"Rocks, are you okay?"
"N-No, I'm fine."
After taking a punch that had nearly sent him to the grave, Rocks lay on the ground and began questioning his life.
Wasn't he supposed to be talented?
In half a year, he had gone from a rookie fresh out of the gate to mastering the Six Powers and even coming into contact with Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Even in the first half of the Grand Line,
Rocks's current strength would have been enough for him to thrive.
But the one he had encountered was Charlotte Linlin.
A monster blessed by the heavens, arguably the most gifted pirate in existence. She could eat, drink, and lie around every day, yet still become one of the Four Emperors.
Seriously, who could compare?
"Rocks, get some rest. Leave Linlin to me!"
Ripley had rushed over to speak to Rocks. Alarms were now ringing throughout the village. Before leaving, the three CP0 agents had set a fire, and half the village was at risk of being consumed by the flames.
After discovering that the children had been abducted, three of the stronger giants had already gone after CP0. The rest were either busy putting out the fire or driving away the animals affected by Magnus and Rona's battle.
There simply were not enough hands to spare.
Ripley's expression was grim as she looked at Charlotte Linlin, who had completely lost her mind.
She actually knew a little more than Rocks did.
That Charlotte Linlin suffered from Gluttony Disorder, that extreme hunger could make her lose her sanity, that despite her young age, she possessed strength no weaker than that of an adult giant, and that she had an iron-like defense that ignored virtually any attack.
Fortunately, the young Linlin still had no way of fully utilizing her advantages.
"Rocks, can you still move? Go to the food storage immediately. Bring out all the prepared food. Bring some here and distribute the rest to everyone."
At a time like this, they could no longer worry about the Winter Solstice Festival.
Linlin had gone berserk from hunger, while the giants could not use their full strength because of hunger.
Only after filling their stomachs could they defeat the enemy!
"Got it!"
Although Linlin's punch had nearly left Rocks's entire body falling apart, this was where his mastery of the Six Powers proved useful.
At the critical moment, he had used the Six Powers' Paper Arts to avoid the direct impact. So while he had been injured, it was not too serious.
"And the children from the Orphanage of Lambs."
"I'll take care of the children."
Awakened from her sleep, Sister Carmel led the children to a safe place. After casting Charlotte Linlin a worried glance, Carmel still chose to escort the children to safety first.
After watching Carmel leave, Ripley turned toward Charlotte Linlin.
"Linlin, I'm sorry."
When Magnus had asked her to help look after Charlotte Linlin, he had told her—
If anything happened to Linlin,
Knock her out first and worry about the rest later!
"Armament Haki!"
Ripley assumed a stance as an invisible aura wrapped around her hands. Although Magnus had focused on training her Observation Haki over the past half year, the first thing she had awakened was Armament Haki.
Perhaps the Giant race was simply born incompatible with Observation Haki.
"Hero's Spear!"
She went all out from the very start. If it had been any other child of the Giant race, Ripley would have worried whether this punch would turn them into pulp.
But against Charlotte Linlin—
"Semla ice cream."
Charlotte Linlin wore a smile like that of an evil god.
Bang!
Ripley's fist collided with Charlotte Linlin's fist. A terrifying shockwave erupted from the point of impact, yet even against Ripley's Armament Haki-enhanced blow, Charlotte Linlin did not fall behind in the slightest.
"What?!"
Only then did Ripley truly understand why Magnus wanted Charlotte Linlin to join his pirate crew.
She was only five years old.
She knew no combat techniques.
Yet relying solely on instinct, Charlotte Linlin could fight an adult giant like Ripley to a standstill.
"This is troublesome."
Ripley could not truly strike to kill against Charlotte Linlin, but the irrational Charlotte Linlin would not care about any of that.
For a moment, Ripley found herself restrained on all sides.
Just then, an icy, bone-piercing gale erupted through the forest. Even though Ripley was already far enough away, the terrifying aura still made her breathing grow rapid.
"This is the captain's Conqueror's Haki!"
As a new member who had only recently joined the White Wolf Pirates, Ripley had never doubted the strength of her captain's Conqueror's Haki.
It was just that Magnus usually only used his Conqueror's Haki to frighten Charlotte Linlin. Ripley had never personally experienced what Magnus looked like when he unleashed it at full force.
But now, she saw it.
A storm of crimson-black lightning shot into the sky, spreading outward in ring after ring from the forest's center. It even battered the branches and leaves of the Adam Tree overhead until they rustled violently.
And Charlotte Linlin, who had been berserk only moments ago, actually regained a hint of clarity after sensing that aura.
"Huh? What am I doing?"
Charlotte Linlin bit her finger and looked at Ripley with a blank, innocent expression.
"Big Sister Ripley, I think I just saw some people run into our home. They seemed to be bullying Gulz and Hajrudin. Are they bad people?"
As expected of the captain!
Seeing Linlin regain her senses, Ripley could not help letting out a sigh of relief.
After hearing her, Ripley nodded. "That's right. They're bad people. They captured Gulz and Hajrudin."
With those words from Ripley, Charlotte Linlin completely came to her senses. A murderous aura no weaker than before radiated from her body.
"Bad people? I'm going to beat up the bad people! I'm going to rescue Gulz and Hajrudin!"
"It's okay, Linlin. The others have already gone after them. Gulz and Hajrudin will be fine."
Seeing the aura around Charlotte Linlin, Ripley hurriedly tried to soothe her. She was not Magnus; she had no way to make Charlotte Linlin obediently listen to her.
She was not asking Charlotte Linlin for help right now. She only hoped Linlin would not make things worse.
"Ripley, I brought the food."
Not far away, Rocks came running over with a huge basket filled with desserts on his head. The moment Charlotte Linlin saw the food in the basket, she threw all other matters to the back of her mind.
But Ripley and Rocks still could not relax.
Because the real battle had not yet ended.
The clash caused by Conqueror's Haki could not have come from just one person. Besides Magnus, there was another enemy capable of releasing equally powerful Conqueror's Haki.
In the forest, vast stretches of ground formed by the roots of giant trees had collapsed. Many roots were covered in ice and snow, while others had been cleanly severed.
In a few areas, they could even clearly see the underworld thousands of meters below.
Magnus, in his giant wolf form, stood facing Rona.
But compared to Magnus's calmness, Rona was filled with disbelief.
"You old bastard, you actually have Conqueror's Haki?!"
Before you continue