Chapter Sixty: The Island of Antiquity

With Lili's guidance, Buffon no longer had to worry about aimlessly drifting without purpose; instead, he began to contemplate the various details of the Juventus. Of course, a pirate flag was a must—this wasn't complicated, and Buffon could weave it himself.

He had already decided on the design: a skull, with two black lines sketching out a large capital "J" across its forehead.

Regarding the flag's design and the name, Reiju had inquired about its origin, but Buffon only smiled and shook his head without answering.

Brook even composed a song dedicated to the Juventus Pirates:

"Every warrior of Juventus bears a black-and-white heart~ Captain Buffon leads us to the seas you yearn to conquer~ Wherever you go~ our shared story follows... Healing the sick and saving the wounded is our true mission~ Captain Buffon~ you are a great doctor... White embraces black~ rescuing life from the hands of death~ all who are healed cheer for you with heartfelt joy... Juventus~ sail on forever..."

Though Buffon found the song a little sickening, seeing everyone else singing so merrily, he hummed along as well.

As he hummed, Buffon silently pondered his next move. After collecting the profits from the two giants in the garden, he would head straight for Alabasta—a land plagued by civil war, where wounded would never be in short supply.

A week later, the Juventus sailed into the climatic zone of the Ancient Island, greeted at once by a damp, stifling heat. Spotting a volcano erupting in the distance, Buffon knew this was the moment when the two giants would be locked in combat.

Sure enough, after the thunderous clash of their massive weapons echoed across the island, the ensuing shockwave pushed the Juventus—already just a stone's throw from shore—back out to sea.

"Yohohoho! Looks like even the weight of three giants aboard isn't enough to steady our ship!" Brook joked.

At this, Lili used her Devil Fruit powers to revert to her true giant form. Yet another shockwave struck, sending the ship a full nautical mile backward once again.

"Ha ha! Truly worthy of the title of former captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates! That power deserves a bounty of a hundred million Berries!" Saul and Salon exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with excitement.

Though Saul was of the gentle faction, as a giant, the thirst for battle ran in his blood. Now, with his new identity, he naturally idolized these two legendary figures.

Confronted with such overwhelming shockwaves, Buffon thought to himself, "These two are indeed formidable. The gusts from just their weapons colliding are this powerful—what would it be like to face them myself?"

These were pirates whose bounties had exceeded a hundred million even a century ago. After a hundred years of battle, their strength must have only grown. To spar with them and perhaps tend their wounds afterward—such opportunities would be immeasurable for improving his own skills.

Seeing that none of his companions seemed eager to find a way ashore, Buffon sighed quietly. Then, with a flick of his hand, he spun silk thread into a rope five centimeters thick and several kilometers long, tied a slipknot, and hurled it toward a boulder on the shore.

Once the noose caught fast, Buffon tossed the other end to Saul, who nodded, tied it around his waist, and with a few mighty tugs, hauled the Juventus up to the land.

They had barely set foot when several dinosaurs barreled toward them.

Because the Grand Line's islands are so hard to reach, there is virtually no contact between them, allowing each to develop its own unique civilization. Some boast advanced societies, while others have remained unchanged for thousands of years, preserved by the Grand Line’s chaotic climate that makes anything possible.

Thus, this Ancient Island still retained the features of the dinosaur age—not only dinosaurs, but giant beasts of all kinds. Everything here was enormous, as if the island were a backyard garden for giants; some even called it Little Garden.

On the island lived Dory the Blue Ogre and Brogy the Red Ogre, warriors from Elbaf’s village in the New World. For the honor and pride of their kind, they had fought a duel that had lasted a full century.

Thinking of the coming battles, Buffon unconsciously found himself holding his suturing needle.

Baggio was already poised at the rail, eager for action, but Buffon gestured for him to stand down. He wanted to test the new attack technique he had devised during their time at sea.

He realized that in previous fights, he had relied too heavily on the Navy’s Six Powers, Haki, and his Devil Fruit—overwhelming opponents with brute force, but never forging his own style.

If he kept down this path and encountered a foe of equal strength and experience, once his tricks were discovered, the battle would become unbearably difficult.

He needed a fighting style that was truly his own if he wanted to keep charging forward.

Thus, most of his thoughts during the journey had been devoted to perfecting his unique combat approach.

Fortunately, he had plenty of sparring partners aboard! Saul, the tank for raw strength; Reiju, the agile speedster; Baggio, the all-rounder swordsman; and the ever-unpredictable Lili.

Barring the likes of Enel or Ace—those with overwhelming elemental power—these partners covered nearly every top-tier fighting style Buffon could imagine.

Combining his skills as a goalkeeper with his masterful suturing, Buffon had crafted a style all his own.

He spread his gloved hands wide, sixty-six flying needles glinting coldly as they danced with silk threads through the air. In an instant, a pitch-black net of 1,864 squares appeared overhead. Buffon stepped onto Moonwalk, hovering midair, and pressed his hands down.

The giant net descended, ensnaring all the dinosaurs below.

With another upward sweep of his hands, the net lifted, cocooning the beasts within.

Then, clenching his fists, Buffon drew the net ever tighter. The black net shrank rapidly, accompanied by a slicing sound, and in the blink of an eye, the dinosaurs inside were sliced into 1,864 perfectly even pieces!

"Goalkeeper’s Secret Art: Gate Net Execution!"

Buffon landed and glanced at his handiwork, shaking his head with a hint of dissatisfaction. He felt it still wasn’t fast enough; these dinosaurs were nothing like a real opponent. If he faced pirates, it would never be that easy.

Then he recalled the plot: these two giants possessed a skill found nowhere else—the Elbaf Spear: Hakoku!

When these two joined forces to unleash Hakoku, legend had it they could blast a path through an island-sized Sea King with a single strike.

What’s more, though it was called the Elbaf Spear, the technique wasn’t limited to spears—Big Mom’s sword, Brogy’s axe, and Hajrudin’s fist could all unleash this peerless move.