Record Pointer, Thunderbolt

Morning, dining room.

"Good morning, Captain." ×2

"Good morning, Lord Rody." Mike, Leo, and Jose greeted Rody.

"Mm, good morning. Tell Carmen to stop working and come out to eat with us," Rody said with a smile.

"Yes, Captain. I'll go get Chef Carmen right away." Jose dashed off to the kitchen.

Rody sat down in his chair, looking thoroughly refreshed. Last night, he had properly punished Nami. The table was laden with the lavish breakfast Carmen had made, and Rody savored it at his leisure.

"Leo, Jose, come out quickly! It's snowing!"

"Captain, it's snowing outside!" Hearing Windfire Wheel's shout, Leo and Jose wolfed down the food in their bowls and hurried outside.

"Those two really are..." Carmen frowned in displeasure.

"The Grand Line's climate really is as unpredictable as the sailing log described!"

"Yesterday was bright and sunny, yet it's snowing today." Mike sighed as he poured Rody some juice.

"Yeah."

Watching the two boys and the vehicle playing in the snow on deck, Rody casually replied.

"Rody, this is terrible!"

Nami ran into the dining room with a panicked expression, placed the compass in her hand on the table, and pointed at its endlessly spinning needle. "Rody, the compass... it's broken... It can't point in any direction anymore."

"Huh? Didn't I tell you last night?" Rody looked at Nami in surprise.

"Tell me... last night... aside from doing that to me... did you say anything else to me?" Nami's face first flushed red, then she looked at Rody blankly.

"Uh..." Rody remembered. Last night, he had been so focused on punishing Nami that he had forgotten to tell her about the Grand Line's weather and magnetic fields.

"Mike, explain to Nami how the Grand Line's weather and magnetic fields differ from those of the Four Seas," Rody instructed.

"Yes, Lord Rody."

"Lady Nami, the compass is not broken. The Grand Line is different from the Four Seas. Because every island on the Grand Line is rich in minerals, the magnetic fields throughout the Grand Line are abnormal. Furthermore, the winds, skies, waves, and clouds of the Grand Line are all inconstant. None of them can be trusted."

"Then there must be some way to determine the direction, right?" Nami hurriedly asked.

"That is correct. There is a special compass on the Grand Line that can record magnetic fields. It is called a Log Pose. One cannot sail the Grand Line without one. However, Log Poses can basically only be obtained on the Grand Line; they are difficult to acquire outside of it."

"A Log Pose... I remember Rody got two from Crocus, the Pirate King's ship doctor, and then tossed them to me." As she spoke, Nami began searching through her pockets.

Rody casually placed the Log Pose on the table. "This morning, you were sleeping too deeply, so I took it myself to check our direction."

Nami picked up the Log Pose and examined it closely. "This... is a Log Pose? But it doesn't have a dial or anything. There's only a needle hanging inside a glass case."

"According to a Grand Line navigation manual I read while serving as a butler for the Bruce Family, the islands of the Grand Line follow a certain law. Each carries its own magnetic field, and the magnetic fields between islands attract one another. The magnetic field between islands can be memorized by a Log Pose, which points out the route to the next island."

"Then I'd better guard it carefully." Nami put the Log Pose on her wrist.

"Wow, Windfire Wheel, you're amazing!"

"But who did you make?" Leo exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah!" Jose echoed, equally astonished.

Hearing Leo and Jose's surprised voices, Nami looked out toward the deck. Beside Windfire Wheel stood a tall snow vehicle warrior. It held a large saber resembling a guandao and stood solemnly on the deck, as though countless enemies lay before it and it feared none of them. The snowman was both lifelike in form and spirit, strikingly vivid.

Standing beneath the towering snowman, Windfire Wheel proudly said to Leo and Jose, "This is Thunderbolt, the great general who guards Time City and Time City's strongest warrior—the one I told you about."

"Thunderbolt is brave and upright, loyal and true to his friends. Whenever there's a fight, he charges at the very front. And in times of danger, he would never abandon his friends and flee alone. Thunderbolt has earned the respect of every robot in our Auto Clan."

"Thunderbolt is also one of the few great experts of our Vehicle Clan. Together with Quickstrike, the great general guarding Moonlight Palace, he can unleash the ultimate combination technique—Moonlit Bloodstorm."

"It's an ultimate technique that even Tyrannosaurus, the strongest War King of the Beast Clan that I told you about, cannot withstand."

"Of course, as Time City's second-in-command and Thunderbolt's partner, my character is naturally just like Thunderbolt's—brave and upright, loyal and true. Naturally, I've also earned the respect of all Vehicle Clan warriors. That goes without saying."

"Thunderbolt and I once followed Luo Luo, the War King of our Vehicle Clan, into battle against countless Beast Clan warriors. Many times, we fought Beast Clan generals or even War Kings. And among all Vehicle Clan robots, I'm the one the War King has driven the most."

"The reason the War King liked driving me was naturally because my special technique is incredibly powerful too. Even Tyrannosaurus, the Beast Clan's strongest War King, had to take my technique seriously. Such a powerful technique is called Nine Heavens Thund—"

Just as Windfire Wheel was proudly preparing to introduce his special technique, he saw Leo and Jose staring at the towering Thunderbolt snowman with worshipful expressions. They were not listening at all to what he was saying about himself. Windfire Wheel immediately ran over to them in dissatisfaction, spread his arms, waved his hands, and shouted, "Hey, hey! I say, are you two guys even listening to me?!"

"Wow, he's amazing. If only I could become someone like him."

"Yeah. From now on, my goal is to become someone brave and upright like Thunderbolt." Leo and Jose stared worshipfully at the towering snowman before them, completely ignoring Windfire Wheel, who was jumping around beside them with his arms spread wide.

"Rody, is that Vehicle Clan warrior named Thunderbolt really as perfect as Windfire Wheel says?" Nami had also heard Windfire Wheel's description of Thunderbolt and turned to ask Rody.

"Yes, Thunderbolt truly is as perfect as Windfire Wheel described. What Windfire Wheel said wasn't praise—it was simply a description."

"In any case, he's a very interesting Vehicle Clan warrior." Rody took a sip of juice.

"I really want to meet this Vehicle Clan warrior Thunderbolt that Windfire Wheel talked about."

"Rody, do you think we'll get the chance to meet him?"

"Perhaps we will."