Several days later, at Mogura Port, the long-idle Rayquaza set sail once again with renewed purpose.
Secretary Speed reported with crisp efficiency: "Lord Kai, the route has been confirmed. We will head to North Blue at maximum speed!"
Kai nodded with casual acknowledgment.
He wasn't particularly concerned about the time spent on their journey.
Being able to cross the Calm Belt directly, they only needed to head north, traverse that windless expanse, and they could reach North Blue in record time.
Compared to ordinary ships that needed to detour around the Red Line like ants crawling around a mountain, they would be incomparably faster.
"Depart! Let's finally depart!"
Yamato stood at the bow like a ship's figurehead, shouting with pure joy into the sea breeze that whipped through her white hair.
Due to Wano Country's proximity to the Calm Belt, the Rayquaza reached the edge of that mysterious region in just a few short days.
"This is so incredibly boring!"
Yamato lay limply against the ship's rail like a wilted flower, her voice carrying a weak complaint.
Ocean voyages proved tedious and monotonous beyond belief.
Initially, Yamato, who had barely left Wano Country's borders, bubbled with excitement every single day. She could get thrilled for half a day just spotting a fish jumping out of the water.
But once she became familiar with everything the seas had to offer, Yamato devolved from an energetic, cheerful puppy into this current lazy fish state.
In stark contrast, Kozuki Hiyori, who was even younger and also hadn't traveled much beyond Wano, showed remarkable composure, probably due to her early years growing up on Whitebeard's ship.
"One thousand four hundred ninety-eight, one thousand four hundred ninety-nine..."
Kozuki Hiyori held an ordinary skillful grade sword, performing her daily unwavering sword practice with mechanical precision.
"One thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, two thousand!"
"Phew!"
Kozuki Hiyori sheathed her sword with practiced grace and exhaled a long, condensed breath of white air.
Kai, who had been quietly observing her dedication, suddenly spoke: "How's your mastery of Enma progressing?"
Yes, after obtaining Enma that historic day, Kai had returned the legendary blade to Hiyori.
After all, he had no personal use for weapons himself.
Kozuki Hiyori pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face, her expression somewhat dejected: "It still goes out of control occasionally. I probably need to wait for the right opportunity to truly tame it."
Kai nodded with understanding. Even without experiencing it personally, he'd witnessed similar struggles.
Cursed swords like Enma were like wild beasts, just waiting for a dominant wielder strong enough to conquer their rebellious spirits.
However, it wasn't ideal for Hiyori to continue without a proper sword indefinitely.
Fortunately, he knew the exact whereabouts of one of the 21 Great Grade swords, which he could obtain for Hiyori's immediate use.
Besides, Hiyori was learning Oden's legendary Two Sword Style, so she'd eventually need both weapons anyway.
At this moment, Speed approached to report: "Lord Kai, in approximately half an hour we'll officially enter the Calm Belt."
Hearing this announcement, Yamato instantly revived like a flower touched by sunlight, looking up to gaze eagerly into the distance.
"The Calm Belt? Where is it? Where is it exactly?"
"You absolute idiot!"
Kai held his forehead with theatrical despair: "The Calm Belt isn't some spectacular tourist attraction. It's simply a place completely without wind."
As they conversed, the ever-present sea breeze rapidly weakened until it disappeared entirely.
Most remarkably, the never-ceasing ocean waves also calmed down completely, the sea surface becoming smooth as polished glass, with only the ripples from the Rayquaza cutting through the water slowly spreading outward.
The clouds in the sky remained motionless, as if their positions were frozen for all eternity.
The Calm Belt had embraced them.
"How absolutely mysterious." Violet used her ability to observe the surrounding sea surface, speaking with genuine amazement: "There really is no wind or waves whatsoever."
"Yes, this is the Calm Belt, the absolute nightmare of traditional sailing ships."
Kai nodded with confirmation.
Ships wanting to pass through this region could only rely on human power or steam propulsion.
But that wasn't even the most dangerous aspect.
Without advanced seastone embedding technology, the Sea Kings lurking in the depths below were the greatest source of mortal danger for any vessel.
SPLASH!
A massive shadow quietly rose from the ocean floor like a primordial leviathan, suddenly tearing through the sea surface and creating a towering water column that reached toward the heavens!
A hundred-meter-long Sea King with a fierce lion's head and streamlined fish body materialized before everyone. It opened its bloody maw, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, and lunged toward the Rayquaza without any hesitation.
The creature was determined to sink this large vessel and enjoy a hearty feast.
"Sea King spotted!"
Violet issued the first warning, her tone surprised but not panicked in the slightest.
Compared to the massive Sea King bearing down on them, her companions were far more deserving of the title "monsters."
"Let me handle this challenge!"
Yamato didn't wait for Kai's permission and claimed the task immediately.
Having been idle for several tedious days, she could finally stretch her combat muscles.
Yamato leaped from the deck with graceful power, rushing toward the Sea King in a mutual charge, her rounded kanabo instantly wrapping in crackling freezing air.
"Glacial Bagua!"
The seemingly tiny kanabo, carrying howling cold wind that could freeze souls, smashed with devastating force toward the Sea King's massive skull.
A flash of humanlike contempt appeared in the Sea King's ancient eyes as it charged forward without bothering to dodge such a puny attack.
BANG!
The kanabo struck the Sea King with explosive impact, and a surge of absolute freezing air poured down like an arctic avalanche, instantly transforming the mighty creature into a perfect ice sculpture.
Even the surrounding sea froze into a thick layer of impenetrable ice!
"What! That wasn't challenging at all!"
Yamato landed gracefully back on deck, her expression carrying obvious dissatisfaction.
Deep underwater, watching their mighty companion die so easily above, the Sea Kings who had been preparing to share in the expected spoils looked at each other with obvious terror.
"Let's run for our lives!"
"Yeah, yeah! Quickly!"
The Sea Kings, who reached instant consensus, all turned tail and fled in absolute panic toward the deeper ocean floor.
On the sea surface above, the frozen Sea King became an unexpected feast for Kai and his group.
Kai picked up some fresh sashimi with his chopsticks, dipped it in specially prepared sauce, and placed it in his mouth with obvious appreciation: "Mm, not bad at all. Not only is it rich in natural oils, but it also has a wonderfully wild taste too. The texture is even better after being flash-frozen."
That unfortunate Sea King could truly be said to have died for a worthy cause.
While he enjoyed the delicious meal, a sea breeze that should never appear in the windless Calm Belt began blowing the Rayquaza's sails, carrying the vessel steadily toward North Blue.
As the Sky God, how could Kai possibly be hindered by a mere Calm Belt?
No wind? He'd simply create some wind himself.
For the remainder of their journey, perhaps due to urgent word-of-mouth warnings among the Sea King community, Kai encountered no other obstacles and smoothly passed through the Calm Belt.
North Blue had finally arrived.
Next came the challenge of locating the Germa Kingdom.
But finding them wouldn't prove easy in the slightest.
The Germa Kingdom was the world's unique seafaring nation without any fixed territory. Usually, dozens of ships operated separately across vast distances, only forming the complete kingdom when merged together.
Fortunately, the Beast Pirates' information network built over many years wasn't maintained for nothing.
Before coming to the New World, Doflamingo, who had long operated in North Blue's underworld, possessed knowledge of the Germa Kingdom's general whereabouts.
Originally, the fastest method should have been asking Queen for direct contact information, but Kai was flatly refused.
"Dream on, you brat! Besides, you convinced Kaido-aniki to recruit that bastard Judge. I haven't settled that personal score with you yet!"
Queen said this with obvious fury and angrily hung up the communication.
After a full week of careful sailing, with Violet's extraordinary ability providing assistance, Kai's group successfully tracked down the elusive Germa Kingdom.
This particular day, Violet suddenly shouted with genuine excitement: "I see them! 200 kilometers to the north, there are those distinctive snail ships you mentioned, Kai!"
Kai rose from his comfortable reclining chair, a satisfied smile playing at his lips.
Finally found them.
Now it was time to dramatically increase the Rayquaza's speed.
A strong wind suddenly formed from south to north like divine intervention, propelling the Rayquaza at amazing velocity toward the Germa Kingdom.
Before long, a cluster of magnificent castles came into everyone's view.
Beneath those impressive castles were the large ships that served as their mobile foundations.