Wano Country, Onigashima.
Inside the distinctly Japanese-style building, Arcordon followed the tall figure's steps, walking leisurely. As he walked, one of his hands rested casually on the hilts of his two swords. His eyes, from beneath his special mask, curiously sized up the huge hall before him and the several behemoths in one corner.
"Those monsters... they look like the giants from the elders' stories—"
Arcordon looked up. One by one, giants of various skin colors, with giant horns and fangs, sat blankly together. Their ferocious faces showed a hint of dullness; at a glance, they didn't look very smart.
Then, he asked the figure in front of him, who had jet-black wings and blazing flames on his back, with great interest, "Hey, Alber, are those giants the Ancient Giant race? I remember the legendary Ancient Giant race looked just like that."
Arcordon's words made the man leading the way turn his head slightly. He spoke in a tone devoid of any emotion. "My name is King."
Arcordon heard him and nodded, saying with great solemnity, "I understand, Alber!"
King stopped, turned his head, and glanced at the man behind him who also had jet-black wings and blazing flames. Perhaps he was already numb to it, or perhaps he had already tacitly accepted that name. King did not correct him again, but explained coldly, "Those are just some of the World Government's failed experiments. They are not the true Ancient Giant race. Today, the only Ancient Giant in the world with a pure bloodline, Little Oars Jr., is one of the pirate captains under Whitebeard."
"Failed experiments... Little Oars..." Arcordon heard this and became thoughtful, connecting it to the other giants he had met not long ago on the sea.
A moment later, the two of them continued walking along the passage, heading straight for a certain room in the depths of Onigashima.
While passing through an empty corridor, King suddenly spoke. "Arcordon, does the Lunarian race still exist?"
Hearing this, Arcordon looked away from his surroundings, his gaze gradually becoming profound. "We have recovered."
Hearing this, the expression under King's special mask did not change in the slightest, as if he were indifferent to this. But soon, he posed another question to Arcordon. "Where are they now?"
To this, Arcordon showed a meaningful expression. "If you want to return to the tribe, then I will take you back."
As this sentence fell, King's expression finally changed. His brow furrowed slightly, and he fell into thought. It was clear that the "return to the tribe" Arcordon spoke of was not as simple as just going back for a visit, but a deeper return. In the end, he did not ask any more about this. Instead, he raised another question.
"That Archangel... is he also a Lunarian?"
To this, Arcordon nodded, a look of reminiscence in his eyes. He spoke in a deep voice, "That child, Louis... I watched him grow up with my own eyes. His appearance has brought a brand-new hope to our tribe. Compared to the perfect Louis, the rest of us so-called Lunarians are just like those failed Ancient Giant experiments."
Even though fifteen years had passed, Arcordon still remembered that day. At that time, the population of the Lunarian race had only recovered to less than half of its current number. The birth of every child would attract the attention of all the clansmen. But there had never been an existence as naturally dazzling as Louis.
A skin color indistinguishable from an ordinary person's, snow-white wings as beautiful as a true angel's, and a beauty that, although young, was already showing its budding talent—all of it highlighted his extraordinariness.
After discovering that this child was naturally strong, several of the elders, even after his mother had already given him a name, gave him another one: "Artus."
In the obscure, ancient Lunarian language, it meant—"God of War."
And Artus, or Louis, had not disappointed his people. At the age of a few, he had awakened the one-in-a-million Conqueror's Haki and could beat the adult female warriors until they cried. On the eve of his departure from Baal at the age of ten, he was already one of the powerhouses in the tribe's second echelon. The only ones who could reliably beat him were himself and the old muscle-head.
And now, at less than sixteen years old, he had completely surpassed the old muscle-head and had left even himself far behind.
Today, everyone understood that it wouldn't be long before Louis surpassed all the tribesmen in history and became the strongest individual in the history of the Lunarian race. And when that time came, it would be the moment for the tribe to launch its counter-attack.
"We are crude imitations." Hearing these words, King fell into thought. He began to recall the intelligence about Louis, interpreting it in detail, analyzing him more meticulously. In the end, a special guess arose in his mind. "Archangel - Louis... is he Joy Boy?"
"Joy Boy?" Arcordon was a little surprised. "Why do you also connect him with that?"
"No. I just happened to think of a legend I heard as a child," King's emotionless voice came from under his mask.
Arcordon said thoughtfully, "I remember Grandma Alina once said that in the fragments of history she had excavated from the sea, and from the past of the Lunarian race she had learned from the mouths of our enemies, it was mentioned that Joy Boy seemed to be our ally, our leader, in a certain period." Because in history, the Lunarian race had been hunted down many times, and the information passed down had been broken more than once. Therefore, most of the information they now had was either learned from the mouths of their enemies or from fragments excavated from the sea.
"Alina?" King narrowed his eyes slightly. "A somewhat familiar name—"
The two walked along the wide road and arrived directly in front of their destination. Many of the grunts stationed here looked at the two similar figures, their eyes widening one after another, their faces filled with disbelief.
"How can this be—"
"Why are there two Lord Kings?!"
The two men with similar features had successfully caused a commotion here, leaving many pirates dumbfounded.
"You bunch of idiots! Don't block my way!" Just then, a tall, chubby man in black and white overalls and wearing sunglasses walked over.
Seeing him, Arcordon's eyes lit up, and he waved at the newcomer. "Queen! You're here too?"
The Beasts Pirates' Calamity, Queen, heard him and raised an eyebrow, a rather speechless look on his face. "This is the Beasts Pirates' territory. Is it so strange that I'm here?"
To this, Arcordon thought for a moment. As if feeling his own words were inappropriate, he gave an awkward but polite smile. "I guess so. Haha—"
Soon, the heavy gate was slowly pushed open, and the tall, burly figure inside the room was revealed to everyone.
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