Alvin accidentally fell asleep because Kalifa's service was simply too comfortable.
After all, he had spent the entire day fighting Kizaru.
Seeing that Alvin had fallen asleep, Kalifa gently laid him flat on the sofa. She then took her black jacket and carefully covered his upper body before stepping off the sofa.
The moment her feet touched the floor, Kalifa froze.
What was she doing just now?
Shouldn't she have taken advantage of Alvin being asleep, stood up, and stomped on his face?
"Hmph~"
"I must be sick. I actually care about that hateful bastard." Kalifa took a deep breath, then turned gracefully and walked down from the upper deck.
At this moment, the yacht was still automatically sailing along the route Alvin had set.
Kalifa was genuinely curious about this ship. It was her first time seeing a vessel that could sail without manual control. Compared to the World Government's warships and official vessels, this thing was far more advanced.
Just then, her Transponder Snail suddenly rang.
The "buruburu" sound startled her.
She immediately took it out and answered, first glancing toward Alvin. Seeing that he was still asleep, she quickly entered her cabin.
"Kalifa, what's going on?" Lucci's voice came from the Transponder Snail.
"Hmph... I'm fine. Alvin just fell asleep. He has a terrible temper if he's woken up, so it would be troublesome to disturb him." Kalifa steadied her breathing before replying calmly.
...
For a moment, Lucci fell into a long silence on the other end.
In the end, Kalifa broke the awkward pause herself.
"Alright, enough about that. What do you need me for?"
"We received intelligence that the Marines have already carried out most of the Buster Call. I wanted to ask where you are now. You weren't affected by it, were you?" Lucci's voice carried a faint trace of concern.
These people had grown up together since childhood. Their bond was far deeper than outsiders could imagine.
"Don't worry. We left as soon as the Buster Call started. Alvin even wanted to attack a Marine warship, but Kizaru stopped him. Now we're heading toward the next island." Kalifa spoke as if she were describing something completely ordinary.
"That's good. Also, Spandam has been rushing me nonstop. See if there's any unimportant information you can give us first so we can deal with him." Lucci's tone was filled with undisguised disdain when mentioning Spandam.
"Information... huh. A very impressive ship, would that count?" Kalifa said, glancing around the yacht with a hint of hesitation.
"A very impressive ship?" Lucci sounded confused, clearly not understanding.
Kalifa then explained the yacht's details in full.
She thought it shouldn't count as important information, and Alvin probably wouldn't care anyway.
"A ship that doesn't require manual operation? That's actually a pretty good excuse to deal with Spandam. Alright, Kalifa, stay careful." Lucci said before quickly hanging up.
After the call ended, a strong sense of guilt suddenly rose in Kalifa's heart.
"Hey!"
"Kalifa!"
"What are you doing? Watch the ship!" Alvin's urgent shout suddenly echoed across the yacht.
Kalifa, who had been irritated and ready to snap back, instinctively turned to look outside the window.
In the next instant, she felt as if her soul had been sucked out of her body.
She stood frozen on the spot.
Ahead of them, the sky had turned pitch black without warning, like a massive curtain swallowing the entire world.
Without wasting a second, she rushed onto the deck like a gust of wind.
At this moment, she was still wearing a bikini. Her striking figure drew attention as she ran, but Alvin had no time to care.
Because right in front of them, a terrifying storm was raging.
Alvin's expression was solemn. His hands moved rapidly as he controlled the yacht, pushing its speed to the limit as they rushed toward the edge of the storm.
Kalifa quickly arrived at his side. The scene before her left her speechless. She could only stare blankly at the abyss-like darkness ahead.
The storm roared.
The violent winds howled like countless enraged beasts, sweeping forward with deafening force.
Massive black clouds churned and twisted, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, threatening to devour the entire world.
Blinding lightning flashed like colossal serpents of electricity tearing through the sky. Each strike was followed by thunder that shook the heart with fear.
"How can there be a storm of this scale?" Kalifa's voice trembled, her face filled with shock.
Alvin remained completely focused on controlling the yacht, leaving him no time to respond.
The storm was moving too fast. At the yacht's current speed, escaping its range before impact was impossible.
It seemed he had no choice.
He turned to look at Kalifa, who was still in her revealing bikini, paused briefly, then suddenly crouched down...
"Hey! Alvin, at a time like this you're still thinking about..."
"Ah..."
Before Kalifa could finish speaking, Alvin supported her from below with his left hand and lifted her up.
"The yacht is too slow. Hold on tight. I'm going to fly us out of the storm." Alvin's expression was serious.
"Fly?" Kalifa immediately fell silent.
After a brief pause, she remembered that Alvin had eaten a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, the Garuda Fruit.
Realizing this, she obediently held onto him, her cheeks flushing slightly as she remembered she was still wearing a bikini.
At that moment, wings spread from Alvin's back.
He held Kalifa firmly with his left arm, placed his right hand on the yacht, and instantly stored it in his system space.
Then he kicked off the air, using Geppo to hover. In the next moment, his wings beat powerfully, propelling them toward the edge of the storm at incredible speed.
"So fast!" Kalifa was completely stunned.
With her head resting against Alvin's shoulder, she watched the scenery blur past at a speed that rivaled lightning.
Alvin didn't respond. A Garuda was a legendary roc. Being this fast was only natural.
In the blink of an eye, they burst out of the storm's range.
However, what lay before them left both of them stunned.
They had escaped the storm, but the storm's edge connected directly to the Calm Belt.
They were now hovering above the Calm Belt.
On one side was the Grand Line, ravaged by the storm.
On the other side was the Calm Belt, completely still, unaffected even at the storm's boundary.
Alvin had never encountered anything like this.
"Finally safe. Let's stay in the Calm Belt for now." Alvin said quietly.
He descended toward the sea, released the yacht, and returned aboard.
Alvin set Kalifa down.
Her face was slightly pale from the shock. She placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
But in the next moment, as if remembering something, she suddenly looked at Alvin. Her eyes were filled with urgency and panic.
"Hey! Alvin, this is the Calm Belt! The nest of the Sea Kings!"
...
Re@d adv@nce ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
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