"Hmm?"
Loki froze, instinctively swinging the iron rod in his hand, dispersing the dazzling blade light coming straight at him.
"Hold on! What do you mean, kid!"
He looked at Roa, who was shielded by five figures behind him, and spoke unhappily. "Isn't this a one-on-one fight? What's the meaning of bringing so many people?"
"They're part of my ability,"
Roa said with a grin. "If you want to fight me, you'll have to get past them first."
Loki should consider himself lucky that Roa hadn't brought all the chang ghosts stored on Hachinosu Island. Otherwise, he would have experienced what it means to fight a legion—a legion whose members, before becoming chang ghosts, had bounties of at least 50 to 60 million Berries.
"Doesn't matter!"
Loki let out an excited laugh. "I'm going to smash you flat anyway!"
The over ten-meter-tall little giant rushed forward on his own legs, raising his enormous spiked club and delivering a heavy blow.
The giant guards who had led the way watched coldly. Loki was unpopular, but Rocks' people were even more detestable. Let Loki teach this brat a good lesson.
Facing the incoming Loki, one of the five individuals blocking Roa, the former Marine Vice Admiral Johnson, shot forward. His blade was suddenly covered in black Haki, meeting the blow with a fierce strike.
Clang!
A surging shockwave spread, and Johnson was sent flying backward directly.
"That's really exaggerated!"
Roa couldn't help but click his tongue.
Such monstrous strength!
Although Johnson had completely turned into a chang ghost and lost his consciousness, relying purely on instinct for all his moves, his strength was much lower than his peak. However, in a head-on clash, the difference wasn't significant.
Yet, Loki still sent him flying with a single blow in a direct confrontation.
However, Loki was ultimately just a child; his strength was far from unparalleled. He too stumbled backward.
"This guy!"
He also realized Johnson's unusual nature. There were no beasts in the underworld that could rival this guy!
Are the other few guys like that too?
While he was thinking, the other four rushed forward like zombies. Their limb movements were uncoordinated; everything was left to instinct.
Among these four, the former commodore's body began to change. He transformed into a wildcat, a Zoan, Cat-Cat Fruit, Wildcat Form!
Whoosh!
The speeding wildcat's figure instantly blurred.
"What?"
Loki was stunned.
The next moment, his right leg felt a sharp pain.
It was Soru! The wildcat used Soru to sweep past his ankle, leaving several deep wounds there.
"Nice, nice."
Roa nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.
Strong in direct combat, but the general weakness of the giant race—a lack of agility—exists in Loki too. That means it'll be easy to win.
"Damn thing!"
Loki raised his iron rod and turned, smashing it directly at the wildcat behind him. But at the same time, three colonels leaped up, each swinging their weapons to attack Loki's back.
So Loki could only quickly turn, sweeping with his rod. "Don't get in my way!"
Clang!
The iron rod clashed again with a pitch-black long blade!
Johnson had returned by running on air.
He was sent flying again.
But Loki also stumbled backward again.
At the same time, the three colonels leaped up, stepping on Loki's iron rod, and lunged directly at Loki's face.
Loki instinctively raised his hands to try and catch them.
But suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder.
The wildcat had jumped onto his shoulder, tearing at the back of his neck with all its might.
"Aaah!"
Loki cried out in pain. In the moment his hand trembled, the three colonels had already lunged at his face, and three blades unhesitatingly stabbed into his face.
"Aaargh!"
The cries of pain grew even more intense.
Roa clicked his tongue. "Looks painful!"
"What?"
The giant guards were aghast. Did a few unknown guys actually injure Loki to this extent? Or rather, even if he's a brat, is he still a Rocks Pirates brat?
"Go to hell!"
But it must be said that giants are indeed tough-skinned and thick-boned, not to mention Loki, who had the extraordinary ancient giant bloodline. He endured the pain and slapped his face.
The bone-chilling sound of bones cracking echoed, and the bodies of the three Marine colonels, who had no time to dodge, instantly twisted and deformed.
"My hard-earned Marine chang ghosts."
Roa felt a little regretful. "But never mind, they at least bought me time. It's over."
"Aaargh!!"
Loki's screams of agony grew even more intense.
Even though their bones were shattered, the three colonels still pushed their blades vigorously, further extending the wounds. At the same time, the wildcat jumped onto Loki's right hand and bit his wrist fiercely. And so, amid screams, Loki's spiked club slipped from his grasp.
Then.
Whoosh!
A black shadow shot out towards Loki's chest.
A pitch-black long blade instantly pierced Loki's chest.
"Aaargh!"
The giant prince staggered backward in pain, collapsing completely to the ground.
"Stop!"
No matter how much they disliked Loki, the giant guards couldn't sit still anymore. They quickly came forward, trying to stop the attack.
They couldn't possibly let Prince Loki be killed, could they?
However.
They looked in terror at the calm-faced Roa. Was this human child a more terrifying monster than Loki?
"Come back."
Roa spoke.
Johnson pulled out his blade and shot up, landing back in front of Roa. A large cat also jumped to his side the next moment.
At the same time, blood began to spurt from Loki's chest.
"Doctor! Go find a doctor quickly!"
The guards frantically tried to stop Loki's bleeding.
"Is this okay, Captain?"
Roa took deep breaths, absorbing the faint black mist rising from Loki, and said, "It's not good to kill people when you're a guest, is it?"
It should be very painful, right?
Why is this guy's black mist so bland?
Rocks asked with some surprise, "Aren't your puppets mindless, kid? How can they coordinate like this?"
He could, of course, see that even the strongest puppet couldn't suppress Loki in a head-on fight. While winning through agility wouldn't be too difficult, it certainly wouldn't be as effortless as just now.
"Normally, they can't,"
Roa said with a grin. "But I'm here, aren't I? My chang ghosts, of course I can control them."
Rocks nodded knowingly.
Whitebeard snorted coldly again.
So, this kid orchestrated those three Marines to die, all for one decisive strike.
"Then let's go, to see Harald."
Rocks didn't even glance at Loki, raising his foot and walking towards the castle.
Roa and Uncle Whitebeard naturally followed.
"Wait! What's your name!"
A defeated roar came from behind them.
But Roa didn't look back, merely waving his hand to send the two chang ghosts back to the ship to wait.
It wasn't until they reached the gate of the castle that Roa truly realized its immense size.
The gate alone was over a hundred meters high, and the entire castle was probably over a thousand meters tall.
Walking through the gate, they followed an incredibly wide stone road forward, soon arriving at a palace that, to an ordinary person, would be called a plaza.
"My apologies, Rocks, my son caused you trouble."
The enormous figure sitting on the throne slowly spoke.
Exaggeratedly large!
Roa could only look up at this guy.
A bald head, a stern face, somewhat resembling Kratos.
He had horns on his head like Loki, also from the ancient giant bloodline, so his height was probably over sixty meters.
His black beard was somewhat similar to Whitebeard's, both a crescent shape, but unlike Whitebeard, this guy also had a thick beard on his chin.
This guy was the King of Elbaf, a deviant among the battle-crazed giants, Harald, who advocated for foreign trade.
"To avoid any further nonsense,"
Rocks slightly turned his head. "Roa, demonstrate your ability."
Roa instantly understood: first show force, then courtesy.
Black fur grew from his skin, and a pair of black wings spread from his back.
In the blink of an eye, Roa had transformed into an upright fierce tiger.
"Then, behold!"
Whoosh!
Without any warning, the curtains used as decorations in the hall, the wooden furniture, all combustible items instantly burst into raging flames.
"This is..."
Harald was stunned.
"Do you think,"
Rocks rubbed Roa's furry head, "How long will it take for this kid to set all of Elbaf ablaze?"
"Rocks!"
Harald's pupils constricted, then he roared in fury. "Are you threatening me?"
The sacred tree Adam, which bore Elbaf, was too large and old. Many parts had already rotted and died, making it highly susceptible to fire.
Once a fire broke out, it could easily spiral out of control, reaching a point where the only solution would be to cut off the affected branches.
That's why Rocks said Roa's ability could shine brightly in the Giant Kingdom.
"I'm just warning you,"
Rocks said coldly. "On this basis, we can have a proper talk!"
"You bastard!"
Cold sweat broke out on the giant king's forehead. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"
Without hearing the specific details of their conversation, Roa and Uncle Whitebeard were both dismissed by Rocks.
Hah~
Roa yawned.
A bit boring.
In that case, I'll go look at the murals.
Since I'm already here, I should definitely check out the historical sites.