Encounter

Kikyo looked at Lu Ge, her eyes gleaming. "This Door-Door Fruit is truly incredible. It let us cross such a vast distance directly. Devil Fruits really are mysterious. I wonder if there are any similar abilities? If we could master something like that, traveling would be much safer and more convenient in the future."

Lu Ge glanced at her. "What, are you tempted? But once you eat a Devil Fruit, you'll be cursed by the sea. You won't be able to swim again. If you fall into the ocean, your whole body will go weak, and you'll sink to the bottom like a stone."

Kikyo immediately looked regretful. "I didn't expect it to have such a weakness. I could never accept not being able to swim."

The other women nodded vigorously in agreement. To them, being able to freely dive into the sea for a bath was far more important.

Bolan said, "So that means you're a landlubber now, Lu Ge? Don't worry. If you fall into the sea, big sister will risk her life to save you."

Lu Ge merely smiled without explaining much. Instead, he looked toward the Sea Kings battling in the distance and sighed. "As expected of the famed Calm Belt. The number of Sea Kings really is astonishing. It's just a pity about the corpse of that Deep Sea King. If we could haul it up, it would be enough to feed us for months."

Sanya deeply agreed. "It is a pity. We rarely catch Manroba. We might not catch even one in ten years. Still, being able to leave safely is already very fortunate."

Mana held the helm and looked at Sanya. "Captain Sanya, what course are we taking next?"

Sanya immediately took out a Vivre Card sealed inside a glass bottle and placed it before Mana. "Follow the direction the Vivre Card is drawn toward."

"Understood."

"We've finally left the Calm Belt! I'm so excited to see the outside world!" Bolan could barely contain her excitement.

Seeing this, Sanya immediately poured cold water on her enthusiasm. "Don't let your guard down. The outside world is dangerous. What happened a year ago is a lesson. From now on, if strangers try to strike up a conversation with you, don't ever respond."

"Got it. We'll be careful. Besides, don't we have Lord Lu Ge with us? We'll definitely be fine."

Having never left Amazon Lily before, the group stood on deck, visibly excited and exhilarated. Even though the boundless sea offered little scenery, it could not dampen their excitement. They pointed around them and chatted nonstop.

Even the occasional rolling waves made them cry out in amazement, finding them incredibly wondrous.

After all, such sights were indeed difficult to encounter in the Calm Belt.

In short, everything outside was simply far too amazing to them.

It was Lu Ge's first time at sea as well, and he was quite excited. However, there was no scenery in any direction, only an endless blue expanse. After being excited for a short while, he grew bored and lay on a lounge chair like a salted fish, basking in the sun.

The Kuja was pulled by two Yuda, so there was no need for them to worry about sailing at all. Mana only needed to indicate the direction to the Yuda, and they would proceed as intended. It was indeed much more convenient and effortless.

Nothing happened along the way, and five days quickly passed.

After five days, Kikyo and the others had long grown tired of the identical scenery around them. One by one, they lay around Lu Ge like salted fish.

Bolan stared blankly at the blue sky and white clouds overhead. "Sailing is so boring! Captain Sanya, when can we make landfall?"

Sanya was the only one in the group who remained full of energy. "This is my first time on this route too, so I don't know what islands are nearby. Once we land on an island next time, it seems we'll need to buy a map as soon as possible."

The moment she finished speaking, Bolan suddenly sprang up and pointed at the Kong with a startled cry. "Wow! Quick, look! An island! It's an island! There's actually an island in the Kong! This is too amazing!"

"An island? Where? Where?" Kama and the others eagerly looked in the direction Bolan pointed, then cried out as well. "Wow! There really is an island in the Kong! And it looks like it's flying! The outside world is too amazing!"

Lu Ge could not help but rise and look over as well. Watching the island rapidly drift through the Kong in the distance, he fell into thought. "It isn't a Sky Island, and it can fly... Could that be Golden Lion's pirate ship?"

"A pirate crew? Golden Lion? You're saying that island is a pirate ship?"

"Who is Golden Lion?"

Kikyo and the other women immediately looked toward Lu Ge.

Information in Amazon Lily was scarce, so it was perfectly normal that they had never heard of Golden Lion Shiki.

Seeing their curious expressions, Lu Ge explained, "Golden Lion Shiki is an extremely powerful pirate. His nickname is Golden Lion. He is the captain of the Flying Pirate Crew and the user of the Float-Float Fruit. He can make himself or objects float through the air, so he is also known as the 'Flying Pirate.'"

"That flying 'island' is actually his pirate ship. He used his Float-Float Fruit Devil Fruit Ability to make the entire ship fly."

Kikyo and the others were all astonished after hearing this. "Wow! There's actually such an unbelievable Devil Fruit in the world? It can make such a huge pirate ship fly through the sky!"

"This still isn't considered big. Before long, that 'pirate ship' of his will probably become even larger!"

Its current scale was indeed far smaller than what he had seen in the anime, but it was still incredibly shocking.

"It can get even bigger?"

"That's amazing! The outside world really is so interesting!"

"Interesting? It's dangerous!" Sanya immediately said sternly. "I never expected us to encounter the legendary Golden Lion Shiki in a place like this. A few years ago, when I sailed with Her Majesty the Empress, I had already heard of his name. When he learned that the Pirate King Roger had turned himself in to Marine Headquarters at Marineford, he invaded Marineford alone and started a war to rescue Roger. Later, he was defeated by Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp working together, then imprisoned on the sixth level of Impel Down. Not long after, he escaped from prison. That escape was also the first successful prison break in Impel Down's history."

"Wow! This Golden Lion Shiki sounds incredibly powerful!"

Kama and the others cried out repeatedly in shock.

Only Lu Ge watched the departing figure with flickering eyes, desire rising within them. The Float-Float Fruit—if he could obtain it, his strength would undoubtedly rise to another level.

Unfortunately, Golden Lion was flying in the sky and was some distance away. Intercepting him was clearly impossible.