Chapter 60: Not Welcome
Knuckle held up a fist the size of a sandbag, glaring fiercely at Kyle, his voice loud and arrogant.
Morel, seeing that Kyle and Knuckle were about to throw down, looked at Knov and Shoot.
Knov and Shoot exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other. They turned their gazes toward Netero, who was happily waiting to watch the show.
"Hoh hoh hoh... You young ones want to bully an old man?" Netero said, feigning fear, though a spark of eagerness betrayed him.
"Chairman, I don't buy that act for a second," Knov said, adjusting his glasses. "Honestly, even all of us together... it feels like we're not enough to take you on." He wasn't joking.
Just as the brawl was about to erupt, an alarm blared across the Hunter. A school of Sea Kings was approaching from a kilometer away, the smallest of them at least ten meters long.
Knov looked at Morel.
Morel understood. He grinned and stepped forward.
"Too many Sea Kings here. We've barely been in the Calm Belt and this is the second attack. We can't train properly if we're constantly fighting them off."
He raised his massive pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled.
The smoke moved as if it were alive, spreading out rapidly. In moments, the entire battleship was enveloped in a thick, white cloud.
Then, the smoke changed. It formed a thin film, merging perfectly with the color and texture of the sea, rendering the ship invisible.
The charging Sea Kings stopped, confused, as their target simply vanished from sight.
Kyle stared, shocked. He knew Morel was strong, but covering a ship this size?
"It's only a hundred meters," Knuckle explained, seeing Kyle's confusion. "Master's Smoky Jail can cover up to 150 meters easily. And since the ship is just a rectangle, it's simple. He added In to the smoke."
"Smoke with In properties makes it undetectable unless you use Gyo."
Kyle understood. With Morel's ability, their ship was invisible to the naked eye and sensed presence. Unless the Sea Kings could use Nen or Observation Haki, they were ghosts.
"Chairman," Knov said, watching the monitor as the Sea Kings lost interest and swam away. "Now, no one will disturb us."
And so, the six of them began to fight.
It was a simple rule: no Nen abilities. Only Armament Haki and physical combat.
The brawl lasted half a day. By the end, everyone except Netero was completely exhausted.
As they ate, Kyle thought about Menchi. According to Netero, she was a Conjurer who could create various kitchen tools with special abilities. Her food wasn't just delicious; it had incredible restorative effects.
Netero claimed she could cook a hundred dishes in a minute. Even billionaires had to pay a fortune and beg to taste her cooking.
Unfortunately, she was on a mission when Netero contacted her and wouldn't be free for half a month.
Kyle really wanted to know what buffs her food could provide. If it boosted recovery speed, their training efficiency would skyrocket.
Kyle's goal wasn't to be the Pirate King or rule the world. His goal was simple: get strong enough here to challenge the Dark Continent back home.
This world was just his grinding spot.
Thanks to Morel's smoke, the Hunter crossed the rest of the Calm Belt without incident. Two days later, they arrived at the entrance to the Grand Line.
This was where the seven magnetic paths began. From here, they could choose any route they wanted.
They chose the first route.
"So this is the Grand Line," Knov observed. "The weather and climate here are chaotic."
He pointed out patches of storm clouds next to clear skies, and rain falling in isolated columns. It was impossible to predict when they'd hit a storm.
"The Grand Line is harsh. To navigate and survive, we need a Log Pose," Kyle said, looking out at the endless ocean. "We don't have one for this route. This is the most dangerous part of the trip. We have to find an island fast to get a Log Pose that points to the next island... and eventually to our destination, Sabaody Archipelago."
"I'll activate the radar," Knov said. "It has a range of 100 kilometers. We should find something."
He headed to the bridge. The radar sweep revealed several islands within range. The largest one showed faint signals of human habitation.
"That's the only one with people," Knov reported.
"Right. We head there first. We should be able to get a Log Pose," Kyle agreed.
The Grand Line was vast. Without a Log Pose, you could sail in circles forever. Without the radar, finding even the first island would have been a nightmare.
The Hunter stopped five kilometers out. Kyle, Netero, and Knov took a speedboat to the strange island's port.
As they got closer, the island's unique nature became clear.
Half the island was covered in black storm clouds, constantly thundering and flashing with lightning. The other half was bathed in sunlight under a clear blue sky, as if an invisible wall separated the two climates.
When their boat reached the port, a middle-aged man led a large group of armed, burly men to block the pier.
They all had golden hair and lightning-bolt markings on their bodies. Their eyes were unfriendly.
"I don't know who you are," the leader shouted, "but Raijin Island does not welcome outsiders. Leave immediately."