A few weeks later and after sailing the next few islands, the crew finally got close to their destination. Spending a few days to capture the magnetic fields of Lodestar, the crew embarked once again towards their destination. Weirdly enough but expected, all the three needles of the Log Pose pointed at the same direction.
The Sword of Xebec, finally approached the last island that could be reached by a Log Pose, Lodestar. As they drew nearer, a sudden and dramatic shift in the weather unfolded before their eyes. Dark, menacing clouds swirled overhead, blotting out the sun and casting an ominous shadow upon the ship.
"Here we go…" Calvin said observing the sky with alert.
"I expected something like this to happen" Ashen responded, not surprised by the sudden weather change.
As if that wasn't enough, the magnetic fields surrounding the island intermittently shift and even completely vanished at random intervals. This unpredictable behavior caught the crew off guard, leaving them stranded in the vast ocean as the Log Pose needles spin aimlessly.
"Boss, we got a problem!" Ken informed Ashen while looking at the Log Pose in his hand in panic "The Log Pose suddenly stopped working!" This was a normal problem in the New World due to the fact that some islands change or even completely hide their magnetic fields at random, you would need to use a Log Pose with three needles pointing at three different Island so if something like this happens you won't get stranded in the ocean. But the situation here is different since there is only one Island ahead.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy to reach it…just keep sailing ahead, we'll figure something out" Ashen calmly replied.
With an abrupt shift, the weather transformed into a tempest of furious proportions. Torrential rain lashed against the deck, drenching the crew to the bone. Waves rose like towering behemoths, crashing against the ship's hull with thunderous force. Lightning cracked through the sky, illuminating the chaos in blinding flashes.
The crew struggled to maintain their footing as the vessel was tossed about like a fragile toy in the grasp of the raging sea. Each cresting wave threatened to swallow them whole, while the merciless wind threatened to tear their sails to shreds.
The ship groaned under the strain, creaking and protesting against the onslaught. Ken fought valiantly to steer a steady course.
"Hang on tightly! if you fall into the sea, you're dead!" Ashen warned the crew while standing near the ship's prow as half of them are devil fruit users including him.
Just as the crew thought they had weathered the worst of the storm, the deep abyss below them stirred, revealing a haunting sight. Dozens of colossal sea kings, their massive forms illuminated by the intermittent lightning, emerged from the depths, their sharp teeth glinting menacingly. With thunderous roars, they circled the ship, their sizes were ridiculous as they could easily tower the ones Ashen encountered in the calm belt and they also don't seem to be intimidated by him as well.
"Ashen, what should we do?!" Calvin asked with a serious face, considering the possibility of fighting them, but there was still a risk of falling into the sea since the weather is extremely aggressive.
"Wooow, shit! They are so big!" Yamato exclaimed, nervously looking at them while gripping her Kanabō tightly and ready to fight, but Ashen quickly stopped her not wanting to risk anyone falling into the sea.
"Stay back, I'll take care of this!" Ashen said with a smile as he propelled himself in the sky, and then flew above the clouds "This is pretty fun not gonna lie!"
*Lightning* as one of the sea kings was about to crush down the ship, a series of lightning bolts struck, Ashen proceeded to quickly channel his flames into the clouds mixing it with the lightning, creating a massive fiery lightning bolt before he grabbed it and hurled it at the sea king, shocking him and stopping his attack, and then Ashen unsheathed Shusui after that and sent a massive Haki-coated sword slash cutting him in half.
The old man Ken, while gripping the helm shouted above the howling winds "Hold on tight, everyone!"
Ashen quickly dealt with the rest of them after that before he safely landed back on the ship.
The crew clung to the ship's rigging as lightning crackled through the skies, illuminating the dead bodies of the monstrous forms of colossal sea kings circling the vessel.
The storm continued for what it felt like hours, before it began to subside, the winds gradually calming and the waves receding. Thankfully the ship was very sturdy as it was built using Adam Woods or otherwise it would've been sunk a while ago.
Although the storm faded away, the Log Pose was still spinning and pointing at random directions.
"What should we do know boss? We're gonna have to go back to the previous island to record the magnetic fields again" Ken informed Ashen. Unlike Eternal Poses, when using a Log Pose you need to go back to the previous island with stable magnetic fields to recalibrate the Log Pose. This process ensures that the Log Pose can accurately track the new magnetic patterns and lead the crew back on course.
"We can't go back, we only have an Eternal Pose all the way back to Elbaf, I'm not spending another week or two to come back here…" Ashen said as he laid back on the ship's deck enjoying the sunny weather "Let's just chill out, we might stumble upon it by chance"
"Sounds like a good idea" Yamato said as she sat beside him.
"Like hell it's going to happen!" x9.
"Our supplies will definitely run out before that" Calvin stated, since the last few islands they visited in this specific route were uninhabited they couldn't resupply.
"Hahaha! Let's just wait and see if it comes to that we can go back…for now let the sea guide us"
…
Two weeks later…
"Aghh! It's been weeks already…I don't think we are going to find anything" Diana complained, looking mentally exhausted like everyone else except Ashen from constantly battling against sea kings and the crazy weather for the past couple of weeks.
"Sigh…" Ashen sighed in defeat and just as he was going to give orders to sail back, his eyes caught a few vibrant birds soaring through the sky. Without wasting time, Ashen immediately ordered Ken to follow the flight path of them.
A few minutes later the silhouette of an island appeared on the distant horizon. The crew let out a collective sigh of relief as Lodestar's shores came into view. Luck was definitely on their side this time.
"Now I understand why no one reached this place before Roger, who the fuck would want to get stranded in the middle of sea for weeks fighting sea kings and insane weather…I can't count how many times I thought we were going to sink" Ashen said while looking at the island's shores with a smile of satisfaction. The ship looked in a very bad condition, and it probably would not be able to take any more damage, so it was a good thing they managed to make it.
Everyone proceeded to cheerfully disembark on the island.