Thousands of meters above the Grand Line,
The towering Red Line was clearly visible as it pierced the clouds. The Straw Hat Pirates had never imagined they would see this place like this...
Wrapped in fragments of their ship, their bodies were locked tightly in place. They could not even struggle.
Higher overhead, Sote gripped the unconscious Luffy with an Armament Haki-coated arm, using his ability to carry him and his crewmates through the sky at high speed.
Whoosh-
Carol appeared in midair.
Sensing the sudden arrival, Sote was unsurprised and activated his ability.
He restored the buoyancy originally applied to the cape on Carol's back, allowing Carol to float over:
"Is this Fleet Admiral Sakazuki's target?"
Sote smiled at Carol as he approached:
"That's right."
"But he doesn't seem particularly special."
"He's far too weak."
"And so are his companions."
He handed Luffy to Carol.
Carol took Luffy, sensed his presence, and shook his head with a chuckle:
"He certainly is..."
Compared to Garp's talent and strength, nothing about Luffy's current presence suggested he was Garp's grandson. Dragon had already been a commodore at this age:
"But we have to give him time to grow."
"Fleet Admiral Sakazuki has never been wrong."
"This guy must still have something hidden inside him."
Forcing growth was the easiest thing in the world...
Sote nodded and asked:
"What about those people below?"
Carol looked down at the sphere formed from ship fragments and said quietly:
"Take them to your flying fleet."
"They're the 'companions' and 'friends' pirates value so much, after all."
"They might serve as a catalyst later."
As he spoke, he took out a device and handed it to Sote:
"The red dot on there marks Monkey D. Dragon's fleet."
"They're expected to reach the entrance to the Red Line