Chapter 99: Parting and Encounter
In the end, Louis and Yelena pushed the question to the back of their minds and didn't think about it any further. They felt that even if there was such a connection, it wouldn't make much difference. Yelena felt that after they entered the New World and encountered the Beasts Pirates, they could judge how to treat them based on their actions.
...
Inside the cloud cave of Avant Heim, the giants who had just swept through Enies Lobby with absolute superiority were now full of vigor, without a single scratch. Eight giants sat cross-legged, talking amongst themselves.
Nearby, Uta and Kuina, who were quite interested in the giants, sat in Gerd's palm, listening to their conversation with great interest.
The slightly stooped giant, Kashii, looked at his two captains, his eyes flashing with excitement. "What? Captains, have you finally decided to end your fight and go back to rebuild the Giant Warrior Pirates?!"
Even though nearly a hundred years had passed, Kashii still remembered that ordinary day. The two captains had each caught an extremely large Sea King. It should have been a joyous occasion, but after a little girl asked that question, everything changed. The two captains' argument evolved into a duel to the death. The evenly matched pair fought for a very long time, so long that the giant crew members had no choice but to return to Elbaf to await news.
Nearly a hundred years had passed. The grave of that talkative little girl now had grass several meters high, but the two of them were still dueling. Now, hearing that their captains were ending the duel, no one was more excited than them.
Dorry heard him and nodded with a serious expression. "We have no choice. I hear the current situation in Elbaf is not good at all!"
"Not good?!"
Kashii and Oimo were taken aback. The joy that had just risen in their hearts gradually dissipated, replaced by a shadow of gloom.
"Did something else happen after Lord Jorul's death in battle?" The two of them turned to look at the group of younger giants, their eyes filled with a sense of urgency.
Seeing this, Hajrudin could only once again recount the current situation in Elbaf.
Hearing his words, the looks of shame on the two giants' faces deepened. With such a major event happening in Elbaf, they had been foolishly doing nothing at Enies Lobby. This made them, as giants of Elbaf, feel extremely ashamed.
Brogy saw this and a heroic smile spread across his face. "Don't worry, we're going back to solve all of this! After that's settled, Dorry and I will have another duel to decide the victor who can rebuild the Giant Warrior Pirates and set out to sea again!"
"Still dueling?!"
However, Kashii and Oimo's faces changed. After hesitating for a long time, Kashii said with a frustrated look, "Captains, if you fight for another hundred years, we'll be old men! There'll be no point in setting out to sea then!"
To this, Dorry waved his large hand and laughed heroically, "Don't worry, I'll beat Brogy in no time!"
Brogy, on the other hand, replied with a disgruntled look, "Tch, I'm the one who can easily beat you!"
Kashii and Oimo looked at the scene, which was almost identical to the one from a hundred years ago, and exchanged glances. After a bitter smile, they sighed in their hearts.
Just then, Louis and Yelena walked back into the cloud cave.
Dorry and Brogy saw them and instantly smiled. "Louis, we really owe you for this!"
"If it weren't for you, we'd still be dueling on Little Garden, completely unaware of what's happening in Elbaf."
To this, Louis looked up and met two pairs of giant eyes, shaking his head calmly. "I only told you these things. I've done very little."
However, a surprisingly thoughtful look appeared on Dorry's face, a stark contrast to his appearance. "Sometimes," he said meaningfully, "you only need to choose to tell someone one thing, and you can change his destiny, and the destiny of many others. So, the Giant Warrior Pirates will not forget your friendship!"
Brogy slowly stood up, shouldered his giant axe, and revealed two rows of large white teeth. "Louis, you will be an eternal friend of our Giant Warrior Pirates, and of the entire giant race!"
Dorry stood up, leaning on his greatsword, and slowly put on his helmet. "Alright, Louis! It's time for us to part ways. Your journey is still continuing. If you came with us directly to Elbaf, you would miss out on a lot. So, find a deserted island and drop us off!"
"We will cut down trees to build a seaworthy ship and return to the New World!"
To this, the corners of Louis's mouth turned up slightly. "The ship you build... it would be difficult to get it coated to pass through Fish-Man Island, right?" he said with a smile.
The two of them heard this and froze on the spot. "What do you mean?" they asked subconsciously.
"Your luck is pretty good. There's a very large Island Cloud passing overhead!" Louis pointed to the sky, a smile on his face.
"..."
Under the watch of Louis and the others, the four giants stepped onto a fragment of an Island Cloud, about one-fifth the size of Avant Heim. It was given life by Louis and received a single command: fly in the direction of the Elbaf Eternal Pose provided by Road, until its life force was depleted.
As the Island Cloud gradually moved away, Dorry and Brogy suddenly turned back to look at Hajrudin, raising their giant weapons high.
"Young warriors of Elbaf! Strive to grow stronger!"
Behind Louis and the others, the giants led by Hajrudin nodded with solemn expressions and firm gazes. "I will continue to walk down this path!"
Then, their gazes fell on the relatively tiny Louis, and they spoke in a deep voice. "For the time to come, we will be in your care, Captain Louis!"
Louis replied with a smile, "Of course—"
A day later, in an airspace somewhere in the Grand Line.
With the addition of the giants, the warship was no longer large enough to house the entire Archangel Pirates. And Hajrudin and his crew's original ship had long since been sunk in the West Blue during Cabanha's attack. Fortunately, Avant Heim was, after all, a piece cut from an Island Cloud. Its internal space was extremely large, and carving out rooms large enough for several giants would not make it feel crowded. And if necessary, Louis could even expand it.
After Hajrudin and the others joined, Louis decided that the entire crew would abandon the warship and move back to Avant Heim, temporarily ending their behavior of "eating bitterness for no reason." This would last until they had a new ship large enough for everyone.
Inside a room in the cloud cave, Louis seemed to sense something and looked up thoughtfully. "Is this unique life signature a News Coo again?" Since entering this airspace, Louis had noticed that News Coos were appearing more and more frequently. The strange thing was, the News Coos here had no satchels and no intention of selling newspapers. They seemed more like they were being used to gather intelligence. But since the News Coos were not dangerous, Louis had ignored them.
Click—
Suddenly, an extremely faint sound in the room caught Louis's attention. He narrowed his eyes and, relying on his powerful senses, easily found the source of the sound. He opened a small wooden box, revealing the object making the faint sound.
"Is this... Mr. Momora's Vivre Card... burning?"
The Vivre Card with the name of Roger's crewmate written on it was slowly burning. The speed was not fast, and not enough to be fatal.
Louis frowned. He took the Vivre Card and placed it in his palm, letting it slowly move in a certain direction. At the same time, he controlled Avant Heim to follow the direction indicated by the Vivre Card.
"..."
To Louis's surprise, Mr. Momora was quite close to them. Soon, Louis found the owner of the Vivre Card in his hand.
"Mr. Momora."
An unremarkable member of the Roger Pirates—
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