That was about... a few days ago.
The Grand Line, the New World!
As mentioned before, it's an incredibly dangerous sea.
The sea conditions change almost every moment, and "calm seas" are such a rare sight that few people ever witness them.
...
At this moment, the sky began to slowly darken.
The heavy clouds in the sky pressed down, as if iron-heavy.
This was a sign of a storm.
A pirate captain stood on the deck, one eye fixed on the record pointer on his wrist, the other hand gripping a sea chart, not daring to relax for a moment.
"Hard to port! We're turning back, retreat outside the clouds!"
This order naturally caused confusion among many of the crew.
The first mate looked surprised and said, "Captain, we've sailed for three weeks and were about to find the deserted island where the treasure is hidden. Why are we turning back now?"
The pirate captain glanced at his first mate and pointed to the thick clouds above them.
"I've been a captain for over ten years, switching from navigator. What kind of storms haven't I seen?"
"Do you know what this kind of weather is called?"
The first mate shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"This kind of weather has a common name on the Grand Line: 'Rampage Hurricane'!"
The pirate captain said in a deep voice.
But this explanation still didn't make the first mate understand how terrifying this phenomenon was.
'Rampage' hurricane?
Are there hurricanes that aren't rampaging?
The pirate captain gritted his teeth, ordering his crew to turn back at full speed, while explaining:
"The so-called 'rampage' doesn't refer to the hurricane itself, but rather that this kind of hurricane makes any ship caught inside feel out of control, unable to steer at all!"
"At that point, we'll just have to leave our fate to chance about where our ship is blown, do you understand?"
"Oh, oh!"
The first mate nodded repeatedly.
Unfortunately, this brute who only knew how to fight with a knife couldn't quite grasp this special climatic phenomenon.
But the pirate captain didn't intend to explain further.
Looking at the situation, the first mate would soon experience it firsthand.
...
About half an hour later.
The rampage hurricane hit, slightly affecting the pirate ship at the edge of the storm.
But even so, it was still gale-force winds and towering waves!
The first mate grabbed the railing with one hand, feeling the violently shaking ship, his expression still a bit defiant.
He frowned slightly and said, "Captain, aren't you being a bit too cautious? Because of you, our pirate crew has broken through many great storms!"
"We've experienced this level of weather countless times. At worst, we'll drift to an unknown place, and then we can explore it."
The first mate said this casually.
Hearing this, the pirate captain sighed softly and directly slapped the sea chart in his hand onto the first mate's face.
"You ignorant brat who only knows how to fight, show me whose territory this is around here!"
The first mate took the sea chart from his face and his expression immediately turned ashen. He finally realized why his captain was so cautious.
The pirate who ruled the nearby waters was one of the Four Emperors, Kaido of the Beasts!
Now, the first mate finally understood why his captain was treating this like a formidable enemy.
If the rampage hurricane carried their ship forward and they accidentally entered Kaido of the Beasts' territory, they would have no tears left to cry!
— Even if they were just an ordinary treasure-hunting pirate crew.
Among the Four Emperors, Whitebeard and Red-Haired are both honorable, so the threat isn't huge if they don't clash directly.
As for Big Mom and Kaido, they are one of the many taboos of the New World.
Few people can break into their territory and not pay a price to escape safely!
The pirate captain certainly didn't want such a terrible thing to happen to him and his crew.
"Under... understood."
The first mate let out a long sigh and immediately turned to give orders.
Their ship had not yet completely escaped the rampage hurricane, so there was still a risk of being caught in it.
But just then, the lookout from above the mast suddenly shouted, "There's something at seven o'clock!"
As soon as he said this, the captain and first mate's hearts trembled.
Could it be the ship of the Beasts Pirates?
No way, are we really that unlucky?
The two of them quickly drew their waist-mounted binoculars and looked in the direction the lookout had indicated.
As soon as they saw, their hearts filled with a little less fear and a little more confusion.
What appeared before their eyes was a "small boat."
No, rather than a small boat, it was more like a simple raft used for fishing near the coast!
And on that raft, there was only one person wearing a dark gray robe, his face not visible.
At this moment, the gray-robed figure was sitting on the raft, drifting with the wind.
A castaway?
Is it an ordinary person out at sea? Or a pirate who was defeated?
Even a treasure-hunting crew, at the end of the day, is still a pirate crew.
Their hearts aren't so pure as to rescue someone of unknown identity in the territory of the Four Emperors.
Moreover, they had all been in the New World for a long time and knew the rules of the New World.
The more "special" the person, the less they should approach rashly!
Such people possess a terrifying "unknownness." No one knows what kind of person they are, what their personality is like, or what kind of immense power they possess.
Therefore, if you encounter such a perplexing situation at sea—especially in the New World—it's best to just ignore it.
A very simple solution, but very effective.
Therefore, the pirate captain gave an extra order not to make any other moves, so as not to attract the attention of the strange person on the small raft.
However, some people—including the pirate captain himself—couldn't help but pick up their binoculars and secretly observe the strange person sitting alone on the small raft.
Who could be sitting so calmly in such a fierce storm?
Even if they had the ability to stabilize the raft in the wind and waves, weren't they afraid of being swept into the territory of the Four Emperors?
Suddenly, the pirates noticed that the gray-robed figure on the raft moved.
He stood up from the raft, seemingly looking up at something?
This scene naturally made the captain and first mate break out in a cold sweat.
He noticed us?
...No.
Soon, the two pirates discovered something unusual.
The direction the gray-robed figure was facing was not towards their pirate ship, but towards the deeper part of the storm!
What was there?
Everyone turned to look.
Faintly, they seemed to see a fleet breaking through the storm and emerging!
And when they clearly saw the black flag hanging on the fleet, they felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar!
"Run..."
The pirate captain whispered.
Then, with the strength of his entire life, he roared orders: "Run! Get out of here at full speed!"
The black flag flying on that fleet represented a pirate crew.
The Beasts Pirates!
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