When luck is on your side, everything seems to fall effortlessly into place.
No sooner had they read about the Marines' independence in the newspaper than Dorry arrived with news of finding God Valley's ruins.
"Found it? Quick! Start the salvage operation!"
Michael immediately stood up and, along with Charlotte Linlin, followed Dorry as they hurried toward the destination.
Out on the vast, boundless sea, a group of giants could be seen repeatedly surfacing and diving.
"What are they…?"
"Oh, didn't you say to salvage the ruins?" Dorry nodded in response. "They're installing the salvage equipment… The entrance to the ruins is large, but that's only by human standards. For giants, it's too small, so it's easier to just haul the entire ruins up from the seabed."
Michael understood.
Even if the giants could enter the ruins directly, Michael wouldn't have them try to retrieve the Lunar Technology inside right away.
Most importantly, the trigger conditions for the technology were still unclear.
If they accidentally activated it, wouldn't that make him the one who screwed over his allies?
That's why, despite having Rayleigh and Gloriosa—two formidable fighters without Devil Fruit abilities—present, Michael hadn't asked them to enter and search.
They were more like safeguards for this operation.
If something underwater proved too troublesome for the giants to handle, those two could step in on Michael's behalf.
If Michael and Charlotte Linlin wanted to affect the seabed, they'd have to unleash large-scale AOE attacks like "Lost Paradise" or "Ikoku."
But then, would the giants survive?
Michael's attacks weren't known for sparing allies.
"Is this very difficult?"
"Not too bad. Brogy has already taken people deeper to sever the connection between the ruins and the seabed rocks… Once that's done, it's just a matter of brute strength to haul it up."
Sure enough, just as the giants had said.
The remaining underground portion of what was once a massive island was still extremely heavy, but within the capacity of so many giants working together.
Moreover, the most crucial part was that the thick, dragon-snake-like ropes used for the salvage were above water.
This allowed Michael and Charlotte Linlin—whose monstrous strength far surpassed even the giants—to lend a hand.
Finding the ruins had taken ten days.
But from confirming the ruins' exact location to hauling them to the surface took less than half a day.
The labor force of the Giant Warrior Pirates was truly efficient.
No wonder Elbaf, the country with the highest average individual combat prowess, was known as the "Country of Warriors."
...
Ten days later, Whole Cake Island, Cake Island.
With the giants' help, the last remnants of God Valley's ruins were transported directly to Cake Island.
Over those ten days, while traveling, Michael gradually cut away the less important parts of the ruins.
What had once been the base of a massive island was slowly whittled down to a small hill, only three or four stories tall.
The Lunar Technology lay within.
And Michael didn't touch it directly, intending to bring it before Rocks instead.
After all, it was something he had never encountered or understood.
If it were someone like Luffy or Ace, they'd probably reach out and touch it immediately.
But Michael would never do something so reckless.
"With this, our work is done," Dorry nodded at Michael.
"Our alliance remains in effect—until the day we die."
"Ahahaha, after finishing this job, we also need to go back and reforge our weapons! After fighting for so long on Little Garden, our weapons are completely unusable now!" Brogy said boisterously.
"In any case, no matter what you plan to do next, Michael, my Giant Warrior Pirates will definitely lend a hand!"
Thus, after Michael sealed the pact with the Red and Blue Ogres with a handshake, the giants began their grand journey back home.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh and Gloriosa were also preparing to return to Elbaf with them.
After all, the Cross Guild's work ship was still docked at Elbaf...
And in Elbaf, there was also Gaban, who was attempting to have a second child.
However, not all the giants left.
As the doctor, Gerd temporarily stayed behind on Whole Cake Island.
She still needed to study Charlotte Linlin's bloodline to prevent the recurrence of strange conditions like "Gluttony Syndrome," which could affect both the body and the mind.
"Mom! You're back."
The eldest son, Perospero, and the second son, Katakuri, were the first to arrive.
Behind them were the other three members of the Sweet Commanders.
"Cracker" the Biscuit Minister, "Smoothie" the Juice Minister, and "Snack" the Fried Food Minister.
Among them, Snack, despite also being one of the Sweet Commanders, was the youngest of the four and the weakest in strength.
In the original timeline, he was even defeated by the Mad Monk Urouge and stripped of his title as a Sweet Commander.
But this wasn't surprising—his strength was only considered top-tier among the Tobiroppo level, and there was a clear gap between him and the Calamities or the Commanders.
Now, seeing Michael and Charlotte Linlin, these elite fighters of Whole Cake Island finally relaxed.
When the giants first entered Whole Cake Island's waters, they had been terrified.
They thought the giants were launching a full-scale invasion of Whole Cake Island!
Turns out, they were just here to do manual labor.
"Mom, what... is this situation?" Katakuri looked up at the small mountain placed on Cake Island's shore, confused.
"Since when did you take an interest in rocks?"
"Mamamamamama, there's something good inside this!" Charlotte Linlin waved to her eldest and second sons.
"How has Rocks been doing lately?"
"Aside from being weak... no issues at all." Perospero replied. "I've never seen someone missing an arm and a leg manage to take care of themselves so effortlessly..."
"Seems like he's in good spirits."
Charlotte Linlin nodded, then with a mighty heave, lifted the mountain-like ruins and began walking toward her castle.
The boulder that required the combined strength of the Red and Blue Ogres to move, Charlotte Linlin could lift alone.
With her giant bloodline, her strength had reached even greater heights.
Watching Charlotte Linlin walk further away, Michael spread his wings, preparing to follow her.
Then he noticed Perospero and the Sweet Commanders staring at him with strange expressions.
"Wait, what's with those looks?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "Been too long since you've fought and want to test yourselves against me?"
"No, it's not that..."
Perospero shook his head, but before he could continue, Smoothie stepped forward and spoke directly to Michael.
"Are you about to become Mom's 43rd husband?"
"Even if you're strong enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Mom, we'll absolutely never call you Dad!"
Michael: "What the fuck?"