Without his small boat, relying solely on his feet to pave an ice path across the sea surface was certainly far less convenient and fast than traveling by ship.
After nearly ten days, Lorne finally caught a distant glimpse of that strange island, which seemed to be composed of massive cactus peaks.
One of the initial starting points for the seven routes of the Grand Line, Whiskey Peak.
However, he hadn't been idle during these ten days.
Aside from traveling, he had spent most of his time studying the Haki training notes gifted to him by Crocus.
Combining this with his personal experiences with Armament Haki from previous times, he had finally grasped the threshold, successfully condensing that formless power and coating the surface of his body with it.
Although it wasn't yet proficient, at least when facing a Logia Devil Fruit User, he was no longer completely powerless.
The feeling of becoming stronger was always pleasant, but he still had no clue regarding Observation Haki.
Lorne guessed that this was likely because he had long been accustomed to using magic to probe every movement in his surroundings, and this method of detection was fundamentally different from the perception of listening to the voice of all things that Observation Haki entailed.
Although the two had a certain similarity in effect, it caused his body to subconsciously rely on the old mode, making it difficult to grasp the new method of perception.
Perhaps he needed a battle with sufficient pressure to force himself to break through the bottleneck?
Lorne shook his head and temporarily cast this thought aside.
He wasn't some battle maniac, nor did he have a masochistic tendency to go out looking for trouble.
In the first half of the Grand Line, there were only a handful of existences that could pose a threat to him; it was better to let such things take their natural course!
With a few flashes, his figure arrived near the port of Whiskey Peak across the ice.
From afar, a scene of boisterous welcoming came into his view.
A group of guys dressed in ordinary civilian attire were waving flags, enthusiastically cheering at several pirate ships that had just docked, offering them fine wine and delicacies.
Lorne stood on the sea surface in the distance, watching this comical scene, feeling a wave of speechlessness.
Just how stupid did one have to be to believe in such a "pie falling from the sky" kind of good fortune?
Would a town unconditionally welcome pirates who burn, kill, and plunder?
Even if those pirates were used to lording over their own territories, they shouldn't lack even this basic level of vigilance!
Lorne felt that for guys who could fall for such a trick, it was a miracle they had even survived coming out of the Four Blues!
It seemed the Marine Headquarters branches in the Four Blues were even more useless than he had imagined, unable to even clear out such trash.
Meanwhile, inside the tallest cactus building on Whiskey Peak, on the second-floor terrace of a restaurant with a wide view.
The person in charge of this place, the Billionaire Elder, was fawning with a smile, cautiously entertaining two uninvited guests.
"My two lords, please try our special cactus liquor again; this is a delicacy you won't find anywhere else."
The Billionaire Elder smiled and personally poured wine for the two.
Mr.5 and Miss Valentine had already been staying here for a while, and their faces clearly showed a hint of irritation and impatience.
Miss Valentine had no interest in the liquor on the table; she twirled her small parasol and complained out of sheer boredom.
"This is truly boring to death. How long does the Boss intend to make us stay in a place like this?"
Mr.5 appeared even more irritable; he pushed the wine glass away, letting the liquid spill onto the table, and let out an impatient huff.
"Who knows! It's simply a waste of our precious time!"
The Billionaire Elder bowed humbly, yet cold sweat slid down his temples.
"High-Rank Agent sirs, please wait patiently a little longer. The entrance to the Grand Line is just like this; no one can say for sure..."
Just then, a subordinate in charge of lookout rushed up.
"Report! The port... it seems a new prey has appeared at the port!"
Immediately perking up, he adjusted his collar and asked with the air of a superior:
"How many people? What size is the pirate crew?"
That lookout swallowed his saliva, his voice carrying a trace of trembling.
"Just... just one! It seems... it seems he drifted in from the sea, but..."
"But what 'but'!" Mr.5 slammed the table and roared impatiently, "Speak if you have something to say, don't stammer!"
The lookout was so scared he shuddered, almost kneeling on the ground, and stammered out the second half of his sentence.
"But... that figure, it seems... it seems a bit like the one on the bounty poster... the 'frost fairy' Lorne!"
The moment the words fell, the air on the entire terrace froze.
The smile on the Billionaire Elder's face stiffened, and he stood motionless, as if he had been struck by a paralysis spell.
Mr.5 and Miss Valentine exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion and doubt in the other's expression.
They had been busy handling the onboarding procedures for Baroque Works for some time, and having just become High-Rank Agents, they had been sent here immediately, so they really didn't know much about the latest news and intelligence from the outside world during this period.
"The 'frost fairy'?" Miss Valentine tilted her head. "Sounds like a woman's nickname. Is it interesting?"
"High-Rank Agent sirs..."
The Billionaire Elder's voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing together, and cold sweat had soaked his back. "That monster... I... we... we simply cannot afford to provoke him!"
His voice was filled with extreme fear, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"We must evacuate immediately! We have to leave right now..."
Bam! With a loud crash, Mr.5's palm slammed heavily onto the tabletop, and the solid wooden table instantly filled with cracks.
He grabbed the Billionaire Elder by the collar, lifting him up, his eyes filled with contempt and disdain.
"Trash!"
He tossed him onto the ground casually and let out a cold snort.
"A newcomer who just entered the Grand Line has scared you like this? And the opponent is only one person? Do you know what the four words 'High-Rank Agent' actually mean? Hey?!"
Mr.5's voice was full of offended rage; he felt his dignity had been provoked by this coward.
The Billionaire Elder, thrown to the ground, now seemed as if all his strength had been drained, along with all his awe.
He suddenly pushed himself up from the ground, and that face, which usually wore a fawning smile, was now left with only twisted fear and despair.
"Of course I know!!!"
A hysterical roar exploded from the depths of his throat, the volume so great it even drowned out the clamor of the banquet downstairs.
Mr.5 and Miss Valentine were both stunned for a moment by this sudden outburst.
The Billionaire Elder, eyes bloodshot, pointed at Mr.5 and screamed with all his might.
"Do you even have any idea what kind of monster that guy is?!"
"That monster is a terrifying existence who dared to block the Celestial Dragons in broad daylight in Loguetown and took the initiative to kill a Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral! He is a guy with a bounty as high as 250 million Berries!"
The Billionaire Elder's voice became shrill and piercing due to his excitement.
"Facing such a monster, how do you expect us to fight?! How could such a monster possibly fall for our trick?! Even if we sacrificed everyone on Whiskey Peak, we couldn't possibly harm a single hair on his head!!!"
This despairing roar contained his endless fear, and the voice penetrated the restaurant walls, clearly reaching the ears of every "resident" near the port.
The originally boisterous welcome banquet instantly went quiet.
The bounty hunters who were clinking glasses with the pirates had the smiles on their faces instantly freeze.
After a deathly silence, the crowd suddenly exploded into chaos.
Countless terrified screams replaced the previous laughter, and the grand welcome banquet instantly turned into a desperate flight for survival.
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