To everyone's surprise, Rocks's slap sent Loki into stunned silence.
Even Rocks himself was baffled by the scene.
He examined his right hand repeatedly, wondering why it had reduced Loki to such a state.
Could it be... that after losing his power, the heavens had compensated him with some miraculous ability?
But that didn't make sense. His physical strength had already partially recovered.
Rocks was confused, but Loki was even more bewildered.
The man he had idolized, the one who had once crushed him effortlessly, the man who aspired to become the King of the World...
Why was he so weak now?!
That slap had been loud, but it barely even hurt.
After a long pause, Loki was the first to speak.
"...Why are you so weak? Are you really Rocks?"
Hearing this, Rocks instantly relaxed.
So, he was just shocked by how weak I've become.
Rocks sighed helplessly at the truth.
If given the choice, he would have preferred to remain the strongest man who once stood atop the seas...
But alas, fate had other plans.
Now, he was just a middle-aged man who enjoyed gardening and lazing around.
"I guess my weakness disappoints you," Rocks chuckled. "It took me years to accept this reality after I first fell from grace..."
"Don't... you feel resentful?" Loki's expression visibly darkened.
His greatest idol, the world's most formidable villain...
Had he... completely given up?
Rocks, however, silently laughed.
He pointed at the self-pitying fool before turning to Michael and Shanks with a mocking grin.
The three old-timers couldn't help but laugh shamelessly.
Loki's mindset was typical of someone who had never faced the harsh realities of life.
But it made sense—giants lived three to five times longer than ordinary humans.
Gaban's son, Colon, was already twenty but still sat in school with his friends, eating snacks like a child.
At sixty-three, Loki—a prince of Elbaf with ancient giant blood—was essentially still a rebellious, angsty teenager.
It was perfectly normal for him to harbor such laughable notions.
But...
Understanding didn't mean restraint.
Laughter was laughter.
The two didn't conflict.
And so, the three old scoundrels gradually lost control—especially Shanks, who burst out laughing first.
Soon, Michael and Rocks followed suit.
"HAHAHA! This kid's actually worried about an old-timer who's already reached the pinnacle!"
"Does he really think Rocks needs his pity and consolation now?"
"Kid! Are you idolizing me or looking down on me?!"
The three laughing old men left Loki's intense emotions, which had been churning in his chest, awkwardly stuck—unable to rise or fall.
His face grew increasingly red, reaching full "red temperature."
Still, Michael was decent enough.
Despite his laughter, he didn't slack off.
With a casual motion, he severed the Seastone Chains and shackles binding Loki.
Freed, Loki slowly rose to his feet.
His towering, muscular frame—inherited from his ancient giant lineage—loomed even more ominously in the deSorate wasteland of the underworld.
But upon closer inspection…
The kid's face was plastered with unmistakable grievance.
"W-what are you all laughing at?!"
"I'm laughing at your sheer audacity!" Michael raised a hand, crooking a finger in the air.
Then, the towering teenage brat—who looked twice as tall as his brother, Hajrudin—lowered his massive body, hugging his knees as he peered at Michael through the bandages he'd worn since childhood.
His confusion and curiosity demanded answers.
But King Harald was dead.
Hajrudin despised his powerful younger brother.
All of Elbaf saw him as a "curse" and "Elbaf's disgrace."
No one remembered that this "Cursed Prince," strong enough to rival the likes of Emperors and Admirals, was still just a lost boy.
His so-called "mischief" and "wickedness" were merely the result of having no one to guide him.
"Do you hate your own weakness deep down? Hate that you couldn't save your father, King Harald? Hate that you couldn't save Elbaf? Do you know that God's Knights will return to Elbaf someday, which is why you're willing to trigger the legendary 'Ragnarök'?"
Michael chuckled.
According to intel shared by Red-Haired Shanks, God's Knights had once come to Elbaf to subjugate it, only for conflict to erupt, resulting in Harald's death.
Loki had seized the moment to ambush them, driving back the God's Knights who had arrived via a hexagram teleportation array.
Ever since, Loki had roamed the seas with a crew until Shanks found him, defeated him, and imprisoned him in Elbaf.
It was during this time that Shanks learned of his own origins, leading to the heart-to-heart he later had with Michael in Elbaf.
Loki fell silent for a long moment before nodding slowly.
Then, his expression darkened.
Even ostracized by his own people, he still wanted to protect them.
Michael smiled.
In a way, Loki could indeed become a responsible ruler…
But within Elbaf, Charlotte Linlin had already been embraced as the new king, with the Charlotte family seen as heaven-sent rulers for Elbaf.
Compared to Charlotte Linlin—now a primorBelly giant—Loki stood no chance in terms of combat prowess, political acumen, or influence.
But Michael knew one place where this 2.6 billion Belly bounty pirate could truly shine.
"Ragnarök… isn't a bad idea at all."
"However, both you and I know that Elbaf no longer needs it now."
"But look, isn't this a coincidence? Right now, me, Rocks, and Shanks are heading to a bigger, broader battlefield."
"To bring a true Ragnarök to those Celestial Dragons who call themselves 'gods' atop Mariejois..."
"I wonder, are you interested?"