__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The meeting wrapped up quickly, just like Marine meetings always did.
Kyle felt a bit frustrated about it, but the feeling didn't last long.
In his memories, after Gol D. Roger reached the final island, Laugh Tale, he disbanded the Roger Pirates and went into hiding on Baterilla Island in the South Blue, where he married Portgas D. Rouge.
At this point, Roger should be diligently working on making a kid with Rouge, right? Kyle guessed to himself.
After nearly a year of peaceful, ordinary life, the Pirate King who shook the world would turn himself in to Marineford.
So what is the Pirate King like right now?
Dragging along a body ravaged by illness, he had forced himself all the way to the top, becoming the Pirate King at last. Then, because of his health or perhaps other reasons, he could only disband his crew and disappear onto an unnamed island in the South Blue.
It could be said that even if Roger didn't surrender a year later, he didn't have much time left to live anyway.
So what about Roger right now? How bad was his condition? How much of his peak strength remained?
When Kyle learned that he'd been assigned to the South Blue, his thoughts ran wild.
He suddenly felt nervous, then excited, and right after that, a fierce, indescribable fighting spirit surged up from deep inside.
How far was he now from that man, the Pirate King, the strongest in the world?
If they fought head-on, could he win?
Carrying those expectations, Kyle stayed at Marine Headquarters for about a week.
When the technology for Sea-Prism Stone–lined warships was sent back to the headquarters' shipyards, it immediately sparked a large-scale refit project for naval vessels. Thanks to the success of Kyle's mission, his ship, along with Sengoku's and Zephyr's, was placed at the very top of the priority list.
As a result, just seven days later, his warship was fully upgraded.
Which meant he could finally set off for the South Blue.
Kyle didn't waste any time. In fact, many vice admirals and other officers with nearby assignments had already departed earlier, choosing not to wait for their ships to be modified and planning to handle it later instead.
At the harbor, Kyle ran into Borsalino, who was also preparing to set sail.
"Long time no see, little Kyle,"Borsalino greeted him with a broad smile. Then he glanced at Crocodile, Bullet, and the others behind Kyle, and his expression subtly changed.
"Man, whether it's you or your subordinates, you all look terrifying."
Kyle burst out laughing.
"If anyone's terrifying, it's you."
Borsalino waved a hand. "I just want to do my job properly and live a peaceful life."
After a pause, he sighed.
"But lately, this world really hasn't been peaceful at all."
"Pirates, Marines, even the World Government."
"One scarier than the last."
Kyle caught the deeper meaning in his words and asked, "Borsalino, what do you mean by that?"
"The World Government's moving too?"
Borsalino glanced around. His smile faded as he lowered his voice.
"You didn't know?"
"Compared to us, they're clearly taking Roger's impact much more seriously."
"This time, it's not just CP being deployed to track Roger's crew."
"Even the Knights of God seem to have shown up."
Kyle froze. "The Knights of God? What's that?"
"Who knows?"Borsalino shrugged.
"Just sounds scary."
"As for whether they're really involved this time, I can't say."
He straightened up again.
Kyle fell into thought, silently speculating about just how much power the World Government truly held.
The two chatted casually for a bit longer. Then Borsalino poked Kyle's well-built chest with curiosity, clicking his tongue.
"In just two years, you've changed a lot."
"With a body like this, plenty of delicate little beauties would probably curl up trembling in the corner of their beds."
Kyle was speechless. "You creepy old bastard."
"Heh."
"I'll accept creepy, but old is pushing it. I'm only a few years older than you."
Borsalino shook his head, stretched lazily, and looked at his fully prepared warship.
"Time for me to head out too."
"Once things settle down, I'm definitely taking a nice long vacation."
Kyle had nothing left to say to him. With a hint of emotion, he replied, "Sometimes I really envy your clock-in, clock-out work attitude."
"It's just a job, isn't it?" Borsalino said, waving as he turned his back and boarded the ship.
At the same time, Stalker was already on deck, waving toward him.
"Well then, we should get going too," Kyle sighed lightly.
The warship slowly sailed out through the Gates of Justice. After that, Stalker and Mina frowned as they carefully studied their route.
"Since our ship can pass through the Calm Belt, there's no need to go around through the Grand Line to reach the South Blue."
"We can just cut straight through the Calm Belt to the east and enter the South Blue directly."
Before long, the two finalized their navigation plan.
Kyle hadn't been involved in steering or navigation for a long time now. As long as the destination was set, his navigator and shipwright would execute it flawlessly.
It made him appreciate, more than once, how good it felt to have capable people under him.
The ship entered the Calm Belt around two or three in the afternoon.
The moment they crossed in, everyone's expressions changed slightly, because the sensation was unmistakable.
The once-billowing sails suddenly went slack. The clothes and cloaks that had been fluttering stopped moving entirely. There was no force in the air anymore.
There really was no wind at all.
Even the sea beneath the warship turned eerily still.
Kyle found it astonishing. Everything in the world was always in motion, and motion inevitably caused air to move, creating wind and currents.
A butterfly flapping its wings somewhere far away might one day stir up a storm on the other side of the sea.
That was the nature of movement.
Simply put, something like the Calm Belt shouldn't exist according to science, yet it undeniably did.
Evans, Rosinante, and the others leaned over the railing, their faces tense and alert.
Massive shadows hovered just below the surface of the sea, silent and unmoving, radiating a sense of dread that made one's heart pound.
There was no doubt about it. These were Sea Kings.
Crocodile and Bullet stared down at the ocean as well, both grim and silent.
Kyle had never seen creatures this enormous before. The sheer scale of them hit him with an indescribable sense of shock.
He had seen giants, like Saul, but compared to these rulers of the sea, even giants felt small.
The warship moved forward slowly. They saw one Sea King in particular, so large it was like a mountain, floating on the water like a small island, only its back exposed, covered in jet-black scales.
A truly horrifying existence.
A while later, they spotted what looked like an island thick with lush forest.
"There's an island inside the Calm Belt?"Crocodile said in surprise.
"That's Amazon Lily. Nine Snake Island,"Bullet said heavily.
"An island where only women live."
When he had followed Roger, he'd heard legends about this place.
Everyone gazed at the island as they passed by it.
By evening, the ship finally emerged from the Calm Belt.
In an instant, a gentle breeze brushed across them, making everyone's spirits jolt.
"We're in the South Blue!"
"That was way too fast!"
"..."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________