One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 871: Chapter 871: The Sudden Appearance of a Legendary Creature – The Dragon

In the New World, high above a certain stretch of sea.

Rumble—Rumble—!

Violent sonic booms echoed through the sky as a dark shadow streaked across the atmosphere at an altitude of several thousand meters. Behind it, it left a trail of explosive vapor clouds and a visible wake in the air that stretched as far as the eye could see, even cleaving the thick clouds apart.

Pere pere pere... Pere pere pere...

Suddenly, the sound of a Den Den Mushi rang out. Aeridar’s gaze sharpened mid-flight as he reached into his coat and pulled out the snail.

Click.

"Doffy, what is it?" Aeridar answered in a deep, serious voice. "Don’t tell me you let Straw Hat escape."

In the forests of Green Bit, Donquixote Doflamingo was weaving through the trees, propelled by invisible threads. He kept his eyes on the fleeing Trafalgar Law ahead and let out a sinister chuckle into the Den Den Mushi. "Fuffuffuffu... Such harsh words. Are you underestimating me?"

"Glad to hear it. I’m currently heading your way, but I still need some time," Aeridar replied, his tension easing slightly.

"I know. To think you actually charged into Kaido’s territory and picked a fight with that monster... You’re truly becoming more formidable by the day, Aeridar!" Doflamingo remarked, his tone a mix of mockery and genuine gravity.

In truth, Doflamingo had been quite stunned when he first received the news. He hadn’t expected this man to grow to such a level, capable of confronting a monster like Kaido of the Beasts head-on.

"Only through absolute strength can one find true peace, isn’t that right?" Aeridar’s lips curled into a confident smirk.

"Fuffuffuffu... A man who inspires such security! Straw Hat is currently trapped inside the Colosseum, and Law is being hunted by me as we speak. There shouldn’t be any major issues," Doflamingo grinned.

However, his expression soon darkened. "But traces of the Revolutionary Army have appeared in Dressrosa. Furthermore, Violet just spotted over a hundred powerful Mink warriors. Many of them are famous names with bounties exceeding a hundred million—lions, tigers, gorillas... I’m starting to think I should build a zoo!"

Aeridar’s face instantly fell. "Minks!"

He understood Doflamingo’s implication and what it signified. While many Minks roamed the seas, some joining the Yonko and others forming their own crews, seeing a hundred of them moving together was almost unprecedented. No Yonko or pirate crew in the world boasted such a concentrated force of Mink warriors.

"Zou... Inuarashi, Nekomamushi... How interesting. Hahaha~"

Aeridar’s lips parted into a low, thoughtful laugh. Hearing the sound through the Den Den Mushi, Doflamingo raised an eyebrow. "It seems you know what’s going on."

"I have a guess, but I’ll need to see it with my own eyes to be sure." Aeridar’s eyes narrowed, flickering with a dangerous light. "If it’s what I suspect, stay alert. If you see a giant dog and a giant cat, be careful, don’t let them kill you!"

If those Mink warriors were truly from Zou, then Duke Inuarashi and Master Nekomamushi were likely among them. Facing Law and Straw Hat alongside those two powerhouses would put even Doflamingo in grave danger.

"A giant dog and a giant cat? I’ve got it." Doflamingo frowned. If Golden Ring Aeridar felt the need to issue a specific warning, these individuals were undoubtedly elite. He etched the names into his mind.

At that moment, Aeridar sensed something. He looked up, and through the clouds a few hundred meters away, a massive silhouette emerged.

When he finally saw the gargantuan figure clearly, Aeridar’s mouth hung open. His gaze went blank, and he froze in mid-air.

"Hey! What’s wrong?" Doflamingo’s voice came through the snail, seeking an answer to the sudden silence.

It took several seconds for Aeridar to regain his senses. He stared at the sight ahead, his throat dry. "Hey, Doffy... Did Vegapunk create more than one dragon? Or... do dragons actually exist in this world?"

"Dragons? Are you joking? How could there be—wait, what are you talking about?" Doflamingo asked, confused.

"I’m saying... there’s a giant dragon flying right in front of me. Do you believe it?" Aeridar’s voice was low and raspy.

A crimson beast, at least a hundred meters long, was soaring through the clouds. It was covered in fiery red scales the size of a man’s palm. Its body was powerfully built, with a long, thick neck and four sturdy limbs tipped with razor-sharp claws. A pair of massive, bat-like wings beat against the air, generating violent gusts that blew the surrounding clouds away like a hurricane. With its long, sinuous tail ending in a barb, it was unmistakably a dragon of legend.

Specifically, it was a Red Dragon, one of the five chromatic dragons.

"A dragon in front of you? Stop messing around!" Doflamingo barked, completely skeptical.

"I wish I were hallucinating. Then I wouldn’t have to agonize over whether to catch this Red Dragon as a research specimen!" Aeridar rubbed his eyes, but the beast didn’t vanish like a mirage.

"Dragon... Red Dragon... That shouldn’t be possible!"

Suddenly, Doflamingo’s tone shifted. A realization struck him. "Could it be... Aeridar, you know about the ’Strongest Shield of the Celestial Dragons,’ don’t you?!"

Aeridar’s eyelid twitched. "You mean... that guy from CP0?"

"He’s incredibly mysterious, but if that dragon in front of you is a Devil Fruit user, it has to be him!" Doflamingo said grimly.

"ROAR—!"

"To think a little bug would be following me!"

The dragon suddenly turned its head. A pair of brown, slitted pupils glared at Aeridar, filled with primal ferocity. It opened its maw and unleashed a titanic roar. The terrifying shockwave of sound rolled out, physically blasting away the clouds for hundreds of meters and creating a massive void in the sky.

"That voice... Watch yourself!" Doflamingo muttered, his own mouth twitching.

Click. The connection was cut.

Aeridar didn’t mind. He had no more desire for small talk. He shoved the Den Den Mushi back into his coat pocket.

"I knew it... There’s no way a legendary creature like a dragon would just be wandering around!" Aeridar stood suspended in the sky, his expression solemn as he faced the massive red beast.

"Ancient Zoan, Mythical Type, Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Red Dragon... What a rare ability!"

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