The World Government would never admit to its failures—especially not a failure that occurred even after deploying the God's Knights. That was also why they only raised their flag upon reaching the waters near Sleeping Island.
The God's Knights had always been known for their mystery. As for glory, it only needed to be recognized within the Celestial Dragons; they had no need for praise from the outside world.
Because of this, very few people outside knew how powerful the God's Knights truly were. In fact, most people didn't even know such an organization existed.
Sleeping Island made no announcements, and the World Government would never acknowledge defeat, so hardly anyone knew that the island had just gone through a grave crisis.
Even the island's residents themselves were unaware of the full extent of it. They only knew that enemies had arrived—and not long after, those enemies had vanished.
The frozen harbor and sea surface silently told the story of what had once happened here.
"This is terrifying… Is this Vane-sama's strength? It feels like the entire sea has been frozen solid."
There were no tall buildings at the dock. From ground level, the five-kilometer stretch of frozen sea looked like the entire ocean itself—especially with the cold air stirring up waves of white mist that obscured the view.
"Vane-sama said this ice won't melt for at least a day and a half."
"A day and a half? Then our ships won't be able to leave, right?"
At the moment, there were transfer ships from the Shipping King docked on the island. They had planned to set sail today, and a delay of a day and a half would be quite a setback.
"No problem. That's when we step in."
The onlookers at the dock automatically parted, making way as four massive figures strode through the crowd.
They were Dice, Tant, Burgess, and Bonez.
Aside from those with Giant bloodlines, the four of them now had the most imposing physiques in the crew.
Especially Burgess—after eating the Ankylosaurus Fruit, his body had developed at an astonishing pace.
"Watch the might of the Ankylosaurus!"
Burgess activated his Fruit ability. His already muscular body swelled even further, expanding to a towering ten meters—about the size of Queen or King in their beast forms.
In his full beast form, Burgess leapt high into the air and plunged into the bay in an outrageously flamboyant pose.
Boom!
Cracks spread rapidly across the frozen bay. That was right—today, the four of them were serving as human-shaped icebreakers, carving a path through the ice for the ships inside the harbor.
"It's been so long since I stretched my muscles, and my first mission is smashing ice."
Tant also transformed into a Lion-Man. Compared to a dinosaur, a lion's build seemed somewhat smaller.
Tant's development focused mainly on unleashing lion-shaped slashing attacks with his claws, as well as using Seimei Kikan to manipulate his lion mane for combat.
Instead of decreasing, the crowd at the dock only grew larger. Some who had thought the frozen harbor was nothing special returned upon hearing that officers of the Rocket Team were putting on an ice-smashing performance.
"Set off. Our task is to keep an eye on them and make sure no one falls into the sea."
Once the bay had been smashed open enough, the smallest ship in the harbor set sail. On board were Bear Guard members who had eaten the Mastiff Model Fruit, along with a group of children and half-grown youths.
They were all from the training camp. The Bear Guard had brought them out for support duties—and to give them some hands-on practice steering a ship.
Of course, there were also the troublemakers Perona and Sugar. The two of them held rather special positions within the Rocket Team. They didn't participate in physical training, focusing entirely on developing their Fruit abilities.
And neither had a particularly calm temperament—they were constantly playing pranks.
They were the witches of the crew.
"Starboard side—watch out for floating ice. Steer clear."
Kaku stood at the bow, directing operations. Vane had already begun grooming him to command independently one day. The youths from his batch would become his capable subordinates.
"Sugar, that ice block's too big. We need your ability to move it."
The navigable space was still narrow. There wasn't enough room to dodge the ice, so this was where ability users came in.
Sugar was the most suitable. Her Warp-Warp Fruit allowed her to instantly relocate ice chunks within the limits of her power.
Helping to clear the path, Sugar lifted her chin proudly.
"This is what a truly great ability looks like. Unlike someone who can only control those flimsy little ghosts."
Even though the crew now had many children—boys and girls alike—Sugar and Perona still bickered constantly. They had even each gathered a group of girls to compete daily, and no one could suppress them.
At first, Vane had worried that divisions might form within the crew. But after observing a few times, he realized it was just the usual rivalry between young girls—comparing makeup, popularity, and the like.
Only the two of them took it seriously. The other girls who followed them had an air of simply going along for the ride.
After all, most of them were rescued slaves. They were far more mature than the two of them.
In truth, Sugar and Perona were the least mature ones. Everyone else was just indulging their childish games.
"Don't get so cocky! I'll show you the power of this princess!"
As her most familiar rival, Perona knew Sugar would never miss a chance to compete. She, too, had further developed her ghost abilities.
Perona controlled a large ghost, splitting it into numerous smaller ones. The little ghosts flew out and latched onto the ice block.
Boom!
One by one, the small ghosts exploded. Though each blast wasn't particularly strong, together they shattered the floating ice into smaller fragments that no longer threatened the ship.
"See that? This is my latest development. From now on, my ghosts won't just make you kneel in despair—they'll let you truly experience the power of explosions."
A Bear Guard member spoke up in reminder.
"Miss Perona, bombs are not to be aimed at your own companions."
Vane allowed competition, sparring, and rivalry within the crew—but he absolutely forbade causing real harm to one another.
"I know. I was just scaring her."
"Scare me? I'm a teleporting person. With your slow, sluggish ability, you wouldn't even catch me unless you ambushed me."
"Pah! I'm a ghost person! Ghosts are supposed to appear and vanish without a trace. How is that an ambush?"
The two started arguing again.
Kaku didn't bother intervening. Someone more suitable had arrived to deal with the ice.
"The seawater is freezing."
"Those who can handle cold water, stay. The rest, don't force yourselves."
The Fish-Man had come to help. Tropical Fish-Man and those lacking strength couldn't endure the icy waters. Only cold-water species and the stronger ones dove in.
"I'll help too!"
The sea churned. With enough space to move, Wadatsumi's enormous body rose to the surface. With his assistance, a sufficiently wide sea route was quickly cleared.