Squard

Before long, the order reached the deck.

Rosinante heard that he would once again be going on a reconnaissance mission with Rayne, and that they would be facing the infamous Maelstrom Spider Pirates. He could not help feeling nervous again.

When Rayne heard the names Maelstrom Spider and Squard, something stirred in his heart.

He seemed to have heard that name somewhere before.

Rayne racked his brain, trying to recall the manga plot from his previous life.

"The Summit War... Whitebeard getting stabbed in the back!"

He remembered!

"So it was that guy—the one who later became one of Whitebeard's captains, but during the Summit War, was misled by Akainu and stabbed Whitebeard in the back because of a misunderstanding."

Though he had forgotten many of the details, Rayne still remembered that key event.

"Anyone who could become one of Whitebeard's captains had to be strong. Even if he hasn't acknowledged Whitebeard as his old man yet, he's probably still a proper SSR-level formidable enemy."

"I was only hoping for an SR-level enemy to be enough for my physique to break through to [Top-tier]. Isn't an SSR a little beyond the syllabus?" Rayne resolved not to take the lead.

Several hours later.

Night fell, and the winds and waves on the sea gradually picked up.

A small reconnaissance speedboat painted in Marine camouflage silently slipped into the boundless thick fog.

Aside from the pilot and communications officer, the boat carried only Lieutenant Colonel Dal, the eight elite soldiers he had selected, Rayne, and Rosinante.

The atmosphere aboard was stifling. They could practically hear one another's heartbeats.

Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their eyes warily sweeping over the rolling fog. Only the low growl of the engine and the sound of the speedboat cutting through the waves echoed through the dead silence.

They had traveled only a few nautical miles when the surroundings underwent a bizarre change.

The fog grew increasingly dense, like solid gray-white walls, and visibility plummeted to less than five meters.

Even more unnerving, the Den Den Mushi used for communication suddenly began emitting a hissing crackle, and the speedboat completely lost contact with the flagship.

"Damn it!" The veteran in charge of navigation slammed his fist against the wheel, cold sweat beading on his forehead. "The magnetic field here is too chaotic! The needle is completely useless—we've lost our bearings!"

The speedboat had no choice but to slow down. The pilot could only rely on his years of sailing experience and his perception of subtle changes in the currents as he painstakingly navigated between the fog and hidden reefs.

Splash... crash!

The speedboat jolted violently, as though its underside had scraped against something.

"Was that a reef?!" Rosinante nervously grabbed the railing.

"No... from the sound... it was more like we hit something floating..." The veteran's expression grew even grimmer.

All manner of strange sounds drifted from the fog from time to time.

Sometimes there came a creaking sound like a ship's hull breaking apart; sometimes the rushing sound of water, as if a massive whirlpool were spinning nearby.

There were even faint, indistinct, bizarre noises echoing through the deathly silent fog, sending chills down their spines.

The mood aboard the boat became suffocating. Every Marine gripped his weapon tightly and watched the surroundings with caution, even softening his breathing.

Rayne leaned against the side of the cabin with his eyes closed, as though he did not care in the slightest about the dangerous environment around them.

In truth, however, his Observation Haki had already spread out.

This strange fog really did interfere with the range of Observation Haki, severely compressing its sensing distance.

Just then, the veteran piloting the speedboat suddenly cried out, "Ahead! What is that?!"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed. Where the fog ahead had thinned slightly, wreckage floated across the water.

It was the wreckage of... a Marine gunboat!

Lieutenant Colonel Dal's expression changed. "It's the Seagull 3! Move in!"

The speedboat cautiously approached. The sight before them made everyone suck in a sharp breath.

The gunboat's hull had been torn into pieces by some force, with broken masts and shattered deck planks floating everywhere.

The sides of the ship were covered in deep claw marks and dents from impacts. The deck was stained with blood, and dark red gore had even seeped into the cracks in the wood.

Only mangled limbs remained at the scene, hanging from the shattered sides of the ship or bobbing with the waves. The sight was too horrific to bear.

"Bleurgh..." Rosinante could no longer hold it in. Bracing himself against the railing, he began to retch violently.

"Lieutenant Colonel, look at this!" A soldier pointed at a floating deck plank, his voice filled with terror.

The plank, along with the surface of every piece of wreckage they could see around it, was covered in a strange layer of white thread-like material.

The fibers were incredibly tough, and under the dim light, they even gave off a faint sheen. Like spiderwebs, they wrapped around and entangled the wreckage, as though they were the nest left behind by some creature.

One soldier tried to cut through the "spider silk" with his saber, only to find that the blade was like striking tough leather, leaving behind only a shallow white mark. "Damn it! What the hell is this stuff?!"

Seeing the soldier struggling, Rayne's thoughts stirred.

Without drawing attention, he moved closer to a piece of wreckage covered in spider silk and, while no one was watching, drew the Skillful Grade Blade from his waist.

After being carefully sharpened with the set of Top-tier maintenance tools Gion had given him, its sharpness had long surpassed that of an ordinary Skillful Grade Blade. Rayne casually swung it.

Rip. A nearly inaudible sound rang out.

The incomparably tough spider silk was effortlessly sliced apart like ordinary hemp rope! The cut was smooth!

"Just as I thought..." Rayne's eyes flashed. "Gion's set really isn't ordinary." He swiftly sheathed his blade as though nothing had happened.

Lieutenant Colonel Dal frowned deeply as he crouched down to inspect the spider silk and the marks on the hull. "This wasn't caused by cannon fire... it looks more like it was torn apart by some kind of... gigantic creature, or a special weapon. This spider silk... could it be the mucus of some sea beast? Or some special material?"

Information about all kinds of bizarre abilities and creatures of the Grand Line flashed rapidly through his mind, and a powerful sense of unease rose within him.

This enemy was far more troublesome than they had imagined!

Just as the Marines focused completely on examining the wreckage and trying to find more clues.

A sudden change erupted!

Rayne's Observation Haki instantly caught several fast-moving objects rapidly closing in from deep within the fog!

"Enemy attack!!!" Rayne could no longer afford to hide his strength and shouted a warning!