Bonfire party.
Old Giant Aruru poured a mouthful of wine into his mouth and asked drunkenly.
"So you're saying, Mongge lad, that you want to meet with His Majesty Harald?"
"That's right."
Mongge had only two objectives this time he came to Elbaf.
One was to recruit the future Empress, Charlotte Linlin, under his command.
The other was Adam Wood.
Now Mongge had already achieved half of his first objective; as long as Garumoro agreed to let him take Linlin away, turning Charlotte Linlin into his crewmate was only a matter of time.
Everyone knew just how easy it was to trick five-year-old Charlotte Linlin.
As for Adam Wood, if Mongge wanted to acquire it through official channels, he had to contact the current King of Elbaf.
This was not a difficult task.
After all, Mongge had fought Harald before, so they could be considered acquaintances through combat.
Though they could not be called close friends, at least they were still on speaking terms.
"Hmph, His Majesty Harald might not necessarily grant you an audience."
Sitting on the side, Yoruru wore a cold expression. As for this pirate who had coaxed away his great-great-granddaughter, it was already good enough that he wasn't speaking ill of her, let alone helping her pass a message—no way in hell.
Fortunately, aside from Lipri, Mongge had no intention of recruiting more Giant Tribe crewmates.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be as easy to talk to as he was now.
The Giant Tribe should join the Giant Soldier Pirates; the White Wolf Pirates and things like that were all heretical paths...
"Big Sister Lipri, how could you join another pirate crew? As members of the Giant Tribe, we should join the Giant Soldier Pirates. Only the Giant Soldier Pirates are our true home!"
On the other side of the banquet, a Giant Tribe boy whose appearance looked about seven or eight years old like a human, but whose height exceeded five meters, shouted loudly.
To him, whose goal had always been to revive the Giant Soldier Pirates, he completely failed to understand how Lipri, like his sister, could join another pirate crew.
"Zhabababa, well said, Hajrudin, our Giant Soldier Pirates are the strongest pirate crew!"
Hearing the boy's words, Yoruru laughed happily.
Even though Lipri had been spirited away, the children who were the future hope of their Giant Tribe still favored the Giant Soldier Pirates.
"Old man, stop stoking the flames!"
Lipri wore a helpless expression. She finally understood the feeling Mongge had just experienced; the last time the White Wolf Pirates came, Hajrudin was still young and stayed mostly by King Harald's side, so unlike many children, he didn't hold favorable feelings toward the White Wolf Pirates.
Although she had always harbored the idea of joining the White Wolf Pirates, as she grew older, she wasn't sure if Mongge would ever return to Elbaf, so naturally she wouldn't brag about the strength of the White Wolf Pirates in front of Hajrudin.
In fact, the current White Wolf Pirates were indeed inferior to the past; the entire pirate crew consisted of only three people, and one of them was an apprentice.
Compared to Mongge and Lipri, who had familiar relationships with the Giant Tribe, Rocks appeared much more aloof, sitting alone in a corner eating.
It wasn't that he disliked socializing.
Rather, he felt he didn't yet have the spare capacity to interact with others.
"The Giant Tribe is truly strong!"
Rocks cautiously looked at the giants around him, who were holding wine cups, drinking deeply, and eating meat in huge bites, as if he could feel the terrifying power contained within their towering bodies.
Let alone an entire Giant Kingdom, just the giants sitting right here, if placed outside, could easily destroy a country!
"Bokakaka, Mongge, that brat named Rocks is your newly recruited crewmate, right?"
Noticing Rocks, Aruru stroked his fluffy beard.
"How about we make a bet?"
"Oh?"
Hearing Aruru say he wanted to make a bet, Mongge immediately became interested.
"What do you plan to bet, Aruru?"
"How about having Hajrudin fight him?" Aruru said with a smiling squint. "If Rocks wins, when you meet with His Majesty later, I'll put in a good word for you. If Hajrudin wins, you have to stay behind and help train the children in the village."
"Two years shouldn't be considered too long, right?"
Hearing Aruru's words, Mongge couldn't help feeling somewhat tempted.
Although he was certain that as long as he met with Harald, Harald definitely wouldn't refuse his proposal, making the giants willingly hand over Adam Wood to him was no easy task.
If Aruru brought it up, that would be different.
Aruru was not only the eldest giant in all of Elbaf, but also the former captain of the Giant Soldier Pirates, and his prestige among the Giant Tribe was second only to the Giant King Harald.
Just letting Rocks fight a Giant Tribe brat gave him no reason to refuse.
Seeing Mongge stay silent, Yoruru on the other side thought he was hesitating.
"Zhabababa, what's this? Could it be that the crewmates of the dignified White Wolf Pirates are inferior even to an underage child? If Aruru isn't enough, how about adding me to the mix?"
Whether it was Yoruru or Aruru, as legendary pirates of the past, they could tell at a glance that Rocks was merely a fledgling rookie who hadn't even learned Haki.
Under such circumstances, the advantages brought by the physique of the Giant Tribe were undoubtedly enormous.
Even though Hajrudin was still a child.
Yet he was His Majesty Harald's eldest son; how could he possibly lose to a fledgling rookie pirate?
"Hehe."
Yoruru and Aruru didn't know that regarding their proposal, not only had Mongge never thought of refusing, but he even found it slightly amusing.
Hajrudin fighting Rocks?
Really?
Never mind that Rocks had only set out to sea two months ago; in these two months, Rocks's growth could be described as visible to the naked eye. If it were Rocks right when he first went to sea, relying on the Giant Tribe's physique, Hajrudin might genuinely have had a sliver of a chance.
Now?
With similar strength, even if Rocks let Hajrudin use one hand, Hajrudin still wouldn't win.
However, even with full confidence.
Surface appearances still had to be maintained.
Mongge wore a troubled expression on his face. "Rocks is a rookie who only joined our pirate crew two months ago. Although he has talent, Hajrudin is Harald's child, after all."
"Besides, two years is too long."
He was already seventy years old now. Without the system's help, if he really stayed in Elbaf for two years, when he went out he would probably end up like Whitebeard, hanging two bottles of IV drips on himself for no reason.
"Then what do you want?"
Yoruru said impatiently.
If it weren't for the fact that the Giant Tribe was currently suffering a generational fault line and no one was Mongge's match, he wouldn't want to make Hajrudin challenge a rookie pirate.
"How about changing the condition?"
Mongge held up one finger. "Win or lose, I will stay in Elbaf for two years. In exchange, during these two years, your Giant Tribe's craftsmen must build a sufficiently sturdy ship for me."
"Using Adam Wood!"
Before you continue