Chapter 052

"It shouldn't come as a surprise. We giants have triple the lifespan of you humans," Dorry said.

"But that's not the point! Why would you want to continue fighting after this long? Is there any reason to keep trying to kill each other!?"

"Hmm, well we don't necessarily have to kill each other," he corrected. "But that will most likely be the case when one of us wins." Suddenly, there was a loud explosion, and they all turned to see that the volcano in the middle of the island had erupted.

"Oops, that's the signal," Dorry said. "Looks like it's time."

"But what was the quarrel in the first place? And how could you possibly hate each other so much that you'd continue this for—" Vivi didn't finish as Luffy held his hand out for her to stop.

"It's not about that. It never was," he stated.

"That's correct," Dorry confirmed as he charged toward the arriving Brogy. "The reason for our duel…" Birds flocked out of the vicinity as the two giants clashed, axe and sword to respective shield. "We forgot ages ago!"

Luffy stared at them with an unreadable expression as they fought it out, talking and reminiscing all the while. "Don't you long to return to our home of Elbaf, Dorry? I know I do," Brogy said in a nostalgic tone.

"That's exactly why I'll beat you! Today, victory is mine!" Dorry shouted with conviction.

"Dream on, my friend! Elbaf has chosen me as the victor!" Brogy shouted back. "If you're lucky, you'll survive your loss and we can both go back home!" They both let out loud laughs and continued in a flurry of strikes, dodges, and blocks. On one occasion Brogy managed to land a hit on Dorry's head, but Dorry adjusted his head so that his helmet would take the blow. On the other side of the forest, Usopp watched in awe.

"Come on, Usopp! This is our chance to escape!" Nami shouted. But Usopp just continued staring up at the two giants as they parried each other.

"I'm not leaving," he said quietly. Nami looked at him like his nose had just doubled in length. "Can't you see?" Usopp asked. "This is a true battle of pride between two warriors!"

Nami hummed. "Well, I'm not really interested in that, so I'll be seeing you."

"This is it. This is what I meant when I said brave warrior of the sea," Usopp said to nobody in particular. "I want to be just like them!" Nami looked at him with a worried expression before huffing and walking back over to sit on the log.

"So, you want to be a giant?" she asked rhetorically.

"Were you even listening!?" Usopp raged. They both looked back as the two giants disarmed each other simultaneously before resorting to ramming each other with their shields.

"73,466 duels," Brogy commented.

"73,466 draws," Dorry added. They both collapsed to the ground, panting heavily for a while. Eventually, they both started laughing.

"Hey, Dorry! I got some sake from our guests!" Brogy shouted with enthusiasm.

"Excellent! I haven't had any in so long! Pour me some, yeah?"

Unbeknownst to the two giants, four humans had recently arrived on the island, completely undetected. Or so those humans thought…

Luffy frowned in agitation as Vivi asked Dorry if it really took the Log Pose a year to set. The memory in the back of his mind was struggling to break through the surface of his subconscious, but not quite managing. It was starting to give him a headache. For the past hour he had felt the four hostile auras making their way around the island, and he had patiently been waiting for them to make a move so he could kick their asses and be done with it, but now his patience was wearing thin. They hadn't gone anywhere near his crewmates, or even Dorry or Brogy for that matter, and that had led him to the task of trying to remember what their game had been last time. This was no easy feat for Luffy. For the most part, he only remembered things that had made a lasting impact the first time around, and the specifications of Mr. 3's plans did not fall into that category. The fact that it had been over two years ago didn't exactly help.

All he knew for sure was that 3 had sabotaged his crewmates in the jungle and waited for Dorry and Brogy's fight to end before making his move. And yet, he couldn't shake this nagging feeling in the back of his mind. He knew there had been some prelude to all that, but he just couldn't place it.

"By the way, little humans," Dorry's voice rose, snapping Luffy out of his thoughts, "am I right to assume that Brogy's guests are your crewmates?" Luffy scanned the island one more time and came to the same conclusion. Nami and Usopp were still with Brogy, and the Baroque Works agents were still in some isolated part of the jungle.

"Yeah," Luffy confirmed. "A long-nosed dude and an orange-haired girl right? That's Usopp and Nami."

"Ah, I see!" Dorry said gleefully. "Then I suppose I should thank you for this sake they gave me!" As Dorry raised a barrel high into the air and started to crack it open, Luffy's eyes widened, memories flooding his brain now that the dam holding them back had been shattered.

"Don't drink that, Dorry!" he shouted quite suddenly. Dorry looked at him in confusion and Luffy sighed, cursing his lack of attention to details. He hadn't given their movements a second thought. He should have realized that their auras were coming from the direction of his own ship at one point. How could he have missed that? It was probably because he had been focused on making sure they didn't get too close to any of the other auras on the island. Maybe he should have just followed them out and kicked their asses from the start, but he had been chatting happily with Dorry the entire time…

"Dorry, can I see that barrel for a minute? I have a bad feeling," he said. Dorry obliged, setting the open barrel of sake down next to him. Luffy carried it several meters away from that as they watched in confusion, wondering what he was doing. He then set it down, walked back to them, turned around, and spat across that distance into the barrel. The effect was instantaneous. The liquid exploded on contact with his saliva, blowing the barrel apart and shocking all wildlife in the area. Birds flocked out of the trees as Vivi and Dorry's expressions turned shocked.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Dorry shouted. Luffy turned back to him.

"The drink was rigged. We're not alone on this island," he said. Vivi's eyes narrowed.

"Is it them?" she asked. Luffy nodded.

"Who are them?" Dorry asked, now ashamed at having briefly suspected their guests of the treacherous act. He turned to Luffy. "You can use the power of Observation?"

Luffy nodded. "Can you sense them too?" he asked.

"It's not our specialty," the giant admitted.

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