Twilight receded, and darkness enveloped the boundless sea horizon. Only the faint light emitted by the moon remained in the sky, reflecting upon the surface of the sea, which appeared calm but was actually surging with restless waves.
The sea was like a cradle, unable to escape the ocean's control no matter how the waters churned and rippled on the surface.
Just then, a purple lightning bolt shot straight down from the high sky. The lightning emitted a strong glare, momentarily restoring light to the sea area already shrouded in darkness.
This lightning bolt was no ordinary one; it suddenly stopped dozens of meters above the sea surface and quickly transformed into a young woman wearing blue-purple clothes.
"Where is this? I seem to be lost again!"
Raiden Ei looked around. She couldn't see any boundary on the distant horizon, meaning she was currently lost.
She had flown directly down from the Sky Island, and while on the Sky Island, she hadn't paid attention to the direction. Moreover, she couldn't even figure out directions on the Sky Island.
Raiden Ei withdrew her gaze from the sky. Here, she couldn't even navigate by the stars. If there were no other means, she could only take things one step at a time.
Raiden Ei had not forgotten her first time sailing; because she didn't understand navigation, she sailed randomly alone on the vast sea, and her raft moved extremely slowly.
If she had been an ordinary person back then and been stranded for a few more days, she certainly wouldn't have died at sea; perhaps she would have fainted from hunger before encountering civilization.
Therefore, the most feared thing when sailing on the sea is getting lost. All around is the boundless ocean; one cannot discern which direction leads to survival. At such times, one can only rely on luck.
However, Raiden Ei didn't need to bother with that. She took out the log pose pointing toward Jaya Island from her system backpack and roughly estimated her current location.
Raiden Ei held the log pose, looked in the direction it pointed, and murmured, "Should I go to Jaya Island?"
She lowered her head in thought for a moment and ultimately decided against it. If the World Government truly intended to deal with her,
With their strength and control over the sea, they surely knew where she had appeared by now and would definitely dispatch many people to capture her. She didn't know who would come.
Although her current strength was quite good—even if she couldn't win, she could still escape—she was still unwilling to take that risk.
There was nothing she needed on Jaya Island, so there was no need to risk going there just to find out her current location.
Raiden Ei's gaze returned to the direction of Jaya Island: "My strength is still a bit lacking. I feel like I can handle Sengoku now, but if I get any stronger, I might have to run."
"I should stick to the original plan: find an uninhabited island first to consolidate my strength! I've been leveling up too quickly recently, and I also need to develop my Devil Fruit abilities."
Raiden Ei turned to look at the other three directions: "I'll head to the Calm Belt and find an uninhabited island! That way, ordinary people won't disturb me, and I can train freely without any reservations."
After confirming her destination, she carefully estimated in her mind approximately where the Calm Belt was. Once confirmed, she did not linger, transforming her body into an element and flying toward that direction at extreme speed.
...
However, Raiden Ei's thoughts were correct. After she clearly appeared near Jaya Island, the Marines' warship arrived at Jaya Island in less than a day.
The Marines naturally did not find any trace of Raiden Ei, but this brought misery to the pirates still on Jaya Island.
The Marines arrived without making a sound. By the time the entire island was surrounded, they realized it, but they could no longer escape.
The people who came this time were not minor figures. With their bounties in the tens of millions of Berries, they couldn't stir up any trouble. The entire island was swept clean in less than half a day.
Based on the intelligence obtained from the pirates, the Marines also learned information about Raiden Ei. However, until they received withdrawal orders, they could only patrol the nearby sea areas.
In the dark night, a massive warship, like a bright spot in the darkness, was anchored on the sea near Jaya Island. The sails on the warship had long been lowered.
All parts of the ship were brightly lit. Squads of Marines patrolled back and forth on the deck, while others stood guard around the perimeter, watching the surroundings.
In a spacious cabin, a den den mushi in conversation rested before Sengoku. His expression was serious as he spoke with someone on the phone.
The bandages he wore from his injuries had already disappeared, but a scar that hadn't fully healed marred his face, indicating his injuries had not completely recovered.
"I understand, I..." Sengoku was speaking when he suddenly heard a loud shout from outside the door: "Garp, I'm here to find you!" Before he could react,
"Bang!" The cabin door was directly kicked open from the outside, causing a jolt that shook the entire warship.
Veins instantly bulged on Sengoku's forehead, and his expression instantly shifted from serious to furious. Ignoring the person on the den den mushi, he slammed his hands on the table and abruptly stood up, roaring at the entering Garp:
"Garp! How many times have I told you not to casually destroy doors? How many times is this!"
Garp walked in wearing his Marine coat, unconcerned by Sengoku's words, and instead laughed heartily: "Hahaha, don't take it too seriously, Sengoku. Next time, I promise I'll open the door before coming in."
Sengoku spoke loudly to the still-laughing Garp: "You better keep your word, you brute."
Seeing Garp's incorrigible behavior, Sengoku sighed, helplessly adjusting his crooked glasses, and said to him sullenly:
"Spit it out! What do you need me for!"
Garp was not polite with Sengoku and swaggered over to find a place to sit: "Hehehe, Sengoku, do you have any senbei here?"
Sengoku fiddled with the crooked den den mushi on the table, casually pulled out a bag of senbei from a drawer and tossed it to Garp. Only then did he speak to the den den mushi:
"Fleet Admiral, I apologize. It's Garp looking for me, and my emotions got a bit heated."
Before the Kong on the other end of the den den mushi could speak, Garp grabbed the senbei Sengoku threw, brought his large face close to the den den mushi, and said:
"Fleet Admiral, my vacation isn't over yet. When will you make up the time for me?"
The den den mushi's sharp eyes fixed on the close-up Garp. As its mouth opened and closed, it spoke loudly to him:
"Garp, stop always thinking about vacation! Until we capture Raiden Ei, I don't have time to grant you leave. Do you know how dissatisfied the World Government is with us Marines regarding this matter?!"
Garp's face showed displeasure after hearing Kong's words. He retracted his head and directly tore open the senbei packaging bag.
"This time, I was strictly following your orders. It's just that the people sent by those trash weren't useful. I..."
Before Garp could finish speaking, both Sengoku and Kong on the other end of the den den mushi exploded, roaring loudly: "Garp, don't say that word! They are Celestial Dragons!"
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