"Haha… so good… just amazing!"
"Jace, slow down! Save some for me!"
"Alright, alright… It's been so long since we've had anything this delicious!"
"That's right! Those sneaky, rotten Navy dogs and those filthy CP agents poisoned the wine!"
"The damned World Government… One day, if we get the chance, we'll make them pay for it!"
"Absolutely, they'll pay! But this space is so cramped. There's not even enough room to stand comfortably!"
"Hey, Boss El, and you too, Gerd—you both must be giants around here, right? You've got to have something bigger for us!"
In Level 5.5 of Impel Down, two towering figures crouched, cramped and bent over due to the limited space, tearing into roasted meat with no restraint or grace. Each stood easily over 20 meters tall—several meters taller than Gerd, who was already imposing in stature.
El, Gerd, and the others stood before them, watching with faint smiles as the brothers devoured the feast.
They had already harvested all the souls of the Eternal Hell prisoners, even those who had been frozen in isolation but showed signs of life. Except for a few special prisoners Barry had transported to the Mirror World for safekeeping, all of the inmates—those gathered over the years, numbering in the thousands—had been left behind.
The only prisoners El and his crew decided to release were these two giant brothers.
It turned out they were both from the same family: the elder brother, Hajik D. Gace, was a 47-year-old giant, standing over 22 meters tall; the younger brother, Hajik D. Jace, was 44 and a little over 21 meters tall.
By giant standards, they were still young, around the same age as Bask Witt, another giant El had recently rescued.
"You two really were careless, weren't you?" Gerd said, folding her arms as she looked up at them. "You're pirates, out there adventuring. How could you trust people so easily and end up in a place like this? Serves you right!"
In the earlier conversation, everyone had exchanged introductions. The giant brothers, Gace and Jace, came from a giant kingdom in the West Blue. Known as the strongest warriors in their village despite their young age, they had a fierce admiration for the Giant Warrior Pirates of old, especially the legendary warriors "Mountain Beard" and "Waterfall Beard," whom they saw as role models.
Inspired by tales of the legendary Giant Warrior Pirates' adventures, the brothers had dreamed of making their own names in the world and becoming as renowned as their idols. Yet, shortly after they set sail as pirates, the Navy had marked them as targets. To their misfortune, they were betrayed by some human crew members they had saved from other pirates. These crew members, who turned out to be CP spies, poisoned the giants' drinks, leading to their capture by the Navy and imprisonment in Impel Down.
At full strength, the two giants likely wouldn't have been subdued so easily.
"Gerd, you can't blame us for that…" Gace muttered, scratching his head sheepishly. "Who would've guessed humans could be so deceitful?"
Jace, gnawing on a bone, nodded in agreement. "Exactly! But don't worry, next time we'll know better. No one will fool us again!"
"There better not be a 'next time,'" Gerd said, shaking her head, exasperated, as she looked at them with disbelief.
Knowing how the World Government operated, they likely wouldn't have kept the giants around for long before transferring them to some secret facility for gigantification experiments.
The fact that Gace and Jace had only been confined for a few months indicated the likely fate of giant pirates in World Government custody: they would either be enslaved by the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise or turned into experimental subjects in government labs.
"All right, no need to be too harsh on them, Gerd."
El chuckled, adding, "Giants' large size does make it easier for others to take advantage of them if they're not careful…"
He was pleased with the potential of this giant duo. Their abilities could rival Hajrudin's, maybe even surpass him with time, though luck hadn't been on their side. They'd barely set sail before the World Government intervened, locking them up in Impel Down. Otherwise, these two might have made quite a name for themselves.
"But moving on," he said with a smile, "this really has been a huge haul."
"The Eternal Hell here definitely held some incredible monsters," he continued, gesturing to the array of colorful, oddly-shaped Devil Fruits before him. "A few of these Paramecia Fruits are especially impressive."
"And who would have thought!" he added with a smirk. "Not only did we find rare Ancient Zoan types, but also Logia and even Mythical Zoans!"
"The Logia Gas-Gas Fruit? Not bad at all," he mused, as Uthan, Moss, Barry, and Ryan watched the treasure trove of fruits, each marveling at the haul.
With the Devil Fruits gathered from the World Government and Marine Headquarters, the Fallen Angel Pirates' collection had become remarkably diverse. El knew they now had more than enough to empower new crew members and strengthen their forces as they recruited.
"Still, Boss El, you guys are incredible…" Gace, the older of the two giants, said with awe. "You can even… retrieve Devil Fruits from others?"
El had gained the brothers' deep respect. Not only had he freed them from their chains—chains thick enough to bind giants, which they themselves had struggled with—but he'd effortlessly broken them apart and tossed the brothers out of their cells like they were mere pebbles. His strength was overwhelming.
"Of course," Gerd replied proudly, hands on her hips. "If El were a true giant, he'd be king of our people and unite all giants across the world!"
She glanced down instinctively at her stomach. If she bore El's child someday, that child would surely inherit El's monstrous talent and strength—and might one day lead the giants. As for the future Totto Land Kingdom? That could be left to Linlin's child to inherit.
"An Ancient Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Pteranodon Model?"
El picked up one uniquely shaped fruit, smiling. "Interesting… Now we've got a matching pair."
According to Sally's records, this fruit had belonged to an Ancient Zoan user captured by Marine Admiral Kong ten years ago, back when he was still a candidate for admiral. The fruit's former user, with a bounty exceeding 300 million, had been imprisoned in the Eternal Hell.
El tossed the fruit in his hand, then turned to Moss. "Moss, bring out the Ancient Zoan Quetzalcoatlus Pterosaur we took from that CP0 agent."
"Right away!" Moss replied, nodding knowingly. He glanced at the giant brothers, who were just starting to catch on.
Before they left Atlantis, El had brought along two fruits in case there were giant prisoners in Impel Down. One was the Ancient Zoan Pterosaur they'd taken from a CP0 agent. The other was a dragon-type Zoan suitable for the giants, in case they found any captives with potential.
As it turned out, the Eternal Hell held another treasure: the Ancient Zoan Pteranodon, which was a perfect match for the giant brothers. Two flying Ancient Zoan forms in the hands of giant warriors would undoubtedly make formidable additions to their crew.
"I'm sure you both know what Devil Fruits are, so I won't waste time explaining…"
With a glance, Moss presented the fruit, while Uthan, Barry, Layne, and Gerd all exchanged knowing smiles. El walked over to the giant brothers, each hand holding a Devil Fruit, and held them out, smiling.
"Both of these Fruits will transform you into ancient winged dragons with the power of flight—one a Pteranodon and the other a Pterosaur.
"So, what do you say? Care to try them?"
~~~
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