"Haha! We caught another one! This guy's pretty strong."
"Of course he is. That's a dinosaur. It has to be much stronger than an ordinary beast."
"By the way, are you planning to undergo the modification?"
"Absolutely. Why wouldn't I? This is something the captain personally arranged for us. Once we're modified, our strength is bound to improve a lot."
"Exactly. Besides, the captain already said it can be reversed. If you really can't get used to it afterward, you can always ask him to change you back."
"Enough chatting! Hurry up and help me catch the next beast!"
Deep within the ancient forest, members of the War Pirates could be seen everywhere, tirelessly hunting dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts.
As they worked, conversations like these echoed constantly through the jungle.
Along the coastline where the fleet had anchored...
The nearby trees had all been cleared away, creating a temporary base of operations.
"The medical team, move faster!"
"Inject the captured beasts with anesthetic immediately!"
"Hey! That's a Tyrannosaurus Rex, isn't it?"
"That's top-quality prey!"
"Quick! Transport it to Area One!"
"Everyone, pay attention!"
"It's lunchtime!"
"Finish whatever you're doing and head back!"
"The chefs have prepared plenty of dinosaur meat today!"
One beast after another was escorted back to the coast.
After a quick inspection, each was transported into one of three designated holding areas.
Area One.
Area Two.
Area Three.
Over the past several days, each of those three areas had gradually filled with captured prehistoric beasts.
Fortunately, every animal had already been injected with anesthetics.
Otherwise...
Keeping so many ferocious creatures together would have inevitably triggered a massive stampede.
Robin wiped the light sweat from her forehead as she counted the last beast delivered that morning.
After looking around the coastline and failing to spot Kaito anywhere, she turned toward Tashigi, who was helping nearby.
"Tashigi."
"Has Captain come back yet?"
Tashigi looked around as well before shaking her head.
"I haven't seen him."
"He should still be training."
Robin nodded.
"I'll go call him back for lunch."
The next instant...
Phantom Wings bloomed from her back.
She soared gracefully into the sky and flew toward the opposite side of the island.
Boom!!
A gigantic spiral shockwave shot out from the shoreline toward the distant sea.
Although the attack never actually struck the ocean itself...
The tremendous pressure it generated carved an enormous trench through the water.
Only after the attack passed did the seawater come crashing back together.
Towering waves rolled across the ocean.
Standing upon the coast...
Golden saber resting in his right hand...
Was Kaito.
Behind him sat Dorry and Brogy.
"...Your talent is unbelievable."
Dorry stared blankly at the sea.
"It hasn't even been a few days..."
"And you've already mastered Hakoku?"
"Gababababa!"
Brogy burst into hearty laughter.
"With a captain this powerful..."
"Dorry..."
"It looks like joining the War Pirates wasn't such a bad deal after all!"
Hearing his old friend speak, Dorry nodded repeatedly before laughing just as loudly.
"That's right!"
"Following a captain like this..."
"We're certainly not losing anything!"
After their defeat several days earlier...
Neither giant had gone back on his word.
Instead...
Both had faithfully honored the agreement.
They accepted Kaito's invitation and officially joined the War Pirates.
Over the past few days...
The two giants had also taken on another role.
They had personally guided Kaito in mastering the Giant Warrior technique...
Hakoku Sovereignty of Elbaf.
"So?"
Kaito rested the golden saber casually across his shoulder before looking back at the two giants.
"Anything that still needs correcting?"
Dorry and Brogy exchanged glances.
Both shook their heads simultaneously.
"No."
"The Hakoku you just used was flawless."
"You've completely mastered the technique."
"That's right."
Brogy nodded enthusiastically.
"With your current level of mastery..."
"Captain..."
"Your Hakoku is no worse than ours."
Hearing their evaluation...
Kaito smiled in satisfaction.
The reason he had come to Little Garden had never been limited to recruiting Dorry and Brogy.
Certainly...
He had admired both their strength and their status as legendary Giant Warriors.
But there had always been another objective.
He wanted to learn Elbaf's greatest combat technique—
Hakoku.
After all...
Its performance in the original story had been nothing short of astonishing.
Even Charlotte Linlin had later developed her own attack, Ikoku Sovereignty, based on this very technique.
Since Kaito possessed extraordinary talent thanks to his ability to continually improve himself...
There was no reason not to master it as well.
The results had proven exactly that.
Even though he wasn't a giant...
Even though the tremendous difference in body size made learning Hakoku far more difficult for him than for Dorry and Brogy...
He had still mastered the technique within only a few hours.
Now...
His proficiency with Hakoku was no less than either of theirs.
"Captain!"
A familiar voice echoed through the air.
Robin descended gracefully from the sky.
She had come to call Kaito back for lunch.
Just as she spotted the three men standing along the shoreline—
Boom!!
The sea suddenly exploded.
A gigantic whirlpool formed offshore.
Towering waves surged upward.
An enormous creature burst violently from beneath the ocean's surface.
"No!"
"It's the Island Eater!"
"It must've been Captain's Hakoku!"
"It woke the monster!"
Dorry and Brogy's expressions changed immediately.
The gigantic creature resembled an enormous goldfish.
Its body was even larger than Laboon, the colossal whale Kaito had encountered at Reverse Mountain.
The Island Eater.
The massive Sea King that had lurked around Little Garden for nearly a century.
Naturally...
After living on the island for almost a hundred years, Dorry and Brogy recognized it instantly.
Without hesitation...
Both giants grabbed the new weapons lying beside them.
They prepared to intercept the monstrous Sea King.
But someone moved even faster.
Kaito turned.
His golden saber swept through the air without the slightest hesitation.
"Hakoku!"
A gigantic spiral shockwave erupted from his blade.
Unlike the practice attacks he had unleashed moments earlier...
This time...
Kaito fought with his full strength.
The Hakoku he released now possessed at least several times the power of the one he had been using during training.
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