Somewhere in the first half of the Grand Line, a small shuttle flew above the clouds.
The shuttle looked like a "capsule" wrapped in island cloud, with twelve thrusters of the same model used in DOM Boots providing its main propulsion and eight propellers assisting.
"So fast... This aircraft is much faster than the Justice."
Vice Admiral Chaton sat in the copilot's seat, marveling at the Cloud Sea racing past below.
The craft looked lightweight at a glance, and the island cloud helped keep it afloat. Its speed was impressive.
"Oh! You've got a good eye, Tokikake!"
Lilith piloted the aircraft much as she would a plane. At Chaton's praise, she immediately flashed a teeth-baring grin.
"Right~? Right~? It's nothing like the Mechanical King's big iron lumps that only cheat, have no scientific elegance, and only cheat! Completely different!"
Flight technology did exist in this world, even outside Vegapunk's work. Weatheria, Baldimore, Germa, and even certain countries in the North Blue possessed aviation technology of varying quality.
"Why wasn't this issued to the Navy before...?"
You said "cheat" twice just now, didn't you?
Chaton did not actually voice that jab. Instead, he rubbed his chin and asked a question that had been bothering him.
His prematurely aged, comedian-like face looked slightly distorted even with an ordinary puzzled expression.
"There were two reasons it wasn't widely adopted before: cost, and a lack of need. Aircraft just aren't cost-effective enough..."
Lilith pursed her lips.
There was actually another central issue: the World Government did not want the Navy to become too mobile.
But circumstances had changed. Calling the current state of affairs the "Great Teleportation Era" might have been going too far, but calling high-level conflicts the "Great Aviation Era" was no exaggeration.
They could only improve deployment speed for the Navy's