One Piece: Nobody knows Devil Fruits better than me.

Chapter 293 The Crown of Wisdom, Harald's Whereabouts!

Before coming here.

Wu Ma had already learned some things about the regent, Haldin, from Dongli and Brogi.

At that time, Wu Ma had already realized that this regent was not quite the same as the giant warrior in Wu Ma's memory.

According to Donley and Broglie, Regent Haldin was a 'wise king'.

It's important to know that this happened during the reign of the previous King Harald.

That king, whose personal strength was extremely powerful, was determined to bring the giants into the World Wheel. For this, he did not hesitate to grovel before the World Government and even changed the 'social foundation' of Elbaf.

He abandoned the 'warrior's way' originally practiced by Elbaf and advocated civil administration and a moderate faction.

As Hamor, the giant general who was on good terms with Roy, said—Harald even modified and blocked the giants' nursery rhymes in an effort to make the giants seem less barbaric.

As it turned out, this was the wrong choice.

After Haliddin became regent, he made sweeping changes to his father's policies.

He restored the warrior spirit to the giants, but at the same time, he did not abolish the cultural education in the Owl Library or the Walrus School.

"My father's idea is not entirely wrong—if Elbaf wants to survive on the seas in the future, then we must understand history, we must learn civilization, and we must know what benevolence and righteousness are."

"We are soldiers, and we can also be 'weapons' in war."

"But we must know what we are fighting for."

To be honest, even Wu Ma looked at him differently after hearing these words, and was even somewhat surprised.

After all, according to the original work, Halding should have been a rough and not very smart character.

But now that he has seen Haildin, Wu Ma understands.

"Crown of Wisdom. Created from lineage factor energy?"

Wu Ma was somewhat taken aback.

Like the Sunstone, the crown on Halding's head also contained bloodline factor energy.

However, he quickly recovered from his surprise.

"Waited for thirty-one years?"

He noticed what Halding had just said.

Without a doubt—this is a straightforward statement that speaks volumes.

"Your Majesty the Regent, what do you mean by that?"

Wu Ma spoke calmly.

The eyes beneath the mask looked at Haldin before him.

At that moment, Haildin smiled.

He pointed to his head: "You don't need to test me—my brother, with his abilities and the crown 'Iron Thunder' forged for me, has made my observation and thinking skills exceptional. So I can tell from your body language that you understand what I mean, right?"

He said it calmly.

As he finished speaking, the sharpness in Wu Ma's eyes became even more pronounced.

He did not deny it.

He already had a guess when Halding said those words.

After all, thirty-one years ago—that point in time is very clear.

That was after Lox went to Mary Geoise to die, and also when Harald disappeared.

Therefore, Haildin's words naturally allowed Wu Ma to analyze a lot of things.

such as
Hajrudin said that the Crown of Wisdom was forged by his brother, the "Cursed Prince" Loki, using his weapons.

This statement itself is very meaningful.

Because Wu Ma knew very well that Loki's weapon, the 'Iron Thunder,' was an ancient weapon that had been passed down from ancient times in Elbaf.

He himself seems to be a power user, able to transform into both a squirrel and a hammer, and the weapon itself is extremely powerful, even the giant kings of past generations could not defeat him.

Its existence is to protect the national treasure passed down through generations of the Giant Kingdom—a legendary Devil Fruit.

If nothing unexpected happens, this Devil Fruit should be very special, and it is very likely one of the three fruits needed for Joy Boy and Davy Jones to complete their plan.

And now it seems
"The power of that fruit is related to the source energy of the bloodline factor. And through the 'Iron Lightning,' Loki can utilize the source energy of the bloodline factor to create an item like the 'Crown of Wisdom'?"

"No, it's also possible that Loki himself is special. After all, according to the original work, this 'cursed prince' is very likely the same as the mermaid princess Shirahoshi as the 'sea king,' who is also known as the 'king of the earth' by the sea kings."

Beneath Wu Ma's mask, Roy looked at the crown atop Haildin's head and analyzed the situation in his mind.

Of course, this is not important to him.

The real key lies in...
"In the original story, Loki ate that 'national treasure' because his father Harald was misled by the World Government and signed the 'Deep Sea Pact' with Im, thus becoming controlled by Im."

"So Loki was forced to eat the fruit to kill his father under Harald's orders—well, if Loki's ability can really control 'bloodline factor energy,' then this also explains why he was able to kill Harald, who was theoretically 'immortal,' in the original story."

"But the problem is, Harald wasn't killed by Loki, he's just gone missing."

Roy understood—this change was the key to Elbaf's current state.

"Your Majesty the Regent, can you tell me the reason for King Harald's disappearance?"

Wu Ma immediately got to the heart of the matter.

Clearly, all the plot changes in Elbaf stemmed from the disappearance of 'Harald'.

Haildin, standing before him, must have some knowledge of this.

"As expected of the twelve constellations."

Upon hearing this, Haildin grinned.

He nodded, then gestured for Yaru and Wuma to sit down.

After the two were seated, Haildin slowly began to speak.

"Sir Wu Ma should know that Locke D. Gibeck appeared in Elbaf thirty-two years ago?"

"He held his last banquet here before he went to his death."

What he spoke of was the banquet that Wu Ma already knew about, and had only recently learned the whole story from the white-bearded man.

then
“At that time, my father was not in Elbaf, but was fighting ‘pirates’ for the World Government all over the world. It was my brother who let Rocks into Elbaf.”

Haildin whispered the answer.

"really."

Upon hearing this, Wu Ma could only think to himself, "As expected."

This aligns with his previous speculation.

It's clear that someone within the giant race helped Lox when he held that final banquet.

Harald had by then completely severed ties with his former close friend.

Therefore, Loki had already guessed that it was likely Loki who helped Rocks enter Elbaf—because this cursed prince was a huge fan of Rocks.

And now, Haildin's words prove that this is indeed the case.

However, the crux of the matter is clearly not there—Wu Ma already knew about the banquet that Lox had held in Elbaf, so it was not particularly surprising to him.

What he truly didn't expect was...
“Lox told my brother about the world and history, as well as the truth about the ‘Knight of God’ and the ‘Contract,’ and asked my brother to pass it on to our father.”

Haildin calmly recounted the truth of what happened back then.

"And my father made his choice only after learning about this."

He looked at Wu Ma as he said this, and said slowly and deliberately, "He didn't 'disappear,' but chose to 'leave.'"

(End of this chapter)