Just as the crew was about to make a move on that dinosaur, a massive hand suddenly grabbed the roaring creature by the head and slammed it to the ground.
"What the hell is that? Is that a human hand?"
Seeing that gigantic arm, More and Riddle cried out in alarm, and even Adara was so frightened she hid behind Sarrar.
Then, an enormous head loomed over everyone from above.
"B-b-big head." Every member of the Silver Pirates was stunned, and Shirakawa was no exception. He had known they were going to encounter two giants, but he had never imagined the visual impact of a giant would be this overwhelming.
"So this is the Giant Tribe?"
Yuristine's cigarette had fallen to the ground. Staring up at the giant head, he muttered blankly.
"What's going on? More outsiders have come again?"
The giant suddenly spoke, his voice booming and powerful.
This giant warrior wore a helmet and sported a long beard. His left hand, which was pinning the dinosaur's head down, bore a round shield.
"What is it, Dorry?"
Another voice rang out, and with it came the thud of footsteps. Every single step made the ground faintly tremble beneath their feet.
Then another huge head appeared above them. This giant also wore a helmet and had a brown, fan-shaped beard. His nostrils, too, seemed a size larger than the other giant's.
"More people have come to this island?"
Brogy looked down at the members of the Silver Pirates, his tone curious.
"Yeah, a lot of people have been coming to this island lately. Did something big happen out in the world again?"
The two of them went back and forth, talking among themselves. Although they could get information from the outside world here, they spent most of their time fighting and had no time to pay attention.
Besides, the words in the newspaper were far too small for them—reading was a real pain.
"Are you two from the former Giant Warrior Pirates?"
At that moment, Shirakawa spoke up, directing his question at them.
"Youngster, you know us?"
Dorry was the first to ask, and even the other members of the Silver Pirates were surprised. How did their captain know these two?
"A guess." Shirakawa answered. His memories of reading One Piece were too long ago. He only remembered that there were two giants on this island; their actual names he had long forgotten.
"Then you're pretty impressive. You guessed right. The two of us are the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates. I'm Brogy, and he's Dorry."
The giant with the brown beard announced.
"Captain, you know these two giants?"
Riddle walked up to Shirakawa and whispered in his ear.
"I already said, it was a guess."
At those words, Riddle shot Shirakawa a look of pure disdain. You're our captain—how many people are actually going to believe that?
"Hey, youngster, are you guys pirates too?"
"Of course! Our captain is a great pirate with a bounty of one billion berries."
Riddle wasted no time showing off to the giants. The fear they had felt earlier had completely vanished. After all, he had so many powerful companions around him. What were a couple of giants? It was clear Riddle was getting a little too big for his britches.
"What?! One billion?" Both giants wore expressions of shock, and their nostrils even seemed to flare wider from sheer astonishment.
"Dorry, what were our bounties again?"
Brogy asked, a little simple-mindedly.
"If I remember right, our bounties back then were one hundred million berries each."
"One hundred million berries? So you're saying it would take ten of us to match this kid alone?"
Brogy said, sounding rather dejected.
"Youngster, is your strength really that impressive?"
Dorry asked, a bit suspicious. Could these kids be lying to them?
"What do you think?"
Shirakawa didn't answer directly, but replied with a question.
"I don't believe it," Dorry shook his head.
"Then what would it take to make you believe?"
"Unless you fight me and win. If you beat me, I'll believe in your strength."
Dorry continued, addressing Shirakawa.
"I'll fight you instead." At that moment, Kurokam stepped forward and spoke to Dorry.
His hands were already itching. This was his first time meeting a giant, and he couldn't wait to cross blades with one.
"And who are you? What's your bounty? I won't fight anyone with a bounty lower than mine."
"Silver Pirates crew member, Kurokam. Bounty: four hundred million berries."
"Four hundred million?!" Dorry and Brogy cried out in surprise once again. What was going on today? How come everyone they asked had a bounty higher than theirs?
In the past, pirates who came to their island would be big news if they had a bounty of seventy or eighty million. Now, not only were they in the hundred millions, but they had bounties like four hundred million and one billion.
"Alright then, you're on."
The moment Dorry said that, the fight between the two was officially on. They moved to an open space, the very spot where he and Brogy often fought each other. The surrounding trees had long since been destroyed in their battles.
"A fight with a Giant Tribe member..."
Abro murmured to himself, anticipation in his voice. Then his gaze shifted to Brogy.
The other's weapon was an axe, and so was his.
But he didn't rashly ask to fight. He wanted to see how strong Dorry was first. If his strength was truly formidable, then he'd drop it. If it was just so-so, then it wouldn't be too late to challenge him.
Both giants stood over twenty meters tall, while Kurokam's height was just over two meters. That meant it would take ten Kurokams stacked on top of each other to match Dorry's height.
But in this world, being taller and brawnier didn't automatically mean being stronger.
While the Giant Tribe had their advantages—immense strength—they also had a huge disadvantage. In gaining that strength, they lost speed. Their enormous bodies cost them agility.
The battle between Dorry and Kurokam began. Kurokam drew a hammer from his back, and Dorry raised his sword, bringing it slashing down toward Kurokam.
By all rights, Kurokam's speed should have allowed him to dodge that blow easily. But Kurokam thought that constantly dodging around was far too boring—it wouldn't let him truly experience the joy of battle. So he raised his hammer and took the strike head-on. The shockwave from the clash of their weapons snapped every tree around them clean in half.
"Interesting," Dorry grinned, surprised that a small human like this could withstand his strength.
"As expected of the Giant Tribe, your strength is truly immense." The ground beneath Kurokam's feet had already cracked, a clear sign of just how great Dorry's power was.
"Kurokam, be careful! If I'm not mistaken, this Dorry has lived for over a hundred years. He's a wily old veteran."
Shirakawa shouted to Kurokam. That was also why he had been tolerating the giants calling him "youngster" and "kid" all this time. One must respect the elderly, after all.
"What?! Over a hundred years old?!"
Everyone was stunned when they heard Shirakawa's shout. Then they turned their attention to Brogy. If the two giants were together, they must be around the same age.
"Are you two really over a hundred?" Riddle asked, completely incredulous.
"Yeah, we're about a hundred and twenty this year," Brogy replied, then burst out laughing.
"I never knew the Giant Tribe was such a long-lived race."
/-\
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