Half a month later, on a bright, sunny morning.
The White Dragon was fully prepped and anchored near the mouth of the river that led out to the open ocean. Bardock and his crew were all gathered on the deck.
Over the past two weeks, Bardock had spent almost every waking moment with Dorry and Brogy, obsessively discussing the mechanical intricacies of Hakoku and refining his own techniques. Meanwhile, the rest of the crew had been busy with their own tasks.
"Robin, did you find anything interesting while exploring the rest of the island?" Bardock asked, turning to the archaeologist.
"I did find a few more stranded ships hidden deep in the jungle," Robin reported, having acted as the exploration team leader during Bardock's training. "Unfortunately, they had all been abandoned for decades. The salt air and jungle rot had completely ruined everything inside. We didn't find any functional Log Poses. However, we did recover a significant amount of gold and jewelry."
"Leo, how did your seed collection go?" Bardock asked the dwarf.
Leo had spent the entire two weeks scouring the prehistoric jungle, collecting seeds from bizarre, ancient plant life. He planned to bring them back to Green Bit one day; he knew his fellow Tontattas would be absolutely thrilled to cultivate extinct flora.
Since the Tontatta tribe possessed a supernatural talent for botany and agriculture, Bardock had explicitly ordered Leo to find seeds for edible, delicious prehistoric fruits and vegetables to plant in the ship's garden. Fresh, nutrient-dense produce was vital for long voyages.
"Don't worry, Captain! I got everything we need!" Leo beamed proudly. "I've already planted the wild vegetables and fruit seeds in the ship's greenhouse. Give me a few generations to cross-breed and cultivate them, and they'll taste even better than normal food!"
When it came to plants, the Tontatta tribe was absolutely peerless.
"Excellent. Since everyone is accounted for and our supplies are fully stocked, let's cast off!" Bardock commanded, raising his hand. "Next stop: Drum Island!"
The crew immediately scrambled to their stations, raising the sails and hoisting the anchor.
"Gabababababa! Bardock! Were you really going to leave without saying goodbye?!"
Brogy's booming voice echoed from the edge of the jungle.
"He's right!" Dorry's voice quickly followed. "A friend travels far, and we don't even see him off? That is absolutely not the way of Elbaf!"
The two massive Giants emerged from the tree line, standing on the riverbank to see them off.
"Hahaha! Sorry, Brogy, Dorry! That's my fault!" Bardock laughed, standing on the ship's railing. "I've had an incredible time training with you two! Next time I visit, I promise to bring enough wine to actually get you both drunk!"
Truthfully, Bardock had deliberately avoided a formal goodbye. He knew that the 'Island Eater'—the colossal goldfish—was lurking near the exit of the river. He was genuinely worried that if the Giants came to see them off, they would insist on using a combined Hakoku to blast the goldfish and clear a path for the ship. Given the fragile state of their century-old weapons, a full-powered Hakoku would almost certainly shatter their swords and axes into dust.
It was completely unnecessary. Bardock could handle the goldfish himself.
Besides, Bardock had already secretly collected hair and fingernail clippings from both Giants to craft Vivre Cards. No matter where they went—even if they eventually returned to Elbaf—Bardock could easily find them again.
"Gababababa! Now that's a promise I'll hold you to!" Brogy laughed, his eyes lighting up at the mention of more wine.
"We will look forward to your return," Dorry smiled, stroking his beard. He then pointed toward the open ocean. "We will escort you to the edge of the island. Be careful. There is a monstrous 'Island Eater' lurking right outside the river mouth. It often swallows ships whole."
"I appreciate the escort, but let me make one thing clear: neither of you is allowed to attack," Bardock warned them sternly. "If the Island Eater stays hidden, great. But if it dares to show its ugly face, I want to test out my new technique on it."
Bardock had to establish this rule beforehand, otherwise, the honorable Giants would undoubtedly jump in to help the moment the monster appeared.
"Oh? You've already finalized the concept for your new technique? It's only been two weeks!" Brogy stared at the tiny human in sheer shock. It had taken him several years of grueling practice to master Hakoku. Not only had Bardock grasped the fundamentals in half a month, but he had already modified it with his own combat theories. The boy's talent was genuinely terrifying.
"If you've truly achieved what you theorized, the resulting attack would possess the destructive power of both Brogy and me launching a combined strike," Dorry added, his tone filled with deep admiration.
"Just watch! This technique is going to be incredibly powerful!" Bardock grinned confidently.
As they spoke, the White Dragon smoothly drifted down the river, approaching the turbulent waters where the river met the open sea.
Bardock closed his eyes, pushing his Observation Haki to its absolute limit, scanning the dark depths below for any massive life signs.
On the shore, Dorry and Brogy walked alongside the ship. Despite their promise not to interfere, they both firmly gripped their massive weapons, ready to step in at a moment's notice if things went wrong.
On the deck, Robin and the rest of the crew remained completely silent, not wanting to distract their captain. The name 'Island Eater' alone was enough to tell them this wasn't an ordinary Sea King; any creature capable of swallowing an island was a genuinely apocalyptic threat.
Suddenly, Bardock's eyes snapped open. He drew White Iron and Shusui simultaneously, coating both blades in dense, pitch-black Armament Haki. He widened his stance, mimicking the exact posture Dorry had used before launching Hakoku.
Seeing this, the crew and the Giants instantly braced themselves. The Island Eater was here.
Sure enough, the ocean directly in front of the White Dragon violently bulged upward. Millions of gallons of seawater cascaded down like a waterfall as a colossal, impossibly massive goldfish breached the surface. Its mouth gaped open like a bottomless cavern, wide enough to swallow the entire White Dragon and the surrounding ocean in a single gulp.
Bardock didn't flinch.
"Hakoku... BREAKER!"
He swung both swords forward simultaneously with apocalyptic force.
Two massive, hyper-compressed shockwaves erupted from his blades. However, unlike the standard Hakoku, which was a straightforward concussive blast, Bardock's shockwaves violently spun in opposite directions as they shot forward, rapidly intertwining to form a colossal, screeching double-helix drill.
After his grueling second battle against Gecko Moria in the Kano Country, Bardock had been deeply inspired by the Warlord's 'Moonlight Double Gates' drill attack. Having spent the last two weeks mastering the raw, concussive momentum of the Giants' Hakoku, Bardock had successfully fused the two concepts together.
He combined the devastating armor-piercing rotational force of Moria's drill with the unstoppable, apocalyptic momentum of a combined Hakoku. The resulting technique was Hakoku: Breaker.
It possessed denser Haki compression, terrifyingly high-speed rotation, and absolute concussive force. It was an all-around, exponential upgrade.
The colossal double-helix drill screamed across the water, slamming directly into the roof of the Island Eater's gaping mouth.
The apocalyptic attack tore through the creature's flesh like wet tissue paper. With a sickening, deafening crunch, the drill bored straight through the goldfish's skull, blasted out the back of its head, and continued screaming across the horizon, leaving a massive, perfectly circular tunnel through the monster's brain.
The legendary Island Eater—which was supposed to be a major obstacle for the Straw Hat Pirates eleven years in the future—died instantly before it even realized it was under attack.
'Did I put too much power into it?' Bardock wondered, watching the drill effortlessly puncture the monster and disappear into the distant clouds.
He calmly sheathed his swords. The stamina drain for that attack was immense; he needed to practice dialing back the output so he didn't waste energy on overkill in the future.
"Captain Bardock never disappoints!" Leo cheered, his eyes sparkling with awe. Mansherry and Robin smiled warmly in agreement.
"That's... that's too strong! He killed a monster the size of a mountain in one hit!" Perona gasped, her jaw hanging open. Was he really a human?!
"The Boss's strength has reached a completely unfathomable level," Daz Bonez noted stoically. Having watched Bardock's rapid ascent firsthand, the bounty hunter was constantly amazed by his captain's growth rate.
'If such terrifying power can be achieved through pure swordplay and Haki, then it can absolutely be achieved through martial arts and Haki,' Sai analyzed, his mind racing. Seeing Bardock instantly annihilate the monster without relying on his Devil Fruit completely solidified the teenager's resolve. He didn't need a Devil Fruit; he just needed to push his physical limits further.
On the shore, Dorry and Brogy stared at the massive, perfectly circular hole blasted through the falling Island Eater. Slowly, they lowered their weapons.
"Gabababababa! You actually did it, Bardock! That attack was absolutely terrifying!" Brogy roared in sheer delight.
"Indeed. If Brogy and I launched a combined Hakoku right now, I doubt it would be much stronger than that," Dorry nodded in profound respect. "You have truly surpassed your teachers, Bardock."
"Hahaha! It's all thanks to your excellent teaching!" Bardock waved back enthusiastically as the White Dragon caught the wind and sailed past the sinking carcass. "We're off! See you next time!"
"May the wind be at your back!" The two Giants waved back, watching the small galleon disappear into the horizon.
As the ship vanished, Brogy turned to look at the colossal Island Eater slowly sinking into the ocean.
"Say, Dorry... I wonder what a giant goldfish tastes like?" Brogy mused, rubbing his stomach.
"There's only one way to find out!" Dorry grinned, immediately diving into the ocean and swimming toward the massive carcass.
"Hey! Save some for me!" Brogy yelled, immediately diving in after him.
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