"Why! I prepared the ship, so why do I have to go scout the situation! You guys fly faster than I do." On the sea, Queen, transformed into Tropius, flew beside the small boat. He had been sent to scout the nearby sea area, and he was quite disgruntled about it.
"Mr. Kaidou is the captain, and Lord Arceus can't fly yet. I need to take care of Lord Arceus. If you don't go, who will?"
"What about that guy King?"
"How much space does he take? How much space do you take? Besides, King has to steer the ship. Don't you think that once you fly, the whole boat becomes more spacious? If you had prepared a bigger ship, this wouldn't have happened!"
Queen lingered by the boat's railing while Shaina stood nearby, arguing with him.
"And didn't you just say you wanted to try out your new ability? What a great opportunity, go on."
Kaidou showed no intention of intervening in Shaina and Queen's bickering. To him, this was normal. He also had to admit one thing: of all the people present, Queen took up the most space. Once he flew, the ship became not only more spacious but also faster.
Queen flapped his leaf-like wings and soared into the sky. He needed to grasp his new body's capabilities quickly, and so occasionally, attacks would fall from the sky from the small boat below.
"Speaking of which... where exactly is this place?"
Looking at the endless sea, Arceus wanted to find out which sea it was, the Four Seas or the Grand Line, and if it was the Grand Line, whether it was the first half or the latter half.
At this time, Roger hadn't become the Pirate King, but many strong individuals still roamed the sea. The adversaries encountered in different sea areas varied, so attention was necessary.
With their small boat's capability, as long as they were not in the New World, they could pretty much travel anywhere freely.
"Sorry, Lord Arceus, we don't know where we are either. We were captured near the Shampodi Islands, but the location of the laboratory is unknown."
"The research institute was on the Red Earth Continent. We came directly down from the Red Earth Continent. This is the South Sea, and the direction we're heading is the Windless Zone."
After flying around, Queen returned and provided Arceus with the results he wanted to know.
The Grand Line and the Red Earth Continent divide the world into four parts like latitude and longitude. On either side of the Grand Line lies the vast Windless Zone, beneath which is the nest of the Sea King Type, the largest threat to ships on the sea.
The only way for common pirates to enter the Grand Line is to ride the counterintuitive currents up Inverted Mountain.
For a group that can fly like them, Inverted Mountain was no longer a necessary option. Crossing the Windless Zone was more convenient for them.
This was also a way to leave the Grand Line. Inverted Mountain was a one-way street, and there was no underwater tunnel like Fishman Island. It wasn't easy to enter the Grand Line, and leaving it was equally challenging.
If ordinary people had money, they could travel via Mary Geoise to reach any location in the Four Seas, but this required changing ships, a privilege pirates did not have.
For pirates wanting to leave the Grand Line and return to the Four Seas, they either had to abandon ship and climb up from Inverted Mountain, evading the World Government's watchful eyes to return to the Four Seas, or they had to cross the Windless Zone.
The Windless Zone doesn't always mean certain death. As long as a ship has other power sources and enough luck to avoid areas populated by Sea King Types, they can still return safely.
The World Government and the Navy's decision to let troublesome pirates enter the Grand Line without setting up fortresses at Inverted Mountain and Shampodi Islands to block them might be for this reason.
Compared to the vast Four Seas, the Grand Line is much smaller. Although it has more strong individuals, the foundation of the World Government and the majority of tax providers are the civilians, who outnumber the population of the Grand Line.
Disruptors leaving the area might even be beneficial, allowing them to concentrate efforts against them more effectively.
This could be one reason, but ultimately, it was a decision made by the World Government.
However, the World Government's actions had nothing to do with Arceus. He noticed another matter: Queen, and not Kaidou, was giving directions.
"Kaidou, what's going on? Don't tell me even Queen knows where John is."
Ever since Kaidou mentioned seeing a plate in the Rocks Pirates' treasure vault, he had only wanted to find John quickly.
Even if Kaidou couldn't defeat John, it didn't matter. Once within a certain range of the plate, he could make it return to its place.
The missing power made things inconvenient for him now. He couldn't even scratch his back.
Moreover, the special ring on his waist, known as the "Thousand Cosmos Bracelet," was part of his power, as in the legend, Arceus was a creature with a thousand arms.
The good news was that the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet wouldn't impede his movements. Although it seemed incredibly sturdy, it could actually be controlled. For instance, if he wanted to lie down, the Thousand Cosmos would soften instead of getting stuck and rigid.
Summoning the power of the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet likely required four Plates. This number would enable him to harness transformation and flying powers. If he directly found the Mind Plate, all the better.
There was a one in sixteen chance that the plate in Captain John's treasure was the Psychic Type's magical plate. He had already paid this plate's "salary," dawdling wasn't an option.
"Of course, Queen doesn't know. I also said that I don't know where he is right now. We need to recruit some people first, or else too much will fall on us. Don't worry; the guy's nature won't keep him in the Four Seas.
Back then, due to a chance to 'make big money,' those guys gathered together. I can confirm two things: that legendary treasure still hasn't been found, and it's definitely in the Grand Line.
That guy John is very greedy; he won't miss this."
To prove this point, Kaidou spoke to Queen, "Queen, hand me a Radio Snail."
After taking the Radio Snail handed by Queen, Kaidou dialed a number.
"Buru Buru Buru~ Buru Buru Buru~"
After a while, the Radio Snail changed its appearance, and a female voice came through.
"Ma ma, ma ma~ Kaidou, you brat actually called me. Such a rarity. So many years without news, I thought you'd perished at Divine Valley."
"Quit joking, Linlin, I wouldn't die in a place like that. I just have a question for you. You should know where that guy John ran off to, right?"