Chapter 104: Is This Heaven?
Nami couldn't see a thing.
Even on her tiptoes, she was barely 170cm tall; she was just too short.
"Huh... what?" Smoker finally "woke up," looking around in a daze. "Was that an earthquake?"
"Not an earthquake, the volcano is erupting!"
Dorry laughed, stood up, and tossed one of the saber-toothed dinosaurs into his mouth, crunching it down in a few bites. He pushed the other one towards the crew.
"You all eat first! I'll be right back!"
A solemn look appeared in his eyes. He put on his helmet and pulled his massive, ten-meter-long sword from the ground.
It finally dawned on them.
—So every time the volcano on this island erupted, it was a signal. It meant it was time for the duel Dorry had mentioned earlier with the other giant.
The crew watched Dorry hoist his giant sword and stride northward, then looked at each other.
"Big Bro, let's go watch!" Nami immediately suggested. As curious as she was about the taste of dinosaur meat, a battle between giants was far more appealing.
The others also looked on with eager eyes.
A battle of this magnitude was not something you could see every day.
"Alright, let's go," Shane said with a smile and a nod.
The group followed in Dorry's footsteps, cutting through the dense primeval jungle. Dinosaurs scattered in a panic, and the trees swayed violently in the wake of the running giant.
A short while later, they arrived at an open area on the north side of the island.
In front of a giant skeleton, another giant, just as burly as Dorry, was already waiting.
He looked a bit fatter than Dorry, with a round face, a thick nose, and a horned helmet. He held a giant axe and a round shield, his muscular body covered in battle scars.
"Brogy!"
Dorry roared, raising his giant sword. "You should have recovered your strength by now! Today, we settle this!"
"Gahahaha! That's what I was thinking!" Brogy responded with a wild laugh, his voice like a clap of thunder.
CLANG!
The two giants clashed in an instant.
The shockwave from the collision of the giant sword and the battle-axe uprooted the surrounding trees. The ground trembled violently, forcing the crew to retreat several dozen meters to keep their footing.
"Hey, hey, hey, this isn't right…" Nami said, looking up at the two giants fighting like wild beasts, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.
When she had heard Dorry laughingly talk about his frequent duels with the other giant on the island, she had thought it was just a friendly spar between friends.
She had never expected it to be such a brutal, savage battle.
Every move was aimed at a vital point, and blood was flying everywhere. It was as if they held a deep-seated grudge against each other, determined to kill.
"Why?!" she couldn't watch anymore and couldn't help but shout, "Mister, aren't you friends?! Why are you fighting like this?! Why would friends hurt each other so mercilessly?!"
"Friends?" Dorry grinned, blocking a downward slash with his sword. "In the face of Elbaf's honor…"
"…is giving it our all not the most sincere form of respect for our friendship?!"
Brogy also laughed heartily. "As for what we're fighting about—"
"We've long forgotten!"
BOOM!
The two giants roared and clashed again.
Aside from Nami, who was watching with a racing heart, terrified, the others' eyes gradually widened as they became engrossed in the fight.
The two legendary giants of Elbaf, every clash was so violent and powerful. They displayed incredible fighting skills, and the visual impact was stunning, getting the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing.
Shane was also watching intently.
But his perspective was different from the crew's.
He noticed that the destructive power of the giants' clashes was astonishing, far beyond what a human could achieve. The word "strength" was perfectly embodied by them.
Even with his own physical toughness, he wouldn't be able to withstand their blows head-on for long…
Shane stroked his chin, an idea beginning to form in his mind.
…
After an unknown amount of time.
CLANG—!!!
With a deafening roar, the two giant weapons were sent flying from their hands, embedding themselves deep in the ground in the distance.
On the battlefield, covered in volcanic ash, the two mountain-like bodies finally collapsed from exhaustion.
"Gegegegege! What a fight!" Dorry said, half-kneeling on the ground. His laughter shook the leaves from the trees, and he paid no mind to the blood gushing from his chest like a waterfall.
Brogy was sprawled on the ground, his horned helmet askew, also laughing heartily. "Seventy thousand and sixty-three! Still a draw!"
"Honestly…"
"At this rate, when are we ever going to get back to Elbaf Village?!"
Dorry then said with a grin, "Hey, Brogy! These kind human friends of mine brought some good liquor! Want to try some?"
"Good liquor?"
Brogy was overjoyed. "Where?! Where?! Quick, give it to me! Just the thought of it is making my mouth water."
"Here, catch!"
The two giants threw their arms around each other's shoulders and sat down together again, cheerfully toasting and enthusiastically inviting the crew to join them. They looked nothing like the mortal enemies they had been just moments ago.
Nami opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing and just facepalmed.
—She would probably never understand the way these giants' minds worked.
"Mr. Dorry," Shane suddenly said, his voice unusually clear in the quiet battlefield. "I'd like to ask you and Mr. Brogy for a favor. Would that be possible?"
The giants stopped their boisterous celebration. Dorry tilted his head, his bronze helmet creaking. "Oh?"
"It's like this," Shane said with a grin. The best way to deal with giants was to be direct. "You remember the technique, Observation Haki, right? It's the only type of Haki I haven't been able to master yet. So, I was hoping you could spare some time to help me learn it."
"Observation Haki?" Dorry's eyes lit up. "No problem! Brogy and I mastered that a long time ago! Armament Haki too, we learned it together ages ago. But…"
His voice trailed off, and he scratched his head, his expression becoming embarrassed. "Uh… Brogy, how exactly did we do it again?"
"I think… I think it was when we were fighting that fat Marine who could turn into a light man…" Brogy also looked confused. "We were pretty good at it back then, but we haven't used it in a hundred years. Hiss, how did we learn it again…?"
The giants of Elbaf were most proud of their terrifying physical strength and their innate fighting skills.
And these two legendary warriors were no exception.
Haki was something they only needed to deal with strange Devil Fruit users. Normally, they disdained to use such a power.
Now, after over a hundred years, they could still use Haki out of instinct, but to remember how they had mastered it… that was asking a bit much…
The situation became a little awkward.
The two giants looked at each other and then hung their heads in frustration.
—Their friend had brought them fine liquor, and they couldn't even help him with this small favor. They were bringing shame to the name of Elbaf!
"You've misunderstood," Shane said, shaking his head. "I'm not asking you to teach me the theory of Observation Haki. I have a general idea of that. What I'm lacking is an opportunity."
"An opportunity to be pushed to the absolute limit, to a point where every hair on my body can sense the threat of death, forcing my body to develop a stronger evasive ability. Do you understand?"
"Since I've set sail, not a single person has been able to push me to that point, which is why I haven't been able to awaken my Observation Haki."
Shane stared at the two giants, his expression serious. "And you two… you've given me hope that such an opportunity has finally appeared."
"I understand," Dorry grinned. "Gegege, little brother Shane, you want us to attack you with all our might, just like we were dueling just now?"
"Such arrogant words!" Brogy's eyes also lit up. "But I have to say, you have the right to be!"
A warrior's keen intuition told them that Shane wasn't just bluffing.
This young human, his every move, even his breathing, exuded the aura of a powerhouse.
—He was a very powerful and confident individual.
"Gahahaha!" Brogy laughed loudly. "We can certainly grant that request, and we'd be happy to! But Dorry, it seems we'll have to call a temporary truce for the next few days."
"No problem! To repay a friend, it's a small price to pay!"
Dorry looked up at the sky. "But it's getting dark, and Brogy and I are exhausted. We can't put up a decent fight right now. Sorry, it looks like we'll have to rest for the night. The special training will have to start tomorrow morning."
"Of course, that's how it should be," Shane said with a nod and a laugh. He turned and said, "Uncle Zeff, bring all the liquor from the ship! Tonight, we'll have a feast! No one goes home sober!"
"Yeah! A feast!!!"
A cheerful response immediately came from the crew.
Not only were they celebrating their new friendship with the two giants, but they were also happy that their captain had finally found a way to solve his problem.
…
Night fell, and a massive bonfire was soon lit in the open space surrounded by the giant skeletons.
And while the bonfire feast was in full swing, thousands of miles away, at Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the lights in the Fleet Admiral's office were still on late into the night.
Outside the window, a sliver of a moon was half-hidden by dark clouds, casting mottled shadows on the white walls of the fortress.
Inside, Sengoku took off his glasses and wearily rubbed his temples.
The mountain of documents on his desk looked particularly heavy in the lamplight.
The white-paper report at the top, labeled "Sorbet Kingdom War Situation - South Blue," was already frayed at the edges from being read so many times.
"Forget it, we'll discuss this later," Sengoku said, shaking his head. "What about the Curtain Call Pirates? Still no news?"
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