Mock Town.
Crash!
The sharp sound of shattering glass suddenly echoed through the street, drawing the attention of passersby toward its source. A tall, robust man was curled up as he smashed through the window of a tavern, taking two others with him.
The two unfortunate men who were pushed ahead of him were pinned to the ground after breaking through the window. The man who had attacked them was nearly two meters tall, with a burly physique that suggested he weighed quite a bit. He knelt on them, pressing his knees into their bodies and forcing the weight of his entire frame onto them. The shards of broken glass embedded themselves into the two victims, eliciting screams of agony.
This ruthless, imposing man had a thick beard and a pair of cold, three-sclera eyes that made his gaze appear merciless. Above his thick lips was a hooked nose, sharp and curved like an eagle's beak, giving him a distinct and menacing appearance.
This man was Krieg, a special recruit brought into William's forces during the military reforms.
In the original timeline, Krieg was a cunning and powerful pirate captain. Originally a criminal of the kingdom, he had escaped from prison and evaded the Marines' rudimentary screening system to become a Marine himself. However, he later killed his commanding officer, seized a ship, and turned pirate.
But his fate took a different turn after William's rise to power. As a kingdom criminal, Krieg didn't bother infiltrating the Marine system. Instead, he easily took advantage of the reforms in William's military and joined the Navia Kingdom militia. His outstanding performance eventually earned him a position as an officer.
Krieg was ambitious and patient. After joining the militia, he witnessed the vast influence William's forces wielded in the East Blue. He abandoned his initial plan to lay low and leave after a short time. Instead, he decided to stay under William's command for the long term, observing and learning from William's behavior and systems while using internal resources to enhance his own strength.
Krieg reached up to touch a small cut on his cheek caused by the glass shards. He looked at the blood on his fingers under his cold, three-sclera gaze, then grabbed the necks of the two struggling pirates beneath him. With a sickening crack, the sound of bones breaking sent shivers down the spines of onlookers. Blood foamed from the pirates' mouths as their heads lolled to the side, lifeless. Krieg had crushed their throats with his bare hands.
Krieg smirked disdainfully, stood up from the two corpses, and re-entered the tavern.
Inside, the atmosphere was deathly silent.
Edmond pulled his sword out of a corpse, while Harden rummaged through another's pockets, retrieving several wallets.
He tossed the bloodstained wallets onto the counter in front of the tavern owner, then plopped into an empty chair nearby with a grin. "Your best booze. Keep the rest as compensation."
The tavern owner, who had likely lived in Mock Town for many years, was no stranger to such scenes. He quickly counted the money and efficiently called for someone to pour drinks, while also instructing others to clean up the bodies.
The owner couldn't care less about whether the money had just been looted from the dead. This was Mock Town. Here, anyone with money was a VIP, and where that money came from was the least of anyone's concerns.
"We're new to the Grand Line and want to know where we can get a Log Pose for this island," Kuro asked, smoothing his slightly disheveled hair after the earlier scuffle. Once the drinks were served, he addressed the tavern owner.
The owner replied, "A Log Pose? I've got one here. I can sell it to you."
The ease with which one of their objectives was accomplished put Kuro in a good mood. Thinking about the strange occurrences on their ship, he decided to ask further, "By the way, have you ever heard of cases where a Log Pose malfunctions?"
"Malfunctions?" The owner looked puzzled at first but then seemed to recall something. "You mean when the Log Pose points to the sky?"
Kuro nodded in confirmation.
The Grand Line was known for its unpredictable climate and bizarre geography. Here, magnetic fields, ocean currents, and wind patterns were all chaotic and defied logic, completely different from the other four seas. Ordinary compasses and navigation tools used in the other seas became useless in the Grand Line.
In such conditions, the only things sailors could rely on, besides the experience and skill of their navigators, were two tools: the Log Pose and the Eternal Pose.
The Eternal Pose is a compass permanently locked onto the magnetic field of a specific island. In the vast, directionless ocean, it guides sailors toward their target island.
The Log Pose, on the other hand, is a compass that can record and change its magnetic field. The islands of the Grand Line's first half, from its entrance to the Sabaody Archipelago, are divided into seven different routes based on the phenomenon of magnetic attraction.
Sailors choose an island at the entrance, and once they land, the Log Pose records the island's magnetic field after a certain period. It then points to the next island on that route, leading them step by step to the Sabaody Archipelago.
Log Poses are unique to the Grand Line and are relatively hard to come by outside of it. However, with William's growing influence in the East Blue, he wasn't the type to overlook such details. He ensured his subordinates were equipped with Log Poses before entering the Grand Line, even providing a few spares.
But now, Kuro and his group had discovered that their Log Poses were consistently pointing skyward. Even Selkirk, with his prior experience in the Grand Line, was unsure of the cause, as he had taken a different route during his previous journey.
It's worth noting that the Grand Line's Log Poses are not flat like ordinary compasses. They are spherical, with a needle suspended in the center that can point not only to cardinal directions but also up and down.
Given this peculiar phenomenon and the unique structure of the Log Pose, Selkirk couldn't help but recall some legends he had heard during his time in the Grand Line. He asked, "Could it be because of a nearby Sky Island?"
The tavern owner froze at the question.
Pfft!
At a nearby table, a pirate who had been eavesdropping couldn't hold back a laugh. Though he quickly stifled it and pretended to look elsewhere, his reaction didn't escape the notice of Harden and the others, who frowned deeply.
Around the tavern, those who had overheard Selkirk's words wore expressions ranging from amused to mocking, as if they found the idea utterly ridiculous. Many even smirked derisively.
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