The situation now presented a small problem.
Reverse Mountain was simply far too massive.
In the original manga, the Straw Hats didn't seem to spend much time climbing it, but in reality, this mountain was absurdly huge.
After all, the width of the Red Line was not much smaller than the Grand Line itself.
Even if the section around Reverse Mountain was narrower, it was still large enough to be considered a true continental mass.
Trying to find an island hidden somewhere within such an enormous structure was no easy task.
What made it worse was that the four Road Poneglyphs only recorded four marker points. Not a single extra word of explanation was given.
As if whoever created them firmly believed that anyone who reached this place would naturally know how to locate the final island's entrance.
But standing beneath this towering mountain now, all they felt was complete confusion.
"There should be a passage somewhere under the sea, right?"
Ian voiced his guess.
Strictly speaking, the information given by the four Road Poneglyphs was still useful.
After connecting the four islands on the map, the final point marked wasn't Reverse Mountain itself but a location slightly farther out into the sea.
That should be the exact entrance.
Now that they had arrived, if nothing could be found on the surface, then the entrance could only be beneath the waves.
"Should I send the fish-men to search the seafloor immediately?" Jack asked at once.
Whether the entrance to the final island was in the sky or at the bottom of the sea didn't matter to them.
In the sky, the Winged Dragon carried a large fleet of new-model aircraft.
Underwater, their fish-man units were always ready for deployment.
"No need. That would be too slow."
The intersection point formed by the four islands couldn't possibly line up perfectly with the spot directly beneath them. There would definitely be a considerable margin of error.
In other words, the search would still take time.
But Ian no longer had the patience for that.
His elegant brows lifted, his eyes shifting slightly. Deep within his black irises, a faint red glow flickered.
His Observation Haki burst outward at once.
There was no need to mention his Conqueror's Haki—this power grew naturally alongside one's strength, and Ian's had reached a terrifying level.
Even his Armament Haki, after these six years, had nearly reached the pinnacle of the sea. Even the legendary hero Garp, renowned for his Armament Haki, might not be able to match him now.
The level of his Armament Haki had already reached this point, so it was only natural that his Observation Haki wouldn't be any weaker.
Ian's Observation was more suited for sensing auras, but once its strength had risen to this degree, using it to perceive the environment around him wasn't a problem at all.
That terrifying Haki surged out in an instant and poured straight into the depths of Reverse Mountain.
Forward, forward—continuously forward—until it reached the deepest part of the mountain.
"Hmph."
Ian's lips curled upward. "Found it, didn't I?"
Using Observation Haki to directly locate the Final Island was still difficult—after all, it was unimaginably far.
But finding the hidden path inside Reverse Mountain that led toward it wasn't nearly as hard. According to the map's directions, it should be right around this area.
That was what Ian believed, and that was exactly what he attempted. Now, he had indeed succeeded.
He raised his right hand and pointed toward the mountain wall ahead and to the right. "Down from that spot is the deep-sea canal leading to Laugh Tale."
"I'll go call the coating team right away!"
Jack instinctively turned to run.
"No need for all that trouble."
Ian shook his head. "That would be far too slow."
"Bullet, it's your turn to perform again."
"Hmph."
Bullet snorted lightly. This time, he didn't complain. "Then you'd better point in the right direction!"
His right foot slammed against the deck. His Clank-Clank Fruit powers activated instantly, and in the blink of an eye, a violet radiance enveloped the entire ship.
"Woah!"
Shanks lifted his head in surprise.
The sky above and the sea on both sides were obscured by the purple substance.
So were they inside Bullet's body now? He had long known about Bullet's ability, but experiencing it firsthand like this was still a first.
He had to admit—it felt strangely fascinating.
From the outside, the ship didn't change much, except for the addition of a massive dome of purple material that covered the entire vessel and everyone aboard.
Then, the ship lunged forward, heading straight toward the mountain wall Ian had pointed at moments earlier.
The speed was extraordinary. Even though the ship was made of Queen-grade alloy with incredible durability, crashing head-on into the Red Line should have shattered it instantly.
But when it finally collided with the Red Line, the expected impact never came. Instead, the ship simply merged into the rock.
As though gifted with an earth-phasing technique, the Winged Dragon sailed straight through the interior of the Red Line.
"Woah… it can even do that? Bullet-san really is incredible!"
Tesoro—now the Grand Steward of the Beasts Pirates and Ian's trusted right hand—couldn't help but marvel.
Bullet continuously assimilated the rock and soil ahead, carving out a tunnel for the ship and forcing a path forward through the massive wall of the Red Line.
Just a moment more. That final island… they were finally about to reach it.
Just a moment more, Stella. The time for vengeance was almost here.
Ian's Observation Haki was incredible, almost monstrous, but because it wasn't the right type of ability, he still couldn't read minds. Naturally, he had no idea what Tesoro was thinking.
He was only guiding him forward.
The Winged Dragon did not enter the inner passage of Reverse Mountain, yet it continued advancing along the same route.
It wasn't until now that everyone truly realized it.
"We're almost at Laugh Tale?"
Yamato couldn't help but grab Ian's hand, her voice still drifting as if she were dreaming.
"It should still take a little while," Ian replied. After all, even his Observation Haki couldn't see the end of the passage below.
"But… we're very close."
How far could it really be?
Since they were already on the right path, reaching the final destination was just a matter of time.
"Ian, you're going to be the Pirate King!"
Yamato wrapped herself around his arm, her soft body leaning warmly against him.
"Pirate King?"
Ian chuckled. "I guess I'll try wearing that title for now."
Before becoming King of the World, he might as well use it for a while.
Although, honestly… compared to Emperor of the Sea, why did Pirate King sound a little lower in rank? Forget it—when in Rome, follow the customs.
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