After a friendly exchange with Laboon,
Rhett walked over to the green dinosaur hugging its tail and silently crying. It was probably a lizard, but whatever, let's just call it a dinosaur.
Since Rhett didn't know the exact location, he wandered all over the sea, stopping at every island to take a look. After all, this kind of dinosaur could run in the stomach acid sea, but only for a limited time.
Right, Enel!
Three velociraptors burst from the dense forest, their sharp claws plowing deep grooves into the ground. Their amber vertical pupils glowed with the ferocity of predators.
"Wah! W-we're going to be eaten!" Olga clung tightly to Rhett's arm, her legs trembling.
Perona's Negative Hollows were already rubbing their hands together: "We're doomed, doomed! My gothic dress is going to get stained with dragon blood!"
Rhett, however, didn't seem to care. Instead, he crouched down and rubbed Laboon's head: "It's up to you, buddy."
Laboon's fin slapped his chest with a "smack": "Wah!" (Translation: Leave it to me!)
Taking a deep breath, Laboon's muscles inflated like balloons,
"Ora ora ora!!!"
Laboon transformed into a blue lightning bolt, his fist tearing through the air with a sonic boom. The speed was so intense that flames even erupted.
He didn't eat the Mera Mera no Mi, so it's reasonable to produce some flames, right?
Laboon's fist shot straight for the lead velociraptor! This was the fighting style Rhett had taught Laboon, inspired by Ideo from later in the story—yes, that "Destruction Cannon."
Laboon bent his legs slightly, pulling his right fist back to build momentum. His knuckles gathered a blue whirlwind unique to Sea Kings.
"Wah——!!" (Translation: Take this!)
"BOOM!!!"
The punch landed precisely on the velociraptor's jawbone, the shockwave spreading in a fan shape. Everyone clearly heard a crisp sound, followed by a deafening explosion caused by the friction from the punch's extreme speed—
The lead velociraptor's eyes rolled back, its tongue hanging out half a meter, its massive body flying backward as if launched by a catapult. It crashed through seven ancient trees, each two meters in diameter, before finally embedding itself into a tree trunk with a "thud," its legs still twitching in the air.
Rhett once again marveled at the Pirate King's resilience. If this were in his original world, he'd be scattered in pieces.
But the battle wasn't over yet.
Laboon suddenly crouched, his tail fin leaping up for a whip-like strike.
"Whoosh—!"
The ground was gouged half a meter deep. The two remaining velociraptors, mid-pounce, realized—
Before they could even complete their movements, their bodies were already airborne.
"CRASH!"
The two beasts, weighing several tons combined, slammed into the ground simultaneously.
As the dust settled, the two velociraptors flailed like overturned turtles, their tails slapping the ground.
Laboon wasn't about to let them off. He charged forward, stabilizing his tail stance (since Laboon didn't have legs, he couldn't perform a horse stance, which was both amusing and endearing), his fins glowing blue.
"Bam!"
His left fist struck the second velociraptor's lower abdomen, sending it flying.
His right fist smashed into the third velociraptor's chest, sending it flying as well.
Everyone looked up at the two shrinking black dots in the sky.
Enel suddenly raised his hand: "Should I catch them?"
Rhett waved his hand dismissively: "No need, let them fly for a bit. Laboon's really getting stronger. Meeting Brook later will be even more impressive."
Five seconds later—
The first one crashed into the sea, sending up a massive water column.
"Splat!"
The second one landed right in front of the T-Rex, perfectly positioned in a "dogeza" posture.
Hey, hey, is this really something a T-Rex can do?
"It's time to find Dr. Miss All Sunday, right Olga?" Rhett asked.
Olga nodded.
The group continued their search on the island.
"Is Dad really here?" Olga clenched the hem of her shirt, her voice trembling. The young girl hadn't yet reconciled her feelings—her father's research had led to her mother's death, but it was also meant to cure her illness. Years of hatred couldn't be undone so easily.
Rhett ruffled her golden hair: "Don't cry when you see him later."
Passing through dense ferns, the group came upon a bizarre sight—
A man wearing a homemade dinosaur headpiece was squatting by the river, intently eating meat with a group of baby dinosaurs.
"Pink baby dinosaur, quite the taste, old man," Rhett teased the pink dinosaur munching on meat.
"...Dad?"
The meat slipped from the man's hands and fell to the ground. He slowly turned around, his eyes widening behind his glasses: "Olga?"
There was no tearful embrace, no desperate questioning. Father and daughter simply stared at each other from three meters apart.
Finally, the doctor moved first. He hastily removed the dinosaur headpiece, revealing his messy hair, and tears streamed down his face (literally, as expected in a shonen manga).
Rhett felt like he was watching one of those children's TV shows with exaggerated effects.
Olga's toes scuffed the ground: "...Hmm."
Rhett stepped aside to give the father and daughter some space.
Perona: "Oh~ There are pretty flowers over there!" She casually picked up Laboon and walked away.
Enel: "...Mortals are so troublesome." (But he still followed.)
The doctor nervously rubbed his hands: "I... I thought you..."
"I thought you were dead too," Olga interrupted softly, "Big Bro Rhett told me everything..."
There were no cliché misunderstandings or melodramatic sorrow. The two simply hugged and cried.
Their embrace lasted a long time, but eventually, they let go.
There were no lengthy explanations or confessions.
The doctor gently patted his daughter's shoulder, while Olga turned her face away, quietly wiping her eyes.
Rhett walked over at the perfect moment, a cigarette dangling from his lips: "Done catching up? Time to talk business."
The doctor adjusted his crooked glasses: "Business?"
"Yep," Rhett grinned, "We're short a scientist. Interested?"
Rhett wanted absolute status, power, wealth, and authority in the world of One Piece. Achieving this through brute strength alone was impossible.
He aimed to become the ultimate "Face Fruit" user in the One Piece world. With so much time before the original storyline, Rhett had plenty of room to strategize.
As our great leader once said, technology is the primary productive force. A doctor capable of creating Pure Gold could ensure that Rhett's pirate crew remained at their peak.
Pure Gold has two interpretations: one is a conceptual state that halts bodily aging, the other slows it down but still consumes vitality.
Either way, it made no difference to Rhett.
Vitality was the most abundant resource in the world, especially with a mysterious figure who loved dogs lurking in the shadows.
Rhett was ready to make his move.
"Doctor, you might not care for yourself, but do you really want Olga to live like a savage with you?"
A little trick for interpersonal interactions.
"And there's no need to abandon your research. Funding isn't an issue. Whatever you need, we'll provide."
The doctor's expression clearly showed he was tempted. Rhett glanced at Tesoro.