"Yeah, and because these techniques are tailored for giants, it's much harder for normal humans to learn them," Brogy added. "There were some outsiders who came to our Giant Village before and managed to learn, but they were basically giants themselves—at least three or four meters tall."
"For someone like you, Shano, although your physique doesn't lose to those monsters, your size is just... uh, a bit too small and petite. I'm afraid you might not meet the minimum requirement for learning the giants' combat techniques."
So that's what they were worried about!
Why didn't they just say that earlier?
Shano suddenly understood.
He blinked. And in that split-second, his body swelled dramatically, as if someone had inflated a balloon—POMF!—growing rapidly in size.
Huh?
It's been a while since he returned to his real form.
Only then did Shano realize that his true height had increased again—by about twenty centimeters?
He had already been 3.7 meters tall, and now he was probably around 3.9 meters—almost breaking the 4-meter mark.
He looked up at Dorry and Brogy.
The two giants were dumbfounded, staring at him.
"Gentlemen, this is actually my true form," Shano smiled. "So, do I qualify now?"
"Yes, absolutely!"
The two giants snapped out of their shock and spoke in unison.
In Elbaf, even those warriors who start training from childhood and are considered talented are only four to five meters tall—Shano's height met the bare minimum.
"Then shall we start training tomorrow?" Dorry stood up and stretched. "You must be exhausted today, right? Just rest tonight..."
"No need to worry about me."
Shano casually rolled his arms. The bruises all over him were fading at a speed visible to the naked eye. "I still have plenty of stamina, and the sun's still up. Let's train a little more today. We can always have a campfire tonight."
"Uh..." Dorry's arm froze mid-stretch—he nearly threw out his back.
"..." Brogy was still rubbing his sore arms and now looked stunned.
"Alright, I don't want to waste your time. Let's start now!"
Shano flexed his fully recovered joints, eyes burning with anticipation. "Where do I begin, gentlemen?"
Bathed in the glow of the setting sun—
The two legendary giants exchanged a glance and gulped.
Looking at the black-haired young man before them, who seemed to have endless energy, they felt—for the first time ever—"the pressure of being a teacher."
"What's wrong?" Shano looked at them, confused. "Aren't we continuing today?"
"Gu... Gwahahaha!" Dorry's laugh sounded a bit hollow. "O-of course we are!"
Brogy wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Elbaf's warriors… never back down!"
...
That night, around the campfire—
Dorry and Brogy lay spread-eagled on the ground, completely exhausted.
Meanwhile, Shano—who by all logic should be passed out—was still full of energy, roasting meat and casually practicing air punches.
The two giants could hear the wind whistling past his fists and exchanged a bitter smile.
They originally thought they would be putting Shano through hellish training, afraid he'd collapse in a few days.
But now...
It felt like they were the ones being tortured by this so-called hell training.
Four days later, Little Garden.
The scorching midday sun baked the island like a furnace, the air shimmering from the heatwaves.
Shano stood shirtless between two massive bones in a clearing.
He remained in his true form.
At 3.9 meters tall, he loomed like a small mountain. As he casually rubbed his knuckles, the muscles all over his body were already taut like steel cables.
"Hey, everybody back up! If you get caught in the blast path, you'll be in serious danger!" Dorry's voice thundered.
The onlookers—chewing on ice cream and laughing—jumped in surprise and quickly retreated to both sides.
"Ready, Shano?"
Shano took a deep breath and nodded.
In an instant, his entire body erupted like a volcano. All his strength surged into his fist. The air around him twisted and groaned from the pressure.
"Elbaf Spear—Hakoku no Tō!!!"
With a deafening shout, Shano threw a punch forward!
A crimson shockwave burst from his fist, ripping forward with overwhelming force toward a towering mountain in the distance.
CRACK CRACK CRACK.
The ground split apart beneath it. The air was torn into a vacuum tunnel. Trees were reduced to splinters. And the moment the shockwave collided with the mountain—
BOOOOM!!!
The entire mountainside trembled. The cliff face was like tissue paper, completely blown through.
A massive hole, over a hundred meters wide, appeared straight through the mountain.
Through the gap, one could even see the blue sky on the other side. Debris rained down like a storm, piling up at the mountain's base into new hills.
"...?!"
Everyone turned to stone—eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
What the hell?!
Punching through a mountain from hundreds of meters away—was that even humanly possible?!
"Huff... huff..."
Shano dropped to one knee, chest heaving, sweat dripping off his chin and instantly evaporating on the hot ground.
That one move had drained nearly all his strength—but the corners of his lips were curled up in a wild grin.
He did it!
Elbaf Spear: Hakoku no Tō—
He finally mastered it!
He didn't want to waste the giants' time, so for the past four days, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit, training almost without rest.
Only four hours of sleep each night. Countless times he lost feeling in his limbs from pain, but he pushed through with sheer willpower.
When he really couldn't go on, he'd cram food into his mouth and use Life Return to refill his energy.
And it worked.
With his own brutal effort—and the BUFF from the statue—
He achieved what Dorry and Brogy found hard to believe: mastering the giants' ultimate move in just four days!
"Heh..." Shano grinned, slowly rising.
The cost was steep—he could only throw that move two times in actual combat at most.
But that was just because he was still new to it, not yet controlling the energy output efficiently.
As he continued to train and his body adapted—
The power of the Elbaf Spear would rise, while its stamina cost would fall.
This trip to Little Garden was absolutely worth it.
In just five days, he had mastered Observation Haki, and now gained a hidden ace technique. Way beyond expectations.
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, Shano frowned and turned toward the woods.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination—
But over the past few days, during rare breaks in his training, he felt like someone was secretly watching him from within the forest.
In the past, he might've missed it—but now, with Observation Haki, he couldn't ignore that subtle feeling of being watched.
But what was weird—
Observation Haki couldn't detect anyone clearly within range, and every time he used Soru to dash over, there was no trace left.
Could it be some strange Devil Fruit power?
Or was he just imagining things because he wasn't used to this level of sensory awareness?
Shano shook his head and dismissed the thought.
He wasn't the type to worry.
Besides, with his "Enhanced Brain Closure Technique," most mental-based abilities didn't work on him.
As for physical attacks?
What kind of weakling hides in the bushes? If they've got guts, come out and take a punch!
After mastering the Elbaf Spear, his confidence had ballooned to an all-time high.
Spider freaks? Sand crocs? Come fight again—he'd knock them flat with one hit!
Not enough. Nowhere near enough!
Call Kaido! Call Big Mom! Bring Whitebeard! Bring Shanks! All of them!
Later that afternoon.
Another grand banquet.
Everyone gathered joyfully, drinking and laughing. All the booze that had been saved up was completely drained—not a single drop left.
But even the happiest feasts must come to an end.
Just like even the closest of friends—must eventually part ways.
It was time for the Curtainfall Adventuring Crew to depart.
In these few days, Shano and the two straightforward giant uncles had developed a bond forged through fists and friendship—just like old comrades.
At the harbor, Dorry and Brogy, who had walked with teary eyes all the way there, looked at Shano boarding the ship.
They couldn't hold back anymore—wailed out loud, their tears falling like waterfalls, raising the river's water level in an instant.
Everyone had to spend a while comforting them before they calmed down.
Shano, with full sincerity, handed a letter to Dorry, detailing everything he knew about the Giant Warrior Pirates and Elbaf.
He told them to read it only after they had left.
Because what it contained—was likely to break their hearts again.
Elbaf's old king, Harald, had already been killed by Prince Loki.
The legendary warrior and former captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Jorul, had long died at the hands of Charlotte Linlin.
The young giants who were supposed to be saved from execution by Mother Carmel… were secretly turned into living weapons for the Marines.
And the two loyal crew members, Kashii and Oimo, had been deceived by the Marines using Dorry and Brogy's lives as leverage—and were now guarding the gates of Enies Lobby...
As for what they would choose to do after reading all this—
Whether to continue their endless duel on this ancient island...
Or return to the seas, save their old comrades, and protect Elbaf—
That was no longer Shano's decision to make.
The choice now lay in their own hands.