Crack!
A series of sharp cracks rang out as the sea rapidly froze into a path, as though a giant brush had drawn a Bai line across blue paper.
Loa flew fast now. At full speed, it took him only a minute or two to reach Ian Island, which had been little more than a point on the horizon.
He slowed slightly as he approached. His golden slit pupils swept from side to side, his gaze sharp as a blade. He released Observation Haki alongside his passive ability, Enemy of All Life, carefully searching the area.
But it was nothing like he had expected.
No one had stayed behind. There was not even a trap dangerous enough for him to sense, only a few nameless insects crawling through the deserted, silent harbor.
"Did they run?" Loa frowned. But after a closer look at the harbor below, he dismissed the idea.
There was no way they had fled.
The harbor was packed with ships, and the entire place looked freshly cleaned. Someone had clearly taken care of it. If they had truly fled, who would have stayed to tidy up the harbor?
"Could they be hiding underground?" After what had happened on Motte Island, Loa was ready to consider it.
Hum!
Magic Power vibrated. Fine threads of ice wound around his fingers and slowly gathered into a ball. This was not Spider Silk, his modified Ice Bomb. They were simply strands of ice wound together, made possible only by the perfect fusion of the "Motion" and "Stillness" of Ice-Make Magic.
The threads wound tighter and tighter until no trace of them remained visible on the smooth Ice Ball. Then he tossed it down lightly.
"Burst!"
Bang! Pop-pop-pop!
Driven by Magic Power, the Ice Ball exploded in midair. Threads of ice shot