Bane: Dorry, write me a letter of introduction to Elbaf.

Robin left. Before she departed, she and Bane announced to the rest of the bounty hunters that Bane would soon be heading to Alabasta to join Baroque Works as a member of the organization.

It was this news that caused the team, which had already shown signs of internal division, to coalesce once more. Now that everyone was part of the same organization, there was naturally nothing to worry about.

After Robin left, Bane and his group continued to linger on Little Garden.

Zoro practiced his Sword Arts, Nami studied navigation knowledge for the Grand Line, and Bane spent his days eating and eating. On this island, aside from his crew and those two giants, he ate anything that was alive.

During the first few days, whenever the dinosaurs on the island saw Bane and his group, they would take the initiative to attack, hoping to hunt them for food.

But after Bane had been gorging himself on the island for a while, those dinosaurs would now turn and run the moment they saw this group of bipeds, not daring to act arrogant at all.

On the east side of the island, near a massive cave, Blue Ogre Dorry was currently sprinkling large amounts of spices onto his barbecue grill—spices that had clearly been delivered to him recently.

Just as the roasted dinosaur meat began to emit a fragrant aroma, a sound came from the nearby woods. Bane emerged, pulling a giant wooden cart loaded with barrels of fine wine.

"You finally made it!" Dorry was overjoyed to see Bane.

In truth, from the moment Bane and his group stepped onto Little Garden, Dorry and Brogy had noticed the humans, but they couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. It wasn't until the third day, when the two were sitting on the ground resting after a duel, that Bane appeared before them.

Originally, neither Dorry nor Brogy wanted to interact with Bane, but the wine he brought was simply too fragrant!

Heaven knows how long it had been since they had enjoyed a proper drink during their hundred-year duel.

However, these two giants were quite stubborn. Perhaps due to their century-long conflict, they were unwilling to drink with Bane together, so they made an agreement to take turns, with Bane drinking with one of them each day.

Although Bane had known the situation before arriving and had loaded the ship with a massive amount of alcohol, he realized it wouldn't be enough. Over the past few days, he had arranged for his subordinates to make return trips to Whisky Peak to keep the supply coming.

It was through this constant drinking that he had built such a good relationship with the two giants.

"You really can't beat the craftsmanship of the Giant Warrior Pirates," Bane laughed heartily. "I could smell this aroma all the way from my camp."

"I brought out my best skills to treat you," Dorry chuckled with emotion. "You little guy are something else, too. It's the first time I've seen a human who can eat more than me!"

When he first ate with Bane, he had been completely stunned. No matter how much wine he drank or how much meat he ate, the guy never seemed to get full—he could eat even more than a giant.

But because of this bold, hearty nature, Dorry grew to respect Bane even more.

As Dorry grilled the meat, Bane unloaded the barrels from the cart one by one, stacking them like a mountain beside their massive dining table.

"Any progress these past two days?" Dorry asked as he placed the roasted dinosaur meat on the table.

"Brogy and I arm-wrestled yesterday, and he only held a slight advantage," Bane said with a hint of pride. "According to him, in three to five days at most, he won't be able to beat me anymore."

The strength of the giants was undeniably formidable, and since Dorry and Brogy were not ordinary giants but heroes of their race, their power was even more terrifying.

Yet, even under these circumstances, Bane's base strength was already catching up to them. It was clear how fast and terrifying his growth had been during his time on Little Garden.

"Is that for real?" Dorry looked at Bane with a skeptical gaze.

"Why don't we test it?" Bane held out his arm.

Dorry didn't stand on ceremony. He grabbed Bane's arm, enclosing it completely within his palm. Both men exerted force simultaneously; with a loud bang, the ground shattered, and both let out low roars as they pitted their strength against one another.

At that moment, Dorry could clearly feel that even though he was using all his might to pull Bane toward him, Bane was as rooted to the ground as a tree, not budging an inch!

After six or seven minutes of this stalemate, Bane's face turned bright red, and his body began to tremble as if he were reaching his limit.

Dorry was in the same state; the veins on his brawny arms bulged, his muscles rippled and twitched uncontrollably, and his expression became quite fierce. Finally, he managed to pull Bane forward a single step, signaling his victory.

Yet, even in victory, Dorry felt no excitement or thrill. Instead, he said with shock, "You guy... you guy... Brogy was right. In a few more days, we probably won't be able to beat you! Your growth speed is too fast, too terrifying!"

Bane leaned against the table, gasping for air, and wiped the sweat from his brow. "I am destined to become the strongest man on this sea. You should be proud that you can still beat me now, hahahaha!"

"Hahahaha, you brat, still so full of yourself!" Dorry laughed loudly as well.

Then, the two began to eat meat and drink wine in large gulps, chatting about everything under the sun.

After a while, Bane spoke up, "If I win in two days, don't you two forget our agreement."

Hearing this, Dorry paused, then sighed with emotion, "At first, I just wanted to trick some wine out of you. I didn't expect you to actually be on the verge of doing it."

Dorry gulped down a barrel of wine and said heroically, "But a warrior of Elbaf never breaks their word. Don't worry, once you surpass me in strength, I will teach you the Elbaf Spear!"

The Elbaf Spear was a signature technique of the giants, possessing immense destructive power. However, to learn such a combat skill, one first needed an extremely robust physique and surging power.

In the original story, aside from the giants themselves, only monsters like Charlotte Linlin and Kaido were capable of using this giant-style technique.

Everyone else either didn't know how or lacked the qualifications.

The strength Bane had displayed was, in fact, already sufficient. Dorry felt that this guy's base strength had already far surpassed the vast majority of giants, but according to their agreement, he had to win the duel first.

It was the same with Brogy; he would also teach Bane the Elbaf Spear techniques when the time came.

There were many variations of this, such as the Giant Spear, Ikoku, Hakoku, and the combined technique known as Hakai.

It was a complete and mature set of combat skills, though according to Dorry and the others, there were many techniques that Bane would be unable to master due to his size, serving only as a reference.

Bane didn't mind. He was currently in a growth phase—a burst phase, even—but he lacked a true trump card. Learning these techniques on Little Garden was just his way of mastering some lethal moves. If nothing else, he would be more than satisfied just learning Hakoku.

After moving past that topic, Bane drank some wine and asked, "You two old guys have been fighting here for a hundred years. Isn't it about time you called it quits?"

"We haven't decided the winner yet, so how could it end?" Dorry replied without hesitation.

"But the Giant Warrior Pirates have declined and disbanded because of this. Some of your subordinates were even deceived by the World Government and are now guarding the gates at Enies Lobby," Bane added.

This wasn't the first time he had told them this, and upon hearing it, Dorry's expression grew hesitant.

"I should be heading to Elbaf in a couple of years. Should I have your people come pick you up then? Two more years of fighting is enough; there's no point in continuing. Why not go back to Elbaf and fight there instead?" Bane asked casually.

Dorry finally sighed, "Then I'll leave it to you."

"No trouble at all. Just write me a letter of introduction for Elbaf later so I can contact your acquaintances there, and give me a permanent Log Pose," Bane said nonchalantly.

Dorry didn't think much of it and nodded, "Fine."