The climate here shouldn't be like this.
That was the first thought that crossed the navigator's mind.
Standing at the helm of the Marine warship, the experienced sailor frowned as he carefully examined the instruments again and again.
The uneasy feeling in his heart grew stronger with every passing minute.
Finally, he hurried toward the command deck.
"Major Fran!"
"We seem to have deviated from our course!"
His voice carried clear urgency.
Fran immediately turned toward him.
Since departing Foosha Village, Fran had established a strict routine where the navigator reported the warship's sailing conditions regularly.
When navigating the seas, especially in the unpredictable waters of the East Blue, even the smallest oversight could lead to disaster.
"Have you discovered the reason?"
Fran's expression darkened.
Clearly, the report had instantly put him in a bad mood.
The navigator shook his head.
"Not yet."
"According to the sea chart, our next destination should have been Ketuo Island."
"By the normal sailing schedule, we should have already arrived."
"But right now…"
He hesitated before finishing.
"It feels like we've been sailing in circles."
The surrounding officers immediately grew tense.
Getting lost at sea was not a trivial matter.
Once a ship lost its course, the consequences could become deadly.
Without direction, supplies would eventually run out.
Food would disappear.
Fresh water would dry up.
And in the end, the crew would face only two fates:
Starvation.
Or death by thirst.
Fran did not dare waste a single second.
He immediately went to report the situation.
Standing at the bow of the ship was the commanding officer of this Marine vessel
Saint Roselith Seraphina.
A descendant of the Roselith Celestial Dragon lineage, yet someone who had chosen to walk the path of a Marine.
"What could cause the compass to malfunction?"
Seraphina asked calmly.
Her eyes remained closed, but her voice carried unmistakable authority.
The navigator replied quickly.
"A magnetic field."
"There seems to be a very powerful magnetic disturbance nearby."
"In the East Blue, abnormal magnetic fields like this are extremely rare."
"Which is why… this situation is very strange."
Seraphina nodded slightly.
Indeed, such magnetic interference was more common in the Grand Line, where magnetic fields constantly shifted.
But in the East Blue?
It should not happen.
Unless…
Something unusual was present.
Could someone be deliberately causing trouble?
Seraphina expanded her Observation Haki across the surrounding sea.
Her perception spread like invisible waves across the ocean.
Ships.
Sea currents.
Marine life.
Wind patterns.
Everything entered her awareness.
Yet she sensed no enemies.
Except…
A single enormous presence beneath the sea.
A Sea King.
Seraphina paused.
Could the Sea King be the cause?
The thought sounded ridiculous even to her.
Sea Kings were powerful creatures, but they usually did not create magnetic interference strong enough to affect multiple ships.
So she temporarily dismissed the idea.
Instead, Seraphina continued observing the surroundings.
If someone truly intended to cause trouble, they would eventually reveal themselves.
However, something unexpected happened.
More and more ships began appearing in the surrounding waters.
Merchant vessels.
Transport ships.
Fishing boats.
It quickly became clear that Seraphina's warship was not the specific target.
The disturbance was affecting everyone.
An area-wide phenomenon.
Then the navigator suddenly shouted.
"I've found something!"
Everyone turned toward him.
"All compasses…"
"They're pointing in the same direction!"
The direction he pointed toward was the open sea.
More precisely toward the location of that Sea King.
The conclusion became unavoidable.
Every compass needle was spinning because of that creature.
Seraphina sighed softly.
"There's no other choice."
"I'll investigate."
Moments later, she stepped off the deck and plunged into the sea.
Beneath the water, the truth revealed itself.
The Sea King was enormous.
Its long serpentine body resembled a giant electric eel.
Crackling arcs of electricity flickered across its skin.
It was clearly not a species native to the East Blue.
Most likely, it had drifted here from the Calm Belt, the natural habitat of Sea Kings.
But something else caught Seraphina's attention.
The creature was lying motionless against a reef.
Electric currents pulsed from its body.
Yet the Sea King itself seemed to be in pain.
It noticed Seraphina approaching.
But it showed no interest in attacking.
To such a massive creature, a single human was hardly worth attention.
If circumstances were normal, the Sea King might have crushed her instantly.
But right now it had more important matters.
Seraphina quickly understood the situation.
The creature was giving birth.
This enormous Sea King had fled into the East Blue while being chased by other predators.
And now, weakened and exhausted, It was delivering its offspring.
The electrical pulses emitted from its body were unintentionally disrupting the surrounding magnetic field.
Which explained the malfunctioning compasses.
Seraphina remained silent for a moment.
"Forget it."
She turned away.
Whether to hunt the creature or not could wait.
Right now it was simply trying to survive.
When Seraphina returned to the warship not long after
The disturbance vanished.
The compasses stabilized.
The magnetic field returned to normal.
The Sea King had already left the area with its newborn.
And it did not attack any ships.
So Seraphina allowed it to leave.
However, the fleet had drifted far from its original route.
Continuing with the original navigation plan was impossible.
A large sea map of the East Blue was spread across the conference table.
The navigator pointed toward their current location.
"Given our current position…"
"We should sail west."
"It will allow us to reach land the fastest."
Seraphina considered the suggestion carefully.
Then she nodded.
"That will be our course."
Interestingly, the other ships nearby soon noticed something.
A Marine warship was sailing beside them.
Naturally They decided to follow it.
After all, they were already lost.
Following a Marine ship for protection was hardly unreasonable.
Especially when the protection was free.
However, not long after the fleet resumed sailing
The ocean suddenly erupted.
A gigantic tail smashed against the surface of the sea.
Monstrous waves rose into the air.
Seraphina sighed.
Why were there so many Sea Kings today?
She slowly drew her sword.
Winter Solstice.
But before she could attack
Something unexpected happened.
A massive creature burst from the ocean and bit into the Sea King that had appeared.
The two titanic monsters began wrestling violently in the water.
Electric arcs flashed between them.
Looking carefully, Seraphina realized something.
The eel-type Sea King from earlier had returned.
But it was exhausted from childbirth.
Its stamina was nearly gone.
The creature it was fighting was a gigantic shark-type Sea King.
And its true target was not the eel.
It was the newborn.
The mother Sea King was desperately trying to hold the predator back.
The newborn, terrified, instinctively swam toward the nearest object
Seraphina's warship.
Then the inevitable happened.
The shark Sea King tore free from the mother's grasp.
And charged directly toward the newborn.
Which meant it was charging toward the warship.
Seraphina sighed again.
She truly did not want to interfere with the life cycle of Sea Kings.
But now the battle had reached her ship.
Which meant she had no choice.
"Winter Solstice"
"First Style."
"Light Snow."
Her blade moved.
A single slash cut across the ocean surface.
The sea itself parted.
The strike hit the shark Sea King directly.
Yet its thick hide absorbed most of the damage.
The monster continued charging.
However, Seraphina's attack bought precious time.
The exhausted mother caught up again.
The two behemoths resumed their desperate struggle.
But the mother Sea King was already at her limit.
She stopped resisting.
Instead, she rose above the ocean surface.
And let out a heartbreaking roar.
To everyone's shock, tears flowed from the creature's eyes.
It gathered the last of its electrical energy.
Lightning gathered at a single point.
Then it released everything.
The attack struck the shark Sea King.
But it was not enough.
Moments later, the mother collapsed.
Seraphina watched silently.
She originally intended not to interfere.
But somehow her hand refused to stay still.
"Well…"
"There's nothing I can do."
"Right?"
She raised Winter Solstice once more.
"Ultimate Technique."
"Zero Closure of All Things."
An indescribable cold spread across the ocean.
Ice surged outward in every direction.
Towering pillars of ice erupted from the sea.
Snowflakes began falling from the sky.
Everyone present breathed out visible frost.
And this was mid-summer.
The people aboard the warship stared in shock.
Seraphina stood in the falling snow.
Her silver hair danced in the sudden icy wind.
This was her strongest sword technique.
And the one that consumed the greatest amount of stamina.
She swung her blade.
Slash.
The aura alone froze the ocean.
Even the monstrous shark Sea King hesitated in fear.
It tried to turn and flee.
But the attack was already upon it.
The sea froze solid.
Ice spread across the water for hundreds of meters.
The frozen ocean remained for a long time before slowly melting.
The spectators were stunned.
"Wh-what just happened?!"
"Is that a Devil Fruit power?!"
Not only Marines were present.
Merchant crews and civilians had witnessed everything.
"Could that be Kuzan?"
"The newly appointed Marine Admiral?"
"The user of the Hie Hie no Mi?!"
Everyone naturally reached the same conclusion.
Only the power of Admiral Aokiji could freeze the sea like this.
Meanwhile, the Marines aboard Seraphina's warship were equally confused.
Their Colonel had never eaten a Devil Fruit.
So how could she use such a power?
The answer lay in the blade she held.
Winter Solstice.
A legendary weapon passed down within the Roselith family lineage.
A sword containing the power of extreme ice.
Its counterpart was another blade.
Awakening of Insects.
A sword containing the power of water.
Two blades.
One ice.
One water.
Born from the same origin.
They were the Twin Blades of the Roselith lineage.