Rocks vs. Hajrudin

The latter half of the bonfire party reached a fever pitch.

An apprentice of the White Wolf Pirates was going up against Hajrudin, the eldest son of Giant King Harald!

At the news, the giants were immediately intrigued.

"Come on, Hajrudin! Don't disgrace the Giant race! Don't lose to that little runt!"

"Hajrudin is King Harald's son. How could he possibly lose?"

"Take him down, Hajrudin!"

"..."

A whole crowd of giants cheered Hajrudin on, making the twenty-year-old Giant race boy nervously tighten his grip on the short sword in his hand as he swallowed.

"Tch, that old man really loves making trouble for me."

Compared to Hajrudin, Rocks, already an adult, was far calmer.

Although Rocks was only twenty as well, humans were adults at eighteen, while giants were still considered children until they turned fifty.

If Magnus had asked Rocks to challenge an adult giant, he would never have agreed. He was no fool; at the very least, he would need to master the Haki Magnus had mentioned first.

But fighting an underage giant child was another matter entirely.

"As long as I win, you'll teach me the Six Powers?"

Thinking of Magnus's promise earlier, Rocks immediately grew serious.

Win, and he learned the Six Powers.

Lose, and not only would he have to scrub the ship's decks, he would also have to clean the toilets.

He absolutely could not lose!

"Harald, what are you doing?"

At the edge of the giant village, atop a massive castle built into the crown of a huge tree beside the cliff, a bald, towering giant was holding a spyglass and secretly peeking at the scene in the village.

Hearing a voice behind him, the giant hurriedly put away the spyglass.

"Ahem, I was merely observing the people's lives."

"It's Hajrudin, isn't it?"

Behind the giant, a female giant with long wavy hair rolled her eyes at him.

"I heard that captain of the White Wolf Pirates came again?"

"Yes, but Magnus is different from ordinary pirates. He doesn't have that much ambition."

Recalling his first meeting with Magnus ten years ago, Giant King Harald fell into brief thought. When he saw the worry on his wife's face, he grinned and let out a hearty laugh.

"Haha, don't worry. Even if he truly intends to do something, at his current age, he may not necessarily be a match for me."

The one-hundred-and-fifty-year-old Giant King was in the prime of life, while seventy-year-old Magnus was already frail with age. Human lifespans were simply far too short compared to those of giants.

"The times are changing. Dorry and Brogy's departure may be an opportunity. Compared to plundering, normal trade with other countries is the proper path for development."

Harald watched Hajrudin, who had already begun exchanging blows with Rocks in the distance, then looked at his wife's heavily swollen belly.

"For our children."

"We must leave them a peaceful and stable future."

The giant village.

"Kill!"

Hajrudin shouted and swung his wooden sword down at Rocks with all his might.

Thud!

The wooden sword slammed into the ground, smashing out a spiderweb-like crack.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Rocks's forehead.

"Monster!"

He was clearly just a child, yet his strength was absurd. If his reactions had been any slower, Rocks suspected he would have been knocked flat in a single exchange.

"Come on, Hajrudin!"

"To the right! That little guy is on your right!"

"Look out, he's under your feet!"

"..."

The fighters themselves were not anxious yet, but the giants watching around them were already getting worked up.

Even the old giant Yoruru was among them.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Holding a club more than ten meters long, a giant swung it down in one blow. Yaruru shouted, "Hajrudin is a warrior of the Giant race! All we need to do is believe in him!"

Though he said that, there was a trace of concern in Yaruru's eyes as he watched Hajrudin.

Because Rocks was too steady.

It looked as though every one of Hajrudin's attacks had nearly struck Rocks, but judging from Rocks's expression, he was merely conserving his stamina.

Hajrudin was simply too large. Though he was only a giant child, he stood three times as tall as Rocks, and his build needed no further mention.

In a head-on clash, Rocks would lose without a doubt.

But Rocks gave Hajrudin no chance to clash with him head-on.

"Whew, good."

After dodging another one of Hajrudin's attacks, Rocks felt the still-abundant strength in his body and curled his lips into a faint smile.

If it had been two months ago, even if he could have evaded Hajrudin's attacks, his stamina would have run dry long ago after dodging continuously for so long.

But under Magnus's hellish training, his stamina had increased severalfold. A battle of this level was no longer a problem.

"Still, actually winning is going to be troublesome."

While avoiding Hajrudin's attacks, Rocks considered his strategy.

Hajrudin had been using the standard fighting style of giants: slash, sweep, and chop with the sword, then block the enemy's attack with the shield.

Relying on their size advantage, giants could easily handle opponents whose speed and strength were neither fast nor powerful enough.

Speed was the key!

Just as Rocks racked his brains over how to bypass Hajrudin's defense and attack him, he suddenly heard Magnus's voice.

"Hey, Rocks, remember when I threw you into the sea a few days ago?"

"Hm?"

A scene from a week ago surfaced in his mind: Magnus had thrown him into the sea, tied his hands, and dragged him behind the ship with a rope.

Rocks's fist clenched.

"There's an opening!"

Seeing Rocks lose focus, Hajrudin's eyes lit up. He swung his wooden sword down at Rocks with all his strength.

Bang!

Amid the thick cloud of dust, the familiar feeling made Hajrudin realize that he had not hit Rocks. Out of habit, he withdrew his sword and raised his heavy shield in front of himself.

In truth, Hajrudin had nearly hit Rocks.

If he had thrown away his sword and smashed the entire shield down directly, then Rocks, who had only just escaped the previous attack by rolling aside, would certainly have been defeated.

But it was that tiny difference.

"I understand now."

While being dragged forward by the ship, Rocks had no choice but to keep kicking through the water to make himself swim and keep pace with the ship, lest he drown.

But Magnus's training method had not been meant to train his swimming speed.

It was—

"Soru!"

A blurred afterimage burst through the dust. In an instant, Rocks stomped the ground dozens of times in succession. The sudden burst of speed startled even Rocks himself.

But if even he could not react in time, Hajrudin stood even less of a chance.

In the blink of an eye.

Hajrudin saw Rocks pass through the blockade of his sword and shield, appear on his shoulder, and press a short sword to his throat.

Without Haki, the Giant race's defenses were not much different from those of ordinary people.

In that instant, Hajrudin understood.

He had lost.