Chapter 17: Svatalfheim

In comparison to his appearance in the bar, Luffy was much similar to his usual slimmer physique but had grown to 6'0. His vest was replaced with a red flowing long coat over his toned body which had a dull golden overcoat over this red coat. His shorts had been replaced with longer pants with the same white cuffs.

"Just defused just in time. Good to see you, Shanks.," he said.

"Luffy, why do you look different?," asked Shanks.

"Makino and her baby are dead. They must've found out no matter hard you tried to hide her.," Luffy said as he clenched his fist.

"How?," asked Shanks.

"I'm not gonna ask why you worked with those bastards. You must've had your reasons.," Luffy replied.

The young man then stared at "Farbuit" and Loki as they seemed to be intense concentration.

"You fake. You killed the real Farbuit and caused all this crap. Minerva told me all about how you overthrew Odin and are using your son, Loki to work with the World Government.," said the Straw Hat.

"Tch, no use hiding it until backup arrives. Yes, I am Allister Crowley and I'm one of the twenty World Nobles that founded the World Government. But don't compare me with that Nefertari filth. I'm a true ruler. And I intend to take authority away from HIM and HER to rule as I please.," explained the Giant.

"The area's acting weird.," said Bonk as Monster nodded as the floor distorted.

"I heard they had powers but I didn't think it was the Illusion-Illusion.," Snake noted.

"Anne. Vivi.," said Luffy as the two women nodded. In a shower of light, they transformed. Vivi became a humanoid, angelic light bluish dragon with four feathered wings covered in eyes and Anne became a less elegant-looking angel. It was purple-skinned with two purplish-blue forward pointing horns, a dark red mane, wooly dark red fur on the arms, a dark red furred bull lower quarters with a long purple tail ending in a dark red tuff, a hunched back, a crude beak-like snout, human-like ears with long lobes and golden wings with blinking blue eyes.

They grabbed both crews and phased through the ground.

The illusory area returned to normal as guards entered the room.

Alister resumed his guise as Farbuit as he said-

"The Red-Hair and Straw Hats are working together in order to stop our unification with the World Government! Find them!," commanded the man as the guards nodded.

Elbaf Main Village

"Something's fishy. Elbaf's acting more like the World Government than the last time we were here.," noted Broggy.

"Farbuit seems a lot different than when we last saw him. He wouldn't have done this. He was a man of integrity.," said Kashii.

"Oh, it's the New Giant Warrior Pirates. They're arriving here too.," Dorry noted.

Underground

The Red Hair Pirates and the Straw Hats appeared in a dark cavern that was soon lit up by torch light to reveal a magnificent city underneath the island. It was all polished stone with carvings of giant warriors but they were built more stocky and stout than the usual Giants.

"Could this be?," asked Roux.

"Yeah, it's Svatalfheim, the home of the Dwarfs. Not the ones on Dressrosa- those are more like Fair Folk that branched off of Vira. These are relatives of Giants but they're less like thick-headed jocks and more into crafting and being big-brained.. The Giants use Dwarfs for slave labor ever since 100 years ago. They used to be on more equal terms but over the century, some W.G. agents have been working hard to suppress their existence.," explained Minerva.

"That look...Are you that wizard's daughter? The one who strove to maintain Odin's will after his disappearance?," asked Yasopp.

"No, that's me.," she said as she transformed into a long-bearded wizard, much to Sanji's shame.

"I was force-fed the Human-Human: Sage Fruit, which made me a Sage Human. Basically, I turn into either a man or a hag as a hybrid form.," said Minerva as she quickly turned into a cackling crone before resuming her usual feminine looks.

"Sounds rough.," said Shanks.

"God, I wish I could trade it for something else...it leads to so many issues.," she said as she looked to the side.

"Means she's got a pen-," said Luffy before Minerva stomped on his foot.

"Don't say things like that.," the witch spoke.

"It's not that bad. I have one as well. In fact, all greater Planetariums possess one.," replied the winged girl, which made Sanji cringe more.

"Don't be so open about it. That sort of thing won't attract guys to you.," Nami said with an exasperated sigh.

"It's ok. I already agreed to marrying them if they don't find guys that like that sort of thing.," Luffy replied as Olympia and Minerva blushed.

"Can't believe you promised that.," Nami groaned.

"We made it look like we're the bad guys. No surprise there.," Usopp said with a slightly nervous laugh.

"Don't worry. Your buddy's got a power to get around that trickery.," said Eugene as they went for a high-five only to be ignored.

Shanks then looked at the macaw and began to wonder.

"Yeah, I was in that egg when I was on the Oro Jackson. You were a brat back then.," said the parrot.

Shanks was astonished by the news before asking Luffy before getting an immediate answer before he could speak-

"Roger and his crew must've done things they weren't proud of. I didn't see them there."

Shanks then gave a sad smile.

"Farbuit...no Crowley has been using Elbaf as an secret place to sell off Giant children to the Underworld long before Linlin attempted to use the Gigantification experiments. Exposing him will reduce the risk of civil war on Elbaf. That's the most ideal option. If they continue to support him, then we'll have to subdue a lot of them.," Robin explained.

"Yeah, then we'll kick his ass.," Luffy replied as he nodded.

"Let's split up.," he commanded his crew.

There were five groups of four Straw Hats with two members of the Red Hair Pirates.

Chopper, Usopp, Eugene, and Carrot with Yassop and Gab; Robin, Sanji, Anne, and Nami with Snake and Limejuice; Franky, Vega 40, Jinbe, and Polly with Roux and Beckman; Luffy, Minerva, Muffy, and Olympia with Shanks and Rockstar; Zoro, Brook, Vivi, and Yamato with Monster and Bonk.

Usopp's Group

It was a bit awkward with Yasopp and Usopp with Chopper and Carrot also being nervous around Gab.

I should be careful not to freak them out...but their Haki..., thought the feral-looking man.

Yasopp saw Eugene and thought-

That kid reminds me of him...

"I...I didn't expect to see you this soon.," said Yasopp.

"I...I met mom again. She was as lovely as I remembered. She doesn't resent you at all.," said Usopp.

"Do you?," asked Yasopp.

After a long pause, Usopp answered-

"It was kind of lonely at first. But I had Kaya and I have my crew now."

This made Yasopp smile.

They then approached a mural and were shocked at the contents.

Franky's Group

Franky and Vega 40 were pleased at the craftsmanship of the Dwarfs as they worked on their smith-craft next to molten lava without any ill affects.

"Super...," Franky whispered.

"Ultra good...," Vega 40 muttered.

As the two siblings went starry-eyed at the sight, Jinbe went to Roux and asked-

"So who can we expect to defend Crowley and his son?"

"There's the Nine Guardians. They've been the protectors of Elbaf for centuries. I expect them to be the toughest fight here.," replied the round Red Hair Pirate.

"Neat.," said Polly, which made Beckman curious.

"You think you can take them on? Even we're not sure in a fight unless we take some risks.," the right-hand of the Red Hair Pirates noted.

"We underwent training to prepare for something greater than that.," Jinbe explained.

Suddenly, a robot appeared and Jinbe was shocked what it was.

Sanji's Group

"Nami swan and Robin swan. Such angels. Not to mention the actual angel-," said Sanji before Anne kicked him in the back.

"Why Anne swan?," asked the cook.

"Because you're an contradiction.," she said candidly.

"You'll learn to ignore it.," Nami replied.

"Really? He's a lech. But Sir Zoro is...," said Anne with a blush.

"I'd wait till things calm down.," said Robin.

"So you're also here for the Road Poneglyph?," asked Snake.

Robin nodded.

"It was apparently split in half and we'll decipher it to get to Lodestar.," she explained.

"I didn't expect Roger to have a daughter...," said Limejuice which made Anne tense.

Nami then patted her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter who your family you're born to is. It's about what makes you happy...," said Nami, which assured Anne.

They then noticed the Red Poneglyph up ahead.

Zoro's Group

"No, Zoro...it's here.," said a slightly exasperated Vivi as Zoro somehow was going in the opposite direction...of the forward path that they were heading to.

"You'll get used to it.," said Brook.

"It's nice to explore different islands. The OLD WORLD is also pretty exciting.," Yamato said.

"I wouldn't use the words...exciting.," Brook replied.

"Your crew is pretty exciting you know.," said Bonk as Monster nodded.

Suddenly, Zoro felt an intense killing intent as he turned around.

"Who are you?," he asked.

Luffy's Group

"This place looks really big.," Luffy said as he and his group approached a massive castle made of gemstones, crystals, and other valuable minerals.

"It's the palace of King Durinn. He's a reasonable leader if you don't cross him.," Muffy explained.

Minerva gazed for a bit before taking a sigh of relief.

"He's here too.," said the purple-haired witch.

"Who is?," asked Rockstar.

"Odin of course. He was in a terrible position beforehand.," Minerva replied.

As Olympia twirled around, Shanks went to Luffy and asked-

"So you saw Gaban? How was he?"

Luffy replied in turn-

"A bit pushy but that helped me get on the right track."

Shanks noticed something that had missed his attention beforehand-

Luffy now wore a black eyepatch where his missing eye used to be and now had a mechanical left arm.

"I got into some trouble with the octopus-hair bastard. It really made me see how far I needed to push myself.," Luffy replied.

"Losing this wasn't as bad as...never mind.," he added.

Two guards then approached them- they were in-between Kaido and an average Giant's size. They were stocky, stout individuals wearing thick layers of armor with bushy long beards. They pointed their axes at Luffy.

"Mo-," said Shanks with an intimidating look but Luffy interjected as he said with much more control and calmness-

"I wanna see your boss, Beard-Guys. If he's a nice guy, Let's have drinks. If he tries something. I'll kick his ass. You wouldn't want to stop me."

The Dwarfs relented as they opened the doors.

"Come on.," said Luffy.

Shanks went inside as Rockstar whispered-

"You think he sur-"

"Can't be too sure until we fight.," Shanks whispered back.

Still, you have a lot of surprises even compared to the two times I glimpsed at you..., he thought as they went through the palace.

They entered the throne room where a surprise awaited them-

A grey-beard Dwarf with a furred collar, green tunic with a brown sash strapped around his left shoulder, a dark bluish-green kilt, and a winged helmet was discussing plans with a group of individuals. His eyebrows obscured his eyes.

The most prominent individuals were a giant much bigger than the usual Giant- a well-proportioned male with a long beard, wearing golden armor with raven skulls as shoulder armor, a helmet with horns and wings, and an eyepatch over his right eye. And the other was...

"Drag!," cried Muffy as she went to glomp a shocked Dragon.

Minerva went into tears as she went towards the Giant.

"Lord Odin.," she cried as the giant patted her on the head.

Dragon then went to Luffy as he said-

"You've grown up."

"So you're Dragon.," Luffy replied.

Luffy then saw Sabo, Ivankov, and the other Revolutionary Leaders in the room.

"Sabo! Iva! How are ya!," he said as he went for a hug but the force knocked the wind out of them- leaving them unconscious.

"He knocked out the Flame Emperor and the Miracle Worker!," shouted some random soldiers before the two regained consciousness.

"You've gotten much stronger, Luffy-boy.," said Ivankov.

"We could really use your help.," said Sabo.

"What're you doing here?," asked Luffy.

"The talk about Elbaf joining the World Government. It turned out Cortez used his powers to swap an island from another dimension to this one. So the Vira I liberated was fake. But now, he's reversed it. His father, one of the World Noble Elders is working with Crowley- they plan on making Vira and Elbaf join the World Government to take advantage of their armies. All 19 of the Elders will be there- nine on Elbaf and ten on Vira. I like for you to help us.," Dragon explained.

"Wait, that means the Marines will be showing up as well.," said Rockstar.

Luffy then cracked his knuckles as he said-

"Sure."

Suddenly, there was loud rumbling in the town below as Luffy asked-

"...Buggy?"

Next Chapter: Cross Guild

Author Notes: The name of the chapter is the Norse realm for the Dwarfs, which is fitting for the Dwarven civilization. Once again, the Straw Hats split up to engage in their own conflicts while the situation always escalates and gets more complicated.