Chapter 149: Calamity
At sea.
"The conversion efficiency is still too low."
Rhodes's eyes flickered slightly as he watched the sea surface—rippled by his impact force—stirring up waves several meters high.
Pure physical martial arts trained to their peak were no less powerful than a Devil Fruit.
In Garp's hands, the Hasshoken could crush a mountain to dust with a single blow—even rivaling Whitebeard's devastating shockwaves.
"But as a backup technique, it's barely adequate."
Rhodes muttered to himself, unconcerned.
After all, his primary offensive method remained swordsmanship. Physical techniques were reserved for opponents unworthy of his blade.
"After all these detours, it's time to head to Loguetown."
"Do you know where Loguetown is?"
He asked, tapping Momoo the sea cow beneath him.
Momoo's eyes widened. After a long moment of thought, it still couldn't recall what "Loguetown" was. It looked at Rhodes pitifully, fearing this demon would roast it alive.
"This is problematic..."
Rhodes frowned as he surveyed the vast ocean surrounding them.
Unlike the Grand Line, the Four Blues had no Log Pose pointing toward specific islands. Navigators relied on sea charts and directional knowledge.
While Rhodes knew Loguetown was near Reverse Mountain, he had no idea of its exact location or which direction to head.
"A mighty Dragon Slayer... lost at sea."
Rhodes didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Was he really forced to return to Nami and the others for a chart? Or even worse—join their crew temporarily on the way to Loguetown?
That would be too embarrassing!
At that moment,
Momoo suddenly mooed, signaling Rhodes's attention.
He followed the sea cow's gaze
and spotted a medium-sized merchant vessel sailing toward them.
"Perfect! Merchants should know where Loguetown is. Head over there, Momoo."
Rhodes tapped his foot, directing the sea cow to approach.
The two vessels drew closer. Rhodes stood atop Momoo's head, calmly observing.
A tall woman—seemingly in her thirties—stood at the merchant ship's bow. Despite her age, she possessed a striking figure with all the mature charm expected of a grown woman.
"I'm Amanda, president of the East Star Trading Company. My friend, you seem to be in difficulty?"
She asked, regarding him with interest rather than disdain despite his youth. Anyone who could stand atop such a powerful sea beast deserved respect!
Before Rhodes could respond, a clear, cheerful voice rang out from behind her.
"Ah! It's the Dragon Slayer!"
Rhodes looked over to see a delicate young girl excitedly gazing at him. Had Amanda not restrained her, she would have leaped across to his side immediately.
"So it's the Dragon Slayer himself! My apologies for not recognizing you sooner."
Amanda's tone filled with respect and reverence.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea weren't something an East Blue trading company like hers could afford to offend.
"Mom, don't hold me back! The Dragon Slayer is a good person, not a bad pirate!"
The little girl's head was pinned down, making it impossible for her to see Rhodes properly. Her face puffed up indignantly.
Rhodes couldn't help but chuckle. His reputation apparently wasn't as terrible as he'd imagined—he actually had such an enthusiastic fan.
He tapped his foot gently, and Momoo suddenly surfaced higher, hovering almost level with the sailboat's deck.
"Wow! That's a huge cow!"
The little girl's mouth opened wide in astonishment!
Rumors were just rumors.
Seeing such a massive sea beast submit docilely beneath Rhodes's feet, Amanda and her crew finally grasped the significance of the Seven Warlords. Each of them subconsciously bowed their heads slightly in respect.
"Do you have a nautical chart of the East Blue? Ideally one showing Loguetown's location?"
Rhodes glanced at his young fan with a smile before addressing Amanda.
"A chart?"
Amanda hesitated momentarily.
For merchants making their living on the sea, nautical charts were trade secrets—containing routes, profitable locations, and information ordinary people would covet.
A comprehensive nautical chart recording weather patterns, currents, reefs, and other maritime conditions could support an entire trading company.
But Amanda understood the terrifying man before her even better. Not only the man himself, but even the sea beast beneath his feet was beyond their ability to resist.
So she hesitated only briefly before sending crew members to retrieve the chart, while respectfully saying:
"Please wait just a moment, sir."
"Fine."
Rhodes nodded slightly.
"Hey! Look here, look here! I'm Anya!!"
But the little girl had already slipped away during the conversation, standing precariously on the railing, waving her tiny hands and shouting at Rhodes.
Perhaps in her excitement, she lost her balance and fell straight off the boat.
Quickly and cleanly—headfirst into the water.
"Ah!"
Amanda gasped, but before she could react,
a shadow streaked through the air. Anya—who'd fallen overboard—was suddenly caught in Rhodes's arms. With several light steps through empty air using Geppo, he landed steadily back on the merchant ship.
The little girl didn't even register fear before her vision blurred and she found herself safely back aboard.
"Be careful."
Rhodes said, setting the girl down—but then he froze in surprise.
"Wow, that was amazing! I want to fly too!"
The little girl's face filled with pure excitement, and she was about to leap at Rhodes again when Amanda grabbed her firmly.
"I'm truly sorry, Sir Rhodes. I've spoiled her terribly. I didn't mean any offense."
"It's fine."
Rhodes replied casually, though he continued studying Anya with interest.
"She's a Devil Fruit user?"
In that brief moment of contact, Rhodes had clearly felt something unusual being drawn from him into the little girl.
It wasn't physical stamina, life force, or mental energy—but something far more mysterious and abstract, imperceptible yet undeniable.
Amanda appeared slightly taken aback by this observation and asked in surprise:
"Devil Fruit?"
"What's that?"
Not everyone knew about Devil Fruits—especially not in the weakest of the Four Blues, the East Blue.
"This little one can't swim anymore, correct?"
"How did you know that, sir?"
Amanda asked, genuinely startled. "Is there any solution?"
For the past ten days, her daughter had suddenly become unable to enter the sea—a matter that left Amanda deeply worried. After all, they were maritime traders, and swimming was essential. But Anya felt completely drained the moment she touched seawater. It was truly troubling.
"No."
Rhodes shook his head slightly.
People with extraordinarily powerful physiques—like Kaido of the Beasts—might be able to barely resist or weaken seawater's debilitating effects. But this obviously didn't apply to a little girl like Anya.
"You ate some kind of strange-looking fruit that tasted worse than garbage, didn't you?" Rhodes asked the girl directly.
"Yeah!"
Anya complained: "Just ten days ago, when I was playing on an island, I got curious and accidentally ate it—but I only took one bite!"
"Because it was SO disgusting! I threw up for ages afterward!"
Perhaps because the memory was so vivid, Anya described the fruit's shape, color, size, and other details in remarkable clarity.
"Paramecia-type... Kyū Kyū no Mi?"
After listening, Rhodes couldn't help but regard the girl with surprise.
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