The crew continued their journey toward Fish-Man Island, the ship sinking deeper through the calm blue water. Bright fish swam past the bubble, lighting up everything around them.
"So why do we need to go to Fish-Man Island?" Amy asked, leaning on the railing.
Emma walked over to the two of them.
"Okay, listen up," she said.
Noah turned slightly, giving her his attention.
Emma crossed her arms. "To get to the other side of the Red Line, you have two options. One, climb over the Red Line." She shrugged. "Which is impossible for us since we don't have wings or a death wish."
Amy nodded. "Yeah, I'm not climbing a giant wall just to fall and die."
"Right," Emma continued. "Option two is the only real path: go under it. And the only way under the Red Line is through Fish-Man Island. It's like a giant tunnel at the bottom of the sea. Once we get there, we pass through and boom...we're on the other side of the World."
Amy blinked. "Ohhhhh. So that's why."
Emma nodded. "Yup."
She looked around at the little glowing fish drifting past the ship. "You know even though you sent us back to Azura… we didn't stay there at first."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "You guy's didn't?"
Emma shook her head. "No. Amy and I went all over the place searching for you. Every island, every port, every dumb rumor someone shouted in a bar about the Destroyer. And when we couldn't find anything… when we couldn't even hear your name anymore…" She let out a breath. "We decided to head back to Azura."
"We thought maybe you'd somehow return there."Amy added.
Emma continued, "That's when Haru taught me about Haki."
Noah looked at her. "Haru did?"
"Yeah." Emma placed a hand on her hip. "He said that if I'm going to search for you, I better learn something useful."
Amy smirked. "She took that personally."
Emma smiled. "Maybe I did."
"While my father was showing Emma the basics of Haki, I was busy pushing myself, trying to manifest my Beast Haki completely." Amy said.
"You and your dad are awesome," Noah replied.
Emma walked up to noah and stood beside him with her arms crossed, watching the deep currents swirl around them.
"Noah," Emma said softly, "things are going to get harder from here on out. Our enemies will be stronger.… and I don't want us to ever split up again."
Noah nodded. "Yeah. I don't want that either."
Emma gave him a small smile. "Good. Because you still have that crazy dream of yours."
Amy leaned in. " What crazy dream?"
Noah smirked. "My dream is to be the king of the world."
Amy blinked. "King? World!."
Noah laughs. "But I don't think that I can do it without a real crew. Which is why my only goal for now is to create the strongest crew."
Amy looks at Noah. "The strongest crew, I like that."
Emma walks back over to steering wheel. "Anyway… once we reach the other side of the world, we need to be careful. From what I've heard, there are four pirates who rule the New World."
Noah raised an eyebrow. "Four?"
"They call them the Four Emperors," Emma said. "Each one is insanely strong."
Noah smirked. "Okay then. Once we get to the New World… let's defeat an Emperor."
Amy sighed. "We might actually die this time!"
Suddenly.
A huge shadow rose beneath them.
A giant sea monster slammed into the bubble, shaking the entire ship. Amy fell backward.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" she yelled.
"That thing has WAY too many teeth!" Emma shouted, gripping the steering wheel hard. "Noah, do something!"
The monster roared and charged again.
Noah stepped forward with a calm smile. "We won't lose anymore."
"Wait! Don't use your power! The bubble might pop!" Emma shouts.
Noah shook his head. "Don't worry. This attack only hits what I want it to."
The giant sea monster hurled itself at them.
Noah unsheathed his sword.
"Armament Haki-Dawn."
A soft click echoed as he sheathed his sword.
"That takes care of that," Noah said.
Amy blinked. "What do you mean!? You didn't even DO anything!"
Noah chuckled. "I did."
A moment later.
The giant sea monster burst into a thousand tiny pieces, scattering like dust through the water.
Amy stared in shock. "WHAT!? HOW!? You didn't even move!"
Emma sighed. "He moved. We just didn't see it."