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Ever since Arton first stepped into the public eye, his rise to fame has been nothing short of a steam-roller: he slew the legendary pirate Shiki, seized the title of "World's Greatest Swordsman" of the new era, and—showing no fear of World Nobles—went so far as to kill one outright. Each deed is the stuff of legend.
If someone ended up worshipping Arton because of those exploits, Beckman could understand.
But—if a giant like Gerd wanted to become Arton's crewmate for that reason, even Beckman had to admit he was astonished. Instances of giants joining human-led crews do exist, yet they are vanishingly rare. If it were easy to recruit giants, Charlotte Linlin of the Big Mom Pirates—who hungers for giant strength—would already have them in her ranks.
Gerd wet her lips, unsure how to begin. She certainly couldn't tell Shanks that her private diary copy let her peek at far more information about Arton… or that she already knew Arton was destined to become the next Pirate King. As a warrior of Elbaf, Gerd craved overwhelming power, and Arton had a way of bestowing extraordinary strength on his companions—something she had seen in Nami, Carina, and the others. Naturally, she wanted the same treatment.
As for the doujinshis written in that diary copy, she wasn't worried at all. Arton and her—their size difference was huge, far too huge. Gerd doubted Arton could truly do anything to her. And if Arton really could enlarge his body the way those pages described, Gerd wouldn't mind plunging into a grand, roaring romance with him.
At the end of the day, giants revere strength. If her partner were a man standing at the peak of the world, Gerd would be more than happy. True, Arton had not yet reached that summit—but Gerd felt it would not take long before he did. That thought made her eyes sparkle with unconcealed yearning.
Catching that look, Beckman and Shanks traded glances. Gerd still hadn't answered them aloud, yet they both knew enough about giants to guess her thoughts—and that only deepened their surprise. In their memory, Gerd and Arton had never met, yet here she was, openly filled with admiration and longing for him.
"I do admire Arton," Gerd finally admitted. "From the first moment I saw him—he just felt right to me. So please, Shanks, take me to sea. I want to search for Arton. And you want to see Uta, don't you? We're headed in the same direction."
Shanks frowned, hesitating. His eyes drifted to the newspaper, to the image of Uta's smile, then back to the danger now closing in on Arton and Uta alike. At last he nodded. "Very well. One way or another, I have to see Uta. Perhaps now is the time."
Once, Shanks had failed to stop Uta from summoning the Demon King of Songs and destroying Tot Musica. Now, with the Navy and the World Government eyeing Arton and Uta, he intended to help her with his own strength.
"Gerd, get ready. We sail next," Shanks said. "But think this through: if Arton refuses to take you aboard, we may not have the time to bring you back to Elbaf."
"Hee-hee, thank you, Shanks. As for whether Arton will accept me—don't worry." A blush crept over Gerd's cheeks as she cupped them in both hands. "If we really meet, I'm sure he'll let me join."
"So confident." Shanks shook his head, smiling. "At this rate it sounds less like admiration and more like liking him."
"Well… I am a bit interested," Gerd admitted without shame.
"This is getting interesting. All right—go pack. Boys, make ready to cast off!" Shanks rose from his seat and strode for the door, Beckman, Yasopp, and the rest of the Red-Hair Pirates close behind.
"Finally—I'm heading out to sea," Gerd whispered. "Arton, wait for me. I'll see you soon. The Arton in those pages said a giant woman like me has a charm ordinary human girls don't. If you already have plenty of human companions, you'll surely welcome me too. And if I can obtain one of those powerful template abilities, perhaps I can become the mightiest giant warrior… and unite all of Elbaf."
She drew a long breath, eyes gleaming with unmistakable longing.
Elbaf—hailed as the world's strongest kingdom. Yet that reputation only stands when the power of the entire realm is tallied as one, for Elbaf itself is far from united. Inside its borders live many clans, large and small, and no single giant clan can claim to be the strongest in the world. Even the royal clan falls short; its strength alone cannot bind all of Elbaf together.
Gerd would love to see her homeland united, but she knows she lacks the might to make it happen—so she never dared expect she could help.
"But now it's different," she muttered. "With Arton's help, I will unite all of Elbaf. Then even Linlin will never again threaten us. The tragedy she caused here must never be repeated."
At the memory of Big Mom's childhood rampage in Elbaf, Gerd's eyes hardened. "Arton must have a template that suits a giant like me."
She let out a long breath, then stretched her long legs and strode for the tavern door.
…
Grand Line – Paradise
"Tsk, that guy actually slipped away."
"Shame—I wanted his Devil Fruit." Teach clicked his tongue, strolling down the street in boredom.
"This couldn't be helped," Lafitte, the Blackbeard Pirates' navigator, chuckled. "He learned we were coming."
Already a Devil-Fruit user himself, Lafitte hardly cared when a fruit or two got away—unless it was an exceptionally strong one, like the fruits rumored to belong to the Flameblade Pirates.
"Really, if we're after powerful fruits," Lafitte went on, "all we have to do is crush the Flameblade Pirates."
"Captain Teach," he added, pulling a newspaper from his coat, "Arton just lured away a female Marine. She seems to wield some curious power, too."
"The Marine—Tashigi, right?" Teach asked. "I heard she used to serve under Smoker in Loguetown. After one sail with Arton she gained the ability to halt motion and fire golden energy cannons. That growth screams Devil Fruit," said Van Augur, the sniper.
"Hahaha! Doesn't sound that impressive," Burgess laughed. "That level's nothing compared with the transformation powers of Uta, Carina, or Kaya—and nowhere near Nami's fruit that clashed with Hawkeye Mihawk. If I could pick, I'd rather have Uta's or Carina's fruit—ha-ha-ha!"
"Cough… Maybe that Marine girl can transform, too; she just didn't show it in Loguetown," Doc Q remarked. "And besides her, Arton's crew now includes a blue-haired woman. Arton wouldn't bring along dead weight—she must wield some ability as well."
"Lafitte's right," Doc Q finished. "If we really wipe out the Flameblade Pirates, we won't have to scour the seas so hard for strong Devil Fruits."
The crew fell into eager discussion, all eyes turning to their captain—for in the end, stealing Arton's crew's fruits would need Teach's go-ahead.
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