The treatment on Sabo went much more smoothly than anticipated.
With Pudding's Memo Memo no Mi ability, the fog that had always shrouded Sabo's memories was finally cleared away. The memories, which had been jumbled out of order due to the stimulation of seeing his two brothers, were also carefully sorted out by Pudding.
Of course, during this process, Pudding unavoidably saw glimpses of this man named Sabo's past.
A noble's descendant, and like her, Sabo's parents only saw him as a tool to carry on the bloodline.
But Sabo made a different choice than she did, resolutely deciding to fight against that predetermined fate, choosing to live life on his own terms.
Swearing brotherhood, choosing to abandon his noble status and resolutely set sail, and in the end, even when bombarded by cannon fire, he had no regrets in his heart.
This unwavering will caused Pudding's hand, which was sorting his memories, to tremble slightly, as if some long-suppressed emotion was about to be released.
But Pudding held back, choosing to first complete Sabo's treatment.
After the Celestial Dragon's bombardment came a period of disordered and distorted 'memory fault', which was likely the result of external impact. Before Pudding's ability, this manifested as a tangled mess of 'film reels'.
"Is it very difficult?"
Naruto, watching from the side, asked softly. Pudding immediately waved her hands in a slight panic.
"No... I can handle it."
After speaking, she remembered that the person before her wasn't that terrifying mother, but Uzumaki Naruto.
"I can do it, Naruto-sama!"
This time, she said it with a bit more confidence and a bit less panic.
"...Alright, then continue."
The work of sorting Sabo's memories didn't take much time, and during this process, Pudding passively learned about this man's identity.
'The Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff. No wonder Naruto-sama had sent him to a separate room for treatment.'
Pudding nodded in understanding but didn't think of telling anyone else this information... not even Big Mom.
Sabo, who was lying on the ground, slowly regained consciousness as Pudding withdrew her ability, opening his eyes.
"What am I..."
His memory before fainting was still a bit hazy, but before Sabo could fully grasp his situation, he felt two figures slam into him, almost knocking the acid out of his stomach.
Before he could instinctively counterattack, he heard a voice he knew all too well.
"Sabo! Sabo! This is great! You're not dead!"
Ace held onto his brother tightly, tears of joy streaming down his face.
As for Luffy?
He latched onto Sabo's head like a facehugger, immediately breaking into a storm of tears, unable to speak coherently.
Pudding watched the three brothers' genuine emotions and couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.
'These three had no blood relation, yet they could care for each other like this. In contrast, my own family...'
'Sigh...'
Before Pudding could dwell on it further, she felt someone pat her on the shoulder and turned her head.
"Pudding… may I call you that?"
Naruto looked kindly at the young girl.
"Of course... of course!"
Pudding was flattered, her hands beginning to fidget nervously with the hem of her skirt.
"Well, the truth is... I actually have another favor to ask of you."
With that, Naruto pulled a cluster of floating black spheres out of thin air.
This wondrous sight even made the three brothers, who were genuinely 'crying their eyes out', pause and turn their attention this way.
"What are these..."
Pudding looked at the black spheres drifting in a certain pattern, somewhat puzzled.
From her perspective, she could see a tiny fragment floating between those spheres.
"Do you remember the favor I asked of you last time?"
Naruto manipulated the 'Poké Ball' to move, fully exposing Isshiki's Kama before Pudding.
"If possible, I'd like you to transfer this guy's memories into my brain, just like last time."
"In return, I can also promise to help you once."
Saying this, Naruto winked and emphasized meaningfully.
"It's helping 'you', not the Charlotte Family."
Clearly, although Pudding had been skilled at disguising her emotions since childhood, how could she possibly disguise them in front of Naruto now?
In that instant, Pudding's three eyes simultaneously widened, her heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably.
A thought that had only ever been a 'fantasy' instinctively surfaced in her mind.
"O-okay! Naruto-sama! I want..."
…
New World, [Land of Giants], Elbaf.
This is a kingdom built upon the branches of the Great Treasure Tree, Adam. Based on the altitude, it's divided into three parts: [Heaven World], [Sun World], and [Underworld].
Among them, the Heaven World sits atop the tree's canopy, arguably the highest region in the world.
But because it's too high, the climate is completely unsuitable for ordinary giants to survive. Coupled with certain historical reasons, this area is uninhabited.
The Underworld is the lowest of the three and where Elbaf meets the sea. Shaded by the canopy, the temperature here is relatively low, mostly in a state of winter most of the time.
It's worth mentioning that this is also what most adventurers and pirates 'think' Elbaf is.
They usually only manage to reach the Underworld, after which they are either forced to return, sink into the sea, or go missing.
Only a very few are able to ascend from the Underworld to the Sun World, to the world's largest nation.
The true Elbaf!
This is the land of giants. They revere combat and desire strength, but they also repay kindness and know gratitude.
Although Elbaf possesses the world's strongest national power, it has never chosen to invade other countries.
So strictly speaking, despite the giants still being warlike, this can still be called a peaceful nation.
—At least, it was before those guys arrived.
"Run! Run!"
"No! Please!"
"Go! They're insane!"
Shouts of chaos, wails, and roars overlapped.
Unlike the boisterous atmosphere at Amazon Lily, what filled Elbaf now was only despair.
As far as the eye could see were collapsed houses, giant civilians of unknown fate, and rows of black giants with demonic wings sprouting from their backs.
These black giants had the same appearance as the friends in other giants' memories, but they were incredibly vicious, attacking those civilians without hesitation.
Some giant warriors chose to take up arms and fight these guys.
But their advantage in strength was useless against enemies who were also giants... and even enhanced.
Axes were shattered, shields were broken. One giant after another was mercilessly struck down, only to rise again under the erosion of a black mist.
But by then, they were no longer who they once were.
They too had grown pitch-black wings, horns like ancient giants protruding from their foreheads, and their teeth had become monster-like sharp fangs.
In the sky, a large ship, aided by island clouds, quickly fled towards the outer perimeter of Elbaf.
"Hajrudin, take them, protect the children, and get out of here!"
Unexpectedly, the one giving orders on this large ship wasn't the imagined giant, but a 'regular human' no taller than three meters.
This guy wore a straw hat and sunglasses, his graying beard braided into pigtails.
"But Ya-san... you..."
Hajrudin, the captain of the New Giant Warrior Pirates, looked anxious and wanted to say more.
But clearly, the enemies who had attacked Elbaf weren't going to give him that chance.
Boom!
A massive island, twisted into a monstrous shape, floated in the sky. Several black tentacles extended from it, thick enough to crush an ordinary giant to death.
Now, those tentacles came crashing down towards the ship below with a roar.
"Hurry and get the children out! Remember! Go find Uzumaki Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto!"
The old man in the straw hat knew there was no time to waste. He took one last look at his son in the crowd and, after leaving Hajrudin with those final instructions, leaped into the air.
The next moment.
Two hatchets, wrapped in thick Haki, were swung crosswise by the old man to meet the massive, descending tentacle that seemed to block out the sky.
"Eighty Tribal Leaders!"
A Conqueror's Haki slash, powerful enough to destroy a castle, instantly met the rock tentacle. There was little stalemate… the massive tentacle snapped apart, creating an escape path for the small ship.