The noon sunlight spread across the blue sea.
The Storm Reaper had its sails fully raised. Riding the strong southeast trade winds, it moved fast across the water, leaving a long white trail behind it.
On the wide deck, Aiden wore a loose floral shirt and sunglasses. He lay comfortably on a custom beach chair, enjoying the sun.
"Ah... this is the life."
Aiden chewed on a straw and let out a satisfied sigh.
Ever since he arrived in this pirate world, starting from the execution platform in Loguetown that afternoon, he had never felt this relaxed.
Very few people on this sea could threaten him now. At the same time, he no longer had heavy military duties weighing him down.
Whether those past duties were actually heavy or not did not matter. They were completely gone now.
This kind of freedom was what he had always wanted.
The sea, the sun, and the upcoming adventure.
Not far beside him stood a folding table covered in documents. The newly appointed logistics officer, Lieutenant Commander Kane, was sweating heavily as he sorted through a pile of the latest bounty posters.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead while constantly trying to secure the papers rustling in the sea breeze. He looked a bit flustered.
"Kane."
Aiden spoke without getting up.
"Here, Sir!"
Kane straightened his back by reflex. He almost dropped the bounty posters all over the floor.
Aiden just looked at the blue sky through his sunglasses and asked casually,
"Who are this year's Supernovas?"
"Super... novas?"
Kane stopped sorting the papers.
"What... is that? A code name for a new type of cannonball? Or a new combat plan drafted by Headquarters?"
Aiden paused for a moment before realizing the problem.
"Nothing, just a metaphor."
Aiden waved his hand and changed his wording.
"I mean, are there any violent rookie pirates making a scene on the sea this year?"
"Oh, oh! You mean that!"
Kane understood immediately. He quickly lowered his head and flipped through the pile of bounty posters with his fingers. He reported them one by one.
"Yes, yes! Although there hasn't been any major chaos this year, a few tricky guys have popped up."
He pulled out a bounty poster. It showed a large man holding a giant axe.
"'Red Wake' Balru from the West Blue. Bounty: 120 million Berries. He is not just violent. He wiped out two towns in the West Blue and left almost no survivors. Women, children, old people... he did not care. The Marines who found the place said the streets were still burning."
Then came the second poster.
"'Broadside' Jackson from the South Blue. Bounty: 110 million Berries. He modifies ship cannons himself. His ship carries more guns than a normal pirate vessel, and he already sank two Branch warships by hitting them before they could get close."
"And this one..."
Kane pulled out another poster showing a heavily made-up woman.
"'Falseface' Lynn. Bounty: 105 million Berries. Suspected Devil Fruit user. She has slipped away from Headquarters warships several times, and every report says she looked like a different person when she escaped."
Aiden took the posters, glanced at them casually, and tossed them back onto the table without interest.
Just as he thought, they were names he had never heard before.
If he ran into them at the Sabaody Archipelago, he would deal with them along the way.
"Is that it?"
He yawned and leaned back in his chair.
"These small-time guys are too boring."
Aiden curled his lips.
The strong figures on the sea had either already claimed their territories and ruled like Whitebeard, Linlin, and Kaido, or they were still growing like Red-Haired Shanks.
It seemed there really were not any powerful rookies around these years.
"True, in your case, these people really aren't much."
Kane chuckled awkwardly and quietly put the bounty posters away.
His commanding officer was a ruthless man who had just clashed head-on with two Admiral candidates. These small pirates with a mere 100 million bounty definitely would not interest him.
"By the way."
Aiden seemed to suddenly remember something. He sat up straight and looked toward the place where the sea met the sky.
"Has Marine Intelligence reported any movements on Dark King Silvers Rayleigh lately?"
"Who?!"
Kane's hands shook. The papers he had just organized scattered all over the floor with a clatter.
He did not bother picking them up. He froze for a second, then quickly checked the deck before answering.
"Ray... Rayleigh? The Pirate King's vice-captain?!"
"What? Can't even say his name?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"N-No."
Kane swallowed hard, his face turning pale.
"It's just that... since the Roger Pirates disbanded, his crew members seemed to disappear completely. Most of their whereabouts are unknown."
"There are rumors that they returned to their hometowns to live in seclusion, or that they died in turf wars in the New World. In short, the Marine files on Dark King Rayleigh's whereabouts are completely blank."
Kane carefully asked,
"Sir, why are you asking about this so suddenly?"
Aiden did not answer. He just tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.
Based on the timeline, that old man should be living in seclusion with Shakky at the Sabaody Archipelago right now. The lack of an official record might be because he was hiding in the most obvious place, and no one had bothered to look properly.
For this trip to the New World, Aiden planned to take the Fish-Man Island route to avoid being ambushed by the World Government at the Red Line.
To go to Fish-Man Island, the ship had to be coated to dive ten thousand meters deep into the sea.
This was a technical job, and a deadly one at that.
Both he and Issho were Devil Fruit users. They feared nothing on land. But once in the sea, if something went wrong with the coating under that ten-thousand-meter sea pressure, they would just be two sinking stones with no way to be saved.
Aiden did not trust ordinary coating mechanics.
Aiden would only feel safe if the legendary Rayleigh did the coating himself. Even though Rayleigh was a pirate, his craftsmanship and reputation were beyond question.
Actually, with the Storm Reaper's electric drive system, which rivaled Vegapunk's advanced technology, plus Aiden's strength, they could easily cross the Calm Belt and head straight into the New World.
That would not only be fast, but it would also avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble.
But...
Since he came to this world, if he did not visit Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters deep in the sea or see the legendary undersea Ryugu Palace, would this trip not be a waste?
For Aiden, seeing the sky and the deep sea was part of the adventure.
"Nothing, I just want to find a reliable mechanic."
Aiden explained casually.
Kane was completely confused. He did not understand why finding a mechanic meant asking about the whereabouts of the legendary Dark King.
Did the Dark King change careers to do coating?
But he had done his homework before boarding the ship, so he immediately showed his professional competence.
"If it's for coating, I specifically looked into it before we set sail. Groves 1 to 29 of the Sabaody Archipelago are human trafficking and lawless zones. Although chaotic, there are many highly skilled underground mechanics there. Besides that, the shipyards in Groves 50 to 59 also have a few officially certified masters with very good skills."
Aiden nodded. He did not explain further and just replied simply,
"Got it."
Kane decided not to think too hard about it and went back to the bounty posters.
After lunch, the wind on the sea gradually weakened.
On the mainmast, the giant Marine seagull flag hung limply. Clearly, the wind was not strong enough right now.
Aiden walked around the deck. He looked impatiently at the calm sea and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest.
"Perfect. Since I'm free anyway, I'll go study how to use the advanced technology Tom designed."
He stood up and turned to Kane, who was still organizing sea charts, and shouted,
"Kane! Tell everyone to grab the handrails! It might get a bit bumpy soon!"
"Bumpy? Sir, there's no wind right now..."
"Just do it."
Aiden smiled mysteriously and turned to head deep into the cabin.
The engine room.
He pushed open the heavy lead door. A giant spherical Lightning Engine Core took up the center of the room. Dense copper coils covered the sphere and connected to the complex transmission gears around it.
Since this system was installed, it had not been run yet.
Aiden did not rush to operate it. Instead, he put his hands behind his back and walked two laps around this huge, rough-looking machine, like a curious tourist.
"The craftsmanship is fine, but how do I... start this thing?"
He looked around the control panel but did not see any start or ignition buttons. There was only a large crystal slot engraved with a lightning pattern.
Aiden scratched his head. He pulled the design blueprints from his system's storage space and flipped through them with a rustle.
It was bad enough before looking, but looking at them made him even dizzier.
They were packed with complex circuit diagrams and transmission formulas. Maybe he could have understood a little back in his past life during high school.
But for the current Aiden, they were practically a foreign language.
"...Forget it."
After looking for a while and understanding nothing, Aiden firmly closed the blueprints and tossed them aside.
"I'll learn by trying."
"Since it's electrically driven, pouring electricity into it should work, right?"
He walked up to the power core and focused on the giant crystal with the lightning pattern at the center. That should be the only energy input port.
Aiden stood in front of the giant cylindrical device, took a deep breath, and pressed his right hand onto the core conductive crystal.
Bzzzt!
Blue-white electrical currents surged out from his arm.
Hum!!!
The silent sphere lit up instantly.
Electric arcs ran through the coils. A deep hum filled the engine room.
But he clearly underestimated the conversion efficiency of Tom's advanced technology.
Rumble—
The giant gears began to bite and spin. Their rotational speed hit the maximum in an instant.
Outside the Storm Reaper.
The rows of shark-gill-like vents on both sides of the hull suddenly blasted out scorching white steam.
At the same time, underwater at the stern, four sets of massive turbine thrusters erupted with great force, driven by the electrical current.
Boom—!!!
The Storm Reaper, originally sitting still on the sea, let out an ear-piercing metallic rumble.
The huge bow suddenly lifted up, forming an almost forty-five-degree angle with the sea.
The entire ship surged forward too fast for a normal warship. The stern shot out a wave of water dozens of meters high as it shot forward across the surface of the sea.
"Waaaaah!!"
On the deck, Kane and the unprepared Marines were instantly thrown off balance by the massive momentum.
Some slammed into the railings, and others desperately hugged the mast. Kane's face turned completely green as he stayed glued to the deck, feeling like his internal organs were going to be flung out.
"What... what kind of crazy speed is this?!"
The surrounding scenery turned into blurry lines. A deep trench was plowed into the once-calm sea.
How was this a ship?
It was tearing across the sea.
But a problem soon followed.
The speed was too high, making the ship's impact with the waves extremely violent.
"Oops, I used too much power..."
In the engine room, Aiden also noticed something was wrong and got ready to pull back the electricity.
Right then.
Hum—
A purple halo suddenly rippled out from the deck.
"Oh my... this is really too reckless."
Issho sighed amid the chaos.
He slowly drew his sword cane and lightly tapped the deck.
Invisible ripples of gravity instantly covered the entire Storm Reaper.
The effect was immediate.
The raised bow slammed heavily back onto the sea, splashing water into the air.
The out-of-control bumpiness vanished instantly.
The ship became steady again, even while speeding madly.
The ship leveled out, but the speed did not drop.
The Storm Reaper shot across the water at full speed, tearing a long white trench across the sea and pushing the water on both sides into walls dozens of meters high.
At that speed, it was almost flying over the water.
After a period of wild speeding, night fell.
After an afternoon of testing, Aiden was completely satisfied with the Storm Reaper's performance.
At this speed, a voyage that originally took half a month would now take three days at most to reach the Sabaody Archipelago, if Aiden wanted.
The sea breeze was cool, and the stars were bright.
On the deck, the exhausted Marines had already returned to their cabins to rest.
Aiden sat cross-legged at the bow, holding a bottle of red wine. He looked at the sea ahead but held off on taking a sip.
He was thinking.
He was thinking about what he should do after reaching the New World.
Before, it had seemed like getting there would take a while. But now, if he wanted, he could report to the G-5 Branch next week.
Vice Admiral Tsuru had not assigned him any specific missions. Without concrete orders, this sudden freedom left him unsure what to do next.
Follow the routine of catching pirates just to gather Sin Points?
That seemed a bit too boring.
Since he had already shaken the World Government, could he make a bigger move?
Just as Aiden's thoughts churned, footsteps approached from behind.
Issho walked over slowly with his sword cane and sat down beside him.
"You seem restless."
Even though Issho was not blind in this world, his ability to read people had not dulled.
"Is something on your mind?"
"Nothing."
Aiden snapped back to reality and smiled. He tilted his head back, took a big gulp of wine, and handed the bottle to Issho.
"I was just thinking, since the higher-ups didn't assign me any missions, maybe my plans in the New World can be a bit crazier."
Issho took the bottle, drank a large gulp, and let out a refreshing sigh.
"Crazy, huh... Hehe. From the moment you killed that Celestial Dragon, I knew that following you wouldn't mean a peaceful life."
Aiden could not quite remember when Issho had stopped calling him by distant titles.
"What? Regretting it?" Aiden joked.
"No."
Issho shook his head and looked at the dark sea in the distance.
"You act recklessly, but it is always for people who cannot protect themselves."
"Whether it was the Blacksteel Empire, Water 7, or the innocent people you saved."
"This sea is sick, and it's very sick."
Issho rubbed the hilt of his sword cane lightly with his fingers.
"To cure a disease like this, gentle medicine is not enough. Sometimes, strong medicine is needed... someone like you."
"Strong medicine, huh..."
Aiden smiled and stood up. He looked at the pitch-black sea ahead, ready to reply to Issho.
Suddenly.
Aiden stopped.
Beyond the wind and waves, he heard something wrong.
He heard fear—screams, crying, and the sound of chains.
"Phew..."
Aiden slowly exhaled and turned his head to look at Issho beside him.
"You noticed the disturbance in that direction too, right?"
Issho turned his head. Though he had his eyesight, he seemed more used to listening to the world's sounds with his ears. He frowned slightly and listened closely for a moment before shaking his head with hesitation.
"I am ashamed."
Issho put the bottle down and sighed lightly.
"Although my Observation Haki can sense the good and evil in people's hearts, its range is limited. The wind from that direction seems mixed with some unpleasant sounds, but I can't hear them clearly."
At this point, Issho faced Aiden again.
"It seems your Observation Haki far exceeds mine."
"Can't hear clearly..."
Aiden stood up, focused on that direction.
"I heard fear and despair over there."
They were crying because they had no way to fight back.
"Kane!!"
Aiden shouted across the ship.
Kane, who was organizing sea charts in the cabin, jolted in fright. He hurried up to the deck, stood at attention, and saluted.
"Here, Sir! What happened?!"
"Adjust the course!"
Aiden pointed to the dark sea to the northeast and gave the order.
"Target: thirty degrees northeast. Approach at full speed!"
Kane froze and instinctively glanced in that direction.
"Sir, that deviates from the route to the Sabaody Archipelago..."
"Cut the crap! Move!"
Aiden did not explain. He turned around and headed for the engine room.
"Yes, Sir!!"
Kane broke out in a cold sweat. Seeing Aiden's face, he stopped asking questions and rushed to the helmsman's post to shout the order to turn.
Before entering the engine room, Aiden stopped and turned to Issho.
"Mr. Issho, I might have to bother you for a bit."
Aiden rolled his wrists.
"I'm going to test the limits of this ship. It might get a little bumpy."
Hearing this, Issho gently pressed his palm against the hilt of his sword cane and nodded.
"Go ahead and try it out."
"Leave the rest to me."
"Good!"
Aiden grinned and pushed the door open.
Hum—!!!
A deep hum ran through the keel of the Storm Reaper, shaking the surrounding seawater.
The rune conduits on both sides of the hull instantly lit up with bright blue light.
The thrusters below the stern violently blasted out surging high-pressure water, tearing a giant white mark across the calm sea.
...
The waves slapped against the ship's planks, making dull thuds.
This was a large slave ship called the Black Mary.
Inside the bottom holding cell, the air smelled of mold, sweat, and waste. Dim oil lamps hung on the beams, casting twisted shadows as the ship swayed.
A giant iron cage sat along the sides of the narrow, dark aisle. Like a cargo hold moving livestock for slaughter, the cage was stuffed with captives treated as "goods."
They huddled on moldy straw, covered in new and old whip marks. The lingering stench of rot and waste in the air was suffocating.
In a relatively clean corner of the cage, three thin girls huddled tightly together.
The oldest girl looked to be about eight or nine. She had ink-black long hair with straight hime-cut bangs in the front. The hair hanging by her temples made her small face look even paler.
Even at that age, there was a stubborn pride in the way she held her sisters.
Boa Hancock.
Right now, she was holding her two younger sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold, tightly in her arms.
"Sister... I'm scared..."
The youngest, Marigold, was only a few years old. She gripped her sister's hem tightly, crying so hard her small body shook.
The other sister, Sandersonia, was also shaking, but she tried hard not to cry out loud to avoid drawing the vicious guards over.
"Don't be scared."
Hancock bit her pale lip. Even though her own body was trembling slightly, she still used her thin arms to hug her sisters tightly, trying to give them a little warmth.
"I'm here. I'll protect you."
They were originally just following the Kuja Pirates out to sea to see the world. But they were too curious about the outside. While the ship was docked for supplies, the three little girls snuck out.
Who knew that the moment they left the adults' sight, they would be attacked by despicable human traffickers and knocked out with drugs. By the time they woke up, they were already in this hell.
"We'll be fine... the Kuja Pirates will come save us..."
Hancock bit her lip so hard she could taste blood, but she ignored it.
She actually did not even believe her own words. Out on this isolated sea, who would come save them?
Beside them, a chained woman weakly lifted her head and spoke with pity.
"Save your strength. Once you're on this ship, there's no hope of rescue."
"This ship is going to that place called Mary Geoise... That is the land of the Celestial Dragons. We will all become slaves to the Celestial Dragons."
"Celestial Dragons..."
Hearing this term, Hancock's body shook involuntarily.
In the legends of Amazon Lily, those were demons far more terrifying than Sea Kings.
Right next to them sat a giant clear water tank.
Curled up inside the tank was a mermaid girl with pink scales.
She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen, with long hair drifting in the water and a frightened young face.
She was the only one here not bound by chains. After all, to those noble lords, only an undamaged mermaid could sell for an absurd price. Any chafe marks would greatly lower her value.
Yet even without chains, the thick glass and a weakening drug mixed into the water took away all her ability to fight back.
She could only press her hands to the glass and watch the crying children outside the tank, unable to do anything for them.
Before this, she had always lived under the protection of Fish-Man Island. She had heard adults say the surface world was terrifying, but she never imagined that "terrifying" meant this kind of cruelty—treating fellow beings like cargo.
Clang!
A loud noise came from overhead. It sounded like someone stomping or moving wine barrels on the upper deck.
The vibration made dust fall from the ceiling onto the girls' hair.
The entire cabin fell silent again, with only the sound of waves hitting the planks.
In the dark hold, no one spoke.
Compared to the hell at the bottom, the captain's cabin on the upper level looked like another world.
Expensive Persian rugs covered the floor. The crystal chandelier gave off a warm yellow glow, and the air carried the smell of roast meat and strong liquor.
A bearded captain with a scarred face and hands covered in gold rings sat cross-legged on a leather sofa, swirling half a glass of red wine.
Across from him was a sleazy first mate with a rat-like mustache.
"Captain, we really struck it rich this time!"
The first mate cut a piece of dripping roast meat, shoved it in his mouth, and mumbled excitedly.
"That pink mermaid is rare merchandise! Plus those three rare catches from Amazon Lily... especially the older one. The nobles will pay a disgusting amount for a rare Kuja child."
"If we send this batch straight to Mary Geoise, those Celestial Dragons will reward us handsomely!"
"Hmph, naturally."
The captain took a sip of wine and smiled.
"I've been on the sea for years, and my judgment isn't just for show. After finishing this run, we won't have to worry for the rest of our lives."
"But we have to move fast."
The captain set his glass down.
"Those women from Amazon Lily aren't to be messed with. If they find out we did this, we'll all end up as Sea King food. So..."
"Once this job is done, we wash our hands of this business. We'll take the Celestial Dragons' reward and live the good life."
"Yes, yes, Captain, you're brilliant!" the first mate said quickly, forcing a smile. "With the Celestial Dragons' reward, we can live however we want for the rest of our lives!"
They clinked their glasses and laughed.
After a few rounds of drinks, the topic naturally shifted to the hottest recent news on the sea.
The first mate pointed to a newspaper from a few days ago on the table and mocked,
"Speaking of which, that Marine Rear Admiral named Aiden has been causing quite a stir lately. I heard he actually killed a Celestial Dragon in the Kalga Kingdom?"
"Tch, what a fool."
The captain scoffed. He swept the newspaper onto the floor and even stepped on it in disgust.
"Killing Golden Lion at such a young age and becoming a Rear Admiral—he had a bright future ahead. And the result? He just had to anger the Celestial Dragons for a few lowly commoners."
"Now look, he's locked up in Impel Down. His life is over. That's what you call not knowing your place."
The captain leaned back on the sofa and lectured him.
"To survive on this sea, the most important thing is having good judgment."
"What's the use of being strong? Strength alone means nothing. Status is what matters."
He pointed upward at the flag hanging on the mast, which represented the World Government's special franchise right.
"Only by serving the Celestial Dragons obediently can we live comfortably and make tons of money."
"Even if the Marines see this flag, they have to show us some respect and steer clear!"
"Yes, yes, Captain, you're brilliant!" the first mate quickly agreed.
"Hahahaha!"
The captain laughed smugly.
Just as they were wrapped up in their fantasies of sudden wealth and their mockery of a "loser."
Beep—beep—beep—
The Den Den Mushi on the table suddenly rang rapidly.
Then, the lookout shouted through it.
"Cap... Captain! This is bad!!!"
"Behind us... right behind us! A weird ship is approaching us at high speed!!"
The captain jumped in fright, spilling red wine on the rug.
He impatiently grabbed the Den Den Mushi, frowned, and yelled,
"What are you panicking for! You country bumpkin!"
"We have the World Government's special franchise flag on our mast! Who would dare touch us?"
"Even a Marine Headquarters warship has to step aside when they see this flag!"
The captain picked up his glass again and asked slowly,
"How far are they?"
The other end of the line went silent for a second.
Then, the lookout answered while shaking.
"3..."
"3 nautical miles?"
The captain cut him off, his face full of disdain.
"Why are you screaming over 3 nautical miles? It's probably just a passing merchant ship or some blind pirate ship. Turn on the spotlight! Light up the World Government flag!"
After speaking, he poured another glass of wine and said to the first mate,
"Probably some lost little pirate or a passing merchant ship. Once they see our flag, they wouldn't dare even if they had a hundred times the guts..."
"No... that's not it!!"
The lookout screamed again.
This time, he was sobbing.
"2...!!!"
"What?"
The captain froze, his wine glass hovering in the air.
"What 2? Do you know how to count or not? You just said 3 nautical miles. How far away are they? Look clearly!"
He wanted to curse out of anger.
However.
Before he could let out a single curse.
"1...!!!"
The lookout could barely speak.
At almost the exact same time.
Hum—
A deep mechanical rumble suddenly blasted from behind the stern.
It shook the wine bottles on the table.
The pressure hit them before the ship did.
"What... what is that sound?!"
The captain and the first mate went pale. The sound sobered them up halfway.
Without time to think, the two scrambled out of the cabin and rushed to the rear deck.
They looked up toward the sound.
The next second.
They froze.
It was a sight they had never seen in their lives.
Under the moonlight, the black sea split open behind them.
A silver-gray steel battleship was speeding toward them. The waves it parted were higher than the slave ship's mast, carrying mist all over the sky.
It grew larger with impossible speed.
It was too fast.
At that moment, the lookout leaning in the crow's nest finally lost all strength. He collapsed to the floor and desperately finished his earlier sentence with a sob.
"Captain..."
"They're... already here!!!"
The massive reaper figurehead with its lightning-shaped scythe rushed into view, blocking out the moonlight above.