Makoto and his group had stayed on Fish-Man Island for about half a month and were preparing to leave.
But on the day of their departure, Beam still couldn't hold it together.
"Chainsaw-sama!"
Beam hugged Makoto's legs tightly, kneeling on the ground, tears and snot smearing all over his legs.
"I will definitely become stronger! You have to wait for me!"
His voice was so piercing, like a farewell between life and death, that it made passing fish-men turn their heads.
Makoto was extremely speechless. He had to comfort him several times in a row.
"Alright, alright, it's not like we'll never see each other again."
"Really?"
"Really."
"You won't forget me, will you?"
"Won't."
"You promise?"
Makoto took a deep breath.
"I promise."
In the end, Neptune stepped in and peeled Beam off Makoto's legs.
"Nishikawa-sama, have a safe journey."
Makoto nodded and turned to board the Otherworlder-Go.
The sails were raised.
The gray-black skeleton of Susanoo once again enveloped the entire ship.
The Otherworlder-Go slowly ascended, passed through the exit passage above Ryugu Palace, and sailed into the dark deep sea.
The women stood on the deck, waving goodbye downwards.
Just like when they arrived, Makoto used Susanoo to envelop the Otherworlder-Go as it ascended all the way.
Passing through the dark deep sea, they reached the shallow waters where sunlight could reach—
"Splash—"
The Otherworlder-Go burst out of the water.
Susanoo was deactivated.
The women took deep breaths, inhaling the fresh sea breeze.
"We've finally arrived! So this is the New World, right?"
Sonoko stretched lazily, her face full of anticipation.
"I heard the climate here is especially harsh. Is that true..."
Yotsuba asked curiously.
Before Makoto could answer—
Boom!!!
A huge sound came from overhead.
Everyone looked up, their faces instantly turning pale.
A super hailstorm the size of a football field was falling from the sky at an alarming speed.
Its volume was so large that it blocked out half the sky, its shadow enveloping the entire Otherworlder-Go.
"Waaahhh!"
"Isn't this too exaggerated?!"
Moeha, the Nakano four sisters, and the other women who didn't yet have much combat ability fell onto the deck in fright.
Although Makoto had already told them on Fish-Man Island that the climate in the New World would be even harsher than the first half of the Grand Line.
But they hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated!
Makoto, however, was unhurried. He looked up at the hailstorm blotting out the sky, then turned to Nakano Yotsuba. "Yotsuba, use this to test your abilities."
Yotsuba immediately understood Makoto's meaning.
"O-okay!"
Taking a deep breath, Yotsuba steadied her stance.
She clenched her fists, and the power of the Magma-Magma Fruit inside her began to circulate.
"Gurgle, gurgle—"
The sound of bubbling came from her hands.
Her skin turned orange-red, her hands elementalized, her entire arms like magma just taken from the Earth's core.
The next moment, Yotsuba suddenly raised her right arm.
"Flamethrower!"
An orange-red column of magma erupted from her palm, shooting straight up towards the giant hailstorm high above.
This scene was somewhat reminiscent of the time during the Summit War when Akainu used his Magma-Magma Fruit abilities to block the iceberg thrown by Jozu.
Only this time, the volume of the hailstorm above everyone's heads was far smaller than the iceberg Jozu had thrown.
And Yotsuba's strength was still a hundred thousand miles away from Akainu's.
The moment the magma column hit the hailstorm, a violent 'hiss hiss hiss' sound erupted.
Steam filled the air, water droplets splashed.
The bottom of the hailstorm began to melt, but very slowly.
Yotsuba gritted her teeth, alternating her hands in spraying, sweat dripping from her forehead.
"Haa!"
She shouted loudly, and the power of the Devil Fruit inside her erupted completely—
Boom!!!
The giant hailstorm finally shattered from the middle, breaking into countless large and small fragments.
But a problem followed—
Among the shattered hailstorm fragments, many were the size of basketballs, their surfaces still burning with magma flames, falling downwards like small meteors.
"It seems Yotsuba still has a lot to learn."
Utaha commented as her hands quickly formed hand seals.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A fierce wind surged from her palm, turning into a rotating air current that blew away all the burning fragments.
Kotonoha drew her sword and transformed into the Katana Devil, releasing Iai Slash.
A flash of silver-white sword light passed, and several larger hailstorm fragments were cut into pieces mid-air, scattering as fine ice crystals.
Reze snapped her fingers.
Bang— Bang— Bang—
Those burning ice chunks were precisely detonated mid-air before they could fall, exploding into orange-red sparks.
Ran took a deep breath and punched out.
The pressure of her punch turned into an air current, pushing several fragments that had gone off course towards the sea surface.
Saeko wielded the Shodai Kitetsu. Wherever her sword light passed, the smaller hailstorm fragments were cut in half, the cuts as smooth as a mirror.
And when one fragment seemed about to fall on Kokoro's head, her sister Kotonoha, the Katana Devil, wanted to help but was too far away.
At that critical moment, Nayuta used Yotsuba's Magma-Magma Fruit ability and fired back a magma shockwave even stronger than Yotsuba's, instantly melting the hailstorm above Kokoro's head.
Kokoro hurriedly thanked her best friend Nayuta.
Nayuta looked indifferent, but suddenly felt something amiss. She turned her head and saw Makoto looking at her.
Makoto said with a smile, "Nayuta, didn't I tell you to cancel your contract with Yotsuba after reaching Fish-Man Island?"
Because so many things had happened during their time on Fish-Man Island, Makoto had actually forgotten about this.
Seeing this, Nayuta could only play dumb, saying she had forgotten too.
Then, under Makoto's supervision, she reluctantly canceled the contract with Yotsuba.
But Nayuta only obeyed outwardly, grumbling internally, 'I'll sign contracts with other women later. Can you really watch me all the time?'
Nayuta sat on the ship's railing, holding Pochita, and started sulking again.
Under the women's display of their various abilities, the hailstorm was completely destroyed.
But the members of the MILF Group like Yukiko, Leonora, along with the Nakano four sisters, Kei, and the other women who didn't yet have much fighting skill, could only stand by and watch.
They looked at each other, complex expressions on their faces.
Although they usually handled chores like cooking and cleaning, sharing the daily tasks on the ship…
Seeing others display great power and protect the ship while they could only hide in the corners and watch inevitably made them feel a sense of disparity.
"Mom, are you okay?"
Alice ran over and took Leonora's hand.
"I'm fine."
Leonora smiled, patted her daughter's head, and said quietly, "Just... feeling like I'm a bit useless."
Alice bit her lip and said nothing.
Because she felt the same way.
Although she was a bit stronger than her mother, at least she could dodge and protect herself when danger came…
But compared to Yotsuba, Utaha, and the others, she was still far behind.
On the other side, Ichika, Nino, Miku, and Itsuki gathered around, watching Yotsuba descend from the sky.
Yotsuba's arms had returned to normal from their elementalized state, but her face was a bit pale, and beads of sweat still hung on her forehead.
"Yotsuba, that was amazing!"
Ichika was the first to applaud.
"It's nothing much..."
Yotsuba scratched her head sheepishly.
"Makoto-kun asked me to try it. I still don't really know how to control it very well..."
"That's still amazing."
Miku said softly, a hint of envy in her eyes.
Nino didn't speak, just patted Yotsuba's shoulder firmly.
Itsuki stood to the side, watching Yotsuba surrounded by her sisters. Although she had a smile on her face, there was something indescribable in her eyes.
She looked down at her hands.
'When...'
'Could I be like Yotsuba too?'