West Blue.
A dimly lit room.
The clinking of chains echoed in the dark.
Sharn was sleeping soundly—perhaps the exhaustion from the God Valley war had wrung him dry.
After that battle he'd barely eaten before collapsing into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Oi, Kaido… where the hell are we?"
Huh?
Both of his hands were shackled!
Sharn's eyes snapped open.
The darkness was so thick he could barely see, but he sensed a few hulking figures nearby.
Kaido was sitting right beside him, patiently waiting for him to wake.
On either side of them loomed men even bigger than Kaido—giants.
Everyone knew the seas held more giant clans than Elbaf alone:
the Western Sea Giants, the Triangle Mist Giants, the Snowfield Giants, and the berserker-like Demon Giants—all branches of the same race.
Long ago they had fought as one people, until some great rift had scattered them.
Since then, no giant strong enough had ever united them again.
Even the mighty Elbaf Kingdom was trapped in endless civil war.
A century ago, the Legendary Giant Warrior Pirates had once ruled the seas — but their glory had crumbled away.
To meet two giants here was no small luck.
But they looked uncomfortable — the one to the left was practically crushed by the walls, letting out clumsy grunts of pain.
Every twitch of his body rattled the chains, each link forged from pure Seastone.
Even so, it barely contained his titanic frame.
All the Seastone seemed to be focused on that giant alone — Sharn himself felt almost unaffected.
The other giant remained silent; their relationship clearly wasn't friendly.
Sharn rubbed his forehead and finally pieced it together —
they'd been captured and locked up!
Well, so be it.
After his recent mutation, his heartbeat felt strange—like a living engine.
His body could now withstand three Devil Fruits and didn't even require sleep.
Maybe this nap would be his last for a long time.
"Kaido! What happened?"
He had no idea what had occurred after he'd passed out.
With Kaido's strength, who could possibly capture him?
"Too tired after God Valley," Kaido yawned, slapping Sharn's shoulder with a laugh.
"Next thing I know — boom — we're here! Hahahaha! Must be a West Blue Marine branch!"
He grinned wide.
"No big deal. We'll break out, grab a bite, and head off again!
I used to do that whenever I was hungry!"
He flexed, chains groaning under the strain.
Even with his power dulled by Seastone, Kaido's strength was inhuman.
For him, a Marine base was no Impel Down.
"You brought me to a Marine base for a buffet?" Sharn deadpanned.
"Thanks a lot."
He still felt weak — no wonder, after sleeping half-starved.
Kaido was truly the master of reckless ideas.
The Seastone must have been high-grade; his Devil Fruit powers were completely suppressed.
Fortunately, his body had been reinforced during Buckin's experiments and through his recent mutation.
Tch!
He hardened his arms with Armament Haki — the iron-black sheen returned.
Even in this state, he could still fight.
In the end, strength was everything.
Marco had fought without his phoenix form at Marineford — Kaido could do the same without his Azure Dragon form.
Sharn knew Kaido was weakened right now — and still terrifying.
"Physical endurance is everything. If only I had Linlin's toughness…"
He chuckled to himself, remembering how Big Mom had once been tied up by Queen.
"Join me, kid!" Kaido boomed. "Once we eat, we set sail — you'll be my first mate!"
Bang bang bang!
He pounded his fist against the iron door.
"Keep dreaming," Sharn retorted. "When I get out of here, I'm founding my own crew."
He still had a fate choice unfinished — the creation of his own pirate crew.
That reward was the Paw–Paw Fruit Lineage Factor — a concept-level Paramecia!
The power to mark every place he'd been, to send others there with a slap—
instant mobility, air-burst attacks, and memory transfer.
Perfect.
High-speed travel, instant support, shock impact, and stored damage… ideal.
"Food… hungry…"
The giant who'd been lying down suddenly opened his eyes.
Boom!
The ground shook—the cell wasn't even tall enough to fit him.
The Marine prison held only four prisoners now: two giants, plus Kaido and Sharn — the "small giants."
"Hey-hey… food!" The massive giant's voice was simple and slow, like a child's.
Then the other giant, long silent, spoke up in a completely different tone.
"How scary! Evil Wolf! You still don't know how to be gentle — such a naughty boy!"
The voice was oddly cute — definitely a man's, though.
Sharn squinted into the dark, trying to see.
If the hungry one was Sanjuan Wolf, then the timeline made sense — he'd be sixty-one now,
standing a colossal 180 meters tall, even bigger than Oars.
A monster so massive he couldn't sink, his feet scalded but not melted by lava.
And the one calling him "naughty boy"? None other than Moly, the giant who'd once dug out Impel Down's Level 5.5 using the Push–Push Fruit.
"I'm hungry, Brother Moly! So hungry!"
Wolf struggled, the cell creaking around him.
Neither Sharn nor Kaido had to lift a finger — West Blue was already descending into madness.
"You really are a silly child. Come on, Wolf."
Moly reached behind the wall and pulled out a shovel.
One scoop, and the solid floor softened like clay.
A moment later the ground swirled into a spinning vortex, wrapping Wolf inside.
"Time to escape, kids!" she sang.
At one hundred and twenty-two years old, Moly still sounded cheerfully youthful.
Her sticky whirlpool dragged everything with it like molasses, swallowing the entire cell.
By the time the wardens rushed in, the world was tilting beneath their feet.
"They're escaping!"
"Told you—giants can't be contained! We don't have that much Seastone!"
"Those two new ones are giants too, right? One of them doesn't even have a bounty!"
Kaido and Sharn were so tall the guards mistook them for young giants.
"Oh! A key!" Moly spun her shovel, and a ring of Seastone keys clattered to the floor.
Careless as she looked, her ability control was precise.
Click!
The shackles fell away.
Kaido stretched, grinning.
"So that's what weakness feels like. Now I get it — Devil Fruit power comes with a price."
"My strength's back!" Sharn's hands transformed, scales rippling across his arms.
"Let's get out of here, crewmates! Next stop — the Grand Line!"
He charged forward as Moly peeled open the cell.
Sunlight splashed over their faces.
BOOM!
Sanjuan Wolf tumbled into the harbor, his fall sending a tidal wave crashing over the base.
The great escape had begun.
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