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Just as everyone (except Saint Garling, who was still buried in the rubble with his life or death unknown) was stunned by Garp's thunderous strike, the atmosphere on the other side had become somewhat subtle.
Rocks, who had also been cracking his knuckles and preparing to join the chaotic battle, was about to leap down from Harald's palm when he suddenly noticed the extremely strange expression on the Giant King's face.
It wasn't the thirst for battle or surprise at Garp's power, but a complex look mixed with shock, disbelief, painful memories, and icy rage.
This caused Rocks to pause mid-motion.
Following Harald's gaze, he saw that the other man's eyes were locked dead on Charlotte Linlin, who had just been punched down by Garp and was now struggling to climb out of the massive crater she had created.
Rocks looked at Harald, then at the distant, dust-covered, somewhat disheveled Big Mom. He nodded lightly and asked in a puzzled tone: "Harald, you… know Linlin?
"Is it really her?!"
Receiving Rocks' indirect confirmation, Harald's brows furrowed into a deep knot.
In those torch-like giant eyes, the usual boldness and confusion were instantly replaced by a bone-chilling coldness and suppressed fury!
This sudden, almost tangible anger even startled Rocks, who was standing in his palm.
"Hey! Harald!"
Rocks raised his volume and rapped his knuckles against the thick skin of the giant's fingers, trying to snap him out of it: "Calm down! What the hell is going on?
Why do you look like that when you see Linlin? Did something happen between you two?"
Rocks was not a member of the Elbaph tribe and knew nothing of the giants' internal secrets or past traumas.
Harald's massive chest heaved dramatically. He took a deep breath—the sound carrying heavy sorrow and anger—and slowly said:
"The hero of Elbaph, one of the captains of the original Giant Warrior Pirates, the most beloved elder of the giant race, Jorul… was killed by her—by Charlotte Linlin!"
"What?!"
Rocks let out an involuntary cry of shock at the revelation.
The news was far too sudden and staggering for him.
Although Rocks knew Big Mom had a volatile personality and was prone to mood swings, he never imagined she could have such a blood feud with the giant race…
And the victim was one of the giants' most revered elders!
"No wonder… no wonder when you first arrived, she acted so strangely, hiding behind the crowd and refusing to show herself!"
Only then did Rocks suddenly understand. Several earlier details instantly connected: "So there was this past between her and Elbaph…"
Rocks' thoughts quickly drifted back to his first visit to Elbaph.
At that time, he had brought Whitebeard Newgate, Golden Lion Shiki, Stussy, and others to the famed warrior nation of Elbaph—partly to witness the giants' strength, and partly with the intention of forming an alliance.
He had casually asked Linlin if she wanted to come along and see the giants' homeland.
Unexpectedly, the usually fearless Big Mom had reacted extremely strongly to the name "Elbaph." Her face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head frantically in refusal.
She had even seemed hysterical, as if it were a forbidden land she could never set foot on.
Back then, Rocks had simply thought she was being odd or afraid of giants and hadn't pressed the matter.
Now, in hindsight, it was clearly rooted in deep-seated fear and guilt!
"I wasn't in Elbaph at the time…"
Harald's voice was low and pained. His enormous hand unconsciously clenched, joints creaking audibly.
"The incident happened on the day my youngest son Loki was born. When I returned, the clansmen told me they had taken in a five-year-old girl who had drifted there—Charlotte Linlin.
At first everything was normal, but for some reason, she suddenly lost her mind and fell into a state of frenzied rampage. Her strength was terrifying, and the clansmen couldn't restrain her for a while… In the midst of that chaos, she… she attacked Elder Jorul, who had come to try and calm her down."
Harald's eyes were filled with regret: "It's hard to believe a five-year-old girl could do such a thing…
But that's the cruel truth. Many clansmen present witnessed it with their own eyes.
Elder Jorul and Elder Jarul were the most respected elders of Elbaph, legends of the Giant Warrior Pirates, and heroes looked up to by countless young giants.
Elder Jorul's death was an indelible, immense wound for all of Elbaph."
After hearing Harald's account, Rocks' expression turned unusually grave.
This matter had nothing to do with his own ambitions or interests, but now that Harald had recognized Linlin…
If he pretended not to see it, who knew where things would spiral.
Though Rocks had never met Elder Jorul, he could sense the elder's significance to Elbaph from Harald's tone…
Regardless of how young Linlin had been or whether she had been unconscious at the time, the harm she caused was real.
By reason and by emotion, she owed the giant race, owed Harald, owed every citizen of Elbaph an explanation—an apology.
Seeing Harald struggling to contain his grief with that icy gaze, Rocks made up his mind.
He was Harald's brother, and also Linlin's nominal captain.
He couldn't ignore this, nor could he take sides.
He really had to do something…
"I understand…"
Rocks' voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable weight: "This can't just be brushed aside. Linlin has to face it."
With that, Rocks no longer hesitated. He leaped down from Harald's palm, landing steadily, then strode forward with firm steps.
Toward Big Mom Charlotte Linlin, who had just crawled out of the crater, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, her face still twisted with unwillingness and anger.
This scene left the onlookers somewhat bewildered. Rocks was an extremely powerful combat asset—his current actions put heavy pressure on everyone else…
When Big Mom saw Rocks approaching her—especially noticing the rare seriousness on his face—her heart inexplicably panicked, and her eyes instinctively darted away.
She probably guessed why Rocks was coming.
Rocks stopped in front of Big Mom and cut straight to the point without any preamble: "Linlin, you and Elbaph… is there some grudge between you? A very deep one?"
When the word "Elbaph" was clearly spoken by Rocks once more, Big Mom's massive body visibly trembled.
The ferocity and unwillingness on her face rapidly faded, replaced by the flustered, evasive panic of a child caught red-handed.
Her gaze flickered uncertainly. She opened her mouth, but could only manage a few mumbled syllables: "I… I… um…"
The usually domineering and arrogant "BIG MOM" now resembled a guilty child, stammering and unable to form a complete sentence.
Her demeanor only confirmed to Rocks that Harald was telling the truth.
Clearly, Harald's arrival and his icy stare had already made Big Mom realize her long-buried secret had been exposed.
Looking at her flustered state, Rocks felt a mix of helplessness and responsibility.
He softened his tone slightly but remained serious: "Since it happened, you have to face it. Harald may be stubborn and single-minded at times, but he's not unreasonable.
Explain things clearly, take responsibility where it's due, and offer the apology that needs to be given. Hiding and avoiding it forever solves nothing…"
Normally, Rocks wouldn't bother with his crew's old grudges or personal feuds.
But this time was different: on one side was the Giant King brother he acknowledged and wanted to befriend; on the other was one of his ship's most powerful "crew members."
Even if Rocks didn't want to intervene, he couldn't let Harald and Big Mom come to blows—the situation was chaotic enough already. If they started fighting, that would truly give him a headache.
Big Mom listened to Rocks' words, her eyes flickering with intense inner struggle.
She secretly glanced up at the stern-faced Rocks in front of her, then past his shoulder toward the distant, mountain-like Harald whose gaze remained ice-cold.
Scenes from decades ago flashed through her mind: the terrified eyes of the giants, Elder Jorul falling, and the fear and guilt that haunted her after fleeing Elbaph…
Countless complex emotions churned within her.
Finally, Big Mom seemed to reach some kind of resolve. Her enormous body slowly straightened, the panic on her face gradually replaced by a do-or-die determination.
She took a deep breath. The thundercloud Zeus obediently floated to her side.
Without another word, she mounted Zeus, slowly rose into the air, and flew toward Harald.
Under countless gazes filled with curiosity, suspicion, or tension (even causing the nearby fighting to pause momentarily), Big Mom guided Zeus to hover in front of Harald.
She had to tilt her head upward to meet the Giant King's cold eyes.
The immense pressure nearly took her breath away.
Decades of accumulated guilt, fear, and a lingering trace of unwillingness clashed fiercely inside her.
If not for that incident, she could have lived happily in Elbaph, growing up joyfully with those good friends…
Big Mom opened her mouth. Her voice, strained by tension and shame, came out dry and stuttering—completely stripped of its usual domineering tone: "I… I'm sorry! Back then… it was me who harmed Jorul…"
After uttering those words, it was as if Big Mom had used up every ounce of her strength.
She could barely bring herself to look into Harald's eyes anymore.
Back then, at only five years old, due to her innate monstrous strength and an uncontrollable onset of "eating disorder," she had gone on a rampage in Elbaph, causing massive destruction.
Elder Jorul, who had come to try and calm her and protect the other clansmen, unfortunately became a casualty of her frenzied state.
She had been completely unaware at the time, but the harm was real.
The incident had haunted her like a nightmare for decades—the deepest, most untouchable scar in her heart.
She truly owed Elbaph an apology, owed Elder Jorul's spirit in the heavens an explanation.
Today, under Rocks' urging and Harald's icy gaze, this apology—delayed by decades—finally left her lips.
The clamor of battle within God Valley seemed to fade temporarily. All eyes focused on this peculiar scene.
The colossal Giant King and Charlotte Linlin hovering before him—an old grudge spanning many long years—was being brought back into the open at this moment.
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