Vice Admiral Garp, is it really okay for us to do this? If there's an ambush..." Grus frowned slightly, offering a cautious reminder.
"Relax, that brat wouldn't do sothing so boring," Garp grinned widely.
Having chased Ren for a while now, he had a good grasp of the boy's habits. He knew Ren wasn't the type to play petty tricks. Otherwise, Garp wouldn't have dared to bring a group of rookies to pursue him; that would be gambling with the lives of the Navy's next generation.
As the rookies remained tense, the chase continued. Ren's crew led the way while Garp's warship pursued relentlessly for several hours. Suddenly, massive chunks of ice began to fall from the sky.
"Hailstones forty or fifty ters in diater... has the frequency of this kind of weather increased lately?" Ren mused, resting his head on his arms as he looked up at the falling ice.
"Stop getting philosophical and deal with the hail!" Hina urged.
Ren looked at Law and Krillin. "Which of you wants to take those out?"
"I'll go. It's a good chance to verify the results of my recent training."
Law drew his long blade, gripping the hilt with both hands. Without using his Fruit ability, he unleashed a full-power strike!
Vroom—!
A blue flying slash streaked upward, cleaving a massive hailstone in two with overwhelming force!
"Oh? Your swordsmanship has improved significantly!" Ren raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Phew~" Law sheathed his blade, letting out a long breath before smiling. "The training lately is finally paying off!"
Krillin looked at the sky and chuckled. "That's one down. What about the second... hundred?"
They looked up. What had started as two or three stray hailstones had turned into a sky thick with falling ice. When the massive chunks hit the ocean, they kicked up waves dozens of ters high!
Nearby, Bonney's face turned pale. As a "mortal" in terms of raw physical defense against such things, she felt as small as an ant before this natural disaster.
On the other side, Garp's expression shifted. "Honestly, how can Paradise have such wicked weather?"
In all his years, Garp had only seen freak weather of this magnitude in the New World. In "Paradise"—the first half of the Grand Line—extre weather like this was virtually unheard of!
The two sides abandoned their playful ga of cat-and-mouse. Everyone scrambled to use their techniques to shatter the falling ice from the heavens while desperately trying to keep their ships from capsizing in the turbulent wake.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ren's crew mbers acted in unison, shielding both their ship and Bonney's within a protective zone of slashes and power.
Leaning against the railing, Ren watched his companions show off their skills. He turned to the stunned Bonney and said nonchalantly, "Aren't you going to hit so hail? It's excellent training."
Bonney turned her head, her face full of bewildernt.
"You call this training?"
"What else would it be?" Ren gestured with his eyes toward the Marine warship, which was now barely visible in the distance.
Over there, Garp was also letting his rookies handle the sky-clearing while he refrained from acting. Of course, Koby wasn't among those fighting; he couldn't even use the Six Powersyet and was a total "weakling." He was currently busy with the other sailors clearing the shattered ice off the deck, packing so into the cold storage so they could use it for refreshing drinks when the weather turned hot again.
Gradually, Ren's crew lost sight of the warship. The dark clouds in the distance gave way to streaks of golden sunlight.
Once they left the "hail zone," Bonney collapsed onto the deck, clutching her chest and gasping with the relief of a survivor. "We lived..."
Ren stood beside her, laughing at her disheveled state.
Bonney gave him a fierce glare and snapped, "What's so funny! I'm not a monster like you. It's perfectly normal to be scared!"
As she spoke, her confidence returned. She stood up and laughed, "Exactly! Teaming up with you was definitely the right choice!"
Even the Marine Hero Garp couldn't do anything to Ren. Surely the Marines hunting her wouldn't dare act rashly now, right? With that thought, Bonney felt hopeful about her future.
Once I find Papa, we can go back to living our lives!
With these beautiful fantasies, the group drifted across the sea. No one actually knew where Kuma was. During his last exchange with Garp, Ren had even asked the old man for Kuma's whereabouts, but Garp claid he didn't know where the "Bear" was currently stationed.
The old man was "kind" enough, however, to promise that next ti he'd bring Kuma along to help capture Ren. That was the only bit of "good news" they had.
At this mont, Ren's face clouded over.
"What is it? Bad mood?" Hina asked from the second-floor balcony.
"Sigh, I just realized a very serious problem!" Ren said. "In our current state, it seems we can't actually get to the New World!"
To reach the New World, one must pass the Red Line. There are only two ways.
One is the official route—the passage controlled by the World Governnt. For pirates like Ren, that was out of the question.
That left only one option: diving ten thousand ters below the Red Line through a massive hollow to enter the New World via Fish-Man Island. But this involved a major issue.
To subrge, the ship needed to be coated in a specialized soap bubble. These bubbles were incredibly pressure-resistant, capable of withstanding the weight of the deep sea. However, these bubbles only maintained their integrity near the giant mangroves of Sabaody. Once you left that range, they would pop.
The problem bothering Ren was that he felt traveling ten thousand ters underwater was unsafe. He had offended the Navy so thoroughly that if they coordinated with the Fish-n to ambush him in the lightless depths, he might be fine, but his companions would be in extre danger. Subrging ant taking a massive risk.
Knowing Ren's concerns, the group grew solemn.
"That is indeed a troubleso matter."
"How about becoming a Shichibukai?" Law suggested. "With our strength, the Navy should agree."
Bonney, resting her chin on her hand and sipping juice, interjected, "Don't be stupid. You guys killed a Celestial Dragon. The World Governnt will never accept you."
But Law didn't agree. Having seen the darkness of the world since childhood, he believed that as long as the stakes were high enough, the World Governnt would compromise.
"As long as the benefits are sufficient, forget killing a Celestial Dragon—even if you killed an Admiral, the World Governnt would choose to negotiate," Law stated.
"But we don't have any 'benefits' to offer," Ren noted. "Since we set sail, we've done nothing but cause trouble. The greatest benefit I could provide the World Governnt right now is probably my own head on a platter..."
The group covered their faces, overwheld by the absurdity of their predicant.
I'll have to talk to Garp about this next ti, Ren thought. Otherwise, wasting ti here in Paradise is going to get old fast.
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