Rescue Signal

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

Like a stone tossed into a lake, it stirred up brief ripples, but before long, the surface returned to its stagnant stillness.

Over the following days, the warship continued cruising along its designated 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 the 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 an act.

Rosinante sat in a chair beside him, holding a cup of hot cocoa. Yet his gaze kept drifting toward Rayne, and he seemed weighed down by something.

The bloody scene in that alley, along with Rayne's godlike slaughter, had dealt him a tremendous shock.

But he had not distanced himself from Rayne because of it.

For one thing, Rayne was the only person aboard this cold warship he could talk to. For another, no matter what Rayne had hidden, he had ultimately pushed Rosinante to safety during the most dangerous moment and faced the powerful enemy alone.

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

Still, as he watched Rayne's overly calm profile, the confusion in his heart lingered like an inescapable fog.

The sound of fabric brushing together came from the doorway.

They both looked up at once and saw Vice Admiral Sakazuki standing in the infirmary doorway at some unknown time. Without entering, his sinister eyes swept over them, lingering imperceptibly for half a second longer on Rayne's bandaged arm.

Rosinante was so startled that he nearly spilled his cocoa, scrambling to his feet to salute.

Rayne also set down the chart and pretended to struggle to get up.

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

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

Sakazuki naturally did not believe the story about internal conflict. The report was full of holes, but he did not care. The result was what mattered: the Blood Axe Pirates had been eliminated, and that was enough.

As for that recruit named Rayne...

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

Rayne watched Sakazuki's departing figure with an unruffled gaze.

Then he lowered his head and continued studying his chart, playing the part of a lucky Marine recovering from an injury.

This "peaceful calm" lasted for some time longer.

Like a tireless steel beast, 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 a brief half-day leave to ease their frayed nerves.

Rayne and Rosinante had gone ashore together as well.

Rosinante was always curious about the novel things in port towns, then caused a few laughable mishaps through his clumsiness. In the end, Rayne usually helped him out without drawing attention to it.

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

After absorbing the nourishment from the two SR-rank pirates, "Blood Axe" Barton and Grom, his [Physique Realm] was only one final push away from [Top-tier]. He desperately needed an experience pack with enough weight behind it.

Rosinante also seemed to be gradually adapting to life aboard the ship. Though he was still clumsy and occasionally tripped over nothing or knocked things over, after Rayne's earlier encouragement and several rescues, he seemed to have gained a trace of the resilience a soldier ought to possess. He was no longer as anxious and terrified as he had been at first.

During breaks in training, he would always habitually sidle up to Rayne and hand him a bottle of water.

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

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

Rayne usually just listened calmly, occasionally giving a quiet "Mm." He knew Rosinante simply needed someone to talk to, especially aboard this warship where even the air seemed frozen with the smell of rust.

"...Seriously, Rayne, you didn't see it," Rosinante said in a low voice, still shaken. "Yesterday, when I brought documents to the vice admiral, I accidentally dropped the folder on the floor. That look in his eyes... it was like he wanted to burn straight through me! Terrifying!"

Rayne listened absentmindedly, his eyes drifting toward the distant horizon.

I wonder when I'll finally get to "open for business"...

Just then.

A communications officer hurried past them in disarray, charging straight toward the command room as if he had urgent intelligence to report.

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.

A communications officer, drenched in sweat, shouted his report 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 attention to the dangerous area marked with a skull on the chart.

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

"The Misty Archipelago?" Lieutenant Colonel Dal frowned, his expression grave. "It's the Third Patrol Fleet's gunboat, Seagull 3! They entered the vicinity of that sea area 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 an impenetrable dense fog, its magnetic fields were so chaotic that Log Poses completely failed, and underwater reefs were everywhere. It was an extremely dangerous zone clearly marked on nautical charts.

Because of its harsh environment, it had become a perfect hiding place for many pirates and other outlaws.

"Ghost ship... spider..." Standing before the enormous chart with a cigar clenched between his teeth, Sakazuki stared at the region marked as the Misty Archipelago. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he slowly repeated those keywords.

Lieutenant Colonel Dal immediately stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Vice Admiral, the only one who could operate in those waters and possess the ability to attack a Navy gunboat is likely that man—the Great Whirlpool Spider, Squard! His latest bounty is 120 million Beli. He is exceptionally skilled at using fog and whirlpools to ambush passing ships, and he is especially ruthless toward us Marines!"

"Hmph, Squard?" Sakazuki suddenly slammed his fist onto the chart with a muffled bang, fury in his voice nearly taking tangible form. "That sneaky little vermin! How dare he run wild in my patrol zone!"

He was utterly enraged by such an ambush on the Navy.

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

Sakazuki turned toward Lieutenant Colonel Dal. "Dal, I want to see with my own eyes whether this Great Whirlpool Spider really has three heads and six arms!"

"Yes, Vice Admiral!"

The massive warship began to turn. Its engines let out a thunderous roar as it sped at full force toward that unknown sea of mist.

Considering the main ship's immense size, its difficulty navigating the complex waters of the Misty Archipelago, and the ease with which it might expose its position, Sakazuki quickly made a decision.

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

He specifically named Rayne and Rosinante.