Luffy, Zoro, Nami are deep in the Underworld, Luffy is raising his fist at Loki.
Hajrudin was struck by the Iron Thunder and sent flying, while the giants of the New Giant Warrior Pirates lay sprawled on the ground.
At the Giants' School, Saint Mars and that guy named Saint Killingham are using the Nightmare-Nightmare Fruit to control the children.
As for Loki...
After two brief bursts of full power, coupled with the brutal beating he had received from Gunko and Shamrock, his aura was now extremely weak.
However, Roy believed that with the powerful physique of the Ancient Giant Tribe, coupled with the Mythical Zoan Nidhogg Fruit passed down through generations in Elbaf,
Having broken free from the restraints of the Seastone chains, recovery is only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, deep within the Underworld.
Because he had been tricked, Luffy's Giant Pistol had expanded to its limit, with black and red Conqueror's Haki Inazuma coiling around his fist like countless frenzied snakes.
"Damn it! Loki!"
Luffy's roar echoed through the abyss, and the force of his punch swept up all the rubble and tree root debris on the ground, forming a visible shockwave.
Loki's vertical pupils reflected a fist larger than his head.
He instinctively raised the Iron Thunder, attempting to block it.
But as soon as he raised his arm halfway up, it seemed as if all his strength had been drained away, and it hung limply down.
The force of the punch grazed past his ear.
Behind him, several tree roots thicker than water vats were blasted into dust by the force of the punch, and the wood chips flew in all directions like shrapnel, embedding themselves in the rock wall.
The Treasure Tree Adam behind Loki was affected by the force of the punch, and a crack several meters long appeared on its trunk.
But Loki himself was not hit.
His body slowly leaned back, like a tree uprooted and crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
Luffy was stunned.
He remained in the throwing stance, his fist still suspended in mid-air, his face filled with astonishment.
"Hey--! How did you fall down by yourself! I didn't even hit you!"
Zoro was the first to rush over to check.
He crouched down beside Loki, examined the frozen wound on Loki's chest, and then reached out to check Loki's breathing and pulse, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
"The wound in his chest has reopened. Internal organs are damaged, and he has lost too much blood."
Zoro stood up, his expression grave. "This body has long since reached its limit. It's a miracle that it's lasted this long."
Nami stood not far away, her voice trembling:
"What was with that aura just now?! He clearly looked so strong..."
"A final burst of energy before death."
Zoro said,
"Or rather, he's forcibly propped up by willpower. This man... is no ordinary person."
Luffy's expression slowly changed from surprise to seriousness.
He walked up to Loki, looked down at the giant who was dozens of times larger than himself, and pursed his lips into a thin line.
"Hey, don't die!" Luffy said, "You still owe me news about Shanks."
Hajrudin was helped over by his two giant teammates.
He clutched his abdomen with one hand, gasping for breath with every step, but his eyes sharpened instantly when he saw the unconscious Loki.
"Bring the Seastone chains! Now! Tie him up again!"
Several giants responded and went to pick up the chains that had been untied.
"No."
Luffy stood in their way.
Hajrudin's eyes widened:
"Are you crazy?! He was just about to destroy Elbaf! You heard it with your own ears!"
"He hasn't told me about Shanks yet," Luffy said, his tone unusually calm.
You still believe him?!
Well, how should I put it?
Luffy scratched his head.
"Although he just tricked me."
But I don't think he's a bad person.
Moreover, he definitely knows something about Shanks.
Hajrudin was trembling with rage.
He shoved aside his companion who was supporting him, stood unsteadily in front of Luffy, and glared down at him.
"You're willing to gamble away the entire Elbaf just for a piece of information about a pirate?"
Luffy looked up and met Hajrudin's gaze.
In that instant, Hajrudin saw something he had never seen in the eyes of this jovial boy before.
It was a deep, unwavering seriousness, like the pressure at the deepest part of the sea—unassuming, yet so heavy it was suffocating.
"If he continues to cause trouble, I'll beat him down again and tie him up once more."
Luffy said, word by word,
"But he can't die before he tells me about Shanks."
He paused.
"You're a warrior of Elbaf, you wouldn't lay a hand on the wounded, would you?"
Hajrudin's teeth were grinding together.
He stared at Luffy for a full ten seconds, then, as if using up all his strength, he suddenly turned around and roared at the ship's doctor behind him:
Save him! Don't let him die!
The ship's doctors rushed forward and began treating Loki's wounds.
The Seastone chains hadn't yet bound Loki, but several giant warriors, weapons in hand, stood around him, watching Loki's every move warily.
Luffy squatted down next to Loki and patted his arm.
"Hey, don't die. You still owe me news."
Meanwhile, the tremors coming from the upper realm grew increasingly violent.
Firelight seeped down from the cracks in the cave ceiling, illuminating the Underworld in an intermittent glow.
Burning ashes fell from above, like a black and red snowfall.
Zoro looked up and said, " Luffy, something's happened up there."
Luffy stood up and patted the dirt off his butt:
"Let's go! Let's help!"
He flipped over and jumped onto the giant wolf's back, turning back to look at Hajrudin:
"You've come too? Your companions are still fighting up there."
Hajrudin glanced at the unconscious Loki, then at the firelight above, and gritted his teeth.
He ordered the ship's doctor to stay behind to treat and monitor Loki, while he led the remaining members of the New Giant Warrior Pirates to catch up with Luffy.
The group ran back up the road they had come from.
The giant wolf's four paws darted across the rock face, Luffy sat on its back, the surrounding air grew hotter and hotter, and his nostrils were filled with the smell of burning and blood.
He pulled his Straw Hat hat down low, and his eyes shone frighteningly in the darkness.
"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up--!"
His voice contained no fear, only an urgent, almost overflowing fighting spirit.
When Luffy and his crew appeared at the entrance to the upper realm.
The sight before them stunned everyone.
Black smoke billowed from the direction of the village, obscuring the sun, and flames spread from the Treasure Tree Adam in all directions, making the giant tree look like a torch stuck between heaven and earth.
But what's truly terrifying are the monsters that keep pouring out of the flames.
They varied in size and shape; some resembled spiders with dozens of legs, others looked like half-rotten sea monsters, and still others were simply a cloud of black mist with countless sharp claws extending out.
They crawled out of classroom windows, emerged from the rubble of burned-out buildings, and squeezed out from cracks in the ground, their numbers seemingly inexhaustible.
The giant warriors wielded their swords and axes, hacking and slashing through the horde of monsters.
With each strike, the monster was cleaved in two, but the two halves would turn into black mist upon hitting the ground. The black mist would churn for a few seconds...
The monster reformed, emitting a piercing shriek, and continued to pounce on the nearest living creature.