Chapter 35: Friends Always Come
Myrkheim
"W-what's going on?," asked Shoujo as she saw the flying butterfly man in addition to all the chaos going on.
"So Shanks claimed this territory...they're quite confident if they mean to take it from him.," spoke Robin.
"You should be careful. Some folks I know tell of their scary reputation as child-eating monsters.," spoke Galahad.
"What's with that big Tontatta? He's very violent!," shouted Wicca.
"Lucci!," shouted Kaku as he disengaged with Vega 40 and got Lucci to his feet. The wound healed instantly as Lucci came to his senses.
He's achieved a new level of Awakening..., thought the bug man.
"I...I've never heard of that crew...," spoke Lucci.
"Of course. They're good at hiding things that go bump in the night and hide under their beds and closets- pretending the bogeyman doesn't exist.," replied Bell before focusing on Durinn.
"It's been a while...King...," Bell spoke to Durinn before he noticed the shape of Usopp's slingshot as it was bringing up an unpleasant memory as he flew towards him.
"You! The one of budding charisma. That...Nature Haki...did you see a beetle-armored fellow?" Bell said towards Usopp.
"What do you mean?" Usopp thinking of Heracles.
"Tell that traitor...he's got nowhere to run. We have spies everywhere and we will punish for how he acted that day.," Bell spoke with a feral, angered expression, which made Usopp intimidated.
"The Fairy Tale Pirates...that's a very old Pirate crew name...are you inheriting a legacy?" asked Robin.
"Inheritance? Such drivel. We Fair Folk live longer than the Jotunn folk and unlike the latter, we have all knowledge retained- including that era.," replied the bug man, which shocked Robin.
"Wait...hold on...Bugs?," asked Nami as she suddenly felt frightened due to her phobia of insects and other invertebrates.
"Jotunn?," asked Harjudin.
"Don't know what that is? But they're clearly itching for a fight if they intended to toss Shanks out of protecting Elbaf.," Dorry replied.
"Wait! We don't have to fight anyone!," Saul begged as he walked to Bell and bowed before him.
"Elbaf is either ignorant or hiding our sin. I know which one you speak. Having read it...I understand the reasons why you loathe us so for our ancestor's actions. But please, spare the children who don't have anything to do with it! And call off the invasion. We can discuss matters after we fix the poison of our country.," he cried.
"Shanks is too naive to believe in that boy. The only reason we tolerate this Luffy is because-," replied the bug.
Bell then backed away out of instinct as he said, "You fool! You're in range of his attack!"
Robin looked with concern but this soon turned to horror as a hand appeared out of a dimensional space in midair to stab him through the gut.
"Five Finger Dragon Wave!," declared a familiar voice as the back of Saul's body burst with five purple dragon-shaped energy made of Haki, skewering the giant.
Maxamillion Cortez emerged from the portal as Saul bled on the ground, his eyes wide in shock and betrayal. The room grew tense as the two groups stared at the newcomer, all of them unsure of what to expect next.
Harjudin, Stansen, Goldberg, and Gerd all rushed toward the fallen Giant as did Robin and Mime.
"I ran from my duty...this is just karma for all the injustice I turned a blind eye to while I worked for the World Government...," he spoke.
"Chopper! A doctor! He needs a doctor!" Robin cried out, her voice urgent with tears running down her eyes. Chopper dashed and checked his wounds. He then shook his head with tears. The Dwarf Doctors and Gerd also cried while feeling shame- the wounds had a supernatural trait of the wounds continuing to fester beyond normal means.
"T-these guys...are taking advantage of the chaos to try and eliminate anybody with know-how about the Void Century...they sure did a job on me!" spoke Saul.
His eyes began to close as he thought of old memories-
Saul's Past
"Listen up Saul, you gotta not be like those violent guys! Try to get along and not pillage and plunder the innocent.," spoke Saul's father.
He was speaking to Saul by a river on a South Autumn Island while Saul's mother- the man's wife, was cleaning by the river.
"But Daddy, the world's so big and I wanna see everything! And I wanna make everyone laugh like you do!," a young Saul spoke with innocence.
"You have to make a living...unless you can be used...Giants aren't all that welcomed by common folks.," the father said with his eyes looking down.
Sau grew up and began to travel the world. However, he faced heavy discrimination due to his giant heritage. He was often feared and ostracized by those he encountered. Despite his peaceful nature, he was often forced to fight to protect himself and others. This led him to encounter various people who had suffered similarly due to their lineage or the actions of their ancestors.
He was then captured by the trafficker posing as a nun, Mother Caramel. She had him pinned down by her elite Cipher Pol allies before she lowered herself to his face.
"Your strength and overall popularity will make you popular within the Marines...yes, you'd be a valuable asset as long as you stay in line.," spoke the woman more to herself than to Saul.
"Will...Will...I be able to protect people?," asked Saul.
The woman smirked, thinking it was due to her manipulations rather than him deciding on his own. Stupid Giant.
"Sure...," she spoke.
And in a matter of a few days, he along with Giants from the other Blues, joined the Marines, quickly rising to Vice Admiral position. However, it wasn't truly ideal. For every person he saved, many more had to be ignored for the sake of the World Nobles' desires to enslave, commit genocide for amusement, or erase from existence. Something as a Giant, he had an especially hard time reconciling as he was destined to outlive most of the staff and would have to carry it into the far future.
Saul had a truly vile Admiral who was essentially a World Noble who lowered himself to nominally serve the people but was truly a sadist to the common man, hated pirates with a true sense of loathing, and on a personal level- a complete monster. The last laugh of irony was that his legacy was having the ignominy of being the father of the man who sparked the Golden Age of Piracy.
The predecessors of both Sengoku and Kong as the Fleet Admiral and Commander-In-Chief respectively- being men of true righteousness and men who were wrongfully taken by circumstances supposed due to a long-forgotten pirate crew but there were suspicions of foul play within the World Government were involved.
Garp- a man belonging to a long line of "Heroes" but always at odds with the World Government. He would turn a blind eye, but it was implied blackmail and coercion were involved to force it.
Sengoku- a man who was just, but often did things that Saul didn't find forgivable such as the purging of the children born around the same time as Ace.
Dragon- being one of the few individuals who knew him personally prior to his departure to become a Revolutionary and his records all erased from the Marine archives with only a few being aware of what he was on a human level.
There was heavily implied to be a seventh...but for some reason despite instinctively feeling she was really important, he couldn't remember that person or even recall them subconsciously.
And there was Kuzan later known as Aokiji before going back to Kuzan. They were friends, but one incident- the Ohara truly turned them against each other- it was unknown if Kuzan intentionally spared him or it was fate. Either way, he was forced to abandon a girl who truly needed the love and affection- Robin- unable to fulfill a promise with Olvia, a woman he had a complicated cat-and-mouse relationship alongside her spouse, but came to respect as years went by due to what they were fighting for.
Saul then awoke and was taken to Elbaf. At first, he was confused at why it had become more peaceful but learned it was due to the efforts of a new ruler of Elbaf- King Harald. He had a troublemaker "son" named Utgard-Loki and a slightly less troublemaking son named Harjudin.
His memories on King Harald were somehow bewildering- either he was a benign king beloved by the people with their best interests in heart...or there was something sinister beneath his smile. Either way, he had the books from Ohara so he was satisfied.
He then spotted something wearing cloaks near the Underworld while he was hunting for food. He followed them down the hole and discovered a vast underground city of people slightly smaller and stockier than Giants- something that seemed similar to what the famous scientist, Vegapunk was inventing.
Hugstati and Eggmónin- the clown and the bald, sinister-looking members of the Rainbow Knights held knives at Saul's throat, clearly showing their suspicion at him.
"You were a Vice Admiral once. I'm not sure if we can trust you.," said the clown.
"Don't...worry...(snooze)...if he were...(snooze)...a bad guy...(snooze)...our Voice would've picked up on it...(snooze)...," spoke a lazy voice as Saul looked down to see a half-lidded eyed Dwarf in brown armor.
"What voice?," asked Saul. "Who are you? How long have you been living under Elbaf?"
"Before...(snooze)...all that...(snooze)...let's eat...(snooze)...," spoke the dwarf as he walked away.
The two knights loosened their blades as they walked away while beckoning Saul to follow. As they descended deeper, the Giant found himself in a bustling underground city filled with creatures of myth and legend: the Nidavell Dwarfs. They were a society that had been lost to the world above, previously living in harmony with the giant's realm prior to a certain incident. Their technology was a fusion of ancient knowledge and natural elements, a stark contrast to the industrial world of the current society above.
Saul was introduced to the King, being awkward the entire time while trying not to accidentally crush things. The king laughed- "Duririririririri. We have the knowledge to rebuild. As long as it has the spirit- it'll still be the same no matter how much we have to remake it. Just go breaking too much."
Saul was impressed by the Dwarfs, not being like the gullible Tontatta at all, being sociable and willing to compromise their violence and peaceful tendencies to fight not to the death but for jest and good fun while resorting to talks when conflicts escalated and dealing in violence when things couldn't be talked through.
The Giant finally realized why Harald's rule felt "off"- the Giants were made to be peaceful at the expense of freely being themselves- forced to put on a mask of civility in hopes of appearing more cultured to Humans. Rather than being themselves and learning to compromise between peace and violence.
"We should meet and-," spoke Saul before Alius cut him off.
"We can't go out in the day or under the light of the moon. We have a disease that turns us to rock if we come in contact. We're hoping to cure it...and there is bad blood between us and the Giants over centuries due to a certain conflict.," the green knight spoke.
Saul then said, "Wow! You Dwarfs certainly think things through more than the Tontatta-"
"Don't bring up the Pixies...or any Fair Folk...we have a deeper hate of them due to what they did.," spoke the green knight.
"Actually, the reason is so old- it's likely both sides were justified. A king that is unnamed before Harald tried to reconcile with not only us but the Fair Folk. We're all neighbors. And we have something Humans lack- the experience of a world they can learn from and be inspired by.," spoke Durinn.
Saul then caught the eye of a clumsy Dwarf woman as he dashed to catch her before she fell. Their eyes met and sparks glistened. It was the same woman who would later give him a child- Jaguar D. Mime. Her name was Meili.
Over the next 20 years, he would listen to the news of his friend, Robin while also raising a child with Meili. However, something happened. Saul awoke to see that Meili was gone and a young Mime was crying.
Dvalinn pinned him down as he cried,
"The spawn of the demon who put the curse on the Adam tree took her. Beauty is a curse...and we're not the ones destined to take down the demon. It's complicated but if things go awry, everything will fall apart."
Saul then caught a glimpse of the pirate, Gaban who whispered-
"I'm sorry, but your condition means you can't do it."
Saul discovered she had a natural talent for blacksmithing like her kin, which made up for her tendency to be helpless without her eyewear. She had the ability to manipulate metal and even the very ground beneath her feet, which she had learned from her mother's people. Her father's heritage of the Giants granted her the strength to wield weapons of legend and the courage to face any danger.
During this time, he had also spoken to a certain individual in the Northern Village as he felt suspicious of how Harald died and the circumstances of Loki getting a bounty despite not being a pirate merely due to his Devil Fruit. And the lack of desire to establish a new leader due to the wishes of the new cult, saying that the new Sun God would come to liberate them.
The South and East were entirely out of the question- the latter being inspired more by the reputation of Utgard-Loki rather than his character, which eerily seemed to be similar to the Rocks Pirates and Xebec situation due to having deeper inside information on who he truly was... but in any case, being too violent and inexperienced to not ignore yet be confident in that they could be put down if the need arose.
The former being the son of the supposed usurper Farbuit and his son, Loki, both tyrants of selfish immaturity- made even more baffling by the former as he was previously a noble and responsible advisor- as if someone took over from him and did a bad job at pretending to be him before Harald ousted him. Loki becomes a rebel faction, and his Giants are underhanded. Road of the New Giant Warrior Pirates joining his aid as a "prophet" denoting Loki as the new Sun God.
This left the North who proved the most rational of the four villages, being home to the Ten Guardians of Elbaf- back when the Adam tree was somehow even larger yet still the same size- the specifics were puzzling to him. They used to be the protectors of Elbaf before Harald disbanded them due to being "not what the trends need". However, it was through talking to this individual that Saul learned of his fate if he were to pursue the means to help cure the Adam tree of its curse. It wasn't predetermined, but it would be the natural result of his actions based on probability.
"The D has a checkered fate...but once the Dawn arises, we will finally be free of it...and the world as well...right now, this home I used to dislike...I'll stake my life in protecting!," he said.
Present
Saul struggled to his feet as the gaping wounds bled out much to Robin's concern.
Cortez then glanced at Blueno as the latter nodded. He generated "doors" on the ground as all except the CP0 Agents fell but it then "closed" forcing them to be stuck in the dirt.
Pan Bell left them to their fate, but his expression implied he knew something that the agents didn't.
Spandam walked over to Franky and mocked, "I heard from reports you met your real daddy but he kicked the bucket! That's two dads that died for your sake!"
He then took the time to pettily kick the cyborg in the side while he was down, "It's only fair you die now to make up for them giving up their lives for nothing!"
He then sensed a nasty glare from Cortez as Spandam gulped.
"Sigh...If you have a sword...start cutting their arteries so they bleed out. But do their throats first so they don't say anything sacrilegious.," he spoke as he facepalmed.
Saul then laughed, "Derishishishi! This looks like the end...sorry, Mime! I caused all this!"
"N-no. It's better to live a shorter life of integrity than a long life of turning away from your beliefs! Eventually, in the future, someone will inherit the torch even if we're long forgotten!," she cried.
Nami cried for the sake of Shoujo and Bonney about to die a horrible death. Vega 40 and Galahad seemed prepped to do something.
Usopp gritted his teeth and cried as he thought internally-
What're you doing?! You're letting everyone die without the chance to fight back! This is worse than being scared of death! Being picked off one by one...No! I have to try something! If that's the case...
In the scuffle, Usopp managed to plop some of his Pop greens into his mouth and chewed them. Cortez immediately took notice as he nodded to a shadowy figure that emerged from the black-
A winged youth with shaggy black hair, opaque glasses, and white skin dressed in a white suit. He flapped his wings as Usopp's mouth was frozen shut.
This made Usopp fall into despair, feeling the weight of his inability to even pull off an unorthodox move to save everyone.
Brook attempted his Astral form, but it was contained by Cortez generating a dimensional sphere to seal it.
It seemed like no one of the others had the ability to do anything to save themselves let alone the others.
"Duriririririri!," Durinn laughed much to Kumadori's confusion.
"GOOOOOOINNNG MMMMMMMADD I SEEEE!," he noted sarcastically.
"No...it's just that I won't tell you specifics, but it's always the case! When you truly try your very best and things don't turn out well- you either die for a tragic end to be avenged...but it's more common to be saved when you're in a pickle.," spoke the Dwarf King.
"You praying to God?," asked Blueno.
"No, I just have a hunch that friends will always come to help out when they can't do what they want to do and help save them so they can do what they want.," the king spoke.
Spandam was confused before the ground rumbled beneath him just before a drill nose tip struck him as he made a comedic face as he fell to the ceiling.
Out from it emerged a massive drill-nosed mole with several figures clinging onto it including-
"LUFFY?!"
Durinn then smirked.
Like old times...right Joy? He's really reminding me of you...
Luffy looked around in confusion before focusing on Lucci, Cortez, and the mysterious youth.
"Hmm...he looks like me.," spoke Luffy referring to the winged youth.
Saul looked to see one of the figures was Kuzan as the two locked eyes.
They all then sensed a powerful Haki surge from above in the Eastern direction.
"...He's here...Shanks!," Luffy spoke.
Next Chapter: Merits of Strength
Author Notes: The chapter title refers to how friends tend to save each other in the nick of time when all seems lost. Saul gets more of a backstory and things definitely look dire.