The map of the One Piece world is interesting. The only complete continent is the massive Red Line that spans the equator, dividing the planet. All other nations are isolated islands. The Red Line splits the world into the East, West, North, and South seas.
The Grand Line is merely a waterway through Reverse Mountain that crosses the Red Line. The first half, accessed by crossing the Calm Belt in the southeast, is called 'Paradise.' The second half, accessed by crossing the Calm Belt in the northwest, is the 'New World.'
Whether traveling through the four seas, any pirate unable to use the World Government's normal routes must pass through the currents of Reverse Mountain to enter Paradise before navigating to the New World.
The Grand Line, where the vast majority of One Piece stories take place, is only a small part of this massive world. The truly massive areas are the four seas, where the World Government's power is most concentrated. Even the East Blue alone has a sea area and number of countries that dwarf the Grand Line several times over.
It is very difficult to travel freely between the four seas in the One Piece world. To go from the New World to Paradise, one must either coat their ship and navigate through Fishman Island ten thousand meters below to bypass the Red Line, or directly force their way through the World Government's territory.
Conversely, the geography of Reverse Mountain, which connects the four seas to the Grand Line, traps many pirates attempting to enter the Grand Line.
But for someone who can fly, none of this is an issue. Whether crossing the Red Line or passing through the Calm Belt, which has no wind and is infested with giant Sea Kings, the Barbatos, capable of soaring through the clouds at ten thousand meters, can ignore it. There are only a handful of individuals in the One Piece world capable of sustained aerial combat.
However, to be cautious, Shin kept the Barbatos flying at a high altitude of ten thousand meters.
The only Eternal Pose he found on the two pirates pointed to Loguetown in the East Blue. The destination didn't matter to Shin; he just needed a clear direction toward the East Blue.
"Seriously... I'll definitely avoid picking these long-armed, long-legged guys as Praying Hands in the future."
In the Barbatos cockpit, Shin and his two Praying Hands were crammed inside. The cockpit was filled with a foul smell of sweat, and Shin could only sigh.
He didn't have enough assessment points to exchange for even the smallest mothership right now, but it was a crucial necessity.
Whether for increasing the number of Praying Hands, or placing the Mental Subordination Machine and his body, he needed a reliable vessel. He was eyeing the Ptolemy, the cheapest and smallest protagonist mothership in the Gundam series, which required 120,000 virtual assessment points to exchange.
Unless he assassinated Big Mom again, he wouldn't be able to gather enough points in the short term. The exchange prices for the Gundam series were too high, or rather, any high-tech product that appeared in the Gundam anime series required a lot of points due to the advanced technology involved.
Shin had little desire to exchange for low-tech items, though there were a few useful ones.
After flying at full speed for about thirty minutes, Shin finally reached the top of the towering Red Line, the Cloud City, Mary Geoise. The city, built atop the Red Line's peak, reached into the clouds. Perched atop the floating clouds was a beautiful city like Eden.
It was a veritable 'Holy City,' not only because it housed the Celestial Dragons, whom ordinary people regarded as 'gods,' but also because there was indeed a... 'god' there.
The king of the Celestial Dragons, the ruler of the Empty Throne, the person served by the Five Elders, the founder of the World Government, and suspected of undergoing eternal youth surgery, at least eight hundred years old—Imu, the old monster.
Shin didn't know Imu's strength, but based on Oda's descriptions, this character was probably a terrifying existence capable of dominating the Yonko.
Furthermore, Imu was suspected of possessing the Ancient Weapon Uranus. Compared to Pluton's epoch-making firepower (one shot sinking an island) and Poseidon (Shirahoshi's ability to control all Sea Kings), Uranus' destructive power was likely in the realm of creation.
For a hidden boss with unknown strength, unknown abilities, and likely possessing ancient lost technology, Shin decided to be well-behaved for now.
Although he felt a strong impulse to drop a nuclear bomb on Mary Geoise, he suppressed the urge and carefully ascended another thousand meters, bypassing Mary Geoise.
In the vast stratosphere, Shin suddenly remembered something: the One Piece world seemed to have a moon. The universe in One Piece is also peculiar. Not only is it not a vacuum, but it seems to be filled with an atmosphere suitable for human survival.
The moon has a group of robots, a broken ancient civilization ruin, and suspected aliens.
Enel, the unfortunate Logia Devil Fruit user who was physically screwed over by Oda, was currently on the moon. He was using his abilities to awaken those robots to build his 'Ark' on the so-called 'Infinite Land.' Some theories suggest that Enel's Ark is Pluton, and the ruins on the moon are an important part of the history covered up eight hundred years ago, but these are just speculations based on Oda's cover stories.
Shin looked up. Through the Barbatos's viewfinder, the moon, which was incredibly close to the One Piece planet, seemed within reach. Traveling to the moon wasn't difficult. Enel managed to reach the moon with his broken ark. Although Barbatos didn't have the orbital flight capability to leave the atmosphere, that was relative to Earth's strict physical environment.
Shin made a mental note of this. Perhaps he could visit the moon when his current work was done.
While distracted, the Barbatos's fuel storage approached half. Shin sighed, slowly descended, passed through the clouds, and landed on a corner of the Red Line.
He consumed 100 virtual assessment points to exchange for Full Propellant Fuel X1. This was the trouble with these machines. The Ahab Reactor provided the Gundam with infinite power, but the propellant fuel needed for flight still had to be exchanged for.
While 100 points didn't seem like much for a full tank of fuel, the consumption was significant. Combined with the consumption of ammunition and machine maintenance, it added up to a considerable expense over time.
After spending a significant amount of effort to refuel Barbatos, Shin stretched his muscles and set off again in the Barbatos.
However, shortly after taking off, an alarm sounded urgently above him.
"Hmm? What is that?"
Barbatos raised its head. The viewfinder captured a massive black shadow rapidly approaching at an extremely high speed, followed by a roar.
"Aaaahhh, I'm tired of living!!!! Who can kill me!!!"
Shin's face changed instantly.
What the heck? Why is this guy on the Red Line?
The viewfinder screen displayed a massive giant with messy black hair and a beard, ivory-like horns, a dragon scale tattoo on his left arm, and a huge, ferocious mace on his back.
There was only one person in the entire One Piece world who matched all these characteristics: Kaido of the Beasts, nicknamed 'The beast King,' the shame of the Yonko, who was beaten by various samurai from the moment he appeared, the marketing genius, the strongest creature, a Yonko!
Although this guy was often made to look cheap in the Wano arc because Oda wanted to hype up the country's samurai, making people question if he was just bragging about his past captures by the Marine branches, he was a Yonko nonetheless.
And unlike that smelly fat woman Big Mom, Kaido's aerial combat ability was on a completely different level. His flight speed might not match Kizaru's, but he was definitely a hassle!
Shin didn't have Dainsleif now. With Barbatos's standard weapons, he definitely couldn't defeat Kaido in a real fight.
Shin didn't hesitate and immediately prepared to turn around and flee.
However, while he wanted to run, Kaido, who had jumped down from a sky island at ten thousand meters to routinely seek death, saw the fleeing Barbatos, paused, and then showed an ecstatic expression.
"Steel Giant!!!" Kaido's voice thundered like a roar that shook the sky. "The guy who almost killed that fat woman Linlin? This is great! Come over and kill me!!!"
"Finally, a decent opponent," the system, which had been lurking, suddenly appeared and said quietly. "The shady things you did before weren't suitable for live broadcasting. Now is the perfect time. A direct confrontation with a Yonko, that's what more people want to watch."
"Bastard! You're not going to force me to turn back and fight Kaido, are you?!" Shin roared.
"No, no, the company won't do such a boring thing," the system chuckled faintly.
"Do what you want to do. It's just that everything you do from now on will be live-streamed by me~~~"
Shin's face darkened. He gritted his teeth slightly and said, "Fine, but you're not allowed to film the cockpit! Even if you do, blur those two out!"
He couldn't stop what the system wanted to do. This live broadcast was part of his plan for publicity and expanding influence. The scene of confronting Yonko Kaido could certainly be the first hit to establish the live stream's reputation, but he absolutely did not want this cursed system to reveal his use of the Mental Subordination Machine.
Putting aside how inhumane it was and how it would ruin his image, the danger that the Mental Subordination Machine's exposure would bring was something Shin was absolutely unwilling to endure!
"No problem," the system answered briskly. "Then, if you are ready—live stream, start!"
-----
Support me with Powerstones, Reviews and comments