Pirate: I, Ace, am the King of Eclipse!

"Those who can't hold on will still fall."

"But if we can hold on..."

Crocus looked at Ace and said in a deep voice:

"You will personally cultivate a ship full of monsters that have been repeatedly honed to the extreme."

Inside the lighthouse, there was a brief silence.

Then, Bucky shrank back.

"Hey, hey, hey, this doesn't sound like something to be happy about at all!"

"I have a feeling that the training is going to get even more terrifying from now on?"

Sabo glanced at him and laughed:

"You finally realized it?"

Bucky's face stiffened, and he immediately slammed his hand on the table.

"Of course I reacted long ago! This is called danger prediction! Do you even understand the rudiments of advanced Observation Haki?!"

Karina sighed, too lazy to pay him any attention.

Ace chuckled.

"Don't worry, Bucky."

"You're the head steward, so of course your training can't be neglected."

"You damn captain! You were planning this all along, weren't you?!"

Crocus watched this scene with a smile on his face.

This ship is still very young.

But being young also means having endless possibilities.

That night, everyone talked for a long time in the lighthouse.

Crocus explained to Carina and Sabo, one by one, the things that were most likely to kill newcomers in the first half of the Grand Line.

Chaotic magnetic field.

Record the time the pointer stays on the record.

The strange weather that suddenly turned from summer to winter.

A sudden ocean current trap.

There are also those seemingly absurd "common sense" principles on the island that often determine life and death.

Bucky occasionally chimed in with a few words.

Although he was unreliable most of the time, he had been on Roger's ship after all, and he could even say a few things about the details that only veteran pirates knew.

As Karina listened, she jotted down key information in the ship's logbook.

Saab would occasionally ask for details, relating these dangers to the Eclipse's speed and hull performance.

Ace did not interrupt.

These are the things he most needed to learn before the Eclipse truly entered the Grand Line.

The next morning.

After replenishing its fresh water and food supplies, the Eclipse re-raised its pure black sails.

"Dr. Crocus!"

Baji stood at the stern, waving his hands vigorously, his eyes still a little red, but he still tried to put on a brave face.

"I'll definitely bring an even bigger ship to see you next time!"

Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, arms crossed, and chuckled, muttering a curse:

"Stop bragging, you red-nosed brat."

"Come back and talk such big talk to me after you've made it through the first half of the Grand Line."

"Who has the red nose?!"

Bucky broke down on the spot, and the sadness of parting that had just been building up vanished in an instant.

Ace stood at the bow of the ship and nodded to the old ship's doctor on the shore.

"Mr. Crocus, thank you."

Crocus looked at him.

Looking at this young man who was completely different from Roger, yet equally impossible to ignore, the old man suddenly burst into laughter.

"Go! Roger's son!"

"Let this sea, which has been silent for twenty years, see your true capacity!"

The Eclipse sailed against the wind and waves, gradually disappearing at the horizon.

Crocus stood beneath the lighthouse, his smile slowly fading.

After a long while, he turned around and walked back into the lighthouse, where he pulled out a dusty, specially made Den Den Mushi from a hidden drawer.

“Bru bru bru…”

The Den Den Mushi rang slowly for a long time.

Finally, with a "click," the call was connected.

"Hello? This is Rayleigh."

From the other end of the Den Den Mushi came a lazy old man's voice, which seemed to carry a hint of hangover.

“What a rare guest, Crocus.”

"You old bones, you actually took the initiative to contact me."

“Rayleigh, old friend.”

Crocus looked out the window at the turbulent Grand Line, his grip on the microphone tightening slightly.

"Wake Up Bar"

The sound of pouring sake came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

"what happened?"

"It's not like Raab crashed into a mountain again and knocked down your lighthouse, is it?"

Crocus didn't take the joke seriously.

He took a deep breath.

"Just now, a black fast ship flying the Eclipse Skull and Cross Flag crossed the Reverse Mountain."

"The young captain's name is Portgas D. Ace."

The sound of pouring sake on the other end of the Den Den Mushi paused for a moment.

Crocus continued:

"Rayleigh."

"Roger's bloodline still exists."

"The captain's son not only sailed out to sea alive, but his ambition and talent seemed to be born to overturn the world."

"Snapped."

From the other end of the Den Den Mushi, you could hear the sound of a glass falling and shattering.

Then, it quieted down.

Even Rayleigh's previously lazy breathing paused for a moment.

a long time.

The Den Den Mushi's expression slowly mimicked Rayleigh's complex yet relieved expression after his initial shock.

"Yeah……"

Rayleigh's deep voice came through the Den Den Mushi.

Then, there was an uncontrollable chuckle in the voice.

"This is really..."

"This is the most delightful news I've heard in all these years on this boring sea."

Chapter 26 Cutting Through the Storm

The lighthouse at Twin Points gradually disappeared at the horizon.

The Eclipse, with its pure black hull, cut through the waves and officially entered the Grand Line, known as the "graveyard of pirates."

On the spacious deck, Karina held an ordinary nautical compass, frowning as she watched the needle spinning wildly like a top.

"Is this the magnetic field of the Grand Line?"

"The ordinary compass has indeed completely failed."

She set the compass aside and took out a glass ball-shaped recording pointer from her purse.

"Hahahaha!"

With a burst of laughter, Bucky crossed his arms and strode over with an air of arrogance.

He looked at the record pointer in Karina's hand, his chin held high, his face full of the superiority of someone who had been there.

"Scared, aren't you, newcomers from the East China Sea!"

"The islands of the Grand Line contain a large number of special minerals, and the magnetic field of the entire sea area is as chaotic as a pot of mixed stew."

"Without a log pointer, we can't even sail a nautical mile from here."

"That's common sense!"