"After discussing with the Gorosei, we have decided..."
"To publicly execute Fire Fist Ace!"
When Aokiji heard Sengoku say this, he already knew what was going to happen without explanation.
It is well known that the Whitebeard Pirates do not allow others to harm their crew members. If Fire Fist Ace is publicly executed, the entire Whitebeard Pirates will surely come to stop it.
At that time, it will be a great war between the entire Marine and the Whitebeard Pirates.
The entire world will change because of this war.
Thinking of these things, Aokiji also realized the seriousness of the problem.
Sengoku's voice on the other end of the phone continued to ring.
"Come back to Marineford quickly."
"I need to hold a Marine high-level meeting to make early deployments for this incident!"
Aokiji immediately replied upon hearing this.
"I'll be right back, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!"
With that, the den den mushi on the other end hung up.
Aokiji, however, stayed where he was, lost in thought for a while.
Then he took out two wanted posters from his pocket; the two people on them were Luffy and Robin.
Looking at Luffy's wanted poster, Aokiji couldn't help but mutter.
"I originally wanted to meet Garp's grandson! Now it seems there's no chance!"
Then he shifted his gaze to Robin's wanted poster, and his expression suddenly became solemn.
"Nico Robin! 20 years have passed, and you still haven't changed at all?"
"Still living a life of betrayal!"
"In that case, wasn't letting you go back then meaningless?"
Aokiji recalled the situation 20 years ago when he allowed Robin, the sole survivor of Ohara, to escape.
At that time, he followed Saul's will and let Robin go.
He just wanted to witness Robin's life afterward.
But Robin hasn't changed at all in these 20 years, wandering around like a ticking time bomb.
In that case, it's better to settle this grievance from 20 years ago sooner!
Thinking this, Aokiji took out a golden den den mushi from his pocket.
"You're definitely coming to Water 7 on this route!"
"Let's settle it here!"
...
"Goo!"
"Goo!"
Seagulls cried in the sky.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Waves crashed continuously.
Between these two, a huge ark slowly flew in mid-air.
"It's the blue sea!"
"Great! We're finally back!"
"This flying ship is really convenient! It brought us back safely."
On the deck, the group expressed their emotions.
Looking at the blue sea that once again came into view after a few days, everyone felt as if they had been in a dream.
"We really went to an incredible place!"
"Especially after coming back, when you look up again, it feels even more distant!"
"It's like a dream..."
Everyone looked up at the sky, recalling their dreamlike experiences on Sky Island.
After gradually recovering from that mood, everyone then focused on the various matters at hand.
On the deck!
Usopp took out a large pile of Dials he had traded for on Sky Island and tested their effects one by one.
After testing them all, Usopp said,
"Among the Dials, only the Cloud Dial can't be used here; the others can!"
Robin sat nearby, and upon hearing Usopp's words, she speculated,
"Perhaps the clouds can only form when sprayed in the environment of Sky Island!"
Usopp nodded upon hearing this, then packed up all the Dials and said to Nami,
"Nami, give me your Clima-Tact!"
"I'm going to use these Dials to improve and strengthen your Clima-Tact now."
Then, Usopp turned to look at Nojiko.
"Nojiko! How are the plants I asked you to cultivate?"
Nojiko brought a pot of plants from beside the orange trees on Merry and said,
"They've already grown into shape."
"They can be used for your slingshot!"
"This plant is a new variety I cultivated through research; not only is it very sturdy and has excellent elasticity, but it can also deform freely and be applied to different scenarios. It will definitely meet your needs."
Usopp's face lit up with surprise upon hearing this; it was even more comprehensive than he expected, and he said excitedly,
"Really?! Nojiko!"
Nojiko smiled and nodded.
Usopp immediately ran over excitedly, took the pot of plants, and thanked Nojiko.
"You've been a great help, Nojiko!"
"Thank you!"
With that, Usopp, ignoring everyone else, excitedly hugged a pile of things and buried himself in Merry's laboratory.
At this time, Luffy also applied his Heaven-Defying Comprehension to Usopp, helping him create even more powerful things.
After Usopp left, Nami suddenly looked at Luffy and said,
"Hey! Luffy!"
"What are we going to do with this flying ship?"
"The weather in the Grand Line is unpredictable; if we encounter any harsh weather, it's impossible to fly as smoothly as we are now."
"We still need to rely on a sailing ship like Merry."
"And if I keep having to maintain the power with lightning, I'll really die of exhaustion!"
Nami exhaled, looking very tired.
From Sky Island until now, she had been constantly expending her stamina to maintain Enel's Ark Maxim's flight.
"There's nothing we can do. This ship has no sails; it can only be powered by lightning."
Luffy heard this and said,
"I've already thought about that."
"The main reason we took this ship was for the gold on it."
"However, the Merry is too small to carry so much."
"So, once we reach an island with a shipwright,"
"We'll have them build us a new, larger ship!"
"Then, we can transfer the gold to the new ship, and we won't need this flying ship anymore!"
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone was immediately surprised and asked in unison,
"Build a new ship? What about the Merry?"
"That's right! The Merry has sailed with us for so long; we can't just abandon her, can we?"
Luffy looked at their excited faces and quickly reassured them, saying,
"Don't worry! Of course, I won't abandon the Merry!"
"The Merry is considered one of our companions!"
"How could I do such a thing?"
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But they were still very confused and asked,
"Then what was that about building a big ship you just mentioned?"
Luffy nodded and explained,
"Actually, it's not just about the gold."
"As more and more people join our crew, haven't you noticed that the Merry is already too small for us?"
"Everyone can't even get a proper place to rest."
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone immediately nodded.
The Merry's cabin was only so big; besides the kitchen, bathroom, and laboratory, there were only two small rooms that could be designated as sleeping areas.
And these two small rooms were usually where the several girls on the ship squeezed together to sleep.
As for Luffy and the others, they would just find a random spot, lie down on the floor, and that was their night.
For the current Straw Hat, the Merry was indeed a bit small.
At this moment, Luffy continued,
"Once we have a ship with enough space, we'll have them modify the Merry for us."
"Isn't the Merry currently sail-powered?"
"But have you noticed that there are 200 Wind Dials on the bottom of this flying ship?"
Hearing Luffy say this, everyone was shocked.
Vivi even directly transformed into her Qingluan form and flew to the bottom of the ship to check, and indeed, she saw many Wind Dials there.
Returning to the deck, Vivi reported what she had seen with shock.
"There are really a lot of Wind Dials down there!"
After confirming this information, everyone was incredibly shocked.
"Didn't Conis say that Wind Dials were extinct? Why are there so many at the bottom of this ship?"
"And with 200 Wind Dials, it could probably even support such a gigantic ship!"
Looking at their shocked expressions, Luffy smiled and nodded, saying,
"These Wind Dials were probably collected by Eneru from various places on Sky Island."
"So what I'm thinking is, we'll use these Wind Dials to transform the Merry into a fast landing craft, like a Waipa."
"Normally, we can use the Merry to quickly go to places that large ships can't easily enter."
"And if powered by Wind Dials, we can even cross the Calm Belt and go anywhere in this vast ocean."
After listening to Luffy's explanation, everyone was convinced by the idea.
And they were all incredibly excited.
A ship that can go anywhere in the vast ocean—just thinking about it felt like a dream.
With a brand new goal, the Straw Hat excitedly set off for the next island!
After sailing for some time in the direction indicated by the Log Pose, they arrived at Long Ring Long Land, an island where everything was very long.
However, this island was very empty, inhabited only by an old man and various long animals.
Upon learning that the old man had been separated from his village people because he had been walking on stilts for 10 years and dared not come down, they had Vivi fly them directly to where their village was gathered.
Since Long Ring Long Land was composed of 10 small islands, and these 10 small islands themselves were considered one large island,
The distance was not far.
At Vivi's speed, she quickly dropped them off and returned to the Straw Hat.
After a brief rest on this island, the Straw Hat set off again, heading for the next island.
...
After sailing for two days on the sea.
On the morning of the third day!
It was spring, and the weather was clear.
Occasional gentle breezes brushed their faces, making them feel extremely comfortable.
Nami sat on the deck, stretching comfortably, and said,
"It's a good thing we haven't encountered any bad weather these past few days, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to advance so quickly!"
Uta heard this and sighed comfortably.
"That's right! The weather has been so good these past few days!"
"It looks like we'll reach the next island very soon."
Just as the two were leisurely sighing, they suddenly heard heavy breathing from the deck.
"Hoo...."
"Hoo...."
They looked over at the sound and saw Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, and Karu—both people and animals—all training desperately, their eyes looking as if they wanted to kill someone.
Such a scene made them speechless.
Nami couldn't help but exclaim in exasperation,
"What's wrong with those guys?"
"Ever since we came down from Sky Island, they've been training desperately every day, as if someone owes them money, their eyes are all red."
Luffy, lying nearby, heard Nami's words and chuckled, saying,
"They must have been stimulated by how much stronger I've become!"
"That's why they're working so hard."
It was indeed as Luffy said; his use of Gear 5 had a huge impact on those guys.
They all felt that if they didn't train desperately, the gap between them and Luffy would grow wider and wider.
At that point, they wouldn't even be worthy of being on this ship.
Just then, Vivi, who was circling above the flying ship, suddenly descended and excitedly said to everyone on the ship,
"Everyone, I see an island!"
"And I also found a strange house, it looks like some kind of station!"
Hearing Vivi's words, Luffy and the others followed her to the edge of the flying ship.
Indeed, they saw a small station very close to them.
And the island was in another direction, further away.
But at this moment, everyone was attracted by that strange station.
Because they saw a faint track on the sea near the station.
"What is that?"
"Why is there something like a track in the sea?"
Just then, they suddenly heard a whistle blow.
"Woo woo..."
Everyone looked over at the sound.
They saw a ship, like a train, speeding along that track on the sea from the direction of the island they had just seen.
...
This scene stunned everyone.
"Is that... a ship?"
"What kind of monster is that iron thing?"
"This can't be! How can such a strange thing sail on the sea?"
As everyone was shocked, they suddenly saw a bruised frog suddenly appear and block the train's path.
Before they could even cry out, the frog was instantly hit and sent flying by the train!
"Ah... that frog got hit!"
"Why would that frog try to block this monstrous thing?"
Just as everyone was puzzled, the door of the station suddenly opened.
Two figures, one large and one small, walked out with a small cat.
"Woah! Kokoro! There's a ship flying in the sky!"
Kokoro was holding a bottle of sake and drinking it in big gulps. Hearing this, she burst out laughing and said,
"Engagagagaga..."
"Chimney! You haven't even had a drink, are you drunk too?"
"That kind of thing, how could... Woah!!!"
"There really is a ship flying in the sky!!!"
Kokoro opened her mouth wide in astonishment, looking incredulously at the flying ship in the sky and Luffy and the others standing on its edge.
Luffy and the others, under Nami's control, were also slowly descending, coming to rest on the sea.
Suddenly, Kokoro and Chimney's jaws dropped simultaneously, and they exclaimed,
"Woah! So much gold!!!"
After exclaiming, Kokoro looked at Luffy and the others in disbelief, saying in shock,
"Who... who exactly are you people?"
"This much gold is enough to buy dozens of countries!!!"
Luffy heard this and replied,
"We are pirates!"
Hearing this, Kokoro was stunned.
She couldn't figure out how pirates could possibly get so much gold.
And this flying ship also surprised her immensely.
On the Straw Hat's side, they were surprised by the moving train in the sea.
Both sides, shocked by each other, engaged in an exchange.
They each learned what they wanted to know about the other.
The Straw Hat also learned that the thing running on the sea was called a sea train.
When Kokoro learned that Luffy and his crew were looking for a shipwright, she wrote them a letter of introduction, saying that with the letter, they could find the best shipwright in the world on the island ahead called Water 7.
So, after a small interlude, Luffy and his crew set sail again, heading straight for Water 7.
...
After flying for a short while, the Straw Hat finally arrived at the coast of Water 7.
And this huge and magnificent city deeply attracted everyone.
Water 7 as a whole resembled a giant pagoda, with an incredibly huge fountain at the very top, neatly distributed houses in the middle, and an open coastline at the very bottom.
"sugei! This city is so magnificent!"
"It's truly magnificent, it's like an industrial city."
"No wonder the sea train is manufactured here!"
Everyone looked at this magnificent city, all sighing in admiration.
But at this moment, Nami became conflicted.
"Luffy, where are we going to park this flying ship?"
"If we just fly in like this, it will definitely cause a commotion!"
"And with so much gold on our ship, if the people in the city see it, we'll definitely be targeted."