The moment the two giants stood up, everyone spotted them. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji all dragged their prey toward the giants, planning to watch the excitement.
Near the volcano, Liu Qing was standing atop a large tree. The volcano was not supposed to erupt for another day, but to leave this place sooner, Liu Qing had used Chakra to trigger it early, bringing the two together for their battle so he could learn Hakoku from them.
Just as the two were about to attack, Liu Qing instantly appeared on Dorry's head and asked them, "What are you fighting for? Hasn't a hundred years been enough? Have you thought about your kingdom? I heard there are barely any giants left in Elbaf. All of this happened because you left. Is your reason for fighting more important than your own people?"
Upon hearing this news, Dorry and Brogy immediately lowered their shields and weapons and sat down. At the same time, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji arrived.
Luffy spotted Liu Qing from a distance, waved at him, and shouted, "Hey, Liu Qing! What are you doing here? Haha! I brought some prey!"
Liu Qing climbed down from Dorry and sat down to grill meat with Luffy and the others who had rushed over.
Dorry asked, "Kid, what do you mean there aren't many people left in our kingdom?"
"My name is Liu Qing, and these are my captain and crewmates." Liu Qing introduced them first, then continued, "I don't know the details either. I only heard that several decades ago, an eight-year-old child took on all of Elbaf alone. That battle left countless dead and wounded. These days, you hardly see any members of the Giant Tribe."
Brogy sighed and looked at Dorry. "Why did we start fighting in the first place? Do you remember?"
Dorry was speechless. "Like hell I remember. It was over a hundred years ago. Who could remember that? Maybe it was for honor. I've really forgotten."
"Ah, yeah. I've forgotten too. Let's go back to Elbaf tomorrow, find our remaining people, and form a new Giant Warrior Pirates," Brogy said.
"That's more like it. What's the point of staying here fighting? This isn't a hundred years ago anymore. Your strength would only rank somewhere in the middle out on the seas now. You'd be better off going home and protecting your people," Liu Qing said with relief.
After Luffy and the others spent some time persuading them, the two giants finally made up as they ate and chatted.
"Thank you for bringing us to our senses. We understand our mistake now. We'll head for Elbaf tomorrow. We just don't know whether anyone still remembers us," the two said together.
"Hey, don't thank us just yet. I'd like to learn your Giant Tribe's secret technique, Hakoku. Could you teach me?" Liu Qing asked outright without any embarrassment.
"Hakoku? We can teach you if you want to learn, but our Hakoku isn't the complete version. Neither of us has Conqueror's Haki, so our version only has the technique for exerting force. Do you still want to learn?" Dorry said.
Liu Qing looked excited. He had Conqueror's Haki. He immediately nodded. "I do! I have Conqueror's Haki. Once I have the technique for exerting force, I'll be able to use it straight away. Please teach me, big brothers."
"In that case, watch for yourself. We can only use it twice at most before we're exhausted, and there are no books recording Hakoku. You only have two chances. If you don't grasp the technique for exerting force, you'll have to wait a few days for us to recover before we can use it again." Dorry's expression was serious.
"Twice? That's enough. Thank you both for granting my request." Liu Qing cupped his fist in salute.
The two giants slowly rose from the ground. Their bodies were so enormous that the whole world seemed to tremble slightly as they stood.
They exchanged a glance without many words. A simple nod conveyed their understanding and resolve.
Then each reached down to pick up his weapon from the ground, and they crossed the ends of their weapons.
The moment their weapons met, a powerful force erupted through their arms. It surged through their muscles like a raging torrent, making their arms tremble slightly.
Dense Armament Haki swirled like a vortex where their weapons crossed, with threads of black lightning flickering through it from time to time.
As time passed, that power continued to build, like a spring compressed to its limit, waiting for the moment to release completely.
Finally, when their power reached its peak, they roared in unison, "Hakoku!"
Their roar exploded like thunder over the sea, deafeningly loud.
With that roar, their arms swung rapidly like windmills, driving their weapons forward in a mighty slash.
In an instant, an enormous black sphere tinged with purple shot straight toward the sea like a cannonball.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of earth-shattering explosions rang out as the seawater was forcibly torn apart by what seemed like an invisible hand, forming a trench whose bottom could not be seen.
The enormous cavity was like a bottomless black hole. The seawater within it vanished without a trace in an instant, as though utterly devoured by that power.
Yet this was only the beginning.
Immediately afterward, an even more terrifying energy erupted from the cavity like a volcano, sweeping in every direction with world-destroying force.
Even Luffy and the others, far away on the island, felt the tremendous impact. That force was like a gale, almost blowing them off their feet.
After unleashing Hakoku, the two giants trembled slightly, their breathing noticeably uneven. They took several deep breaths to settle the power surging within them, then turned to look at Liu Qing.
Dorry said, "Liu Qing, lad, did you see that Hakoku clearly? If you still haven't understood it, we can demonstrate it again."
The corners of Liu Qing's mouth lifted slightly into a confident smile as he answered, "There's no need, big brothers. I've more or less learned it already."
At that, a hint of doubt appeared on Brogy's face. He stared at Liu Qing as though trying to find some clue in his expression. "Are you sure? You can learn Hakoku after seeing it just once?"
Seeing this, Liu Qing patted his chest and assured them, "Don't worry, big brothers. I may like joking around sometimes, but I'd never boast about something like this."
"In that case, we won't demonstrate it again. We hadn't used it in a hundred years, and using it once nearly killed these old bones. We won't keep you here any longer," Dorry said wearily.
Brogy added, "Go on ahead. After we rest a little, we'll start building a raft. We'll rest overnight and return to the Giant Kingdom tomorrow, so we won't keep you here."
To express his gratitude to them, Liu Qing said, "To thank you for teaching me Hakoku, leave your ship to me. Just rest easy today and recover your strength, so you won't be unable to fight back if you run into trouble at sea."
As he spoke, Liu Qing formed a hundred-meter Chakra Sword in his hand and cut down a swath of trees in the direction they had just unleashed Hakoku, leaving an open space.
Then he used Wood Release to create a ship large enough to hold four giants. "Big brothers, this ship is yours. It's definitely a hundred times sturdier than a raft made from trees."
"I'll leave the ship here. We'll be going now. Goodbye." Liu Qing waved.
"Let's go, Luffy. Nami and the others are still waiting for us to bring back food."
Before long, everyone returned to the Going Merry. Liu Qing stood on deck and looked toward the cabin, silently rejoicing. Good thing Nami wasn't left alone in the forest and bitten by a poisonous insect like in the original story.
Just then, the cabin door suddenly opened, and Nami hurried out. She shouted anxiously, "Hurry up and get the meat ready and loaded aboard! We need to get out of this damned place right away! This island is too dangerous. There are poisonous insects everywhere. We don't have a ship's doctor, either. If someone gets bitten by a poisonous insect, we'll be in serious trouble. We won't have any way to treat them, and all they can do is wait to die! We can eat after we leave. Stop dawdling, everyone, and get moving!"
Hearing how serious Nami sounded, the others' playful mood instantly turned solemn. They realized the situation really was critical and sprang into action, swiftly packing up the dinosaur meat according to their assigned tasks and preparing to load it aboard.
After a full hour of work, everything was finally ready. The Going Merry slowly sailed away from the Ancient Island, like an elderly man bidding farewell to his familiar hometown. Yet in this seemingly peaceful moment of departure, everyone overlooked one tiny detail-a poisonous insect the size of a sesame seed was slowly crawling toward Nami's bedroom.
The poisonous insect moved extremely slowly, inching its body along the edge of the deck.
Time ticked by, and half a day had passed since the Going Merry left the Ancient Island. Night fell, stars dotted the sky, and moonlight spilled over the calm sea in a silvery sheen. The Going Merry sailed slowly through the quiet night, and those aboard began to enjoy this rare moment of peace.
On deck, everyone sat together, eating delicious grilled meat and drinking rich, mellow wine. Laughter and cheerful voices rose one after another as they enjoyed the moment to the fullest. Yet amid this lively atmosphere, the poisonous insect continued silently toward Nami's bedroom, its destination unchanged.
Finally, after eating and drinking their fill and fooling around for a while, everyone returned to their own rooms to rest. The lights on deck gradually went out, leaving only the moonlight and the sound of the waves.
Before you continue