Gloriosa was momentarily at a loss, panic flooding her mind.
On that ship sailed not only the next candidate for Empress of Nine Snake Island, but also the child chosen by the serpent for the generation after that. If Tritoma and the others perished, the loss to Nine Snake would be unbearable.
And the merchant vessel they now stood on had lost every sail in the earlier battle; she was dead in the water, powerless to help.
Wait—Charlotte Linlin!
Gloriosa jerked her head up, eyes shining with desperate hope as she pleaded:
Lady Linlin, you can fly! Please, go ahead and save them!
Charlotte Linlin frowned slightly. But I don't know where this so-called Deserted Island Nine is.
Take me with you—I'll guide you! Gloriosa said urgently.
Charlotte Linlin's gaze swept across the blood-stained Kuja crew on deck and fell silent.
Her meaning was clear—leave the wounded here? This place was anything but safe, and with the ship crippled they could only drift. If they tried to return later, they might never find them again.
Following that gaze, Gloriosa's heart clenched; a lifetime at sea told her the same thing.
Looking at her injured crew, who still trusted her completely, she felt her throat tighten, conflict raging in her eyes.
Captain, go! We'll wait for you to come back for us! one wounded woman forced out.
The rest nodded, eyes full of trust: That's right, Captain. The future of Nine Snake matters more!
We believe in you!
Gloriosa stared at those familiar faces, fists clenched, a bitter ache swelling inside. Struggle and reluctance flashed across her eyes, finally hardening into resolve.
She drew a shaky breath, voice trembling yet steel-hard: I will come back for you—I swear it!
She had considered sending another navigator with Charlotte Linlin, but the situation ahead was unknown and needed strength. As Captain and Empress of Nine Snake, she had to go.
Let's go, she said firmly to Charlotte Linlin.
Watching her, Charlotte Linlin saw the shadow of a certain white-haired rascal.
No—there's a way to take everyone, Charlotte Linlin declared, reaching a decision.
She could shift fully into beast form: a western dragon nearly a thousand meters long, easily able to carry them all.
She hadn't offered before because, deep down, she hated anyone setting foot on her back.
But now, looking at Gloriosa's guilty eyes and at the warriors who knew they might be abandoned yet still shone with courage, that reluctance felt trivial.
Really? Gloriosa exclaimed, joy flooding her heart.
Without another word Charlotte Linlin leapt back. A moment later vast power surged from her body, blinding white light flooding the sea.
Before the stunned onlookers she ballooned and shifted; in the blink of an eye a graceful, holy white dragon loomed beneath the sky.
Enormous sapphire wings eclipsed the sun, scales shimmering like pearls.
The dragon lowered her head, a grand, sacred female voice ringing out: Climb aboard—quickly!
Gazing up at the majestic creature, Gloriosa felt her chest swell with indescribable emotion.
A mighty being willing to set aside pride and let them ride her back—what sacrifice, what debt!
How could she repay it? Marriage? The thought flashed by, and paired with Charlotte Linlin's flawless beauty and might—whether as woman or dragon—it made Gloriosa's cheeks burn.
Captain, hurry up! The nimble crew had already helped the wounded onto the dragon's back and called for her.
Snapping back to her senses, Gloriosa quelled her racing heart and sprang up.
Coming!
When all were safely aboard, Charlotte Linlin's vast, holy voice rang out: Hold tight—taking off!
A gale roared; the sea dented beneath them as the elegant white dragon beat her wings and rose, blotting out the sky.
BOOM!
Moments after the dragon left, a colossal red bolt of lightning speared from the heavens, smashing the crippled merchantman and sending it to the bottom.
The unconscious pirates aboard would share their Captain's fate, forever sleeping beneath these waves.
Yet those on the dragon's back knew nothing of it.
Move over—I'm the Captain; I sit at the front! Gloriosa tried to assert her authority.
Not a chance! On Lady Linlin's back everyone's equal; even the Empress gets no special treatment! a crew-woman declared, clinging to a ridge of scale.
Exactly—well said!
Lady Linlin in dragon form is gorgeous! Her scales feel amazing!
Chatter and laughter rippled along the dragon's spine as the girls squabbled over who would sit closest to the head.
Feet the tiny vibrations and giggles on her back, the dragon rolled her violet eyes, black lines sliding down her forehead.
Women… troublesome creatures.
On a calm stretch of sea a Marine warship flying the Navy flag patrolled.
Sir—Rear Admiral Zephyr! a lookout screamed in terror.
On deck, Zephyr—who had been reviewing files on Charlotte Linlin—looked up. What is it?
Sir, up ahead… a colossal tsunami is bearing down! the lookout stammered.
Tsunami? Zephyr rose; in a flash his bulky frame landed beside the lookout.
He lifted the telescope and saw, far on the horizon, a towering blue wall of water rising silently, casting a grim shadow across the calm sea.
Impossible… He lowered the glass, scanned the cloudless sky, suspicion rising.
This sea, this weather—there's no way a tsunami forms here. This isn't the New World!
Sir, should we turn and retreat? the lookout asked urgently.
No, Zephyr said firmly.
If we don't stop it here, Sabaody Archipelago behind us will be devastated. Full speed—straight at it!
Aye! The lookout swallowed his fear and shouted the order:
Hard to port, bearing northwest thirty degrees—flank speed!
The small warship swung about like an ant charging an elephant, bravely racing toward the water wall that devoured the sky.
The tsunami loomed closer; beside it the warship looked like a toy, and the Marines on deck instinctively held their breath.
The blue wall's shadow already covered the ship; every sailor felt nature's suffocating, annihilating pressure.
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