Sailing on the seas be incredibly time-ing. After Cudius and his crew took a warship to the West Blue and then made their way from there to the White Sea above the sky, several months had already passed. In that time, they had visited several other Sky Isnds.

  By the end of 1497 on the Sea Circle dar, the Sky Isnd expedition of Cudius and his group was finally ing to an end.

  Getting to Sky Isnd had been difficult, but desding was much easier. Using a balloon octopus, they ed the ship, and much like a hot air balloon, they "jumped" down from the sky safely into the Blue Sea.

  Aboard the warship, Vice Admiral Tsuru sighed with sret. "In the end, the mission failed. I repared for it, but it's still disappointing."

  That was right. After they annihited Birka, Vice Admiral Tsuru had led the group to visit a few more Sky Isnds. Cudius had been particurly curious about Angel Isnd, but they failed to reach it. The other Sky Isnds they visited were also unwilling to join the Wover, despite their fear of what had happeo Birka.

  While Tsuru regretted the oute, Cudius wasn't particurly surprised. To be fair, Sky Isnd was somewhat of a "paradise." Whatever happened down below didn't affect them mubsp;

  Why would they join the Wover? Seek prote? From what? They had no enemies, and the Marines couldly send a lot of forces up there to protect them if something did happen.

  It would just feel like they were paying a pointless prote fee. Joining the Wover wouldn't give them any bes, only the obligation to pay taxes. Why would they want that?

  Cudius smiled and turo Tsuru. "Still, it wasn't a wasted trip. We mao gather some of Birka's Sky Isnd teologies, right? Though we only have enough special shells to arm a small unit for now, it's a start."

  Tsuru nodded. "Yes, but it's a pity we only brought one warship. If we had aire fleet, we could have evacuated all of Birka's resources and created a fully armed special unit."

  Cudius ughed. "Imagine what we could've done if we had more ships. Those power shells would be invaluable for naval battles, especially when b enemy ships or nding on beaches."

  Tsuru smiled but quickly caught herself. "I almost fot we're Marines. For a moment, I felt like a pirate thinking that way."

  "Hahaha! Didn't it sound like that?" Cudius joked.

  They exged a few more words before Tsuru's expression shifted to something more serious. "But I think the greatest gain from this trip wasn't teology. It was that boy, Enel. I didn't expect Yho have such a kind moment, resg a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, no less. Aurned out to be the wielder of the Thunder Fruit. If I'd known that, I would've acted first!"

  Tsuru, who had been with Cudius the eime, knew full well that he had no reason to know that the boy had such a powerful fruit ability when he saved him. She assumed Cudius had just been feeling particurly generous at that moment, and by sheer luck, he had stumbled upon a treasure.

  Little did she know that Cudius, with his knowledge of the future, had specifically targeted Enel. If it had been anyone else, Cudius likely wouldn't have bothered. After all, he wasn't someone who went around saving everyone.

  But that wasn't something he could expin, so Cudius just smirked and said, "Ah, see? Good deeds are rewarded! It looks like I'll o do more iure. Do a good deed, and you're bound to gain something from it!"

  Tsuru chuckled but couldn't help thinking to herself, "If 'good deeds' for Cudius involve wiping out entire isnds, the sea might not survive another year of him."

  After a moment, Tsuru's expression turned serious again. "Yhness, this Enel boy is still young. Perhaps it would be best to send him to Mariraining. I guarahat we'd use the best resources to train him. With his abilities, he could easily bee an Admiral one day. It's a bright and promising future for him."

  Cudius immediately waved her off, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Sister Tsuru, st to steal my treasure. That's not happening."

  He then grinned mischievously. "The whole reason I took the risk of going to Sky Isnd was to find the Thunder Fruit. I didn't find the fruit, but I found the boy who possesses it, so my goal is achieved. Enel will be a great asset to me. I know what resources Marine offer him, but don't worry, my CP-X will provide just as much, if not more. He'll be one of my trump cards iure, so I'm not handing him over to you."

  Tsuru's expression showed clear frustration. The Thunder Fruit was one of the stro Logia-type fruits, and Enel was still a bnk ste. If they trained him within Marine, he would bee a powerful and loyal force for the gover.

  "Yhness," Tsuru said, trying again, "as a Celestial Dragon, don't you think that by entrusting Eo Marine, you'd be serving your own is as well? Marine is here to serve you, after all. With him on our side, we could stabilize the seas more effectively. Surely we discuss this?"

  But Cudius shook his head again, still grinning. "his is noiable. Besides, you've seen how close Enel is to me. He wouldn't want to join Marine anyway. F him would be pointless."

  "Who cares if it's not sweet? It'll still quench the thirst," Tsuru muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed.

  But seeing how adamant Cudius was, she finally gave up. With anyone else, she might have been more forceful, but Cudius was Celestial Dragon royalty. Who would dare take something from him?

  "It's a shame," Tsuru sighed. "Both you and Enel would be great assets to Marine. If only you were on our side, the seas would be much safer."

  Just as Tsuru mehe situation, Gion approached. "Vice Admiral Tsuru, we're approag the edge of the White Sea."

  "Good. Let's prepare for the dest," Tsuru nodded. "Acc to the map, the New World waters should be below us. It's not too far from the Red Line, so this is the quickest route baariejois."

  While they had asded to Sky Isnd from the West Blue, they were now desding into the New World.

  Cudius left the preparations to the professionals. He had little experieh sailing and no expertise in navigation. This was a job best left to the Marines.

  Soon enough, the warship was securely ed in the balloon octopus, and they began their dest from the White Sea. Cudius couldn't help but feel the rush of excitement as they pluhrough the sky.

  "Whe baariejois, the first thing I'm doing is soaking in a nice, hot bath," Cudius said, his voice a little shaky from the adrenaline.

  Tsuru, standio him, was about to respond wheiced something strange. Following Cudius's gaze, her eyes widened in horror.

  It wasn't just her—Gion, too, was frozen in pce, her face pale with fear. Panic quickly spread throughout the warship.

  A massive storm was f in the sky, not far from their position. Worse yet, it was moving directly toward them.

  "Are you kidding me?!" Cudius cursed. "I made a joke about taking a bath, and now this storm shows up like a death fg?!"

  Entering a storm in the New World was dangerous enough, but to hit one in the air ractically a death sentence.

  Cudius couldn't help but feel cursed. His past experiences in the New World hadly been smooth. The first time, he'd been shipwrecked and killed in a spiracy, only to be revived in this new body. The sed time, he had eaten his way into trouble during a Buster Call mission. And now, the third time he came to the New World, he was staring down a giant storm while still mid-air.

  "Does the New World just hate me?" Cudius muttered.

  Tsuru, too, was stunned. She had desded from Sky Isnd four or five times before and had never entered a storm in this area. This region, surrounded by Spring Isnds, was known for its stable climate. How could they have been so unlucky?

  The strew fiercer, and the balloon octopus began to wobble, the air i swirling violently. It even started to shrink a bit.

  "Shouldn't it be expanding iorm?" Cudius grumbled, then quickly took a. Raising his hand, he unleashed a surge of nitrogen, filling the balloon octopus to stabilize it.

  "If this keeps up, the storm's going to tear the warship apart!" Tsuru shouted, quickly assessing the situation. Desperate, she turo Crocodile. "Crocodile, use your sand to ehe entire ship and create a protective wall. It's our only shot!"

  At this point, it wasn't about strength—it was about survival. Tsuru, being a Paramecia user, couldn't do much against a storm of this magnitude, but Crocodile's abilities could provide some prote.

  Without hesitation, Crocodile activated his powers. Yellooured from his body, ing around the entire warship. In moments, the ship was encased in a thick protective barrier of sand.

  From the outside, it looked like the balloon octopus was floating through the sky, carrying a massive sandball.

  Not long after Crocodile's sand enveloped the ship, the storm fully hit them. The warship shook violently, the fierce winds trying to tear it apart. If Crocodile hadn't anchored the balloon octopus to the ship with his sand, it would've been blown away by now.

  Ihe sand shell, Tsuru breathed a slight sigh of relief, but her expression remained grim. "This storm is only going to get worse. Even if we survive it, we have no idea where it will take us."

  Cudius could do nothing but shake his head, resigo the situation. "At this point, it's all up to fate."

  What Cudius didn't know was that this storm was steering their warship, which was already on the brink of destru, toward a mysterious and ued location: the sea of Edd War