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Chapter 44 - Iron and Dawn

The Climb to Reverse Mountain

The Going Merry creaked and groaned as it faced the monstrous currents of Reverse Mountain.

Water roared on every side — a torrent dragging them upward instead of down.

Luffy whooped from the prow, hands raised to the storm.

> "This is awesome!"

Nami shouted over the wind, "It's not awesome — it's suicidal!"

Sanji struggled with the sails, Zoro kept the rudder steady, and Usopp screamed like a banshee as the ship tilted dangerously.

Then, a familiar voice crackled through their earwig communicators.

> "Steady your port fin — I'm right behind you."

They looked back to see the Atlas rising from the mist, its massive frame glowing beneath the storm clouds.

Attached beneath it, the Nauticaris (Tide Carrier) thrummed — engines flaring blue as it stabilized the whirlpools around the Merry.

Tessal stood on the Atlas' outer hull, armor slick with rain, one arm raised to control his swarm.

> "Deploy Tide Division— formation Delta Shell."

The sea split. From beneath the waves emerged dozens of Naval Mechas — the first generation of Tessal's aquatic army.

Each bore designs inspired by both sea and insect:

Manta-Beetles gliding through the current like armored rays,

Crab Drones gripping rock faces with magnetic claws,

Jelly Cicadas pulsing bioluminescent light to calm the raging waters,

and towering among them, the Turtle-Atlas Hybrid, the Tide Carrier's core guardian, lumbering forward like a walking fortress.

The currents evened as the Tide Division synchronized, redirecting pressure away from the Merry.

The ship steadied, riding smoothly atop the swirling waters.

> Nami stared in disbelief. "He's… controlling the flow?"

"Not controlling," Tessal corrected through the comms, "stabilizing. The sea's like metal — you just need to know where to strike and where to bend."

Moments later, the Merry crested the peak — and the world spread open before them.

The Grand Line stretched far and wild, sunlight piercing the clouds like gold through smoke.

Luffy stood at the bow, eyes burning with excitement.

> "We made it!"

"We're officially pirates of the Grand Line!" Usopp shouted, crying with joy.

Behind them, the Atlas' engines dimmed as Tessal lowered its profile.

The mecha swarm retreated into the water, leaving only ripples.

> "Beautiful, isn't it?" Tessal whispered to himself. "A sea full of unknowns."

---

The Whale and the Whisper

Their celebration was short-lived.

Moments later, the Merry collided with something massive — a wall of flesh and steel.

A deep groan echoed across the water.

> "A… whale?" Sanji gaped.

"No ordinary whale," Nami said, eyes wide. "It's huge!"

The whale — Laboon — rose from the depths, its scars glinting like silver seams. It wailed mournfully, slamming its head against the Red Line.

Luffy shouted, "Hey! Stop hurting yourself, big guy!"

But the whale didn't listen.

Then, Tessal's voice came through, calm and analytical.

> "Don't attack. That's not rage — it's grief."

He launched a single drone — a Siren Scout, a prototype of his new aquatic AI general.

The silver-blue mech swam to Laboon, projecting a soft resonance frequency through the water — an imitation of whale song, adjusted by Siren's evolving sound sensors.

Slowly, Laboon's eyes softened. The massive creature stopped striking the cliff and turned toward the small ship and the figure standing on the Atlas' lowered deck.

Tessal stepped forward, removing his helm. The wind caught his white hair as he extended a hand.

> "Easy, friend… we're not your enemies."

Laboon let out a deep, low rumble — a sound that vibrated the hulls of both ships.

For a brief moment, man and beast met eye to eye.

> "So much pain," Tessal murmured. "You're waiting for someone… aren't you?"

Crocus' lighthouse came into view, and the Straw Hats soon learned the truth — of Laboon's promise, of the pirates who never returned.

Tessal stayed quiet as they spoke, but his hands clenched. He had seen too many creations abandoned by their makers.

Later, when Luffy made his mark on Laboon's head and promised to return, Tessal smiled faintly.

> "That's how you forge bonds — not from metal, but from will."

---

Evening on the Grand Line

That night, anchored near Crocus' lighthouse, the Atlas and the Merry floated side by side.

Tessal sat in his workshop aboard the Atlas, surrounded by glowing schematics.

Drakarion and Siren's beta cores pulsed faintly in their charging pods — one fire-red, the other deep azure.

He spoke quietly to them.

> "You two will lead soon. Not because I command it — but because you'll learn why we fight."

On a nearby screen, reports from across the East Blue scrolled by — small villages repaired by mechanical bugs, pirates driven away by automated defenses, Marines sending letters of truce instead of arrest warrants.

His small acts of compassion were spreading.

Still, the Grand Line was a different beast.

He opened a message file — intercepted Marine transmission:

> Subject: "Beetleforger — classified as Emerging Threat Level Sigma.

Sighted in Loguetown. Connection to Straw Hat crew confirmed.

Marine Science Division requests capture or recruitment."

Tessal sighed. "So they've noticed."

He looked to the sea, watching the waves glow under moonlight.

> "Let them come. My forge is just beginning."

---

Epilogue – The Sparks Ahead

The Straw Hats set sail once more — heading toward Whiskey Peak.

The Merry cut through calm waters, while the Atlas shadowed them from afar, its engines silent but ever present.

Inside the carrier bay, Siren's eyes flickered open for the first time — glowing ocean-blue.

> "...Master… where is the sea calling me?"

Tessal turned, smiling faintly.

> "Everywhere, Siren. And soon, you'll learn to listen."

The hum of machinery echoed softly — the song of a growing mechanical fleet and the promise of a man who wielded compassion as fiercely as steel.

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