Chapter 206: Return to Elbaf: Reuniting the Giant Warriors

“Those two…” Perospero let out a wry smile, shaking his head as he watched them disappear into the distance and set aside the file in his hand.

“In the end, only Mama can decide.” After that quiet voice rang out in the room, everything fell silent.

The ship sped towards Cake Island.

By the time Perospero and the others returned to Cake Island, Karl—under Brogy and Dorry’s guidance—had arrived at the port of Elbaf.

“So this is Elbaf?” Karl eyed the dilapidated harbor, his soul-level question hanging in the air.

The port before them looked like it hadn’t been used in decades. Moss spread everywhere, painting the scene in green.

The town beside the harbor was deserted, not a single soul in sight. Loneliness clung to the empty streets.

“Yeah… It’s been ages since we came back.”

“Kababa!” Longing for his homeland shone in Brogy’s eyes.

Dorry’s eyes grew red-rimmed. “Looks like it really is our fault.”

It was because they both left the island for their duel that the Giant Pirates faded into history. Now even the harbor that once belonged to their crew lay abandoned.

Karl and his group grounded their raft by the shore, hauling it onto land. Brogy led the way inland, heading straight for their first stop—the Warrior Village. Their goal was clear: rebuild the Giant Pirates and let the might of the giants echo through the New World once again.

As they ventured deeper, Karl realized Elbaf deserved its title as the homeland of giants.

Vast plains stretched out all around. Stones towering several meters high studded the landscape, while insects and birds here seemed like oversized versions of those found on any ordinary island. In the distance, the forests rose so tall they could easily reach a hundred meters or more.

It felt like he’d stumbled into the age of cavemen.

“Hey! Who are you people?” A thunderous voice boomed from deep within the towering forest.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Four giants burst out of the trees, stomping straight toward them.

Each wore a hat made from unknown animal pelts and gripped a longsword. Casting dangerous glares at Karl’s group, they looked ready to defend their hunting grounds.

“Wait, is that…?” One of the giants hesitated, staring at Brogy in the distance. Why did he look so much like their former chief?

“Kababa!”

“I’m Brogy—I’ve come home!”

Hearing that familiar voice, the giants hurried over for a closer look. Once they recognized Brogy, they swept him into a bear hug.

“Captain Brogy, you’re finally back!”

Oimo squinted, confused. “And you are…? Oden?”

Kashi laughed aloud. “Hahaha! Oden, it’s been way too long!”

“Kashi! Oimo!” The giants grabbed each other in a group hug, spinning around in tight circles.

Oden had once been the navigator of the Giant Pirates. After Brogy and Dorry left the crew, most members drifted away too.

Many returned home to Elbaf, while only a handful stayed at sea with Jorlul. That’s partly why the Giant Pirates’ strength fell so far.

At their peak, the Giant Pirates had rivaled the world’s top powers—strong enough to go toe-to-toe with even the Rocks Pirates. After all, every giant in the crew was a true warrior of Elbaf, handpicked from all the villages across the island.

“Kababa!”

“So? Feel like heading out to sea again?” Brogy looked at him, hope shining in his eyes.

He wanted to know which of his former comrades still longed for the sea.

Back then, it was the two of them who turned their backs and left everyone else behind.

Oden didn’t hesitate. “Of course, Captain—just say the word!”

“We brothers have been waiting for you both to come back!”

Karl, who’d read the story before, wasn’t nearly as gloomy as they were. He remembered that Hajrudin originally set sail just to search for Dorry and Brogy.

“Lord Oden, is that really Captain Brogy with you?”

Oden slapped his forehead. “How could I forget!”

“Captain Brogy, let me introduce some new faces—these three are the young warriors of Warrior Village: Annabel, Claire, and Eric.”

“Honored to meet Captain Brogy and Captain Dorry!”

The three looked a little timid but couldn’t hide the excitement on their faces—it was like meeting a celebrity.

“And this is…?” Oden pointed to the much shorter Karl.

The Giants did have their own intelligence network, but a village nestled at the island’s edge like this rarely got timely news compared to those deeper inland.

So they had no clue that the newcomer before them was none other than one of the rulers of the New World, Lux D. Karl.

“He’s our friend,” they said.

“If not for his help, the two of us might still be fighting each other,” Dorry admitted with a tinge of emotion.

If Karl hadn’t woken them up, the duel would probably still be dragging on.

They wouldn’t have witnessed the desolation of Elbaf’s harbor, nor learned the news that the Giant Pirates had vanished from the sea.

Coming home was partly an act of atonement.

Giants might be simple, but that didn’t mean they were fools. At first, some doubted Karl’s words, but after seeing Kashi and Oimo at Enies Lobby, most began to believe. Now, faced with Elbaf’s deserted port, guilt crept into their hearts.

“I’m Karl. Pleased to meet all of you.” Karl stepped forward and shook their hands one by one.

“So, what brings you all out here today…?”

Brogy’s eyes drifted past them, peering into the depths of the forest.

“We’re hunting,” Oden replied, his voice heavy. “Things are scarce here. Ever since the Giant Pirates lost to the Rocks Pirates, we’ve lost our main supply line from the sea.”

Elbaf is a massive island. Giants near the shores could still hunt Sea Kings or do a bit of trade with passing merchant ships.

But in the island’s center—the kingdom and its towns—people weren’t so lucky. Every journey to the shore meant carrying huge stores of food and bartering with coastal traders.

Merchants in the New World were all shrewd—trading with the Giants at prices far higher than anywhere else, so even massive amounts of goods brought little in return.

Once, they tried seizing an entire merchant ship. But that just meant no traders came near Elbaf for a long time.

“So what do you use to trade with them?” Karl was still puzzled. How could the Giants, of all people, be so poor?

“This right here.” Oden fished out a chunk of gold the size of a fist from his leather pants.

Karl took it and weighed it in his hands. It had to be at least 50 kilos. “A piece like this ought to be worth forty million Berries.”

“What?” Oden’s roar was thunderstruck.

“But those merchants said it’s only worth four hundred thousand!”

Listening to Oden’s shocked outburst, Karl could only rub his forehead, dark lines forming.