The rock formation Dorry led them to was less a home and more a battlefield shrine carved by time. Blackened stone circled the clearing, scarred by old impacts, half-melted in places by ancient heat. Bones—some unmistakably dinosaur—were piled neatly to one side, arranged with the strange, almost reverent order of someone who had lived here far too long.
Dorry gently set Luffy, Vivi, and Karoo down before moving with practiced ease. He gathered logs thicker than ship masts, snapped them in half with his bare hands, and stacked them into a crude fire pit. Then, with a single clean swing of his massive sword, he began cutting the dinosaur carcass apart as if it were fresh fruit.
Luffy watched for a moment, then stood.
"Dorry," he called, pitching his voice upward so the giant could hear him clearly. "Why don't you handle the meat? I'll start the fire."
"Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry laughed approvingly, stepping aside. "A pirate who helps with cooking is a good pirate!"
Luffy walked to the pile of kindling, rolled his shoulders once, and lifted a finger. A thin bolt of lightning snapped into existence, precise and controlled, igniting the wood without explosion or excess heat. He repeated it several times, spacing the sparks carefully. Within moments, the fire caught properly, steady and strong.
Satisfied, Luffy nodded and walked back, sitting beside Vivi on a fallen log. Karoo waddled closer to the warmth, feathers puffed.
When the meat was ready, Dorry laid massive slabs over the flames, the scent of roasting meat filling the clearing almost instantly. He sat opposite them, back straight, shield resting at his side, and regarded them with a wide grin.
"Master Dorry," Vivi said politely, bowing her head despite her nerves. "May I ask… how long does it take for a log pose to reset on this island?"
"One whole year!" Dorry answered cheerfully.
Luffy's eyes widened.
Vivi fainted on the spot.
Luffy caught her before she hit the ground, sighed, and gently shook her awake.
"…One year?" Luffy repeated, looking back up.
Dorry nodded, turning the meat. "Aye. Few survive that long. The beasts, the climate, the volcanoes—Little Garden doesn't care who you are."
Luffy leaned back, rubbing his temples. One year was unacceptable. Vivi needed to reach Alabasta now, not after the war had already consumed the kingdom. Waiting here would mean losing everything before it even began.
Dorry finished cooking and pushed enormous chunks of meat toward them. "Eat. Thinking is easier with a full stomach."
Luffy carved portions for Vivi and Karoo, then took one for himself. Vivi accepted the meat, eyes still damp, but she smiled when Luffy rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"I promised," he said quietly. "I don't break promises."
As they ate, Luffy looked back up at Dorry. "Why are you here alone? Elbaf is your home, right?"
Dorry's smile softened—not sad, but distant.
"Elbaf is the land of proud warriors," he said. "And warriors follow rules. When two warriors clash and neither yields, judgment is left to the gods."
"Elbaf's god of war," he continued, voice steady, "will one day decide who is righteous."
Vivi frowned. "But you've been fighting for a hundred years. Don't… feelings fade?"
Dorry laughed, deep and booming. "We don't even remember why it started."
That made Vivi recoil. Luffy, on the other hand, felt something click into place.
Honor.
A century-long duel not driven by hatred, but by pride too large to abandon.
Before anyone could speak again, the ground trembled. A distant volcano erupted, sending a plume of ash into the sky.
Dorry rose immediately.
The warmth vanished from him. His posture straightened, grip tightening around shield and sword.
"That's the signal," he said. "My opponent has declared the start of today's battle."
Vivi stared in disbelief. "You fight… without knowing why?"
Luffy held up a hand, stopping her. "It's not nonsense to them."
Dorry nodded once, eyes fixed on the horizon. "It's honor."
With that, the giant turned and walked away, each step shaking the earth.
Moments later, another giant appeared in the distance—equally massive, equally scarred.
Brogy.
Steel met steel. The clash echoed across the island like thunder.
Luffy watched, eyes sharp, absorbing every movement.
Vivi watched too—but with horror, unable to understand how pride could sustain a war longer than generations.
Two perspectives. One battlefield. And Little Garden, unchanged, continued to devour time itself.