"I see, so you're the brats Mother said need to be taught a lesson?"
Even speaking gently, Sato Sakura, a full twenty meters tall, seemed like a storm in the eyes of Ace and the others.
"It looks like you have something to keep you busy. You've really ended up with a mother who loves to order people around, haven't you?" The fierce-looking ancient giant bent down, his words stirring up a huge gust of wind.
It was hard to imagine that such a colossal creature actually had a rather good temperament, even showing excessive tolerance towards the story Sato Sakura had just told him about her own origins.
"Helping Mother is only right. And, do you want to go up and see her?" Sato Sakura asked.
Seeing the ancient giant nod, she waved her arm. The earth and stone of the underground laboratory's dome opened as if operated by machinery. Rock pillars rose from the ground, lifting the ancient giant up and out.
After doing this, Sato Sakura crossed her arms and came before Ace and the others. "Alright, your turn now!"
Ace looked up, his gaze intense. "Although I can roughly infer the result, I have to ask anyway... Is your mother... Sakura-nee?"
It was a question in form, but it held the boy's affirmative tone.
"Yes. What about it?" Sato Sakura's expressionless face was very calm.
"Ugh... I just never imagined that Sakura-nee would have such a big daughter, and a giant at that." Ace's eyebrows twitched.
The other Spade Pirates' members, as if startled from their deathbeds, pricked up their ears to eavesdrop.
After all, this was gossip about an Emperor. Even if they died after hearing it, it would be worth the price of admission.
"So, who's your father? Can you tell me?" Ace grinned cheekily, hooking his elbow around Sato Sakura's calf to probe for information.
"I don't know. I don't have a father." Sato Sakura replied truthfully.
"Hiss!" Ace and the Spade crew inhaled sharply.
'I really underestimated you, Sakura-nee! Who knew that beneath that usually composed exterior, you played so wildly in private.'
'Although, as pirates, we were free to do as they pleased, but you couldn't even determine the biological father of your child?'
"That must have been tough for you." Ace patted Sato Sakura's foot comfortingly. "By the way, you just said Sakura-nee asked you to do what?"
"Huh? I remember now. I almost forgot Mother's instructions." Sato Sakura lightly tapped her head with her fist.
Immediately after, claws and fangs extended from her body. A thick beast tail fell to the ground.
"Mother said your Haki is too weak, and you're not yet mature enough to be members of the Higanbana Pirates. So she told me to help you... well! train!" Armament Haki capable of internal destruction wrapped around her arm. Sato Sakura stamped her foot hard on the ground.
"Wait a minute, when did we ever become members of the Higanbana Pirates..." Ace pouted in protest.
But he found that the other party had already dived into the ground like swimming, swiftly gliding through the earth, rushing towards their position.
"Not good! It's a Mythical Zoan! You all, scatter!"
Ace, who had learned a lot since going to sea, recognized Sato Sakura's ability and quickly called for his companions to spread out.
Unfortunately, the figure roaming beneath the ground swiftly thrust out. A fully beastified iron fist swung fiercely towards Ace's abdomen.
Boom!
Ace's entire body bent into the shape of a bow, flying into the air of the underground laboratory.
"Whoa!"
The freckled black-haired boy coughed up another mouthful of blood.
Seeing their captain in such a miserable state, the other companions exclaimed, "No! Ace!!!"
"You have time to look elsewhere?" Sato Sakura, again swimming through the earth like an agile fish-man, had already turned into an arrow shot from a string, charging towards the next target.
Deuce, who had intended to turn into flames and fly up to catch Ace, turned back in horror.
He saw a behemoth leaping out of the ground at extremely high speed. The shadow of the savage beast completely covered him.
"Hahahaha!" Accompanied by hysterical wild laughter, the beast's fist was coated with a layer of hard steel.
Her jet-black claws firmly grabbed Deuce's Logia physical form. Flowing Haki wrapped around from the other party's body, beginning to enhance his entire body as a weapon.
'Wait a minute, isn't this move a bit familiar?'
"Sakura Drop!"
Sato Sakura's roar rang out. Savage, tremendous force dragged Deuce and viciously slammed him onto the ground.
Boom—!
The impact of Haki poured into his body via the rebound from the ground, causing secondary damage, almost interrupting Deuce's consciousness for an instant.
"D-da-damn it! We'll fight you!!!" The remaining crew gathered their courage and rushed towards Sato Sakura.
But the ferocious beast of the earth steadied its feet. Its body rapidly expanded: thirty meters, fifty meters, a hundred meters!
A beast's head the size of a mountain bent down, looming over the remaining few, opening its mouth full of sharp teeth. Then...
"Roar—!!!"
A roar mixed with Conqueror's Haki surged out. The impact not only shattered the bodies of the Spade Pirates' members but also scattered their consciousnesses.
The several figures tumbled and flew through the air, finally slamming viciously into the wall and losing consciousness.
From the start of the fight to the end, only a short three minutes had passed, and Sato Sakura hadn't even changed her breathing frequency.
"Hmm, just as Mother said, they really are too weak and need training."
The giant beast standing in place shrank, reverting to the appearance of the giant girl. Then she took a small booklet from her pocket, jotted down 'Mother is always right!' and put this book, titled [Mother Rearing Guide], away.
On the other side, in the Upperworld of Marian.
The ancient giant climbed up along the giant tree supporting the entire island. He was immediately met by Sakura, who had been waiting for him for some time.
Many Wing tribe soldiers had prepared a large amount of Sea Kings suitable for giant consumption, cooked and laid out before him.
"Yo, senior of the Galleila, how was your sleep?" Sakura raised a huge wine cup and drank heartily.
"Thanks to your daughter, my nightmares lasted a little longer."
Knowing this food was prepared for him, the ancient giant sat down cross-legged right at the island's edge, grabbing wine and meat to comfort his stomach, empty for nearly a hundred years.
"So, what have you decided regarding my proposal?"
The sea breeze lifted Sakura's cherry-pink hair. Her emerald eyes stared at the giant before him, burning with some fervor.
"From the moment the first leader forged the Ancient Weapons for the enemies of the present world, we haven't had a choice!"
The ancient giant's massive chest heaved. His sigh was almost like a hurricane, blowing the nearby Wing tribesmen unable to stand steady.
He lowered his head, looking at the petite girl before him who had traced their trail all the way here. A flicker of reminiscence showed in his eyes.
Before he died, the previous leader had told him a secret… in the deepest part of the world, there was an absolutely unforgivable enemy that must be defeated!
For this secret, dozens of ancient giants skilled in shipbuilding and nearly a hundred ordinary giants had gathered to form the Galleila, wandering the world, building great ships, awaiting their opportunity, unable even to return to their homeland, Elbaf.
Perhaps it was also time to choose a suitable place to quietly await the approach of that great war!
Rallying his spirit, the giant bent down and extended his large hand to Sakura. "My name is Thormud. Please take care of me from now on!"
Sakura smiled and reached out her disproportionately small hand to grasp his.
"Hehe, believe me, joining us won't make you regret it."