Chapter 74: The Calm Belt and the Rubber Boy

The sky over Water 7 was still pitch black, hours away from sunrise.

The city was completely asleep, enveloped in a profound, heavy silence.

We needed to keep it that way.

The World Government couldn’t know the Titan’s Glory was leaving its hidden inlet, especially since we were heading out of Paradise.

Franky and Iceburg were staying behind in the city; integrating the fixed-point portal sphere into the Sun Wood gun’s housing was going to take a week at best.

We had left the tech in their capable hands, planning to pick up our new instant-travel system once the East Blue mission was complete.

Standing at the bow of the massive Adam Wood battleship, I drew The Jade Wings from my hips in absolute silence.

I channeled a dense, controlled surge of Fa-Jin directly into the indestructible blades.

The green aura flared, smoking and spiraling into the dark sky until it condensed into the colossal, majestic form of the Sky-Rift Roc.

I kept my Conqueror’s Haki wrapped tightly around the construct, suppressing its instinct to shriek.

The giant jade bird swooped down like a silent phantom, hooking its massive, dark green talons into the heavy-lifting harnesses built into our ship’s hull.

With a powerful, muffled beat of its wings, the Roc ripped the battleship straight out of the water.

We ascended rapidly into the cloud cover, bypassing the towering, red stone walls of the Red Line entirely under the cover of darkness.

We were airborne, taking a high-altitude, direct flight path toward the East Blue.

Hours later, as the sun finally began to rise, I stood by the railing.

We were passing directly over the Calm Belt.

“Hey, Victor,” Laura called out, walking up to the edge with Gwen right beside her.

Laura peered over the wooden rail, her enhanced vision cutting through the thick morning mist hovering over the unnaturally still ocean below.

“Why is the water down there completely flat?

No wind, no currents.”

“That’s the Calm Belt,” I explained softly, leaning against the wood.

“It borders the Grand Line.

Ships that rely on sails get stuck down there forever.

It’s a dead zone.”

“Seems peaceful,” Gwen noted, her symbiote rippling subtly across her shoulders in the cool air.

“Watch,” I said simply.

A moment later, the flat, glassy surface of the ocean violently ruptured.

A colossal, island-sized sea serpent erupted from the black depths.

Water cascaded off its terrifyingly massive scales in literal waterfalls.

Its jaws unhinged, easily snapping a stray, multi-masted pirate galleon completely in half before swallowing the wreckage whole and crashing back beneath the waves.

The impact sent a localized tsunami rippling outward.

Gwen took a slow step back from the railing, her eyes wide with shock.

Laura didn’t flinch, but a low, appreciative growl vibrated in her chest.

“Welcome to our world,” I smirked.

“Now, to the training deck.

Let’s make sure you don’t get eaten.”

With the flight expected to take several days, I turned the main deck into a brutal boot camp.

I drew my blades again, tapping into a different tether.

Green smoke poured onto the deck, solidifying into the towering form of the Obsidian-Gorilla.

The jade primate beat its chest, emitting a low, resonating hum.

Instantly, the gravity on the training deck multiplied by five, pressing down on the crew with a sudden, crushing weight.

“Ah!

My Hollows are dragging slightly!” Perona complained loudly from the upper deck.

She was hovering a few inches lower than usual, but otherwise completely unbothered, opting to recline under her parasol.

She had survived this training regimen dozens of times by now.

Brook’s knees didn’t even buckle.

The skeleton simply leaned against the mast, tuning his violin.

“Yohoho!

Five times the gravity is quite the morning stretch!

Good thing I drink my milk, or my posture would be ruined!” He immediately launched into a heavy, aggressive rock riff to score the workout.

For the new recruits, however, the gravity was absolute hell.

Laura’s knees buckled instantly, her hands slamming onto the wooden deck.

Her adamantium-laced skeleton, already incredibly heavy, suddenly felt like an anchor dragging her into the earth.

She gritted her teeth, her muscles trembling violently as she tried to force herself to stand.

Next to her, Gwen was on one knee, gasping for air.

The symbiote felt like a suffocating, weighted blanket.

I stood in the center of the gravity field, perfectly upright, waving them forward.

“Your mutations are incredible,” I told them, my voice cutting through the heavy air.

“Laura, your metal and healing factor make you a tank.

Gwen, the symbiote gives you perfect camouflage and mobility.

But under true Grand Line pressure, relying purely on those traits makes you an easy target.”

Laura scowled, her adamantium claws sliding loose with a metallic SNIKT as she forced herself to her feet, shaking from the exertion.

“I can take a hit.”

“In this ocean, taking a hit can mean getting your soul ripped out or being turned into toy,” I said, putting my hands in my pockets.

“You need to learn Observation Haki sensing an attack before it happens and Armament Haki creating an invisible armor of pure willpower to reinforce your strikes.

Hit me.”

Laura lunged.

Under normal gravity, she was a blur.

Under five times the gravity, her strike was sluggish and telegraphed.

She slashed diagonally at my chest.

I didn’t move my feet.

I simply tilted my torso back an inch.

The adamantium passed so close it shaved a millimeter of fabric off my coat, but it hit empty air.

Gwen fired a heavy web of symbiote matter at my ankles, trying to pin me, while Laura spun into a low sweep.

I closed my eyes, letting my Observation Haki map their intentions.

I stepped smoothly over the webbing, pivoting sharply to let Laura’s leg sweep pass harmlessly under me, before lightly tapping both of them on the forehead with a Haki-infused finger.

The impact wasn’t hard, but it was dense.

It sent both girls stumbling backward, clutching their heads.

“We’re going to drill this until your instincts override your reliance on your powers,” I instructed, dropping back into a stance.

“Again.”

Across the deck, Jasmine was currently putting the Surgeon of Death through hell.

Law had his pale blue Room activated, panting heavily as the Gorilla’s gravity fought against his spatial control.

Jasmine wasn’t holding back.

She moved using Geppo (Moonwalk) and Soru (Shave), disappearing and reappearing like a phantom of blue electricity.

“Too slow, Surgeon!” Jasmine laughed, dropping from the sky and swinging her heavy Coil Mjolnir directly at his head.

“Shambles!” Law barked.

He swapped places with a wooden barrel, but the gravity delay cost him a fraction of a second.

Jasmine anticipated it, pivoting mid-air and releasing a concussive shockwave of lightning that sent Law skidding across the deck.

“You’re relying too much on eye contact to initiate your swaps,” Jasmine critiqued, landing gracefully despite the 5G pressure.

“Victor and Doflamingo both use Conqueror’s Haki.

They will blind your senses and crush your focus.

You need to be able to map your Room with your eyes closed, feeling the spatial layout through pure Observation.

Again!”

Law grit his teeth, wiping a smudge of dirt from his cheek.

He gripped his Nodachi tighter.

“Don’t hold back, lightning-girl.”

Three days later, the Titan’s Glory finally descended through the clouds, the aggressive, chaotic weather of the Grand Line giving way to the gentle, tranquil breezes of the East Blue.

Before we split our forces, we needed exact coordinates.

I guided the ship to a discreet stop at a shadowy, black-market outpost island tucked away in an archipelago.

Robin and Jasmine went ashore.

They returned two hours later, walking up the gangplank with satisfied smiles and the deed to a modest, sleek local merchant ship docked in the harbor.

“The local underworld brokers were remarkably cooperative after Jasmine accidentally shattered their bar counter,” Robin reported, handing me a slip of paper.

“The cargo was split.

The Digivice was sold to the corrupt nobles of the Goa Kingdom on Dawn Island.

It’s locked in their Royal Vault as a trophy.”

“And the Compound V?” I asked.

“Purchased by Don Krieg, the Pirate Fleet Admiral of the East Blue,” Jasmine answered, her expression turning serious.

“He’s currently sailing his dreadnought toward a floating restaurant called the Baratie, intending to use the V as a lethal poison to conquer it.”

“Alright, we split up,” I commanded.

“Jasmine, take Robin, Perona, Laura, and Gwen.

Take the new ship you just bought and sail quietly into Dawn Island.

Hit the Goa Kingdom, get the Digivice, and get out.”

I looked at the rest of the crew.

“Brook, you’re with Law, Gammamon, Palmon, and me.

We’ll take the Titan’s Glory, intercept Krieg’s dreadnought, and secure the vial of V before he can weaponize it.”

“Yohoho!

A stealth mission for the ladies, and a dreadnought interception for the gentlemen!” Brook cheered, drawing his cane sword a few inches to check the blade.

“I shall play a dramatic tune for our victory!”

[Gwen’s POV]

The transition was incredibly jarring.

For the last few days, my entire world had been the deck of a massive, flying, militarized battleship surrounded by monsters, high-tech gravity fields, and intense combat training.

But as our newly purchased merchant ship cut through the calm waters and bumped gently against the rustic wooden docks of Dawn Island, everything was completely, unnervingly quiet.

I stepped off the boat, the symbiote buzzing nervously beneath my skin.

It didn’t like the quiet.

Back in New York, quiet usually meant an ambush.

“Relax, Gwen,” Jasmine smiled, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

“Take a breath.

The East Blue is famously peaceful.

Nobody is hunting us here.”

Laura stepped off behind me, her nose twitching as she took in the scents of the island.

“Where to, Boss?”

“The Goa Kingdom capital is a few miles inland,” Jasmine said, adjusting the heavy hammer strapped to her back.

“But before we go kicking down vault doors, we need a layout of the noble’s guard patrols.

We’re taking a quick detour to Foosha Village.

There’s a tavern there; we’ll grab a drink and see what the locals know.”

We walked along a dirt path bordering a lush, green forest.

It felt like walking through a vibrant, living painting.

When we reached Foosha Village, it was exactly as Jasmine described a tiny, rustic port town that looked completely untouched by the violence of the Grand Line.

We pushed open the swinging wooden doors of Partys Bar, a quaint little tavern smelling of spilled ale and roasted meat.

The bar was mostly empty, save for a kind-looking woman with dark green hair wiping down the counter, and a young boy sitting on a stool.

The boy was impossible to ignore.

He was maybe seventeen, wearing a simple red vest, shorts, and a woven straw hat.

But the most prominent thing about him was the sheer volume of food he was inhaling.

“Makino!

More meat!” the boy yelled, his voice echoing loudly in the small room.

He grabbed a massive bone-in steak, stretching his mouth impossibly wide, and shoved the entire thing in.

He swallowed it whole, the bone pulling out clean.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my jaw dropping.

Did his jaw just dislocate?

No, it stretched.

Jasmine chuckled, walking up to the counter and dropping a few berry coins.

“Five ales, please.

And whatever the bottomless pit next to me is having.”

The boy turned, a massive grin on his face, a piece of meat still hanging out of his mouth.

“Thanks!

I’m Luffy!

Monkey D.

Luffy!”

“Nice to meet you, Luffy,” Jasmine smirked.

“You’ve got quite the appetite.”

“I gotta eat a lot!” Luffy declared, slamming his hands on the counter.

“I’m setting sail soon!

I’m gonna gather a crew, sail the Grand Line, and become the King of the Pirates!”

Laura leaned against the bar next to me, raising an eyebrow.

“King of the Pirates?

You?

You look like a stiff breeze could knock you over.”

Luffy didn’t get angry.

He didn’t puff out his chest or act insulted.

He just laughed—a bright, completely unburdened sound.

“Shishishi!

I’m strong!

My punches are as powerful as a pistol!”

He suddenly threw a punch at the empty air.

To my absolute shock, his arm stretched out like a rubber band, snapping across the room and bouncing off the far wall before snapping back to his shoulder.

“See?!” Luffy beamed.

I stared at him.

Back in my world, kids with powers like that were locked in cages.

They were weaponized, dissected, and forced to fight in shadow wars.

But this boy…

he was just sitting in a bar, eating meat, and loudly telling heavily armed strangers his biggest dream without a single ounce of fear or hesitation.

It was pure, unfiltered freedom.

It was a concept so alien to me that it actually made my chest ache.

I looked at Laura, and I could tell by the slight softening of her harsh posture that she felt it too.

“Well, good luck, Luffy,” I said softly, a genuine smile pulling at my lips.

“I hope you find your crew.”

We didn’t stay long.

After getting the layout of the capital from the bartender, Makino, we left Foosha Village behind and began the hike toward the Goa Kingdom.

As we walked, the lighthearted, peaceful atmosphere of the island slowly began to die.

I smelled it first.

It was a thick, suffocating stench of rot, chemical burns, and burning plastic.

The symbiote rippled anxiously over my arms, instinctively trying to filter the toxic air.

“What is that smell?” I coughed, pulling the collar of my shirt over my nose.

We crested a small hill, and the Goa Kingdom finally came into view.

The sight made my stomach violently churn.

Before us lay the Gray Terminal.

It wasn’t a town.

It was a massive, sprawling, apocalyptic mountain of trash, disease, and burning waste.

As we walked the perimeter, I saw people children, elderly, and desperate families digging through the toxic squalor, fighting wild animals for scraps of rotten food.

It was a graveyard for the living.

A low, vibrating growl erupted from Laura’s chest.

Her adamantium claws slid out with a harsh SNIKT, gleaming in the afternoon sun.

I knew exactly what she was feeling.

We had been treated like garbage by scientists, but seeing an entire society casually discard human beings into a literal trash heap triggered a deep, blinding rage inside both of us.

“Keep your claws sheathed, Laura,” Robin said quietly, her voice cold and devoid of its usual warmth.

“This is how the World Government and the nobles operate.

They build a wall, and they throw anything imperfect over it.”

I looked up.

Past the mountains of burning trash and the desperate, starving people, stood a massive, towering, pristine white wall.

Beyond the wall, I could see the gleaming spires and lush, perfectly manicured gardens of High Town.

The contrast was sickening.

The corrupt nobles lived in absolute, untouchable luxury, completely insulated from the hell they created right outside their front door.

And those were the same people who had our Digivice sitting in a vault as a shiny trophy.

I felt the symbiote pool around my hands, shifting from skin to a sleek, black-and-white liquid armor.

I didn’t push it back down.

Jasmine stopped us at the edge of the forest, right near the shadow of the massive wall, and pulled out a hand-drawn map.

“Alright, here is the play,” Jasmine said, her eyes losing all traces of the cheerful pirate from the tavern, replaced by the hardened commander of the Revolutionary Army.

“We don’t have time for a drawn-out siege.

We hit the Royal Vault tonight.”

Perona floated down, spinning her parasol.

“I’ll send my Hollows through the walls.

I’ll drop the Royal Guard patrols before they even know they’re under attack.

They’ll be crying on the floor regretting their life choices.”

“Once the guards are down,” Jasmine continued, looking at me.

“Gwen, you’re up.

You use your symbiote camouflage to bypass the internal laser grids and disable the security locks from the inside.

Open the main doors for us.”

“And the vault?” Laura asked, her claws still out.

“I’ll handle the vault,” Robin said smoothly, crossing her arms.

“There isn’t a lock in the world that a dozen blooming hands can’t crack.”

“What about me?” Laura growled, staring up at the gleaming towers of High Town.

Jasmine smirked, the electricity faintly sparking in her eyes.

“You and I, Laura, are the distraction.

If any of the elite guards manage to avoid Perona’s ghosts, we make sure they don’t take another step.

But remember we are here for the Digivice.

We don’t bring down the whole castle.

Yet.”

I looked up at the pristine walls of the corrupt kingdom.

For the first time since escaping the Marvel universe, I wasn’t fighting for my life.

I wasn’t running.

I was the monster in the dark, and tonight, I was going to tear a hole right through their perfect, arrogant world.

“Let’s go steal a toy,” I said, my mask sliding perfectly over my face.

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