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Chapter 366: Unrestrained
Chapter 366: Unrestrained
A thunderous roar filled the air.
Dark clouds loomed overhead, releasing a deluge of rain as lightning crackled and struck the sea amid the gloom.
The torrential downpour was so dense that it obscured the view, creating towering waves and deep vortices in its wake.
These whirlpools spun with such force that they would reduce any ship unfortunate enough to be caught in their grasp to mere splinters.
And within this terrifying storm, a vague silhouette of a ship emerged through the curtain of rain, its contours faintly illuminated by the flashing lightning.
In the fleeting glimpses of light, one could make out a massive black vessel that appeared even darker than the foreboding sky, steadily sailing through the tempest.
Anyone who laid eyes upon it would be filled with dread.
Of course, to those familiar with the legends of the sea, this was a well-known terror.
A colossal ghost ship capable of summoning fearsome storms, it wandered the vast oceans, bringing ruin and devouring all in its path.
"This is getting ridiculous!"
In the captain's cabin of the Death Harbinger, Renitia's temples throbbed with anger as she glared at Sage, her voice laced with frustration.
"Hey, Sage! The intensity is ramping up again. It used to be just lightning strikes, but now we've got vortices forming! Can't you do something about it?"
That detestable white-haired man lounged comfortably on his throne, puffing on a cigar as if without a care in the world.
"I've said it time and again, this thing doesn't listen to me."
Sage straightened up, half his body still leaning against the throne, and picked up a bottle of wine from the table. He poured himself a glass, the liquid glinting with reflected light from the gems embedded in the cup.
"If I tried to intervene, the storm would only get worse."
"But it's already too strong!" Renitia exclaimed, her frustration evident.
"If this keeps up, we won't have enough fuel to last us through the journey!"
The Death Harbinger's smooth sailing was made possible by the core engine constructed from Mother Steel, which allowed Renitia to conserve her energy instead of relying solely on her abilities. It devoured objects and converted them into energy, ensuring a steady supply.
Before each voyage, Renitia would make sure the engine devoured a substantial amount of energy and then stockpile a large number of minerals as backup fuel to withstand the challenges posed by the sea.
Based on the distance of their journey and the power needed to cross the Calm Belt, she had prepared enough energy for a round trip.
However, the problem now was that the intensity of the environment had increased, and not by a small margin. The vortices they were encountering were far more powerful than hurricanes, which meant their energy consumption would soar.
If this continued, they might make it across but would struggle to return.
"As long as we can cross the Calm Belt, it shouldn't be a problem."
Sage set down his cigar and took a hearty swig of wine before continuing, "We can find more energy once we reach our destination. That thing can eat just about anything. If worse comes to worst, we can always dismantle an island and feed it to the engine to replenish our energy."
At that moment, Lily, who had been standing by Sage's side, paused and furrowed her brow as if considering something. "Perhaps..." she began, trailing off.
"Perhaps it's because of the energy," Renitia finished for her, her eyes widening as realization dawned on her. "Of course! Sage, you jinx! The more energy we have, the stronger the calamities we face! It's all your fault!"
Sage gave a lopsided smile, "I'm well aware of my luck, or lack thereof. No need to rub it in. But mark my words, come hell or high water, I'll take it head-on. Fear? I laugh in its face!"
If push came to shove, he'd just pick up the ship and hurl it back where it came from.
On the sofa across the room, Maryka offered a gentle smile, "We should be reaching the Calm Belt soon, right?"
Lily withdrew a pocket watch, glanced at the time, and nodded, "Yes, soon."
For a bounty of five million, Sage wouldn't hesitate. Without bothering to assemble a larger crew, he set off with just his three female executives, the recently returned Akin and Palu, and three hundred Demon Clan members in tow.
With the aid of the engine, their numbers were sufficient to man the ship.
Fortunately, their destination wasn't too far off.
After sailing for over ten days, they were now approaching the Calm Belt.
The Grand Line that connected the North Blue and West Blue was divided by this very Calm Belt.
If one were to consider the direction, Sage's base was conveniently located near the Calm Belt on the West Blue side.
To reach the West Blue, they certainly couldn't take the route over Reverse Mountain anymore. Their only option was to cross the Calm Belt.
While it was possible to navigate the Grand Line by direction, the capricious weather and magnetic fields made it exceedingly challenging. One would need to rely on log pointers and eternal pointers to set anchor points and then proceed based on direction.
For the current Lily, this wasn't an insurmountable task.
But there was something far more challenging ahead...
Whoosh!
Outside the window, as the waves rose and fell, a massive sea serpent revealed itself. Its head alone was half the size of the Death Harbinger, and its emerald green body stretched out beyond the window, filling the view with gleaming green scales.
A sea king!
And not a small one at that!
Lily's hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of her sword as a grave expression settled on her face.
And they hadn't even reached the Calm Belt yet!
"Stand down."
Sage, however, remained unmoved, merely glancing out the window before returning to his wine, "It's fine."
Before long, the three women in the captain's cabin also sensed something and let their guards down.
The emerald sea king, which had been extending upwards, was now stained with blood-red hues as the waves reached halfway up its body.
The latter half of its massive form became a blur of flesh and scales, as if something was twisting and contorting it.
Boom!
Just then, lightning bolts tore through the sky, with half of them striking the Death Harbinger and the other half hitting the sea king. The lightning painted the sea king's scales with a charred black color, visible through the window.
The extended half of its gigantic body suddenly spiraled and drilled itself into the sea.
At the spot where it had appeared, a rapidly spinning vortex of water devoured the sea king, pulling it into the swirling depths.
While the chaotic weather demanded a tremendous amount of energy for the Death Harbinger to sail smoothly, the upside was that nothing could easily approach the ship.
Not even Sage's storm-controlling abilities could match this level of ferocity.
"This is too much," Renitia exclaimed, her mouth agape in disbelief. "Can a vortex really do this?"
"That's why I couldn't catch any fish," Sage asserted. "There must be hidden vortices under the sea, scaring away the fish from my hook!"
"..."
It was one thing to deceive his crew, but he didn't have to deceive himself as well.
At that moment, as the sea king disappeared, the Death Harbinger seemed to break through some sort of barrier, bursting out of the storm and into a mere rainy and thundering climate. The water vortex surrounding the ship also vanished without a trace.
The sea suddenly became eerily calm.
The sound of the rain pelting against the ship stood out starkly.
Soon, even the sound of the rain subsided, and the dark clouds outside the window quietly dissipated, revealing a clear blue sky.
Even the stormy curtain behind the ship disappeared as if it had lost its target and temporarily retreated.
"Alright, I'm going out for some fresh air. Lily, make sure everyone stays put in the cabins. Maryka, whip up something for us to eat. Retty, go check on the power gauge and keep an eye on the ship to avoid any mishaps."
Sage drained his wine glass, casually stubbed out his cigar, and strode toward the door.
Logically, he shouldn't have ventured into the Calm Belt. Although they possessed the technology to cross it, the Death Harbinger lacked the necessary equipment because the ship was designed to complement Sage's abilities.
Sometimes, when unexpected situations arose, Sage would use his powers to enlarge the ship or lift and hurl it forward with tremendous force, and the presence of Sea Prism Stone would interfere with his abilities.
Even with the Sea Prism Stone technology, navigating the Calm Belt was not entirely risk-free, and encounters with sea kings were still possible.
And without the Sea Prism Stone technology, coupled with Sage's notorious bad luck...
Creak!
As Sage pushed open the door to the captain's cabin, the surrounding sea erupted into a frenzy, sending towering waves crashing into the air and massive water blobs exploding amidst the downpour.
Six abnormally shaped sea kings, each larger than mountains, surrounded the ship.
They were even bigger than the emerald sea king they had encountered earlier, making the formidable Death Harbinger look like a newborn infant in comparison.
Just as expected, upon entering the Calm Belt, they encountered sea kings.
But the real problem was that no one knew if the others leading the way to the West Blue would face similar challenges.
Even if Lily personally escorted them, it would be manageable if she went alone.
However, leading a ship and making multiple trips back and forth while transporting people from the West Blue carried far greater risks. If something went wrong, it could result in the total destruction of the ship and the loss of everyone on board.
This was why Sage had to take charge personally.
Because...
Sage's lips curled into a grin as he declared, "Sea kings, let's fight!"
Only he could guarantee victory!
Buzz!
As the massive sea kings were about to turn their gaze toward the tiny infant-like ship below them, a surging torrent of black and red energy erupted from the center of the Death Harbinger, causing the sea kings' bodies to falter.
"Size isn't everything!"
Sage clenched his fist, baring his gleaming white teeth. His fist became a blur as he unleashed six rapid punches in quick succession.
"Bone Fist: Galaxy Impact! Six-strike Combo!"
Boom!
Six nearly simultaneous bursts of Haoshoku energy slammed into the heads of the sea kings, creating cavities in their skulls.
As the holes formed, the bodies of the sea kings seemed to explode from within, emitting a crackling sound as copious amounts of blood seeped out from their bodies, dyeing the surrounding seawater crimson!
"Roar!"
The sea kings let out miserable roars as they tumbled outward, crashing into the sea and creating massive splashes. The impact sent powerful shockwaves that pushed the ship forward a considerable distance.
"And now, those Sea Kings are floating in the sea, their life force gradually weakening under my Observation Haki."
Sea Kings were formidable creatures with powerful bodies and strength, but to Sage, as long as he could break through their defenses, they were as good as defenseless.
Without Haki, their massive size meant nothing.
No matter how large they were, without the protection of Haki, a single strike to their pressure points would invariably lead to injury.
What good was size?
The larger the creature, the more pressure points there were!
Haki-imbued strikes that landed on those pressure points would naturally explode their bodies from within.
For Sage, who possessed near-infinite Haki, it was a simple matter to expend a little energy and deliver a devastating punch that would annihilate the Sea Kings!
"Not bad, they didn't explode into smithereens." Sage glanced at the Sea King floating behind them and chuckled.
"Sage, there are more up ahead!" Lily called out, her eyes fixed on the horizon.
Indeed, a multitude of Sea Kings emerged from the sea ahead, their numbers too great to count at a glance.
The Calm Belt was truly the nest of these monstrous creatures!
"Don't worry, Lily," Sage said, his hand raised to the sky. "I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve to deal with these guys!"
As he spoke, the fur cloak he wore seemed to float and drift like clouds, taking on an ethereal appearance.
Just as the dark clouds had parted earlier, they now gathered once more, casting a shadow over the sky.
"There may be no wind, but I have lightning! Tenma Daijizai Shin!" Sage declared.
A thunderous roar filled the air as countless black and red lightning bolts descended from the clouds, forming a black and red barrier that struck the Sea Kings on their heads.
The pillar-like lightning completely engulfed the group of Sea Kings, charring their bodies black and leaving them floating on the surface or howling in pain as they dove back into the sea. However, it wasn't long before some of the Sea Kings stiffly floated back to the surface.
Water conducts electricity!
The Dead Harbinger sailed through the sea, littered with the twitching bodies of Sea Kings, leaving behind Sage's boisterous laughter.
"Hahahaha! Whooohahahaha!"
Lily looked at Sage, laughing heartily, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
This was him.
Incomparable strength and an unwavering spirit, unshaken by any crisis—this was the true Sage!
"Hey, is that it?!" Renitia climbed out of the deck cabin, her eyes widening at the sight of the fallen Sea Kings. "They don't seem that strong."
"Alright, there are some rare ingredients here. Hold on, I'm going to prepare a meal." Maryka emerged from the building on the first floor, brandishing a massive kitchen knife.
"Wait a moment." Sage raised his hand, stopping them in their tracks. With a mischievous smile, he looked to the left of the Death Harbinger. "It seems some of them aren't quite ready to give up yet."
The three women followed his gaze, their pupils contracting as they beheld the scene, and cold sweat trickled down their temples.
Renitia, in particular, was so shocked that she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wide with astonishment.
While they hadn't detected anything with Observation Haki, what caught their attention now was a group of four Sea Kings to the ship's left.
The number wasn't alarming, but their size was.
Soaring almost to the clouds, these Sea Kings were so enormous that even from a distance, their gaze seemed to weigh upon the ship like an adult staring at their clenched fist. Their sheer size exuded an oppressive force that made one feel utterly powerless.
Ultra-giant Sea Kings!
Were these creatures truly something that humans could defeat?
Sage stepped onto the bulwark, his rising aura of Conqueror's Haki causing the clouds above to churn and rumble with lightning.
For a moment, the two sides stared each other down, until Sage's fingers began to twitch and his breath took on a whitish hue.
Sneeze!
One of the ultra-giant Sea Kings, resembling a catfish, sneezed and turned to dive back into the sea, followed by the other three, who quickly did the same.
"You're not going to put up a fight?" Sage's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Smart move."
Sea Kings were the true rulers of the ocean, possessing not only formidable bodies and strength but also, in some cases, intelligence rivaling that of humans.
These ultra-giant Sea Kings clearly belonged to the latter category.
However, there was no need to fear. While their bodies were robust, an all-out strike would still be able to take them down, even if hitting their pressure points might not deal significant damage.
Sage snorted, "Arrogant beasts!"
(End of Chapter)
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