Elbaf is a nation built upon the Treasure Tree Adam.
Almost all the villages are established on the gigantic branches.
These branches are incredibly thick, easily capable of supporting an entire giant settlement.
But now, the enormous branch beneath their feet was trembling!
The cause was simply the surging tide of giants rushing toward them!
Their numbers were so vast that they stretched beyond sight, and their mere approach caused an earthquake.
A rough estimate put their count in the thousands.
"So these are the Demon Giants?" Enel stood behind Roa, his eyes showing a hint of surprise. "There are actually this many?"
"Hey! Loki!" Teach's voice also held astonishment. "You never said the Demon Giants were this numerous! Didn't you say many of them had been sent away?"
"But," he paused, then added suspiciously, "why are they all just old folk?"
These demonized giants had bat wings, horns, and sharp teeth. They were several times larger than ordinary giants, easily rivaling the Ancient Giant Race.
However, that didn't hide their age.
Both male and female, most were white-haired and covered in wrinkles. Many were even hunched over.
The few who weren't elderly were either physically disabled or frail and sickly.
"This—" Loki's pupils shook, and his facial muscles instantly tightened. "What in the world! How could this happen?!"
"Have all the old people been turned into Demon Giants?"
Dorry and Brogy were now practically spitting fire from their eyes.
Almost every elder in Elbaf must be here!
Bastards!!
"World Government!! What exactly have they done!!"
The roar was loud enough to shake the heavens.
Swoosh.
Roa gently whistled.
If this was the case, combined with the fact that Harald wasn't here, then everything was clear.
Imu left me a surprise like this?
"It seems the World Government relocated the able-bodied youth and the children before we arrived." Roa said. "Have they completely abandoned this nation?"
That made sense.
The Giant warriors with combat power were long ago turned into Demon Giants. Aside from a small number left behind to guard the country, most were sent to form a Giant Legion for the World Government.
The less powerful young Giant men and women became breeding stock, constantly producing new generations of giants for the World Government over the last two decades.
But now, those youths and children must have also been taken away.
All that remained in Elbaf were the old, the weak, and the sick.
This nation no longer held any value for Imu.
So, these remaining old, weak, and sick people were all turned into Demon Giants, serving as the final surprise left for them.
"Bastard!!"
Loki's eye corners were practically tearing from the strain of his furious glare, and his teeth were clenched so tightly that blood started to ooze from his gums.
His savage Conqueror's Haki uncontrollably spread out, causing Teach's rough subordinates to turn pale.
"Still," Teach rubbed his chin, "to be able to turn so many people directly into Demon Giants? What kind of power is this?"
"The assimilation of the Demon Giants is very simple!" Dorry gritted his teeth. "As long as two Demons surround another Giant in terms of position, that Giant will be assimilated!"
"Positionally?" Teach turned back in surprise. "You mean if two Demon Giants stand in a line, and a normal Giant is between them, that normal Giant will also be turned into a Demon Giant?"
Dorry painfully nodded.
"Hiss!! It's that simple?" Teach was genuinely shocked. "In that case, that guy would be fully capable of turning everyone in the world into puppets under his control, right?"
The Boss needs to activate his ability up close to turn someone into a chang gui (ghost), and they can even resist with willpower!
"Reversi?" Roa raised an eyebrow.
Isn't that just the game Othello (Reversi)?
Two pieces of the same color sandwich a piece of a different color, and the sandwiched piece flips over.
Imu's ability is truly interesting.
It's essentially a type of ritual. Just like a magic circle.
"An exaggerated ability!" Doflamingo couldn't help but gasp.
Indeed, only the Boss, a monster in his own right, can deal with a monster like that.
"IMU!!!!" Loki made a guttural sound like a dying beast, filled with hatred. "I will never forgive him!!"
Although he had always looked down on the weak giants and scoffed at Harald's original path of peaceful development, he still desired to become the King of Elbaf and lead his kin to restore the nation's glory.
And now.
Everything was gone.
"How about holding off on the threats for now?" Teach raised a hand, pointing at the swarming Demon Giants who were now very close.
"How are we supposed to deal with these guys!"
"Even if they're just old men and women, their strength isn't weak after being demonized, not to mention their sheer numbers!"
"..." Loki's face instantly stiffened.
Dorry and Brogy's eyes were instantly filled with hot tears.
They had already attacked Elbaf several times and fought the Demon Giants many times.
They knew there was currently no way to reverse the demonization.
Their kin, whose minds were completely twisted and turned into demons, could never return to their former selves.
The only way was...
"KILL!!" Loki nearly shattered his teeth. "ONLY KILLING!!"
For the glory of Elbaf!
"Slaughter them all!!" Loki roared, raising the war hammer in his hand high.
The Giants who had not yet jumped off the ships were now almost all sobbing uncontrollably.
They were already in agony at the thought of having to kill the small number of kin left behind to guard the country.
And now, rushing at them, turned into Demon Giants, were all the elders of their nation!
Among them were the revered elders who watched them grow up, or even their own parents and grandparents.
Even powerful men like Dorry and Brogy were trembling in pain, unable to stop their tears.
They recognized many uncles and aunts who had cared for them.
But immediately, they clenched their jaws. "KILL! To let them continue existing with such faces would only tarnish the honor they once held as warriors!"
"Let's send their souls back to Valhalla with the weapons in our hands!!"
"KILL!!" The Giants roared in unison.
"Boss!" Loki turned back. "Do not interfere! Leave this to me!"
"Are you sure, Loki?" Teach asked with curiosity. "That's a considerable number, you know. And even the old, weak, and sick look pretty intimidating after being demonized."
At least in terms of size, every one of these Demon Giants was comparable to Loki.
"This is an internal affair of Elbaf!" Loki's tone was heavy.
"Oh? Is that so?" Roa smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I was just saying I'd like to test out my ability on them."
"Eh?" Loki turned around in confusion.
"While restoring them to their original state might be impossible, taking back their consciousness might not be hard." Roa said.
"Boss! I love you!!" Loki practically lunged at Roa, seemingly wanting to give him a passionate hug.
Roa merely raised a hand, and a black Haki hand pressed down from the air, pinning Loki to the ground.
"Please, I beg you! Boss!!"
The Giants, led by Dorry and Brogy, all bowed to Roa in unison.
They have to rely on this man after all!
"In that case." Roa raised the corners of his mouth.
How embarrassing for you all.
Here we go!
The colors in his eyes instantly reversed to black and white, and the ability activated!
Almost instantly, the invisible power swept over all the Demon Giants.
A dark blackness rapidly washed over the eyes of all the giants.
No matter what they were like before, now that they were Imu's dogs, willpower was irrelevant.
No one showed the slightest resistance. Within seconds, all their eyes matched Roa's.
They stopped their charge in unison.
"Gulp." Roa clearly heard Dorry swallow behind him.
All the Giants, including Loki, stared intently at the stopped Demon Giants.
Did it work?
"What happened!" A white-haired old Giant suddenly cried out, looking around in confusion. "What were we doing just now?"
"We... we felt like we were being controlled, completely unlike ourselves!" another elderly woman shrieked in terror.
"What's going on now? Are we back to normal?"
The vast crowd of Giants began to discuss things in a mixture of fear and surprise.
"It succeeded just like that?" Capone Bege couldn't help but exclaim. "That's—that's incredible!"
In just one instant!
"..." Brogy's eyes were wide, and burning tears streamed down his face.
"Hey! You idiots!!" Loki quickly scrambled up from the ground, breathing heavily as he asked the old men and women with anticipation, "Are you all back to normal now?"
The panicked Demon Giants finally noticed Loki.
Then,
"Prince Loki? You're back!"
"Thank goodness! You finally returned!"
"King Harald and the demonized warriors took all the young people and children away. Now only we are left in this country!"
"If Prince Loki is back, someone can take charge!"
The Giants rushed toward Loki in a mixture of panic and delight.
"Are you really all back to normal?" Loki only had time to cry out in surprise before he was engulfed by the surrounding Demon Giants.
"Hey! You idiots, get away from me!" was all Roa could hear of his exasperated voice.
"This is wonderful!" Dorry and Brogy were equally ecstatic.
They both knelt down behind Roa, speaking with immense gratitude:
"Boss! Thank you a thousand times!"
"Thank you a thousand times!"
All the normal Giant soldiers followed suit, expressing their sincere thanks.
Thanks?
Roa smiled widely.
Did they truly return to normal?
Honestly, Roa wasn't entirely sure.
However, he hadn't deliberately manipulated the emotions of these Demon Giants, so their minds remained in their original state.
Let's just assume they've returned to their original selves.
But.
Roa narrowed his eyes.
A massive amount of black aura instantly converged on him.
Then.
"Ugh! What's happening!"
"Power is surging up!"
"My body is getting stronger!"
"What is going on!!" The Demon Giants cried out in surprise.
"Boss?" Teach turned around in astonishment, looking at the smiling Roa.
Could it be—
"There's a saying: The older, the stronger, isn't there?" Roa said with an infectious smile.
They had already been enhanced once when they were turned into Demon Giants, and now Roa used his ability to give them a second enhancement.
In that case, they should be no different from the average Demon Giant warrior in their prime, right?
Well, Imu, thank you for the troops.
Let's see whose Giant Legion is stronger after this.
Teach couldn't help but swallow.
He turned all those Giants into his chang gui (ghost) in an instant, and now he can even strengthen their power!
The Boss's ability has also evolved to a terrifying degree!
Indeed, the main theme of this world going forward will be the clash between the Boss and Imu—these two Human Gods.
On one side, the Demon Giants, who believed they were back to normal, were already cheering.
The Giants of the Giant Warrior Pirates also rushed down from the ship, eager to join the celebration.
"Hmm?" Just then, Enel suddenly looked up.
Then, the man instantly spoke with delight, "Boss! They've arrived! Dylan and the others have arrived!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Roa looked up as well.
A small dot had indeed appeared high in the sky.
"Not bad," Roa couldn't help but praise. "Enel, your Observation Haki seems to have reached a formidable level."
Although he hadn't deliberately checked, he honestly hadn't noticed it yet.
Enel couldn't help but curve his lips, smiling smugly. "Yeahahaha! When it comes to Observation Haki, I'm confident I'm second to none!"
His Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit) allowed him to extend the range of his Observation Haki to an unimaginable degree, enabling him to hear sounds from deep space even while standing here.
"Zehahahaha! Dylan and the others are finally here?" Teach also looked up at the sky upon hearing Enel's voice. "In that case, our Disaster Company is finally getting back together!"
"We're still missing Moria," Doflamingo interjected with a smirk. "It's been a long time since we contacted that guy. I wonder what choice he'll make."
"Sometimes," Roa said thoughtfully, "I actually hope he makes a choice that disappoints me."
"It might be quite interesting then."
Teach, Doflamingo, and Bege all broke out in cold sweat.
Is the Boss looking forward to seeing that guy's reaction when he tortures a betraying Moria?
Hiss!
Good thing we honestly came to see him right away.
The black dot in the sky was rapidly growing larger.
Soon, even the Giants who were initially cheering became silent without realizing it.
Everyone stared in awe at the colossal object descending from the sky.
"What... what is that!!"
It was an island, a massive island descending from the sky.
The City of Disaster from twenty-five years ago was already quite large, but compared to this massive object descending now, it was the difference between an infant and an adult.
This was a truly colossal structure, visually estimated to be over twenty kilometers in diameter!
It was covered by a circle of white clouds, from which massive propellers extended. The bottom, not covered by clouds, exposed a metal base.
A huge glass sphere was embedded in the center of the base, with dazzling electric arcs leaping within it.
As this behemoth descended toward the branch, it was like a colossal thundercloud, completely blocking out the sunlight.
The Giants were dumbfounded.
Even in Elbaf, where everything was big, this floating island descending from the heavens was definitely too big.
"Boss!!"
Three dark figures plummeted rapidly from the sky.
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