After sailing for a while longer, Bella finally deactivated her ability.
The enormous Treasure Tree Adam was already visible in the distance, and from here, they could simply sail the rest of the way normally.
"Wind speed and heading are both good!"
Uta lowered the telescope and gazed at the colossal tree rising thousands of meters into the sky.
"That giant tree over there must be Elbaf. I can't believe we got here this quickly. Bella's control over the More-More Fruit is getting better and better."
Cain affectionately rubbed Bella's head.
"It's just a shame Bella can't use her ability on other people. Otherwise, Uta, you could try being a giant too."
Cain had experienced the perspective himself. Bella had amplified his size before, and his Animal Path also gave him a giant form, so he knew how strange the world looked from that height.
Uta rejected the idea without even thinking.
"No thanks. What would be the fun in visiting the land of giants if we turned ourselves into giants too?"
Then she paused and lowered her voice almost unconsciously.
"Besides… it's not like I can't become one."
Just as she could alter herself inside Uta World, Uta was capable of changing her physical form in reality as well.
The only problem was that increasing herself all the way to giant size consumed a considerable amount of stamina.
That was also why, back on Egghead, when she wanted to disguise herself as a Seraphim, she had insisted on having Bonney shrink her first. Changing clothes was easy. Altering her actual size took far more effort.
Inside Uta World, none of that mattered.
In reality, it was a different story.
And more importantly—
the last time she had made herself gigantic had been when she was alone with Cain.
Inside Uta World.
Just remembering what happened afterward was enough to heat her face.
There was absolutely no way she was demonstrating that in front of other people.
The more Uta thought about it, the more flustered she became. She hurriedly buried those thoughts and changed the subject.
"Anyway! Forget that."
She looked at Cain.
"How did your call go?"
Their destination was Elbaf, the legendary warrior nation often called the strongest country in the world.
Simply barging into a place like that without warning would be incredibly rude.
And then there was the Going Merry's pirate flag.
They had already taken it down for now, but that didn't completely ease their concerns.
Big Mom was known among Elbaf's people as an evil god, and Cain had an extremely complicated relationship with her—not to mention the even more complicated question of blood ties.
Neither Cain nor Uta knew exactly how Elbaf would view him.
"It's fine. I already asked Shanks."
Cain tucked the Den Den Mushi back into his clothes.
"Unfortunately, the Red Hair Pirates aren't in Elbaf right now, so beating him up might have to wait."
"But…"
"When Shanks heard we were coming, he contacted the people here in advance. We just need to sail into the harbor."
"There's a tavern there, and apparently someone will come meet us."
Cain smiled.
"He also said they're preparing some kind of ancient Elbaf tradition specifically to welcome me."
"Wait."
Uta tilted her head.
"Specifically for you? What about me?"
"No idea."
Cain shrugged.
"That's exactly how Shanks said it."
"He told me to prepare myself because the surprise would definitely blow me away."
"That bastard really is a biased father."
Uta cracked her knuckles, though the eager grin on her face made her intentions obvious.
"When we finally meet him, I'm definitely beating him up."
"Mm-hm."
Cain nodded solemnly.
"We'll beat him up together."
…
At that very moment, in a "small" tavern near the harbor bordering Elbaf's Underworld—
the scraping sound of sharpened blades mixed with the booming laughter of giants.
"This sword should be sharp enough now, right? Hahaha! Look at that edge!"
"You added more weight to this hammer too, didn't you?"
"It's been way too long since we did anything like this. My blood's boiling already!"
Every giant in the tavern wore a vicious grin as they equipped weapons and armor.
A young giant sat at a table and looked toward the comparatively tiny figure beside him.
"Dad, what are they all doing?"
The man stopped sharpening his axe and smiled down at his son.
"Colon, you're still young, so you don't know much about Elbaf's old history."
"This is how we welcome a guest."
He looked around at the armed giants.
"You should know that Elbaf hasn't welcomed anyone this enthusiastically in decades."
The man sharpening the axe was none other than Scopper Gaban, who proudly claimed to have been Roger's second-in-command and his left hand.
"That arrogant, stupid, third-ranked, shameless bastard Rayleigh's disciple…"
Gaban ground his teeth.
"This time, I'm beating the crap out of him!"
Just remembering Shanks' wedding made his blood pressure rise.
That bastard Rayleigh hadn't even invited him.
Gaban had been forced to beg for half a month just to obtain a recording of the ceremony afterward.
There was no way he could let that humiliation go unanswered.
If Rayleigh himself wasn't here, then his disciple would have to pay the debt.
Gaban was in the middle of grumbling when he suddenly remembered his son was still sitting beside him.
He immediately waved both hands.
"Wait! Colon, don't listen to any of that!"
"If your mother finds out I was talking like this in front of you, I'll be sleeping separately from her for another few months!"
Then he reconsidered his wording.
"And definitely don't repeat it!"
"No, wait—that's not enough."
"Don't learn any of it either!"
Colon's eyes rolled thoughtfully.
"Then promise me Red-Hair Boss will take me out to sea."
"No, no, absolutely not."
Gaban refused instantly.
"Then I'm sleeping with Mom tonight."
Colon hopped up.
"You can sleep on the floor."
Then he turned and ran, his comparatively tiny body shooting out through the tavern door.
"WAIT! NO!"
Gaban desperately reached after him.
Unfortunately, the difference in their sizes was too great. He couldn't even catch the edge of his son's clothes.
He stared mournfully at the empty doorway, feeling his happy married life slipping farther and farther away.
The surrounding giants immediately burst into merciless laughter.
That laughter continued until—
"Elder Jarul?! What are you doing here?!"
The giants turned toward the figure entering the tavern and immediately stiffened.
The newcomer was Jarul, one of Elbaf's elders and a legendary hero of the Giants.
A sword was still lodged conspicuously through his head as he glared at the fully armed group.
"If I hadn't heard what you were planning and come here myself, I never would've known you idiots intended to revive one of Elbaf's outdated traditions!"
His voice thundered through the tavern.
"Absolutely ridiculous!"
Ever since the tragedy decades earlier, large-scale warfare had become far less common in Elbaf, and its people had gradually begun moving away from the tradition of solving every problem through violence.
The younger generation in particular had noticeably different values.
Faced with such a respected elder's rebuke, the gathered giants immediately looked ashamed. Some lowered their heads while others awkwardly scratched the backs of their necks.
"And you, Gaban!"
Jarul's glare moved toward him.
"Joining these idiots is bad enough."
"But the most important thing is—"
His voice rose.
"You actually… you actually…!"
Gaban hurried forward.
"Wait, Jarul, this isn't what you think! We were only—"
Jarul abruptly drew the sword from his waist.
"YOU ACTUALLY DIDN'T INVITE ME!"
"HUH?!"
Everyone stared at him.
Jarul raised his weapon indignantly.
"That brat is the child of that woman, and now he has the nerve to marry Red-Hair's daughter!"
"Red-Hair is a friend of Elbaf!"
"So obviously we need to properly inspect the man who intends to become his son-in-law!"
Jarul's eyes burned with fighting spirit.
"We'll use Elbaf's oldest and most brutal trial!"
"Let that brat properly experience our fury!"
"…That's your problem?"
Gaban's sunglasses nearly slid from his nose.
The old man had spent all that time scolding everyone with a stern face—
only to reveal that this was what he was actually angry about?
And that final sentence sounded suspiciously personal.
What ancient trial?
It sounded far more like Jarul simply wanted Cain to suffer.
Then again, his attitude wasn't especially surprising.
The Giants had long maintained an absolute prohibition against Big Mom or any member of her family setting foot on Elbaf. They wanted nothing whatsoever to do with her.
Yet Cain had become entangled with Big Mom, was also involved with Shanks' daughter, and now intended to set foot on Elbaf himself.
Given all that, Jarul's reaction was almost inevitable.
The surrounding giants instantly recovered their enthusiasm.
Their eyes lit up as they raised their weapons and unleashed a deafening roar.
"OOOOOH!"
"LET HIM EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF ELBAF!"
…
Meanwhile, Cain stood at the bow of the Going Merry with one arm around Uta's shoulders, staring eagerly toward the rapidly approaching harbor.
A wide smile spread across his face.
"I wonder what kind of welcoming ceremony they prepared for us."
He sounded genuinely excited.
"I'm really looking forward to it."