Meanwhile, in the New World, on an island shaped like a giant straw hat,
"Cheers!!!"
Rough, thunderous voices echoed across the island, startling enormous flocks of seabirds into the sky.
At the summit of the towering mountain in the island's center, countless Giants had gathered together, each clutching massive barrels of alcohol as they drank without restraint.
Among them, many members of the Mink Tribe sat comfortably on the Giants' shoulders, raising their own cups and joining the celebration. Laughter, shouting, and the sound of clashing barrels filled the air, creating an exceptionally lively scene.
Surrounding the feast were dozens of enormous grills, each loaded with the meat of unknown beasts. Fat dripped onto the flames with loud sizzling sounds, releasing an irresistible aroma throughout the mountain.
After emptying their barrels, the Giants grabbed the roasted meat with their bare hands, completely ignoring the scorching heat as they devoured it in enormous bites.
Yet on the edge of this lively gathering sat a solitary Giant.
He was seated cross-legged, his hands and feet restrained by heavy Sea Stone shackles.
The Giant possessed long, curly golden hair and wore an enormous helmet adorned with curved bull horns. White bandages covered his eyes, while his exposed upper body was covered in brown sun-shaped tattoos.
Compared to the rugged appearances of most Giants, his features could even be described as handsome. Even so, that appearance did nothing to diminish the overwhelming sense of danger radiating from him.
He simply sat there quietly drinking, occasionally lifting his head toward the celebrating crowd. A mocking smile lingered across his face, carrying unmistakable arrogance and contempt.
Swish!
A white figure suddenly sprang from the crowd of Giants, landing lightly before the restrained Giant with a strangely elastic bounce.
It was Joy Boy.
Looking up at him with a playful grin, Joy Boy raised a wine barrel.
"Loki, aren't you going to join everyone?"
Loki's grin widened.
Without a second thought, he casually tossed the empty barrel behind him.
"No one can stand beside the sun. Those who approach it can only feel fear."
As he spoke, an unusually long tongue slowly extended from his mouth, transforming his otherwise handsome face into something sinister and unsettling.
Joy Boy tilted his head.
"Perhaps."
Loki slowly rose to his feet.
The heavy Sea Stone shackles rattled loudly as he moved.
The cheerful atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Every Giant who had been drinking turned to stare at Loki, their expressions filled with disgust and hostility.
Loki paid no attention to those looks.
Or rather, he had grown accustomed to them long ago.
Among the Giants of Elbaph, he was known as the "Cursed Prince" and the "Shame of Elbaph."
Those titles alone were enough to show how deeply he was hated.
Turning toward the crowd, Loki sneered.
"Looking directly at the sun burns your eyes. Don't tell me none of you understand something that simple."
His words instantly ignited everyone's anger.
The surrounding Giants grabbed their weapons and stepped forward, eager to teach him a lesson.
Loki remained completely unmoved.
His long tongue slowly traced across his lips as he casually lifted one hand, shaking the shackles around his wrist.
"So you're still trying to challenge the sun? Or do you actually believe these chains are enough to stop me?"
One of the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Brogy, could no longer tolerate Loki's arrogance.
Without hesitation, he coated his enormous battle axe in Armament Haki and hurled it toward Loki with tremendous force, clearly intending to kill him in a single strike.
Loki merely sneered with contempt and prepared to respond.
However, Joy Boy moved first.
Leaping into the air, he casually waved a hand and effortlessly deflected the gigantic axe far off to the side.
Seeing his attack stopped, Brogy roared in frustration.
"Joy Boy, what are you doing? A scoundrel like him should have gone to hell long ago!"
Joy Boy crossed his arms and floated comfortably in midair with his legs folded beneath him.
He sighed helplessly.
"Oh dear, don't start fighting amongst yourselves. Whatever Loki may have done in the past, he has agreed to oppose the World Government alongside us. At least for now, he's one of our comrades."
Loki showed no appreciation whatsoever.
"The sun has no need for comrades. Fighting the World Government is nothing more than a temporary shared interest."
The moment those words left his mouth, another young Giant stepped forward.
He wore a golden Roman-style gladiator helmet, and both of his forearms were protected by enormous metal gauntlets.
He was Hajrudin, the future captain of the New Giant Warrior Pirates.
More importantly, he was Loki's half-brother.
Yet among everyone present, Hajrudin's hatred for Loki burned the fiercest.
Fixing an icy glare on Loki behind Joy Boy, Hajrudin clenched his teeth.
"Loki, even now, do you still feel no guilt?"
Loki raised his chin proudly.
"Guilt? Why should I? Don't be ridiculous."
"You beast! Father trusted you more than anyone, yet you murdered him over nothing more than a Devil Fruit! If you possessed even the slightest shred of humanity, you'd end your own life to atone for your crimes!"
"Tch."
Loki clicked his tongue dismissively.
"Still clinging to that old story? Harald never deserved to be king in the first place. Giants are a race born for war, yet he spent all his time dreaming about trade and prosperity. The greatest joke of all is that he possessed such an incredible Devil Fruit but refused to use its true power. A fool like that didn't deserve the throne, and he certainly didn't deserve to be called my father."
The instant those words were spoken, Hajrudin and every Giant present were consumed by rage.
Many gripped their weapons so tightly that their knuckles turned white, wishing they could tear Loki apart on the spot.
The atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.
Meanwhile, Loki simply rattled the Sea Stone shackles around his wrists once more and muttered with anticipation,
"I really want to get rid of these irritating things and show all of you the true power I've obtained. Maybe then you'll finally understand just how foolish Harald really was."
Every shackle binding his limbs had been forged from highly refined Sea Stone.
Even with the bloodline of the Ancient Giants flowing through his body, Loki was unable to shatter them through brute force alone.
Hajrudin and the other Giants understood better than anyone what kind of catastrophe would unfold if those restraints were ever removed.
After all, when Loki had murdered Harald, he had only recently obtained his Devil Fruit powers.
Even so, he had nearly destroyed all of Elbaph.
Those Sea Stone restraints had only been placed upon him after several of the Giant Tribe's strongest elite warriors sacrificed their lives.
Many of them had not even left behind complete bodies.
Considering the crimes Loki had committed, execution would have been the obvious punishment.
However, many believed that death would have been far too merciful.
Instead, they bound him with countless Sea Stone chains and imprisoned him in the deepest region of Elbaph, the Underworld.
There, he would remain sealed away together with the Devil Fruit power he had sacrificed everything to obtain, imprisoned until the day he died.