Bardock finished his morning exercises on the deck of the White Dragon. Seeing that everyone was finally awake and moving about, he raised his wrist to check the Log Pose.
"Perfect. The Log Pose has fully locked onto the next magnetic field. We're ready to set sail," he announced.
"Oh! Giants! We're finally going to meet real Giants!" Leo buzzed around the deck in excitement. "Do you think they'll be friendly?"
Ever since Bardock first mentioned them the day before, the dwarf had developed an intense fascination with the Giant race.
"Don't worry, Leo. The two Giants living on that island are incredibly simple, honorable warriors," Bardock reassured him. "As long as we don't approach them with malicious intent, they won't attack us. And considering we're bringing their favorite thing in the world—alcohol—we'll be perfectly fine."
With that, Bardock ordered the crew to weigh anchor and set a direct course for the prehistoric island of Little Garden.
Sailing the Grand Line was a chaotic paradox: simultaneously monotonous and terrifying, boring yet endlessly fascinating. Fortunately, the crew was much more experienced now. With Robin acting as the ship's versatile navigator and Daz Bonez on constant lookout, they handled sudden weather shifts without panicking. The White Dragon sailed smoothly, and after some time, the silhouette of Little Garden finally appeared on the horizon.
"Look! That's it! That's Little Garden!" Bardock pointed toward the approaching island.
"So this is the prehistoric island?" Robin observed the dense, sprawling vegetation covering the landscape. "It looks exactly like an untouched, ancient rainforest. This place is an absolute goldmine for research. There are probably countless species of flora and fauna here that went completely extinct in the outside world millions of years ago."
"A rainforest... does that mean there are going to be snakes? Eww..." Perona shivered, goosebumps erupting all over her arms.
"There will definitely be snakes. Probably massive anacondas, too," Sai chimed in, drawing from his knowledge of tropical climates.
"Stop talking about them!" Perona squeaked, hugging herself.
"Leo! I'm scared of snakes too! You have to protect me!" Mansherry demanded, tugging on the dwarf's sleeve.
"Not this again! Why are you always making such unreasonable demands, Princess?!" Leo groaned, completely missing the point. "What's there to be scared of? Honestly, you're way too fragile!"
Despite his young age, Leo was already displaying the dense, impenetrable emotional armor characteristic of many shonen protagonists.
"Hmph!" Mansherry pouted fiercely, violently turning her head away and crossing her arms.
"Oh, Leo. It's your knightly duty to look after Princess Mansherry," Robin giggled softly, deciding to give the oblivious dwarf a little push in the right direction.
"Well... I guess I have to if you say so, Robin," Leo relented. He wasn't unwilling to protect Mansherry; he just didn't want to admit it. Since Robin had given him a valid excuse, he puffed his chest out proudly.
"Boss, are we going to seek out the Giants as soon as we land?" Daz Bonez asked, his eyes scanning the dense jungle.
"We can actually just let them come to us—assuming they aren't in the middle of their daily duel," Bardock plotted. "Let's use a two-pronged approach. Sai, Bonez, bring two massive barrels of West Blue wine up to the deck."
Bardock intended to use the alcohol as bait. If Brogy and Dorry were currently resting, the scent of premium wine wafting into the jungle would undoubtedly draw them out.
He then turned to Robin and Perona. "While we wait, I want you two to thoroughly scout the island. Look for the Giants, map out the terrain, and more importantly... scan the jungle floor. Over the past century, countless pirate crews have died on this island. They definitely left behind fully charged Log Poses. Let's see if we can scavenge one."
"Understood, Captain," Robin nodded, while Perona reluctantly agreed to send her ghosts into the creepy jungle.
As the crew went about their tasks, Bardock stood at the bow, his Observation Haki fully expanded downward into the ocean depths. He hadn't forgotten about the 'Island Eater'—the colossal goldfish that lurked off the coast of Little Garden.
The White Dragon followed the river current inland, smoothly dropping anchor near the riverbank. Bardock ordered everyone to remain on board for now.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The sound of massive, earth-shaking footsteps echoed from deep within the jungle, rapidly approaching their position. Moments later, a colossal head parted the canopy. The Giant had a round, jovial face, a massive bushy beard, and wore a Viking helmet with two distinct horns. It was Brogy the Red Ogre.
Finding the dense trees near the riverbank slightly annoying, Brogy casually pushed his hands outward. The massive, ancient trees snapped like brittle twigs with loud CRACKS.
"Hello there, little humans! I am Brogy of Elbaf!" The Giant greeted them, his eyes immediately locking onto the two massive barrels on the deck. "Did you bring alcohol?!"
Brogy swallowed hard, doing his best to maintain a friendly smile while staring obsessively at the barrels. When was the last time he had tasted actual wine? He tried to remember, then quickly gave up. It had been over a century.
If Bardock hadn't mentally prepared her, Perona was absolutely certain she would have screamed in sheer terror. He was impossibly huge! She had thought Moria and Chinjao were giants, but compared to this true Giant Warrior, those two Warlord-tier fighters looked like toddlers!
"I am Bardock, from the West Blue!" Bardock shouted up at the Giant. "We have plenty of wine! But we want to trade it for food!"
Bardock casually kicked one of the barrels, the sloshing sound and the faint scent of fermented grapes driving the Giant crazy.
"Really?! You have a lot of wine?!" Brogy's eyes widened in sheer joy. "Are you coming ashore?! I can take you to my camp! I just hunted some fresh prey—the most delicious meat on the island! We can feast together!"
"That sounds like a perfect trade! You provide the meat, we provide the wine!" Bardock agreed enthusiastically. "Also, we're planning on exploring the island a bit. Do you have any recommendations on where we should go?"
Bardock's true motive was to formally spar with the Giants. He wanted to learn the authentic Hakoku (Sovereignty) technique and compare it directly to Moria's Moonlight Double Gates shockwave. Befriending the Giants over a feast was the perfect first step.
"Oh? This island is incredibly dangerous, you know! If you little humans aren't strong enough, you'll definitely die!" Brogy warned them, his expression turning serious for a moment as he looked down at the tiny crew.
"Don't worry about us. We're actually quite confident in our strength," Bardock smiled.
"That's right! We're super strong!" Leo shouted, puffing his chest out.
"Gabababababa! Are those Tontattas?! How rare! I haven't seen your kind in over a hundred years!" Brogy laughed heartily, deciding not to worry about it. If they were confident, that was good enough for him. "Follow me, then! Let's eat and talk! I can't wait to taste that wine! Gabababababa!"
Under Brogy's guidance, Bardock and his crew unloaded a massive cart of wine barrels and followed the Giant deep into the jungle.
Along the way, they were treated to a mind-bending prehistoric safari. They saw towering brontosauruses, massive predatory insects, bizarre carnivorous plants, and, much to Perona's horror, countless giant snakes. Even though Robin had warned them about the prehistoric ecosystem, seeing it in person was entirely different.
"Gabababababa! The meat is done! Eat up, my little friends!"
At Brogy's camp, the Giant was happily roasting massive chunks of dinosaur meat over a bonfire, passing perfectly cooked pieces down to Bardock's crew. In between passing food, he would eagerly chug from a barrel of wine. To a Giant of his size, a standard barrel of wine was barely a mouthful.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
Another set of massive footsteps rapidly approached the camp.
"BROGY! YOU'RE DRINKING WINE AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME?!"
A second Giant burst into the clearing. He had a long, angular face, an incredibly long beard, and wore a specialized Viking helmet that covered his eyes. It was Dorry the Blue Ogre.
Dorry glared at Brogy, looking absolutely furious that his lifelong friend and rival was hoarding alcohol.
"Gababababa! Dorry! I was just about to go get you!" Brogy stammered, entirely caught off guard. "But, uh... the meat wasn't fully cooked yet! Yeah, I couldn't leave the fire! Gababababa!"
Brogy started out sounding incredibly guilty but stubbornly talked himself into believing his own excuse by the end of the sentence.
Dorry wasn't actually angry. He simply reached over, snatched the barrel out of Brogy's hands, and tipped it back, chugging the remaining wine in a single gulp. "Ahhh! That is magnificent! I had almost forgotten how beautiful real wine tastes!"
"Hey! Dorry, this wine belongs to our little guests! Don't just drink it without saying hello!" Brogy scolded, pointing down at Bardock's crew.
"Oh? Really? My deepest apologies! Thank you so much for the delicious wine!" Dorry immediately knelt down, bowing his massive head respectfully toward the crew. Then, without missing a beat, he snatched a completely full barrel from the cart. "I'll drink another one to show my gratitude!"
"You bastard! You're just making up excuses to steal more wine!" Brogy roared, lunging for the barrel.
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