After saying goodbye to Otama, Charles summoned Zhongming and left Wano with Stella.
Of course, before leaving Charles didn't forget to warn Kurozumi Orochi. Relying solely on Fukurokuju to pass on the message, a man like Orochi wouldn't behave himself.
So Charles sent a shot of the Fire Dragon's Radiant Flame toward Orochi's palace.
As Charles expected, even without Fukurokuju bluntly conveying the threat, it still made Orochi jump with rage.
Thinking himself the master of Wano, Orochi would not allow anyone in Wano to defy him. Just as he was about to dispatch ninja and samurai to raze Charles's farm, the real warning arrived.
Charles didn't particularly care whether Orochi could be killed by his warning, and in fact Orochi survived by relying on his Devil Fruit ability.
The Snake-Snake Fruit, Mythical Zoan: Yamata no Orochi form, grants the power of resurrection.
But after escaping with his life, Orochi lost the nerve to make trouble.
Satisfied, Charles left Wano and plunged headlong into this magnificent sea.
Wano's unique terrain is a veritable natural barrier, but for someone who flies like Charles, it wasn't much.
Once away from Wano, Charles decided to head first for Paradise, the first half of the Grand Line.
Mainly, after leaving Wano he encountered a News Coo and learned the precise point in time from the paper.
The East Blue overlord Don Krieg being defeated by rookie pirate Straw Hat Luffy was an event as small as they come on the sea.
After all, the East Blue is called the weakest sea; both Krieg and Luffy were nobodies who couldn't attract any attention yet.
Who could have imagined the latter would go on to topple a Warlord, storm Enies Lobby, punch a Celestial Dragon, turn Impel Down upside down, and in the end even bring down the Emperors?
But that confirmed the Straw Hat Pirates were just getting started, which meant there was still time to show up for plenty of iconic moments.
With that in mind, Charles immediately decided to change course to Paradise to meet this world's protagonist.
Charles had a high opinion of Luffy. After all, no other protagonist manages to be both childish and mature at the same time.
Yes, in Charles's eyes Luffy is mature—not in conduct, but in the way he maintains his convictions from beginning to end.
To become the freest person, have the greatest adventures, and do what he wants to do! Apart from the time Ace died to protect him, Luffy has never wavered.
That's a quality only the most mature people possess. Unlike many other protagonists who only figure it out after going through a lot—some never do.
As for the childish part, that needs no elaboration. Being able to stay willfully childlike is no easy feat either.
Even with a clear destination, sailing on the open sea isn't so simple.
The Grand Line's magnetic fields and even weather are chaotic. While Charles and company didn't have to rely on a Log Pose to hop island to island like everyone else, finding one's way on the endless ocean is no easy task.
Charles wandered for quite a while before finding an accurate route to the first half of the Grand Line.
It's no easy thing to go from the second half of the Grand Line back to the first.
The official route is the elevator on the Red Line under World Government control.
For pirates, that's naturally a nonstarter, so there are two feasible paths.
One is to get a ship coated, pass Fish-Man Island beneath the Red Line, and arrive that way. The other is to cross the Calm Belt through a Sea King nesting ground into one of the Four Seas, then return to the Grand Line via Reverse Mountain.
For Charles, there was no need for anything so troublesome. He simply chose the nearest path and flew straight over the back side of Reverse Mountain. It goes to show that flight is useful in any world.
After circling several islands, Charles finally saw the spectacular Red Line.
Perhaps because he flew, he didn't feel any danger in the New World.
As it happened, he was lucky: the islands he passed all flew the flags of Whitebeard and Red-Hair.
Compared to the other two Emperors, these two kept much more peaceful territories.
High above the Red Line, Charles clearly saw five waterways in an asterisk shape, the center channel leading to the first half of the Grand Line.
Zhongming set down before the lighthouse at the foot of the Red Line, the first stop of the Grand Line known as Twin Capes.
Charles recalled Zhongming, which turned back into a paper doll, and while replenishing its magic he murmured a word of thanks for the hard work.
The lighthouse door opened, and an old man with flower-petal decorations on his head stepped out.
"Someone rode a bird over the Red Line! Young man, you didn't come from the Four Seas, did you?"
Wearing a loud floral shirt, he looked like an ordinary retired grandpa, but the things he'd experienced were beyond imagination.
He had been the Pirate King's ship doctor, sailed with Roger to Laugh Tale. He might be old, but his eye was as sharp as ever.
Crocus saw at a glance that Charles and Stella were anything but ordinary. They were worlds apart from the rookies who had just come to the Grand Line from the Four Seas.
"We didn't," Charles said. "We came back from the New World. There are plenty of sights in Paradise too—it would be a shame not to see them!"
Crocus nodded. "True enough. There are wonders worth seeing everywhere!
But it's been a long time since I've met anyone like you!"
In all his years at Twin Capes, Crocus had seen countless rookie pirates who charged into the Grand Line shouting they'd become Pirate King.
Ambition, fame, wealth, dreams… Their reasons for putting out to sea varied, but few knew how to enjoy the journey toward their goal.
Enjoying the journey has no necessary connection to reaching the end, but those who can do it are certainly special.
Crocus had met such a man and shared the greatest adventure with him. That man became the Pirate King who defined an era.
Sadly, the ship's apprentice who inherited Roger's straw hat was burdened with far too heavy a charge; otherwise he would surely have been such a man as well.
Charles gave Crocus a different impression than Roger had.
If Roger did so by nature, Charles's came from cultivation through experience. Neither was better or worse; both were rare.
As Charles and Crocus spoke, the weather suddenly changed.
On the Grand Line, weather defies reason: clear skies one minute, rain and snow the next.
In an instant, heavy clouds swallowed the sky, promising a downpour.
Then a peculiar bellow rang out.
Crocus's expression changed to one of urgency. "So soon, again!"
He spun and dashed back into the lighthouse. Objects kept flying out the window as he rummaged frantically inside.
"What was that sound?" Stella asked, eyes full of curiosity.
Charles had already seen the scarred hide rising from the sea and guessed what was happening.
So he told Stella the story of the island whale and its promise to a certain pirate crew.
After hearing about the whale named Laboon, Stella's eyes were brimming when she looked at the scars on its head.
Then she stared in surprise as Crocus emerged with an armful of gear, opened a door in the whale's hide, and went straight into the surfaced Laboon.
Just like in the story, Laboon rose up directly in front of the channel and let out a mournful cry that tugged at the heart.
As they marveled, Charles suddenly noticed a sailing ship riding the current down the Red Line's waterway.
A goat-headed figurehead, a skull wearing a straw hat on the flag, orange trees on deck, and several very distinctive people aboard.
"This really is… quite a coincidence," Charles said.
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