Giants are an extremely rare race on the seas. A single giant already possesses tremendous destructive power. However, giants from the land of giants often choose to become mercenaries. Whenever they go to war, they fight in groups—far more powerful than a simple one-plus-one equals two.
It's mainly because the giants' shipbuilding skills are lacking that most of them don't become pirates. Instead, they are recruited by other forces. The Marines, for example, used deception to obtain a group of giant vice admirals.
Having just entered the Grand Line, this was the Straw Hat crew's first time seeing such a towering giant. Luffy excitedly jumped onto the Attack Titan's shoulder. "So cool! I want to become a giant too!"
He was fascinated by giants. In the future, this fascination would inspire him to develop Gear Third—but for now, he could only use Gear Second, a technique that consumed his lifespan.
Leaping around on those solid muscles, Luffy completely forgot his earlier caution. A man who could transform into a giant—he already wanted to invite Eren onto the crew. Life at sea would definitely become more interesting with him around.
"So hot! Hot, hot, hot!"
Steam poured out from the titan's body. Luffy quickly jumped back onto the Going Merry. Before long, the titan's flesh began to evaporate rapidly, revealing a skeleton—then Eren's human form reappeared.
Eren leapt out from the titan's skull and landed on the deck. The skeleton lost control and collapsed into the sea, soon dissolving into nothing along with the remaining flesh.
His messy hair hung loose, and streaks of blood ran from beneath his eyes down his face—evidence of controlling the titan. His stamina was nearly depleted. He leaned against the ship's railing to steady himself.
Seeing his exhausted state, Sanji quickly brought out a chair. Eren sat down and leaned back, slowly recovering.
But the crew surrounded him, staring with intense curiosity—yet not asking anything outright, which only made things awkward.
So he explained, "A Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit: Giant Form. That's the Devil Fruit I ate. It lets me temporarily transform into a giant for combat. But fighting at sea consumes double the stamina. On land, I can last much longer."
Everyone accepted the explanation easily. After all, all kinds of bizarre Devil Fruits existed in the Grand Line—turning into a giant wasn't that outrageous.
"I ate the Paramecia Gum-Gum Fruit. That makes you the second Devil Fruit user on the ship! But turning into a giant is way cooler!"
Luffy had completely become Eren's fanboy. He even asked him to transform again, but Eren refused. Each transformation consumed a huge amount of stamina—even for a Zoan user.
With the enemy defeated, the Straw Hats prepared to head to the next island. With Igaram's Log Pose, their next destination on the Grand Line had a pleasant name—Little Garden.
Most of the crew rested while others took turns steering the ship, following the Log Pose across calm seas. No more pursuers appeared.
Back at Whiskey Peak, the waves washed ashore fragments of ships—and sometimes bodies. Baroque Works had suffered heavy losses. Over a dozen ships destroyed, along with a large number of elite agents.
"I'm late. The naval battle is already over."
A dark-skinned beauty sat in a small turtle boat, holding a Den Den Mushi as she reported the outcome to her boss. The entire Baroque Works fleet had been wiped out. Fortunately, Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine had survived, having been defeated and left unconscious on the island earlier.
"Are you certain it was the Straw Hats?"
On the other end, a man smoked a cigar, a golden hook in place of one hand—Crocodile, the leader of Baroque Works and one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
"According to the bounty hunters on the island, a young giant descended from the sky and destroyed all the ships alone."
Nico Robin was still working within Baroque Works, allowing herself to be used by Crocodile in order to find the Poneglyph in Alabasta.
"Mr. 3 is waiting for them at Little Garden. Assist him and eliminate the Straw Hats. They're not worth my personal attention."
Crocodile didn't believe the so-called "future." A rookie pirate defeating him just after entering the Grand Line? Ridiculous. Someone who didn't even know Haki couldn't possibly defeat a Logia user like him.
"Understood. I'll head there now."
Robin hung up the Den Den Mushi, picked up the unconscious Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine, and set off toward Little Garden.
Since they weren't intercepted by her, the Straw Hat crew safely entered the waters surrounding Little Garden. However, the name puzzled them—the island was enormous. Why call it "Little Garden"?
Igaram explained, "Because two giants have been fighting here for over a hundred years. Compared to their massive size, this island looks like a small garden."
"Awesome! There are giants here too? I'm going to check it out!"
Luffy leapt off the Going Merry onto the island. From behind, Sanji called out, "Bring back some game! We're running low on meat!"
"Got it, Chef!" Luffy shouted as he disappeared into the jungle.
"What a reckless captain…" Usopp had no intention of leaving the ship. He had just seen the creatures on the island—there were gigantic beasts like dinosaurs. Just imagining it was terrifying.
"I'm going too. Staying on the ship will just make me rusty," Zoro said, jumping off with his three swords.
"Hey, moss-head, want to compete? Let's see who catches the bigger prey."
Zoro agreed without hesitation. As the crew's second-in-command, he wouldn't let the cook outdo him.
The two of them bickered as they disappeared into the jungle.
Watching three of their main fighters leave just like that, the remaining crew felt speechless. Fortunately, Eren stayed on board.
"Those three never think things through," Nami sighed, standing on deck and admiring the scenery of Little Garden.
"With Mr. Eren here, no one would dare attack the Going Merry," Usopp said, sticking close to him. This powerhouse gave him a great sense of security.
"A dragon?! Why is there a T-Rex here?!"
Vivi's sudden cry drew everyone's attention.
A massive Tyrannosaurus charged straight toward the Going Merry—its eyes burning with hunger…
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