Elbaf!

June, Marineford Calendar 1460.

Elbaf.

This was a giant kingdom located in the latter half of the New World.

For adventurers traveling from afar.

Upon their first arrival on the giants' island, the first thing they would see was an incredibly towering giant tree, as if it were supporting heaven and earth.

The Adam Tree!

"So, so big!"

He had originally thought it was just an ordinary large tree. It wasn't until they had sailed for a day and a night, nearing their destination, that Rocks understood. It wasn't that the Adam Tree wasn't big, but rather that they had been too far away from it before.

Only when they got truly close would they know.

Why the giant kingdom of Elbaf was said to be a nation built upon a tree.

"Haha, scared, huh? I was scared too the first time I came."

Rocks, at this time, was merely a fledgling pirate brat. In terms of both vision and strength, he was far from his future self.

Gazing at the towering giant tree, a hint of nostalgia flashed in Magnus's eyes.

The last time he had been here was ten years ago.

"Let's go. If we're lucky and a rainbow appears, we can head straight to the giants' village. But if you want to have a couple of drinks at a tavern on the coast, I don't mind, haha."

In this world, nations were broadly divided into two types.

Government-affiliated nations.

And non-government-affiliated nations.

Government-affiliated nations had to abide by the laws issued by the World Government and received protection from it by paying "Tenryubito" (Celestial Dragons' Gold).

Non-government-affiliated nations were those that did not pay "Tenryubito," or could not afford to pay it.

In this world where the ocean covered over 90% of the surface area, travel between different nations was entirely by sailboat. The flourishing maritime trade naturally attracted a large number of outlaws.

Although Magnus considered himself more of an adventurer than a pirate, subjective reality and objective facts always had discrepancies.

In short, he was now also one of those outlaws in the eyes of the public.

And the natural enemy of these outlaws was, of course, the Marines!

The Marines were an organization subordinate to the World Government.

Any nation that paid "Tenryubito" would receive protection from the Marines.

So the question arises, what about those who didn't pay?

These nations would become lawless lands, havens for pirates.

Of course, there were exceptions.

For example, the Giant Kingdom, Elbaf!

The Giant Kingdom of Elbaf was a non-government-affiliated nation and naturally did not have the protection of the Marines. However, its formidable national strength deterred most ordinary pirates from approaching.

After all, pirates were mostly bullies who preyed on the weak.

"Hey, is Balder here?"

After mooring their sailboat on the shore, Magnus led Rocks to the outside of a tavern on the coast of Elbaf. The tavern door alone was a full twenty meters high. In comparison, Magnus and Rocks, two normal-sized humans, looked like dwarves.

"Balder? You mean Dad?"

Magnus's inquiry was met not with the gruff voice he remembered, but with a girl's voice. A round-faced girl with orange eyes, light blonde hair, and a few freckles on her face pushed open the door.

But when she looked outside, she saw no one.

"Hey, over here, over here!"

Only when Magnus's voice rang out, and the girl saw the two tiny figures waving at her feet, did she suddenly realize, "Are you people from outside?"

The so-called girl was only relative to the giants. In the eyes of Magnus and Rocks, the girl before them was undoubtedly a giant.

Her height alone exceeded fifteen meters, and the airflow generated when she opened the door nearly blew them both away.

Suddenly, Magnus seemed to recall something.

"Hey, aren't you Mado? It's me, your Uncle Magnus. Have you forgotten me? If you have, I'll be very sad!"

If Magnus remembered correctly, the girl before him was Mado, the daughter of the tavern owner, Balder. When he had come ten years ago, he had frequented the tavern often, and most of the time he had been telling stories to this girl, who was then only twice his height.

Finally, Mado seemed to recall something, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on her face.

"You're Uncle Magnus? You've changed so much, I almost didn't recognize you."

"Pffft hahaha, people, once they relax, age incredibly fast. If a few more years pass, let alone you, I won't even recognize myself."

Magnus burst into laughter upon hearing Mado's words.

There was a peculiar phenomenon in this world: those who held onto their dreams and never gave up did not change much even as they aged.

Conversely, those who lost their dreams or went astray underwent significant changes in their mental outlook.

This must be what they call "appearances reflect the heart."

Without the system, and seeing no hope, even if Magnus hadn't died at Farrell's hands, he probably would have turned into a decrepit old man within a few years.

But now, although Magnus was still old, his spirit and energy were completely different.

"Uncle Magnus, hurry and come in! I'll whip you up a glass of our special Elbaf 'Green Fairy.' You haven't had it in ages, have you?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I just got here, and you're already trying to have me lying on the ground for two days, little Mado?"

Magnus chuckled twice, then pulled Rocks over.

"Let me introduce you. This is my new crewmate I just found. He's still a stinking brat who hasn't even mastered Haki. I reckon I'll be staying in Elbaf for a while, so I'd appreciate your guidance."

"I am not a stinking brat!"

"If you haven't mastered Haki, what else are you but a stinking brat?"

Facing Rocks' retort, Magnus unceremoniously smacked him on the head. To Mado, this was clearly a sign of their close relationship.

"Hehe, if Father knew, he'd be very happy."

Mado smiled sweetly, then peeked inside.

"Oh, right, where are Sister Ripley and the others?"

"Ah, them."

Magnus smiled helplessly. "A while ago, I disbanded my pirate crew, and everyone's gone their separate ways now."

"Compared to you Giants' lifespans, ours are just too short, and the time we can fight is also much shorter."

"As you can see, I'm an old man now."

Magnus lifted his arm. The once robust muscles were now shriveled, and he had lost more than a circle of weight compared to before.

Hearing Magnus's words, Mado couldn't help but lower her head.

"I'm sorry."

"Haha, don't worry about such trivial things. Look, haven't I set sail again?"

Magnus laughed. While his muscles now certainly weren't as strong as in his prime, they were much firmer than they had been a little over a month ago.

Perhaps this was the benefit of increased cellular activity.

"Oh, right."

Looking around and seeing no one else in the tavern, Magnus had Mado lean in and asked conspiratorially, "Little Mado, have you guys chopped any branches from the Adam Tree recently?"

In Elbaf, the Adam Tree was also known as the sacred tree, and it was not to be easily felled.

But there were always exceptions.

For instance, during thunderstorms, if lightning struck and ignited the Adam Tree, the burning section would be cut down to prevent the fire from spreading to other branches.

If one was lucky, some might remain.

"Well..."

Hearing Magnus's question, Mado wore a troubled expression.

"Should I tell him?"

This demeanor was exactly like Mado's father, Baldo.

"Mado, you're getting naughty."

Seeing Mado's reaction, Magnus put on a look of heartbroken disappointment.

"Go on, tell me. What do you want?"

"Hehe, as long as Uncle Magnus has time, you just have to tell me stories about your adventures after you left."

Hearing Mado's request, Magnus pretended to hesitate for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

"Deal!"

And so, Magnus learned from Mado that Elbaf had indeed recently salvaged a batch of Adam Tree branches from a large fire.

Although they were branches, as long as one knew that all of Elbaf was built upon the Adam Tree, they would understand that these "branches" were much thicker in diameter than ordinary century-old trees.

However, knowing that such a batch of Adam wood existed and figuring out how to obtain it were two entirely different levels of difficulty.

After all, the Giants never sold branches of the Adam Tree. Even these salvaged branches were mostly used in their most important annual sacrificial rituals.

Taking them by force was out of the question, unless Magnus wanted to make enemies of all the Giants in Elbaf.

If the Giants had no desires, even Magnus would be powerless.

But Magnus knew what the Giants currently wanted.

And coincidentally, he had a way to help the Giants achieve that wish.

"Haha, anyway, since I've finally made it to Elbaf, I must drink my fill. Little Mado, if the Rainbow Bridge is set up, remember to remind me."

The entire Elbaf was divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower.

The uppermost layer was the Celestial Realm, the middle layer was the Solar Realm, and the lowest layer was the Underworld.

Magnus and the others were now on the lowest level.

Because the Adam Tree's canopy was so dense, it blocked out the sunlight, meaning the Underworld, where they were currently located, had very little plant growth and wasn't suitable for living.

So, the Giants generally lived in the canopy where sunlight could reach, which was called the Overworld.

To get from the Underworld to the Overworld, one needed to take a special Rainbow Bridge.

However, as Magnus had said.

Since they had come all the way to Elbaf, they should definitely have a good drink.

Haste makes waste.

They had managed all these years, so a few more days wouldn't hurt.

"Oh, right."

Remembering something else, Magnus quickly asked, "Little Mado, is Carmelo still in Elbaf?"

The proof that the future Four Emperors remained on this island was Mother Carmelo, a woman who held considerable prestige even among Giants.

However, Magnus had known Carmelo for much longer than the Giants had, and he was well aware of her other side.

"You mean Sister Carmelo? She's still..."

Mado was halfway through her answer when the tavern door was opened again.

A spirited, wild girl walked in.

"Mado, give me a Green Fairy!"

"Coming right up."

Mado nodded quickly and then gestured to Magnus and Rocks.

"Sister Ripley, be careful. There are two younger guests here, and don't go smashing things when you're drunk, or you'll get scolded."

Mado chattered on, not noticing that the Sister Ripley she mentioned froze upon seeing the little people at a nearby table.

Magnus, sitting at the table, saw the girl who burst in and greeted her, "Yo, Ripley, long time no see!"

"Magnus?"

Ripley was stunned when she saw Magnus, and then in the next second, she clenched her fist.

"You old geezer."

"Long time no see, my foot!"

"You promised to let me on your ship when I grew up, and it's been ten years!!!"