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Silent Resonance and Shattered Impressions
Little Loki's soul-piercing cry, cutting straight through the light curtain, reverberated endlessly in the hearts of every onlooker.
Even for many ordinary people, the giants were terrifying existences of immense strength and volatile temperament—synonyms for danger and power.
But at this moment, hearing a giant child wail so heart-wrenchingly, an instinctive empathy that transcended racial barriers quietly took root.
"I never thought… that guy called the 'Demon of the Seas,' Rocks, could make a child care about him this much…"
A middle-aged woman wiped the corner of her eye and sighed softly.
"Even though I still hate pirates… compared to those scum who only bully the weak, abandon their wives and children, this Rocks guy seems… actually a bit different?"
A man who looked like a dockworker scratched his head, his expression complicated.
"Different? That's an understatement!"
A bespectacled young man nearby—who seemed somewhat educated—cut in excitedly: "Don't forget what the light curtain showed earlier! Rocks dared to charge alone into danger to save his wife and child, knowing full well it was a trap—he went without hesitation!
"And look at that Saint Garling—ptui! He personally killed the woman who bore his child and acted like it was only natural! He's worse than an animal!"
"Compared like this… sure, Rocks is detestable, but at least he's like a 'human being.' That Celestial Dragon is more like a monster wearing human skin!"
Similar murmurs and discussions spread across countless islands, towns, and villages that had light curtains.
A subtle shift in perception was quietly taking place in the hearts of countless ordinary people.
Without this eerie light curtain, Rocks would forever be frozen in the official propaganda as the "extreme evil pirate," the "public enemy of the world."
The World Government and Marines would represent unquestionable "justice" and "order."
People would cheer for "Marine Hero" Garp defeating Rocks, celebrating the removal of a major cancer from the world.
But now, the light curtain had torn away the carefully polished facade, revealing the hideous and complex truth beneath.
People saw Rocks' ambition and brutality, but also his sense of responsibility and humanity.
They saw the coldness, hypocrisy, and cruelty hidden beneath the World Government's gleaming exterior.
They saw the absence and distortion of so-called "justice" at certain moments.
In countless hearts, the scales began to tilt imperceptibly. The definition of "evil" grew blurred, and faith in "justice" developed cracks.
The news spread like it had grown wings, flying swiftly to every corner of the sea.
More and more people on remote islands and in nations learned of the light curtain through various channels: sailors' oral accounts on merchant ships, secretly circulated Den Den Mushi video recordings, underground information brokers…
Curiosity, thirst for truth, or simply the desire to watch the drama drove countless people to act.
They boarded ships, crossed seas, and surged toward islands and nations known to have giant light curtains—like pilgrims eager to witness this cognition-shattering "miracle" with their own eyes.
Ports on some islands became unprecedentedly crowded and overcrowded; everyone was talking about Rocks, Roger, Garp, the Celestial Dragons…
And the yet-unknown future.
The seas near God Valley became a hotbed of rumors and speculation.
At the light curtain site, the lingering echoes of that tragic cry seemed to still drift in the sea breeze.
Roger elbowed the silent Rocks beside him, a smile mixed with emotion and teasing on his face: "Hey, Rocks, didn't expect that! That little guy…"
"Really seems to worship you, huh~ Crying that hard—it's definitely not an act."
Rocks' shoulders twitched slightly. A trace of discomfort flashed across his face. He roughly pushed Roger's arm away and replied stiffly: "Cut the crap. Just a kid—what does he know."
Even though Rocks said that, his gaze unconsciously drifted back toward the now-darkened light curtain, where the faint outline of Elbaf's coast seemed to linger.
No matter how stubborn his mouth was, he couldn't fool himself about the unfamiliar warm current in his heart.
In this cold, cruel world full of betrayal and calculation, there was actually such pure, blazing trust and attachment.
This feeling… wasn't bad.
However, before this subtle atmosphere could last too long, the light curtain lit up again without warning, the scene instantly switching!
This time, it was no longer Elbaf's desolate coast or the deep Underworld, but a rather bustling human town with mixed architectural styles.
Yet at this moment, one corner of the town had plunged into massive chaos and panic!
Screams, cries, and the rumbling of collapsing buildings intertwined.
"Run!"
"Call the Marines! Hurry!"
"It really is giants… so terrifying!"
"When they go berserk, there's no stopping them!"
The crowd fled in panicked disarray, faces etched with utmost fear.
At the center of the chaos, two colossal figures like moving mountains faced each other.
No—more like one was unilaterally suppressing the other!
The taller, more imposing one, radiating the aura of a ferocious beast, was none other than Elbaf's current king, Harald!
His eyes were wide with rage, his entire body exuding suffocating pressure.
Opposite him was another giant—slightly smaller but still far beyond human scale!
At this moment, however, he was curled up miserably on the ground, bruised and swollen, clearly having just taken heavy blows. From his mouth came muffled pleas and complaints.
"Haven't you understood yet?!"
Harald's voice thundered like an explosion across the district. He loomed over his fellow giant on the ground, glaring furiously: "Why do you still do things like this?! Why do you keep tarnishing the name 'giant race'?!"
The giant thug on the ground covered his face and mumbled an apology: "S-sorry… won't do it again…"
"Again? There's a next time?!"
Harald seemed not to hear the apology at all—or rather, the fury in his chest had long surpassed this specific incident.
He suddenly raised his head, looking at the shattered buildings around him and the terrified fleeing crowd.
In those weathered eyes burned pain and a deep sense of powerlessness.
"You still don't get it! This guy, that guy—every one of them!"
Harald growled, as if questioning the thug on the ground, questioning everyone who harbored prejudice against giants, and even more so questioning himself.
"Why can't you just understand?!"
Before his words finished, his massive fist once again descended with terrifying wind pressure!
"Bang!!!"
This time, not only was the giant thug smashed deep into the ground!
In a dozens-of-meters radius, buildings—stone houses and wooden structures alike—collapsed and shattered like toy blocks kicked over by a giant child in the shockwave of that punch!
Dust and smoke billowed skyward, obscuring half the district!
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