Chapter 294: Future Supernova
After Ian set sail, the first three days were fairly lucky, with consistently good weather. But by the fourth day, he encountered a massive storm.
Whether in the New World or the Grand Line, it was all the same—the ever-changing climate made smooth sailing impossible. Fortunately, Ian now had enough sailing experience. When the storm hit, he didn't recklessly try to navigate through it. Instead, he chose to stay put and battle the tempest.
He did this because, during a raging storm, it was impossible to discern direction. Sailing in such weather could easily lead to losing the course. Since Ian was on a small, single-person boat, even with the rough waves, he could do his best to steady the vessel and drift with the current. Storms generally came and went quickly—if he could just hold out through this period, it would be fine.
The only certainty was that he would end up soaked like a drowned rat. Fortunately, Ian had anticipated this situation when he originally made the rubbings of the inscriptions. He had chosen waterproof paper and ink, so the storm wouldn't ruin the rubbings.
After the storm passed, the sky cleared. Ian checked the sun to reorient himself, then hung his wet clothes on the boat to dry. Naked, he stood on the deck, controlling the vessel and continuing forward.
And so, Ian rather enjoyably experienced the sensation of the wind blowing against his bare skin... It was both embarrassing and thrilling! Luckily, out on the open sea, as long as he didn't encounter other ships, no one would know...
Before setting out, he had already studied the sea chart. Travira Island was relatively close to the northern Calm Belt, about a week's journey away. This was the direction he had chosen to take.
If he continued in this direction and crossed the Calm Belt, he would enter the North Blue!
Why not the East Blue? Because Ian was now in the New World!
Due to the unique geographical conditions, Ian and his crew had originally entered Reverse Mountain from the East Blue, then entered the Grand Line. This was essentially a backtracking route. In other words, the first half of the Grand Line was sandwiched between the East Blue and the South Blue. If Ian were still in the first half of the Grand Line, he could easily return to the East Blue from the Calm Belt at any time.
But unfortunately, he had now crossed the Red Line and was in the New World. Crossing the Calm Belt from here would only lead to the North Blue or the West Blue.
Of course, there was another option: Ian could return to the Red Line. Either go through the Fish-Man Island at the bottom, passing underneath to return to Sabaody Archipelago, then cross the Calm Belt again; or go over the top, passing through Mary Geoise, to return to the first half of the Grand Line.
But going through Fish-Man Island was very dangerous. Ian didn't know how to coat the ship there. As far as he remembered, only the resin produced on Sabaody Archipelago could withstand the immense pressure of the deep sea, making this route seem like a one-way trip.
As for climbing over the Red Line and going through Mary Geoise... Hah, forget it! Ian figured that even as a Warlord of the Sea now, he would probably be persona non grata in Mary Geoise. With his record of killing a Celestial Dragon, if he showed up there again, he might even be personally "escorted" by a Marine Admiral!
Ian didn't want to deal with that kind of trouble, so he directly headed for the North Blue. The North Blue also had routes connecting to Reverse Mountain, and from there, he could return to the East Blue.
Men always had a bit of an adventurous spirit. Ian wanted to see the scenery of other seas too...
……………………
About twenty days after Ian set sail, near the waters of the Luvneel Kingdom in the North Blue, a pirate ship was drifting on the surface.
This pirate ship was slowly sinking, its hull covered in damage marks, tilting to the starboard side. Yet, even as the ship sank, none of the sailors on board tried to save it. The reason was simple: everyone on that pirate ship was already dead.
Bodies lay scattered across the deck and in the cabins. The air still smelled of gunpowder smoke. Clearly, this ship had just been through a brutal battle, and unfortunately, it had been on the losing side.
Not far from this sinking ship, another large pirate vessel floated. This one was the victor of the battle.
As the winning side, this pirate ship was bustling with activity. The crew was busy tallying the spoils and captured supplies, repairing the ship's damage, and tending to their own wounded.
Above this ship, a black pirate flag fluttered. The design on the flag featured an iron cross emblem, and in the center of the cross was a somewhat terrifying, strange face.
In their spare moments, the pirates couldn't help but look up at this flag, their faces filled with pride.
Because their pirate crew was one of the three most famous and newly risen pirate groups in the North Blue in recent years! Their captain was Basil Hawkins, known as the Magician, with a bounty of 149 million Berries!
That's right, this pirate crew was the Hawkins Pirates.
The Hawkins Pirates had just defeated a reckless pirate crew that had foolishly challenged them. The battle ended quickly, with the Hawkins Pirates easily crushing their opponent and wiping out the entire enemy crew.
The crew was busy organizing their gains, while their captain and leader, Basil Hawkins, sat on the deck, holding a deck of tarot cards and performing a divination.
Hawkins had long golden hair, and his most distinctive feature was the barcode-like tattoo on his forehead. Several cards had already been flipped over in front of him.
"Strange," Hawkins muttered, looking at the divination results. "When I divined earlier, our crew's survival rate was 50%. But now that the battle is over, this probability hasn't changed at all."
Though he spoke with confusion, Hawkins's expression remained completely unchanged. His face gave the impression of being completely expressionless, almost like a mask.
The members of the Hawkins Pirates nearby knew their captain's divination abilities well. They exchanged glances and asked, "Captain, could it be that the pirate crew we just fought wasn't our real enemy?"
"That's the only way to interpret it," Hawkins said, picking up a card and examining it closely. "According to the divination results, our crew has a 50% chance of total annihilation and a 50% chance of complete survival. This suggests that our true enemy is extremely powerful. Life or death depends on our choices."
"A very powerful enemy?" The Hawkins Pirates members were shocked. "Could it be Trafalgar Law's Heart Pirates, or the Drake Pirates? Are we going to run into them?"
The Hawkins Pirates, the Heart Pirates, and the Drake Pirates were the three most active pirate crews in the North Blue recently. Even before entering the Grand Line, their captains already had bounties exceeding 100 million Berries.
Unlike the pirates in the East Blue, who had bounties in the tens of millions, pirate activity in the other three seas was much more rampant, so their bounties naturally rose accordingly.
But for now, only the captains of these three pirate crews had bounties over 100 million.
These three crews represented the strongest pirate forces in the North Blue in recent years. However, it was hard to say which one could completely dominate the others.
So, Hawkins didn't respond to his crew's speculation.
He stared at the tarot card in his hand. The card's design showed a compass pattern. In divination, this indicated that the enemy was coming from the south. Hawkins stood up, walked to the ship's railing, and gazed out at the southern sea.
"What's in that direction?" Hawkins asked his sailors.
The sailors paused for a moment, then replied, "Captain, have you forgotten? The Luvneel Kingdom is the country closest to the Calm Belt. Heading south from here will take you into the Calm Belt..."
"The Calm Belt? The Grand Line?" Hawkins said thoughtfully. "The legendary Grand Line, where Pirate King Roger hid his treasure. Maybe we should go and take a look..."