Chapter 236: The Unpublished Information
Louis strolled along the path that was one with the Adam tree, as if it had grown naturally, heading straight for Avant Heim at its peak.
Beside him, Uta sat cross-legged on the head of the giant dog, once again opening a delicately packaged dessert. A sharp glint flashed in her amethyst-like eyes.
"As expected of pastries from the Charlotte Family! They've already far surpassed ninety-nine percent of the pastries on the sea!"
"Hey, Louis. Your decision to accept those people from the Charlotte Family back then was really a wise one!"
Uta had tasted various pastries from the Four Seas and the Grand Line. In the end, only the pastries from a few regions had left a deep impression on her. And among them, the pastries from Fish-Man Island and the Charlotte Family were the two that Uta considered the best.
Louis raised his hand, took a small piece of pastry from Uta's, and put it in his mouth. After tasting it, he replied pointedly, "With Big Mom's extremely high standards for desserts and cuisine, how bad could the taste she carefully selected be?"
Big Mom was no benevolent leader. Her level of cruelty was in no way inferior to Kaido's. And with her hunger pangs, if her tastes were not satisfied when she had a fit, she would truly not recognize anyone. In this situation, besides being powerful, the Charlotte Family's cooking skills were also quite outstanding.
After finishing the pastry in her hand, Uta crossed one arm and lightly raised her chin with her other fair, slender hand. "Hmm—back when that Katakuri sent Chiffon to Terra and proposed that some of their people join us, many were quite surprised! No one expected that Katakuri would talk to us so calmly, after we had fought so fiercely and had directly caused Big Mom's death."
Back then, not long after Katakuri had dispatched people to the Beasts Pirates, the Flying Pirates, and the Red Hair Pirates, Charlotte Chiffon had come to Terra with Katakuri's will and had a conversation with Louis. Afterward, Katakuri, who had been saved by Kaido, had personally come to Terra with a bloody head and had a talk with Louis. In the end, Louis had agreed to accept some of the Charlotte Family members.
"According to what he said, they originally hadn't planned to have anyone join me, but later, because of some things, Katakuri changed his mind," Louis explained in a deep voice, a hint of memory in his eyes.
Nearby, Uta was taken aback. She then blinked her purple eyes and asked curiously, "What made him come to find us, his enemies?"
After a moment of contemplation, Louis met Uta's eyes and said, "It's better for you to find out about that kind of thing later—"
Most of the Charlotte Family members who were sent to Terra were the weak and non-combatant youths and children. Unlike the powerful and infamous executives, it would be difficult for them to survive peacefully in the Flying Pirates or the Beasts Pirates. Therefore, Katakuri had originally thought of a suitable home for them: the Red Hair Pirates, who were powerful and known for being extremely kind and gentle.
But this move... after another secret clash with the mastermind, Katakuri had completely given up on this idea. Because during the clash, he had seen a certain person's face. From then on, Katakuri had finally sought out Louis and, with a head and the last of his family's treasure, had found a chance of survival for his weaker siblings.
And Charlotte Cracker, with a few others, had joined the Beasts Pirates. Charlotte Smoothie, with a few others, had joined the Flying Pirates. The powers that had accepted these three groups were feared by the Charlotte Family's enemies, so those people would not risk pursuing them. The remaining powerful executives had followed Katakuri and begun to roam the seas, attracting the enemy's attention. In the end, they had all gone missing not long after.
"Tch." Seeing that Louis had no intention of telling her clearly, Uta pouted. "So mysterious."
As time passed, Louis and Uta walked along the road to the top of the Adam tree, entering the interior of Avant Heim. When the two entered the flawless white cloud space, Uta turned to look at Louis and asked, tilting her head, "I'm going to take a bath. Do you want to come?"
"I haven't helped you groom your wings in a while."
To this, Louis shook his head. "I have other things to do."
"Alright then." Seeing that he had other things to be busy with, Uta said no more. She stretched, jumped down from the dog's head, and returned to her room along the corridor.
And the giant dog, after looking up at Louis, also familiarly found a spot in the main hall and lay down. Having been raised by Holden, it was not quite like its peers. Compared to tearing apart enemies and prey, it was more accustomed to lying down and sleeping near its master, or acting as a mount or support for its mobility-impaired master. It had never joined the training of the Buccaneers and the other giant dogs. Therefore, it was completely unable to integrate into the pack, nor could it coordinate with them. This was also the main reason why Holden had entrusted it to Louis.
Then, Louis went straight into the expanded space of Avant Heim, sat on the giant throne, and fell into thought.
Devil Fruits are the world's response to humanity's desire for its own evolution. They come from the intentional and unintentional wishes of people over thousands of years. Every Devil Fruit represents a human desire and dream. Those who eat them will gain special abilities, allowing them to obtain unimaginable power: to manipulate a certain special substance or concept, to transform into a ferocious beast, a mythical creature, or a natural disaster that all living beings revere and fear.
And when a person has developed their Devil Fruit ability to the extreme, their control over it will reach a sublimated stage.
For Paramecia types, it is to affect the surrounding things, to assimilate all things into substances and concepts that can be controlled by oneself.
For Zoan ability users, when their body and mind have caught up with the fruit's ability, their strength, speed, and self-healing ability will be greatly improved.
For Logia ability users, the pinnacle is presumed to be the permanent alteration of the climate and environment, such as the sky islands ten thousand meters high, Raijin Island in the New World, and the Punk Hazard from the original history.
Whether it is Paramecia, Zoan, or Logia, after the user's ability has been sublimated, their own strength will be considerably enhanced. This stage is usually called—Devil Fruit Awakening.
In the huge space, Louis sat on his throne and slowly closed his eyes.
Half a month later, on the wilderness of Terra.
One after another, giant dogs with yellow fur were leading a group of smaller puppies, sprinting at the edge of the forest. The giant dogs, with no missions, were rampaging across the boundless land, driving away the wild beasts that Hajrudin had brought. While driving the beasts away from the town, they were also herding them, driving the countless beasts to a specific area.
When passing by an open-pit mine, the pack of dogs split in half, scattering to surround the entire mine. One by one, the giant dogs stood on top of the mine, lowered their huge heads, and their beastly eyes fell on the ragged, numb crowd below, searching for any threatening individuals.
Soon, the strange movements of several people in the crowd of thousands of captives attracted the attention of the giant dogs. Just as the group was about to pounce, a sky-blotting shadow covered the giant mine.
Looking up, a pink dragon shadow, its size immeasurable, was high in the sky. Around it, massive dark shadows were lifted by fluttering cloud ribbons, hovering by the side of the pink giant dragon.
The group of pirate captives saw this, turned numbly, and ran toward a safe area. A few minutes later, the giant mine, which had been bustling with thousands of people, was empty. Immediately after, a thousand-meter-wide island slowly descended and, under everyone's watchful eyes, landed in the mine, letting out a series of roars and kicking up a large cloud of dust.
After the dust had settled, one after another, thin and gaunt pirates walked out from all directions, numbly walking toward this small island that had fallen from the sky.
In the sky, the sky-blotting pink dragon shadow had already disappeared, flying quickly toward several other mines.
After a long while, the sky-blotting dragon shadow had placed all the small islands rich in iron ore in the mines. Then, it brazenly crossed the huge city, flying over the people's heads. Its sky-blotting figure, the gleam of its scales, its powerful body—all of it made countless citizens marvel.
"Look! That's the Giant God Soldier - Lord Hajrudin!"
"What a magnificent figure!!"
"Lord Hajrudin is the leader of the Giant Legion!"
Amidst the praises, Hajrudin, in the sky above the giant colosseum under the Treasure Tree Adam, reverted to his original form and crashed heavily to the ground.
From the dust cloud that covered a radius of several hundred meters, Hajrudin, wearing a metal helmet, with long, loose black hair and a giant double-bladed battle-axe on his back, slowly walked out.
"You're back, Hajrudin!" Goldberg put down the shield and kanabō in his hands and gave him a simple and honest smile. "Are you just back to rest for a few hours this time?"
Hajrudin casually took off his helmet, sat on the giant steps, and replied in a deep voice, "Yes. I'll rest for a bit and then go to the transfer point to bring back the remaining islands."
The distance in the sea was quite vast. Even Hajrudin, with his astonishing stamina, would often stop to rest and recover when moving islands. Over time, he would move the small islands in one area to a single location and then bring them back in batches.
Goldberg heard him and said with a laugh, "Alright, I'll go prepare some stamina-recovering food for you."
"Then I'll trouble you." Hajrudin touched his somewhat empty stomach and readily accepted his kindness.
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