Gluttony Disease, Charlotte Linlin's Calamity

Bang!

A dull roar.

In the deepest part of Elbaf's Underworld, a snow-white White Wolf stood on its hind legs. Before the White Wolf stood a giant whose height made him look like a mountain.

"No more fighting, no more fighting."

Seeing the giant about to attack again, the White Wolf waved his hand. His snow-white fur gradually retracted, and his size shrunk from nearly three meters to about two meters.

"I always feel like I'm at a disadvantage sparring like this."

Mongge smacked his lips. Fighting a "young" giant like Harald as an old man like himself offered little in the way of training.

After all, their fights always stopped just short of a decisive blow; there was no concept of victory or defeat.

In such a scenario, naturally, the younger party had more room for improvement.

"This mission probably won't be completed anytime soon."

Mongge looked at the system panel.

[Marine Era Year 1460, June 30th. After two months of sailing, you have finally arrived at the homeland of the giants, the Land of Giants, Elbaf.]

[Mission 1: Defeat a Giant Tribe warrior.]

[The Giant Tribe warriors of Elbaf are renowned throughout the world. A certain Emperor once said that if she allied with the Giant Tribe, she could become the King of the Seas.]

[Mission Reward: Giant Tribe Combat Technique - Hero's Spear!]

(Completed)

[Mission 2: Recruit crew members.]

[As the captain of a pirate crew, how can you be without loyal crew members?]

[Mission Reward: For each crew member recruited, slightly increase cell activity.]

(Current Crew Count: 2)

[Mission 3: Defeat Giant King Harald!]

[Unbelievable, the Giant King of Elbaf is willing to engage in a one-on-one fair duel with you. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.]

[Mission Reward: Conqueror's Haki strength increase, cell activity increase.]

(Not Completed)

This was why Mongge had been challenging Harald to duels for the past six months.

The so-called Conqueror's Haki was a qualification possessed by only a select few. For Conqueror's Haki to grow, one had to fight others who also possessed Conqueror's Haki.

Sparring wasn't enough; it had to be a fight to the death.

The confidence cultivated through countless battles would become the nourishment for Conqueror's Haki's growth.

Mongge and Harald had sparred so many times, including clashes of Conqueror's Haki, but until the day they truly intended to determine a winner, their spars wouldn't lead to significant growth in their Conqueror's Haki.

Tricking enemies was easy.

The difficult part was tricking oneself.

"Kurururu, Mongge, I have to go back. The Winter Solstice Festival is coming soon. If I don't return soon, Mary will scold me again."

Speaking of his wife, a hint of tenderness appeared on Harald's fierce-looking giant face.

"Get lost, get lost!"

Mongge waved his hand with a look of disgust. Having lived so many years, he couldn't stand seeing people flaunt their affection in front of him.

Over the years, Mongge hadn't lacked opportunities to meet women he fancied, but as a pirate, Mongge knew clearly that he couldn't stay in one place for long.

Unless he could lure them onto his ship.

Otherwise, each meeting might be a final farewell.

Mongge was a traditional man at heart and couldn't bring himself to be heartless.

Of course, if it was mutual, that was another matter.

"The Winter Solstice Festival~"

In Elbaf, the Winter Solstice Festival was a festival of the sun, death, and resurrection.

Before the Winter Solstice Festival, the people living in Elbaf had to fast for twelve days, abstaining from food and only drinking water.

Mongge remembered that the last time they visited Elbaf, they had left before the Winter Solstice Festival arrived, so they hadn't experienced the giants' Winter Solstice Festival.

This time, because Mongge would be staying in Elbaf for a longer period, he would definitely experience several Winter Solstice Festivals.

Half a year passed.

Mongge's demeanor had undergone a complete transformation.

Though one couldn't say he looked young...

But compared to half a year ago, Mongge had almost recovered to his state from when he was around sixty years old.

At sixty, Mongge could fight King of Giants Harald for a day and a night, ending in a draw.

And Mongge, who had mastered Conqueror's Haki, would only be stronger than he was ten years ago.

However, Mongge had only recovered his condition, while Harald had genuinely become stronger.

After all, the 150-year-old Harald was in his prime. Ten years ago, he could fight Mongge to a draw, and he wouldn't have made no progress in these ten years.

Mongge even suspected that Harald had already touched that threshold.

That realm, which would later be known as a domain only achievable by Marine Admirals and Four Emperors, as well as some pirate vice-captains.

In fact.

This fierce-looking King of Giants actually didn't like fighting that much.

If Harald had truly dedicated himself to training.

Perhaps he would have already stepped into that realm.

Following closely behind Harald.

Mongge walked towards the village.

"Go, Healding!"

"Go, Rocks!"

"Defeat him!"

"..."

In front of the Home of Lambs, Healding and Rocks were sparring as usual.

But compared to half a year ago, Rocks's strength had grown considerably. He once needed to rely on speed to narrowly defeat Healding, but now, even when directly comparing strength, Rocks was not at a disadvantage.

"If this continues, won't Rocks actually surpass me?"

Fighting two adult Giants at once, Lipri glanced towards Rocks, a strong sense of crisis welling up in her heart.

"Hey, Lipri, don't lose focus during a fight!"

"That's right, don't underestimate us!"

One fat and one thin Giant, they gave Mongge the impression of the Fat and Thin Monks. As former crew members of the Giant Soldier Pirates, their strength was not bad.

Even with Mongge giving Lipri special training, it would still be somewhat difficult for her to defeat these two seniors in a short amount of time.

In the village, many female Giants were kneading dough.

Because of the abstinence during the Winter Solstice Festival, the Giants would make a large quantity of high-calorie desserts beforehand.

Everything was the same as usual.

But Mongge knew that for others, the Winter Solstice Festival would at most mean going hungry for a while and gritting their teeth to get through it. However, for Charlotte Linlin, it was an insurmountable hurdle.

Gluttony Disease!

This was a disease Charlotte Linlin had suffered from since birth. As long as she didn't eat for a long time, she would lose consciousness and go berserk.

And it was precisely this illness that forced Charlotte Linlin's parents to abandon her.

However, since it was a disease, it had to be treated.

Mongge hadn't been idle for the past six months. He had written letters to doctors he knew, inquiring about methods to treat Gluttony Disease.

The final conclusion was invariably one thing.

Willpower.

Only by controlling the body with willpower could one escape the influence of Gluttony Disease.