Chapter 277: Jarl and Halle
In this world, a giant's average lifespan is three times that of a normal human—over three hundred years.
In a single lifetime, a giant can witness the rise and fall of several human generations and the complete collapse of a nation. That's not even mentioning ancient warriors like Jarl, who is over four hundred years old.
In a situation like this, when a human and a giant get together, the giant is destined to watch their partner die.
However, this world is not without things that can grant long life.
Putting aside the Millennium Dragon that lives on Warship Island in the East Blue (its effects are unknown), there is also the "Pure Gold" of legend, and the Perennial Youth Surgery granted by the Ope-Ope Fruit's awakening. Both can grant a lifespan equal to, or even longer than, a giant's.
If a human obtained one of the latter two, they could easily outlive their giant partner.
Lipuri, after a moment's pause, felt some of the gloom lift from her face. "That... sounds exactly like something Gaban would say."
"Indeed." The surrounding giants nodded in agreement.
Gaban's eyes lit up, and he looked at Louis as if he had just found a kindred spirit.
Louis ignored Gaban's strange look and added, "If you want to live longer, you could look for Pure Gold."
"As a member of the Roger Pirates, you must have heard of it, right?" Louis glanced at Gaban.
Pure Gold. It's a treasure said to be able to "buy the world," and it grants eternal time to its wearer. Those bathed in its light age far more slowly, gaining an immense lifespan.
"Pure Gold?" Gaban shook his head and sighed. "It's not that I haven't thought of it. I've been to the ruins of that island where it supposedly appeared more than once, searching for clues. But it was all in vain."
Just then, an ancient voice rumbled from behind them. "Pure Gold?"
"I remember that thing being swallowed by a giant lantern fish."
Louis turned. A new giant was approaching, one who stood ten meters taller than even Dorry and Brogy. He wore a horned helmet, and his beard was as massive and fluffy as a mountain.
Stuck clean through his head was a giant-sized sword, piercing his helmet and his skull.
This was the world's oldest warrior, "Mountain Beard" Jarl.
Beside him, holding his hand, was the same little girl from the school, Irfa, who also wore a horned helmet.
Brogy raised his cup, grinning. "Oho! Lord Jarl! Even you came down to the village!"
The mountain-like giant's gaze fell on Louis. A hand emerged from his fluffy beard. "My, my, it looks like an impressive guest has arrived!"
At his side, Irfa let go and ran toward Uta, her cute face lit up with a brilliant, joyful smile. "Princess Uta!!"
Uta turned at the sound and smiled when she saw the little girl. "We meet again, Irfa-kun!"
But when Uta's gaze shifted to the giant standing next to Irfa—ten meters taller than Dorry—she froze, her expression horrified.
"You... you have a sword stuck in your head!!"
"This?" Jarl replied, dead serious. "Harald's son did it. It's a good thing I was wearing my helmet that day, it saved my life."
Uta looked at the sword, which had clearly skewered his entire brain, and said with a strange look, "It stabbed straight through your head... I don't think the helmet did much!"
Louis watched the old giant. His Observation Haki was telling him something was wrong... something about Jarl and that sword.
Jarl walked right up to Louis, bent down, and studied him. "So, you're the legendary Archangel? You have giant's blood in you, too?"
"No, this is a Devil Fruit ability." Louis replied, his eyes and Haki both focused, trying to figure out what was "off" about Jarl.
Just then, Gaban leaped up, landing on the spike of Kolon's helmet. "Senior Jarl, what did you mean by that, about the lantern fish?"
Jarl looked down at Gaban. "Just what I said. It was eaten by a lantern fish."
"It was about two hundred years ago. Back then, I was just a middle-aged man in my early two-hundreds. Everyone was talking about Pure Gold. A lot of people rushed to that island and saw it with their own eyes. That glowing, golden thing... was swallowed whole by that giant lantern fish."
"If you want the Pure Gold, you'll have to find that fish."
"Swallowed... by a lantern fish?" Gaban lowered his head, his mind racing. How could he possibly find that specific fish?
He looked up again. "Senior Jarl, is there any way to find it?"
Jarl thought for a moment. "Well... it seems you can use the light of Pure Gold to lure it out from the deep sea."
"..."
Gaban was speechless. To get the Pure Gold, he had to find the fish. But to find the fish, he needed the Pure Gold. It was a perfect, inescapable loop.
After a long sigh, he said, "I'll have to think of another way."
Louis didn't interject, but he, too, wanted to find Pure Gold. Not for himself, but for the people around him.
Just then, Dorry slammed his fist into his palm, as if he'd just remembered something. He clapped Louis on the shoulder, his face lit with excitement.
"Louis-bro! With your ability, you should be able to get that sword out of Lord Jarl's head, right?"
As someone who had experienced Louis's healing firsthand, Dorry knew how absurdly powerful it was. Louis could bring someone back from death's door in seconds.
The other Giant Warrior Pirates exploded with excitement, all of them turning to Louis with hopeful eyes.
Louis didn't refuse. He also wanted to know if the sword was the source of the "wrongness" he sensed. "Of course."
He had already used his Devil Fruit Awakening to remove the helm from Shiki's head. A simple sword would be no problem.
Louis looked up at Jarl. "Jarl, I'll give you the same choice I gave Shiki: Do you want me to just pull it out, or should I perform a craniotomy to remove it?"
"If it's surgery, I can be your assistant, Captain!" Gerd stood up, stretching. "Before I joined you, I was an excellent doctor, you know."
Irfa, who was talking with Uta, looked up, her eyes shining with hope. "Can you really do it?"
In her hands, Uta waved dismissively. "Of course! Louis's healing is the best in the world! Even the user of the Heal-Heal Fruit can't compare to him!"
But just as everyone was getting excited, Jarl himself crossed his massive arms, expressing a different opinion.
"Take this sword out?" He circled Louis, inspecting his wings, hair, and skin. "There's no need. It's the same whether it's in or out. I don't have many years left anyway."
Dorry and Brogy were stunned. "Lord Jarl, you should really let him take it out!"
"No, just leave it." Jarl shook his head, his attitude exceptionally firm.
The banquet fell silent, the mood turning heavy. Dorry and Brogy wanted to argue, but they were powerless against Jarl's decision.
Louis's expression didn't change, but he was now certain: the "wrongness" he sensed from Jarl was not his imagination.
Jarl ignored the mood, pushed Dorry aside, and sat directly opposite Louis.
"Are you really a Lunarian? You look so different from the ones I've seen. If you hadn't said so, I never would have guessed."
"I am." Louis raised an eyebrow. "You've seen other Lunarians?"
"I've lived 400 years," Jarl said, grabbing a piece of meat and chewing, showing no sign of his grievous injury. "I've seen every race on this sea. Not just Lunarians, I've seen plenty of the Three-Eye Tribe, who have all but vanished from history. But speaking of which... the strongest Lunarians I ever met were only about as strong as these brats, Dorry and Brogy."
The giants all groaned. "Captain Dorry and Captain Brogy are among the strongest people in the world, just below the absolute top-tier!"
"But to the real top-tiers, they're nothing." Jarl's mind flashed with faces from his long memory, his tone heavy. "If only Loki could have been a good king..."
The mood grew heavy once more.
Uta, looking at all the giants who were over a century old, suddenly had a bold idea. She looked up and asked, "Since you've all lived so long, you must be familiar with the strong people from the last hundred years, right?"
The giants looked at each other, then nodded, confused. "We tend to remember the really strong ones, yes."
"In that case," Uta said, "have you ever heard of someone named Holden?"
"Holden?" Dorry, Brogy, and the others shook their heads, completely blank.
Louis's eyes flickered. Of course they haven't. That old-timer was using a fake name for decades. His real name... not even his own apprentice knew. Even I only found out just before he died.
Uta was shocked, then added, "He's from the Buccaneer Race. I heard he's over a hundred years old, incredibly strong, and was active in the New World."
"..."
"An incredibly strong Buccaneer?"
"From over a hundred years ago?"
This time, the giants recognized the description.
Brogy took a long drink, then said thoughtfully, "About 110 years ago... before we set out to sea... there was a man like that. His name was unknown. But I'm sure it wasn't Holden."
Dorry sat down in a new spot. "Gyegegegege! Remember, a few years ago, we told you that a hundred years ago, there was only one man who had the same level of power as a 15-year-old Louis? That was the man we were talking about."
"He was at the very pinnacle of the world back then," another giant added. "But he vanished without a trace."
Uta was exasperated. "His name wasn't Holden, either? He seems to have put all his energy into hiding from his own people! So," she mused, "he really was at the top of the world... No wonder he could knock out a strong, young Buccaneer with one hit, even at his age..."
Just then, Louis finished the last of his grapes. In front of the giants, his form shrank, returning to his original size as he sat on the giant table.
Jarl was stunned. He leaned in close, staring at Louis. "Now that is truly magical! You can change your size freely... just like Nika!"
"That's right!" Gaban and the other giants nodded in agreement.
"Nika?"
Louis's expression shifted. He knew that name well. He'd heard many legends about Nika from the old Buccaneer. Years ago, he had even seen the "Nika Fruit" with his own eyes on Shanks's ship. Louis even knew what Nika's form and abilities were. And just recently, he'd read the news about Straw Hat Luffy causing a scene in Loguetown...
The name "Nika" snapped Uta out of her thoughts. "What exactly is Nika? I've heard Bonney mention that name, too."
The giants lit up as if she'd said a magic word. "Nika is the Sun God! The Warrior of Liberation!"
"He has a form of freedom! He can stretch his body and fights with pure imagination!"
"Everywhere he goes, he makes people laugh!"
But then, another giant offered a completely different answer. "No, Nika is the God of Destruction! On the final day, the God of Destruction, Nika, will destroy this world with the Serpent of Hellfire!"
"..."
Uta was confused. Were they even talking about the same being? "Or... are there two Nikas? One for liberation, and one for destruction?"
The giants just shook their heads. "We don't know. They're just legends."
Louis, however, remembered the mural Hajrudin had told him about. He turned to Gerd. "Gerd, take us to see that mural you mentioned."
"'Halle'?" Gerd didn't hesitate. She held out her hands. "It's not far. We can be there quickly."
Louis stepped into her palm and turned to say goodbye. "We're leaving. Farewell, Dorry, Brogy."
"Eh? You're leaving already?" Dorry put down his cup, his smile fading.
"Yes. After we see the mural, we'll leave Elbaf," Louis stated, his voice flat.
"I see..." Brogy stood up. "Then we'll see you to the edge of the village! Men of the Giant Warrior Pirates! Let's give our friend and honored guest a proper send-off!"
"OOOHHH!" The giants raised their weapons, letting out a deafening cheer.
At the village entrance, massive figures stood in a line, raising their weapons and cheering as Louis, Uta, and Gerd departed. Kolon was there, mimicking the warriors, his own greatsword held high. Beside him, Jarl's great-granddaughter, Irfa, took off her horned helmet. She looked at the large signature on it, then at the departing figures, her eyes filled with reluctance.
"So, this is 'Halle'?"
Before them was a mural so massive it filled their entire field of vision. Louis, Uta, and Gerd stood in silence, taking it all in.
First World... Second World... Third World...
Sun God... Earth God... Sea God... Serpent of Hellfire... and Forest God...
Uta spotted the last one. "Forest God. That's what Loki called Louis. But... the description doesn't seem to match Louis at all."
"..."
Half-Moon People... Moon People...
Louis wove the images from the mural together with everything he already knew.
First World: A high-tech world, like his past life. People holding a "sun"—perhaps a reference to nuclear fusion, or something like the Mother Flame. It was likely the same era as the giant robot ruins and Baal.
Second World: A person standing on the head of a giant elephant (Zou), touching the top of a giant tree. A great dragon descends, breathing fire. "The Forest God sent down demons"—is this the origin of Devil Fruits? Was the first one a literal "Demon" Fruit?
A giant ship, like Enel's Ark Maxim, shoots lightning at the person and the elephant.
This... this must be Imu, 800 years ago, standing on Zou's head, obtaining something that allowed the Twenty Kingdoms to win. The Kozuki family then ordered the defeated Zou to walk for eternity, protecting the last of their forces, the Minks, until the next counter-attack.
The blueprints for that ship were left on Birka, where Enel found them. The lightning... that matches the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user from 800 years ago. The fruit and the blueprints were kept together.
Louis frowned. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was now with Arcordon, and the blueprints were on Baal.
Perhaps... I should have my people build that ship. The Ark Maxim and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit are a perfect match, a 1+1=3 situation. If Arcordon had that ship, his destructive power would increase even more...
After making a mental note, Louis turned his thoughts to the Third World.
This, he surmised, was not history, but a prophecy. It was too easy to guess.
Nika. Shirahoshi (Mermaids). Loki (Giants). A winged figure wreathed in flames (Lunarians). Minks. Samurai from Wano.
And their opponent: a "demon" (Imu) holding the sun (the "Mother Flame").
This was a prophecy of the final war.
Aside from that... the "Half-Moon People" and "Moon People" were interesting.
Half-Moon People... the Shandians of ancient Jaya? The Skypieans?
And the Moon People... that was almost certainly his own race. The Lunarians.
The name "Luna," the ruins in the sky, the winged robots on the moon... it all pointed to the Lunarians coming from the moon.
Louis raised an eyebrow. "So... I really am the descendant of aliens?"
A great crack in space opened, revealing a star-filled portal.
Louis shut down his thoughts, turned, and stepped through the gate, leaving Elbaf behind.
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