The Polar Tang returned to shore once the pressure from the final clash had faded.
Law used ROOM to move himself and several members of the Heart Pirates onto the ruined beach, appearing near Dorry and Brogy without bringing the submarine into the shallows where the fractured ground might collapse beneath it.
His eyes swept over the severed arms, the broken weapons, and the blood soaking into the sand.
"You chose the line of that final cut," he said.
Zaraki glanced toward him.
"If I hadn't, it would have taken their heads. I figured Headquarters would complain if I delivered two corpses and called them candidates."
"That does not make this gentle."
"I wasn't trying to be gentle. I was trying to leave them alive."
Law expanded a smaller ROOM around Brogy's wound and examined the damage. The cut itself was clean, but a strange dark-gold pressure remained around the exposed tissue, continuing to interfere with the body's attempt to close the injury.
His expression tightened.
"I can reattach an arm under normal conditions. This is not normal."
Bepo leaned cautiously around him.
"Because they're giants?"
"Because whatever remained from Zaraki's attack is still damaging the tissue, and both of them have already lost too much blood. I could remove the affected section and begin reconstruction, but not before the blood loss kills them."
Dorry's eye opened slightly.
Despite the pain draining the strength from his voice, the Blue Ogre forced out a rough laugh.
"Gegya... gya... so this is defeat."
Brogy turned his head toward him.
"Gababababa... Don't sound so pleased. We still haven't settled which of us won our duel."
"You lost your axe arm first."
"By half a breath!"
"Then I win."
"You lying bastard..."
Their voices were weak, yet the argument still carried the familiar rhythm of something repeated for a hundred years.
Zaraki smiled.
"At least losing didn't make you two boring."
Dorry looked toward him.
"You could have killed us."
"Yes."
"But you chose our arms."
"I came to judge whether you were worth using, not to bury you. Besides, anyone willing to meet that final slash head-on deserves a chance to stand up again."
Brogy barked out another faint laugh.
"That almost sounded respectful."
"Don't get carried away."
Dorry reached into the torn cloth at his waist with his remaining hand and pulled free a heavy stone medallion engraved with the crest of the Giant Warrior Pirates—an axe and sword crossed beneath the mark of Elbaf.
He threw it toward Zaraki.
The token was large enough to crush an ordinary man, but Zaraki caught its edge with one hand.
"What's this?"
"A Warrior's Token," Dorry said. "The old crews of Elbaf will recognize it, and so will the elders who remember our flag. If you ever reach our homeland, show them that. They will know you defeated us fairly."
Brogy's gaze shifted toward the medallion.
"And tell them the Blue Ogre and Red Ogre still owe a debt. We do not forget a man who defeats us without stealing our honor."
Zaraki looked at the token.
They had acknowledged him before knowing whether Law could save them.
That made them more useful than he had expected.
He turned toward the doctor.
"You said surgery can't save them."
"I said it cannot save them quickly enough," Law corrected. "There is a difference."
"So without something else, they die."
Law's jaw tightened.
"Yes."
Zaraki opened the system shop in his mind.
No one on the beach saw the translucent interface or the list of items moving beneath his gaze. To everyone else, he merely stood in silence with the stone token in one hand.
The familiar green item appeared.
**[System-Enhanced Senzu Bean]**
**[Effect: Restores physical injuries, lost stamina, and missing tissue. Effect adapts to the user's body size.]**
**[Price: 750 points.]**
His current balance was 2,880.
The two beans would leave him with 1,380.
Then again, dead giants could not repay debts, train, fight, or become useful candidates.
He purchased two.
**[Two System-Enhanced Senzu Beans purchased.]**
**[1,500 points deducted.]**
**[Current points: 1,380.]**
Two small green beans appeared inside his closed palm.
Law stared when Zaraki opened his hand.
"Those are beans."
Zaraki looked at him.
"Sharp as ever."
Law stepped into his path.
"You cannot be serious."
"You've been saying that since Dressrosa, and somehow I'm still right often enough to keep things interesting."
"You are not feeding an unidentified substance to a patient who has lost most of his blood."
"You said your treatment wouldn't be fast enough."
"That does not mean the next reasonable step is feeding him something you produced from nowhere."
"I didn't produce it from nowhere."
Law's gaze sharpened.
"Then where did it come from?"
Zaraki gave him a lazy smile.
"Somewhere expensive."
"That is not an answer."
"It's the only one you're getting."
Brogy's enormous face shifted faintly toward them.
"If the bean kills me faster," he muttered, "at least I won't have to listen to you two argue."
Dorry gave a weak grunt.
"Take it, Brogy. If you die first, I finally win."
"You really are a bastard."
Zaraki flicked the bean into Brogy's mouth.
Law's hand moved as though to stop it, then hesitated.
The doctor had seen too many impossible things around Zaraki to dismiss the possibility entirely, and the giant had only moments left regardless.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then Brogy's heartbeat struck the beach like a drum.
The first beat made the sand jump beneath him.
The second rolled through his chest with even greater force, followed by a third and fourth until the giant's pulse became a deep rhythm everyone could hear.
Law expanded ROOM at once.
The bleeding stopped first as new tissue sealed the damaged vessels.
Bone extended from the severed stump, followed by muscle, tendons, nerves, skin, and even the old scars that had marked Brogy's arm before it was cut away.
Within seconds, the limb had fully regrown.
Brogy's eyes snapped open.
He drew in a breath so deep that the wind rushed toward him, then raised the restored arm and clenched his fist.
The motion stirred a gale across the beach.
"My arm..."
For once, his voice held no laughter.
"The pain is gone. All of it."
Bepo's mouth fell open.
The Heart Pirates stared.
Law said nothing.
His eyes remained fixed on Brogy's arm while ROOM mapped every layer of the new tissue. The bones were healthy, the circulation stable, and the nerves responded normally.
It was real.
Zaraki watched the doctor's expression for a moment, then tossed the second bean into Dorry's mouth.
The same restoration followed.
When Dorry stood, flexed his new sword arm, and immediately turned toward Brogy, both giants erupted into laughter.
"Gegyagyagyagya!"
"Gababababa!"
Law finally closed ROOM.
He looked down at his own hand as though his Devil Fruit had personally offended him.
Bepo approached carefully.
"Captain?"
"I am thinking."
"About the beans?"
"I am thinking about how much I dislike things that violate every rule of anatomy and then behave as though I am the unreasonable one for objecting."
Zaraki folded his arms.
"You could admit it worked."
"I can admit it worked and still hate every part of the explanation."
"There wasn't an explanation."
"That is one of the parts I hate."
Law examined the restored arms directly, then looked toward Zaraki.
He had noticed the momentary pause before the beans appeared and the way Zaraki had focused on empty air. He did not understand it, and Zaraki clearly had no intention of helping.
Law filed the observation away.
He did not know about the system.
Zaraki turned toward the giants.
"I saved your lives and restored your arms. Now we discuss the debt."
Dorry and Brogy exchanged a look before lowering themselves onto one knee. Even kneeling, they towered over everyone on the beach.
Dorry placed his restored fist against his chest.
"A warrior's debt is not forgotten."
Brogy mirrored the gesture.
"Name what you want. If it does not dishonor Elbaf, we will repay it."
"There is one empty seat among the Seven Warlords," Zaraki said. "I want both of you evaluated. One name can hold the title. The other commands the crew attached to him."
Law's eyes shifted toward him.
"You still cannot officially offer that."
"I'm not offering the seat. I'm recommending two candidates. Sengoku can decide which paperwork gives him the bigger headache."
"That is not how government authority works."
"It usually works after enough people stop arguing."
Zaraki looked back at the giants.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying you're ready."
Their pride sharpened immediately.
Brogy leaned forward.
"We just used Hakoku Sovereignty."
"And lost."
Dorry frowned.
"Our weapons survived a century of battle."
"They broke."
"That was because—"
"Because they were old, your timing was slow, and you spent a hundred years fighting the same opponent until both of you knew every move before it happened," Zaraki said, pointing toward the shattered sword and axe.
"You're strong, but you've been trapped inside the same fight for so long that neither of you knows how rusty you've become against everyone else. If you accept the evaluation, you'll need new weapons, new opponents, and enough training that the next person who splits Hakoku doesn't take your arms with it."
For a moment, neither giant answered.
Then Brogy began to laugh.
"Gababababa! New weapons and new opponents?"
Dorry's grin returned.
"That does not sound like government service."
"It sounds like training," Brogy said.
"Call it whatever helps you sleep," Zaraki replied. "The result is the same. You either get stronger, or someone else proves you don't deserve the seat."
Bepo tugged nervously at Law's coat.
"Captain, isn't Zaraki the Marine who brought down two Warlords?"
The giants looked toward him.
Bepo swallowed.
"He captured Crocodile and killed Doflamingo. The newspapers started calling him the Warlord Killer, even though he didn't actually kill both of them."
Dorry and Brogy slowly turned toward Zaraki.
"That title is Morgans's problem," Zaraki said.
Brogy folded his arms.
"So becoming a Warlord near you is dangerous."
Zaraki grinned.
"Being weak near me is dangerous. The title just makes people notice faster."
The giants considered that answer.
Then Dorry extended his restored hand.
"We accept the evaluation."
Brogy placed his fist against Dorry's palm.
"But our duel continues."
"I don't care which of you wins."
"You should," Dorry said. "The winner will obviously be the better candidate."
Brogy shoved him.
"In your dreams! I lost half a breath later because your sword was in my way!"
Their argument resumed immediately.
At the edge of Zaraki's vision, a system notification appeared.
**[Hidden Challenge completed: Pride of the Giant Warrior Captains.]**
**[Conditions fulfilled: Defeat Dorry and Brogy, survive Hakoku Sovereignty, spare both opponents, and earn their acknowledgment.]**
**[Reward: 3,000 system points.]**
**[Current points: 4,380.]**
A second message followed.
**[Nozarashi control proficiency improved.]**
There was no increase to the completed template.
One hundred percent remained one hundred percent.
Zaraki opened the shop.
A new item sat near the top.
**[System-Exclusive Premium Blind Box]**
**[Price: 10,000 points.]**
**[Time remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes.]**
He was still short 5,620 points.
Nozarashi's voice drifted through him.
'Cut whoever set the price!'
'Can't.'
'Then stop standing there looking offended.'
'You're not paying for it.'
'Neither are you, apparently.'
Before Zaraki could answer, a Den Den Mushi began ringing aboard the Polar Tang.
Purupurupuru... Purupurupuru...
Law turned toward the submarine.
"That's the emergency receiver."
The Heart Pirates had intercepted a broad Marine transmission repeated through government relays across the region.
It carried no specific recipient, only a priority code and a request for any available Marine force to respond.
One of Law's crew brought the receiver onto the deck.
The snail's face had taken on Zephyr's scarred features.
"Any Marine unit within the Hells Sea route," Zephyr's recorded voice said over cannon fire. "This is Chief Instructor Zephyr aboard training vessel Z-1. We are under coordinated attack near Hells Island. Unknown hostile strength. Civilian status uncertain. Reinforcements requested."
The message repeated.
Law looked toward the chart room.
"Hells Island lies beyond the eastern current."
"How long?" Zaraki asked.
"Two hours submerged if the current remains stable, and that is already pushing the engines."
Zaraki looked toward Dorry and Brogy. Neither giant could fit inside the Polar Tang, and their weapons had been destroyed. Taking them into an unknown naval battle now would be pointless.
He tossed Dorry a spare Den Den Mushi.
"Stay here, find material for new weapons, and keep that snail close. I'm not dragging two unarmed giants into a naval battle just because you're too stubborn to wait."
Brogy looked offended.
"We can swim."
"For two hours underwater?"
The giant paused.
Dorry caught the snail between two fingers.
"When do we begin the evaluation?"
"When I get back."
"And if you don't?"
Zaraki's grin sharpened.
"Then find whoever managed to kill me. If they're strong enough to pull it off, they'll be worth meeting."
That answer satisfied them.
Law stood beside the open hatch.
"You are assuming I agreed to carry you into a Marine battle."
Zaraki looked toward him.
"You want the Warlord seat."
"That does not make my submarine a Marine transport."
"The official evaluation team is calling for help near another candidate," Zaraki said. "You can either learn what happened from a newspaper after the Government chooses someone else, or you can be there when the vacancy becomes complicated enough to matter."
Law remained silent for several seconds.
Then he turned toward the control room.
"Prepare to dive. Follow the Hells Sea current and stay beneath the surface batteries."
Bepo hurried after him.
"Aye, Captain!"
Zaraki stepped aboard as the hatch began to close.
Nozarashi rested quietly at his waist, but the hunger behind it had already awakened.
'Two hours.'
'You waited a hundred years to speak.'
'That does not mean I became patient.'
The Polar Tang slipped beneath the waves and disappeared into the deep current.
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