Punk Hazard, the deepest part.
Within a ruins buried under dilapidated buildings, Yamata no Orochi and Azure Dragon were frantically moving rubble.
"Found it, over here, Kaido!!"
The eight serpent heads shifted several more massive stones aside. Bazel transformed into his human form, his expression gradually shifting to one of awe as he gazed upon the 'structure' before him that shimmered with an icy blue light.
Giants!
Ancient giants with horns!
And not just one!!
'Deep within Punk Hazard, there was actually a massive block of ice that had frozen many giants!?'
"So it really is here!!"
Kaido stood before the ice block, his face unable to conceal his excitement.
"The legendary Maul Corps!"
"Bazel, do you remember the enormous ark Noah back on Fish-Man Island?"
Bazel nodded in affirmation, then seemed to recall something, looking at the lifelike giant ice sculptures before him with disbelief.
"You suspect that huge ark was built by these ancient giants!?"
"But that's just too far-fetched!!"
"Neptune said that the unfinished Ark Noah was from hundreds of years ago…"
'Hundreds of years ago...' Bazel suddenly understood.
'Right, humans don't live for hundreds of years.'
'But giants do!'
There were at least a hundred giants frozen in the ice before them, and that was just in the visible area. There might be even more frozen giants hidden further back.
'The sheer size of the ark on Fish-Man Island was simply not something that could be produced by humans!'
'But if it were the giant race, or even the ancient giant race, then everything would fall into place.'
'Joy Boy is suspected to be a giant, a point hinted at by the enormous straw hat Imu cherished.'
'Assuming that Joy Boy was the first giant to eat the Nika fruit…'
'He learned of the future where the world would be submerged by the sea, so he sent his fellow giant companions out to sea to find a method and location to build the salvation ark!'
'In that era, Joy Boy became friends with the mermaid princess who was the Poseidon of that time, and decided to hide the nearly completed ark deep under the sea, ten thousand meters down.'
'Because a war that I didn't understand suddenly broke out, Joy Boy was defeated, and the Red Line divided the four seas.'
'Learning this news, the Maul Corps, carrying Joy Boy's last wish, continued building the ark.'
'But a certain year brought a sudden change, and this change caused the ark to remain unfinished.'
'The great corps, which possessed the strongest shipbuilding techniques at the time, was also frozen and hidden away during a certain period!'
'Leaving only a letter that made its way to the giant kingdom Elbaf, "Our entire crew has been captured!".'
Including the ancient giant race, over a hundred giants… such combat power, if it existed today, was something even Bazel couldn't imagine how strong they would be.
'But even such a powerful team didn't have a single member successfully escape.'
'The only thing they could do was send out a letter stating that they had been captured!'
'Until today.'
Bazel raised his head, looking at the lifelike expressions of the giants within the ice.
Fear, anger, maniacal laughter, furious curses... these emotions were frozen along with their owners.
"What a pity. If this Maul Corps could have survived, they would undoubtedly have become a bridge connecting all the races we envisioned and the world."
"With their capabilities, our grand vision might have been realized more smoothly."
The excitement on Kaido's face slowly faded, replaced by emotion, "True. I thought the same. The pleasure gained from uncovering history is truly exhilarating."
Looking at the frozen giants before him, Bazel wasn't without his ulterior thoughts.
'If we thawed the ice and used the Naraku's Poison to resurrect them...'
Putting aside everything else, Bazel could have a force of giant Atoners numbering a hundred.
Even if they couldn't be controlled to continue shipbuilding, in terms of combat power alone, they would definitely far surpass ordinary Atoners.
But…
To toy with the corpses of the giant race for the sake of some not-so-important military strength.
This classic case of 'picking up the sesame seeds but losing the watermelon' was something Bazel had no intention of doing.
If he were a giant, and learned that the corpses of his comrades had been dug up, resurrected, and used as cannon fodder, he would probably be furious enough to flip the table.
The giant race's favorability would likely drop directly from friendly to nemesis.
"Let's go, Bazel. I came here just to confirm a truth."
As he turned to leave, a strange glint flashed in Kaido's eyes.
'This place proves some of Rocks' guesses were correct. That King of the World hiding in the shadows... he seems very nervous about certain things happening.'
'The salvation ark, Noah... '
'The once glorious Maul Corps...'
'Rocks, just what did you see back then in that holy land of the Celestial Dragons that made you want to become the King of the World!?'
'27 years ago, what exactly did you see in that place?'
His thoughts churning, and Kaido felt inexplicably irritable.
The content he had overheard was limited. Based on this content, it was impossible to deduce the entirety of Rocks' plan back then.
With the strength of the Rocks Pirates at that time, they clearly could have charged up to that holy land!
Why didn't Rocks choose to assault Mary Geoise and instead waited for the Celestial Dragons' triennial hunting event?
West Blue, God Valley.
The King of the World!
Kaido couldn't figure it out. Clearly, 27 years ago, Rocks D. Xebec already had the power to charge into Mary Geoise, the Holy Land.
Why, 9 years ago, did he choose to go to the West Blue rather than lead everyone to directly accomplish their goal?
'Unless…'
Kaido stopped in his tracks, his gaze seeming to pierce through space to see the Holy Land towering above the clouds.
'That place housed a powerhouse that even Rocks greatly feared!'
Bazel, walking beside him, fell into deep thought when he saw the direction Kaido was looking.
'That direction…'
'Was it the Red Line?'
He did know who the King of the World was, and he also knew about the capabilities of the Five Elders.
But these were baseless claims he simply couldn't voice.
If Kaido were to ask, "Where did you get this information?"
He would have no way to explain.
Rather than saying too much, it was better to say nothing.
Playing it by ear might be the best strategy.
"Bazel…"
"Hmm?" Bazel looked over curiously.
"I suddenly really want to see the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons."
A hint of fervor gradually mixed into the smile that suddenly spread across Kaido's face.
"After our strength grows a bit more, how about accompanying me on a trip there?"
"Of course, if you're afraid…"
"Kaido-san~"
Bazel interrupted with a sigh, "Don't use such provocation on me. To be honest, I'm also very curious about this 'King of the World' you keep mentioning."
"After my Devil Fruit awakens and my Conqueror's Haki grows stronger, we can try to infiltrate and have a look."
"Devil Fruit Awakening? Wororororo~~~"
Kaido slowed his pace, slapping Bazel heavily on the shoulder.
"You're quite confident, kid. Even I can't be sure if I can awaken my Azure Dragon Fruit."
"But I believe you can do it!"
Kaido walked ahead, while Bazel stood frozen in place, staring straight at Kaido's retreating back.
"Because you're my brother, Bazel!"
"Let's go, pick up the dwarves and then charge into Wano Country!"
"That will be the place where the dream begins!!"
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