The vast plaza was silent, save for Kong Tai's mocking voice.
Sunlight, filtering through the scattered clouds, illuminated Kong Tai, making him the sole figure on the plaza, as if he were radiating light, a true deity.
Outside the plaza.
An old man with white hair and a beard reaching his belly stared at Kong Tai with utter astonishment.
He was the helper Fabuti had summoned, the third awakened one of the Giant Kingdom, "Kanar," and also Fabuti's cousin, not brother.
He was older than Fabuti, and even he wasn't sure if he and Fabuti could suppress Kratos together.
But upon arriving at the plaza, he witnessed a scene that terrified him beyond measure.
He didn't recognize Kong Tai, as he wasn't Fabuti, nor was he Kratos who wished to sail the seas.
Like most giants, he paid no attention to overseas matters, and since Kong Tai had only been sailing for a year, he didn't know him at all.
He shifted his gaze from Kong Tai to Fabuti, who, as if sensing his look, responded with a shake of his head.
"One of us?"
Kanar breathed a sigh of relief.
If such a powerful individual were an enemy of the Giant Kingdom, he didn't know how the giant race would face it.
Just then, the dynamic between the combatants changed.
Kratos, it could be said, had finally reacted.
He looked up, his eyes fixed on Kong Tai, the hand holding his spear trembling uncontrollably.
Not from fear, but from excitement.
"Impossible, impossible, how can you be so strong, how can you be so strong?"
"It must be, it must be that you used some ability I don't know about, right?"
"You can only take this one blow, right?"
He refused to believe anyone could withstand his full-powered Elbaf Spear without a scratch.
"Ah..."
As soon as he spoke, without waiting for Kong Tai's reply, Kratos abruptly retracted his spear, then stepped forward, thrusting the retracted spear towards Kong Tai once more.
"Die, brat!"
The spear darted out and retracted, darted out and returned.
Without even checking if Kong Tai's defenses had been pierced, Kratos circled Kong Tai.
For a moment, a rain of spear thrusts rained down on Kong Tai from all directions.
The booming chimes, accompanied by unparalleled shockwaves, continuously radiated outwards, causing the spectators to squint their eyes.
The clouds in the sky were instantly obliterated by the shockwaves of the battle, revealing a blue sky that seemed within reach, and those with keen eyesight could even see twinkling stars behind the sun.
On the ground of Elbaf, countless giants also ceased all activity, stepping out of their homes to listen to the battle from the royal city, their faces grave.
"Who is fighting in the royal city?"
They had lived in Elbaf their entire lives and had never witnessed such commotion.
"Is it an invader?"
If it was an invader, then who could so easily reach the royal city and cause such a disturbance.
The wide streets were thronged with people.
Following Sauro and Moruo to this, the most bustling central city of Elbaf.
Hua and the others felt like little people dropped into the Giant Kingdom, appearing so tiny.
Giants, towering over them, walked around, leaving Hua and the others in constant awe.
In truth, the bustling atmosphere was not much different from human society.
There were the same loud shouts, the same shops, the same people browsing.
It was just that everything here was magnified several dozen times compared to human society.
"Hmm!"
At this moment, the purplish-red lightning snakes that spread across the sky and the powerful bell chimes caused the strolling crowd to stop in unison.
"Are they fighting?"
The smiles on their faces vanished. Hua looked up, pushed his glasses up, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
While they had a slight interest in the temple and its history, it wasn't much.
They could always ask Robin later if they wanted to know.
They still had a few days to stay, so they had plenty of time to explore. Thus, they hadn't followed Kong Tai to the royal city atop the Tree of Adam today, but instead accompanied Uncle Sauro and his nephew to this most lively town in Elbaf to procure supplies.
Beside Hua, A-Luo silently gripped the hilt of the冥狗, and A-Tao held the hilt of the sword hanging at his waist.
As for Yi Sheng, he remained as usual, leaning on his staff-sword, unhurried, only a hint of solemnity on his upturned face.
Here, his Observation Haki was the strongest, allowing him to clearly sense the tempest above.
He couldn't sense Kong Tai's presence.
This did not surprise him.
However, the aura attacking Kong Tai surprised Yi Sheng a little.
Not surprised by the attacker's weakness against Kong Tai.
Since leaving the other shore, he knew no one in this world could harm Kong Tai. Such power, as the other shore had said, Kong Tai was not human, but a god, a being on a completely different level from the myriad of beings.
Therefore, he was not surprised by Kong Tai's strength.
Let alone the attacker above, even if you added him, plus the two others he sensed with the same aura as the attacker, they wouldn't be able to inflict the slightest harm on Kong Tai.
So, what surprised him was the attacker's strength.
According to his senses, the one attacking Kong Tai above had met him once before and was no weaker than Kaido, whom Kong Tai had already slain.
When did powerful individuals on the sea become so cheap?
Kong Tai had not concealed his speculations about Elbaf from Yi Sheng, so Yi Sheng had long known that the giants likely possessed hidden strength.
But he hadn't expected it to be so deeply hidden.
The attacker, plus the two others whose explosive power could be sensed without being revealed, made three individuals no weaker than a Yonko.
Combined with the countless giant warriors in the royal city, the weakest of whom were at the level of a Marine Vice Admiral, Yi Sheng couldn't help but sigh at this moment, truly worthy of the giant race being the strongest race in the world, and the Giant Kingdom being the most powerful nation.
Indeed, it lived up to its reputation.
"Yohohoho!!"
At the forefront of the group, Brook laughed heartily and turned to A-Tao, "Mr. A-Tao, shall we go up?"
"It looks like the captain and the others are fighting!"
Gripping his rapier, Brook twirled it with his right hand, holding it vertically in front of him, and said seriously, "Although I don't know why they are fighting, since the captain is fighting, it means war has begun, and when war comes, how can we stand idly by!"
Having said that, he lowered his rapier and burst into laughter, "Yohoho!! Although I can only stand idly by, of course."
His dark humor, though not hilarious, ignited a spark of fighting spirit in the eyes of Hua and the other two.