Kuzan unleashed the full power of his Observation Haki, trying to find Lin Yuan and Robin, but there was nothing except the wildly churning seawater.
"Ice Age..."
Kuzan tried to use his Fruit's ability, but ultimately stopped. There was no hope of survival for an ability user who fell into the sea.
If he unleashed Ice Age at full power, he could indeed freeze this stretch of sea all the way to the seabed, but Lin Yuan and Robin would be frozen too, leaving them no chance of survival either. The only difference would be that Kuzan had killed them with his own hands.
"No one can kill you?!"
Kuzan sat dejectedly on the ice, looking almost deranged. At that moment, he seemed to understand what Lin Yuan had said.
"A shattered dao heart!"
Only when the sun began to sink in the west did Kuzan slowly stand up. The passion he had felt when he first joined the Marines was long gone, and he even looked somewhat world-weary.
As Kuzan stood, he staggered for an instant. He sighed deeply, then instantly appeared in the distance, where a long sword stood planted all alone, engraved with an exquisite mandala pattern.
On the seabed, a crimson-gold Zhulong over a thousand meters long swam swiftly along. Amazingly, the seawater parted of its own accord around him, and not a single drop could touch him.
Atop the enormous dragon's head, an eight-year-old girl looked curiously at everything around her, but apart from the parted seawater, everything was pitch-black.
"Brother Lin Yuan, you actually turned into a great big dragon! You're amazing!"
Lin Yuan: ...
"Robin, we have to get out of here as quickly as possible. You'll see your mother soon. Hold on tight to me..."
Hearing the exhaustion in Lin Yuan's voice, Robin immediately understood that he was under great strain. She promptly closed her mouth and gripped his hard dragon horn tightly.
By now, Lin Yuan's stamina was nearly exhausted. On top of his severe injuries, he was so tired he was close to fainting, but he knew he had to grit his teeth and keep going.
If he passed out on the seabed, he and Robin would be crushed to death in an instant by the immense water pressure.
Lin Yuan gritted his teeth and persevered. Finally, after swimming for more than ten minutes, the outline of a small boat suddenly appeared in his mind. By now, he was dozens of li away from the place where he had fought.
Lin Yuan suddenly swam toward the surface.
Olvia, who was steering the small boat away from Ohara, gazed sorrowfully in Ohara's direction, praying over and over that Lin Yuan and Robin were all right.
Then she saw a huge surge of seawater rise suddenly at the stern. As she stared in shock, a majestic, enormous red dragon burst straight through the surface, and in that instant, she seemed to see Robin standing on its head.
Using the last of his strength, Lin Yuan landed on the small boat with Robin in his arms. After gritting out a single word, "Go," he immediately passed out.
"Brother Lin Yuan..."
Three days later, when Lin Yuan opened his eyes again, he found Robin sitting beside him with a worried look on her face.
The moment she saw him wake up, Robin happily shouted.
"Brother Lin Yuan, you're finally awake."
Lin Yuan looked at his body, wrapped up like a mummy, and couldn't help laughing.
"Mm, I'm all right now, Robin."
He gave his body a gentle shake, and the bandages shattered, revealing his lean, muscular body.
Lin Yuan stood up and briefly stretched. His injuries had completely healed, making him marvel at the power of a Mythical Zoan Fruit.
"Little Lin Yuan, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"
Just then, Olvia heard the commotion and came in too, asking with concern.
"I'm all right, Aunt Olvia. Where are we now?"
"This is the uninhabited little island you mentioned. We came here after you passed out. I've hidden the boat, and we've all been hiding here for the past three days."
"Has it been three days?"
Lin Yuan thought it over. Since three days had passed, it seemed they were safe for the time being, though he didn't know whether the Marines had all withdrawn.
"Little Lin Yuan, what are you planning to do next?"
As for why Lin Yuan had turned into an enormous crimson dragon, Olvia didn't ask much. After all, it was Lin Yuan's secret, and she also reminded Robin not to tell anyone.
"We'll stay here for the next few days. I still need some time to recover, and we also need to find out whether the Marines and the World Government's people have withdrawn."
"Then we'll go to the East Blue together!"
Lin Yuan had already decided where to go. It was only the year 1500 of the Sea Circle Calendar, twenty years before the plot began. What Lin Yuan needed to do now was find a place to develop slowly.
As for whether he would become a pirate in the future, Lin Yuan had no such plans for the time being. In this world, as long as he had strength, it didn't matter whether he became a pirate or not.
What was more, although Lin Yuan's soul had transmigrated into this body, its original owner's family had died at the hands of pirates. Whether because of his previous life or the original owner's influence, Lin Yuan found pirates deeply repugnant.
They couldn't stay in the West Blue now, not only because the World Government was still searching for Ohara's survivors, but also because, compared with the chaotic West Blue, the East Blue, known as the "Weakest Sea," was much safer.
Over the next few days, Lin Yuan explored the surrounding waters. Just as he had thought, although the Marines had withdrawn, the World Government's CP was still searching for Ohaka's survivors.
To Lin Yuan's surprise, however, Robin's wanted poster had not been issued. It was possible that Kuzan had reported that he and Robin were already dead.
Lin Yuan was very pleased with this. Without a wanted poster, the three of them would be safer. He had no desire to face a monster like Kuzan again.
After all, he was too young right now. Give him ten years, and if he faced Kuzan again, hmph, it was still uncertain who would win.
With the power of the Mythical Zoan Zhu Jiuyin Fruit, Lin Yuan was confident he could reach an Admiral's level of strength in ten years.
Over the next few days, Lin Yuan felt the time was about right, and the three of them headed toward the East Blue. From then on, Ohara vanished completely from the pirate world.
On the way to the East Blue, Lin Yuan was glad he had saved Olvia. As a historian, she had spent years traveling the world and could be considered half a navigator.
As for Lin Yuan and Robin, neither of whom had ever been to sea, they had completely lost their sense of direction after leaving the uninhabited island.
Their journey was not smooth sailing. The pirate world's weather was far too changeable: one moment the sky was cloudless for miles, and the next it changed like a child's expression, with lightning flashing, thunder rumbling, and towering waves.
Although the boat Lin Yuan had built was relatively small and could capsize at any moment, and even Robin and Olvia had turned pale with fright.
But Zhu Jiuyin, the ancestor of the dragon gods, was not the least bit afraid of the towering waves before him. He even enjoyed them somewhat.
If he had not been concerned about Robin and Olvia, he would even have wanted to transform into a divine dragon and swim freely among the towering waves.
Although he didn't know why he was still unafraid of seawater after eating a Devil Fruit, Lin Yuan felt at ease when he thought of the Fruit's abilities.
So whenever they encountered a hurricane or tsunami, Lin Yuan stood at the front of the small boat's deck, steering with one hand while turning the other into a blade to cut through the oncoming waves.
In the face of nature's terrifying power, human strength seemed exceedingly insignificant, but Lin Yuan felt no fear at all. Instead, his heart surged with excitement.
"Fighting heaven brings endless joy; fighting people brings endless joy. Pirate world, here I come!"
"Boom..."
Purple thunderbolts surged across the sky, and lightning illuminated the pitch-black sea. For an instant, Lin Yuan's unrestrained yet determined face seemed visible.