The Calm Belt is a revolutionary location requiring revolutionary thinking to bypass. It is a place of peace & serenity, but in the context of the open sea, this is a major problem. There is much to infer & learn from this concept, such as the power and influence that can be gained by simply doing nothing at the exact right time. Managing to accomplish our goals without movement is a valuable skill.
Our perspective on time changes as we age. Life appears to be much slower to a young person who has experienced less, while an older person with more experience will observe time to be going very very fast from their point of view. We see this demonstrated when the old man on the island says the pork buns will be ready soon, only 4 or 5 more hours to go, and the young Straw Hats are shocked by this waittime which they perceive to be much too long. This dichotomy can be difficult to transcend, but a young person with patience, or a quick older person, is most often viewed with reverence & respect.
The dragon can instantly tell that Luffy is a good person for a combination of reasons, including the dragon’s innate wisdom but also including the way Luffy radiates positivity wherever he goes. This is a show that explores some scenes & dialouge into excruciating details, yet it completely glosses over this little bit because of how obvious it would be to an ancient dragon that Luffy is a person of honor & moral justice.
Last note, I see that Zoro has 3 earrings to match his 3 swords. Gold Roger also lists 3 traits in his dying speech: wealth, fame, power.