Chapter 60: The Calm Belt Rendezvous

“Again,” I commanded, my voice cutting through the thick, heavy air of the quarterdeck.

The Titan’s Glory was cruising high above the clouds, but the atmosphere on the main deck felt like the bottom of the ocean.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the wooden planks was The Tank—my colossal, Obsidian-Jade Gorilla construct.

The beast beat its impenetrable chest, its eyes glowing with a dull, heavy light as it maintained its Gravity Well.

The ambient gravity on the deck had been cranked to five times the normal Earth limit.

Trafalgar Law gritted his teeth, his silver eyes flashing with irritation and exhaustion.

Sweat poured down his face, soaking his dark shirt.

He gripped the hilt of his massive nodachi, Kikoku, his muscles trembling under the sheer, oppressive weight.

“I said again, Law,” I repeated, standing perfectly upright, circulating a steady stream of Fa-Jin through my own cells to effortlessly counteract the gravity field.

Law let out a sharp breath, coated his blade in a thin layer of Armament Haki, and lunged at me.

I didn’t draw a weapon.

I merely sidestepped, letting the heavy blade cleave the air where my shoulder had just been, and swept my leg out.

Law, fighting the 5x gravity, couldn’t adjust his footwork fast enough.

He hit the deck hard, gasping as the artificial gravity tried to staple him to the wood.

“Your Devil Fruit is one of the most overpowered abilities in this world,” I lectured calmly, looking down at my cousin.

“But it burns your stamina, and it makes you lazy.

You rely on Room to control the battlefield.

If you face a Yonko, or an Admiral, or Doflamingo when he’s taking you seriously, their Haki will outright negate your spatial cuts.

You need base physical strength.

You need to be able to fight a monster with your bare hands.

Get up.”

Law spat a curse, using Kikoku as a crutch to force himself back to his feet.

His stubborn pride was absolute.

He wasn’t the only one suffering.

On the lower deck, Bepo and the rest of the Heart Pirates were groaning in pure agony as they pushed through their five-hundredth weighted squat.

“I’m sorry!” Bepo apologized to the air, his knees shaking violently under the gravity well.

“I’m so sorry I’m weak!”

“Less apologizing, more squatting, bear!” I barked.

Nearby, my own crew was pushing their limits.

Robin was moving with intense, focused precision, practicing the explosive footwork required for Soru (Shave).

I wanted her evasion maxed out.

Even under 5x gravity, she was beginning to leave faint afterimages.

Brook and Perona, however, were currently losing the battle against physics.

Brook was flat on his back, complaining that his non-existent lungs were being crushed, while Perona had literally surrendered, lying face down on the deck and groaning into the wood.

High above the sheer misery of the adults, a completely different scene was unfolding.

Sitting comfortably on the main cross-mast, completely unaffected by the localized gravity well, were Gammamon and Mayday Parker.

Because of her inherent Spider-physiology, Mayday was hanging entirely upside down from the wooden beam.

Her reddish-brown hair dangled toward the deck, but she didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

She was holding a bowl of colorful sugary cereal, giggling as Gammamon—who was sitting right-side up—tossed pieces of cereal into the air for her to catch.

“They look really tired down there,” Mayday observed, munching on a piece of cereal.

“Victor is a very strict teacher,” Gammamon nodded sagely.

“But he gives good snacks after!”

I smiled softly, looking up at the kid.

She had bounced back from her trauma with the sheer, resilient elasticity only a child with superhero DNA could manage.

But she didn’t belong on a pirate ship in a war-torn world.

We needed to get her home.

“Alright, that’s time!” I called out, snapping my fingers.

The Tank dispersed the Gravity Well, dissolving back into the jade blades on my hip.

The entire crew collectively collapsed, gasping for the sudden rush of normal, unweighted air.

Law fell to one knee, using his sword to stay upright, his chest heaving.

“Good work,” I said, tossing Law a canteen of water.

“Rest up.

We’re about to make a descent.”

Over the next few hours, the Titan’s Glory angled its massive prow downward.

We broke through the thick cloud cover of the Grand Line, leaving the chaotic weather patterns behind.

The transition was jarring.

The howling winds died instantly.

The ocean below was a flat, unmoving mirror, completely devoid of waves or currents.

We had entered the Calm Belt.

I walked to the bow, my Observation Haki sweeping the dead waters for the massive Sea Kings that lurked below.

A few miles ahead, a dense, unnatural fog bank clung to the ocean.

“There it is,” I murmured.

As we flew closer, the fog parted, revealing a massive, jagged island covered in dense, primeval jungle.

It looked completely untouched by civilization.

“Is this where we’re going, Captain?” Robin asked, joining me at the railing, wiping the sweat from her brow with a towel.

“We aren’t landing,” I said firmly, my voice dead serious.

“We are staying in the airspace above the shoreline.

I’m not taking any chances.”

Law walked up, his medical curiosity piqued.

“Why?

It looks like a standard uninhabited jungle.”

“It’s the island where I first arrived in this world,” I explained, staring at the dense canopy.

“And it’s a temporal nightmare.

The island is subjected to a severe, localized time dilation.

I spent six months down there training to survive.

When I finally left, I found out eighteen months had passed in the outside world.

Time moves three times faster out here than it does in there.

If we land and spend a day searching for my old camp, three days will vanish from the calendar.

We have Yonko to worry about; I’m not losing time.”

The crew looked at the island with sudden, profound wariness.

“The Box is hidden in a small cave on the outer cliffs, right on the edge of the time-dilation zone,” I said.

I looked up at the mast.

“Vanguard.

You’re up.”

Gammamon stood up, a fierce look of determination crossing his face.

A pillar of brilliant, swirling blue digital light erupted from the mast.

When the light shattered, KausGammamon took to the sky.

His sleek, aerodynamic blue form and massive glider-wings allowed him to ride the incredibly faint thermal drafts of the Calm Belt.

With a sharp cry, KausGammamon dove off the ship.

He glided swiftly toward the jagged cliffs of the island, completely bypassing the dense jungle interior.

He vanished into a small fissure in the rock face.

A minute later, he emerged, clutching a small, heavily reinforced wooden box about the size of a jewelry case.

He caught an updraft and landed smoothly back on the deck, reverting to his base form.

“Got it, Victor!”

I took the box from him.

It was crafted from Sun Wood, glowing faintly with an inner, warm light even in the dim fog of the Calm Belt.

Before I could examine it further, the encrypted Revolutionary Den Den Mushi in the galley began to ring.

Bacha-cha-cha!

I walked inside and picked up the receiver.

“Victor.”

“Bhai!” Jasmine’s joyful, exhausted voice rang out.

“Tell me you haven’t started a war with another Emperor yet.”

“I can’t make any promises,” I chuckled, a massive wave of relief washing over me.

“How’s the South Blue?”

“Campaign is basically a wrap,” my little sister sighed happily.

“Dragon gave me the green light.

I have official permission to travel with you for a while.

Where are you?”

“We’re currently hovering in the Calm Belt, near my drop-point,” I said.

“Where are you?”

“I can meet you halfway,” Jasmine said.

“There’s an uninhabited island a few sectors away.

The Kuja Pirates use it as a clandestine meeting point when they do business with the Revolutionaries.

It’ll take me about a week to sail there.”

“We’ll be there in four days,” I promised.

“Fly a white flag so I don’t accidentally sink you.”

“See you soon, big brother.”

I hung up the snail, a genuine, wide smile on my face.

I looked out at Law, who was leaning against the doorway.

“Your other cousin is on her way.

Family reunion in a week.”

We arrived at the Kuja rendezvous point four days later.

It was a rocky, barren island hidden deep within the nesting grounds of the Sea Kings.

We anchored the Titan’s Glory safely in the sky above it and settled in to wait.

I didn’t let the waiting period go to waste.

I shifted the training from raw conditioning to technical application.

I began formally teaching the Rokushiki—the Six Powers of the World Government—to both crews.

“The Six Powers are about pushing the human body past its biological limits,” I lectured, standing on the deck while the crews lined up.

“Law.

Your Room gives you perfect spatial dominance, but if someone is faster than your activation speed, you die.

I’m teaching you Geppo.”

I channeled Fa-Jin into my legs and kicked the air.

The explosive kinetic force propelled me upward, treating the empty atmosphere like solid ground.

Law spent the next three days violently falling onto the wooden deck.

But by the fourth day, driven by sheer spite and an absolute refusal to look weak in front of me, he managed to kick the air hard enough to hover for a few seconds.

For Bepo and Robin, I focused on Tekkai (Iron Mass).

“Evasion is great, but sometimes you get cornered,” I explained, tapping my knuckles against my chest.

“By accelerating your blood flow and flexing your muscles to their absolute limit, you can harden your body to the density of steel.”

Robin, with her incredible focus and body control, picked up the basics of Tekkai remarkably fast.

Bepo, despite his soft appearance, possessed the natural durability of a Mink.

Within a week, the giant polar bear was bouncing low-caliber bullets off his chest.

On the eighth day of waiting, the dense fog of the Calm Belt finally parted.

A small, sleek, heavily modified Revolutionary schooner broke through the mist.

The Titan’s Glory lowered its altitude, dropping rope ladders as the ship pulled alongside us.

Jasmine climbed up the ladder, her dark hair tied back, wearing her signature Revolutionary commander coat.

Clinging to her back was Palmon, the plant-type Digimon, waving her leafy vines excitedly.

The moment Jasmine’s boots hit the deck, she sprinted forward and tackled me into a massive, breathless hug.

“You absolute idiot!” she laughed, burying her face in my coat.

“You robbed the Golden Emperor!”

“I bought you a souvenir,” I grinned, hugging my little sister back tightly.

Jasmine pulled away and looked over my shoulder.

Law was standing there, looking incredibly awkward and out of place in the middle of a warm family reunion.

Jasmine’s eyes softened.

She walked right past me and wrapped Law in a tight, uncompromising hug.

Law froze entirely, his arms awkwardly hovering in the air.

“Uh.”

“I don’t care how edgy and dangerous you think you are,” Jasmine said fiercely, squeezing him.

“You’re family.

We thought we lost everyone in Flevance.

I’m so glad you’re alive, Law.”

Law slowly, hesitantly, patted her on the back.

A faint, almost invisible smile ghosted across his lips.

“It’s…

good to meet you too.”

Palmon, meanwhile, had found Gammamon.

The two Digimon were jumping up and down in a circle, celebrating their reunion.

Jasmine pulled back from Law and looked around the deck.

“Okay, so where is she?”

I gestured toward Robin.

Hiding shyly behind the tall archaeologist’s legs was Mayday, peeking out with wide eyes.

Jasmine instantly dropped to one knee, making herself smaller and entirely non-threatening.

Her maternal instincts, honed by years of protecting war orphans in the Revolutionary Army, kicked in perfectly.

Palmon trotted over and produced a beautiful, brightly colored flower from her vines, holding it out.

“Hi May,” Jasmine said softly, offering a warm, incredibly gentle smile.

“My name is Jasmine.

I’m Victor’s little sister.

And this is Palmon.

We heard you’re a long way from home.”

Mayday looked at the flower, then at Jasmine.

She slowly stepped out from behind Robin and took the flower, a tiny smile appearing on her face.

“Thank you.

Are you a superhero too?”

“Sometimes,” Jasmine laughed softly.

“But mostly, I just help people find their way home.

And we’re going to help you find yours.”

Later that evening, as the Titan’s Glory finally caught the wind and departed the Calm Belt, the mood on the ship was lighter than it had been in weeks.

Mayday, Gammamon, and Palmon were playing a high-speed game of tag across the deck, Mayday using her spider-agility to stick to the walls while the Digimon chased her.

The adults were gathered around the large wooden table in the galley.

The atmosphere was serious.

“Alright,” I said, placing the small Sun Wood box in the center of the table.

“We have the power source.

But before we start trying to build some kind of multidimensional machine, we need to know if the physics even align.”

“Exactly,” Brook nodded, sipping his tea.

“We are dealing with a magical ring from one universe, and supernatural wood from another.

We must ensure there is an actual reaction between the two materials before we proceed.”

“Let’s find out,” I said.

I stood up and walked out onto the deck.

“Hey, May?”

Mayday dropped down from the rigging, landing perfectly on her feet.

“Yeah, Mr.

Victor?”

“Can I borrow your Sling Ring for just a second, please?” I asked politely.

“I want to try a science experiment.”

“Okay!” She reached into the pocket of her overalls, pulled out the heavy, ancient brass ring, and handed it to me.

“Uncle Stephen says it’s very fragile, so don’t drop it.”

“I’ll be super careful,” I promised.

I brought the Sling Ring back into the galley.

Law, Jasmine, Robin, and Brook leaned in close as I approached the table.

The Sun Wood box sat there, looking completely unassuming.

I held my breath, slowly lowering the Sling Ring.

I placed the brass artifact directly on top of the wooden lid.

I pulled my hand back.

We all stared at it.

At first, absolutely nothing happened.

The galley was silent, save for the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Law let out a small sigh, crossing his arms.

“Nothing,” Law muttered.

“The energies must be incompatible.”

“Wait,” Jasmine whispered, leaning closer.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first, the ancient brass of the Sling Ring began to hum.

It wasn’t a physical vibration; it was a resonance.

The brass began to heat up.

Then, from the inner rim of the ring, a faint, magical, golden light began to bleed outward.

The light sparked, crackling like miniature, contained lightning.

The Sun Wood beneath it was reacting.

The wood was absorbing the ambient starlight of the New World and feeding it directly into the magical artifact.

The Sling Ring glowed brighter, illuminating the awestruck faces of the Amber Alliance.

“It works,” I whispered, a massive grin breaking across my face.

“It actually works.”

Jasmine stepped fully onto the deck of the Titan’s Glory, her eyes sweeping over the eclectic group she had only ever known as disembodied voices through a Den Den Mushi receiver.

“It is so weird to finally put faces to all the chaos,” she laughed, immediately stepping forward and pulling a slightly startled Robin into a warm, familial embrace.

Robin blinked, unaccustomed to such casual, immediate affection, but quickly relaxed into a genuine smile, returning the gesture.

Brook tipped his top hat, his afro bouncing as he bowed with theatrical flair.

“A true pleasure to finally meet the legendary sister!

My heart simply races at your arrival—though, alas, I have no heart!

Yohohoho!” Jasmine snorted, shaking the skeleton’s bony hand without a single hint of fear, before turning her attention to Perona, who was hovering a few inches off the deck with her parasol resting on her shoulder.

“And you must be the ghost princess who bankrupted Tesoro’s casino,” Jasmine teased, playfully tapping the brim of Perona’s top hat.

Perona huffed, crossing her arms defensively, though the faint blush on her cheeks completely betrayed her tough exterior.

“They practically gave me those Berries, I’ll have you know!

But…

humph.

It’s nice to finally meet you too, Jasmine.”

Word Count: 2733