One Piece: Building Amazon Lily, Starting as a Celestial Dragon

Fortunately, Stussy had come prepared.

She took out a Coral Tube and blew gently into it, immediately producing a transparent bubble that soon enveloped Shyarly's entire lower body.

The bubble was filled with air. With a gentle swish of her fish tail inside it, Shyarly could use its buoyancy to float and move freely, as though swimming through the air.

However, the bubble had no propulsion of its own. Someone had to push her from behind.

Shyarly curiously spun around inside the bubble. With a gentle flick of her tail, the bubble carried her a short distance forward.

She couldn't help laughing in delight and turned to look at Stussy, her eyes full of wonder and joy.

For someone who had lived deep beneath the sea since childhood, this was a marvelous sensation she had never experienced before.

The wonderful things Stussy had told her about the human world filled her with curiosity about life on land.

Children had no awareness of danger, though with Saint Dio around, he wouldn't let her encounter any anyway.

Chapter 64: Eternal Pose

The pirates locked in the prison were also escorted out by the Neptune Army.

Their hands were shackled, and every one of them looked listless and sallow. Clearly, the past few days in prison hadn't been pleasant.

When they were brought alongside the ship and saw that familiar vessel, they nearly cried with relief, thinking they could finally leave this godforsaken place.

Without needing anyone to urge them on, they scrambled aboard, expertly hauling on the rigging, turning the Helm, and taking up their respective duties.

After several days in prison, all they wanted now was to perform well and earn their freedom as soon as possible. They never wanted to return to that dark, damp cell.

The hull had been given a fresh bubble coating on Fish-Man Island.

As large quantities of gas continued to fill the space beneath the hull, the entire ship slowly rose, passing through Fish-Man Island's entrance. With the island's enormous bubble dome below them, they ascended toward the surface.

Several hours later, the light overhead began to grow brighter and brighter.

The once deep-blue seawater gradually turned clear. Sunlight refracted down through the surface, forming swaying shafts of light in the water.

Shyarly leaned against the railing, pressing her face to the inside of the bubble coating as she stared wide-eyed at everything around her.

She had been born and raised on Fish-Man Island and had never left those deep waters.

Now, as the ship continued to rise and the light around them grew brighter, her eyes widened further, filled with wonder and excitement.

Splash!

The ship burst through the surface.

The bubble coating around the hull burst and dissipated the instant it touched the air. The ship rocked violently several times, throwing up great splashes of white foam.

Caught off balance by the sudden rocking, Shyarly swayed wildly inside her bubble. Just as she was about to fall, a hand firmly steadied her shoulder.

Shyarly regained her balance and looked back to find a little girl in armor standing behind her, one hand on her shoulder and a friendly smile on her face.

"Thank you!" Shyarly hurriedly thanked her.

Mumei let go, then raised her hand to point at the azure sky overhead. "Look at that-what do you think? It's warm, isn't it?"

Shyarly looked up in the direction she pointed. For the first time, she saw with her own eyes the boundless blue sky and the sun hanging above, constantly radiating warm light.

Sunlight fell across her face, pleasantly warm, with a heat completely different from the geothermal warmth of the deep sea.

She instinctively raised both hands as if trying to embrace that light, an expression of wonder and enchantment spreading over her face.

Standing beside her, Mumei began introducing all sorts of things above the sea like an older sister. "Look, that round, bright, hot thing is called the sun. It rises in the east every day and sets in the west... Those white things over there are clouds. Sometimes it rains... At night, there are the moon and stars too. They're really pretty..."

Shyarly listened with rapt attention, flashes of delighted surprise appearing in her eyes from time to time, her mouth slightly open in amazement.

What she didn't know was that not long ago, when Mumei first ventured into the deep sea herself, she had made just as much of a fuss over everything.

This was the first time Mumei had met a playmate her own age.

Although Hancock and her two sisters, who were also by Saint Dio's side, weren't far from her in age, Mumei always felt she couldn't find common ground with them.

Those three had grown up in the Kuja's combat-oriented environment. Their way of thinking was far more mature than that of others their age, and their minds were filled with nothing but fighting, growing stronger, and protecting their master.

They could be good comrades in battle, but it was hard for them to become friends she could play with.

Deep down, Mumei still preferred playing with innocent children who had no ulterior motives.

Shyarly was exactly that sort of person. She had grown up carefree on Fish-Man Island, innocent and full of curiosity about everything. When she smiled, it spread across her whole face, looking a little silly but adorable.

The two little girls quickly grew close, chattering nonstop, moving from the sun to clouds, from clouds to seabirds, and then from seabirds to whether there were tasty desserts on land.

Their conversation jumped rapidly between topics, yet they got along remarkably well.

Saint Dio didn't interfere with their relationship.

It was best to let the children develop their friendship on their own.

The ship sailed steadily across the sea.

After their imprisonment on Fish-Man Island, those Pirate Ship crew members were working especially hard, diligently tending to their respective posts.

But this was their first time in the New World, after all. They knew nothing about the routes through these waters and could only look expectantly at Saint Dio, waiting for further instructions.

Stussy also came over to Saint Dio and asked a question she had wanted to ask for some time. "Master, if we're going to Wano Country... how do we get there?" She paused, then added, "I didn't ask before because I assumed you had a way, but now that we've reached the surface, we have to resolve this."

Saint Dio didn't answer. He merely took an object from his pocket at an unhurried pace.

It was a Log Pose with a hollowed-out wooden base and a round, transparent glass sphere set into its center. A slender needle floated inside the sphere, pointing steadily in one direction without budging, no matter how the sphere was turned.

Ordinary compasses and maps were useless for navigating the Grand Line.

Because of the unusual magnetic interference between the Grand Line's islands, only a Log Pose could correctly guide a ship's course.

A Log Pose worked by recording the magnetic energy between islands. While a ship stayed at an island, it automatically stored magnetic energy, and only after it had fully charged could it point toward the next island.

A single-needle model was used in the first half of the Grand Line, while the second half required an upgrade to a three-needle model to handle the New World's more complex and chaotic magnetic environment.

The frequency of the needles' movements could also be used to assess the safety of the routes ahead.

The Log Pose in Saint Dio's hand had the words "Wano Country" clearly engraved on it.

This was no ordinary Log Pose, but an Eternal Pose.

An Eternal Pose was a permanently saved version of a Log Pose. Once locked onto an island, it would point in that direction forever, never changing.

Stussy froze briefly at the sight of the Eternal Pose, then asked curiously, "An Eternal Pose for Wano Country? Where did you get it, Master?"

"I had Saint Gunko borrow it in the Holy Knights' name," Saint Dio replied casually.

Saint Gunko?

Stussy was taken aback. That member of the Holy Knights?

Chapter 65: The New World's Extreme Weather

The World Government's headquarters stored Eternal Poses for most known islands, and Wano Country was no exception.

In the original story, Marine Admiral Ryokugyu had relied on an Eternal Pose for Wano Country supplied by the World Government to reach that isolated island with precision.

However, these Eternal Poses were strictly controlled. Any request to use one had to be submitted to the Five Elders for approval. Only the Holy Knights had the privilege of taking them directly without reporting it.

Although Saint Dio had refused the invitation to join the Holy Knights, that didn't prevent him from staying in touch with their members.

After all, maintaining a certain degree of connection offered him benefits without any drawbacks.

Among them, Saint Gunko always liked to stick close to him for some reason.

Saint Dio couldn't figure out whether Imu had instructed her to do so, but that wasn't important.

What mattered was that he could make use of her.

He had her help obtain an Eternal Pose for Wano Country in the Holy Knights' name. Even if the Five Elders learned of it afterward, they wouldn't dare say much, because they couldn't be certain whether Lord Imu was behind it again.

If Saint Dio applied himself or had Stussy do it, the Five Elders would undoubtedly question it and demand to know why.

Saint Dio couldn't be bothered getting tangled up with them. He had already borrowed Imu's influence more than once or twice; one more time made no difference.

He handed the Eternal Pose to Stussy and instructed, "Take this and have them sail in this direction. Also, prepare a few more blank Log Poses. Once we reach Wano Country, record the local magnetic field and turn them into Eternal Poses for backup."

Stussy accepted the Eternal Pose with both hands and respectfully replied, "Understood." Then she turned toward the helmsman's position and began directing the pirates to adjust their course.

With a clear direction at last, the pirates finally breathed a sigh of relief. They hurriedly turned the Helm and adjusted the sails, cutting through the waves in the direction indicated by the Eternal Pose.

Saint Dio turned and called Hancock and her two sisters over.

"We'll likely stay in Wano Country for a while on this trip," Saint Dio told the three of them. "Your Haki training is still far from sufficient. Wano Country is well suited to honing Haki. Over the next few years, you'll complete your advanced Haki training there."

"Understood," Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold answered in unison, without a trace of hesitation in their eyes.

Saint Dio nodded in satisfaction, then drew Jörmungandr from his waist. With a thought, the blade trembled slightly, and an invisible gravitational force instantly enveloped the three sisters.

Hancock and her sisters felt their shoulders sink, as though an invisible mountain were pressing down on them. Even the deck beneath their feet gave a faint creak.

This was one of Jörmungandr's abilities: weight manipulation.

"From now until we reach Wano Country, you'll carry out all your activities under this added weight." Saint Dio drew Jörmungandr back and rested it against the deck beside him. "Especially you two, Sandersonia and Marigold. To bring out the true power of your ancient Zoan Devil Fruits, you need sufficiently powerful physiques to support them. Without bodies capable of bearing that power, you won't be able to wield it, no matter how strong your fruits are."

"Yes!" The two sisters gritted their teeth and straightened their backs, fine beads of sweat already seeping from their foreheads.

On the voyage that followed, just as Saint Dio had anticipated, the New World's weather proved unpredictable and far more violent than that of the Grand Line's first half.

One moment, the sky was clear and the sun blazed overhead. The next, dark clouds could gather, fierce winds could howl, and waves could come surging toward them like small mountains.

The ordinary pirates from the first half of the Grand Line had never experienced anything like this. Every one of them turned pale with fear.

When torrential rain struck, they had to risk being swept overboard to furl the sails and steer. When enormous waves crashed down, the slightest carelessness could send them flying. If Saint Dio hadn't intervened from time to time to stabilize the situation, several lives would probably already have been lost.

Watching the pirates trembling and fumbling in the storm, Saint Dio couldn't help reflecting that he needed to build a fleet of his own as soon as possible.

Constantly relying on these small-fry pirates he had rounded up on the fly was no long-term solution.

For now, however, Saint Dio had no energy to spare for such matters.

The most important thing at present was to reach Wano Country safely.

After finally sailing out of the storm-ravaged area, the pirates looked back at the dark clouds still churning with lightning behind them and were just about to sigh in relief.

Before they could even finish catching their breath, a sudden wave shoved hard against the ship from the side, making it list violently.

Immediately afterward, an enormous shadow enveloped the entire ship.

The pirates looked up, their pupils instantly widening, their faces filled with terror.

A block of ice as large as a pirate ship was falling from the sky, plunging straight toward their heads.

Looking around, they saw countless other equally enormous blocks of ice falling through the surrounding sky.

This was... hail!

But it wasn't ordinary, rice-grain-sized hail. This was an extreme weather phenomenon unique to the New World, with every hailstone larger than their ship.

"W-we're finished!"

"We're dead, we're dead, we're dead!"

The pirates huddled together, trembling as they shut their eyes and waited for the enormous block of ice to smash them and their ship to pieces.

Saint Dio's hand was already on Jörmungandr's hilt, ready to shatter it.

But just as he was about to draw the sword, he suddenly changed his mind.

He released Jörmungandr's hilt and instead grasped another sword: the longsword from the Ryugu Palace Treasury that had been fused with the Octopus-Octopus Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Kraken Form.

"Perfect. Let's see what you can do-Kraken."

He drew the sword and swung with all his strength at the enormous block of ice blotting out the sky overhead.

The blade twisted and swelled the instant he swung it, transforming into eight immensely thick, dark-purple tentacles. Like eight giant pythons surging skyward, they spiraled into the air and wrapped directly around the falling block of ice.

Then the tentacles tightened sharply.

With a thunderous boom, the block of ice, larger than the pirate ship, burst apart under the combined crushing force of the eight tentacles. Countless fragments of varying sizes rained down like a torrential downpour.

Even so, each shattered piece was still the size of a ship's cabin. If allowed to strike the deck, they would still cause serious damage.

But Saint Dio wasn't fighting alone.

Hancock moved first. Using Geppo, she shot skyward like an arrow, jet-black Armament Haki coiling around her long leg. She swept out a fierce kick, smashing an enormous piece of ice falling toward her to bits in midair.

Sandersonia and Marigold transformed at the same time, assuming enormous snake-human forms.

Sandersonia swung her Naginata, driving the blade precisely into the side of a falling chunk of ice. With a flick of her wrist, she flung it toward the distant sea. Marigold opened her mouth and spat a stream of dark-green venom. It splashed onto the ice with a hiss, rapidly corroding and breaking it down.