The next morning, watching the energetic training session led by the Black Star Pirates on deck, Rayleigh walked to the ship's railing and addressed Jerry, who was fishing leisurely nearby. "The training atmosphere here is incredibly intense. No wonder you've all become so powerful."
Jerry's eyes left the ocean below and he turned to glance at the Straw Hat Pirates, who were being enthusiastically coached through their exercises behind him. His expression carried a hint of amusement. "So what do you think of these particular training methods?"
Looking at the various simple yet highly practical training setups designed to improve strength, perception, reaction speed, and other essential combat attributes, Rayleigh nodded with genuine approval. "They're all very effective and well-designed."
"Really? You think so too," Jerry grinned with obvious satisfaction.
The training regimen aboard the Black Nova had never relied heavily on large, expensive equipment or complicated machinery. These methods had been developed primarily by Jerry, drawing on his memories of training practices he'd observed from Rayleigh and other legendary fighters. He'd summarized the core elements that seemed most effective, and after being tested and refined by Deuce and the others over many months, they had gradually evolved into their current efficient form.
After all, beyond basic physical conditioning, the development of many advanced techniques and Devil Fruit abilities didn't require extensive equipment assistance. Instead, they relied much more heavily on personal creativity, analytical thinking, and dedicated practice to explore new possibilities and improvements.
Rayleigh observed the rapidly receding water churning past their hull and sighed with a mixture of admiration and envy. "By the way, with a ship like yours that can completely ignore factors like wind direction and ocean currents, you're able to travel much faster than anyone else on the seas."
He glanced meaningfully at the fishing rod in Jerry's hand, which had remained completely motionless since they'd begun their conversation, and chose to remain diplomatically silent about the obvious futility of fishing at their current speed.
At their current velocity—at least twice as fast as any ordinary sailing ship—it would be nothing short of miraculous if Jerry managed to catch anything at all.
"It's fine, really. Speed isn't everything," Jerry said with complete seriousness, staring down at his fishing float as it was dragged relentlessly through the wind and waves. "The most important factor is endurance and sustainability. Otherwise, we couldn't travel like this without any restrictions for years at a time."
Rayleigh was momentarily stunned, sensing there might be deeper implications behind Jerry's seemingly casual words.
That evening, after Nami had finished her dinner, she was chatting animatedly with Robin, Carina, and Carrot when her expression suddenly changed dramatically.
She rushed to the bow of the ship and looked up at the darkening sky with obvious concern.
After studying the atmospheric conditions for several tense moments, she turned toward Jerry, who was organizing his fishing equipment, and shouted urgently, "Jerry! We need to change course immediately! There's a massive storm heading straight for us!"
This warning caused all the Straw Hat Pirates to rush over from the deck and galley, ready for emergency action. They had developed deep respect for and complete faith in Nami's ability to predict weather patterns, having been saved by her expertise countless times.
"Huh?" Jerry looked slightly startled, then suddenly remembered that if Rayleigh had been traveling alone, he would have encountered the same storm that historically caused his ship to sink, forcing him to swim the rest of the way to Amazon Lily.
Thinking about this near-miss, Jerry turned around and gave the innocent-looking Rayleigh a meaningful glare, then said calmly, "Don't panic, everyone. Look—even a perpetually cautious guy like Deuce isn't rushing around in a frenzy."
The Straw Hat Pirates and Rayleigh looked over and discovered that the Black Star Pirates were indeed surprisingly calm and collected. They didn't seem panicked or particularly concerned about the rapidly approaching storm system.
As the sky quickly darkened with ominous-looking clouds, Nami couldn't help but reveal growing anxiety on her face. "Shouldn't we be doing something? That storm looks really dangerous!"
"Just be patient," Carina said soothingly, patting Nami's shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Haven't you all experienced this ship sailing underwater before? We'll be perfectly fine."
Deuce and the other Black Star Pirates nodded and smiled with confidence. "No matter how powerful the storm becomes, the main impact and damage will all be concentrated on the sea surface. Although there are occasionally dangerous underwater currents to navigate, we'll be completely safe below."
Recalling their previous underwater experiences, Nami and the other Straw Hat Pirates gradually began to feel relieved. They couldn't help but reflect on how different pirate crews had developed their own unique sailing methods and crisis management strategies over the years.
What Nami and her crewmates couldn't imagine at this moment was that some pirate crews didn't have any proper navigators at all, yet somehow managed to travel freely throughout both the Grand Line and the New World by relying entirely on directions provided by random old ladies they met at village entrances.
As the storm system approached their position, the Black Star Pirates quickly submerged beneath the ocean's surface and continued traveling in a perfectly straight line toward their destination.
"You've accomplished something truly amazing here," Rayleigh said admiringly, studying the Black Nova as it sailed effortlessly underwater without requiring any coating whatsoever. He turned to stare at Jerry with obvious curiosity and growing respect.
Jerry temporarily secured his fishing rod and focused on controlling the ocean currents, ensuring that the Black Nova remained at an optimal depth—not so shallow as to be affected by surface turbulence, but not so deep as to create unnecessary pressure or navigational challenges.
He looked up at the blurry and menacing sky visible through the seawater above them and chuckled with characteristic confidence. "Of course I can do this. No matter where this world might lead us, as long as the ocean doesn't disappear completely, there will always be a place for me to call home."
Jerry's casual words caused something to flash in Rayleigh's eyes—a mixture of recognition and perhaps concern.
Noticing Jerry's completely relaxed demeanor, Rayleigh decided he might be overthinking the implications of that statement, so he pushed aside some of his more troubling thoughts and agreed: "That's true. But the sea won't disappear so easily. If anything, it might even become more vast and expansive..."
Jerry shook his head thoughtfully. "An ocean like that has already isolated many people on their individual islands for their entire lives. If it becomes even wider, that may not necessarily be a positive development for the world as a whole."
"You make an excellent point," Rayleigh sighed meaningfully, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "The sea level has already risen far too much..."
Jerry smiled knowingly but chose not to continue that particular conversation.
Robin's eyes flickered with recognition, as if she was recalling some crucial piece of information from her archaeological studies, but she remained silent about whatever conclusions she might be drawing.
The others who had overheard the conversation between Jerry and Rayleigh didn't delve deeper into its implications, simply assuming it was just two people making casual conversation to pass the time.
After successfully passing through the storm's area while remaining safely underwater, the Black Nova returned to the ocean's surface like a fish gracefully leaping over a dragon's gate.
The Straw Hat Pirates looked back at the lightning, thunder, raging waves, wind, and torrential rain that were gradually fading into the distance behind them, and secretly gave Jerry enthusiastic thumbs up for his brilliant solution.
This could honestly be described as the easiest time they'd ever dealt with severe weather since beginning their pirate careers. They hadn't even broken a sweat, let alone gotten soaked by the rain.
"If our Going Merry could also avoid storms this way, maybe it wouldn't have been damaged so severely..." Usopp murmured sadly, his voice barely audible.
Their beloved ship was still anchored at Water 7, waiting patiently for their return so proper repairs could be completed.
Sanji placed a comforting hand on Usopp's shoulder and said gently, "Don't torture yourself thinking about what might have been. Let's focus on what we need to accomplish right now. We'll find the best shipwrights to repair the Merry when we get back."
"Yeah!" Usopp nodded with renewed determination.
Under Jerry's expert guidance and control, the Black Nova arrived in the waters surrounding Amazon Lily in less than four days—nearly half the time it would have taken any conventional ship.
"Wow! What an enormous snake!" Carrot exclaimed with obvious excitement, pointing at the massive creature approaching their ship.
Skull coughed lightly to get everyone's attention and immediately provided helpful context: "That's a highly venomous sea serpent from the Sea King family. We definitely shouldn't provoke it carelessly."
Usopp struck a heroic pose, placing his hands on his hips and pointing his distinctively long nose toward the sky. "Don't worry about it! With the great Captain Usopp here, they wouldn't dare get too close to us!"
"But it's swimming directly toward us," Carrot pointed behind Usopp and reminded him in a stage whisper.
"AHHH! We're all going to be eaten alive!" Usopp, Nami, and Chopper immediately screamed in terror.
As Zoro and Sanji began preparing for combat, Robin noticed that the expressions on Rayleigh's, Jerry's, and the other Black Star Pirates' faces didn't show any excessive concern or urgency.
Just as the massive sea serpent was about to intercept the Black Nova's path, Jerry casually waved his hand and called out, "Go away and stop blocking the route. This isn't your personal dining room."
His clear voice somehow reached the sea serpent, which seemed to understand Jerry's words perfectly despite any potential language barriers.
The enormous creature paused and stopped exactly where it was. It looked curiously at the various small beings aboard the Black Nova, then shifted its attention to Jerry, toward whom it seemed to feel an inexplicable sense of fondness and respect. The serpent slowly retracted its threatening fangs, shook its massive head in what appeared to be acknowledgment, and watched peacefully as the Black Nova passed safely by its side.
This completely unexpected scene left everyone, including Rayleigh, staring at Jerry in absolute astonishment.
"Hey, don't look so shocked," Jerry said with amusement, waving his hand dismissively.
He briefly glanced at several abilities that had been part of his system since the very beginning of his journey—skills that had proven surprisingly useful in the most unexpected situations.
"So, Old Man Rayleigh, is Amazon Lily just ahead of us?" Jerry asked, gesturing toward an island with the distinctive words "Kuja" carved prominently into its rocky cliffs. The landmass was clearly visible in the distance, surrounded by waters where Sea Kings appeared from time to time.
"Yes, we've finally arrived," Rayleigh said with satisfaction, stretching his arms as if he'd accomplished something tremendously significant during their brief voyage.