Due to Loki's exaggerated height of over sixty meters appearing in the Giant Kingdom, Jarul on the giant tree in West Village, along with other giant warriors in different areas who hadn't fallen unconscious under the Conqueror's Haki impact, had their attention drawn to Loki's figure.
Even Gaban, Ripley, and others far off at the library entrance spotted Loki at this moment.
In front of the ruins of Orst Castle, the giant elder Jarul, who had been struggling to hold on, trembled violently.
Staring blankly at the figure emerging from the Netherworld, he cried out involuntarily.
"Loki!"
Simultaneously, at the library entrance, Ripley's tall body tensed abruptly.
Gazing at the demon-like figure in the distance, she exclaimed in alarm, "This is bad! Loki has been brought out of the Netherworld by the Fleet Admiral!"
Gaban and Rayleigh also looked up simultaneously.
The oppressive aura emanating from that figure made even these legendary figures feel a palpitation of fear across the vast distance.
"Don't panic."
Rayleigh waved his hand, signaling Ripley not to be overly tense, and said calmly, "If Orion dared to release him, he naturally has the means to suppress him."
Hearing this, Gaban turned his head and scrutinized his old friend suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you quite admire this Fleet Admiral? What? After living a stable life on Sabaody Archipelago, are you thinking of turning over a new leaf and pledging loyalty to the World Government? Don't forget what we saw when we followed Roger to Laugh Tale!"
"Pledge allegiance to the World Government? Absolutely not." Rayleigh shook his head, then abruptly changed his tone. "However, if Fleet Admiral Orion truly can change this world, bowing to him wouldn't be such a bad thing."
Before his words faded, Rayleigh's pupils abruptly contracted.
Gaban and Ripley also sensed the anomaly, simultaneously looking up in disbelief toward the front.
They saw the giant warriors who had been knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki, scattered haphazardly on the ground, suddenly flip over and stand up.
A giant warrior closest to them staggered to his feet, rubbing his throbbing temples with a completely bewildered expression.
"Huh? How did I fall asleep? What just happened?"
Immediately after, as if responding to some silent summons, the giants around him woke up one after another.
In the blink of an eye, all the unconscious giants in the area before the library stood up, looking around with identical confusion etched on their faces, trying to find the master who had awakened them.
This scene was simultaneously playing out in every corner of the Giant Kingdom.
In the blacksmith shop, a giant blacksmith who had collapsed beside the anvil sat up, scratching his head while staring at the extinguished forge fire with a dazed expression.
"What's going on? How did I fall asleep while forging?"
On the ridge between fields, a young giant warrior pushed himself up, complaining to an older warrior leisurely smoking a pipe beside him.
"Damn, my head hurts! What exactly happened just now? I felt everything go black, then knew nothing."
The elderly giant warrior exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, squinted his eyes, and tapped the young man's shoulder with his pipe.
"Youth is wonderful indeed - falling asleep instantly and waking up completely fine."
Speaking slowly, he stood up, dusted off his clothes, squinted at the already dissipated 'red sun' in the sky, and shook his head.
"Not like us old bones who can't even get a proper night's sleep."
...
Meanwhile, in the hidden chamber deep within the library, the group of giant children woke up one after another.
"Eh? Where's Aunt Ripley?"
"Let's go out and see!"
Discovering Ripley was missing, the children all ran outside.
Just after exiting the library, the children spotted Ripley and immediately excitedly surrounded her.
"Aunt Ripley! When are we going to Walrus Academy?"
"Yeah, yeah, if we don't go soon we'll miss today's lessons!"
Looking at these innocent children, then at the towering figure in the distance, Ripley found herself momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
Watching this scene, Rayleigh and Gaban exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
As legendary pirates of the Grand Line and former right-hand men of Roger, how could they not know what had happened?
It was precisely because they understood these giants knocked unconscious by Conqueror's Haki had been awakened by Orion through Observation Haki that they felt such astonishment.
Conqueror's Haki of ultimate dominance, Observation Haki developed to perfection - both made them, as legends themselves, feel utterly outmatched.
A Marine Fleet Admiral possessing such capabilities - forget about them, even if the great powers that once gathered at God Valley were to reunite, they likely wouldn't be a match for this young fleet admiral.
After a brief silence, Gaban let out a long sigh and couldn't help but marvel, "Truly worthy of being the Fleet Admiral who could make even the Holy Land concede. With such powers, who would dare disobey him?"
Before his words faded, he turned to Rayleigh as if shedding a heavy burden.
"Rayleigh, as you said, if this Fleet Admiral can truly lead this world toward the light, then the truth hidden in Laugh Tale doesn't seem so important anymore."
Rayleigh nodded slightly, a glimmer in his eyes behind his glasses.
"That's also why I came here. We were all misled by prejudice before. We stubbornly believed that the person Roger was waiting for would be born in the Grand Line, would come from the D clan. We never imagined such a figure would emerge from within the World Government. And we never expected this person to appear as a Marine!"
He paused briefly, narrowing his eyes.
"Thinking back now, such a person had actually already appeared during the God Valley incident back then."
Gaban was momentarily stunned before understanding dawned on his face.
"You mean Monkey D. Garp, who teamed up with Rocks and others to attack that monster at God Valley, the one who always loved taking the lead in fights?"
Rayleigh nodded.
"Roger once invited him to join us back then, but he refused."
"Garp's reason for refusing Roger was that if he left the Marines, there would be no one to protect those marines."
At this point, Rayleigh slightly raised his head to look at the sky and smiled.
"After guarding the Marines for over thirty years, Garp can finally retire with honor."
"Because within the Marine forces he protected, a young force has emerged - one who isn't the Sun God, but surpasses even the Sun God."
Hearing this, Gaban looked at Rayleigh with unprecedented seriousness.
"So you've already made your choice? Coming to Elbaf wasn't to fight alongside me again, but to persuade me to reform?"
Rayleigh blinked. "Haven't you already reformed? Running from Twin Cape to Elbaf to get married and have children! Speaking of which, you still haven't answered my earlier question about you and your wife..."
Not expecting Rayleigh to bring the topic back again, Gaban quickly interrupted.
"If you want to fight, just say so! I know a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat!"