The sea surface bulged.
Eyes broke through the water, revealing a dark green forehead, followed by a mountain-like ridge.
Its front half was that of a giant lizard, while its rear half was soft, like a sea serpent.
The traits of two creatures had been stitched together, forming a grotesque giant beast over three hundred meters long.
Ginny finally came back to her senses.
The giant beast's tail moved as well.
A shadow suddenly blanketed the entire White Shell.
"Shadow Wall." Moria's voice came from behind them.
The shadows on the deck surged toward the side of the ship, solidifying into a pitch-black barrier between the giant tail and the hull.
After the impact—
The Shadow Wall caved in violently, but it did not shatter.
The enormous force sent the entire White Shell sliding sideways dozens of meters before it violently bounced back.
"Ginny!" Moria dropped to one knee on the deck, bracing both hands against the ground.
"Go get Lin Nuo, now!"
"Brother Lin Nuo..." Ginny staggered to her feet. "He said he was going out to gather intelligence this morning. He hasn't come back yet!"
"That bastard." Moria gritted his teeth.
"Why did it have to be now?"
Crack. The fractures in the Shadow Wall widened.
The Sea King raised the tip of its tail. This time, it aimed at Moria.
"I'll help you!"
At that moment, Big Bear leaped onto the deck, raising both hands toward the sea.
The air compressed, forming a transparent sphere before his palms.
Then, he released it.
The shockwave exploded! The recoil sent the White Shell shooting nearly a hundred meters forward, instantly opening a gap between it and the Sea King.
"W-We survived!"
But before the three of them could catch their breath—
Three columns of water rose from the sea at the White Shell's left, right, and front.
Three slightly smaller but equally grotesque Sea Kings rose from beneath the water.
One had six compound eyes and the body of a centipede; another was covered in bone spikes. The last was an enlarged jellyfish, its bell filled with tentacles flickering with electric light.
They had appeared in exactly the right positions to seal off every escape route for the White Shell.
The six-eyed beast lunged first, its jointed limbs churning through the water at a terrifying speed.
Several of its limbs pierced straight through the ship's side.
The White Shell's watertight compartment was breached, and seawater began pouring in.
"The ship!" Kuma turned back, his pupils shrinking.
Moria's face went pale.
He could use his ability to hold back one, and Kuma could hold back another, but there was still a third one!
At that moment, the six-eyed beast had already adjusted its posture and lunged again, aiming directly for the deck.
And Ginny, who stood upon it.
Then—
Ginny heard the sound of fabric being sliced by a blade beside her ear.
Her eyes widened.
Before her, the six-eyed beast's gaping bloody maw stopped less than three meters away.
It split neatly down the middle.
A black line ran from the top of its head, through its mouthparts, and through its body.
Then its body separated to either side, the cut as smooth as a mirror.
At the center—
A Lunarian wielding a pitch-black longsword hovered in midair.
"Brother Lin Nuo!!"
The figure landed, the tip of his blade lightly touching the deck as the lingering flames dispersed.
Lin Nuo swept his gaze across the deck.
"Is anyone hurt?"
"No! But Brother Lin Nuo, I think we accidentally sailed into the Calm Belt."
Lin Nuo reached out and ruffled Ginny's hair. "It's fine. Even professional navigators run into unexpected situations."
He looked toward Kuma and Moria. "Where are Alice and Teach?"
"Ah! The cabin was hit just now. Sister Alice and Teach are both inside!"
Lin Nuo's gaze sharpened.
"Moria, Kuma!" he shouted. "Go check the cabin with Ginny. Leave this to me."
"Understood!" Kuma struck the giant beast back with one palm, then turned and ran toward the cabin.
Moria withdrew his shadows and followed after him.
Only Lin Nuo remained on the deck.
The moment he turned around, the three Sea Kings had already locked their eyes on him.
Lin Nuo raised his left hand.
Lunarian Flame ignited in his palm, and he pressed the fire onto the black blade in his right hand.
Like a sponge absorbing water, the flames swiftly seeped into the blade.
This new move consumes too much. Better end this quickly...
As soon as the words fell, Lin Nuo vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared directly before the bone-spiked Sea King.
The pitch-black blade slashed out! It cut in from the left side of its neck and slid out from the right in an instant!
The bone-spiked monster froze, then its enormous corpse toppled straight down, kicking up massive waves.
The jellyfish giant beast let out a shriek, its tentacles unleashing high-voltage currents that engulfed Lin Nuo.
Flame of Regeneration ignited around Lin Nuo, blue fire racing across his blade.
As he spun and swept sideways—
A flash of blue light shot forth. A twenty-meter flaming slash howled through the air, striking the jellyfish Sea King's translucent bell.
Hiss. The bell was cleanly sliced into upper and lower halves.
Even as Lin Nuo unleashed the slash, his body twisted again in midair, and he launched a chain of kicks.
"Crane Claw!!"
He kicked the two halves of the bell flying, sending them crashing into the stitched giant beast in the distance just as it was about to spit fluorescent light.
Bang!!!
The giant beast took the heavy blow, its fluorescent glow scattering inside its throat. After a wail of pain, it fell into the sea...
The battle over, Lin Nuo stopped pursuing them.
He hovered in the air, looking at the stunned giant beasts. Suddenly, an idea came to him.
The system inventory opened.
The chibi seahorse icon appeared in his palm, then transformed into a strange creature.
It swished its tail and looked at him with its tiny eyes.
"Memory Seahorse · Living"
"Perfect. I'll test its effects on a Sea King first."
Lin Nuo flew toward the sinking Sea King, grabbed one protruding horn with one hand, and pressed the Memory Seahorse against it.
"Extract."
As soon as he spoke, the seahorse's body began to glow.
Countless fine threads seeped from the Sea King's corpse and were absorbed by the seahorse.
The process lasted around ten seconds.
The seahorse's body swelled slightly. Lin Nuo could sense that a new memory had been stored within it.
After finishing all that—
Lin Nuo did not linger and turned to fly back to the White Shell.
The lowest level of the cabin.
Seawater had already risen to their calves.
Alice held a hammer and drove the last nail into the wooden plank.
Teach seemed to think it was fun and continued mimicking her motions nearby.
Kuma, Ivankov, and Moria blocked both sides of the breach, slowing the inflow of water.
Alice struck three more times, completely driving the nail in.
"Finally done!" She let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"That scared me to death. The water suddenly came rushing in. Good thing everyone reacted quickly and plugged it up."
The breach had been barely sealed with wooden planks and oil-soaked canvas.
There was still a slight leak, but it would be enough for the time being.
"Where's Lin Nuo?" Alice turned and asked.
"I'm here." Lin Nuo's voice came from the stairway.
He quickly descended the stairs. Seeing the state of the cabin, he frowned slightly.
But when he saw that everyone was unharmed, he relaxed.
"Is it settled outside?"
Lin Nuo nodded.
"How's the ship?"
Alice gave a bitter smile. "We've handled it for now, but it can only hold out for a while. We'll need to find a professional shipwright to repair it later, and soon."
"Even though the leak is slow, if it continues, the keel could be damaged."
Lin Nuo fell silent for several seconds.
"There's something I need to tell everyone." He gestured for them to come closer and lowered his voice.
"I just discovered that in the waters from here to Reverse Mountain, roughly seven days away, there are large numbers of Marine warship patrol formations."
"A wanted criminal may have appeared in this area."
"That wanted criminal is you, isn't it?" Moria raised a brow.
"I don't know either, but even the outer waters are like this."
"Once we get closer to the Red Line, especially the entrance to Reverse Mountain, the defenses will only be tighter."
He looked at the leaking breach. "If it were only food, we could still fish."
"But now the ship needs repairs, and there are supplies fishing can't provide—fresh water, medicine, wood and tools for repairs. We have to go ashore to restock."
Everyone looked at one another.
Ginny suddenly raised her hand, her eyes lighting up.
"I know intelligence gathering and eavesdropping. As long as we get close to an inhabited island or a warship, I should be able to figure out the Marines' patrol patterns!"
Ivankov caught on as well. "Right! Ginny was the one who leaked the information about God Valley back then!"
"She was also the one who obtained the intelligence about the Devil Fruit."
"Oh, then we'll be counting on you!"
Ginny patted her chest, her face filled with confidence.
"Leave it to me. I'm an intelligence expert!"
"All right. Then before we reach Reverse Mountain, I may need to fly out a few more times to scout the specific routes and island conditions."
"Can I leave the ship's safety to you during that time?"
Lin Nuo looked around at everyone.
"Of course!" everyone answered.
"Though, now that you mention it..." Lin Nuo scratched his head, looking a little helpless.
"Our route has gone off course, and we've entered the Calm Belt."
"Without wind, a sailing ship can't move. How are we supposed to leave these waters?"
Moria remained perfectly calm.
"Why don't you just carry us and the ship away while flying?"
Lin Nuo: "..."
"Do you think I'm a transport plane?!"
"With a ship this big, if I could carry it for long periods, I'd have flown straight to the Grand Line already!"
"What a waste of wings."
"What did you say, onion head?!"
"I'm talking about you, you useless white-haired bastard who wasn't around when it mattered!!"
As the two of them started fighting.
Kuma slowly spoke.
"Um..."
He raised his bear paw, the paw pads in his palm facing everyone.
"While fighting the Sea King just now, I think I discovered something."
"I can compress the air, then release it in a directed burst to generate thrust."
"If I control the direction and force properly... maybe I can make the ship move even without wind."
The cabin fell silent for a second.
"Oho?" Ivankov's eyes widened.
"Oho, oho!" Ginny jumped up.
Lin Nuo looked at those thick bear paws, thinking of Franky's Fūrai Cannon.
"How about..."
"We try it right now?!"
Before you continue