January 15, Sea Circle Calendar 1516.
High above the Grand Line floated a fantastical warship that seemed to have descended from the future-the Wide-Area Silent Ship.
Its core was the Ark Maxim, while its exterior design took inspiration from the Pseudo-Nahel Argama-class assault landing ship in Gundam UC.
In technical terms, compared with the original Ark Maxim, it had gained electromagnetic rocket thrusters and several weapons based on electromagnetic force, along with a backup system powered by Flame Dials and Wind Dials.
It was faster than the original, but Sephiroth's unauthorized modifications had caused some problems with the distribution of electromagnetic force. He couldn't help recalling a few famous programmer jokes.
To cut straight to the conclusion, the Wide-Area Silent Ship couldn't support Raigo the way the original Ark could. In compensation, however, its main weapon, the Super Positron Siege Cannon, had greater destructive power. It had effectively sacrificed area coverage for increased attack power.
The so-called "positron cannon" was merely a tribute to the long-legged, bouncing-bust captain from SEED.
Even with the Wide-Area Silent Ship's attack systems, Sephiroth was still a long way from producing actual positrons.
The Wide-Area Silent Ship's main cannon was actually a weapon based on beam-stripping technology, using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to brute-force results without regard for energy consumption.
In his previous life, beam stripping was actually a nuclear medicine technology. It referred to the process in which accelerated negative ions passed through a stripping foil, lost their electrons, and became positive ions.
Thus, the rigorous definition of the Wide-Area Silent Ship's main weapon was-a positive-ion cannon.
It used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's ability to strip away electrons and create a directional proton jet, making it a type of particle-beam weapon.
Particles such as protons and neutrons were accelerated to high speeds, focused into an extremely narrow beam by electrodes or magnetic fields, and fired to bombard a target.
Sephiroth needed much more windup to produce it unaided, and the main cannon also allowed him to achieve a higher output.
And... this system had another mode that caused far less physical destruction but was much more vicious...
The electric fields in thunderstorms could accelerate electrons to near-light or relativistic speeds. When those high-speed electrons collided with atomic nuclei in the atmosphere, they produced bremsstrahlung-a Gamma-Ray Burst.
This mode was so brutal... that, for now, only Sephiroth himself knew it existed.
At present, this... cruel warship was cruising above the Grand Line. Its occupants had no idea that, if their captain wished, he could begin exterminating life across small areas of the ground below.
Setting those factors aside, the Wide-Area Silent Ship resembled a gallant knight clad in silver-white armor, standing silently amid the sea of clouds.
On either side of its bow, two pairs of enormous blade-shaped structures resembled angel wings. Its hull sported the classic red-and-white color scheme of a player-one protagonist's ship. Compared with most vehicles of this era, it at least looked thoroughly futuristic.
Dressed in something resembling a blue idol-style sailor outfit, Nami excitedly wandered around the bridge, leaning against the windows one moment and studying the various monitors the next.
More than two months had passed since she officially joined Babylon, but this was her first time seeing the Wide-Area Silent Ship.
With the New Year holiday just over, Sephiroth had headed out to continue constructing his atmospheric floating satellite system.
He had little choice. Now that he had begun dealing with the so-called story characters, he had to plan for the worst: what should he do if he came into conflict with the World Government, or even the Celestial Dragons?
Sephiroth had yet to fight a truly hard battle, so he had no measure of his individual combat strength. He had the same mind-reading ability as Enel, along with electromagnetic radar detection reaching over a thousand kilometers. After transforming into his elemental form, he could start at 1/2,000 the speed of light and reach a maximum of half the speed of light.
To make better use of those abilities, he intended to accelerate construction of his global base stations and satellites. The base stations weren't much of a problem, given the shady partnership between his Babbage persona and CP8. The satellites, however, were something he had to handle himself.
Once the system is complete and I can launch Gamma-Ray Burst strikes anywhere in the world, even Imu won't dare raise his voice at me... probably.
"Hey, hey~ Lord Angel~!"
Well, that was new. After titles such as "Your Majesty," "High God," and "Lord God," Sephiroth had now acquired an exclusive Cocoyasi title.
Hearing Nami's voice, so typical of a lively young girl, really did soothe both body and soul. With a few years less suffering, she seemed to have become more cheerful...
The Wide-Area Silent Ship hovered above Enies Lobby. Since it was in the stratosphere, twenty kilometers above the ground, nobody below could detect the enormous killing machine overhead.
Once it stopped, the Tech-Priests and Mechanical Servants began inspecting the satellite. After making sure there were no problems, they would deploy it here.
"Lord Angel~! Could you take me flying outside~?"
Looking toward her voice, he saw Nami leaning over the other side of the console, peering excitedly toward the commander's exclusive seat.
Sephiroth gave a slight nod...
This wasn't his first time taking Nami flying. Every few days, he would take her out alone on a small Maglev Aircraft to draw nautical charts.
This trip was for satellite construction, but he hadn't been able to resist those sparkling eyes and had brought her along anyway.
After all, those eyes were bright and warm, gleaming with curiosity about the world. Such spirit was truly rare, and he couldn't refuse it.
"Ahaha, thank you~! Lord Angel~!"
Nami came running, sprang like a cat, and threw herself at him-her skirt fluttering.
...Oh no. Too cute.
As she leaped toward him, her short orange hair filled his vision like a sea shimmering beneath the setting sun. The strands brushing his nose even seemed to carry a faint orange fragrance.
When Nami smiled, her large eyes curved into crescents. She was so youthful... brimming with energy, liveliness, and life.
Judging by those qualities alone, it was almost like facing a modern girl who could only exist in an ideal world.
And that wasn't even considering how her personality combined a young girl's innocence and kindness with indomitable resilience and courage.
She wasn't merely his ideal type anymore. She was his dream girl.
-He repeated silently to himself, Wait a little longer, wait a little longer. At her current age, it might not mean an automatic minimum of three years anymore, but it still doesn't meet the relevant regulations!
Sephiroth craned his head back, putting some distance between his face and Nami's.
Catching her sparkling eyes in his peripheral vision, he reached out, pressed his hand against her forehead, and pushed her back.
"Now, go change. Meet me in Hangar No. 1."
"Ooh~!"
The little Cat Burglar... scampered away, her footsteps pattering.
...The hangar...
The Wide-Area Silent Ship had never been designed to deploy piloted carrier aircraft. Most of its Maglev Aircraft were ray-shaped models intended exclusively for mechanical soldiers. Riders stood on them, and their design resembled airborne hoverboards.
There was one passenger-carrying, Shuttle-style Maglev Aircraft for emergency evacuation, but taking it just to bring Nami out for some fun felt a little inappropriate.
"All ready~!"
Nami wore something resembling Sinon's cyberpunk sniper outfit from the Phantom Bullet arc of Sword Art Online. Full of energy, she raised both hands in a triumphant pose.
Sephiroth had really let himself loose with the clothing designs. In his previous life, seeing high-quality cosplay in person hadn't been easy. Now, he could have whatever he wanted.
"Things are a little different today. We're not taking the Shuttle..."
Looking curiously at the hoverboard-like Maglev Aircraft, Nami stepped onto it under Sephiroth's instructions. The magnetic locks on her soles hummed and engaged. After all, they were twenty kilometers above the ground; the conditions outside wouldn't allow Nami to venture out unprotected.
The instant the hatch opened, Sephiroth deployed the Electromagnetic Barrier, protecting Nami inside it. At the same time, he directed the ray-shaped Maglev Aircraft to launch out of the hangar.
"Waaaaah-!"
Nami screamed as though she were riding a roller coaster, but the oncoming airflow wasn't as strong as she had expected.
Oxygen came from electrolysis, warmth from high-frequency electric-field heating, and the wind pressure was blocked by the Electromagnetic Shield.
The Electromagnetic Shield defended against external attacks by generating an electromagnetic field.
Its basic principle was that when charged particles or other forms of energy entered the electromagnetic field, electromagnetic forces deflected or absorbed them, providing protection.
It primarily countered charged particles and energy attacks, though it could also deflect most metallic substances.
The electromagnetic field itself possessed a certain rigidity and stability. These properties also gave the Electromagnetic Shield some resistance to physical impacts, such as wind pressure.
In other words, its physical defense was poor relative to the energy it consumed-extremely poor, even. But with enough output, it still offered a degree of physical protection.
Naturally, resisting the shock-wave effects of supersonic travel was no problem either.
Of course, with Nami along, Sephiroth wasn't deranged enough to go supersonic.
Once they descended to around ten thousand meters, Sephiroth relinquished control of the ray-shaped aircraft and let Nami get used to piloting it herself.
"Waaah-hahaha-!"
Facing the wind, Nami's cries gradually shifted from slight alarm to exhilaration. She really did have a talent for this sort of thing. The first time she had encountered a Waver-a type of Sky Island jet ski-she had quickly gotten the hang of that, too.
Its speed was unremarkable. It was only a means of airborne transportation, with acceleration inferior to the mechanical soldiers' electromagnetic rocket thrusters. Its advantage was long endurance.
That was about the limit for a personal Maglev Aircraft. Without direct control from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, it wasn't particularly fast.
Sephiroth spread his wings and escorted Nami at her side.
Before leaving, he had fully charged the Wide-Area Silent Ship again, just in case. It could operate in normal mode for over ten hours without a problem.
"Hey, hey-Lord Angel! Are we close to that place called Water 7?"
Beneath the midday sun, Nami gradually learned to operate the Maglev Aircraft. She looked like a child who had just learned to ride a self-balancing scooter, beside herself with excitement.
"Yes, according to the nautical charts. But at the ray's speed, we wouldn't get there even by nightfall."
Sephiroth didn't want to take Nami flying at supersonic speeds. Even if the Electromagnetic Shield could protect her, the experience probably wouldn't be pleasant.
"...I'll take you there next time I deploy a satellite in that area."
"Oh, okay~!"
The ultimate goal of building the satellite constellation was, of course, a global strike system, but there were still priorities. Besides important locations, some satellites were intended to monitor people who would eat Devil Fruits in the future, along with ability users who, owing to their ages, might not yet have eaten theirs in 1516.
Naturally, Sephiroth didn't remember the exact ages of these supporting characters, but he knew they were all around twenty during the original story.
For example, Bartolomeo in the East Blue had eaten the Barrier-Barrier Fruit.
(In the original story's New World arc, he was twenty-four. In 1516, he was only eighteen.)
Given his adoration of Luffy, he should have gone to follow him much earlier. The reason he only caught up during the New World arc might well have been that he only resolved to set sail after eating his fruit. That meant he had most likely eaten it sometime between 1520 and 1521.
Of course, this was only Sephiroth's personal estimate, which was why the satellite over Loguetown was among his first deployment targets.
Before you continue