Chapter 168(B): Reunion with Saul!
It was a giant with severe burn scars across his face and body, moving on a wooden prosthetic leg.
He tiptoed forward carefully, trying not to make a sound, and held one finger to his lips, signaling those around him not to give him away.
But he didn't notice that Robin, her back to him and seemingly unguarded, already had a smile mixing excitement and longing curling at her lips.
"Bwahahaha!!"
Judging the distance right, Saul suddenly lunged to Robin's side, spreading his huge hands and making exaggerated claw gestures while roaring.
"Dereshishishi—did I scare you?"
He laughed proudly.
But Robin only looked calmly at Saul, her usually serene eyes now brimming with tears.
Her gaze greedily traced every inch of Saul's massive body, finally locking onto the brutal scars on his face and his wooden prosthetic leg.
Tears could no longer be held back. Like a broken dam, they fell silently in heavy drops, splattering onto Elbaf's solid ground and spreading small dark stains.
Saul's playful smile and exaggerated movements froze instantly, then he hurriedly reined them in.
Clumsy yet infinitely gentle, he bent down and carefully lifted Robin up. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn't come.
After a long moment, he forced a warm smile and said softly, "Robin, you've grown up. Seeing you now, it's like seeing Olivia all over again."
"I missed you so much, Saul!"
Robin couldn't contain the emotions that had surged within her for fifteen years. She threw her arms around Saul and buried her face against him, sobbing aloud.
As if to pour out all the feelings she'd bottled up over those fifteen years.
"Dereshishishi—me too, Robin!"
Saul could no longer hold his smile. Giant tears rolled down his face like broken pearls, mingling with Robin's cries.
Watching this deeply moving reunion, the emotionally sensitive Kozuki Hiyori and Viola quietly wiped away tears. Yamato, Reiju, and the others were visibly moved, silently witnessing this profound bond that transcended time.
At that moment, an elderly giant with a thick beard and a unique walrus-like face structure formed by his long tusks and cheekbones slowly walked to Kai's side.
He gazed at Saul and Robin weeping together, his eyes full of comfort and emotion. "It's been a long time since I've seen Saul this emotional."
Sigvald, seeing the newcomer, greeted him respectfully. "Principal Kiba, how have you been feeling lately?"
"Hahaha! Good! Of course—"
Kiba started to laugh heartily, but his smile twisted into a grimace of pain.
"Ow ow ow! My back!"
He quickly clutched his lower back with both hands, sighing helplessly. That laugh had thrown his back out.
"Getting old. Can't help it. Even a little movement and this back throws a fit."
Seeing this, Kai pulled a transparent glass vial from his coat. Inside, a few drops of crystalline liquid shimmered—Heal Tears, the universal remedy.
"Principal Kiba, why not try this? It might help ease your back pain."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Kiba didn't ask where it came from. He simply took the vial, didn't even look, and tossed it into his great walrus maw.
Crunch, crunch. With two crisp sounds, he chewed the glass to powder and swallowed it all, liquid and shards.
A moment later, a flicker of surprise crossed his face
He could distinctly feel a warm, powerful current flowing straight to the source of his pain. Wherever it passed, the ache vanished without a trace.
"Feels great. Like I'm young again!"
Kiba let out a long, relieved breath, overjoyed. "Thank you so much, Brother Kai!"
"Just a small gesture. No need to be polite. Though I should mention, this only treats symptoms, not the root cause. You still need to take care."
Kai waved it off, signaling it wasn't a big deal.
"Hahaha, at my age, I'll take feeling good for a day as a win."
Kiba chuckled. "You really are as generous and spirited as Dorry and the others said."
Perhaps thanks to that timely help and his appreciation of Kai's character, Kiba's attitude toward him visibly warmed several degrees.
Watching the children playing by Warriors' Spring, Kai frowned slightly. "Principal Kiba, forgive my bluntness, but is your current educational approach really meant to strip the next generation of Elbaf of the warrior qualities and homeland-defending strength you once took such pride in?"
Kiba explained, "You may not know, but this was a national policy set personally by King Harald with great foresight. We abandoned past barbarism and violence to seek a longer-lasting, more peaceful development path for the giant race. After all, Elbaf's reputation in the human world is terrible."
Behind the title "World's Strongest Nation" lay a history of blood and fire, built on countless towns plundered and destroyed by the Giant Warrior Pirates.
Without a clean break from that past, Elbaf could never truly earn the trust of most human nations or establish equal diplomatic relations with them.
But Kai slowly shook his head, his gaze sharp. "I fully understand King Harald's earnest desire to integrate with the world and pursue peaceful development. However, completely abandoning force and even diluting the will to fight is like gambling your very survival on the possible kindness of others."
"With your generation of battle-hardened giant warriors, you might still protect Elbaf for another hundred, even two hundred years. But after that? Are you going to—"
Kai pointed toward a little girl who'd fallen from a swing and was crying, then sighed. "Are you going to rely on these children, raised in a greenhouse from birth, who can't even endure a little pain, to face the brutal, cutthroat world outside?"
"You should know just how greedy and vicious the pirates on the seas can be. By willingly removing your armor and dulling your claws, you'll only make them see Elbaf not as the invincible warrior nation, but as a rich, defenseless prize ripe for plunder."
If your neighbor stores grain, I store guns. My neighbor becomes my granary.
That logic held true everywhere.
Violence alone wasn't the answer, but appeasement alone was even worse.
You needed both the gun and the pen. Both hands had to be strong. That was the true path.
Several giant teachers who'd been to sea and seen its cruelty fell into contemplation.
They had to admit Kai was right.
Some—no, most pirates truly had no bottom line.
But—
The wrinkles on Kiba's face seemed to deepen. He sighed heavily. "This is a policy set by the king. We have no authority to change it. And now Elbaf has no king. No one can alter this policy anymore."
The P.E. teacher, Wolf, said in a low voice, "All I can do is add combat drills to gym class. But honestly, it's difficult. The children have already adapted to this Elbaf without violence."
Hearing this, Kai temporarily shelved his urge to argue further.
As Kiba said, this country had no king. There was no way to change anything, even if they wanted to.
Wait—
An idea he'd never considered before flashed through Kai's mind like lightning, shaking him to his core.
Maybe—I could become that king?
Meanwhile, Saul brought Robin, Kozuki Hiyori, Reiju, Kuma, his daughter, and the others to the Owl Library.
The library's interior was extraordinarily spacious and towering. Countless pure wood bookshelves lined the walls and the center, reaching all the way to the vaulted ceiling, densely packed with a variety of massive books.
"This is Elbaf's largest library. All the books I brought back from Ohara are kept here."
Pride filled Saul's voice.
"Wow! So many books!"
"The books are huge too!"
Everyone was stunned.
"Saul, are you saying the World Government didn't completely destroy Ohara's books?!" Robin was beside herself with excitement.
"Dereshishishi—not a single one was lost. They're all here."
Saul nodded firmly and slowly recounted what happened after.
After Kuzan froze him, the raging flames on Ohara melted the ice by accident, and he fell into the sea, barely surviving. Months later, he returned secretly to Ohara with other giants.
From the cold lake bottom, they recovered the precious books that Ohara's scholars had risked their lives to sink into the water at the last moment, preserving their legacy.
"Looking back, Kuzan must have let me go on purpose."
A complicated emotion crossed Saul's face. "That guy's got a cold exterior but a warm heart."
"All right, enough about unhappy things. Let's talk about you, Robin."
Saul shook his head as if to drive away the sad memories and refocused on Robin. "Those first few years, I was so afraid. Afraid I'd see news of your death in some corner of the paper."
His voice dropped, tinged with lingering fear, but then brightened again. "But then word came that you'd joined the Beast Pirates. That really shocked me! That's a Yonko crew ruling the New World!"
"At first, I worried you were being oppressed, enslaved, that you'd lost your freedom under Kaido. But now—"
His gaze swept over Kozuki Hiyori, Reiju, and the others beside Robin, his voice full of relief. "Seeing you, seeing these companions by your side, I'm completely at ease."
"Robin, you really found it! You found precious companions who truly accept and protect you!"
"Yes!" Robin nodded emphatically, a smile as bright as sunlight blooming on her face.
It all started when she met that man.
Saul then turned to Kozuki Hiyori and the others, his massive body leaning forward slightly in a solemn gesture of request. "Everyone, please continue to take good care of Robin from now on."
Kuma's face showed a warm, reliable smile, his voice steady. "Of course, Saul-san. Robin is an irreplaceable, vital companion to us."
Bonney waved her little fist, sounding childish but utterly earnest. "Bonney will protect Robin-nee, too!"
Reiju nodded gracefully, reassuring him. "Saul-san, please don't worry too much. Robin has already become strong and resilient enough to take care of herself."
"That's wonderful." Saul wiped away tears of gratitude.
Next, Saul introduced them to the library's curator, Biblo—an aged owl who has eaten the Iku Iku no Mi, a Grow-Grow Fruit that enlarges inanimate objects within view.
It was precisely because of Biblo's existence that newspapers from the outside world and books from Ohara could be read by the giants.
While the group marveled at the giant library, Kai met Elbaf's current decision‑maker—Jarul, the venerable elder of Elbaf and former co‑captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates.