Distress Signal

The smoke from the Blood Axe Pirates seemed to have quickly dissipated aboard this iron-blooded warship.

Like a stone cast into a lake, it stirred up brief ripples, but the surface soon returned to the stagnant stillness of dead water.

Over the following days, the warship continued cruising along its established route through the first half of the Grand Line.

Inside the infirmary.

Rayne's arm was still wrapped in fresh bandages as he leaned against a hospital bed, idly flipping through a basic internal Navy nautical chart.

After all, he had not been injured at all, and even the blood had been smeared on by himself. The bandages were purely for putting on a show.

Rosinante sat in a chair beside him, holding a cup of hot cocoa. Yet his gaze drifted toward Rayne from time to time, and he looked preoccupied.

The bloody scene in the alley that day, along with Rayne's godlike slaughter, had left a tremendous impact on him.

But it had not made him distance himself from Rayne.

For one thing, Rayne was the only person aboard this cold warship he could really talk to. For another, regardless of what Rayne had been hiding, he had pushed Rosinante to safety when things were most dangerous and faced the powerful enemy alone.

That bond alone was enough for kind-hearted Rosinante to choose trust and loyalty.

Still, as he looked at Rayne's excessively calm profile, the confusion in his heart lingered like an unshakable fog.

The sound of clothing rustling came from the doorway.

Both men looked up at once. Vice Admiral Sakazuki had appeared in the infirmary doorway at some point. Standing outside the door, his gloomy eyes swept over them, lingering an imperceptible half-second longer on Rayne's bandaged arm.

Rosinante was so startled he nearly spilled his cocoa, hurriedly rising to salute.

Rayne also set down the chart and pretended to struggle to his feet.

"No need." Sakazuki's voice was icy. "Focus on recovering."

With that, he turned and left, as though he had merely passed by.

Sakazuki naturally did not believe the story about infighting. The report was riddled with holes, but he did not care. Results mattered most. The Blood Axe Pirates had been eliminated, and that was enough.

As for that recruit named Rayne...

Whether he had simply been lucky or was truly formidable, Sakazuki did not care. As long as his justice was carried out, that was enough.

Rayne watched Sakazuki's departing back with an utterly placid gaze.

Then he lowered his head and continued studying the chart, playing the part of a lucky marine recovering from his injuries.

This "peaceful calm" continued for some time.

Like a tireless steel behemoth, the warship cruised through the perilous Grand Line.

During that time, they docked several times for supplies. Each time they went ashore, the soldiers aboard received half a day of leave to ease their taut nerves.

Rayne and Rosinante had gone ashore together as well.

Rosinante was always curious about the novel things in port towns, then caused some absurd trouble through his clumsiness. In the end, Rayne usually bailed him out without drawing attention to it.

Rayne was not particularly interested in such time ashore. He cared more about when they would encounter pirates again.

After absorbing the SR-grade nourishment of Blood Axe Barton and Grom, his [Physique Realm] was just one final push away from [Top-tier]. He urgently needed an experience package with enough weight behind it.

Rosinante also seemed to have gradually adapted to life aboard the ship. Though he was still clumsy and occasionally tripped over nothing or knocked things over, Rayne's earlier encouragement and several rescues seemed to have given him a little of the resilience a soldier ought to possess. He was no longer as panicked and uneasy as he had been at first.

During breaks between training sessions, he would always habitually drift over to Rayne and hand him a bottle of water.

"Rayne, when do you think our internship will finally end?"

Rosinante muttered softly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Every day is either training or patrols. It's so boring."

Rayne usually just listened calmly, responding with an occasional "Mm." He knew Rosinante merely needed someone to talk to, especially aboard a warship where even the air seemed frozen with the smell of rust.

"...Seriously, Rayne, you didn't see it," Rosinante lowered his voice and said with lingering fear. "Yesterday, I was delivering documents to the vice admiral and accidentally dropped the folder. The way he looked at me... it was like he wanted to burn straight through me! It was terrifying!"

Rayne listened absentmindedly, but his eyes had drifted toward the distant horizon.

I wonder when business will finally pick up...

Just then.

A communications officer hurried past the two of them in a panic and sprinted straight toward the command room, apparently carrying important intelligence.

Rayne and Rosinante exchanged a glance, each seeing gravity in the other's eyes.

"Something happened!" Rosinante clenched his fists nervously.

Rayne's eyes flickered slightly as he thought, Has it finally come?

Meanwhile, inside the warship's command room.

Drenched in sweat, a communications officer reported loudly to Sakazuki.

"Report, Vice Admiral! We have just received an extremely weak emergency distress signal! The source has been confirmed to be in the direction of the Misty Archipelago!"

Sakazuki and Lieutenant Colonel Dal immediately turned their eyes toward the dangerous region marked with skulls on the chart.

The communications officer continued, "The signal was intermittent, and interference in that area is extremely strong. We could only barely make out keywords such as 'ghost ship'... 'attack'... 'spider'... The signal cut off completely a few minutes ago!"

"The Misty Archipelago?" Lieutenant Colonel Dal frowned, his expression grave. "It's the Third Patrol Fleet's Seagull 3 gunboat! They entered the vicinity of that region yesterday on a routine patrol mission!"

The Misty Archipelago was a special sea region located in the first half of the Grand Line. It was shrouded year-round in dense fog that could not be dispersed, with magnetic fields so chaotic that Log Poses became completely useless. The seabed was littered with reefs, making it an extremely dangerous region clearly marked on nautical charts.

Because of its harsh environment, it had also become an ideal hiding place for many pirates and outlaws.

"Ghost ship... spider..." Sakazuki stood before the massive chart with a cigar between his teeth, staring at the Misty Archipelago as a fierce glint flashed through his eyes. He slowly repeated those keywords.

Lieutenant Colonel Dal immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Vice Admiral, the only person capable of operating in that sea region and attacking a Navy gunboat is likely that man—Great Whirlpool Spider Squard! His latest bounty is 120 million Beli. He is exceptionally skilled at using fog and whirlpools to ambush passing vessels, and he is especially ruthless toward us Marines!"

"Hmph, Squard?" Sakazuki slammed a fist onto the chart with a muffled Bang!, the fury in his voice almost tangible. "That sneaky little vermin dares to run wild in my patrol zone!"

He was utterly enraged by such sneak attacks against the Navy.

"Pass down the order! Change course! Full speed ahead! Destination: the Misty Archipelago!"

Sakazuki turned to Lieutenant Colonel Dal. "Dal, I want to see for myself whether this Great Whirlpool Spider truly has three heads and six arms!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral!"

The massive warship began to turn, its engines roaring as it sped at full force toward the unknown sea of mist.

Considering the main ship's enormous size, which would make navigating the complex waters of the Misty Archipelago difficult and expose it easily, Sakazuki soon made a decision.

He looked at Lieutenant Colonel Dal. "Dal, take a reconnaissance speedboat and select ten elites, including those two recruits. Enter the archipelago first and scout ahead! Find out why the signal was cut off, and try to locate Seagull 3!"

He had specifically named Rayne and Rosinante.