The sheer force of the clash sent tremors through the entire Little Garden.
A volcanic eruption thundered across the island, the explosions echoing like celebratory cannon fire.
Billowing ash surged into the sky, gradually obscuring most of the sunlight beyond the clouds.
Darkness loomed over the island.
At the epicenter of the massive shockwave, Dorry's sword arm bulged with veins, a clear sign of the immense power coursing through his body.
He lowered his gaze in astonishment, staring at Maude, who had withstood his full-force strike without budging an inch.
For the giants, their greatest source of pride was their unparalleled physical strength.
Yet, despite his mighty horizontal slash, Maude hadn't been pushed back in the slightest.
In other words, even in a direct confrontation of raw power, he—Dorry, a warrior of Elbaf—had failed to gain the upper hand.
It made no sense.
Just minutes ago, he had watched Maude get sent flying by Brogy's axe.
Even though Maude had attempted to disperse the impact, it was clear that Brogy's strength had overwhelmed him.
And Brogy's strength was on par with his own.
By all logic, this horizontal slash should have at least knocked Maude back, if not injured him.
No matter how much Dorry racked his brain, he couldn't fathom how Maude possessed such power.
Let alone the fact that Maude's physique, strength, and Haki had all surged drastically in mere seconds—something that should have been impossible.
Crack… crack…
Their blades remained locked in a deadlock.
Maude and Dorry exerted their full strength, their weapons grinding against each other, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Realizing that brute force alone wouldn't overpower Maude, Dorry chose to withdraw his sword, breaking off the stalemate.
As he pulled back, his right arm bent behind him, while his left hand firmly grasped his sword-wielding wrist.
This stance… bore an uncanny resemblance to the opening motion of Hakoku.
"Get off of Brogy!"
With a thunderous roar, Dorry unleashed another horizontal slash at Maude, who still stood atop Brogy's fallen body.
Now wielding his sword with both hands, the attack carried even greater might than before.
Blocking it head-on would no longer be so simple.
Yet, Maude still didn't retreat.
As the giant's massive blade came slashing toward him, his eyes gleamed with anticipation.
He raised his sword arm in front of his chest, forming a "V" shape. The back of Shusui's blade, near its hilt, rested against his left shoulder.
This was the stance for Hakoku.
"Hmm?"
Dorry's expression twisted into sheer disbelief.
"Impossible!"
The words flashed through his mind just as Maude swung his sword, unleashing a dazzling, radiant cylindrical shockwave.
"T-That's… Hakoku!?"
Dorry was utterly stunned as the blast collided with his own horizontal slash.
The moment their attacks met, an overwhelming force surged through his sword.
It felt as if he had struck an immovable, indestructible wall. His blade could go no further.
Then, the shockwave surged forward, engulfing both him and his weapon.
In the blink of an eye, it felt as if an invisible warhammer had struck him squarely in the chest. His massive body folded in on itself like a shrimp before being sent hurtling backward for dozens of meters.
Boom!
The impact sent tremors through the ground. Dorry spat out a mouthful of thick blood.
Yet the devastating force of Hakoku did not dissipate there.
The shockwave tore through the dense forest behind him, carving out an enormous cylindrical tunnel.
Anything caught in its path—both flora and fauna—was utterly annihilated.
But it wasn't over yet.
The shockwave burst through the forest and, just before dissipating, reached the coastline.
There, under the wide-eyed gazes of the onlookers, it effortlessly obliterated several wooden huts before continuing out to sea, only vanishing when it reached the waves, barely fifty meters from shore.
"What… what the hell was that!?"
The stunned spectators at the shoreline gawked at the destruction, then turned to trace the source of the shockwave.
What met their eyes was a colossal, cylindrical path carved straight through the forest.
At the edges of the tunnel, bloodstains and shattered bones from unfortunate creatures caught in the blast were clearly visible.
Fortunately, no people had been in its path.
Had anyone been swept up in it, their bodies would have been pulverized beyond recognition.
"Can someone tell me… what the hell just happened on this island?"
A trembling pirate stared at the wake of Hakoku's destruction.
But the question was on everyone's mind.
"Could it be that the two giants finally got serious?"
They didn't know what exactly had transpired, but the only logical explanation was the ongoing battle between Dorry and Brogy.
After all, who else but the two giants could generate such a deafening clash of steel across the entire island?
At that moment, a voice emerged from the forest.
"It was the Warlord… Maude."
The spectators turned in unison toward the source of the voice.
A burly man wearing sunglasses stepped out from the trees.
"What do you mean?"
All eyes fell on him.
This man had been lurking in the forest, hoping to take advantage of the chaos.
But after witnessing Maude's sheer power—and his clash with Dorry and Brogy—his courage had crumbled.
Fleeing toward the shoreline, he had barely escaped with his life when the Hakoku shockwave grazed past him. He had almost pissed himself in terror.
"That bigshot… he's fighting the Red Ogre and the Blue Ogre. Everything you just saw… that was them."
"...What?"
The spectators were dumbfounded.
Moments later, more figures emerged from the forest.
Like the man in sunglasses, they too had been forced to flee after witnessing the monstrous battle firsthand.
And they brought with them a shocking revelation.
"Brogy… the Red Ogre… he's dead. Killed by Maude."
"..."
Silence.
Staring at Dorry, who lay sprawled on the ground, the people of Gaya turned their gazes toward Brogy's lifeless body.
Just minutes ago, they had seen Brogy unleash this very same technique against Maude.
And now… Maude had turned around and used it against Dorry.
It was unmistakably the same move, carrying the same devastating power.
But how?
How was Maude able to use Hakoku?
And with such precision and mastery?
Even if he had learned it on the spot… wasn't that just too absurd?
Yet the reality before them left no room for doubt.
"…Today, I finally understand… what a true monster is."
Cavendish murmured, staring at the lone figure standing atop Brogy's corpse.
Back on the battlefield—
Dorry, having regained some composure, struggled to his feet, wincing in pain as he stared at Maude in utter disbelief.
"How… how do you know Hakoku!?"
"This… this is impossible!"
Everything he had witnessed felt like a dream.
Deep in his heart, he refused to accept the possibility that Maude had learned Hakoku just by seeing Brogy use it once.
Because if that were true—
Then the proudest, most revered technique of the giants of Elbaf…
Would lose all its prestige in an instant.
"Impossible, you say…?"
Maude met Dorry's shaken gaze and slowly assumed the stance for Hakoku once again.
"Then let's do it one more time."
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