Naruto didn't join Luffy and the others in their playful antics. Instead, he found Zoro, who had been silent and had a serious expression since earlier. " Zoro, what's wrong? You've had a very serious look on your face since just now."
Zoro rested one hand on the railing, staring blankly at the sky. "No, I hope this is just my imagination."
Naruto had only asked casually, but Zoro hadn't expected him to actually notice: "What's wrong?"
Zoro looked at Naruto: "I feel like this ship hasn't moved at all since the beginning."
"Now that you mention it, the sails haven't felt any wind at all." Naruto immediately looked around. " Nami! Have we entered the Calm Belt?"
??!!
"... We're doomed, we've entered the Calm Belt." Nami was no longer in the mood to joke around with Sanji. She immediately climbed to the bow of the ship and tried to look around.
" The Calm Belt? What's that?" Luffy remained clueless.
Seeing that Nami was still in a state of shock, Sasuke answered for her, " The Calm Belt is a sea area without wind."
Splash... splash...
"Earthquake? Can there be an earthquake at sea?" Everyone suddenly felt the sea and ships shaking violently.
Hinata suddenly looked tense. "Oh no! There's an enormous fish right below our ship, and it's causing all these ripples!"
Nami snapped out of her daze, "Quick, don't just stand there! Let's furl the sails and row out of this area, trying to get back to where we were before. This Calm Belt is the domain of the Sea King; if they notice us, we're really done for."
Hinata warned again, "Oh no! A lot of the Sea King you mentioned are suddenly surfacing, and one is coming straight for us!"
Rumble rumble rumble... splash splash splash...
Several huge islands suddenly rose from the sea surface, causing the surrounding seawater to flow wildly. The entire Golden Merlin landed directly on a small island that had suddenly appeared.
As these small islands fully emerged from the water, the crowd was able to see their true form—they were not islands at all, but enormous sea monsters.
" The Calm Belt is the lair of the Sea King, and a super-sized one at that. The reason no one can cross the Calm Belt is because of their existence." Looking at the giant Sea King below the ship, Nami said to the others with some despair.
Of course, Nami and Usopp felt the most despair, because Naruto and the others still had special Kunai that could summon Namikaze Minato. In the most dangerous moment, they could summon Namikaze Minato and take everyone present away.
"What should we do in this situation?" Sanji, somewhat flustered.
"Anyway, everyone stay still and don't attract their attention. They'll eventually dive back into the sea, and then we'll row away as fast as we can," Zoro immediately said to calm everyone down.
"These things are quite interesting, but they're probably beyond the capabilities of those children," Hashirama asked Bai Sui, looking down at the Golden Merlin.
Bai Sui looked at her empty space and said, "Indeed, why don't we catch some and keep them in our space? It would be more convenient if we wanted to study them later."
"Hahaha, then leave it to me. It's been so long since I've done anything, my bones feel heavy." Senju Hashirama volunteered.
As the Sea King beneath the Golden Merlin moved, the entire ship shook. "Ah!!!"
Although the others managed to shut Usopp up in time, his earlier shouts still attracted the attention of the other Sea King.
One of the giant frogs leaped high from the sea and pounced towards the location of the ship.
Upon seeing the frog with its gaping maw, Naruto immediately pulled out the Kunai he always kept close to his body, intending to destroy it.
" Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!" A loud shout suddenly echoed throughout the sea.
Countless tree roots and branches, seemingly possessing their own consciousness, entangled all the Sea King in this area.
Not only did it entangle the Sea King, but a root also wrapped itself around the Going Merry, sending it into the sea.
Gala...
The enormous bodies of the Sea King contained immense power. In a fierce struggle, several strong super- Sea King broke free from the Wood Release restraints. Some relied on their tight muscles, while others relied on their sharp teeth.
"Hahahaha, Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!" A giant Wood Arhat appeared on the surface of the sea.
It must be said that these Sea King are truly enormous. Even though Senju Hashirama has restrained his power and the Wood Arhat he created is not at its maximum size, it is still close to two hundred meters tall. However, compared to this part of the Sea King that is exposed above the sea, it is still somewhat lacking.
However, size does not fully represent strength. Under Senju Hashirama's formidable power, it was quite easy to subdue them. Bai Sui then opened the passage between Huan and the real world, and it took quite a while to collect all these Sea King into the space. In fact, in order to enable them to survive normally, Bai Sui even filled it with a large amount of seawater before stopping.
"This one must be at least 600 meters long. They can really grow that long." Senju Hashirama couldn't help but marvel as he looked at the group of Sea King churning in the Bai Sui Space.
Bai Sui nodded in agreement. "That's why people say the wonders of nature are. They're not even the largest. The largest Sea King are over 5,000 meters long. I really don't know how they grew to be so big."
Senju Hashirama's eyes widened in disbelief. "Five thousand meters? That's incredible! Even with my current True Several Thousand Hands technique at full power, its maximum height is only a little over a thousand meters. This is several times longer than mine!"
"However, this is not the largest creature on this planet. There is another giant life form Zunesha, which is 35,000 meters tall, with legs alone measuring 20,000 meters. Just imagine it." Bai Sui thought of a giant life form from One Piece.
Senju Hashirama's eyes lit up. "I never imagined there were so many interesting lives in this world! Hahaha, then I won't stay here with you to watch over these children. I'm going to go and explore."
Bai Sui waved her hand. "Go ahead, just be careful not to make too much of a commotion."
--
"It seems we're back in the same sea area? We haven't seen any navy personnel." Nami felt the sea breeze return and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought I was doomed, but I never expected to run into Giant who would help me." Usopp collapsed on the deck, his face turning green with fright.
"I can't believe we made it out safe and sound! Let's go, hahaha!" Luffy with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly at the sky. "As for our destination, well, it's Marine Island, of course!"
Zoro had the best eye. "I don't think that's Giant, but a powerful Devil Fruit user. I saw that he used a lot of trees to create that Giant."
"No, that's not it," Sanji said, taking a drag of his cigarette to calm his agitated mind. He then looked at Naruto, who was standing beside him with an excited expression. "I heard that guy shout ' Wood Release.' He must be from your hometown, right?"
"Yes, that Lord Senju Hashirama is one of the strongest ninjas in our Ninja World, and also Naruto's great-grandfather?" Hinata was a little unsure.
In Luffy's mind, an image of an old man with a full head of white hair, looking incredibly old, stood shakily on the sea. The next moment, he suddenly transformed into that giant wooden figure, and immediately brought his large face close. "What? That's amazing! Naruto can use that kind of power too?"
Naruto shrugged. "No, I can't. I can't use ninjutsu. I've learned a different system of ki. Sasuke and Hinata use ninjutsu."
Luffy, perched on the sheep's head, said, "I can't see anything!"
Usopp lowered his binoculars. "Can't we see the fog?"
Nami scratched her head, " Apis, is it really around here?"
Apis shook her head. "I don't know..."
Sanji, somewhat puzzled, "How can you say you don't know?"
Apis leaned on the railing. "It should be around here, over there!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked over and vaguely saw a huge sailing ship through the thick fog.
Usopp was still somewhat disappointed. "It's a sailboat, huh? It's huge! Too bad it's not Warship Island..."
Zoro once again stepped in to refute Usopp: "I'm telling you, even if a sailboat is huge, there's a limit, right? This isn't even a sailboat, okay?"
"Is this some kind of super invincible giant sailing ship?" Luffy hadn't yet grasped what the others meant.
"You idiot!" *N
Apis leaned on the railing of the plywood. "That's Warship Island). It's called Warship Island because its shape resembles a warship."
"Ah, how interesting!" Luffy hung one hand on the goat's head and the other hand shielded his forehead, trying to get a better look.
"That flag? It's a pirate ship!" Unlike the people on the ship, the residents of the island were all quite agitated after discovering the Golden Merlin.
"Pirates! Pirates are coming! Pirates! Pirates are coming!" The village's security personnel quickly began to call for everyone to go on alert.
So when Luffy and his crew approached the shore, they saw a large group of villagers armed with harpoons and other weapons, waiting in ambush.
"I'm back!" Since Hinata had already seen the situation on the island, everyone let Apis appear first to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.
" Apis? Why are you on a pirate ship?" Sure enough, when the crowd saw that it was Apis had disembarked, they temporarily put down their weapons and stepped forward to ask her.
At that moment, Luffy leaped off the ship. "I'm asking you something."
"Wh-what?" The villagers were still very nervous when they saw the eight pirates coming off the ship.
Luffy asked the group with great confidence, "Are there any barbecue restaurants on this island?"
Seeing the villagers in disarray, even contemplating another fight, Apis quickly stepped forward to stop them. "Listen to me, they may be pirates, but they're kind-hearted pirates."
However, the crowd was unconvinced. "What kindness can pirates possibly have? Apis, don't be fooled by them. Besides, weren't you taken away by the Navy?"
"Yes, but I escaped, and then Luffy and the others rescued me, right?" Apis said, looking at Luffy beside her.
However, those present weren't concerned about that. " Apis, what trouble have you gotten into? I don't know why the Navy keeps looking for you. You'd better not go near your house; they still have people guarding it."
"Oh no, what should we do?" Apis panicked.
"Although we really want to help you," the villagers shook their heads, "They are all pirates."
Apis scratched her head. "This is really a headache. I've already said they're kind-hearted pirates."
" Apis! Come to my house." At this moment, a voice rang out from behind the group of villagers, and they looked up to see an old man with gray hair.
"Grandpa Bokudan!" Upon seeing the person who arrived, Apis immediately ran over and threw herself into his arms.
"Thank goodness you're safe and sound." The old man patted Apis's head kindly, then looked at Luffy and his crew. "I must thank you again for saving Apis. How about it? Although our hospitality was lacking, I'd like to host a banquet to welcome you all."
Upon hearing there was food, Luffy immediately grinned. "Do you own a barbecue restaurant?"
Apis said, "Although it's not a barbecue restaurant, Grandpa Bokudan's pork buns are the best on this island."
"Great, let's go!" Luffy immediately agreed.
--
8th Marine Branch.
Admiral Nelson Roy, an extremely obese man who was almost constantly eating, shouted down from below his seat, " Eric!"
"I've always been here." It turns out that the foul-mouthed purple-haired guy from before Eric.
Admiral Nelson asked, "Didn't you say that girl went into the Calm Belt and couldn't possibly come back alive?"
"Could it be... that girl?" Eric asked uncertainly.
"She's already," Admiral Nelson said, feeling a bit choked up, "Cough cough, she's already back on Warship Island. Go and bring her back to me, you useless wretch."
Eric lowered his head. "They actually escaped the Calm Belt. Yes, I will definitely catch her."
--
"Alright, everything's ready. Just wait a little while." The old man placed the steamer on the steamer.
"Great!" "It looks delicious!" Luffy and Usopp exclaimed as if they hadn't eaten for days.
Sanji's focus was on the cooking. "Pretty meticulous, grandpa. How long will it take?"
"Well, it'll take about four to five hours," the old man said, very meticulous about his craft.
"What? It'll take this long!" Luffy and Usopp both gaped, feeling as if they had been hit by a ten-thousand-ton bomb.