"Hm."
Harald nodded, recalling the kindness Sister Carmel once showed in saving members of the Giant Warrior Pirates.
He gave his word. "She's a pirate now. If I run into her, I'll take her out."
Then he turned and stepped out through the door.
Inside a room of the palace.
Loki, with his eyes wrapped in bandages, retrieved his weapon—a spiked club. He looked around the room and realized there was nothing else he needed to bring.
He couldn't help but feel hollow, not a single emotion of attachment in his heart.
Just as he turned to leave, a towering giant blocked his path. The giant glared down at Loki with intense hostility and disgust.
"Hey, you little brat, carrying your spiked club again. What are you gonna wreck this time? We should've listened to my sister and killed you back then!"
"If we had, she wouldn't have been cursed to death by a freak like you!"
After Queen Estrid passed away from illness, Loki had been handed over to his uncle to raise.
This giant standing before him—was that very uncle.
Loki's face turned cold. He said nothing and tried to walk past, only to be grabbed.
"Hey! Brat! Put that club down and stay in this room. You're not going anywhere!"
"How many more people have to die from the curses and disasters you bring!?"
Gritting his teeth, Loki—who rarely ever spoke—squeezed out two words: "Move. Now."
"What kinda attitude is that!? I'm your uncle! King Harald gave you to me to take care of, so you'll do as I say!!" The man kept shouting, but Loki suddenly ducked low and dashed out.
Barefoot, Loki bolted with all his strength.
"I'm never staying in Elbaf again!"
No one here cared about him. Except for that sliver of affection from Harald, he had never felt love. Only hostility. Only hatred.
"Stop right there!!" his uncle bellowed, chasing after him. "You little bastard! If I catch you, I swear I'll lock you up for good!!"
Elbaf Underworld.
Bang bang bang—
Oss fired one round after another from his sniper rifle, but the bullets barely scratched the massive beasts before him.
"Raaagh—!" The ice wolf roared, thick, stinking saliva dripping between its sharp fangs.
Even the falling snow shattered under the shockwave of its howl.
Frustrated, Oss cursed, "Damn it, these beasts are too damn big. My bullets barely hurt 'em."
"Aromatic Leg—!" Gloriosa launched into the air, her curvy legs whipping through the air with a sonic boom.
Her kick rippled the muscle on the ice wolf—nearly the size of a grown giant—making it stagger and almost collapse.
Its sharp claws sliced through the air, gleaming with deadly cold light!
Gloriosa spun midair like a ballerina, gracefully dodging the strike.
Elsewhere—
Linlin was fending off multiple beasts on her own. Thanks to her Iron Balloon body, she didn't even flinch at their attacks.
Relying on raw, overwhelming strength, she knocked down each beast with a single punch.
"Charlotte, dodge! Dodge!" Klein called out, chewing on a rice cracker. "Remember, even if you can't avoid completely, at least protect your vitals!"
"Don't just tank everything with your skin. Only do that when you have no other choice. Save it for when it really matters!"
Too reckless.
Her use of strength was crude. Klein had been giving her one-on-one training sessions lately, and although Linlin was making progress, time was short. Some habits couldn't be changed so quickly.
Rubbing his chin, Klein thought aloud, "Maybe it's time to give Linlin a weapon..."
"Turn her into a swordswoman?"
In the original story, Linlin's weapon was a sword with a soul—Napoleon, a Homie.
Aside from Elbaf Spear: Ikoku, her sword techniques mostly worked in tandem with her Devil Fruit powers.
She never used Conqueror's Haki infusion in swordplay.
Given her monstrous talent—and the fact she joined the Rocks Pirates—most of her enemies could be overpowered by sheer strength and Fruit alone.
Later on, she focused on... childbearing.
Missing her prime growth window entirely.
What a waste.
"With Linlin's talent, if she combined swordsmanship and her Devil Fruit... the title of World's Strongest Swordsman might not have gone to Mihawk..." Klein had mastered many sword techniques himself.
Standard strikes, Divine Departure, Supremacy Sea Slash—all top-tier on the Grand Line.
And he'd learn even more: Ameno-no-Habaki, Elbaf Spear, and so on...
As for Newgate, Gloriosa, and Shakky—they didn't need his guidance.
The ones who did...
Were Linlin and—
Oss!
Klein looked at him. "Hey! Use your brain—ever heard of Nine-Star Beads!?"
"What's that?" Oss blinked, confused.
Klein explained, "It's when you string nine bullets together and hit the same spot repeatedly. Also, upgrade your rifle—use pointed-tip rounds..."
"But most importantly—Haki!"
Oss wasn't especially gifted. His progress lagged behind the others.
Klein didn't expect him to be exceptional—just solid enough to reach Usopp or Van Augur's level.
Pure Gold affected the body, but Klein guessed it wouldn't hinder Observation Haki.
If Oss could master that and reach Katakuri's level, that'd be enough.
As for a Devil Fruit...
That'd come later—once they built up a money-making operation. They'd just buy one from the underworld. Leave it to fate.
"Sou ka!" Oss's eyes lit up with excitement. "That's why you're the great Mr. Klein!"
He immediately started practicing, though hitting the same spot nine times in a row was near impossible in such a short time.
His sniper rifle just so happened to aim between the ice wolf's legs.
"..."
Klein's face twisted into a demonic rage. He roared, "You bastard! Quit that bad habit!!"
"I want you to become the Black Sniper whose name echoes across the seas!!!"
Truly a handful. Oss scratched his head awkwardly. "Got it! I'll change! Starting now!"
Clutching his rifle, he used Shave to reposition behind the giant wolf.
And took aim at its butthole.
"Nine-Star Beads!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
???
Klein's jaw dropped. His fists clenched audibly. "Who the hell taught you to snipe like that!?"
"That's the dirtiest...!"
He recalled gamers in his past life who'd ditch guns to go around stabbing people...
But hey—
Outside seven steps, guns win. Inside seven steps? They're even better.
"Only three bullets hit! The rest missed!" Oss pouted.
The ice wolf's eyes turned bloodshot. Enraged, it howled. Viscous drool streamed from its fangs.
If it could speak—
It'd probably curse worse than a keyboard warrior.
Kill!
The berserk ice wolf charged at Oss.
"Keep practicing—" Klein chuckled bitterly. This wasn't something you'd learn overnight.
He pulled a sofa from his scroll and sat down, muttering, "One day, I'll build a proper Fool's Palace, so I won't have to freeze in this icy hell."
Crunch—
He bit into a rice cracker and turned his gaze toward Gloriosa and Shakky, admiring their stunning figures.
Suddenly.
His ear twitched. He turned toward a distant glacier—
A giant wolf emerged.
More importantly, on its back was a bloodied, battered young giant!
Loki!
"Haven't even gone looking for him yet, and he shows up himself. Saves me the trouble," Klein smirked, mood brightened.
Back then, Rocks had dismissed Loki as too young. He only had eyes for Harald and wanted to recruit the giants to fight the World Government.
So Loki was never invited to join the Rocks Pirates.
But now, seeing the battlefield, Loki's eyes widened.
"These people... they're actually fighting the Mountain Lords here!? That pink-haired guy—he's taking them on alone!?"