Little Garden

'The weather here in the Grand Line is no joke.' Thought Cherry.

She had only narrowly dodged a maelstrom that would have formed instantaneously underneath her ship. The fact that the Cabernet kept drifting to point away from her destination was frustrating as well. She had almost no time to do anything else!

When the weather stabilized indicating that she was close to an island, she was certain that it would have taken half the time and effort without the chaotic conditions.

Eventually she could see the island inching closer on the horizon. Great trees covered in vines towered over the shore as she approached.

Cherry reached the shore and disembarked. She would have returned the Cabernet to its place within her body for safe keeping, but unfortunately nothing that was stored within could come along with it. So she had to leave the ship behind while she explored.

What she found was very interesting. All the flora and fauna on the island were considered to be ancient. The dinosaurs were especially a stunning sight.

A few enormous predators had the courage to attack her while she explored. She wasn't in need of any meat however, so she simply taught them an important life lesson about underestimating opponents due to their appearance and sent them on their way a little worse for wear.

While collecting some interesting plant specimens, a distant thundering sound was heard from deeper on the island. Climbing up a particularly tall tree, Cherry saw the source of the sound.

The largest volcano in a cluster of volcanoes was erupting, quaking the earth with its disastrous might. The eruption stopped in short order, a relief to Cherry as she thought she might have to leave prematurely.

It wasn't long after that new thunderous sounds echoed across this ancient land.

Cherry knew what these sounds were the moment she heard them. The sound of clashing weapons, of a vicious battle to the death! Cherry could imagine the raw power of each blow that rang out.

These were no simple warriors, the cacophony conjured the image of two sword immortals in a duel upon which their pride hung in the balance.

Naturally, Cherry was drawn to the battle to see who the contenders were.

She stealthily dashed through the thick trees with her Traceless Steps.

She withheld her Life Sense out of habit to avoid disturbing the clashing warriors, though she didn't know if anyone in this world could actually detect it. She wouldn't risk offending someone that could kill her easily for no reason.

Cherry arrived at the edge of a huge clearing and what she saw astounded her.

Two giant men who stood over 20 meters tall swung their sword and axe with deadly precision and frightening might at one another. Despite their vicious actions they both wore smiles as if they were having a drink with an old friend.

Cherry took a particular interest in their weapons. She could see at a glance they were very old and in terrible shape. Each clash between the weapons was powerful enough to shatter them in their current state. Yet that didn't happen, and there was only one explanation.

'They're using Armament Haki, I'm sure of it! How could I get them to teach me? Fix their weapons? It'll be tricky due to the size, but I can manage with the help of my devil fruit...' Cherry thought while silently watching the pair.

Eventually, the fight ended with the both of them knocking each other half unconscious.

"72,732 fights..." Said the fat, blond bearded giant.

"72,732 draws..." Said the lean, long bearded giant.

A short time passed as they breathed heavily, then they picked themselves up.

"Excuse me." Cherry spoke. Her voice was quiet, but also seemed to command the attention of the giants.

"Hmm? Looks like we have another guest, Dorry." Spoke the axe wielding giant.

"You're right, Brogy. Is there something you needed from us, little human?" Spoke the sword wielding giant.

Their gazes seemed to be both friendly and challenging at the same time. As if to say "You're welcome to visit with good intentions, or to die with bad intentions."

Cherry had no idea what kind of lunatic would dare to attack them, though. Nonetheless she thought it a good sign they were willing to communicate.

"May I inquire as to whether the two of you are proficient in the use of Haki?" Cherry asked, as politely as she could manage.

""Of course we are! We aren't the strongest warriors of Elbaf for nothing!"" They shouted in unison. Followed by the strangest laughter Cherry had ever heard "Gegyagya!" and "Gababa!"

"I'll introduce myself. My name is Harpin D. Cherry." She said.

"I could not help but notice that your weapons, which are of excellent make I might add, are in a state of disrepair. I happen to be a fine weapon-smith, so perhaps we can come to an arrangement? You would teach me how to use Haki, and I would repair your weapons to be good as new." Cherry offered, holding her breath in anticipation.

The two looked at one another in silent thought, then turned back to Cherry.

"No offense, but how do we know you'll keep your end of the deal?" Brogy asked.

"Right, many of you humans are liars with no honor. How do we know this isn't a trick?" Dorry asked.

Cherry smiled. "Naturally, I will uphold my end of the bargain first. I trust that noble warriors such as yourselves would not sully your pride by reneging on the deal after I finish."

Cherry believed every word that she said was true. These two had hearts like that of sword immortals, their pride was worth more than their own lives.

The two giants were still hesitating, so Cherry hammered the final nail into the coffin. "I can also throw in the barrels of wine I have on my ship."

""We'll be in your care!"" They said in unison with great enthusiasm.

...

Over the next few days, Cherry put together a huge furnace and gathered the kind of coal that would burn as hot as she needed.

She had the giants help by moving the blades of their weapons which were too unwieldy for Cherry due to their bulk.

Cherry heated the blades and extra pieces of steel to red hot temperatures. Then they were brought to a hug anvil where the giants held them still.

Cherry fused the extra steel into the broken portions of the blades, hammered them into the correct shape, then cooled them.

Finally, she sharpened them to a razor's edge and, as a special service, fused some other metals and minerals into the edges to make sure they stayed sharp for a long time.

Dorry and Brogy looked at their weapons with the gleaming eyes of a child who just received a new toy. They shared a look and a smile, then turned towards a nearby mountain.

They took a stance side by side as Cherry watched with interest.

""HAKOKU!!!"" They shouted and swung their weapons with all the might.

Red and Blue swirling light merged together and ripped a giant hole clear through to the other side of the mountain.

'Note to self, do not piss off the giants...' Cherry thought in abject horror. She knew they were powerful, but not to this extent.

"Gabababababa!" "Gegyagyagyagya!" They laughed heartily.

"We'll teach you Haki, as promised, Cherry. Though, we can only use Armament Haki. We could never really understand Observation Haki." Dorry said.

"There are two ways to learn Armament Haki. Intense training or life threatening pressure! We can do it either way. Or both if you like! Gababababa!" Brogy explained.

"Well, let's hear both and I'll decide." Cherry said, smiling at the antics of the walking weapons of mass destruction.

Dorry spoke up. "First, is the intense training method."

He plucked a long stalk of stiff grass and handed it to Cherry. Then he pointed to a thick tree. "Chop that tree down with that stalk of grass. No special techniques allowed, Gegyagyagyagya!"

Cherry looked at the stalk of grass in her hand and grimaced. "What's the life threatening method?"

*BAM*

Cherry was sent flying by Brogy's fist. She couldn't have dodged even if she had seen it coming.

"In the life threatening method you take our attacks head on until you awaken Armament Haki as a defensive mechanism, Gababababa!" Brogy seemed quite amused.

Cherry was mostly fine after that attack, but she knew that Brogy was going really easy on her.

At that moment the center volcano erupted, signaling the giants' next duel. They hefted their newly repaired weapons and moved a bit away from Cherry before they began.

'I had thought maybe they were only so ruthless because their weapons were dull, but it seems I was wrong.' She thought, as the giants showed no mercy to one another in their battle.

'I think I'll stick with the intense training method for now...' Cherry decided meekly.