Clearly, the Giant Tribe-riding Gaban wanted to discuss was completely different from the Giant Tribe-riding Vikengam had mentioned.
After joking around with Vikengam for a bit, Gaban still refused to give up and continued asking, "You're a scholar, and a Celestial Dragon too, so you definitely know more than I do. Master, please enlighten me. Are there any precedents of ordinary humans and members of the Giant Tribe doing that...?"
"You really are a warrior of love, Senior Gaban." Vikengam could not help saying when he saw how unwilling Gaban was to let the matter rest.
"A preacher of love!" Gaban emphasized, then said, "When we began our second voyage, I reshaped my dream."
"Yes, yes, I've heard that dream of yours plenty of times already. Don't say it again." Vikengam cut him off directly.
The so-called second voyage was a term used by the Roger Pirates. It referred to setting out from Lodestar Island once more to search for Final Island.
As for Gaban's reshaped dream, it was great unity among all the races of the world.
As a preacher of love, he wanted to have a passionate romance with beautiful women from every race in the world.
The first time Vikengam heard that dream from Gaban, he felt that Gaban did not belong with the Roger Pirates. He should have been serving Charlotte Linlin.
Those two were practically a perfect match when it came to dreams, weren't they?
"Once we find Final Island and unravel all the mysteries, you can go to Cake Island and form a supergroup with Charlotte Linlin," Vikengam suggested.
"Hahahahaha, I have considered that, but given Linlin's terrible reputation among the Giant Tribe, I'd be finished if I hung around with her..." Gaban laughed heartily.
Seeing the topic get dragged back to the Giant Tribe by this guy again, Vikengam was speechless. In the end, he sighed and said, "Fine, fine. Since you care so much, I'll tell you. Humans really can form families with members of the Giant Tribe. As I recall, some old pervert had a child with an especially beautiful Giant Tribe woman and lived happily ever after..."
"Hey!" Gaban suddenly slapped Vikengam on the shoulder and asked excitedly, "Master, you're not lying to me, are you?"
"I swear, everything I said is true," Vikengam declared righteously.
The person I was talking about was you, you bastard!
Seeing how certain Vikengam sounded, Gaban mostly believed him. Excited yet sentimental, he murmured, "Life really is miraculous... That's why I love this world."
"Life really is miraculous." Vikengam shot him a sidelong glance and mocked him.
Who knew how many lives your bullet had fought through to swim across that long passage and find that massive egg.
Just thinking about it was unbelievable, wasn't it?
After getting a satisfactory answer from Vikengam, Gaban stopped pestering him and said with a smile, "All right, time for today's special training!"
"We're not forging iron first today?" Vikengam asked in surprise.
Aside from times like in Alabasta, when there were many important matters to handle, Vikengam persisted in training every day.
And aboard the Roger Pirates, he received exceptionally good treatment. As long as he asked, his companions rarely refused his requests.
For example, the ship's three greats—Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban—took turns training Vikengam.
Not only did they teach Vikengam how to develop his Haki more deeply, but they also taught him all sorts of combat techniques, awareness, reactions, and more. Every so often, they would take turns sparring with Vikengam in real combat drills.
That was why, over the past two years, Vikengam's strength had soared.
Haki training was a gradual process that required long-term accumulation. There was no need to say more about that. Most notably, his Sharingan had already evolved to Three-Tomoe.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan gave him sharper dynamic vision, and its effects were reflected in Vikengam himself as well. As a Cat-Cat Fruit user, his neural reactions had already improved tremendously. Now, paired with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, it was like adding wings to a tiger.
At the same time, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan further enhanced Vikengam's learning ability. Whether he could master them or not, every time they fought, he recorded Roger and the others' combat stances in his Sharingan, then analyzed and simulated them over and over.
He had quite the air of Konoha's number one technician. It was just that what he copied was not ninjutsu.
On deck, Gaban was giving Vikengam special training.
Rayleigh sat beneath the mast, sipping from a bottle of liquor. Intelligence officer Spencer emerged from the cabin with a Den Den Mushi in hand and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"There's news," Spencer called out.
"Oh? What progress?" Roger, who had been leaning against the railing and staring boredly at the sea, immediately perked up and turned around to ask.
As the Roger Pirates' intelligence officer, Spencer was quite capable. He had extensive connections in the Underworld and maintained steady contact with many intelligence organizations. He had previously gathered many clues about ancient ruins, Poneglyphs, and related matters from all over the world.
"World Destroyer Byrnndi World carried out massive raids on Falina Island and destroyed half of the Pandel Kingdom. Rumor has it that they seem to have seized a Poneglyph there," Spencer said, exhaling smoke.
Byrnndi World.
That guy was a ruthless figure too. He simply had not taken part in the great melee at God Valley before.
Although he had not gone to God Valley for the ultimate showdown, that did not mean he was not strong enough. He was probably tied up with something, or perhaps he just was not interested.
In fact, he was a famous heavyweight among pirates. Rumor had it that Rocks once invited him, but he refused.
Before Whitebeard joined Rocks' crew, the two had clashed many times in the New World. That showed what level he was at.
"World?" Roger smacked his lips. "The last time we saw him was five years ago, wasn't it?"
Rayleigh also said with feeling, "A terrifying guy... a troublesome opponent."
Clearly, Roger's crew had clashed with World before as well.
That Paramecia More-More Fruit alone was already absurdly overpowered!
This ability could increase an object's speed and size, and it could partially be used on the user as well.
Byrnndi World would casually boost himself to a hundred times speed. With his strength, adding a hundredfold speed was simply outrageous.
Still, Vikengam always felt that the so-called hundredfold speed was probably bragging. His ability might be developed to that level, but his physical reaction speed might not be able to keep up.
Unlike most pirates, Byrnndi World held strong anti-World Government sentiments. He actively hunted Marine and World Government fleets, even attacking Marine bases and World Government strongholds.
For that reason, the World Government considered him an enormous threat. It strictly ordered the Marines and Cipher Pol to put aside their internal conflicts when dealing with him, cooperate fully, and eliminate him as quickly as possible.
Rumor had it that he had spent the last few years raiding and plundering to gather enough money to build a super cannon.
Then, with his ability, he could blast straight through the Red Line in a single shot, perhaps even destroy the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"Hey, Gaban, is Falina Island far from us?" After thinking for a while, Roger called out to Gaban, who was training Vikengam.
Although he did not really want to provoke a lunatic like World, there was no helping it for the sake of the Poneglyph.
Without even turning around, Gaban said, "A little far. It's near Spring Queen Island, on another route."
Hearing that, Roger nodded, then looked at Spencer and said, "Keep tracking World's movements. Once we come down from Sky Island, we'll go rob him of the Poneglyph!"
Before you continue