The lighthouse at Twin Capes gradually disappeared beyond the horizon.
The Eclipse's pitch-black hull cut through the waves, officially sailing into the Grand Line, known as the "Graveyard of Pirates."
On the wide deck, Carina held an ordinary sailing compass. Watching its needle spin wildly like a top, she frowned.
"So this is the Grand Line's magnetic field?"
"Ordinary compasses really are completely useless here."
She set the compass aside and took a glass sphere-shaped Log Pose from her shoulder bag.
"Yahahahaha!"
With a loud laugh, Buggy folded his arms across his chest and swaggered over, looking like he didn't care what anyone thought.
He looked at the Log Pose in Carina's hand, chin held high, his face full of a seasoned veteran's superiority.
"Scared yet, rookies from the East Blue?"
"The islands in the Grand Line contain large amounts of special minerals, and the magnetic fields across the whole sea are a mess."
"Without a Log Pose, you wouldn't make it a single nautical mile out here."
"That's common knowledge!"
Buggy patted the ship's rail with the air of an old hand, deliberately raising his voice.
"Back when I was an apprentice on Captain Roger's ship, what kind of dangerous seas hadn't I seen?"
"This sort of magnetic chaos is just an entry-level challenge on the Grand Line!"
Watching Buggy desperately try to make himself the center of attention, Sabo adjusted his top hat and couldn't help shaking his head with a laugh.
Ace stood beside the mainmast. After hearing Buggy's boasts, he chuckled too.
"Since you're so experienced, why don't you give us some advice?"
"Which of the seven starting routes from Twin Capes should we take?"
At Ace's mention of his name, Buggy cleared his throat and moved over to Carina's sea chart.
"Ahem. Listen up."
"Each of these seven routes has its own characteristics."
Buggy pointed at the sea chart, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
"Some routes are nothing but barren wilderness, some are full of reefs, and some are so poor even pirates would turn around and leave."
"But as the capable chief steward of the Eclipse and a veteran of the Grand Line, I strongly recommend we take this one!"
He rapped his finger hard against one of the routes.
"This one isn't the safest, but it's the liveliest."
"Commercial islands, Affiliated Nations, black-market ports, entertainment districts—it's got everything."
"Food, drinks, gold, information, women... Ahem, anyway, it's the most profitable."
At that, Buggy spread his hands again.
"Of course, because it's so prosperous, this route also has the most Marine fleets and World Government spies."
"We're bound to run into trouble."
Ace heard him out, then made the decision at once.
"This one."
Buggy froze.
"You're not going to think it over? This route has the most Marines."
Ace looked out at the sea ahead.
"Isn't that perfect?"
Buggy opened his mouth, then slapped his thigh.
"Now that's good judgment!"
"No wonder I recognized you as a captain!"
"If we're going to sail, we might as well eat the best meat, drink the strongest liquor, and swipe some gold from those loaded suckers while we're at it!"
Carina looked at the two pirates who'd reached an agreement so quickly and sighed softly.
Still, she didn't object.
For the Eclipse, the busiest route meant the most abundant supplies, information, black markets, and trade channels.
There would certainly be plenty of trouble.
But the rewards would be greatest, too.
She looked down at the Log Pose on her wrist and turned the dial at its base, checking the magnetic direction.
"Locked in."
"Next stop, the Golden Route."
As soon as she spoke, the Grand Line seemed to hear the newcomers' decision and immediately gave them a warning.
The clear sky, which had been cloudless just moments before, darkened rapidly in less than ten seconds.
Heavy black clouds blotted out the sun.
"Crack!"
A bolt of lightning tore through the clouds.
Then, howling winds swept fist-sized hailstones down onto the sea.
"Ow!"
A hailstone struck Buggy's Red Nose, and he jumped up, clutching his face in pain.
"Same damn weather as ever! It changes its mind in a heartbeat!"
He cursed fiercely, but reacted without a moment's delay.
"Sabo! Take in half the sail!"
"Carina, hold the rudder steady!"
"These illogical local whirlwinds were nothing new to me, even decades ago, back when I was on a ship!"
Carina dashed into the wheelhouse and grabbed the helm.
Sabo hurried across the deck, preparing to tighten the ropes and brace for the sudden storm.
Ace, however, stood in the middle of the deck, looking up at the black clouds pressing lower and lower and the massive hailstones crashing down.
"I set sail in a good mood for once."
"I can't let weather like this ruin it."
With that, he bent down and gripped the handle of the heavy greatsword beside him.
"Shing!"
The heavy blade instantly slid from its sheath.
Ace's right arm tensed, black Armament Haki coating the blade.
The next moment, Vermilion Bird Divine Fire blazed along its length in flashes of crimson and gold.
"Get out of my way."
Ace gripped the sword with both hands and swung from low to high at the black storm clouds pressing down overhead.
"BOOM!!!"
A crimson-and-gold Slash Wave surged into the sky.
Flames trailed behind it, forming the outline of a bird's wings as it slammed into the low-hanging black clouds.
The thick, dark clouds split down the middle.
A rift thousands of meters long stretched across the sky.
Before the hailstones pelting the Eclipse could reach its masts, the scorching heat whipped up by the Slash Wave turned them into vast clouds of steam.
One slash, and the storm was split apart.
Sunlight poured through the break in the clouds again like a massive golden pillar, bathing the Eclipse's deck.
"The sky's clear."
Ace casually sheathed the greatsword and dusted off his hands.
In the wheelhouse, Carina gripped the helm, unsure whether to keep correcting their course or first make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.
Buggy stared up at the fiery rift in the clouds, which still hadn't closed. His mouth hung open for a long while.
"Hey, hey..."
"Can you really deal with the Grand Line's weather like that?"
Sabo lowered his head and chuckled as he held onto a rope.
"At least the captain thinks so."
The sea ahead glittered again in the sunlight.
But the calm didn't last long.
With a deep rumble, the seawater drew back to either side.
A colossal shadow the size of a small mountain slowly rose from the depths.
"Whoosh!"
A giant Sea King, more than a hundred meters long and covered in blue-green scales, burst from the water. A sharp horn jutted from its head.
Its huge, slit-pupiled eyes fixed coldly on the Eclipse, stopped right before it.
"A One-Horned Sea Serpent."
Carina's brow furrowed slightly as she took in the creature's full size.
"We run into something like this right after entering the Grand Line?"
"In the East Blue, it could scare the people of an entire port to death."
Buggy put his hands on his hips, his voice immediately growing louder.
"But on the Grand Line, this size really isn't anything unusual."
"Back on the Oro Jackson, Vice Captain Rayleigh used to cut creatures like this up like he was slicing meat for a meal!"
He sounded casual, but he knew well enough to step back to somewhere the waves couldn't reach him.
"Ahem, Vice Captain Sabo."
Buggy cleared his throat and put on the airs of an old veteran.
"A lowly reptile of this caliber isn't worth my personal attention."
"Think of it as target practice."
"Take care of it!"
Sabo glanced at Buggy and could tell he was bluffing.
Still, he'd never expected Buggy to fight a monster like this hand-to-hand.
At the bow, Ace looked at the terrifying fangs right in front of him and seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
"Sabo."
"Take care of it."
"We can use it for food."
"Understood, Captain."
Sabo adjusted his hat and pushed off hard with his feet.
In the next instant, he was already soaring into the air, charging straight at the hundred-meter-long Sea King.
In midair, Sabo's right arm transformed into dazzling orange-red flames.
The fire spiraled around his arm, forming the outline of a dragon's claw.
"Perfect."
"I'll use you, you giant loach, to test out my new move."
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