Hmm...
Kai had a nagging feeling that Hancock had completely misunderstood his intentions, but since the final result aligned with his goals anyway, he decided not to dwell on the details.
He scratched his head with mild exasperation and added, "Remember, if the Navy gives you any unrealistic orders or commands that cause you suffering, don't force yourself to comply. At worst, we'll simply relocate everyone. I am your support."
"Kai-sama! You're so good to me!"
Hancock launched herself into Kai's arms again with the enthusiasm of a lovesick teenager, taking a deep breath before her cheeks flushed crimson and her eyes grew dreamy with infatuation.
"Is this Kai-sama's scent? It smells absolutely divine..."
Please stop this infatuated behavior, Hancock!
Kai's eye twitched as he forcibly suppressed the urge to voice his complaints aloud. The woman's romantic delusions were reaching truly impressive heights.
However, the time for farewells had arrived, and duty called from distant waters.
Grand Line, Twin Cape
Three days had passed since leaving Amazon Lily, and Kai found himself considering the delicate balance required to maintain Hancock's cooperation while pursuing his broader goals. Her romantic fantasies provided useful motivation, but they also created potential complications that required careful management.
This iconic location served as the only alternative passage to the Grand Line besides the four turbulent waterways that connected the Four Seas at Reverse Mountain. The Rayquaza's ability to traverse this route was thanks to a certain energetic white-haired girl whose connections proved invaluable.
"Always flying for travel is incredibly boring," Yamato complained with the righteous indignation of someone personally wronged by aerial transportation.
Just as the Rayquaza slowly approached Twin Cape's iconic lighthouse, its beam cutting through the afternoon haze...
"Whaaale..."
A deep, resonant whale call suddenly echoed from the depths below, the sound carrying an almost mournful quality that seemed to vibrate through the ship's hull.
Immediately after, the originally calm seawater beneath their vessel began churning violently, as if some massive force was stirring the ocean floor.
A suffocatingly enormous shadow rapidly expanded beneath them, bringing incomparable pressure as it slowly surfaced from the abyssal depths with the inevitability of a rising mountain.
"Wow, what's that massive thing?"
Yamato and Bonney were immediately captivated, their curiosity overriding caution as they leaned over the ship's rail to peer into the roiling waters below.
The next instant, the ship's entire frame shuddered violently as an irresistible, tremendous force lifted them skyward like a toy boat in a giant's palm.
"Ohhh! What an absolutely huge whale!" both girls exclaimed in perfect unison, their voices filled with awe and excitement.
The giant whale before them truly defied imagination. Its width alone exceeded a hundred meters, while its length reached an astonishing four hundred meters, resembling a floating island that had somehow gained life and consciousness.
Most striking were the dense networks of overlapping scars covering its massive forehead, old wounds layered upon newer ones in a tapestry of ancient pain and stubborn determination.
At this moment, the giant whale noticed the foreign object perched upon its head with obvious displeasure.
Its massive skull suddenly tilted upward with earth-shaking force. Accompanied by tremendous commotion that sent spray flying in all directions, its incomparably huge body twisted violently in an attempt to dislodge the unwelcome passengers.
SPLASH!
The Rayquaza, like a fallen leaf caught in a hurricane's fury, was inevitably flung away by this terrifying display of raw power, spinning through the air with helpless momentum.
"Tch, troublesome."
Kai frowned with mild irritation as his figure instantly vanished from the spot, moving faster than the eye could follow.
In midair, Kai transformed into his massive Rayquaza form, scales catching the sunlight like polished jade as he spread his wings wide.
Two powerful dragon claws extended with precise control, grasping both sides of the rapidly falling ship's rail with the gentleness of a parent catching a stumbling child.
The entire vessel's downward momentum was forcibly arrested, leaving them suspended above the churning sea surface in a display of impossible strength and control.
The giant whale, meanwhile, couldn't be bothered with the small inconvenience above its head. It opened its bottomless maw wide, greedily breathing fresh air while frantically swallowing massive quantities of seawater in its daily feeding ritual.
The sea surface instantly transformed into a huge whirlpool as endless torrents of water, carrying everything unfortunate enough to be floating within range, surged toward the whale's cavernous belly with the inexorable pull of destiny itself.
A certain black-haired young woman sitting calmly on a sea turtle, simply trying to navigate the waters, found herself directly in the path of this aquatic disaster.
"Ah!"
Nico Robin felt an irresistible suction force that seemed to pull at her very soul. The sea turtle beneath her was completely helpless against the overwhelming current, being dragged toward that all-devouring maw despite her desperate attempts to steer away.
No matter how frantically she tried to control their direction, her efforts proved utterly futile against such raw natural power.
"Damn it, did I just happen to arrive during its daily feeding time?"
Robin's face went as pale as bone as she forced herself to remain calm despite the mortal peril, quickly pulling a life jacket from her waterproof pack and securing it with practiced efficiency before desperately hugging the turtle's shell.
Her journey to escape from West Blue to the Grand Line had naturally required extensive contingency planning for exactly these kinds of situations.
The island whale at Twin Cape was widely known as the first major obstacle for anyone attempting to enter the Grand Line through this route.
Once swallowed by the creature, very few ships or people ever managed to escape its belly alive.
But having come this far through countless hardships and narrow escapes, she could only gamble everything on this final desperate chance.
"Do you need help, miss?"
A voice so calm it seemed almost surreal given the circumstances suddenly rang in Robin's ear, cutting through the chaos like a blade through silk.
Robin jerked her head around in shock, her pupils contracting to pinpricks as recognition dawned.
A giant dragon coiled gracefully in mid-air was looking down at her with intelligent eyes that held both power and unexpected gentleness.
Natural Disaster Kai!
"Why would he appear in this place of all locations?"
Robin's mind reeled with the implications, fear and confusion warring in her chest.
Due to the island whale's massive bulk blocking her view, she hadn't noticed the presence of the Rayquaza during her approach to Twin Cape.
Robin unconsciously bit her lower lip as her analytical mind raced through the possibilities, weighing her limited options with the cold calculation that had kept her alive for so many years.
On one side lay the prospect of being swallowed into the whale's belly and facing an uncertain struggle for survival in its digestive system. On the other side waited the possibility of falling into the hands of a notoriously fierce Emperor pirate crew known for their ruthless reputation.
Both paths carried unknown enormous risks that could easily result in her death, making the choice truly agonizing.
After a brief moment of intense consideration, Robin forced what she hoped was a convincing smile despite her dire circumstances.
"Thank you for your kind offer, but it's truly unnecessary."
Robin's refusal wasn't just strategic calculation—years of betrayal had taught her that accepting help always came with hidden costs. Better to face a whale's digestive system than owe favors to pirates whose true intentions remained opaque.
However, the moment Robin finished speaking her refusal, two dragon claws moved with precision that spoke of absolute confidence and control.
One massive claw gently but firmly grasped the surprised Robin, while the other carefully pinched the panicking sea turtle with surprising delicacy for such an enormous appendage.
Immediately afterward, Kai soared gracefully into the clear sky, carrying both person and turtle away from the terrifying whirlpool with the effortless ease of someone plucking flowers from a garden.
"Remember this lesson well... one of the fundamental rules of the sea is that the weak often don't have the luxury of choice."
Kai's playful laughter rang out across the waters, carrying a mixture of amusement and gentle mockery that somehow managed to sound both threatening and oddly reassuring.
Robin's expression instantly became rigid as stone. Was the legendary Natural Disaster truly the type of person who found twisted humor in others' desperate situations?
Even performing good deeds like saving people from certain death apparently required psychological manipulation and mind games.
The sea turtle was gently placed back on the now-calm sea surface by Kai's careful ministrations, while Robin found herself deposited beside Twin Cape's iconic lighthouse with surprising gentleness. Kai transformed smoothly back to his human form and stood beside her, his presence both commanding and strangely comfortable.
"Wow, it's an actual turtle ship!"
Yamato made this discovery with the enthusiasm of someone finding a new continent, excitedly leaping down from the Rayquaza's deck and curiously circling Robin's trembling turtle vessel with boundless energy.
"This is my first time seeing this kind of transportation! It's absolutely fascinating!"
"Hmph, I was wondering why Kai suddenly became so proactive about rushing down to rescue random people..."
Violet crossed her arms with obvious suspicion, her sharp gaze scanning the still-shaken Robin from head to toe with the analytical precision of a veteran investigator.
When she clearly observed the stranger's tall, elegant figure; deep and refined facial features; fair skin that seemed to glow despite obvious hardships; and that unmistakable intellectual aura radiating from her very presence despite her weathered appearance, understanding dawned with crystal clarity.
"Let me guess," she said dryly, "fleeing political intrigue and carrying dangerous secrets?"
The woman's posture spoke of someone accustomed to danger—alert without appearing paranoid, ready to flee or fight with equal ease. Her clothing, while travel-worn, had once been expensive, suggesting a fall from grace rather than lifelong poverty.
"Ah?" Robin blinked in genuine confusion, unconsciously glancing toward Kai with new wariness and speculation.
She could never have imagined that the infamous Natural Disaster Kai actually harbored this particular type of aristocratic collecting obsession.
Upon reflection, this revelation seemed perfectly normal within the context of pirate behavior.
Robin's decade-plus experience struggling to survive in the dark underbelly of the world had long since exposed her to the most twisted and depraved corners of human nature and desire.
She had encountered pirates whose tastes ran to family members in various combinations and those with even deeper, more unspeakable fetishes that made her stomach churn just to recall.
In comparison to such horrors, Kai's apparent preference for noble women seemed refreshingly tame and almost wholesome.
BONK!
A crisp flick landed precisely on Violet's forehead with the sound of a small bell ringing.
"I've told you countless times to stop spreading those ridiculous rumors! It's purely coincidental!" Kai glared at her with obvious irritation, though there was underlying affection in his exasperation.
At this moment, having finished its satisfying meal, the island whale let out a deep, contented call that resonated across the water and slowly began sinking back to the seabed, preparing to resume its eternal vigil and daily routine of waiting, remembering, and hoping against hope.
The afternoon sun painted everything in golden hues as new alliances formed and old legends continued their patient dance with time itself.