. "Over here!"
Aldo had already broken into a wide grin, shouting to the nearby crew, "It's Kahailo and the others! Come on, help secure the lines!"
The ship slowly docked. As soon as the gangplank was lowered, Kahailo strode down in large steps.
He looked darker than before, his eyes carrying the fatigue of a long voyage.
He stepped forward and punched Riberra Sami lightly on the shoulder. "Boss, long time no see!"
"Good work." Riberra Sami smiled and returned the gesture, his gaze sweeping over the crew disembarking behind him. "How was the trip?"
Kahailo sighed. "Hard to sum up in a few words. Myron's been learning from Hans, but he still hasn't fully grasped the temperament of the Grand Line. We had a rough time on a few stretches."
The other officers gathered around, exchanging hearty greetings. Riberra Sami glanced over the lively crowd, then suddenly noticed someone missing.
"Where's Isaac?" he asked. "Where's that kid hiding?"
Kahailo's expression immediately turned strange, his lips twitching slightly.
"Well…" He stepped aside and gestured toward the Spearfish's deck. "You'd better see for yourself."
Riberra Sami raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. He stepped onto the gangplank.
Aldo and a few curious crew members followed.
The deck of the Spearfish looked more crowded than he remembered, piled with crates and ropes that hadn't yet been properly stored.
Riberra Sami had just steadied himself and was about to look toward the cabin—
"Roar—!"
A young yet surprisingly powerful roar came from the side of the cabin.
The next moment, a gray-green triceratops about the size of an Alaskan dog charged forward on its short legs with startling speed, lowering its head and ramming straight toward Riberra Sami!
Riberra Sami reacted instantly.
Just as the horn was about to hit him, his right hand shot out, grabbing the longest horn. With a twist of his wrist, he lifted the little triceratops into the air, spun slightly, and flung it onto the open deck nearby.
The little creature was stunned. It shook its head, then looked up at Riberra Sami with wide amber eyes, letting out a dissatisfied grunt.
The deck fell silent.
Riberra Sami stared at the clearly juvenile triceratops for a full two seconds before slowly turning to Kahailo, whose expression had grown even more complicated.
"…What is that thing? A triceratops? Why is it on our ship?"
Kahailo rubbed his forehead, about to speak—
Clatter!
A series of rummaging sounds came from the cabin, followed by a familiar voice.
"Tori? Toriji? Where did you run off to again? Come out—we've arrived!"
The cabin door swung open, and a messy-haired young man stepped out—it was Isaac.
His eyes swept across the deck. When he saw Riberra Sami, his face lit up immediately.
"Ah! Boss! Long time no see!"
Then his gaze fell on the small triceratops by Riberra Sami's feet, which was now trying to nudge Riberra Sami's pant leg with its horn. He visibly relaxed.
"So you're here, Tori!"
He walked over and casually patted the creature's rough neck.
Watching the interaction between the man and the dinosaur, an absurd thought formed in Riberra Sami's mind.
He pointed at the triceratops named Toriji, his tone uncertain.
"Isaac… don't tell me this is yours?"
"Yep!" Isaac beamed. "His name's Toriji. Cute, right? I brought him back from Little Garden!"
"Brought him back… from Little Garden?" Riberra Sami tried to recall. "You mean when we left last time? How did I not know about this?"
"Ahaha…" Isaac scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "We stayed there for quite a while, right? I… I secretly picked up a dinosaur egg and brought it onboard. It hatched not long ago! Surprise, boss!"
Riberra Sami: "…"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, momentarily at a loss for words.
Just moments ago, when he sensed the charging creature and heard the roar, a ridiculous yet hopeful thought had flashed through his mind.
"You…" Riberra Sami sighed helplessly. "For a second there, I got excited. I thought we finally had a third Devil Fruit user onboard. Like someone ate a Zoan Ancient-type—Triceratops model or something."
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
After a brief pause, the crew burst into roaring laughter.
But the laughter quickly died down.
Kahailo and the others who hadn't gone to Sky Island now stared with curiosity in their eyes.
"Wait…" Kahailo said slowly, his gaze shifting between Riberra Sami and the others who had been to Sky Island. "Boss, you said… third ability user? Who's the second?"
Riberra Sami smiled at their shocked and eager expressions and called out:
"Gade! Get out here and show these clueless guys something!"
"Coming!"
Gade pushed his way out of the crowd, unable to hide the smug grin on his face.
Under the focused gazes of the Spearfish crew—especially Kahailo—he took a deep breath.
The next moment, his body began to change violently!
His muscles bulged at a visible rate. His skin turned dark gray, thickening into rough, wrinkled hide.
His nose extended and hardened—
In less than two seconds, a massive rhinoceros stood where Gade had been, its four hooves planted firmly on the deck as it let out a deep, rumbling snort.
The deck fell into absolute silence.
Kahailo and the others stood frozen, eyes wide, mouths slightly open.
"Holy…!"
"Gade… you…" Kahailo stepped forward, hesitating as he reached out, wanting to touch the seemingly indestructible hide. "This… this is a Zoan? The Rhino Fruit?"
Gade transformed back into human form, thumping his chest proudly with a grin.
"That's right! Zoan-type, Rhino Fruit! Pretty awesome, huh?"
"Awesome? It's insane…" another crew member said, eyes full of envy. "That's way too cool!"
Riberra Sami added casually, dropping a bombshell.
"And he got lucky. That Devil Fruit only cost ten thousand Beli."
"—WHAT?!!!"
"A Devil Fruit?! Ten thousand Beli?!"
"Ten thousand?! What kind of insane luck is that?! A Devil Fruit for ten thousand?! And a Zoan at that?!"
"ABABABABA!!!" Even Alberto clutched his head in disbelief.
Amid the uproar, Riberra Sami's attention returned to the little triceratops still trying to chew on his pant leg.
He clicked his tongue and looked at Isaac, who was watching him expectantly.
"You really plan to keep this thing? It looks like it eats a lot."
"Boss~~"
Isaac immediately put on a pitiful expression, looking at Riberra Sami with pleading eyes.
"…Alright, alright." Riberra Sami gave in with a sigh, waving his hand. "I'll talk to Tom and see if we can carve out some space in the new ship for it. The doors and corridors will probably need to be widened and reinforced too."
He stroked his chin, studying Toriji.
"Come to think of it… how big does a triceratops actually get? We stayed on Little Garden for so long, but I never really measured…"
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