Meanwhile, far away in the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, lay the land of giants—Elbaf.
Unlike the warm winds of the West Blue or the unpredictable climate of the first half of the Grand Line, the sea breeze of Elbaf carried a chill that never faded… along with the spirit of battle.
It swept across this land famous for its warriors.
In order to secure an alliance with the powerful chieftain of the warrior village, Harald, the already world-renowned Rocks Pirates had been conducting "friendly" negotiations here for two full years.
Inside a grand hall carved entirely from a massive slab of stone within the giant royal city, members of the Rocks Pirates sat around a gigantic stone dining table built for giants.
Compared with the colossal food surrounding them, the pirates themselves looked almost tiny.
Yet the invisible aura emanating from them was enough to make even giants wary.
Seated at the head of the table was the infamous Rocks D. Xebec.
He held a wooden mug the size of a wine barrel and silently drank the giant tribe's powerful liquor—emptying it, refilling it, then emptying it again.
From the slight furrow in his brow, it was clear he was not in a good mood.
Moments earlier, the king of the giants—the mighty warrior Harald—had once again clearly rejected his proposal for an alliance.
Damn stubborn rock…
Rocks cursed inwardly.
Without Harald and the warriors of Elbaf lending their full strength, his mad ambition—to overturn the world and become its king—would become far more difficult.
There were two Devil Fruits Rocks desperately wanted.
One of them was very likely somewhere in Elbaf.
And only if Harald ate it would its true power be fully realized.
In short—
If Rocks wanted to achieve his earth-shaking ambition, Elbaf was crucial.
"Mm. Got it."
Click.
An ill-timed sound broke the heavy silence.
A burly man wearing a black pinstripe suit and chewing on a thick cigar hung up a Den Den Mushi with a displeased expression.
"Jihahahaha!"
Beside him, a man with wild golden hair like a lion's mane burst into laughter.
He was none other than Shiki, the Golden Lion, casually swirling the drink in his glass.
"What's wrong, Marlon?"
"You look like you just swallowed a dead rat."
The man called Marlon was the leader of the largest mafia family in the West Blue, and also a core officer of the Rocks Pirates.
He grabbed a grape the size of a watermelon and bit into it viciously.
"Nothing, Shiki."
"Just some little brats managing my business back in the West Blue."
"They sent word that a pirate crew who used to cause them trouble has slipped into the Grand Line."
Nearby, a fat man with three chins and a bizarre forked tongue—Wang Zhi—was cutting into a roasted slab of meat bigger than himself.
"Mmm?"
"I think I heard you mention them before."
"The kid who wrecked a few of your important bases and cost you quite a bit of money?"
"Hmph."
"Just a lucky clown."
Marlon snorted, casually spitting out the grape seeds.
"Apparently their captain is some jellyfish that ate the Human-Human Fruit. A ridiculous ability user."
"They can strut around in backwater seas like the Four Blues."
"But with that level of strength…"
"If they're smart, they might survive a little while in the first half of the Grand Line."
"Ma ma ma ma…"
A tall, voluptuous woman wearing heavy lipstick and eyeshadow licked her lips.
"Human-shaped jellyfish?"
"What an interesting combination…"
"I wonder what kind of children he'd produce."
"Ha ha ha…"
"Need help, Marlon?" someone else laughed.
"Once Harald agrees to Rocks' proposal, crushing an insect like that would be effortless."
"No need, Ganz."
Marlon waved dismissively and tore into another enormous piece of roasted meat.
"A pirate with a bounty of only 69 million Berries isn't worth mobilizing the Rocks Pirates."
"But if he's foolish enough to enter the New World…"
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Rocks himself continued drinking in silence.
From beginning to end, he showed no interest in the matter.
His gaze seemed to pierce through Elbaf's heavy clouds and look toward somewhere far beyond.
For monsters like them—figures whose bounties were already hundreds of millions—
A newcomer with 69 million from the West Blue was nothing more than a tiny ripple in the vast sea.
Barely worthy of a glance.
Meanwhile, the Jellyfish Pirates' ship Swordfish had already finished resupplying at Whiskey Peak and was sailing eagerly toward the mysterious island known as Little Garden.
But once again, the Grand Line demonstrated its temperamental nature.
"ACHOOO!!"
A thunderous sneeze erupted from Captain Sami—so loud it nearly shook the icicles loose from the rigging.
"Boss… you caught a cold?"
Beside him, Aldo—wrapped in layers of clothing like a polar bear—mumbled through a scarf while holding a wooden snow shovel.
"Bullshit!"
Sami rubbed his red nose.
His voice was muffled by the thick scarf but his irritation was unmistakable.
"Your boss is in peak physical condition! How could I possibly catch a cold?! This must be—"
"ACHOOO!!!"
Another massive sneeze interrupted his defense.
He lifted his head and stared past the snow-covered railing.
The sky was still gray.
Large flakes of snow continued falling endlessly.
The frustration that had built up all day finally exploded.
"HAAAAANS!!!"
Sami's roar echoed through the blizzard.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Didn't you swear yesterday that we perfectly avoided the core of the snowstorm?!"
"Why has this damn snow been blowing for an entire day—and getting worse?!"
"Are you following the storm on purpose?!"
"Do we have some kind of destiny with it?!"
The Swordfish no longer looked anything like the tidy ship that had left port.
The mast, ropes, and deck were buried under thick snow.
It looked more like a drifting snow mountain.
The crew were wrapped in multiple layers of clothing as they shoveled the constantly accumulating snow.
White breath puffed from their mouths before disappearing into the storm.
The navigator Hans—whose name had just been shouted—was currently crouched beside the helm where it was slightly sheltered from the wind.
Snow covered his head and shoulders.
He looked like a living snowman.
Adjusting his frozen glasses, he spoke with painfully obvious uncertainty.
"B-boss! Trust me one more time!"
"Based on the wind speed… the cloud density… and the sea temperature…"
"All we need to do is—uh—lower the mainsail and the foresail!"
"Leave only the staysail for propulsion!"
"Hard starboard!"
"Adjust course east-northeast!"
"If we ride along the edge of the wind current we'll break out of the storm!"
Sami stared at him.
At the pitiful and ridiculous sight.
For a moment he nearly lost his temper.
He took a deep breath of freezing air to calm himself.
"Fine!"
"Lower the mainsail and foresail!"
"Leave the staysail!"
"Hard starboard!"
"Course east-northeast!"
Then he glared at Hans.
"And if this doesn't work, I'm tying you to the bow as a figurehead—"
The crew silently watched the friendly conversation between their captain and navigator.
Without saying a word, they lowered their heads…
…and shoveled snow even faster.
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