At dawn the next day, the triangular-sail sloop finally cleared the Florian Triangle.
By noon, the Red Line—the wall that marks the end of the first half of the Grand Line—came into Karl's crew's view.
That wall is like the edge of the world. At its summit sits the headquarters of the world's largest international organization, ruling these seas and the world for eight hundred years with over 170 member nations: the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
Ten thousand meters beneath that wall lies the gateway that pirates and the poor must pass to reach the New World, the "Undersea Paradise" known as Fish-Man Island.
Between them was this voyage's destination for Karl and company, a place called the "lawless zone," "the island of failure," "the island of setting out again," and "the Celestial Dragons' back garden"—the Sabaody Archipelago.
Not far next door to the Sabaody Archipelago is Marineford, Navy Headquarters, the largest of the three great institutions under Mary Geoise, which maintains order on the seas.
And beyond that lies the strongest sea, ruled by the Four Emperors—the New World.
Who would imagine it: the wall itself like a painted scroll—"noble humans" on its crown, "lesser races" under its heel, "justice" in the left hand, "evil" in the right, and "chaos" looming behind…
"Sabaody's in sight. Head that way and we'll see it soon."
Circling once in the air on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Karl dropped back down and pointed out a bearing.
"Yoshi—full speed ahead."
After slipping free of Thriller Bark, they'd gone days at sea without land in sight.
Through those days, Nami's curiosity about the world-famous Sabaody Archipelago only grew—she wanted to see with her own eyes the archipelago formed by the world's largest red mangroves, so she could draw it onto her world map.
Sabaody Archipelago has 79 islands in total, broadly divided into six zones.
Like a stratified society, Islands 1–29 are the First Zone—the lawless district where human traffickers, bounty hunters, and pirates are most active.
Trades like human trafficking and slave auctions all take place there.
Islands 30–39 form the Second Zone, where Sabaody's residents live and where cash-in-hand merchants focus their investments and development.
Soap Bubble Park, the shopping streets, and commoners' quarters are in this zone.
Tourist areas and specialty shops lie in the Third Zone, Islands 40–49.
The Fourth Zone, Islands 50–59, holds the shipyards and coating shops.
The Fifth Zone, Islands 60–69, is under "justice"—a sector the underworld dares not approach, open only to member nations, licensed merchants, officials from Mary Geoise, and the Navy.
Finally, the Sixth Zone, Islands 70–79, is best known for the hotel district and other areas where outsiders stay while on Sabaody.
"Tsk, tsk… worthy of a world-famous archipelago. This might be the most worthwhile map I've ever bought."
Bringing the sloop into a port island and stepping ashore first, Carina studied a local territory map of Sabaody and sighed.
"So many powerful auras… for the first time my sensing feels tiny," Karl agreed.
If St. Tin Island is among the world's rare super-large islands, then Sabaody is the world's largest archipelago, bar none.
Each of its 79 islands is no smaller than the little islands of the East Blue.
Some even exceed them by far.
At present, Karl's Observation Haki can fully cover a small island, and a bit over half of a medium one.
Which means even at full stretch he can only sense one seventy-ninth of Sabaody's area.
Used to sweeping an island the moment he lands, Karl felt small for the first time.
"Come on—let's find a place to stay, then head to the lawless district and wait for the prey to bite."
Handing the map to Nami, Carina stroked the little dragon in Perona's arms as Karl gave a meaningful smile.
They rented two bubble cars of different styles and drove toward the hotel district in the Sixth Zone.
On the way, things unfolded just as Carina had said.
Eyes the underworld had planted on the port islands to watch newcomers immediately noticed the little dragon in Perona's arms—
and the quartet of a handsome man with three beauties.
In the eyes of those people, they were a walking treasure vault.
If they were sold to the slave auction house, those nobles and bigwigs—the Celestial Dragons—would surely go mad for a legendary dragon or for handsome and beautiful slaves.
They could fetch a sky-high price!
As soon as those spotters sent the news back, many factions in the lawless district were tempted and moved at once.
Little did they know that in front of them lay the gates of hell, ready to swing open at a touch.
Beyond the bounty hunters and slavers, there were two people on Sabaody who set their sights on Karl's group.
To be precise, on Karl alone.
Their identities and histories were astonishing.
One of them stands at the very peak of the world—
the Pirate King's right hand, who bears a title identical in name to one of the Ancient Weapons: the "Dark King," Silvers Rayleigh.