At the South Blue entrance of the Reverse Mountain canal, the White Dragon began its ascent once again.
Originally, Bardock had assumed that an incredibly powerful ship could simply sail down the uphill canal backwards if they needed to return to one of the Four Blues. He quickly realized how absurdly naive that thought was. The sheer, violent kinetic force of the updraft current was absolute; conventional methods could never overcome it. Fortunately, the White Dragon was completely unconventional. They could fly.
"Whoa! A canal where the water flows up a mountain?! That's completely impossible!" Kid yelled, his eyes wide.
"So this is Reverse Mountain," Killer murmured. "If we rode the current all the way down the other side, we'd enter the Grand Line..."
"This mountain is massive! You can't even see the peak through the clouds!" Galdino pushed up his glasses, staring upward in awe.
"Look at those clouds! They look just like..."
"Hmph! Stop making such a fuss over nothing! You guys are acting like country bumpkins," Perona scoffed, crossing her arms and floating nonchalantly.
The new crew members were genuinely astounded by the sheer, geographical impossibility of Reverse Mountain. Meanwhile, the veteran crew members maintained completely calm, stoic expressions... conveniently forgetting that they had screamed just as loudly the very first time they rode the Knock Up Stream.
As the White Dragon approached the absolute summit—right before the current violently crested and plunged into the Grand Line—Enel seamlessly channeled electricity into the rotors. The ship smoothly lifted off the roaring water and soared into the sky. Following the path of the specific canal that flowed from the East Blue, they rapidly descended and landed gently on the calm, sapphire waters of the weakest sea.
The East Blue. Universally renowned across the globe as the 'Weakest Sea'.
Ever since the legendary execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, a full decade ago, the East Blue had completely failed to produce a single 'Great Pirate' capable of carrying the banner of the new era.
The reason was incredibly simple: Vice Admiral Garp. Whenever a hot-blooded, promising rookie pirate finally started making a name for themselves in the East Blue, Garp would inevitably return home 'on vacation' and completely obliterate their crew in passing.
Those who survived were either hopelessly mediocre thugs or incredibly lucky cowards. In terms of overall combat strength, the East Blue was leagues behind the North, South, and West Blues.
Currently, the only pirate crews in the East Blue with even a shred of notoriety were the Cook Pirates (Zeff) and the Krieg Pirates. The Black Cat Pirates (Kuro) were likely still operating in obscurity, and the Arlong Park incident was still years away, as Arlong wouldn't be released from Impel Down until Jinbe officially accepted the Warlord position.
"The weather is beautiful, and the sea is incredibly calm. We're actually quite close to the Polestar Islands. Let's make that our first stop," Bardock said, pointing to a specific cluster on his nautical map.
Robin tilted her head, the name sounding familiar. "The Polestar Islands? Isn't that the archipelago where Loguetown is located? The 'Town of the Beginning and the End'?"
"Exactly," Bardock confirmed with a nod. "It's the hometown of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and it's also the exact location where he was executed. Hence the title."
"Ooh! Our very first stop is the Pirate King's hometown?!" Perona's eyes sparkled with genuine interest.
"Pirate King Roger..." Kid muttered, his fists clenching slightly.
The rest of the crew was equally excited. In the Great Pirate Era, Gol D. Roger was an absolutely inescapable topic. Visiting his birthplace and his execution platform was practically a mandatory pilgrimage for anyone sailing the seas.
As the White Dragon sailed closer to the Polestar Islands, maritime traffic noticeably increased. Sweeping his gaze across the horizon, Bardock easily spotted several ships openly flying the Jolly Roger. It made sense; Captain Smoker hadn't been stationed in Loguetown yet. The current Marine garrison in the town was clearly too weak or corrupt to effectively deter local piracy.
BOOM!
A loud cannon shot suddenly echoed across the water. A nearby pirate ship was actively sailing toward them, firing a warning shot. However, the gunners were incredibly incompetent; the cannonball missed the White Dragon by a wide margin, splashing harmlessly into the ocean.
A dangerous, lethal spark violently flashed in Enel's eyes. 'A pathetic, third-rate pirate crew actually dares to bare its fangs at us? Not sinking them immediately was my mercy, and they dare to attack?!'
Enel instantly raised his hand, fully intending to vaporize the ship with El Thor.
"Hold on, Enel. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?" Bardock chuckled, gently stopping him. "Let Kid handle it."
Kid's eyes lit up fiercely. He had been itching for a fight for weeks. "Leave it to me, Captain!"
When the pirate ship fired a second cannonball, Kid confidently stepped up to the railing, thrusting his hand forward. "Repel: Reflection!"
The cannonball, which was already drastically off-course, was violently grabbed by Kid's magnetic field in mid-air. With a sharp twist of his wrist, Kid violently hurled the heavy iron sphere right back at the pirate ship.
Panic instantly erupted on the enemy deck. They were completely paralyzed by a single, returning cannonball. As expected of East Blue pirates; they were incredibly weak.
Kid's aim was infinitely more precise than theirs. The reflected cannonball smashed directly into the pirate ship's exposed ammunition stockpile on the main deck.
KRA-BOOOOM!
A massive chain reaction of explosions rapidly tore the pirate ship apart. The hull violently splintered, and the ship immediately began sinking. However, a few quick-witted pirates managed to dive into the ocean before the final explosion.
Bardock casually flicked his finger. A small wisp of the Flying Nimbus detached from his cloud, swooped down over the ocean, grabbed a floundering pirate by his collar, and unceremoniously dumped him onto the deck of the White Dragon.
"Start talking," Bardock demanded, looking down at the coughing pirate. "There are plenty of other ships around here. Why did you specifically target us?"
The pirate scrambled backward, absolutely terrified. He answered honestly, "O-Our Captain said he didn't recognize your flag! He said you must be new rookies with no backing, so it would be completely safe to rob you!"
"Oh? Is that so?" Bardock raised an eyebrow in mild amusement. "And what kind of 'backing' do the other merchant ships around here have?"
"The Navy, obviously! Who else?!" The pirate rolled his eyes, seemingly forgetting his captive status for a second to mock what he deemed a stupid question.
Bardock didn't get angry. He simply looked over the railing at the sinking wreckage. "Which one of those guys thrashing in the water is your Captain?"
To Bardock's surprise, the pirate's face instantly twisted into profound sorrow. "He... he got blown up in the explosion! Sigh... I don't understand it! Over the last six months, every single Captain I join ends up dying in a horrific accident! Not a single one of them has managed to survive longer than three months!"
The last half of the sentence was muttered under his breath as a genuine, depressed complaint.
Bardock stared at him. 'So this guy is a literal Captain-killer? His own sheer, idiotic luck completely curses anyone he works for?'
"Get out of here!"
Bardock casually kicked the pirate back over the railing into the ocean. It was better to let a jinx like him live so he could go ruin the life of the next East Blue pirate captain he joined.
"Bardock," Robin asked, walking over. "Why didn't you interrogate him about the current state of the Loguetown Marine Base?"
"There's no need," Bardock smiled, gesturing to the surrounding ocean. "The fact that a pirate ship was openly brazen enough to bombard us this close to Loguetown tells me everything I need to know. The local Navy is completely incompetent. They aren't a threat. The only person we actually need to avoid is Garp. And with Enel's Mantra, avoiding a single Vice Admiral shouldn't be a problem."
"Agreed," Robin nodded, smiling faintly.
Enel's Mantra truly was the ultimate radar system. Back in the South Blue, they had effortlessly bypassed several Marine blockades simply because Enel detected them from miles away.
The White Dragon sailed peacefully for a short while longer before finally arriving at the bustling port of Loguetown.
As they stepped off the ship onto the stone docks, the very first thing they saw was a massive, ornate triangular archway proudly displaying the word: 'LOGUETOWN'. The port was incredibly prosperous, with vibrant storefronts and bustling crowds lining the streets.
"Wow! There are so many people here!" Perona marveled, looking around eagerly.
"It seems a vast majority of them are tourists," Robin observed quietly, her eyes rapidly scanning the crowd. "Ah, I see. Most of them traveled here specifically to see the Pirate King's execution platform."
Within mere seconds of stepping off the ship, Robin had already gathered a massive amount of environmental intelligence.
Technically, Enel possessed a vastly superior intelligence-gathering range than Robin. However, his actual ability to process, filter, and analyze the mundane conversations he heard was far inferior to the archaeologist's. Robin could instantly distill chaotic street chatter into highly relevant, actionable intelligence, saving the crew massive amounts of time.
Currently, Enel had already located the execution platform. "I found it. Let's go see the Pirate King's final resting place."
Ever since they descended from Sky Island, Enel had heard the name 'Pirate King' so many times his ears were practically callous. He was genuinely curious about the man who started this chaotic era.
"Let's go," Bardock nodded, leading the way into the town. "Let's go see where the Great Pirate Era officially began."
As the crew walked down the bustling main street, their collective aura was undeniably overwhelming. Without even realizing it, Bardock was passively leaking a microscopic trace of his Conqueror's Haki. The ordinary civilians and tourists on the street instinctively parted like the Red Sea, unconsciously forming a wide, unobstructed path for the crew to walk through.