"Mr. Apoo! It looks like there are monsters in the sky too!!"
In mid-air, the running pirates were desperate and tearful.
The New World's harshness exceeded their expectations, with stronger Navies, more terrifying pirates, more bizarre weather, and even animals that were incredibly dangerous.
The leader of this pirate crew was Apoo, a Super Rookie of the Worst Generation. He was relatively lucky upon entering the New World, encountering no formidable opponents and safely reaching this island.
While they were replenishing supplies, the island's wild boars suddenly attacked them.
Apoo managed to knock down one of the boars, expending quite a bit of energy. He thought this boar was the Beast King of the island, but it turned out there was a whole group of boars just like it.
His earlier luck turned into misfortune, and Apoo and his crew began days of being hunted by boars.
They initially thought of jumping off a cliff to escape the boars but somehow ended running onto an airborne path, beginning to run in the sky.
Apoo and the others didn't know where this aerial path led or where it ended, but threatened by the boars, they had no choice but to run.
The boars hadn't given up their hunt, but now there was something even more frightening.
"Mr. Apoo! It's flying toward us! What do we do?!"
"You ask me... Who am I supposed to ask?! Who knows why a bunch of boars would be involved with that monstrous dragon!"
Apoo and the others were forced to stop. At that moment, they realized the boars behind them had also stopped.
These boars dared to chase Apoo and his pirates, but when faced with the more terrifying presence of the Eight-headed Dragon, they were afraid.
With a quick decision, the boars immediately turned around to flee, and Apoo and the others followed behind them to escape, knowing the airborne Eight-headed Dragon was far scarier than the boars.
But outrunning a flyer is difficult. The Eight-headed Dragon didn't fly quickly compared to Kaidou or Yamato, but catching legged creatures was not difficult.
With a flap of its wings, the Eight-headed Dragon soared over Apoo's crew, arriving before the boars, finding them to be a tasty treat, though after eating just one, it lost interest.
Usually pampered among the Hundred Beasts, it preferred either special Berry Pokemon feed or the chef-roasted Sea Beast, much tastier than those boars.
The boars were edible but unnecessary.
However, the boars knew nothing of the Eight-headed Dragon's intentions, only fleeing desperately to avoid the monstrous creature in the sky.
Once it lost interest in the boars, the Eight-headed Dragon's gaze fell on Apoo and his crew.
It didn't eat humans but was bored. Kaidou and Yamato had been fighting for a long time, and it also wanted some amusement, perhaps scaring these small "bugs."
Kaidou loved battle, but Yamato disliked fighting. Although it was categorized as Kaidou's steed, its creator clearly preferred Yamato. Hence, it opted to scare instead.
...
"Roar!"
The Eight-headed Dragon turned and faced Apoo and his crew, all eight heads letting out a roar.
But the Eight-headed Dragon underestimated its own intimidation; Kaidou always deemed it "cute," and Emboar and Tyranitar also thought of it as a cute younger brother, with Robin giving similar ratings.
Most others among the Hundred Beasts praised it as majestic and handsome, which led to its unclear self-perception, always believing it wasn't very scary, trying hard to appear savage during the roar.
This resulted in even more fear from those facing it, paralyzing them with terror, unable to run.
"Damn it, has this monster locked its sights on us..."
Just then, a shattered iceberg flew in from afar, aimed at Apoo's crew.
Seeing the incoming attack, Apoo immediately played his own body.
His teeth turned into piano keys, his arms into trumpets, his chest into a drumhead, and even his chin into cymbals, becoming a one-man band, playing his tune.
With his performance, explosions erupted on the Eight-headed Dragon, propelling the flying ice shards halfway away.
"Mr. Apoo! Won't this anger that monster?!"
"No choice! Or we'd be smashed to death! Besides, that monster's already locked on us..."
He's a Paramecia-type: Tone-Tone Fruit user, capable of transforming his body into various instruments, causing slashes or explosions with sound waves.
But the fruit has a fatal weakness; its attack range depends on the target's hearing range. For Apoo to attack someone, they must hear his music.
Even just blocking ears renders his attack ineffective.
Ice blocks have no life or hearing ability, so his fruit cannot function. To make the ice explode, Apoo had to cause a blast on the Eight-headed Dragon.
Although he cleared the ice, he thoroughly angered the Eight-headed Dragon.
Earlier, it simply wanted to scare them; now, the Eight-headed Dragon was serious.
"Roar!!"
...
"Cough, cough, damn old man! You're still as hard-handed as ever!"
While the Eight-headed Dragon battled, Yamato and Kaidou's fight neared its conclusion. Yamato tried to employ Jack's sinking tactic, dragging Kaidou underwater.
She could swim, as long as she dragged Kaidou to the seafloor, she could win.
Unfortunately, Kaidou was wary of her move, shifting to Beast Form near the sea, exploding with power under Dragon Dance, letting his tail smack Yamato into the sea, making her swallow a gulp of water.
But then Kaidou suddenly halted, standing on the ice floe Yamato created.
"Impressive, simple brawling can't take you down anymore, furthering this isn't easy to control, let's end here for today."
Yamato said nothing, gripping her weapon tighter, based on experience expecting Kaidou's trick, relaxing might lead to Kaidou's assault.
Yet this time, Kaidou surprisingly reverted, sheathing his weapon.
"Remember the old promise? Persist three days under me or your godfather, and no one will bother you anymore."
"Does it mean... this ends now?"
Only then Yamato realized three days had passed unknowingly; although Kaidou had many cards unplayed, she endured and advanced toward her goal.
According to the promise, now she was "graduated."
"Wogegege, dreaming! Just a temporary break, after special training with your godfather, I'll prepare new lessons for you."
Yamato's fantasy was shattered by Kaidou. She indeed graduated, her displayed prowess now earning Kaidou's recognition, her mental growth also satisfying him somewhat.
Even if temporarily triggered in battle, it's better than nothing.
Though graduating also brought educational advancement, she didn't step into society but into Kaidou's arranged higher school.
Before "enrollment," she could enjoy a lengthy vacation, as her private Teacher planned to enroll in an advanced course for self-improvement.
At this time, the Eight-headed Dragon arrived before Kaidou with its captive spoils...