Heading to Elbaf

"This was still too slow."

Kaya walked down the streets of Pirate Island, ignoring the strange looks from the other pirates as he muttered to himself.

Too slow! The number of Quincy was growing far too slowly! If he made them all by himself, when would the Quincy banner fly across the entire sea?

The farther-reaching the influence, the more the power of the Quincy encroached upon the world, and only then would that power swell.

It seemed he needed to be more flexible...

"Yo, Kaya!"

Hearing someone call him, Kaya raised his head.

Ahead stood a man wearing a black coat over his bare torso. His wild blue-and-white hair stood straight up, and a lightning-shaped mark ran down the left side of his face.

Rocks D. Xebec, the boss of Hachinosu.

"Rocks?" Kaya's eyes flickered as he noticed the rapier called Eclipse at Rocks's waist. "What's this? You look like you're heading out."

"Haha! You know me well!" Rocks chuckled. "I'm going to Elbaf. How about it? Want to come with me?"

"Have Roger and the others been staying at Shakky's bar all this time?" Kaya asked instead of answering directly.

"Don't worry, Shakky's fine. That bastard Roger already sailed off. He said he still planned to visit Lodestar Island." Rocks walked over and said mockingly, "Well? Even after you told him, he still wants to go. Isn't Roger an idiot?"

"I'm not like you. I wouldn't worry about Shakky." Kaya glanced at him. "When are we leaving?"

"Now!!"

Standing at the bow of the pirate ship called Rocks Fury, Kaya left Hachinosu behind.

Most of the others hadn't come along on this trip. All of them had gone to Elbaf with Rocks a few times, more or less, and could guess what he was after, so they had naturally lost interest.

The ship was being manned by a few small fry now. Minor pirates didn't dare refuse to come.

"What kind of man is the giant king?" Kaya asked.

"Just a coward who clings to life and fears death. That weak personality of his doesn't deserve a body as powerful as his!" Rocks said bluntly.

"I heard he's one of the only men on this sea whose strength is nearly equal to yours." Kaya was still more interested in combat strength.

"Heh heh heh, he's a long way off!" Rocks gave a casual smile and didn't go into detail.

Kaya glanced at Rocks and suddenly remembered that this was probably his last visit to Elbaf.

At this meeting, Harald would refuse Rocks again and agree to kill him for the World Government in exchange for Elbaf joining it.

Rocks would be furious, but Harald would remain resolute. And so the two would part ways.

It had been sixteen years since Rocks's debut battle, when he had stormed the Holy Land alone, kidnapped five kings, killed a Marine Admiral, and then unexpectedly met Harald.

Kaya knew exactly how Rocks would end.

He also understood what kind of man Harald was—the man some manga readers called another Kozuki Oden.

Unlike a true villain like Rocks, Harald was a wise king who devoted himself to changing the world's image of the giant race as the embodiment of evil and served his country and people wholeheartedly.

Because of that, Harald was destined never to share Rocks's ambitions.

For no other reason than that the burdens the two carried had been different from the start.

Harald acted for his people; Rocks acted for himself.

Yet a man like Harald, living in a world like this, was instead the odd one out.

Rocks had less than a year left to live.

The God Valley Incident, which Shakky would later set off... that would be where Rocks met his end.

A great figure like Rocks, after being controlled by Imu, would in the end have to beg Roger and Garp through his tears to kill him. His ending was tragic to the extreme.

"Rocks, you'll never become King of the World," Kaya suddenly said.

On the deck, where the damp sea breeze drifted, the two men stood facing each other at the bow. No matter how the waves surged and broke around them, they couldn't affect the pair.

An interested look appeared on Rocks's face, but before he could say anything, Kaya spoke again.

"I'm the one who'll become King of the World!"

Standing before Rocks in an era that belonged to him, Kaya made his declaration without hesitation.

Rocks burst out laughing, his laughter utterly carefree as it echoed across the world around them and lingered for a long time.

"Good! Fantastic! That's how it should be, Kaya! If that old bastard Harald thought the same way you do, the three of us alone could turn this world upside down!!!"

Elbaf [Underworld]

Terrifying black-and-red currents of electricity ravaged the land! The sky had long since been split apart by their tangible auras, shattering into several pieces.

The collision of their powerful Haki formed shockwaves that stripped away layer after layer of earth!

Trees, stones... everything flew through the air. Ice and snow swept up in the storm, surging like choppy waves.

The vast forest had been utterly destroyed by that overwhelming force. The beasts that lived there fled in panic, knowing that even a moment's delay would leave them sliced to pieces by the stray sword energy.

At this moment, with this hellish scene unfolding, the name "Underworld" truly lived up to its reputation!

"Waaahhh!!"

Aside from the two locked in fierce combat, the spectators could no longer stay on their feet and were nearly blown into the sky.

One child tried to cling to a tree, but the sturdy trunk didn't last half a second before snapping clean through.

Only after they had retreated an unknown distance, so far that they could no longer see the battlefield at all, did the world-shattering commotion finally subside.

"Honestly, why did they suddenly start fighting again?! Damn it! They won't even let me watch!"

Loki sat on the ground with his arms folded, fuming.

He had been thrilled to see Rocks arrive and had planned to pester him again to take him aboard his ship.

But afterward, somehow, his dad Harald had suddenly started fighting Rocks.

"You're... Loki?"

Huh?! What was that voice?!

Loki suddenly heard someone call him. He turned his head from side to side, then looked in front and behind him, but couldn't find anyone.

He suddenly realized something and looked down, finally spotting a tiny person standing at his feet.

"You... did you come with Rocks? You're from outside!" Realization dawned, and his face lit up with delight. He flopped onto the ground and brought his head closer.

The difference in their sizes was so enormous that Loki's head alone, lying sideways, was nearly as large as the walls of a normal human kingdom.

"Yes." Kaya quietly stepped back a few paces to avoid the hot breath from Loki's mouth and nose.

Loki had bandages covering his eyes, a braid hanging down each side of his face, and two black horns growing from his head. He also wore a wide-brimmed helmet with gold buttons.

He looked enormous, but judging by his appearance, he was simply a child magnified countless times over.

"Who are you? When Rocks came here a few years ago, he didn't seem to have you with him, did he? Did you join recently? Why didn't the others come? How long is he staying this time? Tell him for me to take me aboard! If you agree, I can do you a favor!"

The brat Loki had probably been cooped up for too long. Now that he had finally found someone to speak his mind to, he rattled off a whole string of words in one breath.

Kaya knew that although the guy looked big, mentally, he was still just a child.

Loki was unhappy staying in Elbaf, and having met people from outside, he naturally wanted to go out and have adventures.

Faced with the overly excited Loki, Kaya gave a small smile. "You want to go to sea? Why not? Just join my side."

"Okay! It's a deal!" Loki said loudly.