At the moment of parting, a light breeze brushed across the coast.
Ginny's eyes were slightly red, and Kuma waved in silence. Shanks and Shamrock initially tried to act tough and composed, but as the small boat truly left the pier and the familiar church and loved ones grew smaller, they couldn't help but tear up. Stubbornly, they turned their backs and rowed the oars with all their might.
"Don't worry. If I have time, I'll bring them back to visit you," Beltz said in farewell as he officially set out to sea with the two boys.
Since he had to wait for news from Liltotto, he was in no hurry; he could wait anywhere. As for how Liltotto would send him a message after finding Alber, that was simple. Soul Reapers have various strange techniques called "Kido," and their Quincy counterparts naturally have their own spells, known as Kirchenlied.
Among the Kirchenlied are many techniques with diverse functions, including the ability to transmit messages. Liltotto was a genius; not only did she train her Schrift abilities to an extremely powerful level shortly after obtaining them, but before becoming a Sternritter, her basic abilities were also top-tier. Among the Bambies, she was stronger than the others in every aspect.
Kirchenlied were no exception. Especially since there were only two Quincies in this world, it wasn't difficult for Liltotto to lock onto Beltz's location. Although it might take a few days for the message to travel, it was relatively fast.
Thus, he decided to travel from the South Blue to the Grand Line, and then head to Sky Island to claim the treasure. This was Beltz's first time truly "sailing" the sea. Previously, he had either been flying in the sky or riding on Shiki's ship. Now, he was on a small boat with only three people, two of whom were mere brats.
On the whole, it was quite comfortable for him; after all, the children did the rowing. He lay on the deck, comfortably enjoying the moonlight. While time was indeed tight, he couldn't keep himself in a constant state of high tension, as that would fry his brain; proper rest was necessary.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. It could only be said that this was the "Minor Pirate Era" before the Great Pirate Era; there weren't that many pirates yet. So far, they had only encountered one pirate crew, and they were pathetically weak.
Roger's final shout before death would make people go mad and rush to the sea, causing the number of pirates to grow exponentially and shifting the balance between the Navy and pirates. In the past, pirates would run at the sight of the Navy—even Whitebeard was no exception. But in the Great Pirate Era, the Navy would act like they'd seen their own father when they encountered a Yonko; not only would they stand at attention, but even if a Yonko killed their men, they couldn't fight back without orders from Navy Headquarters.
That's why they say that among tens of millions of Navy soldiers, you can't find a handful with Conqueror's Haki. In a group like that, it would be a miracle to have it.
"Captain! Look!"
While Beltz was enjoying a sunbath, Shanks' excited voice rang out. He held a newspaper and said, "Look, it seems Shiki had a fight with the Navy!"
Since they were now at sea, Beltz had the two call him "Captain." As for the name of their pirate crew... it was the Star Pirates!
"That idiot..."
Beltz took the newspaper and glanced at it. It reported that Shiki had raided a certain World Government laboratory and fought a major battle with the Navy stationed there. The Navy soldiers were all killed, and Shiki had made off with the researchers and various research facilities.
In truth, Shiki did need various scientists because he wanted to research a massive energy source to power Pluton. But with this kind of forced abduction, how could anyone be willing to research for him? These scientists were respected figures within the World Government, but under Shiki, they became low-class research slaves; that reversal was hard to accept.
Overall, however, he was likely raiding the World Government specifically to find the Lunarian race. The cost of doing so was a significant increase in Shiki's bounty, and the Navy had launched a large-scale manhunt. After all, this was still the Minor Pirate Era; the Navy's power on the sea was at its peak, and they did not allow Shiki to challenge their authority.
Hmm... it seemed the Giant King was also helping the Navy work. If Shiki were cornered by the likes of the Giant King, Garp, and Sengoku, it would be disastrous. Of course, it wouldn't come to that. Shiki's ability was what it was; forget these three—even if you added Roger and Whitebeard, Shiki could still escape.
The Float-Float Fruit was too cheap; in terms of flight, it was even more annoying than the Azure Dragon. After all, when Beltz flew in his Azure Dragon form, his size made him a massive target. Shiki not only could fly himself but could even manipulate seawater, which was truly broken. So, while people say Haki determines everything and only Haki can transcend all, Haki alone is not enough.
Beltz was about to put the newspaper down when he saw a piece of news that caught his eye.
"Eh?" Beltz frowned slightly, a serious look appearing in his eyes.
Seeing Beltz like this, Shanks was puzzled and asked, "What is it?"
"Harald has gone to the Holy Land."
"Who is Harald?" The red-haired brothers looked at each other, never having heard the name.
"Of course you haven't," Beltz glanced at them and said, "He is a very troublesome person."
It seemed the message he had Liltotto deliver had changed history. Although he hadn't seen the latter part of the God Valley memories, he could guess that Harald shouldn't have entered the Holy Land this early. But because he had Liltotto say they were planning to recruit the Giant Kingdom, the World Government had become cautious. They were in desperate need of combat power, so they recruited the Giant King earlier.
Now... Loki hasn't even grown up yet.
This was partially due to Liltotto, but not entirely. Ever since they learned that the "Great Kingdom" still existed, the World Government believed the great war was coming. Thus, they began constantly absorbing combat power. Even though the Great Pirate Era hadn't arrived, they had already begun conscription.
Their recruitment of Harald was even more so. Originally, they planned to spend over a decade wearing down Harald's spirit to domesticate him into the sharpest sword of the Celestial Dragons. But because of the existence of the Great Kingdom, they changed their minds. They had planned to let Harald become a "Shallows Knight" in two years and become a "Depths Knight" when the time was right. If that happened, Elbaf would be under their control.
This was a series of chain reactions caused by Beltz's actions. In other words, history would not necessarily follow the script of the manga; any tiny action could change the course of time. For example, if Shiki now traps Oden in Wano, Roger might never meet someone who can read the Ancient Text and thus never find the One Piece.
But history has a certain corrective force alongside its inertia, so no one can say for sure what the future holds. At the very least, history had changed significantly now. First, Harald became a Knight of God twenty years early, meaning the time he would become a Depths Knight would also be moved forward significantly.
In Elbaf, once Harald turns dark, would a younger Loki have the ability to stop him? If Loki couldn't stop Harald, then Elbaf might fall entirely into Imu's hands, drastically increasing the World Government's combat power. Harald would then be able to fight Rocks for three hundred rounds—not to mention that after obtaining the Depths Covenant, his power would increase greatly and he would gain immortality. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
If that was the case... he couldn't let the World Government have their way.
Beltz folded the newspaper and looked at the endless ocean ahead.
"Set sail!"
He might have to find an opportunity to tell Harald the truth about the World Government. But what he didn't expect was that the opportunity to see Harald would come so quickly.
Another half-month passed. After passing many countries and small islands, they finally crossed Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line.
Once in the Grand Line, the number of pirates surged! Before, they might encounter one crew every two weeks, but after entering the Grand Line, they were attacked by three crews in a single week.
This time was no different. In a thick fog, a massive pirate ship approached them. Several pirates jumped down, attacking Beltz without a word. Beltz didn't even lift a finger; instead, he used Reishi threads to manipulate Shanks and Shamrock. The two of them struck out and knocked the pirates down.
This technique was called Ransotengai. Originally, it was a method of self-puppetry to allow one to fight even when gravely injured, but Beltz figured that since he could forcibly control his own body, why couldn't he control others? It was just like manipulating puppets.
"Incredible! I can be this strong?" Shanks said in amazement after knocking down a tall pirate.
"It's because under the Captain's control, we can perform all sorts of movements we couldn't do before," Shamrock said, taking out a cloth to wipe the blood from his clothes.
"It was just a group of small-time pirates. You two shouldn't get too conceited."
Beltz retracted the Reishi threads. He manipulated them in battle to let them experience the dangers of combat. However, just as he retracted the threads, he sensed a powerful Haki nearby!
So strong... such powerful Haki!
Beltz was shaken. He found the strength of this Haki reminded him of the scene at God Valley where Conqueror's Haki was flying everywhere! Such powerful Conqueror's Haki was something even the current Shiki didn't possess!
He immediately became serious. The pirates on the opposing ship were puzzled when there was no movement from below. They hadn't initially cared for such a small boat, but they had sent a few men down to see if there was any treasure to plunder.
"Hey, Boss! The guys we sent down seem to have been taken out!"
What? A fat man walked over in suspicion. Looking at the scene on the small boat below, he roared in anger: "What a bunch of useless trash! You couldn't even handle one man and two kids!"
He drew his sword and was about to jump down, but as he was about to leap, something terrifying happened!
BOOM!
A massive sword blade descended from the sky! This greatsword was even larger than their massive ship. Like justice falling from the heavens, it cleaved the large ship in half in an instant!
"Agh!" The pirates on the ship fell off immediately. Some were even struck by the massive blade and lost their lives instantly! The captain of the pirate ship also tumbled down into the ocean!
But the greatsword didn't continue cutting down; instead...
Clang!
With a crisp sound, the greatsword stopped two meters above the surface of the sea.
Eh? Harald looked down in surprise. He could feel a massive force blocking his strike. He looked down and realized there was actually another boat below? On that boat were only three people: a man and two children.
He quickly withdrew his sword and said, "I am truly sorry, I didn't see you!"
He didn't think these three were pirates. After all, what pirates go to sea with only three people? Compared to pirates, they looked more like a fisherman taking his sons out to fish. The boat was far too simple—it didn't even have food on it! Because Beltz's shadow could store things, they truly didn't keep food on the boat.
Shanks and Shamrock were both startled. After all, that massive sword had almost cut their boat in half just now. Fortunately, Beltz acted at the critical moment, creating a black sword to block Harald's strike! Harald was powerful, but he hadn't even used Haki in that strike, so Beltz could block it easily.
"Harald?"
Looking at the exceptionally tall giant, Beltz's heart stirred. This giant's body was far too tall, much taller than an average giant, so he immediately guessed this man was Harald.
A good opportunity. Beltz jumped, leaping directly into the air.
Harald was startled again. What was with this man? How could he stand in mid-air?
"You know me?" Harald asked.
"I was a member of Rocks' crew," Beltz said.
There was nothing wrong with saying that. Shiki was a member of Rocks' crew, and he was currently considered a member of Shiki's crew, so he was, by extension, a member of Rocks' crew.
"Rocks!" Harald was shocked to suddenly hear the name of his departed close friend, and a flash of sorrow crossed his eyes. But he quickly regained his composure and said deeply, "You are a pirate too?"
"In a sense. But I just want to tell you some things—things Rocks couldn't tell you before he died. The truth of this world!"