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With Aqua around to stir up some fun, even the monotonous training sessions weren't so dull. A week passed by in a mix of training and playful antics.
Through intense training, Zyhark's Armament Haki saw significant improvement. He could now seamlessly integrate it with his lightning power and his cliff-cutting sword, vastly increasing their destructive potential. His already formidable physical defense also saw substantial enhancement, making him even tougher.
Additionally, Aqua's water vapor field, Meowth's modifications to the Endless Dream, and King's muscle training all yielded notable results!
As the sun set, Zyhark sat on the sofa Aqua often lounged on, leisurely sipping tea and reading the newspaper.
The outside scenery showed a slow descent—at this moment, the Endless Dream had left the perilous Cloud Flow and was gradually descending from ten thousand meters high towards the Grand Line below.
Unlike the Straw Hat crew's thrilling freefall in the original series, their return to the Blue Sea was quite tranquil.
From the outside, the Endless Dream, with its sails retracted, was attached to a large Meowth-shaped hot air balloon, gently descending under the influence of the breeze.
When it came to making hot air balloons, Meowth was an expert. Creating such a piece of advanced technology was as simple as eating and drinking for him.
The sunset's glow bathed the Endless Dream, making it appear as if covered in a golden veil. The entire ship was enveloped in a soft light.
Vividly colored clouds stretched across the sky, forming the perfect backdrop, continuous and expansive.
A line of white seagulls flapped their wings, flying neatly over the hot air balloon.
The entire scene exuded tranquility and peace.
If those seagulls weren't wearing hats and carrying mailbags, one might almost forget that this was the violent and cruel world of pirates!
On the second deck, King looked up at the uniquely designed Maneki-neko hot air balloon and asked Meowth beside him:
"Meowth, didn't you equip the ship with Jet Dials? That could also make the ship land smoothly, right? Why go to the trouble of making a hot air balloon?"
Upon hearing this, a look of justified cunning appeared on Meowth's cute face as he said, "Reentering the vast ocean, of course, requires a more stylish and grand entrance, Meow!"
Seeing King's slight frown, Meowth raised a cat paw in front of him and said seriously, "Even someone as strong as you, King, has things they can't understand, Meow."
King: "..."
So, the "more stylish and grand entrance" refers to the hot air balloon?
"Aiya, that's not important!" Aqua waved her hands dismissively, her water-blue eyes shining with anticipation and excitement. "Let's see that secret weapon you mentioned, Meowth!"
Earlier during dinner, Meowth had mysteriously mentioned that while modifying the Endless Dream with gold, he had also installed a powerful weapon at the bow, successfully piquing Aqua's curiosity.
That's why she was eagerly waiting on the deck.
"Hehe, don't be too surprised when you see it, Meow!" Meowth said, his lips curling into a satisfied smile. He stepped onto the goddess figurehead at the bow, pressing a red button on the halo above her head.
Beep.
The sound of gears turning filled the air as the figurehead's mouth slowly opened, emitting a bright red light.
High-temperature flames accumulated and compressed within, ultimately condensing into a destructive heat beam that shot out.
Boom!
The beam disturbed the airflow and dispersed the white clouds, creating a small mushroom cloud of black smoke hundreds of meters away.
That's right, Meowth had combined the heat breath of Kaido, the Impact Dials, and Flame Dials to create the Endless Dream's main cannon!
"Wow! This is a super cannon only found on war fortresses!" Aqua's intelligent eyes sparkled with excitement as she shoved Meowth off the figurehead and eagerly eyed the red button.
Her entire focus was on the fascinating contraption, completely ignoring that the beam had come out of a statue of herself.
Meowth, having been pushed aside, jumped back up and warned Aqua seriously, "Be careful, this cannon is very powerful, Meow!"
"Oh, come on! There's no way we could hit anyone up here at this height. Relax, relax!" Aqua, eager to play, started maneuvering the cannon. "Watch and learn, Meowth! This is the goddess's precise strike!"
"Well, okay, Meow."
Faced with the goddess's intimidation, Meowth reluctantly stepped back from the statue.
Seeing Aqua's eager demeanor, King, who had spent more time with her, couldn't help but speak up: "Hey, shouldn't we inform Zyhark?"
His imposing eyes revealed a serious expression.
Having adventured together for so long, he knew just how much trouble this beautiful partner could stir up.
"It's no big deal. Don't worry about that idiot Zyhark," Aqua dismissed King's concern. "We're thousands of meters up. Apart from clouds and seagulls, there's nothing to hit."
...
While the group argued, Zyhark, in the first-floor restaurant, focused mostly on the latest newspaper.
He already knew about Meowth's secret weapon, so he didn't join Aqua and the others on the deck.
[New World Power Structure Changes Again! After Fishman Jinbei, the new Shichibukai is confirmed to be Heavenly Yaksha—Donquixote Doflamingo.]
The bold headline caught his eye as he opened the newspaper.
Seeing the image of Doflamingo with his arms spread arrogantly, Zyhark squinted slightly.
Judging by the timeline, Doflamingo must have attacked the ship carrying the Heavenly Tribute around the time they left Birka. Using the secret of the Mariejois "National Treasure" as leverage, he secured the Shichibukai position.
This meant Dressrosa had fallen under the Donquixote family's control, becoming the base for Doflamingo's underground weapon dealings.
'I'm not sure if this Doflamingo is as strong as the one in the original timeline,' Zyhark pondered.
Since he aimed to become the world's strongest, it was only a matter of time before he faced someone like Doflamingo, who thrived in both the underworld and the government.
If he could liberate Dressrosa in the name of the Water Goddess, Aqua's faith power would be immense!
Similarly, there was Alabasta, controlled by Crocodile.
Coincidentally, today's paper also had news about Crocodile.
It praised the Shichibukai Crocodile, portraying him as a national hero who repelled invading pirates and protected the people's property.
Overall, it was an attempt to highlight the positive image of the Shichibukai, regardless of the actual truth.
Zyhark's gaze shifted to a familiar name and silhouette in the newspaper's corner.
[Cook Pirates and Savage Blade Pirates Battle; Both Ships Overwhelmed by Storm.]
The captain of the Cook Pirates was the future Baratie owner, Red Leg Zeff.
Following the original plot, Zeff and young Sanji were likely stranded on a deserted island, enduring a long and difficult starvation.
"If there's a chance, I might check that sea area," Zyhark murmured. Zeff, who sacrificed his leg to feed Sanji, was indeed a real man!
As he pondered this, Zyhark set down the newspaper and reached for his tea.
Suddenly, a loud boom shook the slowly descending Endless Dream, causing the restaurant to sway violently.
What are they up to now?
Zyhark frowned, transformed into a streak of lightning, and disappeared.
In the next moment, he reappeared on the deck with Aqua and the others.
Whoosh!
Almost simultaneously, a cold, black cannonball pierced through the air, heading straight for the Endless Dream.
Clearly, the previous disturbance was caused by this!
Having been attacked once, Meowth stood by the operating platform under the mast, pressing a blue button with his paw.
The wooden panels in the middle of the mast opened, launching a rocket marked with an "R" that precisely intercepted the incoming cannonball.
Boom!
The two projectiles collided mid-air, exploding into a bright, fiery blaze.
The resulting smoke obscured the view ahead. Zyhark turned to Meowth and King, asking, "Meowth, King, what's going on?"
"Shh, shh, shh~"
Before Meowth or King could answer, the idiot goddess's whistle filled the air.
Turning to look, Zyhark saw Aqua at the bow, tilting her head and whistling with a feigned innocent expression.
She had no idea how ridiculous she looked, like someone trying to cover their ears while stealing a bell!
"So it was you, idiot!" Zyhark snapped, appearing in front of Aqua in a flash, pinching her cheeks. "Spill it! What did you do this time?"
Already feeling guilty, Aqua didn't dare resist, waving her hands in denial: "N-no, I just fired at an uninhabited island!"
"We're way beyond the range of any islands at this height. Where did you find an uninhabited island?" Zyhark's mouth twitched.
"Well, uh, it was just a regular cloud! Yeah, a regular cloud!" Aqua's eyes darted.
Whoosh!
As if refuting her weak excuse, another cannonball tore through the smoke, heading for the hot air balloon.
Meowth calmly intercepted it with another rocket.
"Then tell me, what kind of cloud can shoot cannonballs?" Zyhark demanded.
"Pirate world, anything can happen, right? You said that," Aqua retorted weakly, sensing Zyhark's rising anger.
Glaring at her, Zyhark growled, "What did you actually hit?"
"Okay, okay, it was a cloud that looked like an airship..."
"Looked like an airship? Was it on purpose or by accident?"
"N-no..."
"Well?"
"On purpose, because I wanted to see if it was a cloud or an airship."
"..."
Their conversation halted as Zyhark released Aqua and looked forward.
In his Observation Haki range, he detected several presences heading their way.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Several men in suits and white hats landed on the ship's railing, using white gliders.
Following them, a white airship billowing black smoke appeared, stopping about ten meters in front of the Endless Dream.
"Didn't expect to be attacked even with our headquarters hidden so securely in the sky. You've got guts, Sea Restaurant Endless Dream!"
The voice came from a bird-like figure with white wings, a large beak, small eyes, and a big tail covered in white feathers.
In human form, he wore a black hat, a light blue shirt, a yellow bow tie, and red and white checkered pants.
His distinctive appearance allowed Zyhark to instantly recognize him.
The president of the World Economic News Agency, one of the emperors of the underworld, the Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Albatross user, known as "Big News" Morgans!
Aqua's ill-timed shot had hit the World Economic News Agency headquarters?
This was the goddess's super bad luck, on par with King's Conqueror's Haki-like luck...
Even Zyhark had to admire Aqua's innate "talent."
No matter the time, place, or form, there was no guarding against this!
As for why Morgans knew about the Endless Dream, it was simple.
Not because they were particularly famous, but because their previous news in the East Blue came from his newspaper!
No wonder there were newspaper delivery seagulls at such high altitudes—the headquarters was right here...
Zyhark sighed inwardly and looked up at the fuming Morgans, smiling lightly:
"So it's Big News Morgans. My apologies, your concealment was so good we thought it was a strangely shaped cloud."
No matter how much he scolded Aqua privately, he still protected the idiot goddess in front of outsiders.
No way he would fear someone like Morgans after facing Kaido.
"Lord Zyhark!"
Aqua's eyes filled with tears, touched for a moment.
"You think I'll believe that lie? Who fires at clouds!"
Morgans wasn't buying Zyhark's weak excuse, lightly waving his winged arm.
Click, click, click.
The men on the rail raised their rifles, aiming at the trio and Meowth.
The atmosphere became tense.
(End of Chapter)