Chapter 107: In the Deep Sea
A sudden, tremendous roar swept across the Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone who heard the sound subconsciously looked up, gazing into the distance where the sound had come from, not understanding what was happening.
At the edge of the coast, many citizens and pirates looked at the sea, from which the loud noise was continuously coming but where nothing seemed out of the ordinary, feeling completely baffled.
"Where is that sound coming from?"
"Could it be coming from under the sea?"
...
At the edge of the crowd, Rayleigh sat on the grass, his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "To think they'd enter the deep sea using this method," he marveled. "The young people nowadays are truly remarkable."
Although his eyes couldn't see through the super-large mirage, his Observation Haki had clearly perceived everything about the giant Island Cloud, the seawater, and the air in the distance.
Beside him, Shakky, holding a slim cigarette, sat down close to Rayleigh and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Using seawater as a barrier to pull a sky island, which should be high in the sky, into the deep sea to sail... that's a very romantic way to travel!"
Shakky was the former empress of Kuja Island, Amazon Lily, and considered herself to be very knowledgeable. But today, after seeing this, she had to admit that her knowledge was too limited. It was an unrestrained, incredibly romantic idea.
Rayleigh heard this, slowly opened his eyes to look at Shakky beside him, and showed a meaningful smile. "It's alright, I guess. I was pretty romantic when I was young too."
To this, Shakky exhaled another puff of smoke and gave Rayleigh a white-eyed glare.
At the edge of the descending Avant Heim, Louis turned to look at the man and woman sitting closely together in the crowd. The Dark King Rayleigh, and the former captain of the Kuja Pirates, Shakky.
A moment later, Louis controlled the Natural Water and Avant Heim to completely submerge beneath the surface of the sea and enter the deep.
Half an hour later, the ripples on the sea's surface had completely subsided. By the time Avant Heim's figure could no longer be seen even by looking down from the sea, the Fantasy Species, the Anemoi, that had been shrouding the sea surface, slowly began to move toward the Red Line.
In the deep sea.
The entire crew of the Archangel Pirates stood on top of Avant Heim, admiring the mesmerizingly beautiful and mysterious scenery of the deep sea.
From the countless schools of deep-sea fish to the massive, ferocious-looking sea beasts, and the occasional appearance of small and medium-sized Sea Kings, their worldview was constantly expanding.
Hajrudin and the others sat together in a circle, looking up at the sea beasts and schools of fish swimming above them, their eyes filled with shock.
"I never thought that we giants would also have the opportunity to witness the scenery of the deep sea," Gerd said, her face serene, a subtle light shimmering in her eyes.
Uta heard this and looked up at Gerd's calm face, asking with a puzzled expression, "Gerd, how did you and Dorry and the others get to the West Blue and the first half of the Grand Line? It's difficult to get a coating for a giant's ship to pass through Fish-Man Island, and as non-members of the World Government and considered precious slaves by the Celestial Dragons, you couldn't have used the lift at the Red Line."
Under these circumstances, the fact that these giants could appear in the West Blue and the Grand Line made Uta a little curious.
Gerd looked down, scooped Uta into her palm, and explained with a smile, "We entered the West Blue through the Calm Belt. We know a route where super-large Sea Kings gather relatively densely."
To this, the bow on the back of Uta's head drooped, and she looked even more confused. "But isn't the Calm Belt a nest for Sea Kings? Don't they attack your ships?"
Gerd continued, "That's why we take the route where the super-large Sea Kings are dense. They are intelligent creatures that have survived since ancient times and rarely attack us giants. Although even the old giants don't know why, we've always been using that route."
Louis heard this and also fell into a brief thought. Giants, super-large Sea Kings... perhaps it's because during the Void Century, the giant race was in the same camp as the Mermaid Princess? Perhaps, as intelligent creatures who have survived since ancient times, they remembered the giant race and did not attack them.
Nearby, Hajrudin also looked away from the view above, a hint of memory in his eyes. "Shortly after Ohara was destroyed, we also went to the West Blue. We retrieved the books that had been thrown into the lake at the ruins of Ohara and brought a giant from the South Blue back to Elbaf."
As his words fell, Road and Goldberg also nodded in agreement, explaining that those books were what they had brought back from the Calm Belt to Elbaf in the depths of the New World. The giants of Elbaf, whom the world considered brutish and brainless, understood the value of the knowledge humanity had passed down for thousands of years better than the World Government. This world was just that absurd.
Yelena lay on a deck chair next to Louis, her scarlet eyes quickly scanning the bodies of the sea beasts, and she sighed softly. "They're all new species I've never captured before!"
Louis heard this and, thinking it was about time for lunch, controlled the Natural Water to quickly extend giant hands made of seawater. They reached into the deep sea, grabbed several sea beasts, and pulled them into the barrier. The sea beasts were thrown above everyone's heads and fell rapidly.
After doing this, Louis turned to look in the giants' direction and said with a smile, "Goldberg, it's time to prepare lunch!"
The slightly chubby giant looked up at the struggling sea beasts in mid-air and grinned. "No problem, leave it to me!"
The next moment, he picked up the shield with a face on it and caught the sea beasts one by one, then swung the kanabō that was as long as he was tall and knocked them out. Then, he turned and walked toward the cloud cave to get some cooking tools, preparing to make a lunch feast in the deep sea.
Just then, the giant with the longsword on his back, Road, looked down at the deep, dark seabed and turned to the others. "Captain Louis! Everyone! The Natural Water is about to enter the turbulent current below!"
Louis heard this and stepped forward. He leaped up, landed steadily on Road's shoulder, and placed a hand on his head. "Tell me exactly what to do. I'll control the Natural Water," he said.
This was the only drawback of the Fantasy Species, which currently only had instincts. They couldn't make judgments and couldn't perform fine tasks on their own. Just like when he had used the Anemoi to create a mirage on the surface, it required Louis himself to "log in" and micromanage. He couldn't expect these brainless Fantasy Species to be meticulous; it was good enough that they could follow simple instructions. This situation would only improve after Louis's Life-Life Fruit awakened and he could transform them into true living beings.
"..."
Then, the Natural Water, carrying Avant Heim, entered the turbulent current and passed through the deep, silent seabed into even deeper waters.
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