"...That is the current situation."
The den den mushi vividly mimicked the expression of Sengoku, its face scrunched together in a mix of rage and anxiety.
"The order from Fleet Admiral Kong is clear. We are not to take the initiative or join the battle early. We must wait until both sides are heavily injured before we strike and clean up the mess!"
"Understood," Garp replied, his voice deep and resonant as he hung up the phone.
A cold sea breeze whistled across the deck, swirling a few stray pieces of scrap paper around the heavy boots of the Marines. Garp stood perfectly still in his casual stance, though the bag of senbei in his hand rustled rhythmically in the wind. He kept his head down, and the wide brim of his hat cast a dark shadow that completely obscured his eyes.
The Marine soldiers, who had been stifling laughs just a moment ago while watching Kane get beaten during his special training, felt their smiles freeze. The atmosphere on the ship shifted instantly. No one dared to speak a word.
A suffocating pressure began to spread from the man in the suit without any warning. The dust that usually danced in the cracks of the wooden deck stopped moving, pinned down by the sheer weight of his presence. Even a few News Coos circling high above seemed to sense a predator in the area; they let out mournful cries and flapped their wings desperately to flee the airspace.
Kane felt as if a heavy slab of lead was being pressed against his chest. His breathing became exceptionally heavy, and every lungful of air felt like a struggle. The frivolous uncle who laughed all day and spent his time stealing snacks from his subordinates was gone. In his place stood the Marine Iron Fist, the man who had cornered Roger several times and served as the strongest gatekeeper for the Marines in this era.
"Bogard."
Garp's voice was low and flat, entirely devoid of its usual emotion.
"Present."
The adjutant, Bogard, calmly adjusted his sunglasses. His notebook was already closed and tucked away, and his gloved hand was resting firmly on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Notify the engine room. Tell them to push all power furnaces to full capacity. At all costs, we are heading to the Edd War Sea Area at full speed."
Garp turned around, his white coat of justice flapping loudly in the windless air, seemingly moved by his own aura.
"Also, contact the nearest G-3 and G-5 branches. Tell them to handle the outer blockade and stay back. There is no need for them to join the main battle. A battlefield of that level... they would only be sent to their deaths."
"Yes, sir!"
As the order was given, the massive dog head warship beneath their feet let out a groan of mechanical strain. The giant power furnaces began to overload, and the ship sliced through the rising waves, charging toward that volatile patch of sea in the New World.
In a quiet corner of the deck, Kane was leaning against a pile of heavy cables. He had just finished his grueling special training and his face was covered in bruises. He appeared to be gasping in pain, but in reality, he was pinching his own thigh hard. He used the sharp sting of pain to forcibly suppress the urge to let the corners of his mouth curl into a grin.
"The Battle of Edd War..."
As a transmigrator, Kane knew the history of this world all too well. He knew exactly what was about to happen. This was the swan song of the Old Era and the grand prelude to the Great Pirate Era.
The Commodore of the Flying Pirates, Golden Lion Shiki, had invited Roger to join his cause to dominate the entire world. After Roger rejected the offer, Shiki led a massive fleet of dozens of warships to surround the Roger Pirates, who were outmatched with only a single ship, the Oro Jackson.
According to any normal logic, the Roger Pirates were doomed to be crushed. But during the height of the battle, a sudden, unannounced, and devastating storm appeared. It destroyed more than half of Shiki's grand fleet, allowing Roger to make a miraculous breakthrough and escape. Because of that freak accident, Shiki ended up with a steering wheel lodged in his skull, which greatly reduced his strength and forced him to withdraw from the race for the title of Pirate King.
The world called Roger lucky. Others claimed it was the destiny of the D Clan.
But now, Kane lowered his head and looked down at his own palm. A nearly imperceptible green cyclone was dancing at his fingertips—it was the embryonic form of a storm.
"What if that storm was not actually a natural disaster?"
"What if this battle, the one that determines the direction of the whole world, happens because I gave it a push from behind?"
Kane licked his dry lips, and a cold, calculating glint flashed in his eyes. The balance on his system panel was currently only a bit over 80,000 points. To live comfortably in a New World where monsters roamed, and to exchange for legendary artifacts and god-tier abilities, that amount was far from enough.
Now, a massive gold mine was waiting just over the horizon. According to the nature of his system, the core calculation for earning discipline points was based on influence and subversion. If he did more than just participate—if he used his fruit ability to lead that storm himself—the results would be massive. To forcibly rewrite a battle right in front of Garp, Roger, and Shiki, the three peaks of the Old Era, would be the ultimate play.
"The subversion coefficient... it would probably go off the charts, wouldn't it?"
Kane swallowed hard. His mind was already filled with images of the numbers in the discipline points column rolling wildly, eventually turning into a long string of astronomical figures. Top-tier Haki, god-level abilities, and high-tech items from the shop—once this job was done, he planned to buy it all.
"Kane!"
A loud, booming shout interrupted Kane's daydreaming. Garp was already standing at the bow of the ship, his gaze fixed on the gloomy, darkening horizon.
"Here, Vice Admiral!"
Kane jolted into motion and immediately put on a face of grim resolve, responding as loudly as he could.
"Go to the lookout tower!"
Garp pointed a finger up at the towering mast of the ship.
"Your Haki is still half-baked and I cannot count on you in a real fight yet, but no one is better at sensing air currents than you. Use your fruit ability!"
"Keep your eyes glued to the sea. I want to know exactly where that bastard Roger is!"
"Yes! Mission guaranteed!"
This was exactly what Kane wanted. That high position was the best seat in the house to exercise his ability and control the overall situation without being watched too closely.
"Storm Wings!"
Whoosh!
Green air currents instantly condensed into a pair of semi-transparent wings behind his back. After several days of special training, Kane's control over his fruit ability had reached a new level. The patterns on the wings were much clearer now, and the edges had a sharp, cutting feel to them. With a powerful flap of his wings, Kane took off like a green peregrine falcon. He drew a strange zigzag pattern through the gale and landed steadily on the very top of the lookout tower as the warship sped through the waves.
As they drew closer to the Edd War Sea Area, the environment became increasingly hostile. The originally azure sea turned into a bottomless, ink-black void. Gales whistled over the surface, and giant waves like rolling mountain ranges crashed frantically against the hull. The sky was thick with heavy dark clouds, and purple lightning snaked through the layers. The sound of thunder was deafening, and every flash illuminated the sea with a deathly pallor.
It was the raw wrath of nature. Kane sat cross-legged on the tower, letting the torrential rain soak his body to the bone. For ordinary sailors, this was doomsday. For him, this was paradise. Every restless particle in the air and every turbulent current was transmitting vital information directly to him.
Close. Even closer.
"Distance to contact... 50 nautical miles."
Kane suddenly opened his eyes. Deep in his pupils, a green vertical slit lit up with power. He did not even need Observation Haki for this. Through the layers of rain and the towering waves, he had already seen that massive fleet via the feedback of the displaced air.
Kane licked the rain from his lips, a hint of fanaticism flashing in his eyes. At the ship's current speed, it would take at least an hour or two to get there. By then, the best opportunity would be gone. If he waited until they were both injured like Fleet Admiral Kong wanted, his point yield would be greatly reduced.
If I am going to do it, I will do it big.
Kane sneered inwardly. His right hand quietly rested on the wooden crossbeam at the top of the mast.
Hum!
A ripple of energy instantly covered the entire warship, traveling down from the mast to the hull. It was the rhythm of the wind itself.
"Since this is the prelude to a storm, it is only logical for the wind to be a bit stronger, right?"
Fruit Ability — Tailwind: Super Acceleration!
Boom!
The dog head warship, which was already tossing violently in the waves, suddenly felt like it had been kicked from behind by a giant. The entire stern sank abruptly into the water, and the bow tilted high into the air.
"Waaaaah! What is going on?!"
"Why did the ship suddenly accelerate?!"
The Marine soldiers on the deck were caught completely off guard, rolling around the wood like tumbleweeds. Behind the warship, the chaotic gale seemed to receive an order from a monarch. The wind converged into a terrifying thrust in a single direction, pushing hard against the sails and the stern.
The white waves being broken on both sides of the ship were instantly stretched into two perfectly straight lines. Because the speed was so high, the seawater made a piercing, tearing sound.
The den den mushi in the engine room began to scream. "Reporting to Adjutant Bogard! The power furnaces... the readings are normal, but our speed has surpassed 50 knots! It is still rising! This is not scientific! How can a ship move this fast in these waves?!"
Bogard gripped the railing tightly, looking at the wildly spinning compass and the speedometer in his hand. For the first time, a look of genuine shock appeared on his usually calm face.
"This is too fast..."
He suddenly looked up at the figure that appeared blurred by the wind and rain at the top of the lookout tower. Is it that kid?
But Kane was not finished yet.
"How is this little bit of speed enough?" Kane felt the distance of the wind and grinned. "If I let Fleet Admiral Sengoku catch up to us, the show won't be nearly as good."
"Go... even faster!"
The air wings behind him suddenly doubled in size. He exerted full control over the air pressure within a 10 kilometer radius, creating a continuously moving low-pressure zone directly in front of the warship.
Push from behind, and pull from the front.
Bang!
A loud sound, close to a sonic boom, exploded over the sea surface. The entire massive steel warship actually took flight briefly, performing a leap over the turbulent sea.
"50 nautical miles... 10 minutes! Only 10 minutes!"
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