Pirates on Rocks' Ship 996

Judge thought for a moment, then looked at the residents and asked, "Could you describe the storm you encountered in detail?"

“Of course!” After thinking for a moment, the fishermen said, “We went out to sea to fish as usual that day. When we arrived, the sea was sunny. After we cast our nets and set up the buoys, we waited for the time to come before hauling in the nets. But before the time to haul in the nets came, we felt something was wrong because the weather started to change and the wind was getting stronger. So we decided to haul in the nets and return.”

"But before we could even haul in the nets, the sky began to darken. The captain deduced that a storm was coming and told us to speed up..."

"Before we could even reel in the net, the wind and waves grew stronger and stronger. The captain told us to go back to the cabin and leave. But that's when we realized that someone was missing. The lookout said there seemed to be something at the stern, so the captain took us to look, but we didn't find anything. We just assumed that someone had accidentally fallen overboard!"

"At this point, the captain told us to be careful and started organizing a rescue operation. However, the wind and rain were getting stronger and stronger, and our ship was showing signs of listing. So the captain had to contact the rescue team while we were evacuating from that area of ​​water!"

"After we left that area, the weather cleared up again, so we returned to the area with the rescue fleet. But when we got back, we found that the area was sunny again. After searching the surrounding area, we couldn't find our missing companions, and we couldn't even find the fishing nets we had cast earlier!"

“This…” Judge looked at Reina and said hesitantly, “The North Sea is different from the Grand Line. Storms here don’t usually happen suddenly, but are preceded by signs. The fisherman captain noticed something was wrong in advance, and his plan was not wrong. The key is those missing crew members. They… may not have fallen into the sea!”

"Mr. Judge has been in the North Sea for many years. Have you ever heard of such a thing?" After listening to the fishermen's description, Reina also began to have doubts. He shared Judge's opinion that the fishermen might not have actually fallen into the sea.

They all came from the Grand Line. Let alone a normal storm, even in the worst weather, it's impossible for seven people to fall off the ship. Moreover, the fishing boats they used had all sailed the Grand Line. The fact that the boats came out of the storm undamaged shows that there was nothing wrong with the boats.

Moreover, if it were just one person falling into the sea, it could be considered a coincidence, but if it were seven people, it certainly wouldn't be a coincidence.

Upon hearing Reina's question, Judge thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head and said somewhat awkwardly, "Although our Vinsmoke family has always been in the North Sea, our main work these past few years has been war! When our Vinsmoke family ruled the North Sea, there might have been some strange things recorded in the documents, but now... there aren't any!"

"Okay! I understand!" Reina nodded, lost in thought.

"First mate...should we send someone to check that area again?" Frank, who was standing nearby, had already realized that there might be a problem with that area.

"Which pirate crews are currently on the island?" Reina nodded and asked.

“There are still thirteen pirate crews stationed at the base and Xuan Yue Island. They originally planned to rest for a few days before heading to the front lines! Should I call their captains over?” Frank replied directly upon hearing this.

"Send three pirate crews, and also send a few fish-man companions, to thoroughly investigate that area! Also tell them that the phenomenon is likely time-limited, or that there are certain triggering conditions, so tell them to be careful!" Reina instructed Frank.

"First mate, how about I go take a look too?" Judge looked at Reina and tentatively suggested.

"No need. Mr. Judge is very important to us, and we can't afford any accidents. But if you're really curious, you can go and take a look! As we said, we won't restrict your freedom. The reason we asked you to help in the lab before was because Dr. Assie's research on the teleporter was a bit difficult. Now there's not much to do in the lab, so Mr. Judge can do whatever he wants. You can also call upon your children at any time! Don't worry too much about us. But if you have any plans, it's best to report to Steward Frank first so we know your whereabouts. That way, it will be safer!"

Chapter 1006 Personal Investigation

After Reina gave the order, the pirates on Crescent Moon Island began to move. Originally, these pirate crews under Whitebeard's command took turns going to the front line.

Of course, if you don't want to go to the front line, you can stay near Xuan Yue Island, or if you like adventure, it doesn't matter if you don't come to Beihai.

However, the pirate crews under the Whitebeard Pirates were very united and of one mind, so basically all of them were in the North Blue.

However, with the help of their fish-man companions, the three pirate crews searched for three days and three nights, but Reina emerged from the Tower of Trials again, and they found nothing.

After his injuries improved somewhat, Reina planned to go and check on him in person.

He has now entered the Tower of Trials for the second time, and he doesn't even need to defeat the gatekeeper on the fiftieth floor to have enough points to exchange for the Rinnegan.

However, he decided to wait until he cleared the gatekeeper of the fiftieth floor again before exchanging for the Rinnegan, because that way he would have enough points to deal with any sudden crises. At least he needed to exchange for the Nine-Tails' 100,000 points as a guarantee before he could cause trouble anywhere with peace of mind.

"First mate! Are you planning to go there yourself?" Frank asked helplessly at the port of Xuan Yue Island.

“Ah~ There’s been no intelligence for so long. I’m a little uneasy if I don’t go and check it out myself! After all, that sea area is very close to our base! If it’s an extraterrestrial conspiracy, it would be terrible if we couldn’t detect it in advance!” Reina nodded and replied.

"But... is your body alright? Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, have they?" Frank asked with some concern.

Reina chuckled and said, "Hehe... I want to leave, and no one can stop me! So don't worry, nothing will happen!"

After Reina finished speaking, he jumped onto the back of the hard shell and rode it quickly toward the target sea area. Unbeknownst to everyone, a large eagle with wingspans of over five meters was soaring in the sky at that moment.

Soon, with the hard shell moving at full speed, Reina arrived at the target sea area. Through the little eagle's vision, Reina could monitor a very wide area, but he did not find anything unusual, nor did he find any signs of an impending storm.

However, through Eagle's perspective, Reina actually spotted a snail-shaped ship, which belonged to Germa.

"How did she get here?" Upon discovering the other person, Reina hesitated for only a moment before letting Hard Shell move closer to her.

"First Mate!"

Seeing Reiju waving at him from the snail-shaped boat, Reina asked curiously, "What are you doing here?"

“My father said there seems to be something wrong with this area of ​​the sea, and asked me to come and help investigate. However, I have been searching here for a day and a night and have not found anything unusual!” Reiju said softly, “Even the seabed has been explored by fish-men!”

"Yes! Thank you for your hard work!" Reina nodded and replied.

It seems that Judge wanted to come by himself, but after Reina refused, he sent Reiju instead.

"Would the first mate like the merchant ship to rest for a bit?" Reiju invited.

Reina smiled. He had initially intended to refuse, but then he thought of something and said with a smile, "Alright!"

After Reina boarded the ship, Hardshell was sent to explore the nearby waters to see if he could find any clues.

Once on the ship, Reiju took Reina directly to the restaurant.

"How are you settling in with the Whitebeard Pirates?" Reina asked with a smile as he ate his food.

Reiju was taken aback. She hadn't expected Reina to ask such a question first. She thought Reina would ask her if she had made any discoveries.

"It's alright, it's the same everywhere, there's nothing I'm not used to!" Reiju hesitated for a moment, then happily replied.

"Yes, just say what you need. Our Whitebeard Pirates are a big family, though not the kind of family you're thinking of. We're a collective, all family!" Reina said with a smile.

Reiju remained silent, unsure of what Reina meant.

“Don’t worry, Sanji and I are on good terms. I’ve learned quite a bit about your Vinsmoke family from him. Remember on Whole Cake Island? If I hadn’t helped, you wouldn’t have escaped so easily!” Reina chuckled at Reiju’s cautious expression. “There’s nothing we can’t talk about here!”

Reiju pursed her lips, seemingly understanding what Reina meant.

“If you feel uncomfortable here, you are free to leave at any time. This is the promise I made to your father! Our Whitebeard Pirates are not just a group of interests! Here, we are all like-minded family!” Seeing Reina’s expression, Reina put down his knife and fork and said seriously.

"Is it really possible... to leave safely?" Reina suddenly looked up at Reina and asked.

Reina nodded and replied, "Of course, if you want to go see Sanji, I can take you there! But it might take a while, because I still have some things to take care of!"

Reiju shook her head and said, "No, I don't plan to leave for the time being. I feel pretty good here!"

"That's good!" Reina said with a smile. "I hope you won't dislike us! You know, we're pirates! Our rules might be a little different from your royal family's!"

"What kind of royal family are we?" Reiju laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "If we're talking about kings, the Whitebeard Pirates are the true kings standing at the pinnacle of piracy!"

“Pirates are about freedom. My brother doesn’t want to be the Pirate King, so we’re not kings!” Reina smiled slightly and said, “You might not believe it, but if my brother wanted to be the Pirate King, Roger wouldn’t stand a chance! That guy… was just…”

When the topic of Pirate King Roger came up, Reina seemed to recall the events of that year, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

However, Reiju didn't ask any questions. She felt it was best not to get involved in such legendary matters.

The two ate and chatted, and their relationship gradually became more casual after it was initially quite stiff. However, Reina soon noticed something was amiss.

"Mr. Reina, what's wrong?" After Reina's repeated suggestions, Reiju finally stopped calling him the first mate, as it seemed too formal and too distant.

Seeing Reina's slightly furrowed brows, Reiju couldn't help but feel a little curious.

"Is the weather outside... starting to change?" Reina asked thoughtfully.

Reiju was taken aback, as if she had thought of something, and immediately ordered the android beside her to go out and check.

Soon, the android who went out to investigate returned and reported, "Reporting to the master, the wind has picked up outside!"

"The wind is picking up?" Reiju was a little surprised. When she saw Reina, it was clearly a sunny day outside.

This is the North Sea, not the Grand Line. How could there be such a sudden change in environment and temperature here?

Chapter 1007 Strange Space

After hearing her subordinate's report, Reiju recalled the intelligence report and looked at Reina speechlessly. They were being watched!

“You’d better gather all your men together. According to the fishermen, their companions disappeared when the storm came!” Reina slowly put down his wine glass and said with a light laugh.

Reina was so certain of what they had encountered because after hearing Reiju's subordinates' report, he immediately tried to contact Hardshell and Little Hawk in his mind, but he could only vaguely sense their presence and was unable to make contact at all.

He was certain that he could summon them using psychic abilities, but before that, he couldn't contact them at all, just as he, Hardshell, and Little Eagle weren't in the same spatial coordinates.

Upon hearing Reyner's reminder, Reiju immediately stood up. She was the captain of this snail ship, and there were not only androids on board, but also some servants of Germa.

After everyone gathered on the deck, Reina and Reiju noticed that the sky was getting darker and the wind was getting stronger, as if a storm was about to break.

"That's strange. It was a sunny day just now. This isn't the Grand Line!" Reiju said in surprise.

“It seems we’re no longer in the North Sea!” Reina said softly.

"That's impossible!" Reiju said, somewhat incredulously.

Snail boats are not ordinary boats; they are biological boats and cannot wander off randomly.

"My lord, our compass has malfunctioned! We can't determine our direction. Should we stop the snail boat?" The helmsman in charge of the snail boat asked Reiju, holding a compass that was spinning rapidly and erratically.

A compass is essential for navigation, but only on the four major oceans. On the Grand Line, it is necessary to record the pointer.

However, when Reiju took out a Log Pose from her pocket, she found that the pointer on the Log Pose was also spinning randomly. She had never encountered this situation before, nor had she ever even heard of it.

Some of the rescuers looked at Reina and saw that he also looked curious, so they knew that Reina probably didn't know either.

"What's going on? First mate, should we stop the ship now?" Reiju asked Reina beside her.

“Didn’t we agree? You don’t need to call me first mate!” Reina smiled slightly and replied, “Stop! Let’s see who’s behind this!”

Although Reiju had stopped calling Reina "first mate" during their earlier conversation, the situation was urgent, so she stuck to her old habit and addressed him as "first mate."

With Reina's order, the snail ship slowly came to a stop, and everyone waited on the deck for the approaching storm. Reina even covered the entire ship with his Observation Haki, believing that no one could possibly get rid of someone unnoticed under these circumstances.

"Boom boom boom..."

Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky, and a torrential downpour began in an instant, giving Reina the illusion that he was in a new world.

But he knew that this was not a new world, but an unknown space.

“Wait… Mr. Reina… it seems we are moving?” Just as Reina was focusing his attention on the group, Reiju suddenly said with a surprised look.

"Huh?" Reina was taken aback and looked at Reiju with a puzzled expression.

Reiju didn't waste any words. Pointing to the vast ocean, she said, "Because there's no point of reference on the open sea, we can only determine when we stop by the wind! But the snail boat is different. It can accurately sense the currents, so I can use it to know that we are indeed moving!"

Upon hearing this, Reina activated his full sensory abilities and awakened his Sharingan.

After activating his Sharingan, Reina didn't sense anything unusual, but he could perceive that they were indeed moving. Moreover, this feeling was very strange; it seemed that it wasn't the snail boat that was moving, but rather... the entire ocean was moving.

“You all stay here and don’t leave!” Reina took a deep breath; he felt things might be a little beyond his expectations.

"Summoning - Surveillance Eagle!" After slashing his palm and forming a seal with his blood, Reina used a summoning spell to summon the little eagle.

"boom!"

As the smoke cleared, the Surveillance Eagle appeared out of thin air, and Reina commanded it to take off and observe everything around it from the air.