Mally shook his head helplessly.
"This isn't somewhere you'd want to stay for long." He pointed at the distant wasteland surrounded by giant trees and volcanoes. "It's actually the dueling ground for me and another man. We agreed that whoever wins gets to leave."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What about the loser?"
"The loser at least has a chance to survive. Anyone else wouldn't last on this island." Mally paused, an indefinable weariness creeping into his voice. "The problem is, we've been fighting for almost a hundred years, and we still haven't settled who's stronger."
Luffy froze, forgetting even to swallow the food in his mouth.
"Almost a hundred years? Do you fight every day?"
"Not every day," Mally answered seriously. "But whenever the volcano gives the signal, the duel has to continue. We're evenly matched, and neither of us can overpower the other. So even now, we're still tied."
After hearing that, Naruto actually laughed.
The rules on this island were absurd beyond belief. Ordinary people who came here first had to face dinosaurs, then shortages of food and water, and finally wait a whole year for their Log Pose to record the island's magnetic field. Yet the island's most reliable entertainment turned out to be two giants having another round of their century-long duel every few days.
More importantly, frightening as their battles looked, they hadn't yet driven the situation beyond control. Neither would immediately fall if he lost, and winning would only earn him the right to leave. At least Naruto and the others didn't have to worry about the giants suddenly treating them as enemies and turning them into the island's newest fossils with a single slap.
"Your rules are pretty interesting," Naruto said, folding his arms. "The time commitment's a little steep, though. Most people