I, the great swordsman, am definitely not a bootlicker

Asgard, corner near the palace entrance.

Curly Eyebrows leaned against the wall, peeking out furtively: "Tsk, where the hell did that bastard Green Algae Head run off to? We agreed to meet up here."

"Master Sanji, didn't we agree not to wait for him?" The humble No. 2 tool showed a flattering look: "With Master Zoro's strength, there will be no problem. Otherwise, we should leave here quickly while no one notices?"

"No!" Although Curly Eyebrows had a strong craving for cigarettes, he still resisted the urge: "If we throw him into such a huge palace, who knows how long it will take him to get out."

Just as the two were whispering, a teasing voice came from above their heads.

"Hey, silly Ou Doudou, I didn't realize you still care about me." As soon as the words fell, a green shadow fell from the sky.

Hearing this, Curly Eyebrows gnashed his teeth and grabbed his collar, "You green-haired bastard, I'm going to kick you sooner or later... eh? You're carrying that on your back..."

The green algae-head shook the huge key on his back and grinned: "Hey! This is our powerful foreign aid. Caribou is in your hands!"

Caribou swallowed and protested, "Master, this is too big."

However, he was ruthlessly rejected by the green algae-headed man, who picked up the key and stabbed it into his abdomen, then patted his shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Let's go."

The man with curly eyebrows looked disdainful. "So that's not the key to the warehouse? You've been gone for so long, and you only got a strange key. Do you even remember why we came here?"

"Uh..." The green algae-haired man was a little embarrassed. He was distracted by Loki's affairs and almost forgot the main task. "Oh, right, did you find any fruit?"

"Tsk, I knew you were unreliable. We did find the warehouse, but when we found it, they were moving the food out. There were too many people, so it was difficult to take action. After they dispersed, the warehouse door was locked..."

"Hehe, after talking so much, you didn't get any fruit." The green algae-head interrupted him with a look of disgust.

Curly Eyebrows looked as if his tail had been stepped on: "What did you say!? We at least found the location of the warehouse, unlike someone who got nothing."

"Hey, who said I didn't get anything? If I can't steal, I'll just have to resort to force."

Curly Eyebrows was stunned. "What do you mean? Are you trying to cause a scene here? Don't forget, it was Uncle Dongli and the others who invited us to visit Elbaf. Don't cause any trouble here."

"Hey, I won't forget. Maybe after we make a big fuss, they will thank us. But... let's ask Luffy and the giant uncles what they think first." The green algae-haired boy remembered what he had heard from Freya before, and couldn't help grinning.

……

In the Giant Village, the Straw Hat Pirates, except for the green-haired guy, the curly-browed guy, and the number two tool man, have gathered together, each telling about what happened after they separated. When Heldin heard Luffy talking about the monsters the three of them met in the underworld, his eyes widened.

"What? You want to save Loki? This is no joke!"

Luffy was stunned: "Huh? Do you know the guy tied to the tree? But he said if I let him go, he would tell me about Shanks."

"Loki...sounds so familiar." Nami thought thoughtfully.

Hailding hesitated for a moment. "He is also the prince of our giant tribe, the man known as the Cursed Prince... and also my younger brother."

"Eh? Then why didn't you save him?" Luffy's eyes suddenly widened.

After a long silence, Hailding slowly told a story.

six years ago……

It was the Winter Festival, and somewhere in the snowy underworld at the bottom of the World Tree, the aroma of barbecue filled the air. One could tell at a glance that it was Elbaf's most delicious meat - moose.

The rich fragrance instantly attracted a giant who was looking for wild beasts to practice in the vicinity. He followed the scent and saw a long-lost figure.

"Loki? You're back, eh?? What are you doing! It's Winter Festival, we can't eat!"

"It's Hailding. It's been a long time." Loki took a bite of the deer leg in his hand, a satisfied smile on his face. "This moose meat is still the best. Do you want to eat it together?"

Hailding frowned slightly. "How could you not even follow the rules of our Winter Festival after going out to sea? This is a day to express gratitude to the sun! You know, only with gratitude to the sun can the sun dispel the harsh winter again."

"Don't joke, Helding! Winter goes and spring comes, the cycle repeats, and the sun will always come back." Loki grinned.

"Loki! Being grateful to the sun is the belief of our clan!" Hailding was a little excited.

"Hey, Hailding, you should go to the sea and take a look. If it's about faith, then those self-righteous people living in the treetops should be the most grateful. After all, they are the ones who control the gifts of the sun!"

"I'll go to the sea!" Hailding frowned. "I didn't expect that after all this time, your resentment still persists. Although my father expelled you from Elbaf, it was because you tried to destroy the palace's weapons."

"Hey, guess why I destroyed those dangerous things? I worked so hard to get a little bit of poor land from them, which was enough to feed myself, and in the end I had to return more than half of the harvest. But just because those high-ranking guys only distributed less than one percent of the sun's gift, I was grateful to them. Don't you think it's too pathetic, Hailding?"

Hailding was stunned and silent for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and sighed: "It's really awkward to hear such words coming out of your mouth. You are a real royal family."

Loki grinned. "It's no use being a king like this. I've returned this time to put an end to it all. I finally understand the true meaning of Mother's prophecy that I will end this world."

Helding was horrified when he heard this: "Hey! Loki, what do you want to do? Don't do anything stupid. You know how powerful your father is."

"I am the strongest man among the giants." Loki smiled confidently.

Hailding shook his head silently: "You are no match for that weapon."

"It's Winter Festival now, Hailding."

"Loki!" Hailding's expression became very serious. "If you intend to do anything detrimental to our father, I will stop you once again!"

"Then you try it, Brother Hailding!"

……

"Unfortunately, I was no match for Loki and couldn't stop him. Not long after, Loki caused a big commotion. Even though I was tied up by him in the underworld, I felt the vibration of the entire World Tree. After I was rescued, I heard that Loki... killed my father for the legendary devil fruit. No matter what the reason, I will never be able to forgive him for this unforgivable crime." Hailding recounted the tragedy that happened here six years ago, tears streaming down his face.

Ge Er Si handed him the scarf considerately.

At this moment, a familiar voice came from outside the door: "Is there a possibility that you have all been deceived?"

"Oh, Zoro, Sanji! And Kasubu, you are back. Did you find the fruit to save the giant uncle?" Luffy smiled when he saw the three little humans standing outside the door.

Hailding laughed through his tears: "Di gaga gaga, meeting an old friend after a long time, crying like this, how embarrassing."

Seeing that he was safe and sound, the women were relieved. Dashiqi, on the other hand, showed a bad look and gripped the hilt of her knife. In the end, in front of so many people, she was more sensible and let go of her hand, muttering, "Hmph, I'll deal with you later..."

"Um...what did Zoro mean when he said just now that everyone was deceived?" Usopp was particularly interested in lies.

Hailding shook his head: "No, this is what the Queen Mother said herself."

"Hey, because she was also deceived at that time." The green algae-head grinned.

"Ok?"

"I have a story too. Six years ago, Loki, who was expelled from Elbaf, received a letter from his uncle Utter, telling him that he could help him obtain the devil fruit passed down from generation to generation in the giants. The forbidden power was enough for him to achieve his goal of ending the rule of the nobles." Only to hear the green algae head approaching.

After Loki returned to the palace, he did steal and eat the devil fruit with the help of Utter, but was soon discovered by the old king. So, under Utter's coaxing, the father and son fought each other, causing Loki to accidentally and seriously injure the old king. In the end, the old king died of his injuries, and under the instigation of Utter, the entire giant tribe gathered their strength to capture Loki.

"This is impossible! Loki has always been the smartest among our giants. It is impossible for him to take such a heavy hand against my father just because of the instigation of others." Helding immediately denied it.

"What if Utter made some secret deal with the world government and obtained a strange fruit?" The algae-headed man grinned and then looked at the fat giant Goldbag in the room. "For example, he told you that your shield was alive, but you didn't believe him, and then your shield grew eyes and a mouth."

Goldbag was stunned and pulled out a strange shield with a face from his back. "Is that the ability of the fruit? I thought my shield was alive, but I didn't realize it until the king told me."

……