A month passed by in a hurry.
With Thormud as the precedent, the thawing work for the Galleila progressed exceptionally smoothly.
In the Underworld of Marian, dust flew, frost and snow raged. Giants in tattered clothes were felling giant trees that matched their height.
The trees, once cut down, would quickly regenerate, as if endless. This greatly excited the giants, who had long been constrained by the scarcity of wood, unable to build the finest ships.
At the end of the bumpy dirt road, temporarily modified wooden carts laden with a massive amount of timber arrived. The leader at the front was Thormud.
Passing through a large ring-shaped valley, he waved to the guards at the checkpoint, then was allowed entry into the newly built giant village.
Unlike the outside's poisonous miasma, rain, and snow, everything here was huge and full of vitality. Many crude houses, only recently built, were scattered about, bustling with activity and noise.
"Haha, fight, fight!"
"Little girl, that's not how you use giant combat techniques!"
"And you, little one, you can't just run away when facing a giant!"
The giants, having built their temporary shelters and now idle, held large cups of sake and chunks of sea king meat, watching the ongoing battle in the large central plaza of the village.
"Tch, you bastards, all you do is talk!"
Ace, running, dodged another attack erupting from beneath the ground and turned back to curse at the giants who loved watching the world burn.
The giants didn't mind… instead, the atmosphere grew livelier as they happily drank their sake and roared with laughter at him.
"You have time to look around? Is the pressure I'm giving you not enough?"
The expressionless giant girl plunged one arm into the earth, pulling out a huge iron club from underground, and viciously swung it at the Spade Pirates crew.
[Elbaf Spear: Ikoku Sovereignty!]
Emptiness, destruction, annihilation transformed into a torrent of Haki wrapped around the iron club. The technique, originating from the Giant race, capable of turning will into an unparalleled terrifying impact, blossomed in the girl's hands.
However, like a baby firing a gun, there was no accuracy.
The legendary spear, bursting with scorching light, did not fly towards the Spade Pirates crew as she intended.
Instead, it lost control mid-air, arced, and shot straight towards the watching giants.
"Hey, hey, isn't that little girl's attack coming our way?"
"Seems like it! My, what an impressive scale."
"You two idiots still have time to watch? Run!"
At this moment, heaven and earth were still, all things dimmed.
Everything trembled under the increasingly expanding spiral impact. Lightning ran rampant, tearing the earth apart inch by inch. The vast and mighty rushing spear made the air emit a mournful cry.
The giants of the Galleila ran, crying and screaming, but could only watch helplessly as the increasingly terrifying technique approached from behind.
"Sun Shield!"
A deep voice like muffled thunder exploded. A figure raised a hand, blocking the path of the light stream.
A round shield, also carrying Ryuo, was raised, meeting the impact with a resounding crash, erupting in a thunderous roar.
Boom—!
But in an instant, the legendary spear tore through his shield, leaving a deep gash in the vast giant village. Terrifying explosions continuously rose from within, seeming to illuminate the Underworld.
"Truly worthy of being that woman's daughter. This spirit is exactly like your mother's!"
Thormud withdrew his hand in some astonishment, looking at the scorch marks on his shattered shield.
"Tsk, failed again?" Sato Sakura clicked her tongue.
She dispersed the iron club, walked into the village, and used her ability to manipulate the earth, repairing the village ground she had just destroyed.
Thormud directed the other giants to bring in the timber, then walked over to Sato Sakura. "The great spear that giants pride themselves on is meant to carve out a future of freedom. Using it with the will to destroy will naturally lead to failure."
"What is freedom? Why must there be freedom?" Sato Sakura tilted her head.
Her expressionless face looked at Thormud, the emptiness in her pupils somewhat hair-raising.
"This..." The tall giant was speechless.
'Had this giant girl been deprived of her freedom? He hadn't seen that domineering lady restrict her behavior. So where did this concept come from?'
Immersed in the complexity unintentionally revealed by the other party, Thormud momentarily didn't know how to answer.
"Hmph, isn't that something you have to find out for yourself?"
Ace, carrying his sword and dragging his companions, walked over from the distance, retorting loudly.
"Is that so..." Sato Sakura seemed thoughtful.
She took out the small booklet from her pocket and flipped through the previously recorded content.
'It seemed Mother had also said something similar to me before. Would making Mother happy mean finding freedom and giving it to me?'
"Well, well, let's discuss this topic slowly another time!"
Seeing the conversation turn gloomy, Thormud chuckled. "Oh, right! To celebrate the village's completion, we're planning a party. Do you want to come?"
Hearing this, the Spade Pirates' members immediately perked up, their eyes filled only with longing for the feast.
Let's do it!
The group pushed Sato Sakura along, seamlessly switching the battlefield to a banquet hall.
In the large plaza, the surge of people brought clamor and cheers, along with the fatty aroma of cooking sea kings and the fragrance of fine sake from the Upperworld being poured.
Sato Sakura barely had time to react before she was engulfed by the surrounding giants. Familiar and unfamiliar faces clinked cups with her, told jokes, and marveled at the power of this young warrior.
After a long while, having been dragged through four or five rounds of drinking, a blush appeared on Sato Sakura's face.
"You're not getting drunk, are you?" Ace, his face shiny from eating giant cuisine, walked over with the other Spade Pirates' members.
"Hmph, I can drink more. What's a little sake like this?" Sato Sakura stubbornly shook her head, feigning sobriety.
Ace and Deuce exchanged glances, both wearing mischievous smiles.
"Um... Sato Sakura-sensei, could we ask you a favor?"
"Speak!" Sato Sakura, drowsy, took the grilled meat they offered and devoured it.
"Could you... let us go to sea?" Ace tipped his cowboy hat, his freckled face full of anticipation.
"No. You owe mother a lot of money. I can't let you leave!" Mentioning Sakura, the giant girl immediately became alert.
"Commander Haruno's order was for you to help us get stronger, right? If we don't go to sea and fight strong enemies, how can we get stronger?" Deuce, a medical student from a wealthy family, leaned in and coaxed her.
"But what if you run away?" Alcohol slowed Sato Sakura's thinking; she sensed something unnatural but couldn't pinpoint the key point.
"How could we? Didn't our joining Sakura-nee's crew make the papers!" Ace handed Sato Sakura another cup of sake and drank heartily with her. "If you don't trust us, you can come along on the voyage and supervise us."
"Besides, don't you want to go to sea and find your own freedom?"
"Ugh!"
Sato Sakura's heart wavered violently. Her hand tightened around the booklet in her pocket, lost in thought.
After a long while, the girl with snow-white long hair raised her head and replied with a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "Okay!"
So, amidst the revelry of the surrounding giants, a small group quietly left their village.
They stole a large ship from the Galleila's shipbuilding workshop and, under the cover of night, sailed away from Marian.
The next day, in the palace of the Upperworld, a crisp roar echoed throughout the entire palace.
"WHAT! DID! YOU! SAY——!"