As he carried the medical books into the castle one by one, Crocus said, "Hey, Ares, these books cost me over a million berries in total. You'd better reimburse me!"
"No problem." Ares did not even lift an eyelid.
A million berries was nothing to him.
The next day.
With everything packed up, bags piled high, Olvia asked, "Dr. Kureha, do you really need to bring this much stuff?"
"A lot of it is important medical equipment. They're all valuable tools," Dr. Kureha said. Then she reached out and patted Ares' steel-like thigh. "With Ares here, this much weight is nothing."
What she did not know was that Ares had no intention of carrying any of it by hand. With a flick of his palm, he created Flame Clouds, bundled all the luggage together, and made it float in the air.
At the same time, another Flame Cloud appeared. Ares jumped onto it first and said to the others, "If you're ready, let's go."
Crocus and Olvia skillfully hopped onto the cloud, making Dr. Kureha click her tongue in surprise.
"A Devil Fruit ability? How convenient."
"I'll take this chance to enjoy what it feels like to fly through the sky."
With that, she leaped up with astonishing agility. There was no hint at all that she was a 103-year-old old woman.
"Dr. Kureha, I suggest you wear a little more. The wind is very strong up there," Olvia kindly reminded her, while wrapping herself tighter in her thick blanket.
She had bundled herself up like a dumpling.
Dr. Kureha, dressed in her fashionable, cool outfit with her midriff exposed, did not care in the slightest. "I'm already used to snowstorms and freezing weather. A little wind won't affect me."
The Flame Cloud rose quickly into the air.
Olvia cheered excitedly. "Woo, I can't wait to see the legendary Sky Island!"
Dr. Kureha was startled. "Your destination is Sky Island?"
"No. That's just one stop on the journey," Olvia said with a smile.
At that moment, Ares spoke. "Before we go to Sky Island, we need to make a stop at another island."
"We're changing course again?" Crocus asked in surprise.
Ares nodded, battle-lust hidden deep in his tiger-like eyes. "I haven't had a proper meal in the past few days, so my training efficiency has dropped. Also, there are powerful giants on that island. I want to fight them..."
And through that, learn every bit of the giants' combat techniques.
From Charlotte Linlin, he had already picked up a few giant race techniques, but it still was not enough.
And ever since God Valley ended, Ares had been thinking nonstop about how to create a fighting style that suited him even better, along with attacks like Spear of Elbaf.
More importantly, he knew the giants possessed a special combined technique called Hakoku.
In the Onigashima battle, Kaido and Linlin used that move, and no one could stop it.
And on Little Garden, the two giants, Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy, as the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, naturally knew how to use Hakoku.
"The giant race?" As an archaeologist, Olvia immediately lit up with excitement. "According to the records, an adult giant is at least twelve meters tall, and their lifespan is three times that of humans..."
She launched into a nonstop explanation of everything she knew about giants from books.
After that, Ares brought the group to Laboon and followed the chart toward Little Garden.
Little Garden.
It was a massive island that preserved the scenery of the prehistoric age. Enormous volcanoes stood all over the island, plumes of smoke rising from their craters as if they were about to erupt.
The moment they saw that, Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy immediately, and wordlessly, grabbed their weapons and marched toward each other's positions.
Blue Ogre Dorry, over twenty-two meters tall, wore a face-guarded helmet, had a long beard, and a dark blue cloak draped over his back.
He grinned. "Gababababa... it's time to duel again. This time, victory will be mine!"
On the other side, Red Ogre Brogy was just as excited. Full of confidence, he said, "Gyarararara! Dorry, quit bragging. The winner this time will be me, Red Ogre Brogy!"
Their eyes met, and sparks and lightning seemed to flash between them. At the same time, they swung their weapons.
Clang!
Sword and axe crashed together, twisting the air and sending terrifying ripples exploding outward.
The commotion from their battle frightened the prehistoric beasts nearby. Dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers, and other creatures all fled in panic from the battlefield.
Even a Tyrannosaurus that had just caught prey in its jaws turned and ran without daring to stop and enjoy its meal.
Just as Dorry and Brogy clashed, the sky suddenly darkened.
A huge shadow blanketed the two of them.
Dorry and Brogy instinctively broke apart and looked up in confusion.
Dorry frowned. "Hey, what is that thing in the sky?!"
"How would I know? But if that thing falls, it won't end well," Brogy suggested. "How about we work together and smash it apart first?"
Dorry nodded in agreement. "Anything that interferes with our duel deserves to be destroyed. Once we smash it, we'll continue our fight."
With that, the two of them each stepped forward. The distance between them shortened, their auras drawing tighter and tighter as their expressions turned solemn.
Blue Ogre Dorry raised the old, battered sword in his hand. The blade, worn from countless duels, suddenly glowed with blue light, wrapping around the massive weapon.
At the same time, Red Ogre Brogy raised his giant primitive-looking axe, which became covered in a strange red glow.
There was a reason they were called the Blue Ogre and the Red Ogre.
As the strange aura around their weapons intensified, the power and momentum kept building, spreading over their entire bodies and making one of them shine blue and the other red.
High above, on top of Laboon's head, Crocus used a telescope to look down. He immediately broke into a cold sweat.
"That's... those are the Giant Warrior Pirates' captains, Blue Ogre Dorry and Red Ogre Brogy!!"
"What?!" Olvia cried out in shock. "Weren't they supposed to have disappeared?!"
The 103-year-old witch, Dr. Kureha, wore a grave expression as she said, "Ares, be careful. Those two giants are both great pirates with bounties of one hundred million!"
"If they kill you, I'm not lifting a finger to help. I'll just head back to Drum Island myself."
"And let me remind you, those bounties are from decades ago. They haven't changed at all since then..."
"So who knows just how terrifying those two really are now."
Ares, of course, had already sensed the astonishing aura below. His tiger eyes blazed with excitement as he laughed.
"Hahaha!"
"If I were afraid, I wouldn't have come looking for them!!"
"I have no interest in ordinary giants!"
With that, he leaped down from the sky, laughing wildly.
"What I crave are challenging battles and bloody fights!"
"Blue Ogre Dorry, Red Ogre Brogy, don't disappoint me!"
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