Gern's warship sailed slowly across the azure sea.
For the past few weeks, they had followed the Navy's designated patrol route while searching for traces of Zunesha along the way.
"Commodore Gern!" The lookout suddenly shouted from above. "Something unusual up ahead!"
"What is it?" Gern raised an eyebrow and strode to the bow.
At the same time, through the lookout's telescope, a ship flying a pirate flag slowly emerged on the distant horizon.
"That emblem... that flag..." The Navy lookout cried out in shock, nearly dropping the telescope.
"Alert! All hands, alert!" His voice shook unmistakably. "Up ahead... we've spotted a ship from Golden Lion's Flying Pirates!"
The deck fell deathly silent.
Every sailor froze. An ammunition crate slipped from someone's hands and hit the deck with a clatter.
Several recruits' legs began trembling uncontrollably, while the veterans instinctively reached for the weapons at their waists.
"Golden Lion... you mean that Golden Lion?" a young sailor asked shakily.
"Shut up! It's only a pirate crew under Golden Lion!" the petty officer snapped, then hurried over to Gern and lowered his voice.
"Commodore Gern, the lookout has confirmed the Flying Pirates' flag. We..." Before the petty officer could finish, Gern interrupted him.
"Have you spotted anything besides the pirate ship?"
"Anything else?" At Gern's question, the lookout raised his telescope again, and sure enough...
Not far away stood an enormous... dark silhouette that seemed to be moving, though its movement was imperceptible.
He immediately reported what he saw. Hearing this, Gern took the telescope the petty officer handed him, looking more excited than he had at the news of the pirate ship.
Through the telescope, he saw an enormous dark silhouette moving slowly a short distance from the pirate ship.
Even from afar, its outline was clearly that of an