If anyone present knew the most about the outside world over the past few years, it was undoubtedly Nami.
As a navigator who had gone to sea countless times, she understood this sea even better than Bell-mère.
Of course, that was limited to the East Blue.
Even so, she had never known that such an incredible Sea Train existed in the Calm Belt bordering the East Blue. Because of that, she was full of curiosity and had plenty of questions.
"Ah..."
Camie was clearly rather simple-minded. Since she had a senior she could proudly talk about, she looked even happier and answered everything she knew.
"Ten years ago, Uncle Sam was one of Boss Jinbe's officers under the Sun Pirates. But later, as more and more Sea Trains opened, more conductors were needed too. So Uncle Sam chose to retire and became the conductor of this East Blue Train 007."
"I see. So, from what you're saying, Camie, this isn't the only Sea Train in the East Blue?"
"Of course not. Unless there's some special temporary plan, a Sea Train usually runs every two hours. In the East Blue, a total of twelve Sea Trains run in rotation every day. Ten are freight trains, and two are passenger trains."
"So the Sea Train's main purpose is transporting goods? Then why not use ships?"
Nami grew more and more curious as she asked. The others were also listening with great interest.
Camie raised one finger and explained playfully, "The reason is simple. Sea Trains are much more efficient than ordinary cargo ships. If we're only talking about speed, ordinary steamships are only half as fast as Sea Trains. They also have to deal with all sorts of dangers, including pirates, weather, terrain, and restrictions on sea routes. But the Calm Belt is different. The weather here basically never changes, there are no pirates, and there's no need to worry about other ships passing through. Stations can be connected in straight lines, which saves a huge amount of time at sea. To put it this way, taking the East Blue route as an example, from the starting station to the final station, there are twelve stops. A Sea Train only needs five days to make the trip, and only ten days to complete a full circuit. But if it were an ordinary ship following the same route, it would take at least a month. A full circuit would take two or three months, and that's without considering any risks."
Camie explained it all clearly and confidently.
Even a fool could understand how huge the difference was between five days and one month.
But Camie was not finished yet.
"Besides that, it can carry much more cargo too. You've all seen it. Every Sea Train pulls twenty-two freight cars, which isn't inferior to a large cargo ship at all. And as you've also seen, one Sea Train only needs two people to manage it. So transporting goods by Sea Train costs much less than ordinary shipping, and it's much safer too. That's why merchants love it so much. We rarely have empty freight cars on any trip. They're usually reserved a month in advance."
"I see."
Nami was full of admiration. With her sharp nose for money, and having traveled to many places aboard the Kaya family's merchant ships, she completely understood how terrifying the profits behind this must be.
At that moment, Usopp seemed to think of something.
"What about the Sea Kings? Aren't you scared of them?"
Usopp's words made everyone realize the same thing.
That was right. This was the Calm Belt. According to Nami, it was the nest of the Sea Kings.
"No need to worry!"
Camie spoke with complete confidence.
"You saw them when you boarded the Sea Train, right? The tracks buried beneath the surface of the sea."
"Mm."
Everyone nodded.
Only then did Camie explain.
"That isn't ordinary metal. It's a specially made sound-absorbing metal. It absorbs the vibration energy produced while the Sea Train is running, stores it, then converts it into a sound that Sea Kings especially hate. So Sea Kings usually won't approach the waters where the Sea Train runs. Of course, that isn't absolute, and that's why Yemu-sama entrusted the Sea Trains to us Fish-Men. The Calm Belt may be dangerous, but it isn't much to us Fish-Men, because we live in the sea to begin with. Even if something goes wrong, we Fish-Men can quickly repair the tracks without affecting the later trains."
"That's amazing, Camie-san. You know so much!"
Sanji said it eagerly, trying to flatter her.
"Hehe, it's all just common knowledge."
Camie looked a little embarrassed.
"And the amazing ones aren't me. They're our Fish-Man heroes, Yemu-sama and Tom-san."
As she said this, Camie's eyes filled with admiration.
"Before Yemu-sama appeared, we Fish-Men rarely had any chance to appear on the sea. As long as we showed up, human traffickers would capture us and sell us to others as slaves. Humans and other races discriminated against us badly too. It was only after Yemu-sama appeared and established the Rainbow Country that we Fish-Men could live openly on land, equal to other races. But Yemu-sama once said that so-called equality between races is useless if it's only shouted as a slogan. Only when we Fish-Men truly integrate into society, become an inseparable part of the Rainbow Country, and show our own value can we gain everyone's recognition. And the Sea Train invented by Tom-san gave us Fish-Men that chance. Because we can move freely through the sea, we became the race most suited to working on the Sea Trains. That's why I have the chance to stand here with all of you now and chat without any fear or worry."
Only then did everyone realize there were so many stories behind this train running across the sea.
"So that guy named Yemu is really something, huh?"
Usopp only said it casually, but the moment he finished speaking, Camie puffed out her cheeks in anger and growled softly, "Mr. Usopp, you can't talk about Yemu-sama like that. He is the savior of our Fish-Man race. He is the greatest person of all."
"Huh?!"
Usopp panicked and quickly said, "S-Sorry..."
"You idiot, Usopp."
Seeing that, Nami scolded Usopp, then took Camie's hand and said, "Don't mind that idiot. Um, Camie, I wanted to ask, where is this Sea Train going next? When can we leave?"
Naturally, Camie was not truly angry.
"If you want to return to the East Blue, it'll probably be tomorrow morning. But if you're going to the Grand Line, you can get off at eight o'clock tonight."
"Huh?!"
Everyone froze.
"What do you mean?"
"It's like this. The East Blue route has twelve stops from start to finish, arranged in a wave pattern. Six of the exits are in the Grand Line, and six of the exits are in the East Blue."
Thinking of something, Nami asked in surprise, "So the next stop's exit is in the Grand Line? We have to wait until the stop after that to return to the East Blue?"
"That's right."
"Looks like we can only wait until tomorrow. But that's not necessarily a bad thing."
After all, if they went back now, they would probably face the Marines' pursuit.
Usopp, however, asked his own question.
"Um, isn't this a good thing? Our goal is to enter the Grand Line, right? Doesn't that mean we can do it at the next stop..."