CHAPTER 622: CHAPTER 141: LONG LIVE ELBAF!

Crack... crack... crack...

The Marine Vice Admiral’s "frail" arms held a ten-meter greatsword and a battle-axe dead still, the way an ant might somehow brace a leaf ten times its size—an impossible, arresting image.

Dorry and Brogy stared, dumbfounded. The stranger had caught their full swings as if it were nothing.

"Hey, shorty! Who are you?!" Brogy barked, squinting so hard his eyes went lopsided with suspicion.

"He’s a Marine..." Dorry rumbled, disbelief coloring his tone. "How long has it been since Marines showed up here?"

"Oi, Marine runt! You here to arrest us?" Brogy bellowed.

Darren’s ears rang. He scowled. "Quit shouting. I’m not here for the two of you."

He let their weapons go and hovered back, landing lightly.

"You were captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, but that crew dissolved ages ago," he said. "Even the Marines don’t bother with them now. Besides, I’m not the type who gets excited about dragging pirates off in chains."

He smiled up at them. "Rogers Darren. I came to test myself."

Not here to hunt them? The two giants traded a glance and eased their weapons down.

"I’ve heard the legends for years," Darren went on. "Dorry the Blue Ogre, Brogy the Red—giant captains whose strength could topple nations. Seeing you today, I believe it."

Dorry’s brow creased; Brogy threw his head back with a booming laugh, hands on his hips.

"Gababababa! You talk well, little man. I like you!"

"Idiot," Dorry muttered, cuffing him. "He’s buttering us up."

"Humans are cunning," he added, dropping to a wary crouch. "There’s a catch. Leave the island if you value your life. Otherwise, pay the price."

Darren sighed. "Use your eyes. If I meant trouble, wouldn’t there be battleships on the horizon?"

They glanced around. He was right—no Marine silhouettes cut the sea.

"You came only to spar with us? That’s all?" Dorry asked, frowning.

"Didn’t he just say that?" Brogy said.

"Shut it!" Dorry snarled.

Darren nodded. "I revere strength. I’ve long admired Elbaf—the strongest warriors on the seas."

Pride tugged their shoulders a little broader despite themselves.

"As you saw, my body’s been tempered hard," Darren said, "but raw power—I’ve still got work to do."

"I want to grow stronger. By fighting you."

"Gegyagyagya!!"

"Gababababa!!"

They doubled over, tears of laughter cutting through the grime. "You want to test your strength against the Giants?" "Don’t kill us!"

"Do you know what our strength is?" "A flick of a finger and you little humans pop like berries."

Their laughter rolled on. Darren only shook his head.

He stepped back, lifted his right foot, and stamped.

BOOM.

The island jumped. For a kilometer around, the ground shivered.

Crack—rip—

A fissure knifed outward from his boot, tearing a hundred meters through forest. Trees split and toppled in a roar of dust.

The laughter died. Two stone-stiff faces. Two priceless, stricken looks.

"Well?" Darren said, cigar between his teeth, a lazy smile cutting through the smoke.

A beat. Two. Three.

"You—you have the Giant’s Strength?!" Brogy blurted, eyes blown wide.

Dorry’s heart thudded hard enough to feel it. How could a human throw power like that?

"That’s why I came," Darren said, exhaling. "Help me realize a dream."

Dorry narrowed his eyes. "Why should we help you?"

"Yeah, you’re a human," Brogy said, wary again.

"Because it’s a warrior’s honor," Darren answered, voice rising. "Elbaf’s warriors don’t refuse a fair challenge."

They went quiet.

"And—" Darren lifted a hand.

From the sky, several ironbound crates thundered down and split open. A wave of fragrance rolled out—deep, spiced, intoxicating. The giants’ nostrils flared despite themselves.

"The finest spirits from East, West, North, South—and the Grand Line," Darren said. He hooked one cask—taller than he was—up with a single arm and popped the cork. The aroma bloomed, lush and heady.

Brogy leaned in, breathing like a bellows, a line of drool shining at the corner of his mouth. He elbowed Dorry.

Dorry swallowed. "This..."

"For the glory of warriors!" Darren roared, hoisting the cask. "Long live Elbaf!"

Dorry blinked, then threw back his head and laughed.

"That’s right! For the glory of warriors! Long live Elbaf!"

"Me too!" Brogy bellowed, fist pumping high. "Long live Elbaf!"

To be continued...