Chapter 166: First Arrival at Elbaf
The Red Hair Pirates ultimately chose to clear the way.
Whether for the sake of their friendly ties with the Giants or based on practical interests, they had no sufficient reason to start a war with Kai's group at that moment.
"Kai!"
Shanks's voice rode the sea wind, carrying an undeniable warning. "Remember this! If I find out you cause trouble on Elbaf's land, I will not let you go!"
His only answer was Kai's relaxed wave and Rayquaza's receding silhouette.
With a deep frown, Beckman stepped to Shanks's side and lowered his voice. "Shanks, as a precaution, we should contact Gaban-san at once, explain the situation, and have him prepare."
Shanks agreed, silently taking out a Den Den Mushi.
After several continuous days of sailing, the surrounding seas began to change.
The water gleamed a deeper, richer blue, and the fish that occasionally leapt from the surface were noticeably much larger.
"Wha!"
As Kai pulled back on the rod, the line snapped taut.
A massive shadow tore out of the sea in an explosion of spray and, with a heavy thud, crashed down onto the deck.
It was a colossal bluefin tuna.
Its bulk was nearly as wide as Rayquaza's main deck. Its powerful tail fin still slapped defiantly, making the ship tremble with each smack.
"Whoa! It's huge!"
"I've never seen one this big."
"Is this the king of all tuna?!"
"With that kind of vigor, it'll make god‑tier sashimi!"
They were no strangers to the wonders of the sea by now, but a common fish of this absurd size was a first.
It wasn't that they were naïve. They'd seen Sea Kings hundreds or even thousands of meters long, but those were special beings. This was just an ordinary fish, which made it especially rare and shocking.
"Gababababa! A fish like this means we're very, very close to Elbaf!"
Brogy laughed heartily, barely restraining the joy on his face. "Without these giant ocean fish, we giants wouldn't survive easily."
After nearly a century away from home, the smile never left Brogy's face once he saw that fish. Even the greatest adventurers carried a deep longing for their homeland.
Sure enough, after another day of sailing, an unbelievable outline slowly surfaced on the distant horizon. It grew and grew as they approached until it filled the entire world.
It was the Treasure Tree Adam.
Here, "sky‑piercing" wasn't flowery exaggeration—it was precise, and still not enough to describe its majesty.
The crew craned their necks to their limits, eyes climbing the trunk higher and higher and higher, until their necks ached and they still couldn't see the top.
Its crown seemed fused into the clouds, one with the sky itself.
If Kai remembered correctly, mid to high elevations of the Treasure Tree Adam even held island clouds and sea clouds.
Yes, the exact same kind as on Skypiea.
From far out at sea, the already mind‑bogglingly massive island of Elbaf looked small in comparison—like a mere flowerpot for the Tree's root system.
"Kai, look! That tree is gigantic!"
Eyes shining, Yamato grabbed Kai's arm.
"You can see it from this far?" Enel, midway through Armament Haki training with Kai, was stunned speechless by the sight of Treasure Tree Adam.
"Eyes front during training!"
Kai took advantage of that distraction and sank a fist into Enel's gut.
Hard work, punch, kid.
"Gah!"
Searing pain shot through his body. Enel's eyes bulged, his jaw dropping of its own accord.
Cheap… shot…
Kai smoothly caught him before he buckled to the deck, keeping the "god" from face‑planting and letting him keep a shred of dignity.
"Friends!"
The giants' booming voices couldn't hide their excitement. "We've arrived at Elbaf!"
They were home.
When the ship drew close enough, Kashii pulled a square stone from his pouch.
Facing the Treasure Tree Adam, he arced his arm from the sea's surface to point at the mid‑canopy of the colossal tree.
In the next instant, a magnificent spectacle unfolded.
A brilliant rainbow bridge bloomed out of thin air.
One end anchored to the sea directly ahead of Rayquaza, the other set firmly upon the distant, towering trunk of Treasure Tree Adam.
"Wow—! It's so pretty!!"
Bonney was the first to leap up, her pink hair bouncing as she moved, her face lit by pure awe.
Yamato hooked an arm over the rail and practically dangled over the side, eyes sparkling. "That's amazing! It's a bridge made of rainbows! Are we going to cross on that?!"
"That's right," Dorry said proudly.
The instant Rayquaza touched the rainbow bridge, it was as if the ship entered an invisible river flowing upward. The bow kicked high into the air.
"Hold tight, everyone!" Kashii's voice boomed over the deck.
Before the words had even finished, Rayquaza broke free of the sea entirely and began its impossible ascent along the rainbow bridge—like riding a giant slide in reverse.
"We're flying! The ship's flying!"
Shouts of wonder erupted. The Grand Line never ran out of surprises—even the ways to sail defied belief.
Elbaf, Sun Realm Port.
Once Rayquaza sailed steadily into harbor and touched sea clouds, the rainbow bridge finished its work, fading gently until it vanished into the air.
The moment their feet set down on the land of the so‑called "World's Strongest Nation," only one word filled Kai's mind—big.
A vast port, towering homes, colossal trees and flowers, even insects and birds on a grand scale.
Everything here was astoundingly huge. Even the hundred‑meter Rayquaza felt unremarkable.
Creak, clack!
A rhythmic paddling sound drifted from above.
They looked up to see a "small boat" tens of meters long carrying several giants through the sky, chatting merrily as it drifted along—sailing through an invisible sea.
Notably, the oars didn't pull through air but through a smooth layer of white island cloud.
"Awesome, it's a flying ship!" Bonney cheered.
Oimo chuckled. "That's a mist skiff. Strictly speaking, it doesn't fly. It travels by the buoyancy of island clouds."
"Kyeh keh keh keh—magnificent, isn't it?"
Dorry laughed, basking in the guests' awe.
"Gababababa—enough talk, Dorry! I can't wait any longer!"
Brogy slapped his belly, the drumming thud echoing. "Let's go to the tavern first. I'm dying to taste their liquor again!"
Kai smiled easily. "Lead the way. Your home, your rules."
There wasn't a trace of false politeness in his tone.
"Of course! Leave it to us!"
Giants appreciated straightforwardness. Twisting manners didn't land here.
Guided by Brogy, the group set out toward the harbor tavern.
According to Dorry and the others, that tavern kept the most blood‑stirring brews in Elbaf—enough to set a warrior's heart on fire.
As they walked, the giants explained Elbaf's basic layout.
The mighty Giant Kingdom was built around Treasure Tree Adam, divided into three layers from high to low: the Celestial Realm, the Sun Realm, and the Nether Realm.
Treasure Tree Adam was so enormous that its root zone saw almost no sunlight. That shadowed land—the Nether Realm—was cold year‑round with sparse vegetation, so most giants lived in the sunlit Sun Realm.
"You'd best avoid the Nether Realm. It's dangerous—even for us giants," Dorry said, then smacked his forehead. "Oh, right. Not you, Kai."
Those powerful "mountain lords" probably wouldn't survive a single punch from him.
"B‑big beasts?!"
Chopper and Viola cried in unison. The reindeer and the dancer clung to each other, teeth chattering.
If even giants called those beasts dangerous, how terrifying must they be?
Kai didn't seem particularly interested. The Beast Pirates were always hungry for strong animals, but mountain lords accustomed to the Nether Realm probably couldn't adapt to Wano's environment even if captured.
He wasn't going to drag Kuzan here just to craft a patch of artificial permafrost for them.
The tavern was very close to the port.
Thanks to the harbor, a small town had formed around it, and the tavern sat at its heart.
Soon, a ludicrously large building loomed ahead.
A sign with clinking tankards swung from the roof.
Brogy pushed the door in with a creak, voice booming through the hall before he'd even crossed the threshold. "Beverly, a cup of your strongest rum!"
Smooth, practiced—clearly a VVVIP.
Dorry, Kashii, and Oimo followed his lead, calling out their favorite brews while still in the doorway.
"Beverly? Are you looking for my mother?"
Behind the counter, a lively, sweet‑faced giant girl looked up curiously.
She wore a light, fitted tunic with a clean russet apron tied over it, and a string of soft white pearls at her neck. Efficient and feminine.
As she spoke, she deftly poured Brogy a massive cup of frothing, pungent liquor.
"Beverly's your mother? Before I left Elbaf, she was running this place."
Looking at the young girl, Brogy suddenly felt the weight of time. He'd been gone for over a hundred years.
He tipped his head back and took a deep swig.
The familiar blaze scorched his throat like fire, and he nodded in satisfaction. "Yes. That's the taste. It hasn't changed at all."
Beaming at the praise, the girl introduced herself. "I'm Mado. Mother retired twenty years ago and left the tavern to me. And you, mister—?"
A middle‑aged giant at a nearby table turned at her words. When he saw Dorry and Brogy's faces, his wooden mug fell and clattered across the floor, ale splashing wide.
"Y‑you—you're Captains Dorry and Brogy!"
His voice stuttered with shock and excitement.
"Huh? Aren't you Sigvald?!"
Dorry and Brogy recognized their former crewmate and broke into delighted grins.
Sigvald glanced at the two beside his captains. "Kashii, Oimo—did you two punks bring them home? Good work!"
The two burly giants—usually so brash—looked sheepish for once.
After all, guarding a gate for over forty years because of World Government deceit wasn't exactly a point of pride.
"Bwahahaha, you two idiots! Fooled by those World Government bastards for forty years!"
Sigvald ribbed them shamelessly.
The other giants in the tavern burst out laughing, too—no malice, just a good story begging for a laugh.
When the laughter finally settled, Sigvald turned to Kai with solemn gratitude. "Brother Kai, thank you. Without you, who knows when Captain and the boys would've made it home."
"No need to repeat thanks. If you really want to repay me, how about letting me and my companions taste Elbaf's most authentic brews?"
Kai smiled and waved it off.
That suggestion hit the giants right in the heart.
Sigvald thumped his solid chest and declared grandly, "No problem! Drinks for everyone are on me today! Nobody goes home sober!"
"OOOOHHH—!!!"
The tavern erupted in cheers.
Another perfect excuse for a legendary bender.
Watching their reaction, Kai began to understand why the giants' most successful "industry" over the last eight hundred years had been piracy.
With a culture that found reasons to drink like this, fine industrial development was… unlikely.
"Welcome back, Captains Dorry and Brogy," Mado said with a bright smile as she flew through orders behind the counter. "If Hajrudin hears this, he'll be over the moon!"
"Hajrudin? Who's that?"
Dorry and Brogy exchanged a confused look. They'd been gone too long; they barely knew the younger generation.
"Hajrudin is the king's eldest son—and my disciple."
Sigvald gulped down a mouthful of liquor, pride glinting in his eyes. "The kid's grown into a proper, powerful Elbaf warrior."
"He's always admired you two. He even formed a new Giant Warrior Pirates and set out to sea with them! If the timing's right, they should be back soon."
"Oh? Not bad."
The old captains laughed with satisfaction and took another long pull.
"That kid's finally ready to stand on his own," Kashii said, a little moved. When he first sailed out to find his captain, Hajrudin was just a thirty‑year‑old "child."
With Hajrudin mentioned, Kashii asked offhandedly, "By the way, how is King Harald? Is he still pushing for Elbaf to join the World Government as a member nation?"
If possible, Kashii wanted to tell the king about how the World Government had deceived him and Oimo for decades. He needed to understand that they were not trustworthy partners.
They would use the giants' strength, but they would never grant Elbaf the status and benefits it deserved.
Unexpectedly, the moment King Harald's name came up, the lively, joyful tavern fell silent.
Laughter cut off. Smiles froze. Heads bowed.
"What… did I say something wrong?" Kashii looked baffled.
Sigvald's smile vanished, replaced by a deep, heavy sadness. "King Harald passed away… seven years ago."
Dorry, Brogy, and the others froze.
Impossible.
King Harald wasn't even two hundred—he was in his prime.