By the campfire, the giants Dorry and Brogy gazed eagerly at Seven, who was processing dinosaur meat.
Recalling the intoxicating fine wine and the fragrant aroma of the roasted meat, the long-bearded Dorry took the initiative to speak.
"Captain Seven, do you still need crew members on your ship? I, Dorry, can not only eat and drink, but I'm also strong and can do any kind of work."
The stout giant Brogy chimed in.
"Me too."
Noticing that Seven was still extremely focused on skinning, gutting, and deboning the Triceratops, Dorry thought he hadn't impressed him and hurriedly added.
"I also have a few giant subordinates. As long as you nod, I'll call them over immediately."
The stout giant Brogy chimed in.
"Me too."
Seven seemed not to hear, continuing to place the prepared ingredients onto the campfire rack on his own.
Seeing this, Dorry had no choice but to use his trump card.
"Captain Seven, as long as there's enough roasted meat and fine wine in the future, I can teach you our Giant Race's ultimate combined technique—Hakkoku."
The stout giant Brogy chimed in.
"Me too."
Before Seven could speak, Dorry turned his head and glared at Brogy: "You blockhead, can you stop copying everything I say?"
Brogy spread his hands: "Me too."
Seeing that the two giants were about to enter duel mode again, Seven had to speak up and stop them.
"Welcome to the crew, you two."
Before coming to Small Garden, Seven had prepared three different strategies—top, middle, and bottom—to invite Dorry and Brogy on board. He never expected that before he even made a move... Dorry and Brogy would actually volunteer to join!
It made Seven feel a bit out of sorts.
Two years ago, when inviting Mihawk to form the pirate group, Seven had revealed his identity as a crew member of the Pirate King, brought up the great treasure and the Gold Country, and provided gourmet food and iced black tea.
He had even prepared a declaration about freedom, and only finally moved Mihawk to become the vice-captain with the promise of becoming a master swordsman within half a month.
Two years later, to invite Fujitora Issho.
Seven did not hesitate to break his own rule of low-profile development, as the three of them braved the Ohara Buster Call.
Inviting Kuma and Ginny was even more difficult. Not only did they solve the Sorbet Kingdom crisis, but he also had to use all his tricks in prison to pry open Kuma's tightly closed heart.
During the month-long trip to the East Blue, he hadn't even managed to find a single qualified intern crew member.
Who would have thought that just after arriving at Small Garden, before Seven even had time to use any strategy, the roasted meat alone would move Dorry and Brogy to take the initiative to join the ship.
Life truly is full of surprises everywhere.
Hearing Seven's agreement, Dorry and Brogy were so happy they wanted to toss Seven high into the air. As a result, both reached out at the same time and almost started fighting again over who would get to do it for the Captain.
"You blockhead, let me go first."
"Why should you?!"
Seven took out a Water Dial to wash his hands, then directly drew his sword, musou isshin, and pointed it forward.
"My dear crew members, let this Captain properly measure your eighty years of bitter cultivation."
As a Captain, if one doesn't have even the most basic prestige, the entire pirate group will inevitably have no cohesion and be like a pile of loose sand.
Dorry and Brogy are bold and straightforward, so it's even more necessary for Seven to show a strong side; otherwise, having them duel every day would be a real headache in the future.
Dorry: "Gegyagyagyagya~"
Brogy: "Gababababa~"
Laughter in the pirate world is very distinctive to each individual.
Dorry held a giant sword in one hand and a round wooden shield in the other, while Brogy held a giant axe in one hand and a round wooden shield in the other. Both were very satisfied with the Captain's proposal.
They wanted to see if a Captain with excellent culinary skills also had combat power that could earn their recognition.
Dorry and Brogy looked at each other and smiled, immediately deciding to use their most powerful combined technique: Hakkoku.
Hakkoku is a martial art of the Giant Race.
It requires two giants to work together, using their weapons to fire a powerful shockwave with enough power to turn everything within hundreds of kilometers into dust.
Ginny and Kuma picked up the roasted meat from the campfire rack and hurriedly opened a door, leading their companions back to the east blue emperor to leave enough space for the three of them.
In fact, to avoid causing too much damage to the island, Seven sat on Dorry's shoulder and specifically went to the shore on the other side of the island.
Having chosen the battlefield, Dorry and Brogy each held their weapons and began to gather power.
"Captain, we'll only use one move."
Seven grinned.
"Just right, I'll also only use one move."
Since setting out to sea again, in the past few months, Seven had only used the charged Musou no Hitotachi during sparring with Vice-Captain Rayleigh and when clashing with Garp.
Also during this period, he had successively experienced several major battles: fighting Akainu, fighting Garp, and fighting Golden Lion.
Seven planned to push himself. Under the pressure of the giants' combined technique Hakkoku, he would force himself to use a Musou no Hitotachi that required no charging.
If a person doesn't push themselves, they'll never know how awesome they really are.
If he failed, it would just be a matter of tanking the Hakkoku.
With the Iron Balloon and Lunarian Tribe bloodline, as well as the Senzu Beans that instantly restore full status, as long as Seven wasn't killed instantly, he would be lively again in the next second.
Thunderstorms erupted across the sky above Small Garden. Seven's aura climbed steadily, and the blade of musou isshin was wrapped in red-black Haki, purple lightning, and crimson flames... Seeing this, Dorry and Brogy gave a loud shout.
"Hakkoku!"
The giant sword and giant axe collided crudely. Between the sword and axe blades, a white shockwave carrying an indomitable momentum surged forward at extreme speed.
Wherever it passed, not a blade of grass remained.
The ground was plowed into a massive trench.
In a ten-thousandth of a second, Seven only felt his skin stinging from the piercing force. All the will in his body converged at this moment, and musou isshin seemed to become a part of his body as it slashed forward violently.
"Musou... still not working?"
The white shockwave was dazzling, colliding with the flame-covered Seven. It was like heavenly thunder crashing into earthly fire, and a violent explosion rose up.
Hum~ Boom~
The entire island shook at this moment.
Not only was the sea level behind Seven sliced apart, stirring up a monstrous wave, but the shore where the three stood directly crumbled into powder in the air.
"Captain, that's powerful!"
Most of Dorry's body was submerged in seawater. Although he didn't understand why the Captain's sword strike hit nothing, the fact that he withstood Hakkoku with his bare body and only got his clothes slightly dirty was impressive.
What a monster. His physical body is even stronger than that of the Giant Race, who possess Ancient Giant bloodlines.
What a terrifying physique. Truly a freak!
Brogy was equally dumbfounded.
And Seven had his flying cloak, so he was already floating above the sea level and wouldn't fall into the water.
Although he didn't unleash a Musou no Hitotachi that required no charging and was nearly instantaneous, Seven had gained a lot. If he withstood a few dozen more Hakkoku, it should be about enough.
No wonder Garp loves the thrill of battle. Only sufficient pressure can allow one's strength to take a step further.
Perhaps the only downside was that, compared to the charged state of Musou no Hitotachi, trying to slash an instantaneous Musou no Hitotachi consumed an enormous amount of energy and spirit.
In Seven's current peak state, he could at most attempt it dozens of times before entering a state of exhaustion.
Fortunately, Seven was only seventeen years old.
The upper limit of his physique was not yet fixed, and the potential waiting to be developed was immeasurable. He wouldn't enter his physical peak until he was twenty-five.
"Let's go, time for a banquet."