One Piece:Becoming the King of the World from the Rocks Era

"Who are you? Don't stand in our way of challenging Lord Li Yuan!"

Helding and the other giant children, seeing the small figures blocking their path, demanded answers.

"We're his kids. If you want to challenge our dad, you'll have to beat us first!"

Esdeath declared with all the seriousness she could muster, mimicking the words she'd heard Barrett and the others say earlier.

However, her small, adorable face failed to convey the severity she was aiming for, looking more cute than intimidating.

"I'm Helding. What's your name? I'll challenge you first, and once I win, I'll challenge Lord Li Yuan!"

Helding pointed at Esdeath, standing at the front of the group, figuring she must be the leader.

"Hmph! My name is Esdeath, and I'm my dad's eldest daughter. I won't lose!"

Esdeath stepped forward, instantly shifting into her human-beast form of the Arctic True God. The cold aura radiating from her was a stark contrast to her sweet, childish demeanor.

"Oh? She's already mastered the human-beast form? That's fast."

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow, surprised. It hadn't been long since Esdeath ate the Devil Fruit, and yet she had already mastered the transformation. Her potential was even better than he'd anticipated.

"Alright, take this!"

Helding charged forward, his attack resembling a child's wild swing with no technique, more of a flailing punch.

"Hah! I'm going to beat you!"

Esdeath ignored technique as well, raising her fist to meet his.

The two fists, one large and one small, collided with surprising force. Despite her size, Esdeath's little body unleashed an immense strength, forcing Helding back. She jumped forward and landed another punch squarely on his face, knocking him to the ground.

The fierce blow left Helding dizzy, his mind reeling.

"You're strong; I lost. But I'll be back to challenge you again, Esdeath!"

After a while, Helding sat up, rubbing his sore face, stubbornly declaring his intention to return.

"Hmph! Anyone I, Esdeath, defeat will never catch up to me. Even if you come back, I'll still be the one to win!"

Esdeath looked down at Helding with a proud tilt of her chin, clearly pleased with herself.

"This feels amazing! No wonder Uncle Barrett and the others love fighting giants so much—this is too much fun!"

Though she acted prideful, inside Esdeath was elated.

"Wait, I'm also my dad's daughter! My name is Akame. Does anyone want to challenge me?"

Seeing her sister in the spotlight, Akame raised her hand, eager for a match and worried all the giants would challenge Esdeath instead of her.

"I'm dad's son, and my name's Gai Nie. I challenge you!"

"And me, I'm Wei Zhuang!"

"I'm Faraday!"

Inspired by Akame's initiative, Gai Nie and the others couldn't hold back any longer. Initially, the giants had challenged them, but now they were the ones approaching the giant children to initiate challenges.

"Gabababa! Li Yuan, your children are impressive—just as one would expect from your family," Brogy remarked, watching with delight as Esdeath and the others drove the giant kids into a frenzy.

"Of course! They're my children, the best they could be!"

Li Yuan's face lit up with pride. As a father, what could be better than hearing others praise your kids?

"By the way, Dorry, Brogy, I've got something for you: these are Gravity Homies. They can adjust gravitational pull."

Li Yuan presented two Gravity Homies and placed them on Dorry and Brogy's wrists, explaining how to use them.

"Kekeke! Li Yuan, you're truly a good friend. With these, our strength will definitely grow!"

Dorry's excitement was evident after hearing Li Yuan's explanation.

The giants revered raw power above all else. An adult giant already had the strength comparable to a Marine vice-admiral, and Dorry and Brogy, through years of battle and training, had achieved the might of an admiral. Yet, they had hit a ceiling, unable to progress further through ordinary means.

Gravity Homies could increase gravitational force, providing a training advantage. Giants, due to their massive bodies, felt gravity's effects more intensely than humans, making it ideal for them.

"Haha! We're close friends, after all—this is just a small token of that. I'll include more Gravity Homies in future trades with Elbaf."

Li Yuan grinned.

His alliance with Elbaf was beneficial, as the giants opposed the World Government. Strengthening their forces would only be to his advantage.

"Oh, that reminds me," Dorry said, reaching behind him. "The Giant King asked me to give you something since you're a swordsman. He thought you'd like it."

Dorry pulled out a long stone box and handed it to Li Yuan.

Curious, Li Yuan opened it, wondering what he would find inside.

"A sword?"

He lifted the blade from the box, drawing it from its scabbard in one smooth motion.

Hum!

As soon as the blade was unsheathed, a dark, ominous energy surged from the hilt, flooding into Li Yuan's body.

It was a cursed, demonic energy—a powerful will that tried to impose itself on him, seeking to make him its servant.

"Hmph!"

Feeling the intent, Li Yuan released his own powerful sword energy, crushing the will within the blade instantly.

Closing his eyes, he let himself absorb the blade's essence.

Each famous blade held remnants of its previous wielder's intent, and many swordsmen sought renowned swords to gain insight into those who wielded them before. Through these residual impressions, swordsmen often found inspiration for their own swordsmanship, sometimes breaking through their limitations.

Li Yuan followed the same path, having refined his swordsmanship with various supreme-grade swords. His swift progress had been in part thanks to the knowledge these famous swords offered.

This blade, however, gave off a strange, bloodthirsty aura, ancient and powerful. It was, unmistakably, a true demon sword.

"It's the Supreme-Grade Demon Sword Muramasa!"

After a while, Li Yuan opened his eyes, spotting the characters for "Muramasa" on the blade.

The infamous cursed sword had somehow ended up in the hands of the giants and was now entrusted to him.

With Muramasa, he now held four Supreme-Grade swords.

Among the Supreme-Grade swords he knew were Split Wind Flow, Muramasa, Futsu-no-Mitama, First Generation Kitetsu, Shura, Ace, Gryphon, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and two future blades—Shodai Black, Fireline, and Mihawk's Yoru—making a total of ten.

His Seven Star Sword wasn't classified as a Supreme-Grade, though it was comparable in power to these top-tier swords. Li Yuan wondered if he would someday encounter more than the known twelve Supreme-Grade swords.

"Kekeke, I'm impressed, Li Yuan. You subdued that demon sword so quickly," Dorry said, watching as Li Yuan returned to his clear-headed state.

"Haha! Thank the Giant King for me. I like this sword a lot. Here, take these three Gravity Homies as gifts for him."

Li Yuan continued, "Next time the Infinite Pirates come to trade, I'll send over more Gravity Homies and a larger supply of Dukang's fine liquor."

Accepting a Supreme-Grade sword was something any swordsman would do without hesitation.

"Gabababa! That's excellent. Our giants can never have enough good liquor."

Brogy's eyes lit up at Li Yuan's words. They knew how much stock Li Yuan's fleet carried, so when he mentioned "more," they imagined an entire shipment.

"Oh, by the way, Dorry, Brogy, I was hoping to recruit some Elbaf giants into the Infinite Pirates. Do you think that's possible?"

Li Yuan asked, recognizing the formidable strength the giants could bring to his crew.

"Gabababa! Of course, Li Yuan! Right now, you're more respected here in Elbaf than either of us."

"Just say the word, and plenty of giants would jump at the chance to join you. Challenging, admiring, and following a powerful leader is part of our Elbaf creed!"

Brogy laughed.

"Perfect! Then I'll have to challenge them myself and bring them aboard!"

Li Yuan said enthusiastically, ready to showcase his combat skills.

Li Yuan spent an entire month in Elbaf, a time filled with drinking, sparring, and endless battle. He trained in various combat techniques, including the Eight Impact Fist, using the giants as his sparring partners.

In the end, Li Yuan had fought practically every giant in Elbaf, leaving with both new skills and a deeper understanding of the giant way of life.

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