Chapter 819: Coming from the Storm
On a global nautical chart, you can always see two parallel lines flanking the Red Line, marking off strip-like areas labeled as the Calm Belt. However, that's just on the map. When you're actually sailing on the sea, these regional boundaries are invisible. The Calm Belt has always been a subject of intense study for meteorologists and geologists worldwide, but to this day, no one knows exactly how they formed. Their magical property is this: if it's said there's no wind, then there absolutely is no wind!
If a sailor encounters a storm while at sea, battling the fierce winds and rain, and suddenly everything becomes calm and sunny, don't doubt it—you haven't hit an abnormal climate; you've been blown into the Calm Belt!
Since many ships in this world still retain the tradition of sailing with wind, entering the Calm Belt suddenly causes them to lose power instantly. This is extremely dangerous for those on board because losing mobility means you can't evade danger when it arises. And the Calm Belt is the nest of massive Sea Kings; one careless move could mean being devoured by them.
Every year, a large number of ships meet with accidents in the Calm Belt, vanishing without a trace. For the people of this world, the Calm Belt has always been a relatively dangerous place.
However, that doesn't mean the Calm Belt is completely impassable. In fact, many pirates challenging the Grand Line, upon realizing their abilities aren't up to the task, often try to cross the Calm Belt to escape the Grand Line. Most of these pirates fail and end up at the bottom of the sea, but a small number of lucky ones manage to escape. The legends and terrors of the Grand Line spread across the Four Seas are often brought back by these successful escapees.
Currently, the only vessels that can safely navigate the Calm Belt are Marine warships. After applying Vegapunk's research, the bottoms of Marine warships are embedded with Seastone, allowing them to avoid harassment from Sea Kings in the Calm Belt.
Marine scientist Vegapunk is an extremely important figure to the Marines and the World Government. Based on his research and inventions, they have even created the Marine Science Unit. Many experimental weapons are first issued to the Marine Science Unit for verification before gradually being rolled out across the entire Marine force.
It could be said that if the Marines and the World Government were given a little more time, the Marines' combat strength might become powerful enough to truly end the Great Pirate Era... maybe.
Since "if" is mentioned, it means there are always twists and surprises...
At this very moment, at the border between the West Blue and the Calm Belt, a Marine fleet of twelve ships was cruising on the sea.
Although this fleet used standard Marine warships, the emblem on their sails differed from the usual Marine insignia. The Marine flag features a flying seagull-like pattern, but this fleet's flag had a long sword piercing through the center of the seagull!
This was the exclusive emblem of the Marine Science Unit, the implication clear: the Marine Science Unit would become the Marines' sharp blade!
Though nominally a branch of the Marines, the Marine Science Unit actually only takes orders from the World Government. This fleet of the Marine Science Unit was dispatched on the orders of the Five Elders specifically to protect the underwater secret research facility here!
Dr. Vegapunk had been secretly transferred here a week ago. The Marine Science Unit didn't know why the World Government moved him here, but they didn't ask questions.
There were six identical patrol fleets in total, each with twelve warships. These seventy-two ships rotated in two shifts, continuously cruising within a radius of one hundred nautical miles centered on the research facility. Their orders were simply to patrol and stand guard: any unauthorized vessel entering the area was to be sunk immediately, no questions asked!
This was a very unreasonable order, but it also ensured that the location of the research facility wouldn't be discovered.
The current fleet was one of those on routine patrol. On these twelve warships, there were not only elite Marine soldiers equipped with new weapons and larger, more powerful naval cannons, but also three Pacifistas on each ship to handle special situations.
At that moment, on the fleet's flagship, a Rear Admiral was raising a telescope, gazing at the sea ahead. Their current position was within the Calm Belt, but not far ahead lay the Grand Line. So, the warships were bathed in bright sunshine, but on the other side of the sea, a dark mass of wind and rain loomed.
It was a storm, its exact intensity unknown.
"Try to avoid it. Sail along the edge of the Calm Belt!" the Rear Admiral ordered.
The sailing command quickly reached all the warships, and the fleet began to slowly turn, tracing a massive arc to skirt the edge of the Calm Belt.
However, just as the soldiers on the warships were nervously watching the distant storm from the railing, the three Pacifistas standing on the deck suddenly emitted a beeping sound. All three simultaneously turned to the right, also staring at the distant storm.
"What's wrong?" the Rear Admiral asked, startled.
"Intruder!" one of the Pacifistas suddenly said.
The Rear Admiral's heart skipped a beat. He knew the Pacifistas' detection capabilities were far superior to his telescope. If the Pacifistas said there was an intruder, it was absolutely certain!
So, shouting for the entire fleet to be on alert, he raised his telescope again, staring intently at the stormy sea.
Before long, numerous dark shadows suddenly appeared faintly within the black mist ahead on the sea!
The Rear Admiral immediately realized these were ships passing through the storm, and there seemed to be quite a few of them!
But... so what? The Rear Admiral sneered coldly. With so many ships, it was probably just some unlucky large pirate crew that had been blown toward the Calm Belt by the storm.
No matter who it was, he'd just take them out. His orders were to eliminate all ships and people entering this sea area. Whether pirate ships or merchant vessels, they could only blame their own bad luck.
"Fleet, line up in a column! All cannons, prepare to fire!" the Rear Admiral commanded.
Thus, the twelve warships quickly formed a single line. The gunports on the starboard side opened, revealing over a hundred uniquely designed cannons, their muzzles aimed at the distant sea.
All the Marine soldiers wore expressionless faces. Over the past few days, they had sunk many ships like this and had grown numb to the impending attack.
Still, they were somewhat curious. What expression would those ships, having survived the storm, show when they suddenly saw this Marine fleet with its cannons aimed at them?
The leading Rear Admiral thought the same, but for some reason, he felt something was subtly off...
The shadows in the storm mist grew clearer, indicating the ships were about to break through the storm.
But just then, a beam of light suddenly burst from the storm mist, shooting straight toward the Marine fleet.
Whatever that light was, it flew incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it landed on the sea near the fleet, and with a thunderous boom, sent a massive spray of water hundreds of meters high into the air!
The Rear Admiral and all the Marine soldiers were startled. Before they could understand what kind of attack that was, ship after ship emerged from the distant sea before their eyes.
Though the ships varied in size, all of them and their sails bore a very distinctive emblem.
Moreover, the lead ship was particularly unusual. Its figurehead was a divine dragon, its winding body extending along the hull to the stern, where a dragon's tail formed the rear.
The moment he saw that flagship and the emblem on all the ships, the Rear Admiral's mind went blank with a deafening roar!
"Rev... Revolutionary Army!!!???"
He blurted out in shock, but his voice was so strained it sounded terrible.
It wasn't just him. The soldiers and officers on the other warships were also stunned. As the greatest enemy of the World Government and the Marines, they naturally knew who the Revolutionary Army was. But why were they suddenly appearing here!?
And... one, two, three, eight, nine, ten—the Revolutionary Army had over forty ships! They had never seen the Revolutionary Army deploy such a massive force at once!
This time, the Marine Science Unit was completely caught off guard. For several minutes after the Revolutionary Army fleet appeared, the Marines failed to fire their cannons in time...
Meanwhile, on the lead flagship, Ian was talking with Dragon.
"Dragon, your Devil Fruit ability is really handy!" Ian said with a grin, glancing back at the storm behind them. "This Marine patrol fleet probably thinks we got caught in the storm. Little do they know, it was all cover for a sudden approach!"
Dragon smiled but said nothing. As a Mythical Zoan Dragon-Dragon Fruit user, summoning wind and rain was child's play for him. Using a storm as cover to ambush the Marine fleet had been part of the plan all along.
Behind them, Ace and Sabo were also laughing. Ace stepped forward and patted Ian on the shoulder, saying, "But your attack just now was off. If you'd hit a warship, this ambush would have been perfect!"
"Don't worry, I've adjusted the angle this time!" Ian said, reaching into a crate of iron cannonballs on the deck beside him. He picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and then fierce electric currents suddenly surged along his arm. With a swing, he hurled the cannonball forward!
The moment it left his hand, a deafening sonic boom erupted, blowing everyone's hair and hats high into the air. The cannonball Ian had thrown transformed into a flash of orange light, shooting straight ahead.
The powerful airflow split the sea surface in its path. As Ian had said, his Railgun was finally dialed in. The cannonball struck one of the warships dead-on!
Like a blooming firework, the massive warship was instantly blown apart, disintegrating into fragments before the terrified eyes of countless Marine soldiers, vanishing into ash!
Ian's more powerful Railgun was just that domineering!
Ian's Railgun shot was like a horn of attack. As the warship was blown to pieces, all the Revolutionary Army ships erupted in unison. Countless cannonballs flew from the vessels, raining down on the opposing Marine fleet.
The operation to rescue Vegapunk had officially begun...