“Red Ogre, an axe that dull doesn’t befit the strength expected of the captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates.”
“Let that girl go! If you’re a man, fight me in an honorable duel!”
If Ginny hadn’t still been in his hands, Brogy’s axe would not have been aimed at cutting off his escape route just now; it would have gone straight for his body.
Hostages have always been tricky to deal with, and that is especially true for Giants, who prefer brute force.
After the version update to “Ultimate Hostage,” countless people have found themselves restricted by opponents far weaker than themselves because of the hostage issue.
“You can’t escape. In front of the two of us, don’t even think about harming our benefactor’s friend.”
Dorry arrived from the other side at that moment, seemingly completing the encirclement of Bishop.
“Let that little girl go. We can make an exception and overlook your interference in our duel, allowing you to leave here safely. I swear it in the name of Elbaf.”
Though Elbaf’s Giants often acted recklessly, they upheld warrior’s honor. An oath made in such a name was generally trustworthy.
Unfortunately for them, their opponents were people with no sense of honor.
“Rokuogan!”
Rook, who had remained hidden the entire time, suddenly appeared beside Dorry. Both fists erupted with force simultaneously as he struck toward Dorry’s temple.
At the same time, Kuma’s palm slapped against himself. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Bishop in a near-teleportation movement and swung a palm toward him.
It didn’t matter whether he struck Ginny or Bishop. As long as he could repel either one of them, the immediate crisis would be resolved.
The displacement of the Paw-Paw Fruit was practically indistinguishable from teleportation, but with the aid of Observation Haki, Bishop still reacted in time and used Soru to evade Kuma’s palm.
More surprisingly, Ginny made almost the exact same movement as Bishop, dodging Kuma’s action as well.
“A Devil Fruit user…”
“You almost managed to take her away. She’s someone a very important figure specifically asked for. I can’t let you rescue her.”
Bishop did not explain what his ability was. He simply widened the distance between himself and Kuma. Ginny, as though she had lost control of herself, moved away together with Bishop.
Boom!
At the same time, accompanied by a tremendous crash, Dorry’s massive body collapsed to the ground. Though he had not lost consciousness, he could not get back up for quite some time.
“So this is the strength of the Blue Ogre? Too weak.”
“You b*stard who only knows how to sneak attack… If our duel hadn’t just ended, an attack like that would’ve been nothing more than a scratch…”
Dorry lay on the ground, thoroughly unconvinced, but there was little he could do. Both he and Brogy were already close to exhaustion, and their current condition was not the result of just this duel.
Ever since arriving on this island, they had used volcanic eruptions as the signal to begin endless duels. Up to now, they had fought nearly sixty thousand battles.
On average, they fought twice a day, every day, and their stamina had never truly recovered.
Though Brogy had not fallen, he was being completely suppressed by Rook and could barely raise his head.
“If you were fully recovered, just how strong would you be?”
“Dealing with those two… won’t be a problem.”
Dorry didn’t understand why Kuma was asking that, but he answered honestly nonetheless.
“In that case… I have a way. Please trust me and don’t resist in any way.”
“Mm.”
Dorry responded with a grunt, then watched as Kuma slapped a palm toward his head. The next moment, an enormous red bear paw-shaped bubble slowly floated out of Dorry’s body.
At the same time, Dorry felt all the fatigue in his body vanish along with the bubble floating out.
“This contains the pain and fatigue that have accumulated inside your body over the years. I’ve extracted them. You have about three hours. Please help me.”
Not everything Kuma extracted would dissipate naturally. If no one voluntarily accepted the pain and fatigue, they would return to the original owner after a short time.
The pain inside a Giant’s body was something even Kuma could not bear, so he could only extract it temporarily.
“Gegyagyagya!! Three hours? I won’t even need three minutes to settle this! Brogy! Move aside!”
With all his fatigue and pain eliminated, Dorry had not fully returned to his peak condition, but he had recovered seventy to eighty percent of his fighting power, something completely incomparable to his previous state.
The Dorry who had been lying on the ground in agony moments ago sprang to his feet and lunged at Rook, while Kuma flashed to Brogy’s side and repeated the same process.
After that came Luna and the others who had been affected by the Devil Fruit ability. Kuma slapped out bubble after bubble from their bodies.
When facing a threat, restoring the combat strength of your own side was far more practical than trying to negotiate terms with the enemy.
Dorry’s sudden recovery startled Rook. He barely managed to dodge the Giant’s massive hand. He could clearly tell that Dorry’s speed was several times faster than before.
“Bishop! Take that woman and retreat! Something’s wrong!”
“Gegyagyagya!! Didn’t you think we were weak?”
“Gababababa! Then experience the true power of Giants!”
“Sun Saw!”
Sword and axe swung out simultaneously.
Rook tried to evade, but even after repeatedly using Geppo, he still remained within the range of their attack.
Before the weapons even touched him, the pressure generated by their Haki had already completely locked onto his body. The Haki of the two Giants resembled giant millstones, crushing Rook’s body into pieces.
His strange mask, his immaculate suit—everything was reduced to dust under that terrifying power and scattered into the wind.
Nearby, Bishop seemed stunned. They had accounted for Kuma’s combat ability, but they had never imagined his power was this versatile.
Not only could he move himself and deal damage, he could also dispel negative buffs and even restore the condition of others at the same time.
Temporary or not, the combat strength of those two Giants had skyrocketed.
Although Giants appeared clumsy in their movements, every step they took covered a distance that would require dozens or even hundreds of steps for a human to match.
Despite several attempts, Bishop failed to break through their encirclement.
Instead, his room to maneuver was steadily compressed. In the end, he simply placed a blade against his own neck and drew blood.
Threatening suicide would not scare anyone. However, at the very moment he did so, an identical wound appeared on Ginny’s neck.
“Don’t come any closer! I’m the user of the Sync-Sync Fruit! This woman has already been bound by my ability. Any damage I suffer will be reflected onto her!
“My ability is permanent! If I don’t cancel it myself, killing me won’t help! She’ll be buried with me!
“With a single thought, I can make her commit suicide as well! No matter how fast you are, you can’t be faster than my thoughts!”
Only now did Bishop begin explaining his Devil Fruit ability. He had to make them understand that if he suffered even the slightest injury, the woman would die.
Against the restored Dorry and Brogy, he simply had no means of resistance.
“Let her go and release your ability. You can leave.”
“Impossible! Let me leave first! Once I’m somewhere safe, I’ll release her! Don’t try any tricks. If I lose consciousness, the ability will activate immediately. If you want her to live, do as I say!”
In Bishop’s eyes, Ginny was his only life-saving talisman. Naturally, he had no intention of releasing her. At the same time, no one was more worried about something happening to Ginny than Bishop himself.
If anything happened to the hostage, he truly would have no way to survive.
The situation seemed to have reached a stalemate. Yet while both sides remained locked in confrontation, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded from the jungle. Nereus’s figure gradually entered everyone’s field of vision.
“Your Majesty Nereus!”
“Your Majesty?!!”
The word “Your Majesty” seemed to stir something in Bishop. At this moment, he realized that he might have brought a massive trouble back upon himself…
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