The jungle of Little Garden didn't just shake; it convulsed.
To Nami and Usopp, hiding in the ferns near Brogy's camp, it felt like the world was ending. To Luffy and Vivi, watching from the opposite ridge near Dorry's camp, it looked like the sky was falling.
In the center of the island, amidst a wasteland of shattered trees and pulverized rock, the two titans clashed.
The colossal axe of Brogy the Red Ogre met the massive longsword of Dorry the Blue Ogre.
KRA-KOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact created a shockwave of compressed air that flattened the surrounding jungle for a hundred meters. Birds flapped away in terror. Dinosaurs, the apex predators of history, scurried into their burrows like frightened mice.
For hours, the battle raged. It was a dance of destruction, a symphony of violence played out by two beings who were less like men and more like mountains given flesh. They laughed as they struck, their joy echoing off the volcano.
"GABABABABA! IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE, DORRY?"
"GEGYAGYAGYA! MY BLADE IS JUST GETTING WARM, BROGY!"
They fought until the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of blood and bruised purple. They fought until their weapons sparked in the twilight. And finally, with a synchronised roar that shook the bones of everyone watching, they delivered one last, simultaneous strike.
Both giants were knocked backwards. Both landed on their backs with earth-shattering thuds.
Silence returned to Little Garden.
Brogy lay staring up at the first stars appearing in the sky. His chest heaved like a bellows.
"Heh... heh... That makes... how many?"
Dorry, lying a few hundred meters away, chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound. "That was... seventy-three thousand... four hundred... and sixty-six."
"And...?"
"And... seventy-three thousand... four hundred... and sixty-six... draws."
They both erupted into laughter again, a sound of pure, unadulterated brotherhood. They weren't enemies. They were rivals bound by the sacred laws of Elbaf.
Luffy, eyes shining like diamonds, hung off a tree branch. "SO COOL! Look at them! They're huge! And strong! And they're laughing!"
Usopp, peeking through his fingers on the other side, felt tears streaming down his face. It wasn't fear. It was awe. "This... this is it. This is the pride of a warrior. To fight for a hundred years... for nothing but honour."
The giants sat up, dusting off the debris of a century of combat.
"A good fight," Brogy grunted. "But I am thirsty." He grinned, remembering the gift from the tiny magician. He reached for the massive barrel—the one Ben had enlarged earlier. It was strapped to his back, miraculously unharmed.
"Oi! Dorry!" Brogy shouted across the clearing. "My new little friends gave me some excellent booze! Catch!"
He hurled the massive barrel through the air. It was the size of a house, spinning end over end. Dorry caught it with one hand, sniffing it suspiciously before grinning.
"Oh? Little humans? I have some new guests too! GEGYAGYAGYA! Thanks for the drink, brother!"
They parted ways, the earth trembling with their footsteps as they returned to their respective camps for the night.
---
At Brogy's camp—the hollowed-out skull of the ancient sea king—the fire was crackling warmly.
Brogy sat heavily, the ground shaking as he settled. "GABABABA! A draw again! But tomorrow... tomorrow the god of Elbaf will smile on me!"
Ben, Nami, and Usopp sat near the fire. Nami was still clutching her Tempest Tact, looking nervously at the giant shadows in the jungle, but Usopp was staring into the flames, his expression unusually serious.
"Brogy-shishou..." Usopp whispered, using the respectful title for a master. "You... you really fight every day? Just for honour?"
"It is the way of Elbaf," Brogy rumbled, chewing on a roasted dinosaur leg. "If you cannot resolve a dispute, you let the gods decide through combat. To retreat is to lose your pride. And for a giant... pride is life."
Usopp stood up. He wasn't shaking. He clenched his fists, his long nose casting a shadow in the firelight.
"I've decided," Usopp declared, his voice ringing out with a new strength. "I... I'm going to be a warrior like that! I want to be a proud warrior of the sea! One who can laugh in the face of danger and fight for what he believes in!"
Nami looked at him, surprised. "Usopp..."
"GABABABA!" Brogy laughed, raising a celebratory bone. "Well said, tiny warrior! Keep that fire in your belly, and you will reach Elbaf one day!"
Ben smiled, watching the scene. This was it. The moment Usopp's dream solidified. The cowardly liar was beginning to forge his own legend.
"Well," Ben said, standing up and dusting off his robes. "That was an inspiring speech. I think... I'm going to go stretch my legs. Maybe find some dessert fruit."
Nami's head snapped up. "Ben! Don't you dare leave us alone with the giant!"
"He's a host, Nami. You're safe. Besides," Ben tapped his pocket, "I need to check on... a project."
Before she could protest further, Ben stepped into the shadows of the skull's eye socket and vanished with a soft pop.
---
Deep in the darkest, most overgrown part of the jungle, where the sunlight barely reached the ground, stood a structure that defied nature.
It was a small, perfectly white house. It looked like a delicious, frosted cake amidst the savage greenery. But it wasn't frosting. It was wax. Hardened, steel-strong candle wax.
Inside, the decor was elegant, if a bit pretentious. A tea set sat on a wax table. A painting easel stood in the corner.
Mr. 3 sat at the table, sipping Earl Grey tea. He was a strange man with hair shaped like the number '3' and a demeanor that screamed 'scheming intellectual'.
Opposite him sat a young girl, Miss Goldenweek, who was lazily eating rice crackers and ignoring everything around her.
Pacing the room was Miss Valentine. She looked annoyed, twirling her parasol.
"This is boring," Miss Valentine complained. "Where is Mr. 5? He vanished after we split up to chase the princess. He hasn't reported in hours. Do you think that swordsman got him?"
Mr. 3 sipped his tea, his pinky finger extended. "Mr. 5 is a brute. He likely got lost or blew himself up. It matters not. His brute force is unnecessary for my plan."
"And what is your plan?" Miss Valentine snapped. "We're here to kill the giants, right? Those things are monsters! They've been fighting for a hundred years! How do you expect to capture them?"
Mr. 3 smirked, tapping his head. "With this, my dear. Intellect. Artistry. Brute force is for simpletons. I have a plan ready, we will execute it tomorrow."
He laughed, a high, grating sound. "Fosfosfosfos! It will be perfect! And with the Princess and the Straw Hats here... I shall capture a bounty worth hundreds of millions in a single stroke of genius!"
"You talk too much."
The voice didn't come from Miss Valentine. It came from the door.
Mr. 3 froze. The door to his secret, hidden, wax fortress... was open.
Standing there, framed by the jungle night, was a man in a black coat with snow-white hair. He held a polished wooden wand loosely in his hand.
"Who—?!" Mr. 3 stood up, knocking over his tea.
Ben didn't give a villain monologue. He didn't explain how he found them (magical tracking on Mr. 5's partner was embarrassingly easy). He didn't wait for Mr. 3 to activate his powers.
Mr. 3's hair-flame ignited. "You dare enter my—CANDLE WALL!"
He waved his hand, trying to summon a wall of steel-hard wax to block the intruder.
He was too slow.
Ben's arm was a blur.
"Stupefy Maxima."
A bolt of red light, thick as a cannonball, erupted from the Elder Wand. It smashed through the forming wax wall as if it were paper and hit Mr. 3 square in the chest.
Mr. 3's eyes rolled back. He didn't even have time to scream. He collapsed backward, stiff as a board, foam forming at his mouth.
KO.
Miss Valentine shrieked, raising her parasol to change her weight. "You! You're the wizard! 10,000 Ki—"
Ben flicked his wand to the left. "Stupefy."
A second bolt caught her mid-jump. She froze in mid-air, her weight reverting to normal, and she dropped like a stone, landing on top of Mr. 3 with a heavy thud.
KO.
Miss Goldenweek, the young painter, just blinked. She held a rice cracker halfway to her mouth. She looked at her unconscious partners. She looked at Ben.
She shrugged, took a bite of the cracker, and held out her hands in surrender. "I surrender. Can I finish my snack?"
Ben chuckled. "Priorities. I like that. Somnulus."
A gentle, silvery mist sprayed from his wand. Miss Goldenweek yawned, her eyes drooping. She curled up on the floor, hugged her paint box, and fell into a deep, peaceful magical sleep.
KO.
The entire "battle" had taken less than five seconds.
Ben stepped into the room, looking around at the wax furniture. "Tacky," he muttered. "Very tacky."
He walked over to the pile of unconscious agents. He pulled out the small leather suitcase from his pocket, placing it on the floor and enlarging it.
"Right then," Ben said, opening the lid. "Collection time."
He levitated the bodies.
"Mr. 3. Galdino. The Doru Doru no Mi. Paramecia." he takes the log pose to Alabasta from his pocket.
He dropped Mr. 3 into the suitcase's containment hold.
"Miss Valentine. Mikita. The Kilo Kilo no Mi. Mass manipulation."
He snapped the suitcase shut.
He checked his status.
[Template: Brandish μ]
[Integration: 56%]
"Fifty-six percent," Ben mused, shrinking the suitcase back to matchbox size and pocketing it. "I'm getting stronger. But to unlock the next tier... or a new template... I need to harvest these fruits. Two new captures. That puts me ahead of schedule."
He looked around the empty wax house. With a wave of his wand, he cast Incendio. The wax structure caught fire instantly, melting into a puddle of slag, destroying any evidence of the Baroque Works base.
"No loose ends," Ben whispered.
He turned on his heel. The air around him twisted with a loud CRACK.
---
Back at Brogy's camp, the fire was dying down.
"I wonder where Ben went?" Nami asked, hugging her knees.
"He's a wizard, Nami," Usopp said, though he looked nervous too. "He probably just... found a really interesting rock. Or he's fighting a dragon. It's 50/50 with him."
POP.
Ben appeared sitting on the log right next to Nami, a fresh, strange-looking tropical fruit in his hand.
"GYAAAAH!" Nami and Usopp jumped three feet in the air.
"Don't DO that!" Nami screamed, clutching her heart.
"Do what?" Ben asked, taking a bite of the fruit. "I just went for a stroll. Found some lovely Berries. Want one?"
"Where have you been?!" Usopp demanded. "We heard... well, we didn't hear anything, which was worse!"
"Just exploring," Ben said innocently. "Found a weird wax sculpture in the woods. Melted it. Nothing important."
He looked at Brogy, who was snoring loudly against the cliffside, the empty barrel of booze beside him.
"So," Ben said, his eyes gleaming in the firelight. "Tomorrow is the big day. The duel continues. But I have a feeling... tomorrow's fight might be a little different."
"Different how?" Nami asked, suspicious.
Ben just smiled, leaning back and looking at the stars. He patted the pocket where three high-ranking Baroque Works agents were currently shrunken and stored.
"Oh, just a hunch," Ben said. Then he murmurs, "This fight will conclude tomorrow."