The Straw Hats still haven’t found the key to Loki’s chains. Road says the only ones who might know where it is are Jarul or the other elders. Luffy considers asking Jarul, but Road warns him it would be a serious crime, and Zoro points out they haven’t even decided if they should free Loki yet.
The four arrive at the throne room. Inside, they notice a magic circle on the floor. Nami says it looks like something used to summon demons, which immediately freaks Road out. Luffy, on the other hand, says it feels familiar.
A voice suddenly calls out to Luffy, saying they’ve been waiting for him. Road panics, thinking it’s a spirit, and tries to run, but a large axe is thrown in his path, stopping him and causing him to drop everyone. Luffy and Zoro land safely, with Zoro catching Nami, while Luffy looks up and sees someone sitting on the throne.
Scopper Gaban, Left Hand of the Pirate King
Road recognizes him as “Ya-san,” a former pirate, and asks what he’s doing there. Ya says he sensed some strange Haki in the room, but it disappeared, and instead he found the Straw Hats. He tells Luffy he heard about his victory over Kaidou and mentions wanting to visit Wano again. Road explains that Ya is Ripley’s husband and Colon’s father.
Ya comments on how much giant blood Colon inherited, saying he was never really able to hold him. He adds that Colon is now twenty years old while Ripley is eighty, yet both are still considered young. In the end, Ya admits that marrying a Giant isn’t worth it if your partner and child will outlive you.
Nami is shocked that someone would willingly marry a giant, but Ya drops down and explains that love is free. He says mixed races are common in the world, and while those relationships don’t always last, there are plenty of people open to them. When Zoro asks who he really is, Ya casually calls himself a “Preacher of Love.”
Luffy immediately asks if Ya knows where the key to Loki’s chains is, and Road scolds him for being so direct. Ya, though, says he enjoys watching people stir up trouble. He asks Luffy if he understands what kind of person Loki is and what could happen if he is freed. Luffy brushes it off, saying he will just beat Loki and chain him back up.
Take the key by force
Ya warns him that the only person who ever captured Loki was Shanks, and going in blindly will only lead to trouble. Luffy loses interest mid-conversation and walks off. Road apologizes for the disrespect, but Ya only smiles, thinking back to his time with Roger and how he used to warn him about risks. He then tells Road to push over the throne, and Road follows through.
Back in the village, the giants tell Usopp that within the Roger Pirates, there were two people as strong as Roger himself. Usopp guesses one is Rayleigh but cannot figure out the other. Oimo explains that during one incident, Roger had to rest at a mountain hospital while enemy pirates surrounded them. His companion stepped in and defeated all of them alone using just two axes, cutting down every tree on the mountain in the process. That feat earned him the name “Mountain-Eater,” and many consider him Roger’s left-hand man.
Inside the castle, the group finds a hidden treasure room behind the throne, something Ya discovered on his own. Nami gets excited at first, but the room is completely empty, everything long since looted. The only thing left is the key to Loki’s chains, which even thieves avoided. As Luffy moves to grab it, Ya steps in first and tells him if he wants the key, he will have to take it by force.
At the same time, the giants reveal that the man they were talking about has been living in Elbaph for nearly twenty years. That man is Ya, whose true identity is Scopper Gaban.
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