The journey from Dressrosa to Egg Point Island was relatively peaceful.
The biggest difficulty the group encountered on the road was not the countless pirates in the New World who might appear at any time and anywhere.
Instead, it was the extreme weather conditions in the second half of the Grand Line.
Storms, tsunamis, hail, whirlpools and other natural disasters and maritime disasters have become sailors' biggest enemies.
In June of the year 1508 in the Haiyuan calendar, after months of trekking, relying on the permanent record pointer of Danjian Island obtained by Ji Guoyuanyi from a "special channel", Ji Guoyuanyi and his party finally entered the waters around Danjian Island.
Danjian Island should be a winter island in the traditional sense. As the name suggests, this island and the sea area around it should have a perennial winter. However, for some unknown reason, the sea area around Danjian Island has four distinct seasons.
It was June and the sun was shining brightly.
The humid sea breeze blew on their faces, and the new sailors who had just experienced a storm collapsed on the deck to recover their strength.
Despite his immense strength, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was powerless against a wide-ranging natural disaster. Even with his powerful strikes capable of splitting seas and shattering clouds, he could only face the storm alongside his crewmates.
As for him personally, as he has the ability to fly, it is impossible for him to die in the sea because of the capsizing of the ship. But it is different for others. Facing the power of nature, there is very little that humans can do.
When an accident really happens, the number of people that Tsugikuni Yoriichi can protect is very limited with his power.
Fortunately, although the ship he was traveling on this time was not big and was a traditional sailing ship, with the concerted efforts of the crew, they finally survived the wind and waves.
On the ship's deck, the long secondary mast leaned in the center, and the floor was littered with sawdust from the shattered wood. The forward half of the cabin, struck by the fallen mast, was severely damaged.
But at this time, the crew had no strength or energy to take care of the broken mast.
"This ship can't bear it."
"Luckily, we've left the storm zone. Yoriichi, we need some time to repair the ship. We can't keep going like this."
"If possible, we need to rest on an island rich in timber resources."
"Why did you come to Dressrosa on a ship like this? Where's your warship, the Dawn?"
"If it was the Dawn, our journey would have been much easier!"
At the side of the ship, Rossinanti leaned weakly on the railing and spoke to Jigoku Yoshiichi beside him.
Rossinandi had rich sailing experience and could see at a glance that the ship was already at the end of its strength. Now it was even a question whether the ship could reach Egg Point Island.
"The Dawn is too big a target. Egg Point Island is controlled by the Navy Headquarters after all. It is one of the core territories in the New World."
"If the people at headquarters knew I was planning to come to Egg Point Island, there would be no doubt that there would be another dispute."
"You know, even though I've been expelled from the Navy, I don't want to fight with my former colleagues if I can help it."
"And my ship is actually new."
Ji Guoyuanyi stood beside Rosinante, observed the situation of his subordinates, and said to Rosinante beside him.
In this sea, wooden ships are the mainstream, and any ship capable of sailing in the ocean is a rare item.
Because the material for shipbuilding is wood, these woods cannot be used directly after being cut down. After being cut down, the moisture in them must be dried in the shade, and it basically takes a long time to be processed into "parts" for shipbuilding.
The new navy has its own shipyard and craftsmen, but after the navy headquarters was completely cut off from supply resources, it had to prepare the shipbuilding materials on its own.
The island of Redchiled is densely forested and has many huge trees suitable for shipbuilding, but the trees cannot be used directly after being cut down.
The ship of Tsugukuni Yuichi was "pieced together" using the repair materials stored on Thunder God Island. The parts on the ship were supposed to be used for repairing ships rather than building ships, and the quality of the ship barely met the standards for leaving the dock. If it were to sail on a calm sea, it would be fine to use it for a year or two with careful maintenance.
However, if the boat is hit by strong winds and waves, its service life will be greatly reduced.
"New ship."
Rossinanti looked at the secondary mast leaning on the deck and the iron patches on it, and was speechless for a moment.
"There's nothing I can do about it. The craftsmen's skills aren't top-notch. My craftsmen are clearly no match for the master craftsmen at the Naval Dockyard and the Seven Waters City."
"The fact that this ship has been able to survive in the harsh environment of the New World until now has been beyond my expectations."
"The most important thing now is to quickly find an island and stabilize it."
As Ji Guoyuan said this, he lowered his head to glance at the eternal record pointer on his wrist, and then looked in the direction the record pointer was pointing, but what he saw was the vast ocean.
"Driveroom, check the chart to confirm our current location and find the nearest island!"
“Stop and rest”
Rossinanti supported himself on the floor with his hands, stood up with great effort, and then shouted loudly towards the cab.
The weather today is hot and sunny.
Neither Rossinanti nor Jiguo Yuanyi knew that they had entered the waters of Danjian Island at this time, because in their intelligence system, Danjian Island was a winter island where it was winter all year round.
As he spoke, Tsugikoku Yoshiichi, who was looking at the sea in the distance, suddenly narrowed his eyes slightly. On the sea, a gray-brown shadow appeared in Tsugikoku Yoshiichi's sight.
“That’s it.”
At this moment, the young navy who had just returned to the watchtower picked up a telescope and looked around the sea. In his telescope's sight, an island appeared.
"General, an island has been spotted at three o'clock!"
"Are we going to dock?"
The lookout's report immediately made the tired sailors on the deck smile brightly. They had been drifting on the sea for more than ten days since leaving the last island, and finally, there was land again.
Sailors always yearn for land, especially now after experiencing a storm.
"Come ashore."
"We'll check again after we get to shore."
Suddenly, Ji Guoyuan's ear moved slightly, his pupils shrank slightly, and he quickly turned around and looked down at the sea.
"What's wrong, Yunyi?"
When Rossinanti saw what Tsugikuni Yoshiichi was doing, he asked in confusion.
"Something's coming!"
Upon hearing this, Tsugikuni Yoshiichi also let out a low growl, then quickly drew out a long sword from his waist and looked coldly at the sea area beside the warship.
“Gurgle—”
When Rossinanti heard what Tsugikuni Yoriichi said, he turned around in confusion and looked at the sea. He was about to say that Yoriichi was a little nervous, but he swallowed the words back as soon as they came to his lips.
Ripples suddenly appeared on the calm sea surface, and the bubbles made a dull sound as they floated up, which also fell into Rossinanti's ears.
"alert!"
Realizing something was wrong, Rosinante yelled and quickly climbed to his feet. As he spoke, the cabin door was opened. Luo and Baby5, who had been hiding inside during the storm, peeked out. Seeing the devastated scene on deck, they were about to leave when they heard Rosinante turn around and yell,
"What are you two doing here on deck?"
"Hurry back!"
“.”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, a wave tens of meters high suddenly rose on the sea behind him.
“Wow!!!”
At the same time as the sound was made, a wave hit the side of the ship. The already shaky ship was shaking wildly under the waves. Rossinanti lost his balance and fell directly on the deck. The marines on the ship screamed and grabbed the nearest objects to prevent themselves from being thrown away.
The two little guys, Luo and baby5, also quickly lowered their heads and grabbed the escalator. After the ship stabilized, they stuck their heads out again and looked outside.
On the side of the ship, a giant sea monster resembling an electric eel leaped out of the sea. Its eyes were scarlet, flashing with a ferocious light that made people tremble with fear, and its gray scales reflected spots of light in the sunlight.
The stench of rotten meat and the fishy smell of the sea made the marines who smelled it subconsciously feel nauseous. After the sea beast jumped out of the sea, it pounced fiercely on the ship where Ji Guoyuan and others were like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep.
That open bloody mouth could easily bite the entire ship to pieces and destroy it with just one blow.
"Sea Kings!"
Rossinanti exclaimed in disbelief and rushed towards Luo and baby5. The marines on the ship also steadied themselves at this moment. They had no time to react and saw the sea beast already in front of them.
“Bang!!!”
At this moment, a muffled sound came from the deck, and Tsugikuni Yoshiichi's figure suddenly jumped up and appeared right above the sea beast in an instant. Then he raised the long sword in his hand and quickly slashed at the boiling sea beast in the air below him.
In an instant, the sound of thunder reached everyone's ears, and Tsugikoku Yoshiichi's powerful domineering aura gathered into a terrifying slash, which instantly fell on the sea king whose half body was exposed above the sea.
“Wow—”
The terrifying sea beast paused and quickly fell towards the sea surface from a low altitude. The entire body of the beast was cut into two parts by Jiguo Yuanyi. The cut completely penetrated the body of the sea beast and landed on the sea surface, creating a bottomless trench on the sea surface. As Jiguo Yuanyi's figure fell back on the boat, the trench was quickly filled up with the backflow of sea water.
The waves gradually subsided, and the two halves of the body floated on the sea. Returning to the deck, Ji Guoyuan looked intently at the corpse of the sea beast, and couldn't help but his pupils shrink slightly.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"What the hell is this!!!"
Rossinanti and the crew members also walked to the side of the ship at this moment, looking at the two halves of the beast's body floating on the sea. Unlike the flesh and blood they imagined, the structure of this sea beast was completely different from that of a living creature!
The split body of the sea beast was filled with various hydraulic and mechanical devices. Yellow oil flowed out from the severed transparent pipes, polluting the sea area. Electric arcs flashed from time to time on the mechanical beast. Perhaps due to damage or short circuit, small explosions occurred from time to time on the huge beast, emitting sparks.
The sea king that attacked the ship was actually a mechanical sea beast. Except for the outermost layer of scales and animal skin, everything else, even the skeleton, was made of machines.
"Mechanical sea beast?!"
“How is this possible!!!”
Rosinante stared at the beast floating on the sea, his mouth wide open, muttering in disbelief. The scene before him was beyond his imagination.
In this world, oil lamps have not been completely eliminated. The most advanced ship technology still has a considerable degree of wooden structure. Even in terms of weapon manufacturing, the most incompetent refill-type cannons and flintlock rifles are used.
However, what everyone saw at this moment was actually a simulated mechanical sea beast that was completely driven by mechanical and hydraulic devices. The level of technology represented by this thing was completely in two different eras from the level of technology developed in the current world.
The technological gap may be hundreds or even thousands of years.
Rossinanti considered himself knowledgeable, but this was the first time he had seen such an outrageous thing.
Even Tsugikoku Yoshiichi was a little surprised at this moment. Before he drew his sword, Tsugikoku Yoshiichi actually knew that the thing he was going to chop was not a living thing.
But when the core of this mechanical sea beast was exposed to his sight, Tsugikuni Yoshiichi couldn't help but be surprised.
Advanced, so advanced indeed.
Such a thing can actually move freely in the sea. If this technology is used to make weapons or ships, what kind of things can be made? With Yuan Yi's knowledge of three lifetimes as a human, it is difficult to imagine for a moment.
"Mechanical sea beast."
"Vegapunk's?!"
Ji Guoyuan looked at the animal corpse carefully, then quickly turned his head to look at the island in the distance. He looked down at the permanent recording pointer in his hand and found that the direction indicated by the pointer was the island in the distance.
The island in the distance was still just a brown shadow. Although it was not clear, one thing that Jigoku Yoshiichi was sure of was that the island was not Winter Island, because he could not see any trace of snow from the color of the island's outline.
Danjian Island should have been a winter island. Was there any discrepancy between the information he obtained and the actual situation?
"General Jiguo Yuanyi, we are already in the waters of Danjian Island!"
At this moment, the people in the control room had already confirmed their location through the nautical chart and reported it excitedly to Ji Guoyuan.
Upon hearing this, Tsugikuni Yoshiichi turned around and looked at the corpse of the mechanical sea beast, nodding slightly.
That should be correct. The only place in this world that can possess this level of mechanical technology should be the Egg Point Island known as Future Island.
But why isn’t that island the Winter Island? We’ll have to go to the island to find out!
“Beep—beep—”
Just as Tsugumi Yoshiichi was about to order the warship to sail towards Danjian Island, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded from the corpse of the sea monster in front of him.
The alarm sounded like an extra-large buzzer, like a city's air defense alarm. The loud sound instantly pierced the sky and spread to an unknown distance.
“!!!”
The harsh sound made the crew members subconsciously cover their ears, and Ji Guoyuan couldn't help but frown when he heard the sound, and swung a slash in the direction where the sound came from.
The shrill alarm stopped abruptly.
But not long after the alarm sounded from the sea beast's corpse disappeared, a sharp alarm sounded from an island in the distance.
The sailors on the watchtower picked up their telescopes and looked into the distance. They saw that the beach of the distant island was slowly splitting apart, revealing an inner harbor.
In the harbor, eight large warships lined up in a row and slowly lowered their sails.
“!!!”
"Admiral, there are navy troops stationed on the island!"
“They’re all sailing!”
(End of this chapter)
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