One ship after another surged forward.
Before long, the flagship—Ship No. 1—racing at the front reached the summit of Reverse Mountain. Under the violent pressure of the surging waters below, the entire vessel was lifted into the air.
At that exact moment, following the plan that had been explained beforehand, Lafayette seized the opportunity with perfect timing.
He immediately ordered the sailors on Ship No. 1 to lower the sails and adjust the ship's angle so it could catch the opposing air current.
The ship tilted slightly.
Then, supported by the powerful airflow, it glided forward almost as if it were flying.
In an instant, it entered the passage leading to East Blue.
"Six Styles: Moonwalk!"
Standing at the prow of the ship, Kaito Arisawa decisively launched into the air.
He kicked off the air repeatedly and hovered above Reverse Mountain.
Although he had already handed over command to Lafayette, that didn't mean he had nothing to do.
On the contrary—
To ensure that every ship could safely pass Reverse Mountain, he had to remain ready to provide support at any moment.
"Ship No. 2…"
"Ship No. 3…"
It was like a roll call.
Every time another vessel reached the summit, Lafayette precisely gave the command for the crew to adjust their sails.
One after another, the ships climbed Reverse Mountain.
And just like the flagship, they soared into the East Blue channel before continuing forward, carried by the opposing air current that pushed them down toward the sea beyond.
But accidents were always unpredictable.
Even though Lafayette controlled the timing of the airflow with exceptional navigation skill, something unexpected still happened.
When Ship No. 13 climbed to the summit and was about to follow Lafayette's command into the East Blue channel—
Suddenly—
A shark-like sea beast burst out of the rushing current below.
With tremendous force, it slammed directly into the bottom of Ship No. 13.
BOOM!!
The impact from the sea beast did not cause serious structural damage to the ship.
However, the force of the collision knocked the vessel upward again.
The ship's direction shifted.
Instead of flying toward the East Blue channel, it veered toward the side of the mountain.
"Damn it!"
The unexpected situation startled everyone aboard Ship No. 13.
At the same time, Lafayette's expression changed drastically as he observed the scene from above.
Whoosh!
BOOM!!
In the next instant, a figure appeared beside Ship No. 13.
With tremendous power, the figure slammed into the ship's hull and pushed it back onto its proper trajectory.
The vessel stabilized.
Then it flew smoothly into the East Blue passage.
"Haa…"
Seeing Ship No. 13 safely enter the channel, Lafayette finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately—
The captain had acted in time.
Otherwise, Ship No. 13 would almost certainly have been destroyed.
There was no doubt about it.
The person who had rescued the ship was Kaito, who had been waiting in the sky as backup.
"As expected… accidents are unavoidable."
Watching Ship No. 13 disappear into the East Blue channel, Kaito used Moonwalk to return to his previous position in the sky.
Then he continued waiting for the remaining ships to arrive.
Although there had been a brief disturbance, Lafayette's calm command and Kaito's quick intervention ensured that the fleet passed safely.
One by one—
All of the War Pirates' ships successfully entered the East Blue channel.
"We made it!"
"All the ships reached East Blue!"
"That was terrifying!"
"When we climbed Reverse Mountain just now, I thought my soul was going to fly out of my body!"
"I almost died earlier. Thankfully the captain helped us!"
The crews aboard the ships wiped sweat from their foreheads.
Even experienced pirates couldn't help feeling shaken after such a dangerous maneuver.
Soon afterward, Kaito and Lafayette returned to the flagship.
Kaito descended from the air with Moonwalk.
Lafayette glided down using his paper wings.
Both landed smoothly on the deck.
"Captain, Lafayette—you both worked hard."
Robin and the others, who had been waiting on deck, stepped forward to greet them.
After exchanging brief greetings, Lafayette turned toward Kaito.
"Captain, should we head directly to Loguetown now?"
Kaito nodded.
"Yes."
"We'll go there first."
"We should also replenish supplies while we're at it."
After receiving confirmation, Lafayette unfolded the East Blue map he had prepared earlier.
After identifying the route, he began issuing new commands to the fleet.
The War Pirates' armada resumed sailing.
Their destination—
Loguetown.
Loguetown was known as "The Town of the Beginning and the End."
The title referred not only to the birthplace and execution site of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, but also to the town's location as the closest major port to Reverse Mountain in East Blue.
At that moment—
People standing at Loguetown's harbor suddenly noticed something strange on the horizon.
"A lot of ships…"
"Look at the sails!"
"Those are skull symbols!"
"Pirates?!"
"What pirate crew is that?"
"How can there be so many ships?!"
The people at the port stared in astonishment as the enormous fleet approached.
Loguetown was a bustling port city.
Ships came and went every day.
A large fleet alone wouldn't have been surprising.
What truly shocked the crowd was the symbol on the sails.
Skulls.
The unmistakable emblem of pirates.
It wasn't that Loguetown's residents had never seen pirates before.
But they had never seen such a massive pirate fleet.
Ever since Roger's execution, East Blue had become a primary focus of Marine control.
Because of that, the pirates in East Blue were considered the weakest in the world.
Now, seeing such a large pirate fleet suddenly approaching—
Some people in the harbor remained calm.
But many others became nervous.
A few even hurriedly left the area.
On the flagship of the War Pirates—
Lafayette frowned slightly as he observed the crowded harbor ahead.
"Captain," he said, turning to Kaito.
"There are too many ships docked in the port."
"We won't be able to berth the entire fleet."
Standing at the bow, Kaito looked calmly at the ships filling the harbor.
Then he spoke in a flat tone.
"Fire the cannons."
"Sink all the ships blocking the port."
"Understood."
Lafayette grinned.
He immediately relayed the command through the Den Den Mushi.
"All ships—listen carefully!"
"Target the vessels in the harbor ahead!"
"Fire!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A storm of artillery erupted from the War Pirates' fleet.
In an instant, countless cannonballs filled the sky like a flock of giant iron birds.
They arced across the sea—
And crashed into the ships docked at Loguetown's harbor.
A thunderous roar echoed across the entire town.
Within moments—
The vessels in the harbor were torn apart by explosions.
Flames engulfed them.
Broken hulls sank rapidly beneath the sea.
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