West Blue. Ohara.
What used to be a lush forest kingdom was now nothing but ruins. The massive tree that symbolized knowledge had fallen.
The World Government's Buster Call had long since pulled out. This place should've been a ghost town by now.
But several giant ships were docked at the island's edge.
A few giants with nets were salvaging something from the lake—
Books.
The waterlogged books were still in perfect condition. They were being packed up and shipped out batch by batch.
Right now, a figure with an absurdly huge head was sticking his tongue out, spying from behind some rocks.
Behind him stood a long-haired man in a dark green cloak, holding flowers.
"Still rocking that head, I see...
Been a while, Vegapunk."
The scientist turned around slowly. Seeing Dragon, he relaxed.
"Oh, it's you, Dragon... What brings you here?"
"Had some history with Uncle Clover.
But... weird thing is, there are still people watching Ohara. That gonna be a problem?"
Dragon stayed alert. He'd spotted those guys stationed around Ohara's perimeter ages ago.
He hadn't blown his cover, but those giant figures were impossible to hide. They'd probably already tipped someone off.
"World Government?" Vegapunk looked worried.
If so, these precious books might get exposed.
But Dragon shook his head.
"Doesn't look like it. More like some pirate crew sent them—zero military discipline."
"I see..."
Dragon glanced at the giants salvaging books in the distance. "You worried about those giants?"
"Yeah, these books are priceless. Can't let them walk off with everything."
"They're not thieves. I already checked—they're..."
They walked and talked, but suddenly—
Dragon froze mid-step, staring out at the distant sea.
"What's wrong, Dragon?"
Vegapunk was confused by his reaction.
But Dragon didn't answer. Just gritted his teeth, face going pale as he locked onto that black speck beyond the coastline.
As that ghostly ship shadow got closer, cold sweat dripped down Dragon's forehead.
"How... how the hell..."
"That surveillance team—it was his?"
"Yep. My boys."
Clang—
Bang—
Grinning as he caught that dragon claw wrapped in Armament Haki, Aus barely applied pressure.
That claw that could shred steel and crack earth got slammed down instantly.
"Starting with the violence? Dragon, that's just rude."
In his dark red suit and black coat, sword and gun at his waist, Aus looked casually at the tense Dragon.
Vegapunk had already bolted to a safe distance—he couldn't handle this kind of collateral damage.
Luckily, Dragon's attack was pure reflex. He had no intention of actually fighting Aus, and the Armament Haki faded from his hand.
Aus let go too.
That strength-focused dragon claw wasn't even half as powerful as his monster strength anyway.
If Dragon tried to grip-fight him without Armament Haki, Aus was confident he could crush his hand into powder.
"'Black Gun' Doctor Aus... why are you here?"
Dragon's expression was grim.
But Aus ignored his question, turning to appear beside the hiding Vegapunk, stroking his chin while studying that massive head.
"Jesus Christ... heads can actually get this big."
Aus muttered quietly. How many brains would you need to store to reach that size?
No wonder he'd need such a huge container later.
"'Black Gun' Aus..."
Vegapunk stuck his tongue out, looking up at Aus examining his head. Behind those little glasses, his eyes showed helpless resignation, cold sweat beading on his face.
"Relax, I'm not here to kill you..."
Maybe sensing both men's extreme tension, Aus started to explain, but when he looked up, the words died in his throat.
"Oh shit... there are female giants at Ohara? Haven't seen one in forever!"
He spotted those giants salvaging books in the distance. One was actually a gorgeous, sexy female giant.
Last time he'd seen one was as a kid, when he went to Elbaf with Captain Roger and the crew.
Back then, he and Buggy and Shanks used to bounce on trampolines there.
Those were the good old newbie protection days...
Compared to Vegapunk and Dragon, he was way more interested in news about the giants and Uncle Gaban.
With a flash step, Aus appeared in front of the female giant, grinning and waving hello.
All three giants jumped!
Especially Hajrudin, who threw an instinctive punch.
But when his fist got within a meter of Aus, it stopped dead like it hit a wall.
"Do you all say hello by trying to punch people?"
Can't really blame them for the big reactions. When some tiny figure suddenly pops up next to you,
a warrior's first instinct is always to attack.
"Stop! He's not our enemy!"
Maybe because Gerth was more perceptive, recognizing Aus, she quickly called for Hajrudin to stand down.
But Hajrudin was stuck either way. Even without her warning, he couldn't move a muscle.
The second he threw that punch, Aus had frozen his entire body with his spatial lock ability.
Without insanely strong Haki, unless your physical strength massively outclassed Aus, even giant-level power was useless against spatial abilities.
"Are you... Mr. Aus? I heard Mr. Gaban mention you, and I've seen your wanted poster!"
The female giant Gerth recognized Aus and spoke up with pleasant surprise.
"Oh? Uncle Gaban talked about me?" Aus perked up, releasing Hajrudin's restraint and turning to Gerth.
"Yes! Mr. Gaban loves telling us stories about his old sailing adventures!" Gerth smiled.
But Aus had already stopped listening to anything about Uncle Gaban's current situation.
As Gerth talked, Aus hovered in the air, but his eyes were glued to those bouncing white trampolines bigger than his entire body.
He was, after all, a young man who'd just hit adulthood, blood running hot.
This...
was way too much of a test!
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