The storm showed no signs of stopping. Through the rain outside the window, Sage looked through the telescope towards the front left.
As they continued to sail, beyond the rain, a cloud-like object could vaguely be seen, and above the cloud layer, there was a half-egg shell-like outline visible.
It really looked like an egg head.
Lily unfolded stack after stack of sea maps, quickly pulled out a few for comparison, and after piecing them together, she glanced up at Sage and said:
"Slightly off-center of the Grand Line and towards the Wano Country position, direct southeast of Wano Country, it's indeed an undiscovered area."
Normally, sailing in the New World, aside from relying on Log Pose and Eternal Pose, there's basically no direction, much worse than the Grand Line.
Follow the sun?
Something not entirely feasible in the first half cannot be achieved in the New World.
Once the sun is obscured and there's no compass, where the ship reaches becomes completely unknown, not to mention one night; even an hour, if the route deviates, you could be completely lost at sea.
The islands currently recorded have all undergone long historical verification.
So despite how lively and exciting it seems with Sage here—the pirates conquering this island today, discovering that treasure tomorrow—the actual progress isn't that great.
Discovering an island seems quick, but it cost two warships and many subordinates for this, which only a pirate crew of this size can afford.
For an ordinary pirate crew, that would mean two pirate crews disappearing at sea, and news basically wouldn't spread.
Exploration and discovery in the New World is very dangerous, and it doesn't necessarily yield high returns since some islands may just be deserted.
Otherwise, Sage wouldn't be going to great lengths to exert himself in the North and West Seas, aiming to connect with Paradise.
Compared to the New World, the development and discovery in the first half of the Grand Line is much more advanced.
"It really is an egghead..."
Sage put down the telescope, a sudden red dot flashed in his eye, and simultaneously, Lily's eye also flashed a red dot, taken aback slightly, followed by Renedia, then Moriah, and finally all the officers in the captain's cabin had eyes flashing with red light.
"Sage..." Renedia turned her head to look at him.
"Ah... timing couldn't be better."
Sage walked towards the door, Lily followed closely, grabbing an umbrella, and when the door opened, Lily opened the umbrella, covering over Sage's head, avoiding the wind and rain as they reached the bow of the deck.
The fierce wind whipped their hair and clothes, but their posture remained remarkably straight, unaffected by the storm.
Sage wore a wicked smile, while Lily remained composed, Marika smiled as she held the umbrella, and Renedia, also under the umbrella, placed her hands behind her head, baring her teeth.
The other few remained in the storm, Moriah let out a sinister giggle, Weevil stood goofily behind Marika and Renedia, with Hawkins and Urouge standing side by side, the former casting a sidelong glance at the ship's side.
Meanwhile, Gin drew the cudgel from his back waist, the hand grasping the weapon blazing red hot.
"Master Sage, let me..."
Before Gin could finish speaking, Sage waved hand backward, "It's a rainy day, your abilities won't perform well, let's finish this quickly."
Rumble...
Just as he finished speaking, the sea surface suddenly experienced subtle vibrations.
The Death Star, which sailed steadily even in the wild storm, actually could feel the vibration...
Renedia raised her eyebrows slightly, ran to the rail to look at the sea, showing an expression of "just as expected," clicked her tongue, and said:
"This thing is quite sneaky, hiding beneath the sea!"
"Master Renedia!"
From the lookout tower above, several Navigators rushed out, faces pale, drenched in sweat, shouting, "Monster, monster!!"
Below the surface of the sea under the Death Star, a shark's mouth opened, its sharp teeth fully enveloping the giant Black Ship, even larger by a large margin.
The Death Star, much larger than a Navy battleship, in this shark's mouth, appeared like a piece of dark chocolate cake, ready to be swallowed in one bite.
As that subordinate screamed, the shark's teeth were even starting to surface, about to close in at the center, crushing the ship.
Yet none of the officers present showed any signs of panic.
It was just a slightly larger Sea Beast, nothing to fret over.
Sage extended a finger, and a mass of dark cloud stretched from the cloak on his back, instantly rising, merging with the storm clouds above.
He didn't even glance at the quickly closing shark teeth, and pointed his forefinger downwards.
"Thunder Ring."
Boom!!
Suddenly, the sky brightened, and a ring of lightning struck the sea around the Death Star, the blinding light making the subordinates at the lookout tower instinctively shut their eyes.
And as they opened their eyes, the huge shark head gradually emerged from the sea, allowing them to see a massive shadow from above, manifesting out of the sea.
A Navigator instinctively exclaimed, "No good! At this rate, the ship will..."
Just then, Marika handed the umbrella to Renedia, her figure flashed out from the ship's side, rushing towards the already exposed shark teeth, her Haki-covered hand gripping the tooth's tip.
Boom!
The explosive sound roared, and with a single-handed push forward, Marika not only easily snapped the tooth, but the transmitted immense force also shoved the entire shark's head backward, pushing it away from beneath the Death Star, parting the sea surface in a grand trench, mingling with wind and rain.