"The keel at the bottom of the ship is crying, it's crying! It says it can't hold on any longer! It says this ship isn't carrying people, it's carrying a group of walking natural disasters! Oh my god, why did I ever get on this pirate ship!"
Dolum's voice was filled with tears. He was like a worried-sick old father watching a group of overly mischievous children at home, a mix of despair in his happiness, and a strange hint of pride in his despair.
He flipped through the structural diagrams he had copied from the Kuja ghost ship over and over, trying to integrate the Kuja's unique shipbuilding technique of using flexibility to overcome force into the Behemoth's modifications. But the ship's basic design was too rigid, like a muscleman being forced to learn ballet—it was simply asking too much.
Just as Dolum was hugging his small notebook, preparing to go to the engine room to check on the two power furnaces that were also groaning in agony, he stumbled and nearly fell. It wasn't the ship that had swayed; it was his own legs that had given out. He felt a sharp pain in his heart, and his vision went black.
"I can't... I feel like I'm about to die from overwork..." Dolum leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. It wasn't just physical fatigue; it was mental. He was on edge every single day, terrified that this warship he treasured so much would be dismantled by these monsters in the next second.
"Dolum, what's wrong?" Ren's voice came from behind him. He was carrying a steaming hot bowl. It was a clear soup made from several calming herbs and sea beast bone marrow, emitting a faint, soothing aroma. "Your heartbeat and breathing are not right. Drink this."
Ren handed him the bowl. Dolum took it and drank it all in one go. A warm current spread throughout his body. His heart, which had been pounding from excessive anxiety, gradually calmed down, and his tense nerves relaxed considerably.
"Thank you, Head Chef... I... I'm fine," Dolum managed to squeeze out a smile.
Ren looked at his bloodshot eyes and haggard face and said calmly, "You're lying. Your body is telling me it's about to reach its limit." Ren's "Boon of the Feast" not only strengthened the body but also allowed him to have a complete grasp of the crew's physical condition.
Dolum's smile froze. He looked at the child before him, whose eyes were so clear they seemed to see through everything, and he could no longer hold it in. "Head Chef!" Dolum grabbed Ren's shoulders, his voice trembling. "This ship! This ship really can't take it anymore!"
He spread open his small notebook, pointing at the dense, alarming red marks on it. "The Behemoth was originally designed to carry weapons and soldiers. Its structural integrity was designed for conventional warfare! But what do we have on board? We have Lord Whitebeard! We have Miss Linlin! We have Lord Wang Zhi! And the Captain!"
"Every breath they take, every drinking contest, every time they turn over in their sleep, the leaking Haki and power are causing irreversible, permanent damage to the hull! It's like making an ordinary person carry a mountain on their back every day. Sooner or later, he's going to fall apart!" Dolum's voice grew more and more agitated, finally turning into a roar. "This is no longer a problem that can be solved with repairs! It's a fundamental design flaw! This ship is a gorgeous but fragile cage for us! It can't contain us monsters!"
His roar drowned out all the other noise on the deck. The drinking Wang Zhi and Newgate stopped. The fighting Linlin and Gloriosa also separated. Everyone's gaze focused on the emotionally collapsing shipwright.
Rocks slowly walked over, the smile gone from his face, replaced by a grave expression. He picked up the small notebook that Dolum had dropped and looked at the data recording the ship's groans. He was silent. He knew Dolum was not exaggerating. This ship, his pride and joy, the vessel of a king, was becoming the first shackle to hold them back.
Dolum's roar was like a heavy hammer, striking everyone in the heart. A strange silence fell over the deck, leaving only the sound of the wind and the waves. All this time, they had been immersed in the joy of gaining great power and sailing freely, but they had ignored the silent cries of the vessel that carried them all.
Gatz scratched his head, feeling for the first time that his massive weight was a burden. Wang Zhi silently screwed the cap back on his wine gourd, as if reflecting on whether his drinking contest with Newgate had been too rowdy. Linlin and Gloriosa exchanged a look and, for once, did not bicker.
Rocks closed the notebook filled with the ship's wails and handed it back to Dolum. He looked around at his crew, these unruly monsters, each of whom possessed the power to destroy an island. He knew Dolum was right. The cage of the Behemoth was about to break.
"Since this ship is going to fall apart, let's just get a sturdier one," Rocks's voice broke the silence, his tone calm but filled with an unquestionable dominance.
"Where are we going to get one?" Dolum asked subconsciously, then gave a wry smile. "I'm afraid there's no ship on this sea that can withstand us..."
"Then we'll go steal one that can," a wild grin appeared on the corner of Rocks's lips. "Or rather, we'll go steal a base that can build such a ship." He walked to the bow, facing the sea breeze, his gaze fixed on the distant, fog-shrouded depths of their course.
"Alright, boys! Do you remember how we got this ship?"
Everyone's spirits lifted. "The G-5 Branch!" Gatz was the first to roar.
"That's right," Rocks turned, the fire of ambition burning in his eyes. "A single G-5 Branch can design a warship of this level. That means deeper in the Grand Line, in the very heart of the Marines' power, there must be a shipbuilding base even larger and more technologically advanced than G-5."
He pulled out a worn-out sea chart from his pocket and spread it on the deck. "I dug some interesting intel out of the CP0's minds." Rocks's finger landed heavily on a huge island marked with a skull and crossbones. "The Marine G-2 Branch, located in the middle of the Grand Line. It's a secret training base for Marine Admiral candidates, and also the cradle for the Marines' newest and most experimental warships."
"It's said that they are currently building a super-warship codenamed 'Azure Dragon,' and its design concept is specifically to counter natural disasters of our level."
Azure Dragon! The name was like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, creating a thousand waves on the deck.
"G-2? Captain, are you joking?" Dolum's face was even paler than when he had seen the cracks in the hull. "That's one of the Marines' true core fortresses in the Grand Line! Its defenses are more than ten times stronger than G-5!"
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