Setting Out
"Go buy some things, just browse around, and buy a lot of rope," Teach instructed, and the crew members nodded in agreement.
To get to the Sky Island, you have to go through the Sky-Rending Current near Gaya Island, or more precisely, use the upward force of the Sky-Rending Current.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for Teach to send the five pirate ships of the Night Pirates into the air at an altitude of 10,000 meters on Teach own.
The Sky-Rending Current, a natural phenomenon along the Grand Line, occur from time to time, and frequently in certain areas, such as the waters near Gaya Island.
By then, even the crew members on board might lose their footing, and there were so many of them that there weren't many places to hold on to. They would need some sturdy ropes to hold onto.
Teach had encountered the Sky-Rending Current many times, several times while aboard the Moby Dick, Teach was quite familiar with it.
The Sky-Rending Current typically occurs within a fixed area. Before Sky-Rending Current, a massive vortex forms, accumulating power, and then bursts forth in an instant, creating a towering column of water.
Pirate ships that pass by, if in a bad position, will be destroyed and their crew killed by the powerful impact; if they are lucky, they will be swept up to the White Sea is 7,000 meters high, by this Sky-Rending Current.
Of course, in the New World, there are other ways to reach the Sky Island, which are not available in the Four Seas and Paradise. You can only rely on the Sky-Rending Current or your own abilities if you can fly.
The arrival of the Night Pirates naturally alarmed many forces. In such a chaotic place, the news gradually spread, letting them know that the Night Pirates had appeared in Magu Town.
There are many pirates here who want to join the Night Pirates, but Teach has no interest in them; the Night Pirates have no intention of expanding their membership.
The Night Pirates now have enough crew, reaching a high capacity. Even with five pirate ships, it's still quite crowded.
Unless they suffer significant losses in the future, the Night Pirates will not continue to expand until they reach the New World.
The Night Pirates didn't linger in Magu Town, nor did they have any interest in it. Given the difference in power and scale, the small Magu Town held no appeal for Teach or the Night Pirates. Their goal was Sky Island, the New World.
Most of the crew stayed at the port, bought their supplies, and returned without lingering on the island. The troops that went to buy supplies carried back large quantities of goods like cargo and delivered them to the pirate ship, attracting a lot of attention.
There are many things needed, after all, it will definitely take several days, maybe even ten days or half a month, to get to the Sky Island. Although there is food on the Sky Island, there are many things that are not available compared to the ocean.
Once all the necessary supplies had been purchased and everyone was expected to return, the Night Pirates' ships set sail, heading off the island. Surprisingly, the Night Pirates had only stayed on Gaya Island for such a short time.
However, someone noticed something strange: the Night Pirates' route didn't leave Gaya Island directly, but instead lingered in the waters surrounding Gaya Island as if searching for something.
This aroused their curiosity. Gaya Island is now divided into two parts: the larger part is Magu Town, and the smaller part is the island where the descendant of the "Great Liar," Manbran Kulik, stayed. He was dedicated to fishing for treasure on the seabed, believed that the Golden Mountain really existed, and sank into the sea.
These two islands were originally one entity, both belonging to Gaya Island. Gaya Island is shaped like a skull, but four hundred years ago, a massive Sky-Rending Current swept the head and face of Gaya Island to the Sky Island, leaving only the teeth.
The Night Pirates have been lingering in the waters near Gaya Island. What are they searching for? Even the Night Pirates are looking for something. This behavior was noticed by someone with ulterior motives, and then gradually spread.
Soon, ships left Magu Town and caught up with the Night Pirates. However, they dared not approach the Night Pirates, but instead stayed at a distance and observed them through binoculars.
The news spread quickly. "The Night Pirates? Let's see what they're up to, but don't stop them. Report to headquarters immediately if anything happens." At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku also received information about Magu Town but had no intention of taking action. The main reason was that the Marines were too busy. He himself had been sitting in his position for several days in a row, and to save time, even after receiving the news, he slept in his office.
This is the norm for senior officers at the Marine Headquarters; it's tiring, but fulfilling.
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Sengoku wondered what the Night Pirates were up to. He frowned, unable to fathom that the Night Pirates were heading to Sky Island.
He felt like his brain was about to explode from all the recent busyness. The Night Pirates had also kept a low profile for the past two months and hadn't caused any trouble, which relieved him.
After all, most of the Navy's top brass are currently out in the field. He is an Admiral who stays at headquarters to train the Navy's future Zephyr, and Fleet Marshal Kong, who is practically retired and only has a symbolic role.
This way, the transition of power can be carried out smoothly.
Most of the other high-ranking naval officers have been sent out to sea. Even Garp is aware of the current state of the navy, constantly capturing pirates at sea and occasionally showing off his amazing skills of throwing cannonballs by hand, which has earned him a large following at sea.
Many followers even emerged, but most of them turned out to be pirates.
The Navy's reputation is now recovering, and thanks to the efforts of the entire navy, it is even moving in a better direction.
He continued to examine the intelligence he had, and without a specific reason, he neither wanted to deal with the Night Pirates, nor was he capable of doing so.
Therefore, the Night Pirates were allowed to sail freely in the first half of the Grand Line without any hindrance; even when they encountered Marine warship, they had to give way.
Sengoku sighed softly. He didn't want to think about these troubling matters. At present, the Navy's focus was not on the Night Pirates. The Night Pirates had already accomplished their great mission, and even if they were to go to the New World, he had no intention of stopping them too much.
However, doing nothing is not an option.
The navy is currently developing in a positive direction, and he does not want any unexpected events to disrupt this situation. Stability is what he desires, and it sets the tone for the current navy.
Looking around, he saw no one to assist him. Faced with such a situation, he felt somewhat powerless, mainly because the navy's strength was currently too weak or too scattered. Once the seas and the Grand Line stabilized, the navy's high command would be able to concentrate its resources.
The staff officer, Tsuru, was not by his side; instead, he had gone to the North Blue to continue the pursuit of Doflamingo. The Doflamingo family's influence was growing rapidly.
In just three short years since the start of the Great Pirate Era, according to intelligence, Doflamingo has already taken control of a large number of underground businesses in the North Blue, and the infamous Germa 66 has been brought down by the Donquixote Family.
This rapid development shocked Sengoku, which is why he didn't stop Tsuru from leaving. He needed Tsuru to rein in Doflamingo, who was now somewhat out of control.
At the same time, they also received intelligence that "The Joker," now infamous in the Underworld and controlling the arms trade in the North Blue's Underworld, has a special connection with Doflamingo and is very likely the same person, since Doflamingo can now be said to rule the entire North Blue's Underworld.
However, there is no information about any conflict or competition between the two. Otherwise, given Doflamingo's personality, he would never allow such a person to appear on his territory and share his profits.
Behind Doflamingo's rapid development over the past two years, there must be someone supporting him. Naval intelligence has revealed that large sums of money of dubious origin have appeared in the Donquixote Family on multiple occasions, propelling the Donquixote Family's rapid growth.
This massive amount of money isn't just a few hundred million Beli, but billions, even tens of billions. There are people supporting Doflamingo behind the scenes. The Navy couldn't find any clues about where such a large sum of money came from.
Many people have secretly speculated about this, including Teach. The Night Pirates undoubtedly have enough funds; they can be considered one of the richest pirate crews. They possess the treasury of the Kingdom of Kenlaken, the wealth obtained from selling Marine warship, and a vast amount of treasure worth hundreds of billions of Beli.
However, the two were in different places, one in the West Blue and the other in the North Sea, and had no connection whatsoever. No evidence of contact between them could be found, despite continuous investigation.
Doflamingo was extremely cunning; Doflamingo discovered and killed countless spies and agents.
Moreover, the naval intelligence department is under great pressure because a large portion of its intelligence has been transferred to the Inspection Department to monitor the navy internally, resulting in a shortage of intelligence personnel for external operations.
In addition, the news that Tsuru recently sent him made him somewhat solemn. With the start of the Great Pirate Era, Doflamingo also established the Donquixote Pirates, but they have always acted in the name of the Donquixote Family.
According to Tsuru's intelligence, Doflamingo is becoming increasingly terrifying. In the past few months, Tsuru has used her wisdom and intelligence to intercept Doflamingo multiple times and has also had many dealings with Doflamingo.
Not only has her strength improved rapidly, but in direct combat, even Tsuru cannot defeat Doflamingo in a short time. Furthermore, she can sense Doflamingo's transformation; as the embodiment of evil, Doflamingo is becoming increasingly reckless.
The confidence that comes with strength, coupled with the repeated threats to the lives of civilians, has led Doflamingo to avoid Tsuru whenever possible in the past. However, he has now confronted Tsuru head-on multiple times, and has left in front of her most of the time.
In just three short months, Doflamingo single-handedly slaughtered and destroyed five towns, and even a non- World Government Member States.
The name "Heavenly Yaksha" became synonymous with fear in the North Blue, and everyone lived in fear. The reputation of the Donquixote Pirates grew louder and louder. Although they were in the North Blue, Doflamingo became the representative of the North Blue pirates. Due to the evil deeds he committed, Doflamingo's bounty soared to 340 million Beli in a short period of time.
Another important piece of information is that in their numerous direct confrontations, even though Tsuru still held the upper hand, she was unable to Doflamingo. Doflamingo was aware of his advantages and would not engage in close combat with Tsuru.
Furthermore, the information Tsuru gave him revealed that Doflamingo's aura was even stronger, and his malice was even deeper, as if he had been tainted by darkness. He could even resist her Wash-Wash Fruit ability, or rather, even her ability could not completely purify Doflamingo's heart.
This is the most terrifying aspect; Doflamingo possesses all the necessary qualities: threat, strength, potential, and ambition. If he isn't dealt with quickly, he is destined to become a huge threat.
However, Doflamingo 'Doflamingo identity, his cunning, audacity, and lawlessness caused his strategist Tsuru to fail repeatedly. Tsuru's justice is "pure justice," making it impossible for him to ignore those civilians.
In order to curb Doflamingo's rise to power, Tsuru is now constantly targeting Doflamingo.
Tsuru's strength, abilities, and especially her intelligence, are such that even with Doflamingo's rapid growth, he is still no match for her and most of the time has to run away.
There's no one to command right now. Sengoku really wants to bring Tsuru back, but Tsuru's mission is also very important: to curb Doflamingo's development.
Although the navy of the North Sea is weak, it is doing its best to cooperate with Crane's actions, and there is also a high-ranking naval officer guarding the North Sea.
After thinking for a moment, Sengoku put the documents aside and continued handling his affairs.
In any case, we'll soon find out what the Night Pirates are planning.
In the waters near Gaya Island, the Night Pirates sailed back and forth. Teach's Observation Haki covered the entire sea area as he observed the flow of the ocean currents with his eyes closed.
They stayed in this area of sea for almost two hours, neither leaving nor returning, but simply sailing back and forth. Many people were getting impatient, but the strange behavior of the Night Pirates only aroused their curiosity, and they waited quietly.
Finally, Teach opened his eyes, which gleamed. "We're finally out. Let's head northwest," Teach said, pointing in a direction.
With Teach's order, the five pirate ships sailed together in a northwest direction, heading straight ahead, seemingly with a goal in mind, no longer aimlessly.
This attracted the attention of some people, who couldn't help but quickly approach.
On the calm sea, a huge whirlpool suddenly appeared, with a powerful pull that drew everything around it in.
Furthermore, this vortex is expanding rapidly.
"Captain, there's a huge whirlpool ahead! If we get any closer, we'll be sucked in!" a crew member cried out in alarm, looking at the enormous whirlpool, which was extremely dangerous.
"We have to go in; the Sky-Rending Current is right below this whirlpool," Teach explained with a smile.
"Don't worry, with the captain here, we'll be fine. I checked with my ability; luck accounts for 99%, and the remaining accident is negligible." Baccarat smiled, holding a coin in her hand, her eyes gleaming with a strange light—she was using her ability.