"Good wine..." he murmured. "Truly good wine.
Kid Raiver, you really know how to enjoy life.
Residing in the Nine Heavens Palace, lying drunk among the Three Thousand Beauties, drinking the Four Seas Nectar."
Whitebeard's tone carried a hint of genuine envy, yet not a trace of jealousy:
"Gurarara! No wonder you're unwilling to set sail again. If it were me, I wouldn't want to leave either."
Raiver smiled faintly, not denying it.
"Newgate, with your current strength and status, living this kind of life shouldn't be difficult, right?"
Whitebeard shook his head with a laugh.
"Everyone has their own aspirations; I'm not interested in those things.
I just want to build a pirate crew like a big family.
My sons safe and sound, drinking together, eating together..."
He paused, then laughed heartily: "Gurarara! Saying this feels strangely sentimental!"
Raiver took a swig of wine, not laughing.
"You're right, everyone has their own aspirations. Everyone has things they want to do, lives they want to live."
He looked at Whitebeard:
"Newgate, what are your plans next?"
Whitebeard set down his wine bowl, thinking for a moment.
"A while ago, Neptune sent me a message.
He's ascended to become the New King of Fish-Man Island and invited me over for a drink to celebrate his coronation.
I should have gone earlier, but that crazy woman Linlin delayed me.
Now that Linlin's matter is resolved, I plan to head to Fish-Man Island."
"Fish-Man Island..." Raiver pondered thoughtfully. "I hear it's a place with beautiful scenery. I've never been there."
Whitebeard glanced at him, a flicker of amusement in his eyes:
"Gurarara! Then why not come along?"
Raiver considered it.
"Alright."
Whitebeard grinned. "Perfect chance to open Neptune's eyes and introduce him to the world's strongest man!"
Afterward, Whitebeard summoned Marco and the other division commanders.
"Raiver and I are heading to Fish-Man Island. You take the fleet back to base first."
"Understood, Pops."
Marco, along with Jozu, Vista, and the others, boarded the other ships.
Only the necessary sailors and the two Emperors of the Sea remained on the Moby Dick.
The Whitebeard Pirates' fleet slowly changed course, gradually disappearing over the distant horizon.
The Moby Dick alone turned its bow, sailing toward the direction of the Red Line.
...
The next day, afternoon.
"Pops, the Red Line is in sight!" shouted the sailor in the crow's nest. "We're not far from Fish-Man Island now!"
Whitebeard stood up, walked to the ship's railing, and gazed into the distance at the crimson giant wall spanning the horizon.
"Hmm. We'll head to Coating Island first to coat the ship, then dive."
Coating Island was the only supply station in this sea.
For ships in the New World wanting to reach the first half of the Grand Line, there were several passage methods:
The first, and most common, was the undersea route.
Coating the ship with a special resin film, diving to the depths of ten thousand meters.
Passing through the massive sea cave beneath the Red Line, transiting via Fish-Man Island, and finally surfacing at Sabaody Archipelago.
This route was extremely high-risk—Sea Kings, undersea currents, coating ruptures, Fish-Man Island factions...
Any single problem could mean the destruction of the ship and the death of all aboard.
The second method: the official route.
Apply to the World Government for a travel permit, abandon the ship, travel overland through the Holy Land Mariejois, and then switch to another vessel upon reaching the first half of the Grand Line.
For pirates, this route is equivalent to turning themselves in, and almost no pirate would choose it.
The third method: crossing the Calm Belt.
Sailing around the Calm Belt on either side of the Grand Line adds thousands of nautical miles to the journey.
Not only is this route extremely time-consuming, but the Calm Belt is also more densely populated with Sea Kings than the deep sea.
Without a powerful individual on board, it would be a suicide mission.
Just as Whitebeard was about to order the crew to head to the coating island, Raiver suddenly spoke:
"Why go through all that trouble?"
Whitebeard was taken aback. "Hmm?"
"It's just coating." Raiver stood up. "I can do it."
Whitebeard looked at him, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
He knew full well that Raiver's abilities were diverse and seemingly limitless.
But coating was a delicate craft that required specialized resin materials and years of training to master.
Why would the world's strongest man bother learning such a skill?
Raiver offered no explanation.
He simply raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread.
"Space Barrier."
A nearly transparent membrane rapidly expanded, stretched, and enveloped—
completely encasing the entire Moby Dick from the masts to the hull.
The membrane formed a perfect oval, its surface shimmering with a faint silver glow, resembling a giant bubble under the sunlight.
Whitebeard reached out and touched the "barrier." It felt soft yet resilient.
He pressed firmly, causing the membrane to bulge outward before springing back to its original shape.
He clicked his tongue in amazement. "Raiver, your Devil Fruit Ability is truly versatile.
This is the most powerful Devil Fruit I've ever seen. Bar none."
The Moby Dick slowly descended beneath the sea surface.
Five hundred meters. One thousand meters.
The surrounding light grew dimmer, and the water temperature dropped.
The massive silhouettes of Sea Kings loomed in the deep blue, curiously approaching before hastily retreating under the intimidating aura of Haki released by Whitebeard.
Three thousand meters. Five thousand meters. Eight thousand meters.
As they neared the ten-thousand-meter abyss, a glow appeared in the deep sea ahead.
As the Moby Dick drew closer, the glow grew brighter and clearer.
It was a giant bubble, completely enclosing an entire island.
The bubble's surface shimmered with iridescent hues—a unique effect of Fish-Man Island's "Sun Tree Eve," which channeled sunlight from the surface down to the ten-thousand-meter depths, refracting through the bubble.
Inside the bubble stood rows of coral structures, mermaids and fish-men swimming freely—the legendary dreamland:
Fish-Man Island.
The Moby Dick slowly approached the designated port on the eastern side of Fish-Man Island.
On the watchtower at the harbor, several fish-man soldiers armed with spears were on duty.
They first spotted the giant ship enveloped in silver light in the deep sea, momentarily stunned, then noticed the fluttering pirate flag—
crossed white whale bones with a crescent-shaped white mustache in the center.
"That's... the flag of the Whitebeard Pirates!!"
one fish-man soldier exclaimed in shock.
"Hurry! Inform King Neptune immediately! Whitebeard is here!"
By the time the Moby Dick slowly docked, the harbor was crowded with onlookers.
King Neptune himself, leading a contingent of royal guards from the Ryugu Palace, was already waiting at the port.
The new king of Fish-Man Island wore an expression of excitement and anticipation.
"Newgate!" Neptune strode forward and embraced Whitebeard tightly as he disembarked:
"You finally made it! I thought you'd forgotten about this old friend of yours!"
"Gurarara! How could I forget! Got held up by some trivial matters, that's why I'm late!"
At that moment, however, the gathered fish-men and mermaids found their attention drawn more to the figure standing behind Whitebeard.
It was a young man.
With black hair, crimson eyes, and a cold, stern face.
He wore a black-and-gold imperial robe embroidered with coiling dragons, a long black sword hanging at his waist.
He wasn't releasing any Haki, merely standing there quietly.
Yet his sheer "presence" made it impossible for anyone to look away.
"Wait... that young man is..."
"It can't be..."
"It's Raiver! The Emperor of the Fengtian Empire! The World's Strongest Man!"
Exclamations of shock erupted.
"Wow—!" A mermaid girl clasped her hands over her heart, her eyes turning into stars:
"That's Lord Raiver?! He's a hundred times more handsome than in the newspapers!!"
"Not only strong, but so cool and handsome! Oh my!"
"Lord Raiver! Look over here! Over here!!"
"Lord Raiver! Give me a chance!!"
Some bold mermaid girls had already pushed to the front of the crowd, waving their arms, not hiding the adoration in their eyes.
Worshipping and pursuing the strong was an instinct carved into the mermaid bloodline.
Raiver glanced at them and smiled faintly.
"Ahhh—!! Lord Raiver looked at me!!"
"I can't take it, I can't take it, I'm going to faint..."
King Neptune wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly ordered the guards to maintain order.
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