Ryuuto felt his own power.
[Wind Caller: Adept]
[Rain Caller: Novice]
But it was clear that at the Novice level, using Rain Caller was a significant strain. For now, Ryuuto could only manage to make it rain within a small area—a radius of about fifty meters.
In contrast, his mastery of Wind Caller was much higher, having already reached the Adept level. He wondered if this was because he had been using the Wind Caller ability constantly during battle while the trial card was active.
The Adept-level Wind Caller allowed Ryuuto to summon up to ten tornadoes at once, but his current stamina greatly limited how long he could use either skill.
Suppressing his excitement, Ryuuto turned his gaze back to the Wind and Rain Trial Card in his inventory.
[System Reminder: Using a trial card can accelerate skill mastery.]
It was only then that Ryuuto noticed the card's description had changed.
"So that's how it works!"
It all made sense now.
"My power has just received an epic-level boost," Ryuuto thought.
"Who needs a Devil Fruit with this!" he mused, his heart pounding with excitement. "It's incredible... I can control the weather!"
"Captain, are you all right?" Nami asked with concern, seeing him suddenly lost in thought.
"Hahahaha, what a great day!" Ryuuto laughed in response.
"Congratulations on your new strength, Captain!" Nami said, genuinely happy for him. It truly was a great day. Her captain had gained new skills, and she had obtained a Devil Fruit.
The days at sea passed quickly...
"Captain, I see Reverse Mountain! Once we climb it, we'll be in the Grand Line," Nami exclaimed, pointing one finger at the massive, towering continent of the Red Line and the other at her nautical chart.
"Finally," Ryuuto said with a yawn, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
With that, he leaped onto Momoo's head. "Be careful, Momoo. Don't stray off course." Ryuuto sat cross-legged, guiding the sea cow to prevent it from accidentally entering the Calm Belt.
"Moo!" Momoo nodded, its expression solemn. It could sense countless terrifying creatures lurking in the depths nearby. It was a nest of Sea Kings.
The closer they got, the more turbulent the water became. Fortunately, Momoo was an excellent swimmer, and it pulled the Tenglong smoothly into the upward-flowing channel.
"Wow, this is incredible!" Nami marveled, feeling the Tenglong being carried up the massive Red Line by the current.
After the Tenglong reached the summit, the combined force of the current's speed and the mountain's drop sent them plummeting downward.
"Are we going down now? Aaaah!!!" Nami shrieked, hugging the mast for dear life to keep from being thrown overboard.
"Moo!" Momoo panicked as well, its four limbs losing all power as it began to fall.
"Is history repeating itself?" Ryuuto mused, watching the scene unfold from his stable seat on the deck.
"Aah! If we hit the water like this, both Momoo and the Tenglong will be smashed to pieces!" Nami cried out, watching them fall.
They were getting closer and closer. Soon, they were only a few dozen meters from the sea's surface.
"Wind, come!" Ryuuto shouted, leaping into the air. He flung his hands forward, unleashing two tornadoes. The twin cyclones shot from his hands, growing larger and larger as they descended. By the time they reached the ocean, the two tornadoes had swelled to nearly a hundred meters tall.
Thump!
At that moment, Momoo and the Tenglong slammed down onto the tornadoes. The two cyclones spun in opposing directions, their winds buffering the fall and gradually dissipating the downward momentum of the ship and the sea cow.
Once the ship stabilized, Ryuuto immediately dispersed the two tornadoes.
Thud! Thud!
Momoo and the Tenglong landed safely on the surface of the sea.
"Whew... Captain, you're amazing!" Nami said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ryuuto. She knew that if he hadn't intervened, they would have been in serious danger.
"We've finally made it to the Grand Line safely," Ryuuto said, wiping the sweat from his brow. Summoning those two tornadoes had consumed a great deal of his stamina.
"Momoo, are you okay?" Nami asked, turning her attention to the sea cow.
Momoo's eyes were glazed over, and it was completely dazed.
"Moo!" At the sound of Nami's voice, Momoo gradually came to its senses and started to recover.
"Let's rest here for a bit," Ryuuto announced. After giving Nami instructions, he used Sky Walk to leap from the ship, landing beside the lighthouse at Twin Capes.
"Old man, be our ship's doctor!"
Beside the Twin Capes lighthouse, an old man with an afro and a floral shirt was leisurely flipping through a newspaper. It was Crocus.
"Young people have no manners these days. Don't you know to use a respectful title before you speak?" Crocus said, adjusting his small glasses without even looking up.
"Just as I expected! This old guy really has a personality," Ryuuto muttered with a sigh.
Still, recruiting Crocus was part of his plan. As the former doctor of the Roger Pirates, Crocus was not only a masterful physician but also incredibly strong. With his experience on board, their future voyages would be much smoother.
"Mr. Crocus, I am the captain of the Soaring Dragon Pirates, Ryuuto. I would like to invite you to join us," Ryuuto said, reintroducing himself.
"A rookie pirate? This old man just wants to spend the rest of his days here in peace," Crocus said, blowing a few smoke rings and looking at Ryuuto with disdain.
Thump... Thump!!
Suddenly, the Red Line began to shake with the sound of immense impacts.
Whaooooo...
With a long, mournful cry, a gigantic shadow emerged from the sea. Its body was so enormous that the Tenglong was no bigger than a single one of its teeth.
It was Laboon!
As Laboon surfaced, it created massive waves that pushed Momoo and the Tenglong right up against the shore by the lighthouse.
"Moo!" Momoo felt the awakening of a behemoth, and an overwhelming pressure washed over it.
"Captain, what is that thing!?" Nami shouted, leaping off the ship to join Ryuuto on the shore.
"It's Laboon," Crocus said, folding his newspaper and standing up before Ryuuto could even speak.
"Who's this old man?" Nami asked, looking curiously at the disheveled man.
Whaooooo...
Laboon tilted its head back and let out a sorrowful cry toward the Red Line. The low, mournful sound was filled with a profound sadness.
"Time to apply Laboon's medicine," Crocus said, shuffling toward the giant whale in his slippers.