The Oro Jackson cut smoothly through the fog, its hull gleaming beneath the pale moonlight.
The storm had passed hours ago, yet the sea still carried the echo of thunder — a whisper of the words Ada had left behind.
The world is sinking.
For a while, no one dared to speak those words aloud.
Below deck, the crew tried to return to their rhythm. Fisher Tiger and Enel were busy securing the ship's new mechanical cargo — or rather, trying to stop Lilith from dismantling it.
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Enel yelled, lightning flickering from his fingertips.
Lilith crouched by the mast, screwdriver in hand, one leg dangling off a barrel. "Relax~! I'm just checking how this ship handles power! The wiring's ancient — but interesting!"
Fisher Tiger sighed heavily. "You'll blow us all up at this rate."
Lilith winked. "Then I'll rebuild you! Maybe with better parts~!"
"Touch my drums and I'll vaporize you," Enel threatened, sparks crackling.
Lilith smirked. "Oh, how shocking."
Bullet, polishing his gauntlet nearby, muttered without looking up, "If she survives the week, I'll be impressed."
Hiyori laughed softly, covering her mouth. "She's lively, isn't she?"
Okiku smiled. "Lively, yes… but I fear for the ship."
Up on deck, Mihawk stood by the railing, silent as ever, the wind teasing the brim of his hat. His sharp eyes tracked the dark sea, but his mind was elsewhere.
Ada approached, her footsteps soft but steady.
For a long moment, she simply stood beside him, the two watching the endless horizon in silence.
Finally, Mihawk spoke. "You told Vegapunk the world is sinking."
Ada nodded once. "I did."
He turned his gaze to her. "You believe it."
"I don't believe," she said quietly. "I know."
The wind tugged at her cloak. "When Roger reached the end, when he read the final poneglyph… he laughed. Everyone thought it was joy. But it wasn't."
Mihawk raised a brow. "Then what was it?"
"Despair," Ada murmured. "Disguised as hope."
She looked toward the sea, her reflection rippling across it.
"He saw what would come — the truth buried beneath this world. Every island, every kingdom, all floating on borrowed time."
Mihawk's hand rested lightly on his sword hilt. "And that time's running out."
Ada nodded faintly. "The Void Century didn't just erase history. It erased the reason this world still floats."
He said nothing, but his silence carried weight. Then, after a pause, he asked, "And you? What do you plan to do with that knowledge?"
Ada's lips curved into a ghost of a smile. "What I've always done."
"Which is?"
"Stay ahead of the tide."
Down below, Lilith had somehow installed a propulsion booster on the back of the Oro Jackson — out of spare scrap metal, batteries, and "inspiration."
"This baby," she announced proudly, "will make us ten times faster!"
Fisher Tiger looked unconvinced. "Or ten times deader."
Enel hovered nearby, arms crossed. "You're insane."
Lilith pointed her wrench at him. "Correction — I'm a genius!"
The ship lurched suddenly — the booster sputtered, flashed blue, and exploded with a bang that rocked the deck. Smoke filled the lower cabin.
Bullet sighed. "That's it. You're banned from touching anything that moves."
Lilith coughed through the smoke, her hair singed at the tips. "Okay… maybe a little tuning's still needed…"
Hiyori giggled helplessly, while Okiku fetched a bucket of water.
Mihawk, watching from above, muttered, "I see the chaos follows us."
Ada's expression softened. "Chaos is the mark of life, Mihawk. Even in stillness, the world moves."
——————
Far away, across the Grand Line — on the metallic cliffs of Egghead Island — a silent figure stood before a massive observation screen.
Shaka, Vegapunk's second active satellite, watched the holo-projection of the sea. His voice was calm, digitized, and precise.
"She told you the world is sinking," he said.
Vegapunk, seated nearby, scribbled notes furiously. "Yes. And I can't dismiss it as superstition. The sea level fluctuations have been inconsistent for years — unexplainable even by tectonic shifts."
Shaka turned. "You intend to investigate."
"I already am," Vegapunk said grimly. "I've begun measuring the oceanic crust density beneath the Red Line. Something's moving down there, Shaka. Something vast."
"And you believe it's related to the lost weapons?" Shaka asked.
"Or the reason they existed," Vegapunk replied. "If the world truly is sinking, then perhaps those weapons weren't built to destroy — but to prevent."
Shaka crossed his arms. "You plan to send a reconnaissance probe."
Vegapunk nodded. "And I want you to oversee it. Discreetly."
Shaka's mechanical head turned slightly. "You think the World Government suspects something?"
"They will," Vegapunk muttered. "The moment I confirm Ada's theory, they'll move to silence it. That's why we need to stay one step ahead — as she does."
He glanced toward a still image of the Oro Jackson, captured from afar — Ada standing at the bow, her cloak trailing like a banner.
"She's dangerous," Vegapunk whispered. "But so is the truth."
—————
Back aboard the Oro Jackson, night had deepened. The stars shimmered faintly between clouds.
Lilith was fast asleep in the engine room, hugging a wrench like a pillow. Enel, still annoyed, floated above deck with crackling arms crossed, serving as both guard and lightning rod. Fisher Tiger sat near the mast, humming an old tune from the Fishman District. Bullet leaned against the railing, staring toward the horizon.
Ada stood at the very front of the ship again, wind catching her hair, the silver strands glinting under moonlight.
Mihawk approached quietly.
"She'll fit in," he said, nodding toward where Lilith slept below deck.
Ada smiled faintly. "So long as she doesn't blow up the ship."
Mihawk regarded her for a moment. "You seem calmer."
"I'm never calm," she said. "Just calculating."
He tilted his head. "Planning something again?"
Ada's voice was low. "Always."
She turned her gaze to the stars. "There's still one island that holds the truth. The one the world fears most."
Mihawk's eyes narrowed. "Raftel."
Ada nodded. "And everything begins there again."
The wind carried her words across the dark sea — words that even the waves seemed to hush for.
The world is sinking.
And she would be the one to stand above it.
——————
Meanwhile — Egghead Island, Observation Deck
Shaka's screen flickered, the feed of the Oro Jackson cutting out as the ship passed through a storm field.
"Lost signal," he said.
Vegapunk adjusted his lenses. "Let her vanish for now. Wherever she sails, history follows."
He looked toward the vast dark ocean outside his lab's glass walls, the faint glow of the Mother Flame pulsing in the depths below.
"I wonder, Ada…" he whispered. "If the world is truly sinking — then what lies beneath the sea?"