A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

Newgate grinned: "I remember that was one of the Navy's largest logistics and ship development bases in the first half of the Grand Line, known as the 'Justice's Military Factory."

"Shall we go there and steal a ship?"

Gatz's eyes lit up instantly, his fear and confusion replaced by a belligerent excitement.

"Do not."

A calm voice rang out, interrupting their discussion.

It's Rennes.

He emerged from the only remaining intact kitchen, carrying a tray with several bowls of steaming, seemingly ordinary meat broth and a few pieces of toasted bread.

"time to eat."

Raine distributed the food to everyone, as if the approaching naval fleet outside and the sinking ship beneath his feet had nothing to do with him.

"Before robbing, you have to fill your stomach first."

The group took the food, and although they were anxious, they couldn't help but eat heartily because of the soothing aroma.

After a bowl of hot soup, a warm current flowed through my body, dispelling much of the depression, fatigue, and anxiety of the past few days.

Looking at everyone, Ryan calmly said, "The G-1 branch is too large a target, too heavily defended, and too far away from us. By the time we arrive, the Navy's encirclement will have already been completed."

He walked up to a fairly complete nautical chart and drew a circle on it with his finger.

It was an island located on the edge of the doldrums, marked as dangerous on nautical charts, but without any specific information.

"This is a secret, abandoned naval experimental base, codenamed Storm's Eye."

Raine's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"According to the intelligence I obtained from CP0 prisoners, the Navy conducted pressure and extreme environment tests on new warships here. Due to frequent experimental accidents, the base was abandoned, but in order to cover up certain secrets, they did not take everything with them."

"There, we can find what we're looking for."

Ryan's gaze swept over the crowd, his tone calm yet filled with undeniable confidence.

"A forgotten, self-repairing experimental warship, and... enough food reserves to last us until the next resupply point."

His words stunned everyone.

A chef who can not only create miracles with his cooking, but also possesses top-secret intelligence that even the Navy may not know.

Newgate stared at the unfathomable child before him for a long time before bursting into a deafening laugh.

"Gurala la la la! Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times in a row, his eyes filled with appreciation and trust for Renn.

"Men! Did you all hear that?"

For the first time, Newgate's voice carried the authority and pride befitting a captain.

"Our head chef has shown us the way!"

"Dorum, reinforce the hull with the remaining planks. We have to hold out until there! Gatz, Silver, keep watch! Rein, the food supplies are your responsibility!"

"Target: the eye of the storm! Move out!"

"Oh oh oh!"

In the face of despair, new hope is ignited.

This ship, composed of remnants of a defeated army and destined to become the future ruler of the seas, embarks on its first true adventure—a journey for its home—into uncharted waters, led by a new captain and a mysterious head chef.

The journey to the eye of the storm is a race against death.

Despite the frantic repairs by Dorum and Gatz, the wreckage of the Azure Dragon was barely kept from falling apart immediately. But with each crash of the waves came a sickening metallic groan, like the final gasps of a terminally ill old man.

Dorum's dark circles were darker than the bottom of a pot. He hadn't slept for two days and two nights, like a mad artist trying every means to prolong the ship's life.

He even removed the door panel of his own room to fill the largest crack in the bottom of the ship.

Gatz became the hardest worker, using his brute strength to force steel plates into the damaged areas wherever reinforcement was needed, and then having Dorum weld them as quickly as possible.

Silver stood atop the tallest mast, like a silent sculpture.

His Observation Haki was used to its fullest extent, like an invisible net, capturing every movement within a radius of dozens of nautical miles, protecting this dying behemoth from all potentially fatal reefs and storms.

And Ryan became the sole pillar of support for everyone on the ship, both mentally and physically.

He used the last of the ingredients to carefully plan and prepare the most efficient energy replenishment for everyone.

For the sleepless Dorum, a concentrated soup of marine mammal liver essence was prepared to refresh his mind and replenish his energy.

For Gatz, who was exhausted from physical exertion, they prepared grilled dried fish, which was rich in protein.

For Silver, who was in a state of high concentration, a nourishing stew of seaweed was prepared.

Each dish is precisely tailored to each individual's needs, ensuring they remain in peak condition throughout this battle against time.

Finally, at dawn on the fifth day, when the ship's mournful cries had reached their limit and even Dorum was beginning to write his will, Silver's voice came from the mast, calm yet carrying a hint of relief.

"arrive."

Everyone perked up and looked ahead.

Where the sea meets the sky, an island enveloped by a massive, relentless ring-shaped storm appeared before them.

The storm was like a divine barrier, completely isolating the island from the outside world. Any ship that tried to approach would be torn to pieces by the terrifying gravity and wind force.

"This is... the eye of the storm?"

Gatz swallowed hard as he looked at the scene that resembled a natural disaster.

"How...how do we get in?"

"give it to me."

Newgate walked to the bow of the ship, took a deep breath, and his fists were covered with an unprecedented, almost tangible white aura.

"Gurarararar! Open for me!"

He threw out both fists and slammed them hard against the impenetrable storm wall.

"Emperor Zhen - Heaven Opening!"

The two extremely condensed shockwaves were not a spreading impact, but rather like two invisible giant axes that cleaved the storm barrier!

Boom!

A deafening roar that seemed to shatter the world.

The terrifying storm, which could even distort light, was torn open by Newgate's earth-shattering strike, creating a massive passage several thousand meters long and about a hundred meters wide!

Chapter 99 The Ghost Moriarty

Inside the passage, all was calm and peaceful, as if it were another world.

"Now! Dorum!"

Newgate roared, maintaining this passage was also a huge drain on him.

"okay!"

Dorum snapped out of his daze, used all his strength to turn the rudder, and steered the soon-to-fall-to-be-disintegrated wreck into the miraculous waterway carved out by human hands.

The moment they crossed the passage and arrived at the inner bay of the island, the storm passage behind them suddenly closed.

The wreckage of the Azure Dragon beneath our feet had finally completed its final mission, slowly disintegrating amidst a heartbreaking lament and sinking into the tranquil harbor.

Standing on the island's beach, the group looked at the ruins that had once held their ambitions and glory, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

"Okay, stop being sad."

Newgate patted Dorum on the shoulder: "Out with the old, in with the new. Our new home is waiting for us on this island."

Everyone looked up and surveyed the forgotten island.

At the heart of the island, a massive base constructed of steel and concrete stands silently, like a crouching steel behemoth.

The base is rusted by time and filled with an atmosphere of desolation and death, but its main structure is still intact, showing the navy's former glory.

"Let's go treasure hunting!"

Gatz was the first to excitedly rush out.

However, as soon as they stepped into the base, a chilling, hellish cold enveloped them all.

In the base's plaza, dozens of naval soldiers lay haphazardly, their bodies already desiccated. Their faces were frozen in extreme terror, as if they had seen something incomprehensible and horrific before they died.

In the center of the square, a three-masted sailing ship, entirely black and with a Gothic design, seemingly pieced together from the bones of countless wronged souls, floats silently in mid-air.

The ship's sails were tattered, yet its hull emanated an ominous, chilling black aura, like a ghost from the abyss.

"What...what kind of ship is this?"

Dorum stared at the ghost ship that completely defied the laws of physics, his face filled with shock and bewilderment.

"Be careful, something's fishy."

Silver gripped his spear tightly, sensing a thick, chilling aura of death emanating from the ship.

Just then, a hoarse voice, as if it hadn't been uttered for centuries, came from the deck of the ghost ship.

"How many years has it been... Finally... have new living people arrived?"

A figure dressed in a tattered naval officer's uniform, whose body was already semi-transparent, and who looked like a ghost, slowly floated out of the cabin.

"Welcome aboard my ship, the Moriarty. I am the captain of this ship and the only resident of this island, former Vice Admiral of the Navy Headquarters, the Ghost Moriarty."

A strange smile appeared on the ghost's face.

"As the price for disturbing my eternal slumber, leave your shadows behind as my new crew!"

Before he finished speaking, he opened his mouth, and countless black, bat-like shadows flew out of his mouth, sweeping over everyone in a massive wave!

"shadow?"

Newgate looked at the overwhelming swarm of black bats and a smile of interest appeared on his face.

"Gurarararar! Interesting ability, but you've picked the wrong person to play with these vague and ethereal things in front of me, haven't you?"

He took a step forward, without even using the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, but simply unleashed his innate, domineering Conqueror's Haki!

hum-

An invisible force of will swept out like a tsunami.

The bats made of shadows were instantly destroyed upon contact with Conqueror's Haki, as if they had met their nemesis. They let out a shrill scream, disintegrated, and vanished without lasting even a second.

"What?! Conqueror's Haki?!"

A look of horror appeared on the ghost Moriarty's translucent face.

His Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability, which he was so proud of, was completely crushed by the opponent in the most unreasonable way!

"No...impossible! My shadow is invincible!"

He roared and waved his hands, stripping away the shadows of the naval corpses in the square and converging them into a huge, twisted mass of shadows, like a monster from hell, baring its fangs and claws as it lunged at Newgate.

"Shadow Revolution!"

"It's noisy."

Newgate frowned, seemingly impatient with this noisy attack.

He raised his fist, and a pure white halo gathered at the knuckles.

"Air shock."

A simple punch, thrown from a distance.

Click!

The space in front of us was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

The massive mass of shadows was instantly shattered into pieces upon contact with this power, like a piece of paper thrown into a shredder, dissipating into countless black specks of light.

The ghost Moriarty was struck as if by a heavy blow, letting out a scream. His translucent body became even more ethereal, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

"Damn it...who exactly are you people?"

He stared in horror at the group of monsters before him.