Giantwood Bridge
Whoosh—!!
A group of giant children suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"Huh? Where are we?"
"Did… we get out?"
The kids blinked in confusion. One moment they were in the dungeon—now they were somewhere else entirely.
"Brie!!"
Ella immediately spotted her son.
Brie's face lit up as well. He ran toward her, shouting, "Mom!!"
All around them, the other children also caught sight of their parents and rushed into their arms, tears and laughter spilling out together.
Even the giant soldiers were stunned. They hadn't expected the missing children to just… appear.
Ella asked, still dazed, "Brie, how did you all get back here so suddenly?"
Brie's excitement overflowed. "It was Brother Kaien! Mom, you won't believe it—he's super powerful!"
The other kids all chimed in, trying to explain.
With their limited vocabulary, most of the descriptions boiled down to whoosh, flash, and boom!
Still, the adults managed to piece it together: Kaien had used some kind of teleportation magic to bring the kids back.
The Giant King finally understood why Kaien had told them to wait here.
"Where's Kaien? Didn't he come back with you?"
The children all shook their heads.
Brie said solemnly, "Brother Kaien said he's going to take care of the bad guy who kidnapped us first. Then he'll come back."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
He didn't just save the children—he stayed behind to eliminate the root of the threat.
"Women and children, return to the capital at once! All warriors—follow me! We march on the Troll Capital and bring our hero back!!" the Giant King roared, brandishing his axe.
"OOOOOOOOH!!!"
The entire army of giants raised their weapons and let out a thunderous cheer.
They had been suffocating under their helplessness for months, held hostage by the fate of their children.
Now, with their little ones safe, it was time to remind the Trolls what it meant to anger the Giants.
The army surged across Giantwood Bridge.
The trolls stationed at the border saw the wave of giants and quickly prepared for battle.
"Attack!!"
"CHARGE!!"
—
Troll Capital
"Impossible!" Virel* hissed. "Spatial magic requires extraordinary precision! There's no way he teleported them that far. That human must've stored them in a magic space of some kind!"
After all, the Giant Capital and the Troll Capital were incredibly far apart. There was no way someone could just teleport a dozen giant children across such a distance.
Kaien shrugged. "Believe what you want."
Truthfully, he had been shocked too. That single teleport drained a full tenth of his mana pool.
He'd thought his magic reserves were high, but clearly, they still weren't enough.
Flying Thunder God Jutsu… seriously drained mana. No wonder Minato was such a monster.
"Seize him!!" roared the Troll King.
A wave of trolls charged forward, wielding massive clubs.
Kaien muttered, "Hmm… for these oversized meatheads, the old man is more suited."
"Full Take Over: Edward Newgate!!"
With a blast of magic, Kaien's body began to shift.
His form grew larger, more muscular. His clothes transformed into a long white captain's coat. His youthful face morphed into that of a seasoned, mustached veteran. A crescent-shaped white mustache now curled beneath his nose.
In his hands—Murakumogiri, the iconic naginata of Whitebeard.
While he was still smaller than the trolls, at least now he didn't have to crane his neck to look up at them.
"He transformed?!"
The cultists stared in shock. Most of them had never even seen real magic before—let alone this.
A troll lunged, swinging a club the size of a boulder down on Kaien's head.
Kaien raised one hand.
THUD—!!
He caught the blow effortlessly.
"Uuooohhhh!!"
The troll strained, trying to force it down—but Kaien didn't budge.
Kaien clenched his fist.
CRACK—!
The massive club shattered in his grasp like brittle tofu.
This was Whitebeard—the man once known as the strongest in the world.
Even Kaido called him a monster.
Big Mom feared his strength.
At Marineford, he blocked giants and warships with one hand.
'No one outmatched Whitebeard in raw power.'
"Wh-What?!"
The trolls gasped. That club had been crafted from Ironwood Stone, harder than steel—and this man crushed it like paper?!
Buzz—!
Kaien clenched his fist. A white, transparent shockwave sphere wrapped around it.
He stepped forward—and struck.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—!!
The air itself shattered like glass.
A devastating shockwave blasted forth from his fist.
The troll's eyes rolled back. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose as he dropped like a rock.
BOOOOOOOM—!!
The shockwave didn't stop. It tore forward, destroying everything in its path.
The palace walls shattered. The floors collapsed. Entire chunks of the Troll Capital were obliterated.
"AAAHHH!!"
"RUN!!!"
Panic spread like wildfire. Trolls screamed and scattered.
"What—?!" Virel staggered back, face pale.
'Is he a monster?!'
The destruction was unreal. No ordinary mage could cause this much damage.
Virel turned to flee—but Kaien had already locked onto him.
Kaien gripped Murakumogiri with both hands, blade buzzing with shock energy.
WHOOSH—!!
With one mighty swing, a devastating slash combined with a shockwave shot toward Virel.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!!
Nothing stood a chance. Walls, furniture, guards—everything was cleaved apart by the twin force of the blade and quake.
Virel didn't even have time to scream.
SLASH—!!
The blade caught him mid-escape, splitting his body clean in two.
Kaien landed softly and walked up to the corpse.
He looked down at the remains.
"Dead… just like that?"
He frowned.
"This was the mastermind behind the kidnappings? The so-called high priest of the Black Magic Order? He went down in one hit?"
Kaien couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"What a letdown."