In just two hours, Rain Land was almost completely looted. The subordinates packed cash and treasures into big and small bags and, together with Sage, boarded the banana crocodile, raising a trail of dust in the sand.
What followed, of course, was a storm...
"Sage, I could lead the team for this kind of thing too. Why did you have to come along?" Renedia asked curiously.
Inside the room carried by the crocodile, only Sage and Renedia sat there. Sage was looking through the curtains and the door, watching the falling bean-sized raindrops, his eyes calm as an ancient well, as if he saw some future.
"That's because..."
Rumble...
The raindrops made the desert's surface moist, and ahead, the desert suddenly rose, and a gigantic crab, completely red but with sand grass covering its head, appeared like a mountain, blocking the crocodiles' path.
The appearance of this giant crab made the fast-moving crocodiles show a fearful look, about to stop urgently.
"Tenha Kassatsu!"
Bam!
But at this moment, a mass of pitch-black flowing fire flew out from the back of the leading crocodile, hitting the crab's body. With the strike of Haki, the mountainous big crab's shell below the eyes cracked, scattering the meat inside along with it, bursting open a hole.
With just one strike, the crab's body quaked and then fell into the desert.
Such a creature may be huge, but its physique is just so-so. Although his Externalized Haki hasn't reached the extent of being used with Internal Destruction, the damage inflicted by hitting the Secret Hole was still substantial.
Sage retracted his hand, saying, "You're not strong enough to face the hindrance of misfortune!"
The thought of letting the subordinates rob on their own crossed his mind, but considering the desert's danger level and the strength of his subordinates, he decided against it.
Renedia might be fine, but how much can she take alone?
Robbery relies on the subordinates to accomplish it.
The crocodiles halted, and a few eager subordinates wanted to go down and hack the giant crab.
"Why eat dead ones? Eat live crabs if you're going to eat. Let's go!"
Sage said and let the crocodiles continue moving.
The crab is big enough and would surely be a delight to eat, but since it was hit dead in one strike, never mind.
By noon, the crocodiles reached the Saint Dorra River. Initially, Sage intended to take them on board. These crocodiles, big as they are, reaching thirty meters long, reportedly feed on small Sea Kings.
But after dropping people off, this group of crocodiles went directly into the water, residing in the Saint Dorra River.
"Not coming with me? Never mind..."
Sage shook his head, not minding much, and after boarding the ship, he said to Lily waiting on deck, "Let's set sail, Lily, I'm going to take a nap."
From Rain Land to Alabasta and back to Rain Land, he hadn't rested much in the two days in between. Although he could hold up, sleep was necessary.
Once the subordinates were on board and the ship was organized, Lily ordered others to hoist the sails and steer. She looked at the Log Pose on her wrist, saying, "Set sail!"
The massive Black Ship raised its black sails, going down the Saint Dorra River toward the sea.
Of course, accompanying them...
Was the incredibly oppressive storm that caused the great river to overflow with waves.
The sky was overcast with rolling thunder and pouring rain, making the surroundings seem a chaotic darkness, and the Black Ship gradually sank into this darkness, ultimately merging with the storm.
...
The next day.
The storm was still ongoing, rolling out waves big enough to capsize typical ships, but the Death Star sailed steadily within them. Only a few individuals occasionally came out to look from the deck.
Most were in the control room on the third floor, watching the surroundings for any unexpected encounters.
"Keep an eye out; adjust immediately if there's a directional issue."
In the control room, Lily glanced at the Log Pose and said to her subordinates.
In this control room, there were also several Log Poses, many provided by Crocodile, all charged with Magnetic Power, uniformly pointing to the next island possessing magnetic force.
This thing is quite amazing, at least to Lily.
Every island in the Grand Line possesses its own unique magnetic field and is interconnected with others. Once fully charged with Magnetic Power, the Log Pose will point the way.
But the time to fully charge it depends on the variation in magnetic fields—it could take days, months, or even years in some cases...
Even if the ship is fast, landing on an island still takes some time.
Without a Log Pose, navigating the Grand Line would be like a headless chicken, unable even to realize when the direction has been lost.
Normal ships here, even if lucky enough not to encounter Sea Kings lurking in the sea, can't sail once they enter the Calm Belt... reaching the Sea Kings' lair means impending doom with no navigation possible.
Lily, of course, wouldn't just keep one on her wrist; there were many Log Poses placed in the control room. Some were even modified into Compasses by Renedia, with the straps removed and put inside the Compass.
Now in the control room, there was a table-sized Compass dedicated to stabilizing the Log Poses.
And Lily didn't like the strap, so she had Renedia make a small Compass for easy carrying.
As a Swordsman, she needs to fight, and wearing it on her wrist could cause trouble.
The thing is not sturdy.
Even if the subordinates lacked sailing knowledge, they could certainly manage to watch the direction, simply by monitoring the Log Pose's directional changes.