Standing on the deck of the stranded pirate ship.
"I'm going to check the captain's quarters," Bardock announced. "The rest of you can explore freely. Let's meet back here on the deck when you're done."
He had already swept the entire vessel with Observation Haki. There were no life signs aboard—no hidden survivors, no lurking predators. He felt completely comfortable letting the crew wander around safely. The ship was actually quite massive, roughly the size of a standard Marine medium-class battleship.
"I'll go search for the navigator's room. If this ship has an Eternal Pose or a charged Log Pose, it'll likely be there," Robin said, already mentally analyzing the ship's layout to deduce the navigator's location.
"I'll go with you!" Perona quickly chimed in. Even though she could literally control ghosts, she was easily spooked and had absolutely no desire to wander around a creepy, abandoned ghost ship alone.
"Leo, let's go find the ship's infirmary! Maybe there are some rare medicines or medical books left behind!" Mansherry suggested eagerly.
"Okay!"
The two dwarves zipped away into the ship's interior. In the blink of an eye, only Daz Bonez and Sai were left on the deck.
"I'll just wander around," Daz Bonez said stoically. Not waiting for Sai, he simply picked a random doorway and walked inside.
Sai shrugged, completely unfazed by Bonez's typical cold shoulder, and headed off in the opposite direction.
Inside the captain's quarters, Bardock carefully scanned his surroundings.
The ship had clearly been abandoned for a very long time. Thick layers of dust covered every surface, and the occasional centipede scurried across the floorboards, leaving tiny trails in the grime.
'There are no skeletons in here,' Bardock noted. 'So they must have all died out in the jungle.'
Approaching the captain's desk, Bardock noticed a locked drawer. He forcefully yanked it open, easily snapping the rusted lock, and pulled out a leather-bound book. The leather was high-quality, indicating it belonged to someone wealthy.
It was locked with a small padlock. Bardock casually crushed the lock between his fingers and began reading.
As he flipped through the pages, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper in disgust. It was the captain's logbook and financial ledger.
This massive galleon wasn't a standard pirate ship; it was a slaver vessel. And their specific mission for coming to Little Garden was to capture Dorry and Brogy alive and sell the legendary Giants at the Sabaody Archipelago Human Auctioning House!
"Slaver scum. You got exactly what you deserved," Bardock spat, closing the logbook.
However, a specific entry near the end caught his eye. The slavers had recently acquired a 'Secret Treasure of the Sea' and were planning to auction it off alongside the Giants.
'Secret Treasure? Don't tell me...'
Bardock immediately began tearing the room apart, searching for hidden compartments. Sure enough, he quickly found a hollow section behind a bookshelf. He punched through the wood, revealing a hidden safe.
Inside the safe were stacks of gold bars, bundles of rotting Berries, and, most importantly, a small, ornate wooden chest resting on the top shelf.
Bardock reached for the chest, his heart genuinely starting to beat a little faster. 'Please let the fruit still be in there. Please let it be there...'
He popped the latch and opened the lid.
Resting on a velvet cushion was a strange, brightly colored fruit covered in iconic, swirling patterns. A Devil Fruit!
Bardock let out a long breath, a massive grin spreading across his face. 'Haha! It's just a Devil Fruit! No big deal!' he thought, trying to play it cool despite his sheer excitement.
He happily grabbed the chest, scooped up the gold bars, and whistled a cheerful tune as he headed back to the deck.
Robin and Perona were already waiting at the rendezvous point.
"Did you find anything interesting, Bardock?" Robin asked, a knowing smile on her face. It wasn't hard to tell that he was in an exceptionally good mood.
"Hahaha! How did you know I just randomly found a free Devil Fruit?! Hahaha!" Bardock couldn't hold it in anymore, laughing out loud.
Perona rolled her eyes at his gloating. "Do you know what kind of fruit it is?"
"No clue. We'll have to buy a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia when we get a chance and look it up," Bardock replied, opening the chest to show them the prize. "What about you two? Any luck?"
Robin pulled a glass orb attached to an hourglass out of her pocket. "We found an Eternal Pose. Unfortunately, it points to Water 7, not Jaya."
"Water 7? That's still a massive win!" Bardock nodded in approval.
Gradually, the rest of the crew returned to the deck, though none of them had found anything particularly amazing.
Mansherry had discovered a logbook detailing a specific type of prehistoric tick on the island that caused a lethal, high-fever illness (Kestia). Daz Bonez had ventured into the ship's lower decks and found massive iron cages—filled with the skeletal remains of starved slaves. Sai had managed to scrounge up a decent quality Meito (Named Sword) from one of the officer's cabins.
After Bardock informed them that this was a slaver ship, the crew unanimously agreed to carry the skeletons out of the cages and give them a proper burial in the jungle.
After finishing the grim task, the crew gathered near the shoreline.
"Hey, Sai," Bardock called out, tossing the wooden chest to the teenager. "Do you want to eat a Devil Fruit? Once we identify what this one is, if it's a strong combat fruit, I can save it for you."
Sai caught the chest, looking down at the swirling fruit thoughtfully. After a moment of genuine consideration, he shook his head and handed the chest back.
"Thank you, Captain, but no," Sai declined respectfully. "I would rather dedicate my life to pushing the Hasshoken to its absolute limit. Even though Grandpa got his drill back and doesn't explicitly need me to shatter the Jewel Ice Sheet anymore, my lifelong dream has always been to master the Secret Technique: Drill Dragon, Drill Nail. Relying on a Devil Fruit isn't the path I want to take."
Bardock smiled, patting Sai on the shoulder approvingly. "You have a good head on your shoulders. Devil Fruits grant immediate, explosive power, but they are rejected by the sea. It's a massive trade-off. Besides, you can absolutely conquer the seas using nothing but pure martial arts and Haki—just look at Marine Hero Garp or former Admiral Zephyr.
"However," Bardock's eyes sharpened slightly, "the Drill Dragon, Drill Nail shouldn't be your ultimate goal. You should aim to surpass it."
"Surpass the Secret Technique..." Sai murmured, his eyes widening slightly as the concept took root in his mind. "You're right. I need to surpass the Drill Dragon, Drill Nail and elevate the Hasshoken to a completely unprecedented level!"
With the loot secured, the crew spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the prehistoric island.
They marveled at the incredible scenery and the bizarre creatures that had long since gone extinct in the outside world. Looking at the dinosaurs, Bardock couldn't help but think of Kaido's 'Tobi Roppo' commanders. He saw Saber-toothed Tigers, Allosauruses, Triceratops, Pachycephalosauruses, and Spinosauruses. He even spotted a massive Mammoth, though he didn't see any ancient spiders.
The island's ecosystem was undeniably bizarre. Despite being ruled by ancient dinosaurs, modern animals like rhinos and hippos also coexisted perfectly fine. It made absolutely no logical sense.
Theoretically, apex predators like the T-Rex should have hunted everything else to extinction. Aside from Dorry and Brogy, the carnivorous dinosaurs had no natural predators here. Yet, the ecosystem of Little Garden had somehow maintained a perfect, unbroken equilibrium for millions of years. Realistically, an enclosed island ecosystem like this should have collapsed ages ago. 'Anime logic,' Bardock shrugged.
After spending a peaceful night on the White Dragon, Bardock finished his breakfast and immediately led his crew back to Brogy's camp.
Today was the day of their scheduled battle.
Brogy was already waiting for them, fully armed with his massive battle axe and shield. Seeing Bardock arrive, the Giant grinned and smashed the flat of his axe against his shield.
CLANG!
The deafening metallic ring echoed across the jungle, completely silencing the roars of the nearby dinosaurs.
Moments later, Dorry emerged from the trees, equally armed with his longsword and shield.
(Bardock noted that Elbaf Warriors heavily favored using shields in combat. Even Hajrudin, the Giant who would eventually join Luffy's Grand Fleet in the future, carried a massive shield on his back.)
"Bardock! There are two of us! Which one of us do you want to fight?" Brogy asked, his expression completely serious.
"That's right, Bardock," Dorry chimed in, stroking his long beard. "But I highly suggest you pick Brogy! If you fight me, you won't have a single shred of hope!"
"What did you just say?!" Brogy immediately shoved his face directly into Dorry's. "I don't recall you ever actually beating me!"
"Isn't it just a matter of time?!" Dorry roared back, refusing to back down an inch. "I am destined to be Elbaf's Greatest Warrior!"
"I am Elbaf's Greatest Warrior!" "..."
Seeing the two Giants instantly devolve into another screaming match, Bardock sighed heavily.
"How about this..." Bardock interrupted, raising his voice so they could hear him. "I'll fight both of you."
"Eh?"
The two Giants instantly stopped yelling and stared down at Bardock in utter confusion, convinced they had misheard the tiny human.
"Or, if you prefer," Bardock smirked, "the two of you can fight me together."