Chapter 10: The Garden of Giants and the Arm-Wrestle of GodsThe Going Merry didn't just enter the waters of Little Garden; she glided into a pocket of history that the rest of the world had forgotten. As the mist cleared, the horizon was dominated by trees the size of skyscrapers and the distant, primeval roars of creatures that should have been extinct millions of years ago. The air was thick, humid, and heavy with the scent of damp earth and ancient blood."IS THAT A T-REX?!" Luffy screamed, his stars-for-eyes nearly popping out of his skull. "SILVER! LOOK! IT'S A DINOSAUR! I'M GONNA RIDE IT!""Be careful, Luffy," Nami whimpered, clutching her Eternal Chart to her chest. "This island... it hasn't changed in a hundred million years. The plants are probably as dangerous as the monsters!"I stood at the prow, my white hair shimmering under the prehistoric sun. My dark aviatorstracked a Pterodactyl circling above, its mana signature primitive but surprisingly dense. I knelt and pressed my palm against the deck of the Merry."Concept: Ancestral Camouflage," I whispered.A silver-violet ripple spread from my hand, coating the ship. To any predator on the island, the Merry now appeared to be nothing more than a drifting piece of driftwood, her scent and heat signature completely erased."Stay with the ship, Nami, Usopp," I said, stepping off the railing and landing silently on the oversized ferns of the shore. "Zoro, Sanji—you two go find some food. Luffy, try not to get eaten before I find the source of that vibration.""Vibration?" Zoro asked, his hand on his sword."The heartbeat of the island," I said, looking toward the twin volcanoes in the distance. "Two of them. And they're massive."I walked through the jungle, my boots never touching the mud. I moved through the 'Infinity' of my own space, the massive insects and prehistoric predators simply sliding around me as if I didn't exist. I reached a clearing where the trees had been flattened as if by a hurricane.There, sitting by a fire that used entire redwood trees as kindling, was a man. Or rather, a Giant.Dorry the Blue Ogre. He was a mountain of muscle, draped in Viking-style furs, his beard a cascading waterfall of blue-grey. Beside him sat a skull of a Sea King that made the one I punched in the East Blue look like a goldfish."GABAGABAGABAGA!" Dorry laughed, his voice a literal physical force that shook the leaves from the trees. "A tiny human in a fancy suit? Have you come to be my toothpick, little one?""I'm Monkey D. Silver," I said, looking up at the giant. I didn't strain my neck; I simply manipulated the perspective of my vision. "And I've come to see the warriors of Elbaf."Dorry paused, his massive eyes narrowing. He looked at my white hair, then at the Silver Ringon my finger. He didn't see a snack; his warrior instincts—honed over a century of combat—screamed that the person standing before him was a condensed sun."You speak of Elbaf with respect," Dorry said, his voice dropping to a low rumble. "But respect is earned through strength. I am Dorry! For a hundred years, I have fought my rival, Brogy, on this island to settle a debt of honor!"At that moment, the volcano erupted. A second giant, Brogy the Red Ogre, emerged from the other side of the jungle, his axe gleaming. "DORRY! TODAY IS THE DAY YOU FALL! GEGEGEGEGE!"The two giants charged. The impact of their weapons—the sword Terry Sword and the axe Bruiser Axe—created a shockwave that leveled another acre of forest. They fought with a ferocity that transcended time, a dance of steel and spirit that had lasted longer than most human civilizations.I watched from the sidelines, my Silver Ageintuition noting the tragedy of their stalemate. Their weapons were chipped, their bodies scarred, and the reason for their fight had been forgotten long ago. They were fighting for the sake of the fight itself."HEY! GIANT MISTER! THAT WAS AWESOME!" Luffy arrived, dragging a dead Triceratops behind him.The giants stopped, looking down at the rubber boy. "GABAGA! Another tiny one! And he brings a gift!"The crew gathered at the giants' campsite. We shared a feast of dinosaur meat and ale, the giants regaling us with stories of Elbaf. But the peace was interrupted by the arrival of Mr. 3and Miss Goldenweek.Mr. 3, a man with a "3" shaped hairstyle and the Doru Doru no Mi (Wax-Wax Fruit), had tampered with the giants' ale, causing Dorry to explode from the inside. He then used his wax to trap the giants and my crew in a "Giant Candle Service," intending to turn them into wax statues."Art is eternal!" Mr. 3 laughed, standing atop his wax tower. "And you, Silver Monster... your 500-million-berry head will be the centerpiece of my collection!"I was standing at the base of the wax tower, my hands in my pockets. I looked at the massive wax dome that was slowly encasing Zoro, Nami, and Vivi. Zoro was currently striking a "cool pose" so his statue would look good, while Nami was screaming for me to help."Wax is just a hydrocarbon in a solid state," I said, looking at Mr. 3 through my aviators. "It melts at sixty degrees Celsius. It's a fragile medium for 'eternal' art.""My wax is as hard as steel!" Mr. 3 shrieked. "You can't break it!""I don't need to break it," I said.I raised my hand, pointing a finger at the wax tower."Concept: Molecular Agitation."I didn't use fire. I simply increased the vibration of the wax molecules. In a millisecond, the "steel-hard" wax turned into a puddle of translucent liquid, flowing away harmlessly. Zoro, Nami, and Vivi stepped out, shaking the warm wax from their clothes."Zoro, handle the wax-man," I said. "I have a debt to settle with the giants."Dorry was lying on the ground, his stomach wounded by the explosion and Brogy's axe. Brogy stood over him, weeping for his fallen friend, realizing too late that the fight had been sabotaged."DORRY! MY BROTHER! THIS WAS NOT THE END I WANTED!" Brogy roared at the sky.I walked up to the two giants. To them, I was a speck of dust. But as I stood between them, I released my Primordial Aura. The air around the clearing turned silver, the gravity increasing until the very trees bowed toward the center."Brogy. Dorry," I said, my voice echoing through their minds. "Honor isn't found in a sabotaged grave. It's found in the continuation of the spirit."I knelt by Dorry's side. I placed my hand on his massive, bleeding stomach."Concept: Regenerative Stasis," I whispered. "Concept: Infinite Vitality."A silver light erupted from my palm, flowing into Dorry's body. To the shock of the giants, the massive wound closed instantly. The internal damage from the explosion was erased. Even the century-old scars on his body vanished, replaced by skin as tough as the Red Line itself.Dorry sat up, his eyes wide. "I... I feel like a fledgling warrior again! My strength! It has doubled!""GABAGAGA!" Brogy laughed, hugging his friend. "Silver! You are a God amongst men! How can we ever repay you?!""A hundred years of fighting is enough for now," I said, standing up and dusting off my suit. "But I've always wondered... can a giant's pride match the strength of the sun?"I looked at the two of them. "Let's settle this honor with a new contest. An arm-wrestling match. The two of you against me."The jungle went silent. Luffy, who was currently eating a wax-covered rib, stopped mid-chew. "SILVER! YOU'RE CRAZY! THEY'RE GIANTS!""GEGEGEGE!" Brogy grinned, his massive hand coming down. "You healed my brother, Silver. But do not underestimate the arm that has leveled islands!"The two giants knelt, placing their four hands together. I stood on a raised rock, placing my right hand against their massive palms. My hand was smaller than a single one of their fingernails."On three," I said."ONE!" Brogy roared.
"TWO!" Dorry bellowed.
"THREE!"The giants pushed. The air around the clearing exploded from the sheer pressure. The ground beneath us shattered, a crater a hundred yards wide forming instantly. The two giants were red-faced, their muscles bulging like mountains, their feet digging deep into the earth.I didn't move. I didn't even sweat."Concept: The Unmovable Object," I whispered.I felt the solar energy surging through my arm. I didn't push back with muscle; I pushed back with the Concept of Absolute Force."My turn," I said.I applied a fraction of my strength.BOOM.The two giants were lifted off the ground, their massive arms pinned to the earth in a single, clean motion. The shockwave of the impact sent a tremor through the entire island, causing the twin volcanoes to erupt simultaneously in a salute to the power they had just witnessed.The giants lay on their backs, staring at the sky. Then, they began to laugh. A laughter so loud it cleared the clouds for miles."GABAGABAGABA!"
"GEGEGEGEGE!""We have lost!" Dorry shouted. "To a tiny man with the strength of the stars! Silver! You are the greatest warrior we have ever met!"As the Going Merry prepared to leave Little Garden, the two giants stood at the shore. They raised their weapons in a cross, creating a path of honor for us."GO, LITTLE WARRIORS!" Brogy roared. "The Grand Line belongs to those with the courage to challenge the sun!""Wait!" I shouted from the deck. I reached into my Silver Ring and pulled out two massive barrels of "Conceptual Ale" I had created—ale that never emptied and never went flat. I tossed them to the shore. "A gift for the wait!"As we sailed away, Nami walked up to me, her hand on the silver-violet railing. She looked at me, then at the giants fading into the distance."Silver," she said softly. "You just humbled two legends of Elbaf. Do you ever worry about what happens when the world finds out what you really are?""Nami," I said, sliding my aviators back on. "The world doesn't need to know what I am. They just need to know that as long as this ship is sailing, the dreams of the crew are safe."Suddenly, Nami stumbled, her face turning pale. She clutched her side, a feverish glow appearing in her eyes. "I... I don't feel so good..."I caught her before she hit the deck. My Rikugan vision scanned her body instantly."Kestia," I muttered, my jaw tightening. "A prehistoric tick. She's been infected.""Is she gonna die?!" Luffy screamed."Not while I'm here," I said, looking toward the horizon. "We need a doctor. And I think there's a winter island nearby with a reindeer who knows a thing or two about medicine."