Seeing this scene, all the Marines cheered for victory. The Straw Hats were finished. No matter how skilled they were, they had to kneel before the power of a warship.
"Oh no! It's too late!" Nami exclaimed. At this point, no matter how fast they were, they couldn't outrun the warship. In front of such a behemoth, the Going Merry was like a frightened kitten.
"Let's fight!" Sanji declared, his face set in a grim determination. He was ready to die with the enemy. If they were going to destroy his ship, he would take their warship as compensation.
"Gum-Gum... Balloon!" Luffy shouted, taking a deep breath and inflating his body, lying on the deck to use his rubbery elasticity to stop the warship.
But the impact of the warship was too violent. Nelson had come prepared, and the force of the collision was enough to sink a small island.
BOOM!
Luffy's body was compressed, compressed, and compressed again.
"Luffy!" Usopp screamed.
"Hah!" Sanji's eyes narrowed, and he was about to attack. Though Luffy was a rubber man, even he had his limits. If this continued, he would be overwhelmed.
"Hey, Nelson, you villain! We're over here! Come and get us!" a voice suddenly rang out. It was Apis. She had untied the ancient dragon from the Going Merry and was now drifting on the sea alone. "Your goal is me! I can't let everyone get hurt because of me!" she declared, her voice filled with a firm resolve as she and the dragon rode the current, drifting further and further away.
"Apis!" Nami cried out, but the girl was already too far away.
"No! The Millennium Dragon!" Eric, who had been fighting Zoro, saw the ancient dragon drifting away and immediately broke off the battle, jumping into a speedboat and chasing after her. His goal was the Millennium Dragon; everything else was irrelevant.
"The elixir!" Nelson's pupils shrank. He immediately abandoned the Straw Hats and ordered the pursuit of the Millennium Dragon.
"Yes, sir!" The military order was absolute. The entire fleet, including the fifty large ships that had been fighting Moonlight, immediately turned and chased after the Millennium Dragon. Nothing was more important than immortality.
"Their goal is Apis! We have to protect her!" Zoro shouted, rejoining Sanji and the others.
"Alright!" Usopp said, turning the helm and pursuing them without a moment's hesitation.
A spectacular scene unfolded on the endless sea. Apis and the ancient dragon drifted on the current. Behind them, Eric in his speedboat rode the wind and waves in hot pursuit. And behind him, Admiral Nelson in his warship, followed by a fleet of fifty large ships, sailed with an even greater might. The Going Merry, though chasing with all its might, couldn't match the speed of the warship, but thanks to Nami's brilliant navigation, they were able to keep pace.
"So this is how it's evolved," Moonlight thought, watching the scene unfold. He hadn't expected Apis to make such a decision. He used his Raptor's Air Rend, man and sword becoming one as he moved across the sea. He was as fast as a warship, but suddenly, his pupils shrank as he looked at the sea ahead. "That is..."
At the same time, the other admiral's face turned pale, and he shouted, "Quick, everyone, stop immediately! Admiral, it's the Calm Belt!"
"What?! The Calm Belt?"
"Not good!"
"Stop!"
The entire fleet came to a screeching halt. Even Nelson, frowning, stopped the warship immediately. A monster like a Sea King... even ten warships would be no match for it. In the sea, the Sea Kings were the true rulers.
"No, it's the Calm Belt!" Nami's face also changed. Of course, she knew what the Calm Belt was. It was the graveyard of all sailors.
"What's the Calm Belt?" Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy all asked in unison. Even Eric, who was far ahead, frowned and slowed down. Though he longed for immortality, he wasn't a fool.
"The Calm Belt is a place where there is no wind and no current," Nami explained, her body trembling. "Everything there is still. A ship needs wind and currents to sail. Without them, it will be stranded there forever. And what's more..." she trailed off, her voice filled with a deep dread. "The Calm Belt is the nesting ground for all the Sea Kings. There are usually dozens of them gathered in one place. Of course, that's just an estimate. There could be hundreds, or even thousands."
"What?!" everyone gasped. Sea Kings... one was terrifying enough, let alone hundreds or thousands. Who could possibly stand against that?
"I don't care what kind of Sea Kings or Calm Belts there are! Apis is our friend, and we have to save her! Usopp, sail on!" Luffy shouted, his determination unwavering.
"Yes, sir!" Usopp replied, following his captain's order. Nami nodded. Though the Calm Belt was a place of certain death, for the sake of their companion, they had to try. Sanji and Zoro also nodded, their expressions grim but resolute.
Ah... ah... ah...
At that moment, Moonlight, man and sword as one, shot across the sea, the sound of the air roaring past him. He headed straight for the Calm Belt.
"Moonlight!"
"Hey, Moonlight, that's the Calm Belt!" Usopp and the others shouted, but Moonlight just gave them a thumbs-up.
"Everyone, leave it to me! I'll go and bring Apis back!"
"Moonlight, we're leaving it to you!" Luffy shouted.
"Received, Captain!" Moonlight replied, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from their sight.
"The Calm Belt is the graveyard for all sailors, whether they're Marines or pirates," Nami murmured. "Among us, Luffy is a hammer in the water. Sanji and Zoro are strong, but they're no match for a Sea King. Usopp is a liar, and I don't have the strength to fight. The only one who can save Apis now is Moonlight."
"I don't want to admit it, but he's right," Sanji and Zoro agreed, for the first time, in complete unison.
"How did I become a liar... I'm so innocent!" Usopp cried, bursting into tears. "Sister, can't you save me some face?"
"Moonlight!" Luffy stared at the sea, his face a mask of worry. As a Devil Fruit user, he knew the terror of the sea better than anyone.
"He went into the Calm Belt?" Nelson frowned, staring at the sea in the distance. Should he give up? Or should he press on? Who could possibly contend with a Sea King? No one.
But his doubt did not last long. A loud roar erupted from the Calm Belt, and the sea began to churn violently. Massive waves, centered on the windless zone, spread out in all directions, and huge, ten-meter-wide vortexes formed on the turbulent water. It was as if a terrifying sea beast was awakening, turning the entire sea upside down. Apis's terrified screams were mixed in with the roar of the waves.
"No, Apis is in danger!"
"Moonlight!"
"This is bad!"
Luffy and the others on the Going Merry cried out in alarm.
"No, did he awaken the Sea Kings?" Nelson's face was a mask of grim horror. Was the Millennium Dragon going to be swallowed by a Sea King just like that? As an admiral, he knew the terror of the Sea Kings better than anyone. He couldn't stay here. Though he was extremely reluctant to give up, he had no choice but to order a retreat.
"Damn it!" Eric cursed. He had been so sure he could capture the Millennium Dragon, but in this situation, no matter how great his courage, no matter how tempting the promise of immortality, he couldn't move on.
"Apis!"
"Moonlight!"
Luffy and the others shouted, desperately trying to steer the Going Merry towards the Calm Belt to rescue them. They would never give up.
But at that moment, a shocking scene unfolded before their eyes. A dozen giant creatures, each over ten meters high, burst from the Calm Belt, the sea roaring and churning around them. They were Sea Kings. And they were heading straight for them.
"No, the Sea Kings are coming!" Nelson no longer dared to hesitate and immediately gave the order to flee. Eric, wishing he had more than two legs, ran as fast as he could.
"They're so big! Are those the Sea Kings?" Nami and Usopp trembled, staring at the giants before them in shock.
"Damn it!" Sanji and Zoro, though full of fighting spirit, felt a sense of powerlessness in the face of the dozen behemoths. One or two would have been manageable, but this many... it was a joke.
"Look!" Luffy, however, was not shocked. He was about to charge forward to avenge Apis, but then his eyes caught something. Moonlight was standing on the back of a Sea King, his sword drawn, his face a mask of calm indifference. Apis was beside him, waving and greeting everyone. And behind them, the ancient dragon was being pulled along by another Sea King, galloping across the waves.
"What?!"
"This can't be!"
"I'm going crazy!"
"Is that Moonlight?"
"What's going on?"
Hearing Luffy's shout, Sanji and the others were stunned. They stared at the scene, dumbfounded, as if they had been struck by lightning. What was happening? The Sea Kings were pulling the Millennium Dragon? And Moonlight and Apis were riding on them, not only safe and sound, but seemingly in control.
This...
"How is this possible?" Nelson, who had already begun his retreat, was stunned. Had the Sea Kings been tamed?
Hiss! The other Marines took a sharp breath, watching the scene with incredible disbelief. Was this even possible? This had to be a dream.
"Oh my God..." Eric stopped in his tracks, his mouth so wide he could have fit a duck egg in it. He stared at the scene, convinced he was dreaming.
"Mr. Moonlight, thank you so much for saving me," Apis said, her voice filled with a deep gratitude. She had thought she was finished. When she had entered the Calm Belt and awakened so many behemoths, she had been sure that she and the ancient dragon were about to become a Sea King's lunch. But then Moonlight had rushed in, and with a single look, all the ferocious Sea Kings had begun to tremble, shivering like frightened pheasants. All their dignity as rulers of the sea had vanished. Then, Moonlight had asked her to communicate with them. She was a user of the Whisper-Whisper Fruit, able to understand the hearts of all creatures. That was how she had first met the ancient dragon. Now, to her surprise, she found that she could communicate with the Sea Kings as well. From their exchange, she could feel their deep, primal fear of Moonlight. Shocked, she had told them her story, and to her amazement, they had agreed to help.
"It was nothing," Moonlight said calmly. "Has the dragon remembered everything?"
"Yes, he's remembered everything," Apis nodded affirmatively. "Warship Island is Dragon Island, and Dragon Island is Warship Island." After such a shock, all the ancient dragon's memories had come flooding back.
"Tell them to take care of the Navy," Moonlight said. "We'll take the dragon and go to Dragon Island."
"Okay," Apis nodded, leaning over and communicating with one of the Sea Kings. The massive creatures all nodded in unison, then let out a ferocious roar and charged towards the Marine fleet.
"What's going on? Why are the Sea Kings coming after us?"
"What did that girl say to them?" the Marines cried out in terror.
"Go! Retreat!" Nelson commanded, no longer daring to hesitate. Immortality was tempting, but if he died now, it would all be for nothing. The entire Marine fleet turned and fled.
"Apis! Moonlight!" Luffy and the others cheered, pulling the two of them onto the Going Merry.
"What happened? Why did the Sea Kings attack the Navy?" Usopp asked, still amazed.
Apis, looking at Moonlight, explained everything in detail.
"So that's it! Your ability is really useful!" Luffy said, nodding in understanding.
"Moonlight... even the Sea Kings are afraid of him?"
"Sometimes, I wonder if Moonlight is the reincarnation of the Sea King king," Usopp mused, his mind racing with bold new theories about Moonlight's true identity.
"That guy..." Sanji and the others just stared at Moonlight in surprise.
"Dragon, we're at Warship Island," Moonlight said, looking at the ancient creature. At that moment, the dragon, his memories and spirit restored, stood up, spread its wings, and let out a mighty roar. The sound of the dragon's cry echoed across the sea.
"What is he doing?" Luffy asked.
"He says he's found Dragon Island, right here," Apis translated. "And he's calling for his companions."
"Companions?"
"So this really is Dragon Island?"
"Companions of a Millennium Dragon? Does that mean... there are more of them?"