A cook, vice-captain of the Rocks Pirates?

Clockwork Island?

The group looked at each other, completely unfamiliar with the name.

"But that place only exists in legends, and no one knows where it is."

Dorum added.

Just then, Silver on the lookout tower suddenly spoke up: "Captain, a pirate ship has been spotted at eleven o'clock and is charging towards us."

Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this, and then strange expressions appeared on their faces.

On this vast ocean, there are actually some fools who dare to provoke them?

Soon, a brightly decorated pirate ship with a prow shaped like a pink hippo wearing a comical eye patch came into view.

The sail is painted with a skull that is farting, full of abstract artistic flair.

"Hahaha! Listen up, you wrecked ship up ahead!"

A captain dressed in tight leather pants and sporting a mohawk stood at the bow of the ship, arrogantly shouting through a tin megaphone: "We are the Rainbow Fart Pirates! I, the magnificent Buggyta, have a bounty of eight million Berries! If you know what's good for you, hand over the ship's treasure and cook, or you'll get a taste of my magnificent fart..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gatz let out a huge sneeze.

"Ah!"

A terrifying shockwave swept out instantly, and the seemingly flimsy Rainbow Fart was spun wildly 720 degrees on the sea like a leaf blown by a hurricane.

The mainmast snapped with a crack and plunged into the sea, leaving the mohawk-wearing captain and his crew floundering in the water.

The entire process takes no more than three seconds.

The deck was deathly silent.

Chapter 128 Symphony Island

"Uh... I didn't mean to."

Gatz scratched his head, looking completely innocent.

"Goo la la la la!"

Newgate burst into a deafening laugh.

Half an hour later, the unfortunate members of the Rainbow Farting Pirates were all hauled onto the deck by Silver like dead fish, kneeling in a row, trembling.

Ryan leisurely carried a plate of freshly baked breadfruit slices with honey over and handed it to the captain, who was terrified and had wet himself.

"Want to eat?"

"Raine asked calmly."

“I want to…I want to!”

Captain Baquita nodded frantically, tears welling in his eyes.

"Then let's talk about Clockwork Island. Well said, this whole game is yours."

Captain Baquita was taken aback, but then, as if grasping at a straw, he spilled everything he knew.

It turns out that when he was young, he accidentally wandered into a misty sea and was lucky enough to see the legendary island. He even picked up a small piece of map from a shipwreck and kept it as a treasure ever since.

After listening, Ryan nodded in satisfaction, handed him the plate of breadfruit, and then easily pulled out the tattered map fragment with gears and springs drawn on it from his pocket.

With a new goal and a map, the atmosphere on the ship became lively again...

The route to Clockwork Island was a hundred times more treacherous than the few lines on the nautical chart could depict.

They entered a sea area called the Endless Sea Tower, where the currents were no longer flowing horizontally, but instead formed countless huge waterfalls that were upside down.

Seawater poured down from the sky and surged up from the depths of the sea, as if the whole world had been turned upside down.

"Hold on tight! We're going to charge!"

Dorum roared at the top of his lungs, slamming the rudder to its limit. With the help of a surging current, he steered the dilapidated ship, which was on the verge of falling apart, like a salmon swimming upstream, towards the ocean waterfall hanging in the sky.

The ship groaned under the immense water pressure, and Newgate stood at the bow, his fists covered in a pure white, vibrating aura.

"Gurarararar! Open it for me!"

He threw several punches at the thick curtain of water in front of him, and the invisible shockwaves tore a short passage through the water, greatly reducing the pressure on the ship.

After passing through the endless sea towers, they encountered another sea of ​​illusory sounds.

The air here is filled with a peculiar energy that amplifies one's inner voice, creating the most realistic illusions.

As soon as Gatz entered this sea area, he clutched his head and squatted down in anguish. He felt as if he could see countless roasted chicken legs dancing in front of him, but he couldn't catch them no matter what he did. He was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

"Quiet."

Silver's voice was like an icy spring, clear and calm.

His Observation Haki was so concentrated that it created a small, silent domain around him that isolated all illusory sounds.

He was like the most accurate navigator, guiding the ship to the only correct course in this sea of ​​mist composed of desires and inner demons.

Life on the ship was intense yet full of unique pleasures.

The kitchen in Rennes became the only sanctuary on this turbulent ship.

No matter how chaotic or disorderly the outside world was, the aroma wafting from that small kitchen could always precisely soothe the nerves of every crew member who were on the verge of snapping.

That night, Ryan found Newgate sitting alone at the stern of the ship, looking at the Heart of the World that he had carefully kept, his eyes deep.

"What are you thinking about?"

Raine handed him a cup of hot tea made with calming herbs.

"Thinking about...home."

Newgate took the teacup and said in a low voice, "I've been an orphan since I was a child. I don't know who my parents are or what home is like. I went to sea to find a group of partners that I can call family."

He looked at the Heart of the World in his hand, its gentle light seeming to shine into the softest part of his heart.

"Do you think it can really become a home in the future? A home where we homeless bastards can drink and sleep in peace?"

"Will do."

Ryan calmly replied, "As long as we feed it good enough nutrients."

"nourishment?"

"Ah."

Raine looked at Lockes, who was also gazing at the stars in the distance, and his expression became somewhat complicated.

"There are many of the finest nutrients on this vast ocean, such as... the ambition of a king."

Newgate followed his gaze, looking thoughtful.

……

After several days of turbulent travel, they finally broke out of the chaotic sea and arrived at a relatively calm area.

However, they encountered new troubles not long after setting sail.

A colossal island lay before them, its shape bizarre, resembling a giant, spiky seashell.

Even more bizarrely, the creatures on the entire island seem to be half flesh and half musical instruments.

They saw a giant mammoth with a small, trumpet-like trunk drinking water on the shore, blowing a loud horn sound with each breath.

I saw a sea turtle carrying a huge war drum as its shell, sunbathing on the beach, occasionally tapping it with its tail to produce a dull thud.

There were even strange birds with wings made of harp strings flying overhead, each flap of their wings producing a melodious arpeggio.

"Wow! What kind of place is this?"

Gatz was dumbfounded.

"Are these things edible? Do they come with their own background music when you eat them?"

"According to the records of the Mythical Ingredients Chronicle, this is Symphony Island."

Ryan took out his notebook and quickly jotted down notes.

"The creatures here have undergone changes in their body structure due to the constant influence of a special sound wave mineral. Their flesh fibers resonate with different tones, resulting in an extremely unstable texture, sometimes as tough as leather and sometimes as soft as mud."

Renn paused for a moment before giving his final assessment.

"Simply put, it's like eating an unrehearsed symphony played by a bunch of lousy musicians—full of uncertainty, and not recommended."

"Shall we go around there?"

Dorum suggested.

"Do not."

Renn shook his head, his eyes gleaming with the light of a gourmet discovering a new continent.

"Although their meat is unpalatable, the sounds they make are the finest seasoning."

He directed the group not to land on the island, but to stop the boat in a spot where they could clearly hear the sounds of various musical instruments from the island.

Then, Raine took out a large piece of sea monster spine meat that he had hunted earlier and hung it on the deck, letting it bask in this natural symphony played by all things.

An hour later, the surface of that ordinary piece of meat developed a strange, water-like pattern, and the meat became firmer and more elastic.

Ryan cut off a thin slice and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm, not bad. The high-frequency horn sound breaks down the thick muscle fibers, making them more delicate."

"The deep drumbeats act like a massage, allowing the juices to be distributed more evenly, while the melodious piano music gives it a refreshing, aria-like aftertaste."

Ryan nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's call tonight's main course 'Symphony of Destiny' BBQ."

Just as everyone was marveling at Raine's incredible sonic pickling method, Silver on the lookout tower suddenly issued a warning.

"Captain, we've reached the location on the map."

Chapter 129 Master of Mechanics, Gear Max

Everyone perked up and looked ahead.

However, the sea was empty; there was no Clockwork Island at all, only a massive, impenetrable wall of fog, like a gray behemoth that swallowed everything in front of it.

Around the wall of fog, countless shipwrecks lay scattered, resembling a vast sea graveyard, filled with ominousness and deathly silence.

"What's going on? Is the map fake?"

Gatz asked, puzzled.

"Do not."

Dorum's expression turned serious as he pointed to the seemingly calm wall of fog.

“Look at the flow of the fog, it’s so regular, like…like the breathing of a machine.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the sea in front of the fog wall suddenly began to churn violently, and a huge snake head, hundreds of meters long and made up of countless bronze gears and steam pipes, suddenly emerged from the water.

Its eyes, made of enormous rubies, gleamed with a cold light, fixed intently on their uninvited ship.

It was a colossal beast made entirely of machinery.

Its body is made up of countless interlocking gears and buzzing steam pipes, winding and spiraling in the sea with no end in sight.

With each movement, large amounts of white steam erupt from the gaps in its body, churning the surrounding sea surface like boiling water.

It opened its massive maw, composed of sharp blades, and instead of a roar, it emitted a piercing, factory-like whistle, filled with the coldness of metal and the murderous intent of inorganic matter.

Wow! What a huge tin toy!

Gatz was not surprised but delighted, and he picked up the anchor and was about to rush forward.

"and many more!"

Ryan's voice stopped him in time.

"This guy's armor is made of some kind of shape memory alloy, making it difficult to be effective with physical attacks. Moreover, it is filled with high-pressure steam. Once it is penetrated, the instantaneous burst of power is enough to tear our ship to pieces."

"What should I do?"

Dorum's voice was trembling with tears; he felt that his ship was like a fragile cardboard box in front of this steel behemoth.