Between Two Worlds: Nen and Haki

"Off we go!"

With a hearty laugh, thunder transformed into wings. Zane leaped into the air, instantly whipping up a howling gale as he flew through the sky, holding Nico Robin in his arms.

"Is this one of your abilities too, Captain?"

Nico Robin didn't panic. Resting in Zane's arms, she curiously touched the spherical shield surrounding her and the captain.

"Of course. What do you think? I'm a thoughtful captain, aren't I? This was set up specifically to protect you."

The spherical shield was composed of Nen aura.

While the speed of Rumble: Thunder Wing Sky Drive wasn't as fast as transforming directly into a bolt of lightning, it still moved at several times the speed of sound.

Without protection, even though Nico Robin's physical strength had grown significantly, she would still suffer from the intense pressure of air resistance.

Looking down at the curious Nico Robin, Zane gave her a playful smile and kissed her crimson lips.

"Captain, you're the best!"

A smile danced in Nico Robin's beautiful eyes. She wrapped her arms around Zane's neck and proactively returned the kiss.

In this rare moment alone together, Nico Robin was clearly in a wonderful mood.

Throughout the flight, she chatted and giggled with Zane, frequently offering passionate kisses as encouragement.

During their pleasant journey, Zane would tease Robin from time to time.

Sometimes they dove through the clouds, and at other times, they skimmed low over the sea, kicking up long waves. They were treating this search for the Poneglyph as a private vacation.

Alabasta was a superpower in the first half of the Grand Line.

Its population and land area were famous throughout the entire world.

Even without Nico Robin, the hunting team had a Permanent Pose for Alabasta in their collection.

This ensured that Zane wouldn't have to worry about losing his way at sea after departing from Whiskey Peak.

"Hm?"

High in the sky, Zane, who had been flirting with Nico Robin, suddenly looked down. His eyes flashed crimson as he slowly came to a halt.

"What is it? Did you spot an enemy?"

Nico Robin, who had been about to offer another kiss as a reward, asked in confusion when she saw Zane stop and stare downward.

"No, I just happened across two interesting fellows." Zane shook his head and smiled. "Let's head down for a bit. I want to see if I can recruit two excellent fighters for the hunting team."

With that, he dove downward, briefly explaining the situation to Nico Robin as they descended.

"The Giant Tribe?"

As they dove, the sea below became clear, and an island covered in lush jungle came into view.

After hearing Zane's explanation, Nico Robin looked surprised and quickly turned her gaze toward the island below.

The Giant Tribe?

'Aren't those Saul's kin?'

"Yes. This island is called Little Garden. It's a prehistoric island inhabited by many ancient creatures. The two giants currently occupying this place are Dorry and Brogy, the captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, who were world-renowned a century ago."

Zane nodded slightly. As he spoke, he landed on a prominent giant beast skull on Little Garden.

There were two skulls in total, the remains of Sea Kings hunted by Dorry and Brogy during their past competitions.

Though they were called skulls, their massive size made them resemble two towering mountains.

Landing steadily on the skull mountain, Zane set Nico Robin down and walked to the edge, looking down at the massive figure sleeping soundly in the clearing below.

He wore an iron face-guard helmet and had a long beard.

Even in sleep, the shield in his left hand and the giant sword in his right never left his side.

The massive figure snoring in the clearing was indeed one of the two captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Dorry.

At the same time, through his Observation Haki, Zane sensed another powerful presence at the foot of the other bone mountain. It was clearly the other captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates, Brogy.

Zane looked at the sleeping Dorry with interest.

Giants were undoubtedly natural-born warriors.

Even if Elbaf had lost its way now, the foundation was still there.

Although this was just a chance encounter, since he had run into them, there was no harm in trying to recruit them.

BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a loud explosion echoed as a distant volcano erupted, spewing scorching lava.

The environment of Little Garden was extremely primitive.

There were several volcanoes on the island.

At this moment, the volcanic eruption served as a signal.

Dorry, who had been sleeping soundly, was instantly jolted awake, snapping his eyes open.

"Gegyegyegyegya! Brogy—wait, what?"

As usual, the moment he heard the volcano, Dorry's sleepiness was ignited by the battle spirit that had burned for a century without fading.

Rolling to his feet, Dorry laughed loudly, intending to declare his battle intent to Brogy on the other side.

But halfway through his laugh, a glint of crimson flashed in his eyes, and he looked up at the top of the skull mountain.

"A human?"

Zane, looking down from the edge of the mountain, immediately entered Dorry's field of vision, much to the giant's surprise.

"Hello there!"

Seeing Dorry look up, Zane wasn't at all flustered by being discovered. Instead, he greeted the giant with a smile and leaped down.

THUD!

He did nothing to break his fall.

He landed directly in the clearing opposite Dorry.

As the ground cracked beneath him, Zane casually waved away the rising dust and stepped out of the crater.

"Dorry, my name is Zane. I've come here to recruit you and Brogy as my subordinates."

There was a massive disparity in their sizes, but Zane's presence was even more overwhelming than Dorry's. He laughed heartily, making no attempt to hide his intentions.

"Recruit Brogy and me?"

Dorry stared at the human before him in astonishment.

Where did this guy come from? Far from being afraid, he was bold enough to suggest recruiting him and Brogy.

This was truly...

"Gegyegyegyegya! How nostalgic. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've met a human brave enough to try and recruit us. However, I'm currently busy. If you want to recruit us, you'll have to wait until Brogy and I finish our fight!"

Dorry wasn't angry; instead, he burst into hearty laughter.

Being a race of natural-born warriors.

Not just for legends like Dorry and Brogy, even ordinary giants were never short of recruitment offers from others.

Thus, he wasn't particularly surprised by Zane's invitation; rather, he admired Zane's courage.

But as Dorry had said.

He was busy right now.

The volcanic eruption was the signal for his duel with Brogy.

Leaving it at that, Dorry turned and strode toward the other skull mountain.

"Gabababababa! Dorry, are you scared? Why are you so slow!"

Before Dorry could get very far, a massive figure appeared from the other side, towering over the trees.

Wearing a helmet with horns on both sides, the seemingly stout but actually muscular Brogy pushed through the trees blocking his path and looked at Dorry mockingly.

"Bullshit! I just got held up for a second!" Enraged by Brogy's taunt, Dorry charged forward, swinging his giant sword.

"That's the spirit! If you'd run away, I would've been bored to death!" Brogy wasn't surprised; he stepped forward and swung his massive axe to meet the incoming sword.

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