Setting Sail for the Calm Belt

Rayleigh burst into hearty laughter when he saw the agent ID Beiyuan Heng handed over.

He reached out and gave Beiyuan Heng's shoulder a heavy pat, his tone full of teasing.

"Good kid, I really couldn't tell—you're actually an agent! Usually, you put on such a convincing act as a proper Marine commodore."

After laughing, Rayleigh composed himself and raised a brow.

"Come to think of it, why would an agent of the World Government end up with the Marines?"

As the vice captain of the Roger Pirates, Rayleigh had once roamed the seas. Naturally, he knew the operating methods of every secret department under the World Government like the back of his hand.

He knew even better how strictly confidential the agent divisions were. Logically, they should not have been casually seconded to the Marine system.

Beiyuan Heng gave a helpless, bitter smile, his tone carrying equal parts resignation and self-mockery. "Mr. Rayleigh, don't you know how I operate by now? My superior temporarily seconded me to the Marines to carry out a mission. You could say I'm helping across departments."

"If that's the case, then there's no problem."

Rayleigh nodded. Having that thing meant Beiyuan Heng could, to a certain extent, disregard his superior's orders.

Although Hancock and her two sisters still did not fully understand the details, since Rayleigh had said there was no problem, the weight in their hearts finally lifted completely.

They had all been thinking that if Beiyuan Heng were punished by the Marines for taking them away without authorization after sending them back to Amazon Lily, they would rather wait a few more days in the Sabaody Archipelago than let him get into trouble.

Under Shakky's guidance, they quickly changed into inconspicuous civilian clothes.

The group followed Beiyuan Heng and soon arrived at Area 5, where the warship under his command was docked.

After Beiyuan Heng's harsh crackdown over the past few months, pirates had all but vanished from Area 5 and several surrounding areas. Most people coming and going on the streets were civilians and Marine soldiers, and everything was orderly.

But Beiyuan Heng knew that this peace was only temporary.

Other than Areas 60 through 69, which were under strict Marine control, pirates in the other areas had only been driven off for the time being. Once he and the warship left, those pirates lurking in the shadows would return and reclaim these places.

After all, as an important transit point in the first half of the Grand Line, the Sabaody Archipelago had always been a place pirates fought to control.

From afar, a slender figure on the warship's deck spotted Beiyuan Heng's group approaching. She leaped down and landed lightly before him. It was Marine Rear Admiral Hina.

Her gaze swept over Rayleigh and Hancock's three sisters. With suspicion in her eyes, she asked warily,

"Commodore Beiyuan, who are these three?"

Beiyuan Heng spoke frankly, without the slightest attempt to evade the question.

"Hina, didn't a group of refugees arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago by ship a few days ago? While handling their resettlement, I discovered that this father and his daughters had accidentally come to the wrong place. The Sabaody Archipelago isn't their homeland, and they haven't been able to find their way back."

"So I took it upon myself. Since the warship has no urgent mission for the time being, I plan to personally take them home so they can return to their homeland as soon as possible and reunite with their family."

Beiyuan Heng's words were sincere, and his gaze was open and honest. The several Marine soldiers standing guard nearby heard him and their eyes reddened slightly, nearly moved to tears.

After spending the past few months with him, they had long since come to deeply admire Commodore Beiyuan Heng. They knew perfectly well that he was absolutely the sort of person who would do something like this.

He was kindhearted, considerate toward civilians, exceptionally capable, and decisive in action. He was practically the standard-bearer of Marine justice!

One young Marine soldier looked at Beiyuan Heng's back, his eyes filled with admiration. Deep down, he was certain that someone as outstanding as Commodore Beiyuan Heng would surely rise to the rank of Marine admiral in the future and become an important force in protecting peace across the seas.

However, Hina was meticulous and not nearly as easy to fool as an ordinary soldier.

She looked at Beiyuan Heng suspiciously, then swept her gaze over the four people behind him. No matter how she looked at them, they did not seem like ordinary refugees.

Still, she did not ask further. She merely nodded slightly and replied calmly,

"Hina understands. Rest assured, Commodore. I'll arrange matters aboard the ship."

Leading Rayleigh and the other three, Beiyuan Heng stepped onto the warship's deck.

He headed straight for the helm room and handed the helmsman the Eternal Pose pointing toward Amazon Lily, which Shakky had given him in advance. Then he gave the order in a low voice,

"Set sail. Follow the pointer."

The helmsman answered respectfully and immediately turned the wheel. The warship slowly departed from the dock and headed into the depths of the sea.

No one had expected the voyage to send Hancock and the others home to go far more smoothly than Beiyuan Heng had imagined.

The sea remained calm all the way, and the winds were especially favorable. They encountered no severe weather.

In only three days, Beiyuan Heng's warship had reached the edge of the Calm Belt.

From a distance, the sea surface was as still as a mirror, without a single ripple. It stood in stark contrast to the turbulent waters beyond.

And beneath that tranquil surface, who knew how many ships had met their end.

This was the legendary Calm Belt, which made countless pirates and ordinary vessels hesitate to approach.

Just as they had discussed with Hancock and the others, a special ship was anchored at the edge of the Calm Belt.

It was a sailboat pulled by two enormous sea serpents, its hull a deep brown.

However, the ship did not bear the distinctive sails of the Kuja Pirates. It only had several towering masts draped with broad white sails that swayed slightly beneath the sunlight.

The moment he saw the ship, Beiyuan Heng immediately gave the order,

"Stop the ship. Stay alert. Do not approach carelessly."

He knew that although several pieces of Seastone hung beneath their warship's hull, offering a certain degree of protection and preventing attacks from ordinary Sea Kings,

the Calm Belt was terrifying not merely because it had no wind or waves, leaving ordinary ships unable to sail, but because countless colossal and ferocious giant Sea Kings lurked within it.

Only ships pulled by well-trained sea beasts could sail smoothly through the Calm Belt while guarding against attacks from the gigantic Sea Kings hidden in the deep sea.

On the warship's deck, Hancock and her two sisters had long since run impatiently to the railing. When they saw the familiar elements of the Amazon tribe on that ship,

their excitement instantly overflowed, and tears glimmered in their eyes.

The three stood shoulder to shoulder at the highest point of the deck, waving hard toward the ship. Their voices were filled with joy and urgency as they shouted across the water,

"We're here! We're back!"

The people aboard the other ship heard their cries and saw Hancock and her sisters waving from the deck. They immediately confirmed their target.

The people on the ship instantly became busy.

The two giant sea serpents towing the vessel slowly came to a halt. The crew untied the towing rope from one of them, and the sea serpent slowly turned around with a figure riding on its back, leisurely approaching Beiyuan Heng's warship.

When the Marine soldiers aboard saw the enormous sea serpent, covered from head to tail in scales, they immediately raised their guns, swords, and blades, nervously aiming them at the approaching beast.

They had experienced quite a few battles, but this was their first time encountering such a massive sea beast at close range.

Beiyuan Heng did not stop the soldiers. He merely stepped forward calmly, placing himself in front of them.

The other side was most likely someone from Amazon Lily sent to receive Hancock and her sisters, but anything could happen. He had to prepare for the worst and prevent them from being enemies in disguise who might seize the chance to attack his Marine soldiers.

The giant sea serpent slowly approached the warship, then obediently lowered its enormous head so that the figure on its back could jump onto the deck.

Only then did the tense Marine soldiers breathe a sigh of relief. Yet they did not lower their weapons, remaining alert as they stared intently at the person who had jumped down.

White, wavy hair, a flower tucked into the hairline on the left, and a pet snake curled into a cane at her side.

The person who jumped down was very small, her face covered in deep wrinkles. Her hair was gray-white, her back slightly hunched, and she looked like an ordinary little old woman. She even leaned on a cane—though upon closer inspection, the cane was actually a snake.

She was Gloriosa, the former former former Empress of Amazon Lily, known as "Nyon."

"...Grandma."

Seeing her, Hancock froze for a moment. She quickly remembered the arrangement they had made earlier and called out to Gloriosa.