"Loki… you traitor… are you betraying your own kind…?" The wounded giant's voice was thick with blood and fury. He stood swaying on shattered legs, armor split open, crimson pouring down his chest. Around him lay the aftermath of a brutal one-sided battle—hundreds of giants strewn across the massive forest path like fallen mountains. Some groaned in pain; others lay unnaturally still.
And before them all stood a single figure. Prince Loki of Elbaf. Once the pride of the giants… now the immovable wall that barred their way.
He stood alone in the center of the colossal path, his towering frame planted like an ancient pillar carved into the earth itself. In his grasp rested Ragnir, the legendary weapon humming with violent energy. Lightning crawled along the hammer like living serpents, illuminating Loki's stern face with flashes of pale blue.
Behind him, far beyond the barricade he had formed with his own body, a battle of apocalyptic proportions raged. The sky trembled with thunderous impacts. Shockwaves rolled through the forest like tidal waves, tearing branches from the immense trees of Elbaf. The very ground quaked beneath every distant collision. Somewhere beyond that chaos… their king fought.
And Loki would let none pass.
"Prince Loki… move aside," another giant called out, his voice tense despite the threat in his words. "Or we will be forced to kill you."
Yet none stepped forward. Every warrior present had already seen what happened to those who tried. The bodies on the ground were proof enough. Loki did not shift his stance. He did not tighten his grip. He did not even blink.
"Do as you see fit," he said calmly, his voice carrying across the massive clearing like cold steel sliding from a sheath. "I am not going to move… nor will I allow any of you to pass." Lightning crackled across Ragnir as his gaze hardened. "Anyone who tries… will die."
A heavy silence swallowed the forest. The gathered giants shifted uneasily. Rage burned in their eyes, but so did fear. None wished to be the first to challenge the prince again.
Then a voice from deep within the crowd roared: "There's no point talking to him! He stands with the enemy!" The shout spread like wildfire.
"The prince has betrayed Elbaf!"
"Traitor!"
"Move aside or die with them!"
The massive crowd began to surge forward, anger pushing aside their hesitation. Hundreds of giants tightened their grips on axes and war hammers. The earth trembled beneath their collective step as the horde edged closer.
Loki exhaled slowly. His Observation Haki stretched far beyond the battlefield behind him—beyond the thunder, beyond the destruction. And what he sensed made his eyes darken. Every giant who had reached that battlefield… Every single one… Was already dead.
"…Too late," he murmured quietly. The giants before him braced themselves. Another step and the assault would begin. If they attacked, Loki would have no choice but to slaughter his own people.
Then the sky erupted. A blinding golden brilliance shot upward from the heart of Elbaf like a newborn sun piercing the heavens. Every giant froze. Weapons lowered. Breaths caught. Even Loki turned towards the source. Across the island, across every corner of the island, every giant lifted their eyes to the sky.
The beam of gold climbed higher… and higher… until it seemed to split the heavens themselves. And then—BOOM. A shockwave of Haki detonated outward. It was not merely powerful. It was overwhelming. The very air became a crushing force.
Giants across Elbaf dropped where they stood, bodies slamming to the ground as if the weight of the world had suddenly descended upon them. Even the strongest warriors gasped as their limbs refused to move. Loki himself fell to one knee. The ground beneath him fractured. His muscles screamed under the immense pressure as that monstrous will washed across the island.
"That's…that's not…Conqueror's…Haki…" he whispered through gritted teeth. But this was no ordinary surge. This was something far beyond it.
And then the world screamed. A golden blade erupted from the heavens. Not a beam. Not light. A sword. A blade of pure radiant power descended from the sky with a roar that drowned the thunder itself. The giants watched in stunned horror as the impossible weapon cleaved downward toward the heart of Elbaf. Toward the World Tree.
The colossal tree that formed the very foundation of their land stood like a pillar connecting heaven and earth, its branches forming the three vast layers of the giant kingdom. The golden blade struck it. For a single heartbeat… Everything went silent.
Then—SHRRRRRAAAAAAAK!!!
The impossible happened, something no giant had ever believed possible. The blade sliced through the World Tree. Not chipped. Not cracked. Cut. Like a knife through silk. The first layer split apart in an explosion of splintered wood the size of mountains. The blade did not slow.
It carved through the second layer, tearing entire cities from their roots as titanic branches collapsed and spiraled into the abyss below. Giants screamed as the ground beneath them broke apart. The sword continued its descent.
The third layer—the deepest foundation of the island itself—was ripped open in a cataclysmic eruption of earth, wood, and sea. The entire island shook like a dying beast. Forests collapsed. Mountains split. The sky itself seemed to tear apart as the golden blade finished its path, driving deep into the heart of the land.
And within that blinding radiance… they saw him. Their king. The ruler of Elbaf. For a brief, terrible moment his massive silhouette stood defiant against the descending light—weapon raised, roaring in fury as he faced the divine blade. Then the golden sword consumed him whole. No body remained. No resistance endured. The light swallowed everything.
When the brilliance finally faded, a wound the size of a canyon split through the World Tree and the island itself—an impossible scar carved cleanly through all three layers of Elbaf. The entire island of giants fell deathly silent. Thousands of giants stared in horror at the destroyed heart of their homeland. The unbreakable World Tree… severed.
For a few terrifying seconds after the golden blade vanished… nothing moved.
The World Tree of Elbaf—Yggdrasil, the pillar that supported the giants' entire civilization—stood with a glowing vertical scar running through its immense trunk. The wound stretched from the heavens down to the deepest roots buried beneath the island. It was as if the world itself had been cleaved in two.
Golden embers still burned along the cut, illuminating the exposed interior of the ancient tree—rings older than recorded history, layers of bark thicker than entire mountains, and vast cavernous hollows where giant cities had been carved into the living wood.
For a moment the two halves remained standing. Then the sound came. A deep, grinding groan rolled through the island. Not from the sky. Not from the sea. From the tree itself. The vertical cut began to widen. At first it was only a thin line of darkness between the two halves of Yggdrasil.
Then— KRRRRRRAAAAAAAK.
The split opened further. Wood the size of continents began tearing apart as the two halves of the World Tree slowly pulled away from each other. Massive chunks of bark sheared off and tumbled downward, smashing through lower branches and crashing into the forests below like meteorites.
Entire giant settlements built along the trunk trembled violently. Stone halls cracked. Bridges snapped. Towers slid into the widening chasm running through the heart of the tree. The giants watched in horror as their sacred land literally separated before their eyes. From the coastlines surrounding Elbaf, the sight was even more terrifying.
The World Tree was so large that its trunk alone rose like a mountain range above the sea. Now that mountain was splitting apart. The right half began to tilt. Slowly. Impossibly slowly. But with unstoppable weight.
Forests clinging to its branches leaned toward the ocean. Rivers that had flowed peacefully along its bark spilled over the edge in titanic waterfalls, pouring thousands of meters down toward the sea. The sky darkened as the massive half of Yggdrasil began to fall. Its shadow stretched across the surrounding ocean like the approach of night itself. Giants along the coast dropped their weapons and stared upward, their faces pale.
"It's… falling…" The colossal half of the tree tore free from its remaining supports with a deafening explosion of splintering wood.
CRRRRRRRAAAAAAASH!
Branches the size of cities snapped as the entire mass tipped outward. The air screamed as millions of tons of ancient wood tore through the sky. Clouds burst apart around the descending titan. Birds fled in panicked storms from the collapsing canopy. And then the ocean rose to meet it. For a single heartbeat, the sea beneath that falling half of the World Tree looked tiny… insignificant… compared to the titanic mass descending toward it.
Then— BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The impact was cataclysmic. The falling half of Yggdrasil struck the ocean like a divine hammer. The sea exploded upward. A column of water blasted into the sky, towering miles high as if the ocean itself had been punched into the heavens. Shockwaves rippled across the surface in every direction, hurling ships into the air like drifting leaves.
Gigantic branches smashed into the water one after another, each impact sending fresh eruptions of foam and debris skyward. Entire forests slid from the fallen trunk and vanished beneath the waves.
A colossal tsunami began forming instantly. A wall of water larger than any fortress rose from the impact zone and raced outward across the sea toward the shores of Elbaf. Back on the island, the surviving half of the World Tree still stood—but now a vast vertical canyon split through its center, exposing the hollowed interior of the ancient giant kingdom.
Where once there had been unity… Now there was a wound. Half of Yggdrasil lay drowning in the sea. The other half stood broken against the sky. And every giant staring at the destruction understood something their ancestors had never witnessed before. The World Tree had fallen.
****
I landed softly beside what remained of King Harald. The battlefield around us no longer resembled the place where our fight had begun. When we had clashed, we had stood upon the middle layer of Elbaf, surrounded by towering branches and colossal settlements carved into the World Tree.
Now… now we stood in the Underworld. The lowest layer of Elbaf, where the ancient roots of the World Tree coiled like petrified serpents through a cavernous abyss. Our battle had carved a vertical scar straight through the island itself, ripping through the layers of Yggdrasil until we crashed into the deepest foundation of the giant kingdom.
And Harald had paid the price. What remained of him lay before me. Only his head and part of his upper chest still existed. The rest of his enormous body had been completely obliterated—erased by the golden blade that had torn through the World Tree. Burnt flesh and shattered armor were fused into the surrounding stone like the remnants of a fallen meteor.
I didn't look away. In my hands, Akatsuki trembled faintly. Not from fear. From strain and exhaustion. My entire right arm was ruined. Blood dripped steadily from the torn muscles and cracked skin, running down the length of the blade and pattering onto the thick snow below. The bones in my arm felt like they had been ground to powder.
I had poured everything into that final attack. Every ounce of strength. Every drop of will. And more importantly—every fragment of Divine Haki my body could force out. Too much. Far too much.
This body had not yet adapted to channeling that kind of power. Even now I could feel the backlash coursing through my nerves like molten metal. Still… I felt nothing resembling regret.
"Cough…! Cough…!"
A wet, ragged sound pulled my gaze back down. Harald. Or what remained of him. Despite everything… despite the devastation… despite the golden blade that had carved through his kingdom… The giant king still clung to life. Barely.
The chains that had once bound his will were gone now, shattered during our clash. The madness that had clouded his eyes earlier had faded, leaving behind only exhaustion… and something far heavier.
Regret. There was no hatred in his gaze as he looked at me. Perhaps he already understood. Perhaps he had understood the moment the chains broke.
"So you've finally come back to your senses…?" I said quietly. My voice echoed faintly through the hollow roots of the Underworld. "But I suppose that doesn't change anything anymore."
Harald struggled. The effort it took for him to raise his head even slightly was enormous. Blood poured from his shattered body as his massive eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. For a moment… the giant king simply stared. Then his lips moved.
"…Ida…"
That was all he managed. Just a name. Just a whisper. And then the last light faded from his eyes. The King of Elbaf died. Silence filled the cavern. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the corpse. Waiting. Hoping for something. Relief. Closure. Satisfaction. Anything.
But none of it came. The anger inside me still burned just as fiercely as before. Because Dora was still dead. That truth remained unchanged. No matter what I destroyed. No matter how many giants I killed. Even if I buried the entirety of Elbaf beneath the sea… She would never come back.
My grip tightened around Akatsuki. For several seconds I simply stared at Harald's lifeless face. Then— SHNK. With one clean stroke, I severed his giant head. The blade passed through effortlessly. I wasn't going to repeat the same mistake I had made with Linlin. Not again.
This world was far too strange. Powers I didn't understand lurked everywhere—devil fruits, souls, resurrection, and abilities that twisted the rules of life and death. I wasn't leaving even the smallest chance. Harald's head rolled across the shattered terrain of ice and snow.
As I stood there, my Observation Haki spread outward instinctively. It expanded across the entire island of Elbaf like an invisible tide. And with it… I heard them. The screams. The wails. The cries of thousands of giants echoed through my mind. The World Tree was more than land to them.
It was their mother. Their history. Their identity. Their very existence. And now I had cut it apart. Entire settlements that had clung to the half of Yggdrasil I severed had fallen into the sea. Villages that had stood for centuries were gone in an instant. Thousands of giants. Young. Old. Warriors. Children. All of them crushed beneath the collapse of their world.
Yet… Even hearing all of it… I felt nothing. No guilt. No hesitation. No remorse. If anything… My anger still wasn't enough. The loss of Dora burned inside my chest like a blade twisting deeper with every breath. I had thought destroying Harald would ease it. I had thought vengeance would quiet the storm inside me.
But it hadn't. Not even close. The genocide of an entire giant civilization… Still did not equal the weight of losing her. My gaze drifted upward through the massive wound carved into the side of the World Tree, toward the distant sky far above the Underworld.
The island was still shaking. Elbaf was still collapsing. And yet the fury inside my chest remained unsatisfied. Because no matter how much destruction I unleashed… No matter how many enemies I killed… There was still one truth I could not escape.
Dora was gone. And the world that allowed that to happen… Still existed.
****
The pyre burned fiercely against the bitter cold of the Underworld of Elbaf. Orange flames twisted upward like hungry spirits, devouring the enormous remains of the fallen Giant King. Even the damp chill of the cavernous depths could not suppress the blaze. The fire crackled and roared as it consumed the massive corpse, turning flesh, bone, and armor into drifting black ash.
I stood silently before it.
There had been no ceremony. No chants. No warriors gathered to honor their fallen king. I didn't know the traditions of the giants. I didn't know whether they buried their rulers beneath the roots of the World Tree or burned them beneath the open sky.
And frankly… I didn't care. This wasn't about honoring Harald. This was about making sure there was nothing left of him. The flames surged higher, greedily swallowing what remained of the giant's body. The firelight flickered across the frozen cavern floor, casting long shadows against the ancient roots of the World Tree that coiled through the underworld like the bones of a dead god.
Not a single creature approached. The Underworld of Elbaf was said to house monstrous beasts—ancient predators that even giants avoided. Yet not one of them dared to venture near the pyre. They could feel it. The Haki leaking from my body.
Even now, hours after the battle, the remnants of that power still clung to the air like an invisible storm. It rolled outward in suffocating waves, heavy enough that weaker creatures wouldn't even dare breathe in my presence.
To my mild surprise, the giants themselves had not yet arrived either. No warriors storming down the roots in vengeance. No mourners searching for their fallen king. Perhaps they were still frozen in shock after witnessing the fall of the World Tree.
Or perhaps the raw pressure of my lingering Haki was enough to keep them away. Either way, the Underworld remained silent. Only the crackling of the flames accompanied me.
Then— Snap.
The faint sound of a twig breaking against frozen ground cut through the stillness. I didn't turn.
I had sensed their approach long before they entered the cavern. There were only two presences. One human. One giant. The only human on this island besides myself.
Scopper Gaban stepped cautiously into the dim light cast by the burning pyre. Snow clung to the edges of his cloak and boots, his weathered face shadowed by the dancing firelight. His hand rested loosely on the axe at his side.
Not drawn. But ready. Behind him walked a towering figure, his massive form visibly battered from the earlier chaos. Jaguar D. Saul. Bruised. Bloodied. But still standing. The moment I sensed him earlier, I had felt a faint sense of… relief.
Of all the giants on Elbaf, Saul was perhaps the only one I still held a modicum of respect for. The short time we had crossed paths in Ohara, all those years ago, had left enough of an impression that I could trust him more than the rest of his kin.
And judging by the state of him—and the fact that he was standing here—it seemed that Walrus School and the portion of the World Tree surrounding it had survived the devastation. At least something had. Gaban stopped several paces away from the pyre, careful not to step too close.
His eyes moved from me… to the burning remains. The flames surged again, briefly revealing the massive skeletal frame being consumed inside.
"...Is that Harald?" Gaban asked quietly. His voice carried none of the usual lightness people associated with the former Roger Pirate. Only caution. And grief. His hand remained on his axe. Not because he believed he could defeat me. He knew better than that.
But if I still posed a threat to Elbaf—if I intended to continue the destruction—he would not hesitate to throw away his life here if it meant creating even the smallest chance for Ripley and their son to escape. I spoke without turning around.
"Relax, Gaban-san." My voice was calm. Tired. "I'm not going to go on a killing spree." The flames cracked loudly as the pyre collapsed inward.
"I think I've taken enough lives today." A few embers drifted into the air between us. "You can release your axe."
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Gaban slowly eased his hand away from the axe. The tension in the cavern eased… slightly. It was Saul who finally stepped forward. The massive giant stopped beside Gaban, his enormous shadow stretching across the frozen ground. The firelight reflected in his weary eyes as he stared at the burning remains of his king.
Then his gaze shifted to me. His expression carried something far heavier than anger. Regret.
"I am sorry about Dora… Rosinante-kun."
The words were quiet. Honest. Saul didn't try to justify what had happened. He didn't mention the thousands of giants who had died today. He didn't blame Harald. He didn't blame the World Government. He didn't try to soften the truth with excuses.
He simply accepted it. The fault… lay with Elbaf. The apology hung heavily in the cold air.
For several seconds I said nothing. My eyes remained fixed on the roaring fire as it slowly consumed the last remnants of the Giant King.
The flames reflected in my pupils. Dora's face flashed through my mind. Her booming voice. Her innocent smile. The way she used to laugh. The memory struck like a blade twisting in my chest. My jaw tightened.
"…Hmm."
That was all I managed. A small, meaningless sound. Because I knew something. If I allowed myself to think about it any further… If I let those memories surface even a little more… The anger inside me would return. And this fragile moment of quiet mourning… Would disappear beneath another storm of blood.
The flames of the pyre crackled softly before me, their glow painting the cavern walls in restless shades of orange and black. Ash drifted slowly into the cold air of the underworld like silent snow. For a long time, none of us spoke. The weight of everything that had happened hung between us—heavy, suffocating.
Finally, I broke the silence. "I couldn't find Dora's body…" My voice was quiet, almost distant. "I searched everywhere."
My Observation Haki had swept across Elbaf again and again, reaching into every corner of the island like invisible threads. I had combed through the ruins twice over—especially the area where Aurust Castle had once stood before my attack tore it apart.
Nothing. No trace of her. No body. Not even fragments. Just emptiness. The realization had settled inside me like cold iron. For a few seconds, only the sound of the fire answered me.
Then Gaban spoke. "The knights took them." His voice was heavy. "They took the corpses… all of them. The bodies of the giants who fell inside Aurust Castle."
My hands slowly tightened into fists. The leather around the hilt of Akatsuki creaked under the pressure. So even in death… They wouldn't let her rest. The thought that I couldn't even bring Dora home—couldn't lay her beside the graves of the rest of our family—twisted painfully inside my chest.
She wouldn't sleep where she belonged. She wouldn't have a grave. Just… gone. A long breath escaped me as I stared at the dying embers of Harald's pyre. Gaban watched me for a moment before speaking again.
"They're going to hate you forever for what you've done to Elbaf… Ross." His words were calm, but there was no accusation in them. Just truth.
"My name will be carved into their history as the monster who brought ruin to their home. The man who killed their king… and scarred the World Tree itself."
The silence lingered for a moment before I replied. "I would be surprised if they didn't." My voice was flat. Cold. Then I turned slightly, just enough for my gaze to reach Gaban.
"But let me ask you something." My eyes settled on him. "Do you hate me?" The question hung in the air. "If luck hadn't been on your side… your family would have died too."
I didn't look away. "You know I didn't hold back." My blade had fallen without discrimination. Without mercy. It had simply been that Walrus School happened to lie outside the trajectory of the attack. Chance. Nothing more.
"If that attack had landed a little differently… Ripley and Conan would be dead." For a moment, Gaban didn't answer, his jaws tightening thinking about the possibility. He stared at the ground, contemplating. Then he exhaled slowly.
"I was a pirate once, remember…?" His voice carried a quiet weight. "So I know what it means to live with risk." He lifted his head slightly. "If something had really happened to Ripley… or Conan …"
A faint, humorless smile touched his lips. "I would've thrown myself at you like a madman." There was no hesitation in his words. "No strategy. No reasoning. I would've fought you until one of us died."
He shrugged lightly. "That's just how it is, Rosinante." His eyes met mine. "When we lose someone dear to us… we lose all sense of right and wrong." The flames of the pyre flickered in his gaze. "In that moment… none of it matters."
"Justice. Logic. Consequences. All that remains… is the pain." He looked toward the distant darkness of the underworld where the roots of the World Tree disappeared into shadow. "Maybe that's why I think you should leave Elbaf as soon as possible."
"The sooner you leave…the sooner you might be able to grab hold of reality again." Gaban had once sailed under the most dangerous banner in the world. He knew better than most what grief could turn a man into. Now, his family was his entire world.
And losing them… Would mean losing everything. For a moment, I said nothing. Then I spoke quietly.
"For what it's worth…" My eyes drifted toward Saul. "I truly didn't intend to kill the innocents."
The words felt hollow even as they left my mouth. "But it was unavoidable."
I paused. Then my gaze hardened slightly. "But let me give you a warning, Saul." The giant looked at me. "I hope you convince the giants of Elbaf… to never cross paths with the Donquixote Family ever again."
The air grew colder. "My brother…" A faint shadow crossed my expression. "…is not nearly as merciful as I am."
The words lingered behind me as I finally turned away. The flames of Harald's pyre crackled quietly as I began walking toward the distant coastline. Far beyond the shattered roots and broken forests of Elbaf, the Leviathan still waited. The ship that had brought Dora here. Her crew remained stranded aboard it, still unaware of the catastrophe that had unfolded across the island.
They were waiting. Confused. Worried. I would take them home. Even if Dora herself… would never return with us.