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Chapter 79: Zoro vs. Galdino
He was just about to turn and "educate" her, but when he turned his head and saw the scene behind him, he froze instantly. His voice stammered.
"Who... who are you?"
Not far behind him, two people had appeared at some point without a sound!
His partner, Marianu, was currently being held in the arms of a stunningly beautiful, blue-haired, horned young woman. The little girl's body was stiff, her face blank, and she didn't dare to move a muscle.
Beside the young woman stood a green-haired man with three swords at his waist. His eyes were as sharp as a beast's, and he was sizing Galdino up like prey.
Why did these two look so familiar?
"Galdino, I was trying to warn you." Marianu's face was rigid. She was normally a simple-minded little girl without many emotional fluctuations. But the person holding her was simply too terrifying. She felt like she was being held by a monster in human skin, one that could swallow her whole in one bite.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, the atmosphere was completely different.
Luffy, Vivi, and the Carue duck 'Speedy' were spending time with an extremely tall, mountain-like giant. Their laughter echoed, and the atmosphere seemed quite harmonious.
The giant's name was Dorry. He was over twenty meters tall, and his sitting form alone exuded an intense pressure. But his personality was bold and unrestrained, and he and the similarly straightforward and simple-minded Luffy hit it off immediately, chatting happily.
After a bit of conversation, Dorry enthusiastically invited Luffy and Vivi to share his lunch: an entire, massive dinosaur leg, roasted to a fragrant crisp.
From Dorry, they learned about the island's situation. There were two giants on the island. Besides him, there was another warrior named Brogy. The two of them had been fighting continuously on this island for a hundred years over a long-forgotten, trivial reason. To this day, no winner had been decided.
There was a small volcano on the island. Whenever it erupted, it was their agreed-upon signal to fight.
"Leave this island?"
When Luffy asked how to leave, Dorry let out a deafening laugh that shook the surrounding leaves.
"Then you'd better be prepared to stay on this island for a whole year! This island's magnetic field is very special. A Log Pose needs to accumulate a full year's worth of magnetism before it can point to the next island!"
"Or..." Dorry's tone changed. He pulled a giant Eternal Pose from his waist and weighed it in his hand. "If you're confident enough, you can try to take this pose from me. With it, you could indeed leave early."
He paused, then added: "However, the island it points to is my homeland: the 'Warrior Village,' Elbaf."
"That won't work, old man!" Luffy shook his head hard without even thinking. "The place we want to go is just the next island on the route, not Elbaf!"
"That's right." Vivi also lowered her head in dismay, her voice full of helplessness. "If... if we really have to stay here for a year... then Alabasta... is probably already..."
She didn't dare to think about it any further.
"Then just head straight, little ones. If you're lucky, you might just reach your destination," Dorry said with a meaningful smile.
Just then, a deafening explosion erupted from the center of the island, accompanied by a tremor in the ground.
The distant, dormant volcano suddenly spewed out blazing magma and thick smoke, dyeing a small patch of the sky red.
"Little ones, excuse me for a moment. I have to go fight."
Hearing the familiar sound, Dorry shot to his feet. His massive body kicked up a strong wind, and the ground's vibration intensified.
He casually picked up the longsword that was even larger than the surrounding trees. His eyes instantly lit up with a blazing fighting spirit, like two giant searchlights, staring fixedly at the other side of the island.
Over there, another giant warrior of equal stature, Brogy, holding a giant broadaxe, stood up as if in response.
The two giants faced each other from across the dense forest, their formless auras clashing in mid-air.
After most of the erupting lava fell back to the ground, there was a brief silence. Then, both roared at almost the same time, a sound that shook the mountains and forests. They took huge strides, like two moving mountains, and began their daily charge toward each other!
"Dorry!"
"Brogy!"
...
"What's your rank in Baroque Works?" Zoro had figured out from their conversation that these two were from Baroque Works. A man and a woman, it wasn't hard to tell they were partners.
As he spoke, Zoro slowly drew his swords. Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri were unsheathed at the same time. Normally, he wouldn't use his three-sword style right away against an unknown enemy.
"You... you're the Straw Hat crew?!" Galdino finally snapped out of his shock and recognized the two faces he had seen in the mission briefing. A cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.
The rookie pirates he was supposed to ambush had somehow snuck up on him without a sound!
It was a good thing they hadn't just attacked him. Otherwise, he'd probably be on the ground by now.
He saw the green-haired swordsman's dual blades hum, and an icy, bone-chilling killing intent, so thick it felt tangible, spread out and locked onto him.
Galdino's heart tightened. This guy's aura alone is this terrifying?!
He didn't dare to be careless. His arms quickly softened and melted from the elbows down, turning into two streams of thick, pure white wax that flowed into the ground beneath his feet. They began to spread quietly along the ground like living white tentacles.
"Hey, you still haven't answered my question." Zoro wasn't too concerned when he saw him use his ability. He had been watching from behind for a while and had a good idea that he was a Paramecia user.
The basic classifications of Devil Fruits: Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. This knowledge had naturally been provided by the horned woman beside him during their downtime.
The man before him was clearly a Parameia user who used white wax.
"Hmph, I don't mind telling you!"
Galdino forced himself to stay calm. He pushed up his glasses, trying to regain the upper hand with his words, while silently increasing the flow speed of the wax underground. "I am the Baroque Works Senior Agent, Mr. 3! If you know what's good for you, let go of Marianu and obediently let..."
However, before he could finish his threat, the sharp sound of tearing air suddenly rang out!
Zoro's figure lunged forward like a ghost. His twin swords drew two intersecting arcs of cold light, scissoring in from the left and right, aimed straight for Galdino's neck! His speed was far beyond Galdino's expectations!
"Candle Wall!"
At the critical moment, Galdino's pupils shrank. He roared.
The ground in front of him instantly bulged. A thick, white wall of wax rose up like a shield, just barely blocking the path of the dual-sword strike!