Amid the heavy, goose-feather snowfall that had dyed the whole world silver-white, the group walked for nearly half an hour before finally reaching a place unlike the rest.
It was probably the only lake on all of Rusukaina Island whose surface hadn't frozen over.
The water was clearly still moving, with thick steam rolling off it, yet there was no choking sulfur smell at all.
"Is this a hot spring?!" Hancock asked excitedly, already having become fast friends with Ayala as she sat perched on Kuromi's shoulder.
"No, it's not," Ayala said, shaking her head. She was just about to explain when the ground suddenly began to tremble.
A gigantic lion, as massive as a mountain, stepped out of the forest. White vapor puffed from its nostrils as it looked down on the "tiny" creatures with disdain, then casually planted a paw into the huge hot pool and settled in to enjoy a bath.
In an instant, its enormous body set the entire surface surging like waves at sea, water rolling outward in all directions. But within a few seconds, the water that splashed to the edges was frozen solid by the bitter cold.
Soaking in the warmth, the lion's face relaxed into a satisfied grin.
Then it noticed something wrong.
In the middle of the rising steam, there seemed to be something else.
It leaned forward to look and discovered, sitting at the very center of the lake, a figure covered in snow, just as small as the others.
The lion scratched its head. Something about this felt off, but it couldn't quite figure out what.
In the end, it decided it didn't matter. This comfortable place was its territory now, and it had no intention of sharing.
With a furious roar, the lion opened its massive jaws and snapped down at the "tiny" figure.
"Ah?!" The three Boa sisters sitting on the Kuro brothers' shoulders all jolted, but then they realized something strange.
No one else moved. No one's expression even changed.
A beat later came the lion's miserable, muffled wail as it clutched its mouth.
"Gaaah…"
Blood dripped visibly from its jaws. Its teeth had shattered piece by piece, as if it had bitten into something impossibly hard.
How was that possible? The lion had always taken pride in its fangs.
They could bite through stone with ease, and yet now…
In an instant, the lion's instincts screamed danger. It didn't dare stay another second. It sprang out of the lake in a panic and bolted, its huge tail whipping behind it as it fled.
The sight left the Boa sisters completely stunned.
And at that moment, Galahad Anne, who hadn't spoken a single word since arriving on the island, finally showed interest in her eyes. Wearing a charming smile, she said,
"What a strange way to train Haki."
Rayleigh scratched his head, clearly agreeing.
"Yeah. According to Yemu, this is a unique training method for a power he knows called Chakra."
"Chakra!"
The unfamiliar word made everyone freeze for a moment.
Even Rayleigh looked a little unsure as he continued.
"Yemu says it's a kind of power used by ninjas, but I don't remember Oden ever mentioning anything like that."
By now, Gloriosa was starting to get anxious. Compared to ninjas, what she cared about was the fact that the Sky Pirates' ship could sail through the Calm Belt.
"Um… Captain Yemu, when will the training be over?"
"This…" Rayleigh hesitated.
But just then, Galahad Anne suddenly stepped forward, moving to the front. With an elegant, captivating smile, she said,
"Leave it to me."
Before anyone could react, Galahad Anne lifted her straight, slender right leg high, then swung it down hard toward the center of the lake where Yemu was.
In an instant, the ground shook and the snow seemed to roar.
A massive trench visibly tore open, starting from beneath Galahad Anne's foot and ripping all the way toward the lake.
The surface split cleanly in two. Under that crushing force, two towering walls of water shot up, each one a full hundred meters high, leaving the lakebed clearly exposed.
"S-So amazing!!!"
The sight left Ayala completely stunned.
Although Rayleigh-san had already told her that the Kuja Empress, Galahad Anne, possessed strength no weaker than her own captain's, it wasn't until she witnessed it with her own eyes that Ayala truly understood just how terrifying this woman was.
"But… Captain…"
Just as Ayala began to worry.
Under the extreme cold, the towering walls of water froze instantly into massive ice walls. Then, from behind the ice, a voice rang out.
"Hey, if you wanted to wake me up, you didn't have to be that rough."
In an instant, a blazing heat burst out from the distance, washing over everyone.
Snow turned into rain, the ice walls melted back into lake water, and the bitter cold air became as warm and pleasant as summer.
"So warm…" Hancock said, surrounded by the comforting heat, a faint blush spreading across her face.
"Ayala-san, why… why did it suddenly get so warm?!"
Ayala smiled as she explained.
"That's Captain's Devil Fruit ability. He can freely control flames and temperature…"
Hancock still looked completely lost, but Gloriosa, who knew a bit more, spoke up from the side.
"Is that the Mera Mera no Mi?"
Just then, the sound of rushing wind cut through the air as a broad, imposing figure descended from above and landed in front of everyone.
"Long time no see."
...
It had to be said, a beautiful woman truly was one of the most wonderful sights in the world. No matter when you saw her, it always lifted the spirit.
Facing Galahad Anne, Yemu couldn't help but feel his eyes light up.
Because of the cold weather, the alluring red qipao she once wore had been replaced with a thick blue cloak patterned with violets. Even so, her beauty remained unchanged, and her presence was just as striking as ever.
The two of them simply looked at each other.
At this moment, Gloriosa spoke up, a hint of urgency in her voice.
"Greetings, Captain Yemu of the Sky Pirates. I am Gloriosa of the Kuja. I specifically asked Anne to bring me here to meet you."
"Oh? What is it?" Yemu replied.
Only then did his gaze settle on the somewhat familiar old woman, as well as the three little girls sitting on the shoulders of the Kuro Brothers.
"Interesting."
"It's like this," Gloriosa said.
She repeated to Yemu everything she had already told Rayleigh, then spoke with a grave expression.
"Captain Yemu, I would like to ask you something. This technology that allows ships to sail through the Calm Belt… is it truly, as Rayleigh said, something only you have mastered?"
"This?" Yemu said calmly, giving it some thought before answering.
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Not entirely sure… what does that mean?" Gloriosa froze, then quickly grew anxious.
That was only natural. The answer to this question concerned the future of the Kuja. How could it be brushed off with something as vague as uncertainty?
"How should I put it… you'd be best off preparing yourselves."
"Huh?!"
"Even if they don't have it right now, I believe that in a few years, the Marines and the World Government will be able to develop technology that allows warships to sail through the Calm Belt," Yemu said calmly. "After all, they've got a monster of a scientist on their side."