Roger lifted his head. In his eyes, the fire of battle burned anew.
From that day forward, the deck of the Oro Jackson often echoed with the sound of his relentless training.
At dawn, bathed in the first rays of sunlight, Roger swung his blade, striving to merge rubber with swordsmanship.
At midnight, when the crew had long since drifted into slumber, the whistle of his blade still howled across the bow.
With astonishing intuition and mastery of Haki, Roger's growth was nothing short of terrifying.
By the break of the next dawn, steam tinted crimson rose from his skin—the mark of the Second Gear.
By the third evening, with a sharp inhale and puffed cheeks, his arm ballooned like bone inflating into air—Third Gear roared into existence.
By the fifth night, his body bounced like a spring, his stance swelling with the beginnings of Fourth Gear.
Only Fifth Gear—Sun God Nika remained beyond his grasp.
But even without it, Roger's confidence never wavered. He had fused rubber with Haki, birthing new sword techniques entirely his own.
In Second Gear, his slashes were lightning-fast, cutting with enhanced power.
In Third Gear, his colossal strikes churned the sea into towering waves.
And above all, his famed Divine Departure—now amplified by these new forms—had ascended into a terrifyingly destructive force.
After countless trials, Roger finally stood tall at the bow, gazing at the boundless horizon. His voice carried with unshakable resolve:
"Back then, I needed Garp to bring down Rocks. But now… even alone, I could defeat him."
The crew erupted in cheers.
All except Bullet.
Standing in the shadows, fists clenched, his chest burned with conflict. His dream had always been to surpass Roger, to become the strongest in the world. But the gap only grew wider, the summit receding farther into the heavens.
Roger's figure, once within reach, now seemed like an untouchable star, gleaming above with mocking brilliance.
After a long voyage, the Oro Jackson finally reached the land of giants—Elbaf.
The salty wind carried the scent of stone and pine. Waves crashed as Buggy peered through a telescope, his pupils tightening with awe.
The island loomed through mist and cloud, jagged peaks like a giant's spine piercing the sky. From the tallest summit, smoke curled from a volcano's crown.
"S-So that's the Land of Giants…? They say the people here are enormous compared to us…"
Buggy's voice shook, sweat dampening the brass of the scope.
"Oi, oi."
Shanks swung down the mast, red hair whipping in the wind, grinning ear to ear.
"Don't we already have Uncle Seagull on board? He's a giant, isn't he?"
The two boys turned their heads. Across the deck, Seagull—a towering figure nearly twenty meters tall—was carefully scrubbing rust off the anchor with a brush the size of a tree trunk. The mighty giant looked almost childlike in his gentleness.
Roger strolled over, his red cloak snapping in the breeze. He ruffled the boys' heads with his calloused, blade-worn palms.
"Years ago, when we searched for the Adam Wood to build this ship, Rayleigh, Gaban, and I came here to Elbaf. That's when I first met Seagull."
Roger's eyes softened, recalling that storm-soaked night of their first encounter.
But before he could say more, the deck quaked violently.
A shadow engulfed the ship. Seagull's amber eyes shimmered as he gazed toward his homeland.
"…Yes. This is my home. It's been so many years… I almost forgot what it felt like."
His rough fingers traced the scar carved deep into his chest—a wound left in the duel that had forced him to leave Elbaf.
Gaban shoved forward with a grin.
"Heh, I gotta say, Seagull—the giant women here are something else! Can't forget that one lass at the tavern who could down a barrel in a single gulp—now that was a sight!"
The crew all turned toward him in disbelief. Only Shiro smirked faintly, arms crossed—he understood exactly what Gaban meant.
To Shiro, Gaban was truly the strongest man.
As the ship docked, Seagull strode ahead and called out in the tongue of his people.
From the harbor, giant sentries stirred. Recognizing the familiar voice, they lowered a colossal bridge hewn from a thousand-year-old tree.
With thunderous steps, the Roger Pirates set foot upon the mysterious land of Elbaf.
The towering redwoods blotted out the sun, their crowns weaving a canopy of shadow. Shafts of light pierced through, dappling the moss-carpeted earth.
The crew marveled—until the ground began to shake.
A giant rhinoceros beetle burst skyward in panic, its wings whipping up a gale that nearly knocked Buggy overboard.
Then, from between the trees, a colossal silhouette emerged.
A being taller than even the trees, a mountain of flesh and steel, stepped into the clearing.
The Giant Prince himself—Loki.
Sixty, seventy meters tall, horns crowning his head, eyes hidden beneath a white cloth that glowed faintly red from beneath. His tongue lolled, his hand gripped a warhammer large enough to crush a ship.
"Who dares set foot on Elbaf?"
His voice cracked like thunder, scattering birds from the forest.
Seagull dropped to one knee, forehead nearly pressed to the soil.
"Y-Your Highness Loki! It's me, Seagull. I once left Elbaf with the Roger Pirates… do you remember me?"
Memories of his youth returned unbidden—the royal training grounds, and the sight of Prince Loki splitting meteors with his hammer.
From beneath the blindfold, Loki's eyes flared with a cold blue glow. His Observation Haki swept through Seagull like a storm.
"…So it's you. Tell me—why have you brought outsiders back to Elbaf?"
Seagull raised his hands desperately, explaining:
"Your Highness, the Roger Pirates seek the final Road Poneglyph. We… we came here in hopes of—"
BOOOOM!
Loki's hammer slammed into the ground, shaking the forest to its roots.
The shockwave blasted rocks like cannon fire. Shanks and Buggy were hurled backward, only saved from crashing into the trees by Shiro's quick hands anchoring them down.
"Seagull," Loki's voice rumbled like a storm across the valley, "you know well—our people do not give freely. If you want something from the giants of Elbaf… you must earn it through strength."
The weight of his words pressed down like mountains. His killing intent was suffocating.
T/N: While you're at it, check out my main writing account - Ghidorah_7074. Currently releasing:
Naruto: The Senju Patriarch
Harry Potter: The Flaw of Slytherin
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