One Piece: The Strongest Trait System novel Chapter 66

Chapter 66 - [66] : The Calm Belt's Great Use! The Red Line!

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The Going Merry sailed towards the distant guiding light.

"Oh no! It's terrible! The light went out!" Usopp yelled in panic, watching the faraway beacon suddenly extinguish.

"Lighthouses use lights; it's not surprising they go out sometimes. That's precisely why we need a navigator, isn't it?" Rowen glanced at Nami with a smile.

"That's right! Don't worry, I remember the direction!" Nami replied, puffing her chest out slightly, pleased by Rowen's praise.

"As expected of you, Nami!" Luffy and the others gave her a thumbs-up.

Rowen looked fondly at Nami's slightly proud expression.

"This is tricky, though... If this continues, it'll be just like the legends say," Nami murmured, studying the Grand Line chart she'd taken from Buggy.

"What?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Let's head inside the cabin first," Nami instructed.

Slap! Inside the cabin, Nami slapped the chart down onto the table.

"The entrance to the Grand Line—is a mountain!" Nami declared, pointing at the chart.

"WHAT?!" Everyone except Rowen stared with shocked expressions.

"Yes. I hardly believe it myself, but look at the chart. The guiding light is clearly positioned on the Red Line, atop Reverse Mountain," Nami explained.

"What?! Are we supposed to crash into a mountain?!" Usopp shrieked.

"Wait, isn't there a canal here?" Zoro pointed to a waterway on the chart that seemed to flow up the Red Line.

"A canal? Don't be ridiculous! Even if there is a canal, a ship can't possibly sail up a mountain! Right, Rowen?" Usopp asked, sweating nervously, looking towards Rowen, the most knowledgeable among them.

"No, Nami is correct," Rowen replied with a smile.

"EH?!" Usopp looked utterly terrified. "I-I've got the 'I'll-die-if-I-climb-a-mountain' disease!" he wailed dramatically.

"Relax. It's also called Reverse Mountain. We just need to ride the current into the entrance channel—and it will carry us up to the summit. Then, we ride the current down the other side, right into the Grand Line," Rowen explained, pointing at the chart with a smile.

"I see! It uses the ocean currents!" Nami, with her exceptional navigational talent, understood immediately, her face lighting up with excitement.

Zoro and the others also smiled in relief.

"However, the currents there are extremely strong. If we fail to enter the channel correctly, we'll genuinely crash into the Red Line. I hear that more than half the pirates aiming for the Grand Line perish before even entering it," Rowen added, looking at the crew with a mischievous glint in his eye, adopting his 'intimidating villain' expression.

"!!!" Usopp started trembling uncontrollably.

Sanji and Zoro's eyes twitched.

Nami grabbed onto Rowen's arm, her face pale.

Faced with the terrifying power of nature described, even Sanji and Zoro felt their hearts pound with apprehension.

"But don't worry. My ability can prevent that from happening," Rowen chuckled, seeing the crew's terrified reactions.

His Smoke-Smoke Fruit ability allowed him to freely solidify his smoke for attacks or use its elemental form for capturing and manipulation. Even within strong currents, subtly altering their course should be possible.

At the very least, entering the Grand Line channel wouldn't be a problem; they wouldn't need the near-death experience from the original story.

"You should have said so sooner!" Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp yelled simultaneously, exasperated.

"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! Your expressions were just too funny!" Rowen laughed heartily.

"Seriously! Don't scare me like that, Rowen!" Nami leaned against Rowen's shoulder, wrinkling her nose cutely.

"I was about to say, if we can't use the entrance, maybe we should just detour south and enter from there," Zoro said, relieved, managing a smile. The chart did show an alternate southern route into the Grand Line.

"That wouldn't work," Nami immediately refuted.

"RIGHT! Nami's right!" Luffy instantly agreed.

Nami felt a flicker of gratification. 'Maybe Luffy isn't a complete idiot after all.'

"We have to go through the entrance! That's the exciting way!" Luffy declared loudly, pointing at Zoro.

"YOU MORON! That's not the reason!" Nami transformed into her sharp-toothed angry state again.

So much for Luffy making progress...

"Hahaha," Rowen chuckled, watching Luffy's antics.

"Huh? What's going on? The storm suddenly stopped," Usopp remarked, looking out the window curiously.

"It's really quiet... Just moments ago, it was pouring rain and howling wind," Sanji added.

"Yeah! Great weather!" Luffy threw open the cabin door, grinning.

"You can still see the storm over there, but there's absolutely no wind here," Zoro observed, gazing at the distant storm clouds. _{freewebnøvel.coɱ}

"N-No! This can't be! We should be able to ride the current into the entrance!" Seeing the clear weather, Nami, the navigator, turned deathly pale.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Nami's unusual panic, everyone except Rowen looked concerned.

"We're in the Calm Belt, aren't we?" Rowen stated, stepping out of the cabin. He felt the utter stillness of the air—not a breath of wind. All the Merry's sails hung completely limp. A slight smile touched his lips.

"Calm Belt?" Luffy and the others looked confused.

"Yes! The Calm Belt! Quick, furl the sails! We need to row back into the storm!" Nami urged frantically.

"Why are you panicking? This is a sailboat! Why do we have to row?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Yeah, why go back into the storm?" Usopp added.

"Stop asking questions! Just do as I say, you idiots!" Nami yelled desperately.

"But the weather's so nice now," Zoro commented, stretching lazily.

"Rowen! Please tell them! You know about the Calm Belt, you must know what's here!" Nami pleaded, looking at Rowen, her face utterly pale.

"I know. Just like you mentioned detouring south earlier... our ship is currently drifting south," Rowen replied, seeing Nami's terror, then glanced at Zoro with a smile.

"Huh? Does that mean... we're already in the Grand Line?" Zoro asked cluelessly.

"Idiot! If it were that easy, everyone could get into the Grand Line!" Nami snapped, transforming into her sharp-toothed state again.

Besides Rowen, is there anyone reliable on this ship?!

"Listen up! The Grand Line is sandwiched between two long strips of ocean! These are the Calm Belts! Just like the name says, there's absolutely no wind here!" Nami explained urgently.

"So what?" Zoro and the others still didn't understand the problem.

"Because, besides having no wind, this place also has some... very interesting inhabitants," Rowen added, his lips curling as he gazed down at the sea surface.

His Observation Haki detected presences in the water below.

KRA-SHOOOOM!

The next moment, the sea surface erupted violently. A colossal creature emerged from the depths, lifting the Going Merry entirely out of the water on its head.

"W-What's happening?! An earthquake?!" Usopp screamed in panic.

"Moron! How can there be an earthquake at sea?!" Sanji yelled back.

Then, everyone except Rowen froze, utterly stunned.

Several terrifyingly massive creatures had surfaced around them. And the Going Merry was perched precariously atop the head of one of these behemoths.

"!!!" Sanji, Zoro, Luffy, and Usopp's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"This is... a Sea King nest! And they're huge!" Nami shrieked, clinging onto Rowen for dear life, tears streaming down her face from sheer terror.

"Giant Sea Kings, huh? Must be very nutritious. Sanji, interested in catching one for dinner?" Rowen asked casually, looking at Sanji.

The Sea Kings in the Calm Belt were entirely different from those found elsewhere.

Their size started at several hundred meters, with thousand-meter ones being common. Deep below, creatures exceeding five thousand meters lurked.

These Sea Kings were the true apex predators of the ocean!

Rowen still remembered the taste of Mohmoo, the sea cow Arlong kept.

These super-giant Sea Kings should taste even better.

"D-Don't say things like that! These monsters are probably thousands of meters long!" Sanji stammered, his face turning grim.

How could you possibly cook a monster that size?!

"Rowen! Please! Don't fight them!" Nami pleaded, clinging to Rowen like an adorable koala, looking up with pitiful, tear-filled eyes.

'But someday... I definitely have to taste a giant Calm Belt Sea King.' Rowen smirked inwardly.

Swimming across this sea—the 'Disposition' gained via Born of the Sea would be many times greater than in other waters!

Rowen, through his Born of the Sea (Apex Gold) Trait, could clearly sense the immense sea energy permeating this region.

'I'll have to ask Rayleigh later what kind of physical standard is needed to swim across the Calm Belt.' Rowen smiled faintly.

'Thank goodness Rowen listens to Nami!' Otherwise, fighting monsters like these... Rowen, being a Logia user with strong Haki, wouldn't be afraid.

"Aaah... CHOO!" Just then, the giant Sea King supporting the Merry let out a tremendous sneeze.

"White Blow—!" Rowen's eyes narrowed, activating his Smoke-Smoke Fruit.

"White Out—!" Rowen commanded. Smoke surged beneath the Merry's hull, cushioning its landing gently back onto the sea surface.

VMM! Holding Nami, the terrifying crimson-black light flared intensely in Rowen's eyes.

So Shanks was using Conqueror's Haki too!