"Now this is interesting! If they let us get away so easily, they'd be underestimating the Marines!" He looked around at his new family, his voice as loud as a bell. "If we don't have a ship, we'll go steal one! If there's no path, we'll punch a path out with our fists!"
"What are we lacking now?" Newgate looked at Dolum.
"A... a ship that's sturdy enough, fast enough, and has enough firepower to carry all our dreams!" Dolum answered subconsciously, the soul of a shipwright reignited in his eyes.
"Good!" Newgate slapped his thigh. "Then we'll go steal the best one!" He walked to the center of the group, his gaze sweeping over the mine that Silver had just fished out of the sea. On it was a clear mark—G-1. "The G-1 Branch," Newgate grinned. "I remember that place is one of the Marines' largest logistical supply and shipbuilding R&D bases in the first half of the Grand Line. The so-called 'Arsenal of Justice'."
"We're going there to steal a ship?" Gatz's eyes instantly lit up. Fear and confusion were replaced by a belligerent excitement.
"No," a calm voice sounded, interrupting their discussion. It was Ren. He walked out of the only relatively intact kitchen, holding a tray with a few bowls of steaming hot, plain-looking meat soup and a few pieces of crispy, roasted hardtack. "Time to eat," Ren said, distributing the food to everyone, as if the impending Marine fleet and the sinking ship under their feet had nothing to do with him. "Before a heist, you have to fill your stomach first."
The crew took the food. Although they were anxious, they couldn't help but eat heartily when they smelled the soul-soothing aroma. One bowl of hot soup down, and a warm current spread throughout their bodies, dispelling much of the depression, fatigue, and unease of the past few days.
Ren looked at everyone and said calmly, "The G-1 Branch is too big a target, its defenses are too strong, and it's too far from us. By the time we get there, the Marines' encirclement will have already closed in." He walked to a relatively intact sea chart and drew a circle on it with his finger. It was an island on the edge of the Calm Belt, marked only as dangerous on the chart, with no specific information. "Here. It's an abandoned secret experimental base of the Marines, codenamed 'Storm's Eye'." Ren's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"According to the intelligence I got from the CP0 captive before, the Marines once conducted pressure and extreme environment tests for a new type of warship here. Because of frequent experimental accidents, the base was abandoned. But to cover up some secrets, they didn't take everything with them."
"There, we'll find what we want," Ren's gaze swept over everyone, his tone flat but full of an unquestionable confidence. "A forgotten, experimental warship with self-repairing capabilities, and... enough food supplies to last us until the next supply point."
His words stunned everyone. A chef could not only create miracles with his cooking, but he also possessed top-secret intelligence that even the Marines' top brass might not know. Newgate looked at the unfathomable child before him for a long time before bursting into a sky-shaking laugh. "Gurararara! Good! Good! Good!" He said "good" three times in a row, his eyes filled with appreciation and trust for Ren.
"Alright, boys! Did you hear that?" For the first time, Newgate's voice carried the authority and heroism of a captain. "Our Head Chef has already pointed the way for us!"
"Dolum, reinforce the hull with the remaining planks. We have to hold on until we get there! Gatz, Silver, you're on watch! Ren, the food supply is up to you!"
"Target, Storm's Eye! Let's go!"
"OOOH!"
In a desperate situation, a new hope was ignited. This crew of remnants, this future hegemon's ship, led by a new captain and a mysterious Head Chef, began their first true adventure for a home, toward an unknown sea.
The journey to Storm's Eye was a race against death. The wreckage of the Azure Dragon, under the desperate repairs of Dolum and Gatz, barely managed to stay afloat. But every time a wave crashed against it, it would let out a sickening metallic groan, like a terminally ill old man's last gasp. Dolum's dark circles were blacker than the bottom of a pot. He hadn't slept for two days and two nights. Like a crazed artist, he used every means possible to extend the life of this ship. He even dismantled the door of his own room to patch the largest crack in the ship's bottom. Gatz had become the most hardworking laborer. Wherever reinforcement was needed, he would use his brute strength to press a steel plate into the damaged area, and then have Dolum weld it at the fastest possible speed.
Silver stood on the highest mast like a silent statue. His Observation Haki was pushed to its limit, like an invisible net, capturing every movement within a radius of dozens of nautical miles, helping this dying behemoth avoid all potentially fatal reefs and storms.
And Ren had become the sole pillar of everyone's spirit and stamina on this ship. He used the last of his ingredients, calculating carefully, to prepare the most efficient energy supply for everyone. For the sleepless Dolum, he prepared a concentrated sea beast liver essence soup that could refresh the mind and replenish energy. For the physically exhausted Gatz, he prepared high-protein roasted dried fish. For the mentally focused Silver, he prepared a clear seaweed stew that could nourish the nerves. Every dish was precisely tailored to everyone's needs, allowing them to maintain their best condition in this battle against time.
Finally, at dawn on the fifth day, when the ship's groans had reached their limit and even Dolum was preparing to write his will, Silver's voice came from the mast, calm, but with a hint of relief. "We're here."
Everyone's spirits lifted. They looked ahead. At the junction of the sea and the sky, an island surrounded by a huge, perpetual, circular storm appeared before them. The storm was like a barrier set by a god, completely isolating the island from the outside world. Any ship that tried to approach would be torn to shreds by the terrifying gravity and wind. "Is that... Storm's Eye?" Gatz swallowed, looking at the cataclysmic scene. "How... how are we going to get in?"
"Leave it to me," Newgate said, walking to the bow. He took a deep breath, and his fists were covered in an unprecedented, almost tangible, white halo. "Gurararara! Open... for me!" He punched out with both fists, viciously striking the indestructible storm wall. "Quake Emperor: Heaven-Splitter!"
Two extremely condensed shockwaves, not as a spreading impact, but like two invisible, sky-opening giant axes, viciously chopped at the storm barrier! BOOM! A roar that seemed to want to shatter the world echoed. The terrifying storm, which could even bend light, was forcibly torn open by Newgate's world-destroying blow, creating a huge channel several thousand meters long and about a hundred meters wide!
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