One Piece: The Archangel's Guide

Chapter 38: A Hasty End

Aboard the Wind Granma, almost everyone was lying on the various decks, gasping for breath. Cold sweat trickled down their faces, and their pupils still trembled violently, seemingly not yet recovered from the shadow of the natural disaster.

Just as everyone was gradually coming to their senses and preparing to celebrate their survival, another crisis occurred.

The Wind Granma, which had been stationary under the protection of the wind wall, slowly began to move, its speed gradually increasing with the passing of time. In an instant, many of the unprepared Revolutionaries were thrown about, crashing heavily into the ship's interior. At the same time, many who had just managed to stand up heard the continuous roar of churning waves.

"What's happening?!"

"Quick, protect the food! Don't let it spill!" Amidst the chaos, someone roared, diving towards the sacks of grain.

Meanwhile, on the deck, Ivankov and the others turned pale as they watched the rapidly spinning tides. They gripped the railings tightly to keep from being thrown off the accelerating ship.

"Quick, hold on tight! If you get thrown off now, you're dead for sure!" Ivankov shouted to the comrades remaining on deck. At the same time, they reached out and grabbed a few people by the legs, preventing them from falling into the deep sea.

Looking out, a giant sea vortex stood on the ocean's surface. The Wind Granma was floating at its edge, caught by the churning waves and spinning rapidly, being pulled step-by-step toward the very center of the vortex.

A hollow, deep core occupied the sea's surface, swallowing vast amounts of seawater and any items thrown from the deck every second. Everyone knew that if the ship was pulled into the core, its destruction, and their deaths, would be instantaneous.

As the Revolutionaries desperately tried to stop this process, giant, cold hands made of seawater broke through the surface, grabbing the ship and pulling it toward the seabed.

"!!"

"What the hell is this?!" Ivankov was on the verge of a breakdown. He didn't understand. It was just one accidental misfire, and it didn't even hit them, yet the other party was going this far.

"This is way too petty!"

As the words fell, one of the giant seawater hands let go of the ship and slapped directly at Ivankov.

"Death Wink!"

BOOM—

The giant hand exploded, turning into a sky full of seawater that scattered across the deck.

"He can even hear that?!" Ivankov's eyes widened as he muttered under his breath. Then, he said no more, focusing on shattering the giant hands one after another.

Just then, the invisible storm rose again. A hurricane coiled and surged, punching a massive wind tunnel nearly a hundred meters wide and of unknown length through the surface of the sea. Then, Dragon controlled the hurricane to lift the entire Wind Granma out of the vortex, rendering the rapidly spinning whirlpool useless. He then raised his hand and sent the ship straight into the howling wind tunnel, where it was propelled by the gale, flying across the sea's surface and gradually disappearing over the horizon.

Seeing his comrades and the life-saving food supply far away from the storm in such a short time, Dragon breathed a sigh of relief. He then took one last deep look at the unknown powerhouse in the distance who hadn't even shown their face, and he too stepped into the wind tunnel, disappearing into the storm.

Perhaps twenty-some years ago, Dragon would have turned around and had a grand battle with the unknown powerhouse. But now, his ideals had reached a critical point. He was unwilling to fight to the death over an incident that hadn't even caused any casualties yet. Even if he was fully confident he could defeat his opponent, Dragon didn't want to take the risk. The lives of his Revolutionary comrades and the urgently needed food could not be jeopardized. The soldiers of the Revolutionary Army should at least fall on the path to liberating the oppressed and persecuted people of the world, not pay the price of their lives in some forgotten corner over a small mistake.

On the other side, Louis watched the direction the Revolutionaries had disappeared, a thoughtful look on his face. He didn't dwell on it, however, instead turning and walking toward the interior of the Island Cloud.

"Let's go. They've already left."

Behind him, Uta subconsciously asked, "Did they run away?"

"No. They left."

Uta froze for a moment at his words. Then, she lowered her head and fell silent, lost in thought. Yelena, on the other hand, turned to look into the distance, a contemplative expression on her face.

The next morning.

The flawless white, massive Island Cloud descended from the sky. It only stopped its fall when it was almost touching the surface of the sea. A moment later, the Island Cloud ascended again, leaving a warship behind on the vast, limitless ocean.

Under a parasol, Louis leaned back in a deck chair, carefully reading his children's textbook. After his long-range exchange with Dragon, Louis had once again picked up the book, preparing to create a more superior vessel for his future killing machines.

Tap, tap, tap...

BANG—

Uta came running out, pushing the cabin door open. "Good morning, Louis!"

Uta was in her pajamas, her two-toned hair loose behind her back. Her whole being radiated a youthful and bright smile as she raised a fair, slender hand and waved at Louis. Then, before Louis could reply, she raised her hands and stretched.

"It's another sunny day!"

With that, she ran off again with a series of taps, seemingly going to find Yelena.

Louis shook his head at this, silently turning to the next page of his children's textbook, immersing himself in the ocean of knowledge.

After a long time, Yelena walked out from the cabin carrying breakfast, followed by a small pipsqueak holding a glass of milk and chewing on a piece of bread.

Uta plopped down in the seat opposite Louis, swallowed a mouthful of bread with some milk, and asked with wide, blinking eyes, "Louis, when are we going to get to the next stop?"

"About half an hour," Louis replied, pointing in the direction behind Uta.

"We're almost there?..." Uta's cheeks were puffed out, her words muffled.

Yelena heard this and slowly put down her glass of milk, a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm... we do need to replenish some supplies..." Yelena's voice was extremely gentle, giving people a comfortable feeling like being bathed in a spring breeze.

Uta finished the milk Yelena had prepared for her in one go, tilted her head, and asked in a long, drawn-out tone, "Weeee~ don't have any money, do we?"

"Should we go find a lucky pirate crew to rob?" As she spoke, her purple eyes revealed a hint of eagerness.

"No, there's money in the private safe in the warship's office." Yelena shook her head and explained that while she was cleaning up, she had accidentally found a private safe in the office. After breaking it open, she found quite a lot of Berries.

Uta's eyebrows shot up. She pondered for a moment, then asked tentatively, "A private stash? Embezzlement?"

Her focus was always so peculiar, making Yelena chuckle. "I wouldn't know..."

Louis leaned back in his deck chair, listening to Uta and Yelena's idle chat as he looked into the distance at the island that was faintly visible on the horizon.

"Shimotsuki Village..."

"The Shimotsuki family..."

He then glanced at the Seven Star Sword resting on the table, its demonic and ominous aura now retracted. Then at the long-handled war hammer lying on the other end of the deck, which was covered in scratches and fine cracks.