"So, your ancient giant bloodline is fake?"
Kaido stared at Loki on the ground in shock, never expecting this thick-browed, honest-looking guy to be so cunning.
But Loki, still lying down, roared in fury, "Of course it's real! I just have a congenital condition—how could my bloodline be fake? If I hadn't awakened my ancestors' bloodline, how could I possess Conqueror's Haki? How could I have this level of strength? How could I break the lifespan limit of a giant dwarf?"
Kaido raised an eyebrow, then grabbed Loki by the neck.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
"You still dare to raise your voice in front of me?"
The city of Odin echoed with the agonized screams of the Giant King Loki.
...
A short while later, Kaido walked out of the Giant King's castle, dragging Loki—who was covered in lumps, his cheeks swollen like steamed buns—like a dead dog, with Linlin by his side.
Just outside the city, they saw Sanji stepping through the air with Moon Walk, carrying a stone tablet in his hand.
Sanji looked somewhat reluctant—he had been summoned here by Pudding to deliver a message to Kaido.
Landing, Sanji tossed the tablet toward Kaido and said flatly.
"Pudding found your wife's remains. She's already taken them to the ship."
"What?"
Kaido shuddered, carelessly dropping Loki—who face-planted into the dirt—and carefully caught the tablet.
When he saw the familiar inscription on it, tears instantly streamed down his face.
"Beloved Wife Filina's Grave."
"Filina… I'm sorry you suffered all these years. Let's go home now."
Kaido gently traced the engraved words, his eyes filled with deep longing.
Sanji silently watched him for a moment before turning and leaping into the air, using Moon Walk to head back to the port.
Pudding was still waiting for him there.
Though Elbaf was known as the Giant Kingdom, its population didn't even reach a thousand.
After Kaido and Linlin defeated every giant in Elbaf, the only ones who escaped were Hajrudin and a few dozen of his clansmen, who had fled at the first sign of trouble.
The entire population of Elbaf, including the elderly and children, totaling six hundred and thirty-seven people, were all captured.
Among them, less than two hundred could qualify as giant warriors to be enlisted in the Giant Army.
However, Linlin's mood improved greatly when she considered that the Marine Headquarters only had about a dozen giants.
She was especially pleased when she saw Loki, who was as limp as a pile of mud.
"This giant kid is quite strong. Once we get back to Tottoland, we'll have Caesar modify his memories. Since he likes Lola, we'll just have Lola marry him."
Transporting the bound giants from Elbaf would take a considerable amount of time.
The pirates of the Beast God Pirates were completely overwhelmed, collapsing one after another from exhaustion.
In the end, Kaido, Linlin, Sanji, and the others had to step in personally, bundling up each giant and tossing them onto the ships.
...
On Sweet Island, Crocodile had a dark expression as he carried the blood-soaked Doflamingo in his arms, following behind Gin.
In Gin's hand was none other than the severed head of Golden Axe.
Activating his decent Observation Haki, Gin quickly arrived near the underground prison where they had once stayed.
Near the collapsed prison walls lay a towering, muscular man about five meters tall.
Gin approached curiously and lifted the man's eyelids.
"This guy's not dead yet—still has a faint breath. If Boss Caesar were here, just a drop of blood could save him."
Doflamingo, cradled like a princess in Crocodile's arms, hadn't passed out.
Using his String-String Fruit abilities, he managed to perform some emergency first aid on himself, realigning his torn muscles, skin, and broken bones before stitching them up.
Only then did he have the leisure to examine the giant on the ground.
When he noticed the massive, gleaming silver battle-axe still embedded deep in the man's thigh, Doflamingo exclaimed in surprise:
"This must be Golden Axe's younger brother, Silver Axe Miles—another top-tier fighter from the first sequence."
Crocodile scoffed. "Looks like someone sent him flying here from a great distance with brute force. Is there someone that strong on this island? The Barbarossa brothers aren't here, are they?"
Gin smirked and kicked Silver Axe.
"Didn't you see that ice dragon? That was obviously that ice guy. As for the other one, it must be that senile Redfield."
Crocodile stiffened, his breath hitching as he rasped, "Aokiji? Redfield? Why would they willingly work for Caesar?"
Doflamingo, still lying in Crocodile's arms, laughed weirdly.
"Fufufufu, you stayed too, didn't you? I told you—the boss is like a powerful magnet, drawing people to him.
"Also, Crocodile, that thing of yours is too hard. It's poking me."
Gin gave Crocodile a strange look, making his face flush red.
Crocodile immediately dropped Doflamingo to the ground.
Before he could even scold him, Doflamingo yelped in pain and added.
"Ouch! What the hell, you damn Crocodile! I'm seriously injured! Cough... I meant your golden hook—it's too hard and poking me."
Gin hoisted Silver Axe up and leaped into the prison, opening a cell door and tossing him inside.
He rummaged through the corners for chains and shackles, hastily locking them onto the unconscious giant.
When he returned to the surface, he found Doflamingo grinning cheekily with an arm slung over Crocodile's shoulder.
Gin blinked.
"High compatibility, huh?"
Gin gave Doflamingo and Crocodile a thumbs-up.
Then, still holding Golden Axe's head, he pulled out a small Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
"Pururu pururu."
The Den Den Mushi rang for a while before someone picked up.
The voice that came through was unexpectedly Moria's.
"What is it?" Moria's voice sounded weak, clearly not in the mood to deal with Gin.
Gin didn't mind at all and got straight to the point.
"Has Katakuri returned? Where's his sister with the Mirror-Mirror Fruit? Have her use her ability to bring us back. Doflamingo is injured and can't fly back. If that's not possible, send a ship to pick us up."
"Kishishishi, King just brought Katakuri and Yamato back. Doctors are already treating them—they look pretty bad."
Gin frowned and snapped, "Enough nonsense! Did you hear me or not? Go find someone! Keep yapping, and tomorrow's training doubles!"
...
On Whole Cake Island, Moria shuddered and immediately transformed into his Shadow Doppelganger, darting to the entrance of a large compound.
Standing guard at the gate were several wary men and women—some of Linlin's adopted children.
Moria also spotted Pica.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" a woman demanded, eyeing Moria.
"Kishishishi, relax. I'm Gecko Moria, also a member of the Beast God Pirates. I—"
Before Moria could finish, King's voice rang out from inside.
"Let him in!"