10,000 meters below the sea... 9,000 meters... 8,000 meters...
As it rose higher, the seawater gradually became less dark, and the pitch-black and deep feeling began to slowly fade.
Continuing upwards, after reaching a certain depth, the seawater changes from black to dark blue, and then gradually turns to light blue. At this point, you can finally see the surface of the sea at the top.
Whoosh!!
A bubble seemed to rise from the seawater and burst on the surface, at which point Uya and Ain appeared, hovering there.
Not far away, one can see a large expanse of strange and tall trees, totaling seventy-nine trees. In that area, strange bubbles float up and down, displaying a dreamlike luster.
If Fish-Man Island is a fairyland, then this place is second only to Fish-Man Island in beauty and wonder.
This is the Sabaody Archipelago.
It became a transit point on the Grand Line, a crucial turning point.
This is the last island in the first half of the Grand Line. Any pirate who wants to find the final island, Laugh Tale, must pass through here after crossing the first half of the Grand Line.
After passing through here, we enter the New World, the second half of the Grand Line.
This is an extremely beautiful yet extremely dangerous place, for anyone. The Marine Headquarters is not far from here, and the Celestial Dragons run rampant on the island. If you accidentally offend Celestial Dragons, your fate will be extremely tragic.
"That must be the Sabaody Archipelago," Uya said casually, gazing at the Sabaody Archipelago from afar as he stood on the sea.
Standing next to Uya, Ain nodded in response. She had been to the Sabaody Archipelago before and had served on a mission to guard the area.
Uya glanced at the Sabaody Archipelago and was about to leave when suddenly his eyes flashed, his gaze like a sharp sword piercing through the void and shining towards the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Commander Uya, shall we go straight back to Marine Headquarters, or go to the Sabaody Archipelago to board a warship?" Ain asked quietly, standing next to Uya.
Although Uya's power allows her to levitate in the air and ignore the seawater, crossing the ocean on foot is still very unnatural, especially for Devil Fruit user like Ain.
Generally speaking, only a handful of people, such as the Shichibukai Mihawk and Marine Admiral Aokiji, prefer to travel alone on the high seas and cross the ocean by themselves.
"Go to Sabaody."
Uya, having seemingly seen something, withdrew his gaze and spoke directly.
Then, he took Ain and flew swiftly across the sea in an arc towards the Sabaody Archipelago.
The Sabaody Archipelago was already in sight, very close at hand. At this moment, on the shore of the Sabaody Archipelago, a pirate ship had already coated itself with bubble wrap and was ready to dive.
"My men! It's time to enter the New World! The One Piece left behind by the Pirate King Roger will definitely be ours!"
The captain of the pirate ship was standing on the deck, holding a long sword, with a murderous expression on his face, and he raised his arm and shouted.
All the pirates gathered on the deck, raising their arms and shouting in unison with the captain's call, their hearts filled with excitement.
Just then, one of the sharp-eyed pirates suddenly spotted two figures flying towards them on the distant sea. They looked like two people.
The pirate's eyes widened instantly, a look of shock on his face. He exclaimed, "Quick! Look, there's someone over there!"
As the pirate exclaimed, the pirates beside him turned to look first, followed by the other pirates, and finally, when the captain also turned to look, two figures on the sea had already arrived very close, and in a flash, they landed on the flagpole of the pirate ship.
These two figures were none other than Uya and Ain.
Reaching the top of the pirate ship's flagpole, Uya didn't look down at the pirate ship below. Instead, he looked at a thin old man with a strange beard on his chin, who was tidying up coating tools on the shore to the side of the pirate ship.
Ain glanced at the pirate flag on the pirate ship, a hint of coldness flashing in her beautiful eyes.
The flagpole was quite tall, and looking up from below, it was impossible to see Uya and Ain's figures clearly. However, Ain's naval uniform was clearly recognizable at a glance.
"Navy!"
The pirates on this ship, having crossed half of the Grand Line, were certainly not stupid. The moment they saw the Navy uniforms, they immediately realized what was going on.
They're pirates; the navy didn't come to their ship for tea.
Although a navy that can move on the sea cannot be an ordinary navy, they have just crossed the first half of the Grand Line and are at their most spirited. They feel as if they have already conquered the world and reigned supreme over the sea. They dare to fight even if a naval admiral is in front of them.
A murderous glint flashed across the captain's face. Without hesitation, he gave the order, shouting, "Trying to stop us from setting sail? Damn navy! Men, take them down!"
At the captain's command, most of the pirates picked up their weapons, including revolvers and long-barreled muskets.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
In an instant, a sound like popping beans rang out, and countless bullets burst forth, densely packed, like a storm, attacking Uya and Ain atop the flagpole.
Seeing this, Ain's pretty face turned cold. Just as she was about to make a move, she suddenly stopped, because the dense bullets suddenly froze in mid-air when they reached an area three feet in front of her and Uya.
It was as if there were invisible walls in the air, blocking all the bullets in mid-air.
Bang! Bang! Bang!!
The pirates continued firing until they ran out of bullets, at which point they finally stopped. As the smoke cleared, they looked up at the top of the flagpole again, and their eyes widened in shock.
Countless bullets hovered in the air, circling around Uya and Ain perfectly still, as if time had been frozen.
This scene was extremely astonishing. Perhaps it would be too normal in the New World, the latter half of the Grand Line, but it was still quite shocking in the first half.
"The bullets have been stopped!"
"What kind of Devil Fruit power is this?"
Many pirates who witnessed this scene showed a hint of shock and fear on their faces, but in the next instant, the shock on their faces turned into horror.
Because the dense swarm of bullets hovering around Uya and Ain suddenly disintegrated silently in the next instant, turning into powder and dust, and vanishing with the wind in Setsuna!
Stopping the bullets is normal, but annihilating them all into dust is a bit frightening!
In the next instant, Uya moved, lightly stepping down and carrying Ain directly to the shore of the Sabaody Archipelago.
With such a light step, the entire ship was struck as if by a meteorite falling from the sky, and the ship's coating bubbles shattered almost Setsuna.
The flagpole exploded instantly, the blast spreading down to the ship's hull, where it shattered into pieces. And it didn't stop there; the explosion continued to spread towards the bow and stern.
In the span of a single breath, a large sailing ship was completely blown to pieces, its debris scattered across the sea.
Throughout the entire ordeal, Uya never once looked down at the pirate ship. Even after the pirate ship was completely destroyed, he showed no intention of turning back. After landing on the shore, Uya's gaze calmly fell on the old man with a strange beard on his chin, who had already packed up his coating tools.
The gaunt old man seemed to have nothing special about him, but even though the pirate ship was completely destroyed, his expression didn't change at all; instead, the corners of his mouth slightly turned up.
The world seemed to fall silent suddenly.
The next moment.
"Three days of hard work, and you've ruined it all with that one kick, Uya- kun." Dark King Rayleigh, carrying his coating tools, looked up at Uya and smiled. (To be continued.)