"Sherwin-nii, it's another giant uncle, meow!"
The investigation team followed behind Brogy and arrived at the battlefield where the two giants usually fought. There they saw Dorry, who had a long beard and held a massive greatsword.
"The reason they've been missing for a hundred years… could it be because they've been fighting here this whole time?" Haibara Meow looked at the two giants already clashing fiercely and couldn't help but complain, "Are these two giants just idiots, meow?"
"To be precise, most of the giant tribe are like this. To them, a warrior's honor is above everything else. On top of that, their lifespan is three times that of humans, so fighting the same battle for a hundred years isn't all that strange for giants… probably."
As Sherwin explained, his eyes never left the two giants' battle. At the same time, he used Observation Haki to sense their presence.
Of course, the power of giants was formidable. With just their massive bodies alone, even an ordinary sword swing carried destructive force on par with Sherwin's Rupture of the Bad Heavens, and its area of destruction was even larger.
But…
It didn't seem that strong.
Because if you stripped away the destructive force that came with sheer size, the fight between Dorry and Brogy didn't seem to have anything special about it.
In simple terms… they didn't seem to know Haki. Whether Armament or Conqueror's, Sherwin didn't sense either from them. Observation was harder to judge, but judging by their brawler-like way of fighting, they probably didn't have that either.
Dorry and Brogy had once been captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates. Their strength in Elbaf was undoubtedly at the top tier. To say they didn't even know of Haki's existence seemed far too unlikely.
Unless… there really was a version update they missed, so the two of them simply didn't have Haki implemented yet?
As for how Brogy in the manga was so easily taken down by Mister 3…
That was only because he had just fought two rounds against Dorry in a short span of time, and Mister 3 also took advantage of a sneak attack…
Alright, even Sherwin couldn't keep making excuses. This was just like "Shanks losing his arm" or "Kuina's death" — all part of the great unsolved mysteries of the One Piece world.
Maybe those two really just didn't know Haki…
Sherwin gave up on thinking about it.
After Dorry and Brogy exchanged blows for about ten minutes, they nearly struck each other at the same time, and then the two giants collapsed with a thunderous crash, shaking the entire ground.
"The seventy-one thousand two hundred and eighty-third battle…"
"…Seventy-one thousand two hundred and eighty-three…"
"Draw!" ×2
"Gababababababa! Dorry! Today several adorable little guests have come to the island!"
"Giagiagiagiagia! You mean those Felynes over there? They really are adorable!"
The two giants lay on the ground, laughing as they spoke.
From their auras, it was clear they still had the stamina to keep fighting. It seemed that although they fought with lethal intent, they weren't actually trying to kill each other; they were holding back.
Which made sense. After all, they were fellow countrymen and old friends, partners who had once sailed the seas together. No matter how much battle mania they had, it was impossible that every fight truly had to end with them exhausting themselves completely.
But thinking about it that way… didn't that just make Mister 3's credibility rise even higher?No, no, he couldn't keep dwelling on things that just made his brain itch.
Sherwin shook his head and led the cats forward.
"Have you two finished your fight? If you don't mind, would you like to try some of the cooking from our Felyne Restaurant?"
"Giagiagiagiagia! Of course not a problem," Dorry sat up, "Brogy, it's been a long time since we last ate together, hasn't it?"
"About fifteen years? Or twenty? The last one who treated us… I think it was some red-haired brat." Brogy tried to recall, then quickly tossed the thought aside and turned to ask, "By the way, do you have any booze?"
"We run a restaurant — of course we have booze," Sherwin grinned. "In fact, we've got all the famous brews from across the Four Seas."
"Gababababababa! That's wonderful! We haven't had a drink in so long!"
With the help of the two giants, the Dodo Advance was directly carried onto the island. Sherwin and the cats prepared a lavish feast for them, which of course included Klee Meow's signature fried fish.
"Giagiagiagiagia! So cooking in the outside world has become this interesting, has it?"
Dorry laughed heartily as he ate the food the cats had made.
"No, this is our restaurant's signature dish. Only little Klee can perfectly make this exclusive delicacy." Sherwin's face was full of pride.
The giants naturally had bold and hearty personalities. With good wine, delicious food, and the help of the adorable cats, they quickly became familiar with Sherwin and his group.
In the end, Sherwin still couldn't resist his curiosity and asked them about Haki.
"Haki, you mean?" Brogy downed the liquor in his barrel, wiped his mouth, and then replied, "Of course we can use that. But for us giants, such power isn't really a necessity…"
With Brogy and Dorry taking turns to explain, Sherwin finally understood why they didn't use Haki in battle.
For giants of their size, trying to harden their entire body with Armament Haki like normal people would require an enormous amount of Haki. Even gathering Haki onto a weapon or fist and maintaining it was much harder for them compared to ordinary people.
Besides, since giants already possessed overwhelming physical strength, their normal attacks were hard to withstand even if an opponent used Haki. In most situations, whether they used Haki or not didn't really make much difference to them.
This was actually easy to understand—just like how many NBA stars with top-tier talent get lazy about training.
With their physical gifts alone, they could dominate the court, so why bother honing their technique so much? Even with ugly movements, some people could still become the GOAT, right?
Of course, for powerful giants like Dorry and Brogy, it wasn't that they couldn't use Haki. It was just that the way giants used Haki was different from ordinary people. They were more accustomed to gathering Haki and then unleashing it all in a single burst…
Just like the "Elbaf Spear" shown in the manga.
As for Observation Haki, given the giants' tendency to get carried away the moment they fought, even if they awakened it, they rarely used it consciously in battle.
Most of the time it only activated passively when they sensed danger—basically no different from battle instinct or a "sixth sense" type of ability.
Well…
That explanation was barely acceptable. After all, Little Oars Jr. in the manga never used Armament Haki either, so the reason was probably the same as with other giants.
As for Kaido and Big Mom, who were about the size of small giants yet could still casually use full-body Armament Haki—that was because they were Yonko, some of the strongest beings in the world. Naturally, they couldn't be compared to ordinary giants.
And as for Brogy later being easily suppressed by Mr. 3 and not using Armament Haki against the wax ability—at this point, that hadn't happened yet. There might have been other reasons that weren't shown in the manga.
Not wanting to overload his brain, Sherwin wisely didn't press further. Instead, he followed the giants' explanation and asked:
"That Elbaf Spear… can I learn it?"
After all, it was a technique even the Yonko used, so naturally Sherwin was interested.
And it didn't seem like the giants had any intention of keeping it secret. Dorry and Brogy agreed to Sherwin's request without hesitation…
Back when Big Mom was in Elbaf, it also seemed like she learned this move casually.
Then Sherwin realized—the so-called Elbaf Spear wasn't really some kind of profound battle technique. At its core, it wasn't all that different from ranged moves like Flying Slash, Shigan, or Rankyaku.
The reason it looked so powerful was simply because its users were either giants, or beings with equally massive physiques like Big Mom and Kaido—who were also among the strongest in the world.
Of course, the Elbaf Spear had its own strengths. For example, it made it easier to concentrate power, giving it greater explosive force and penetration. Its destructive power was higher than a typical Flying Slash, and the attack traveled farther.
But if you compared the Elbaf Spear to Mihawk's slashes, it wasn't really much at all. In the end, what truly mattered was the strength of the one using it.
Still, since it was a fairly powerful technique, Sherwin naturally spent some time learning it and even tried incorporating it into his own moves.
And during the days Sherwin and Seijuro Meow, along with the other fighters, were practicing the Elbaf Spear, he also managed to fully map out Little Garden, helped Haibara Meow gather enough materials, and even persuaded Dorry and Brogy to donate some of their blood to the little kitten at her request.
Then…
"Why has it been so many days, and the Log Pose still hasn't recorded the magnetic field for the next island?"
Sherwin looked at the Log Pose, which was still spinning randomly even after several days, and went to ask the two giants about it.
"Didn't Brogy tell you? This island takes a whole year to complete its recording," Dorry replied. "Most of the skeletons you see scattered around the island are people who died while waiting for it."
"But with your strength, staying here for a year won't be dangerous at all. So relax and enjoy yourselves here! GiaGiaGiaGiaGia!" Dorry finished with a booming laugh.
"Uh…"
Sherwin finally remembered that this was indeed the case.
In the original manga, Luffy's crew only managed to leave early because they seized a Log Pose from Mr. 3 and the others. But where were they supposed to find Baroque Works members now to steal a Log Pose from?
"Sherwin-nii——!"
Just as Sherwin was wondering if he should ask Klee Meow to try her luck, the little doll ran out from the forest. Behind her followed a tall and familiar figure…
"Robin-neesan came to play with us, meow!"
Sherwin: "…"
So there really was a Baroque Works member coming over to deliver a Log Pose!