After two days of high-speed sailing, the Flame Dragon had crossed the Calm Belt and arrived in East Blue. Herbert, Julian, and all the Flame Dragon Kingdom's higher-ups had suffered greatly over those two days. The moment they entered the Calm Belt, they faced a windless sea, relying entirely on Herbert's Gale-Gale Fruit ability to propel the ship.
Second, the Calm Belt was the nest of the Sea Kings. These Sea King creatures thrived and reproduced in the Calm Belt, and their sheer numbers made one's scalp tingle. Julian had taken the form of a Flame Dragon and hovered above the Flame Dragon, continuously unleashing flaming vortices against the Sea Kings trying to devour the ship.
Some of these Sea Kings resembled ancient plesiosaurs, while others looked like mosasaurs, but without exception, they all had enormous mouths. Every Division Captain aboard with long-range attacks unleashed them, while those without ranged abilities carried Gas Cannons and fired away. Julian also continuously released astonishing Conqueror's Haki, striking the Sea Kings beneath the surface that wanted to attack the Flame Dragon. They killed several hundred massive Sea Kings this way, forcing the creatures to retreat for the time being.
But a few hours later, the Sea Kings returned, and the ones that appeared were even larger. Julian secretly cursed, You say they have no brains, yet they know when to run. You say they have brains, yet they come in groups to offer themselves up. They've exhausted the hell out of me. Damn it.
Herbert was also left in a miserable state. He had to control hurricanes to attack the Sea Kings while using Observation Haki to guard against those beneath the sea trying to strike the ship. Allison continuously sent slashes at the Sea Kings. Any Sea King struck by Allison's Flame