The sun shone brightly, its rays illuminating the boundless, mirror-like blue sea. The ocean surface reflected a large three-masted sailing ship navigating the vast waters. Large patches of black paint were scrawled on the sails, obscuring the skull and crossbones symbol representing pirates.
On such a massive three-masted ship, the number of people aboard was small, and everyone was busy with their own tasks. A purple-haired girl sat at the bow, staring intently at the sea. Her long hair, tied into braids, and her clothes billowed in the sea breeze, yet her short skirt, which didn't reach her knees, remained perfectly still, defying logic.
This girl was Raiden Ei. They had set sail from the archipelago, and this was already their tenth day navigating the open sea. As expected, they hadn't encountered anyone, only finding traces left by pirates on the islands they passed. They had seen quite a few sea beasts, but none were as large as the sea serpent they encountered before.
She hadn't been slacking off these days either; she still trained every day. She had already brought both her Armament Haki and Observation Haki to Level Four. She was starting to feel something during meditation now and should become a Sword Master soon.
The progress of the others on the ship had also been quite significant. At the very least, their courage was much greater than before. Especially Geer; even if Haisier and the others teamed up now, they still couldn't defeat him.
Raiden Ei sat here for no other reason than to relax her mind. There were no forms of entertainment available. The ship had been sailing for so long without leaving this area, and she was feeling a bit restless. Sitting at the bow to look at the sea was just a way to unwind.
Just then, on the deck, Gatt and Haisier, who were responsible for controlling the ship's forward movement, noticed a storm ahead. If they let the ship continue straight, they would enter the storm's radius soon.
Gatt frowned slightly: "Haisier... look, there's another storm ahead."
Haisier turned to look and saw dark clouds gathering and flashes of lightning at the horizon: "It seems so. Should we change course?"
Gatt: "We already changed course two days ago. Changing direction again will only make us take a longer route."
Haisier: "Then should we cut straight through the storm? The ship should be able to withstand it, but we need to prepare defenses."
Gatt pondered for a moment: "We can't decide this. Let the Raiden Ei decide!"
Haisier nodded and pulled Gatt along, saying as they walked: "Yes, that's a good idea. Let's go now, or we won't have time."
The helm was not far from the bow, easily visible by looking up. They hadn't walked far before arriving. Behind Raiden Ei, Gatt signaled to Haisier, "This is your chance!"
Haisier didn't decline. He was the one who communicated most with Raiden Ei on this ship: "General Miss, we have something important we need to discuss with you."
Raiden Ei withdrew her gaze from the sea and returned to the deck from the bow. Her movements were agile, making no sound. She looked up at the two people before her, giving the impression that they should speak quickly.
Haisier understood Raiden Ei's expression and relayed the situation to her: "General Miss, there is a storm blocking our path. If we detour, it will take more time. Should we pass directly through the storm?"
Raiden Ei turned to look at the storm in the distance and thought for a moment: "Can this ship withstand a natural disaster of this magnitude?"
Haisier: "I inspected this ship before. It uses relatively good materials. Although there is some damage, it should be capable of handling a natural disaster of this level."
Gatt: "We already changed course once before. Changing again risks wasting even more time."
Seeing that they had made up their minds, Raiden Ei had nothing more to say: "Fine, then we will pass through the storm! You two discuss the specifics of how to do it."
Gatt: "Understood. We'll discuss it once everyone else is here!"
While Gatt was speaking with Raiden Ei, Haisier had already called everyone else on the ship over. During their time sailing, everyone's appearance had changed to varying degrees.
Gatt was no longer emaciated; he looked like a normal person. Haisier had become even sturdier than before. Gando had lost a good amount of weight. The others had also grown much stronger; they were no longer just pretty faces that would fall over if the wind blew too hard.
Seeing everyone assembled, Gatt got straight to the point: "After discussion between us and the General Miss, to avoid wasting too much time, we will pass through the storm ahead.
I am just a newly graduated Navigator. I hope everyone will follow my arrangements to avoid unnecessary losses."
Gando: "When we encountered a storm the day before yesterday, couldn't we just change course to avoid it? That storm looks very dangerous."
Haisier slapped Gando on the shoulder and pressed down hard, laughing: "We said we don't want to waste time, didn't you hear? Cook."
Nicola burst out laughing when she saw Gando being bullied by Haisier: "Hahaha... Stupid cook, you're really dumb!"
Seeing Nicola being so unrestrained in such a situation, Sang covered her mouth with her hand and apologized to everyone: "I'm sorry, she's not very bright."
Geer and Mina didn't quite understand Nicola, so they stood a bit further away from her. The two of them had always disliked drawing too much attention.
The others just glanced at Nicola, not quite understanding the source of her laughter, and turned back to continue discussing the next steps.
"Then let's continue. Does anyone else have questions?" Gatt saw that everyone agreed to pass through the storm and began assigning tasks: "Then I will assign your duties."
It took a little time to clearly explain the upcoming tasks, and everyone started getting busy. It wouldn't be long before they reached the storm's perimeter.
The ship hadn't even approached the storm yet, and the sun was still shining on the vessel, but they could already distinctly feel the sea wind strengthening. The area of the storm ahead was pitch black, with lightning occasionally striking down from the sky, illuminating the dark region where the storm raged.
They lowered the sails, secured all items in the cabin and on deck, and notified others to enter the cabin and find something to hold onto so the ship wouldn't throw them off.
Only Gatt and Haisier needed to control the ship's direction and couldn't hide in the cabin. However, they also found ropes to tie themselves to the helm to prevent being thrown overboard by large waves.
Raiden Ei required no protection and remained standing at the bow, letting the fierce wind whip around her. She stood perfectly still, and the rocking ship did not affect her balance.
Raiden Ei wanted to test today whether this storm could do anything to her. She hadn't truly experienced a natural disaster on the scale of a storm before; this could be considered training for herself.
"Let the storm rage more fiercely! This is the perfect opportunity to test my tenacity and strength!"
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