Chapter 99: The Great Storm!

BOOM! Thunder rumbled menacingly!

Fat raindrops began to hammer down from the sky!

Within five minutes, the sea surface started to churn violently.

A fierce wind swept in without warning!

The massive warship pitched and rolled, waves driven high by the wind, crashing against each other.

"Quick, quick! Everyone grab hold!" Jacks, a crew leader, shouted urgently, his face grim. The strong wind drove rain and spray into his mouth.

"Ptui!" Spitting out the mixture of seawater and rain, Jacks squinted, the force of the wind and waves making it impossible to fully open his eyes.

The storm! It was here!

Wilder's expression was grave, but his body remained planted on the deck as if rooted to the spot.

However, as the ship's rocking grew more violent, even he couldn't maintain perfect balance. Swampy tendrils erupted from his sides, anchoring him to the ship's railing and mast.

The others weren't faring much better. Even gripping onto objects tightly, the escalating wind and waves made it increasingly difficult to hold on.

"Ah! Help me!" A crewman's hand slipped, and his body was instantly snatched up by the gale, flung towards the sky.

In an instant, a thick, arm-like tendril of swamp shot upwards, just managing to wrap around the crewman's ankle and yank him back down!

"Th-Thank you, Boss!"

Wilder paid him little mind; the situation was grim. The storm showed no signs of weakening; instead, it grew more ferocious, more intense with each passing moment.

Claire gritted her teeth, her knuckles turning white where she clung to the railing. Her clothes were completely soaked, though thankfully her leather attire prevented any wardrobe malfunctions.

CRACK! A bolt of white lightning struck the deck! Instantly, a jolt shot through everyone! A numbing sensation followed, causing their grips to loosen simultaneously!

Including Claire, everyone was thrown from their footholds, tossed into the air by the furious wind!

"Aaaah!" Bacon's scream was the loudest! Claire's pupils contracted sharply. Ashin remained unnervingly calm, as if nothing out of the ordinary were happening. Yves, maintaining his characteristic coldness, spun upwards into the sky.

Swish!

Dozens of swamp arms flew into the air, instantly grabbing hold of everyone. But the next moment, the swampy appendages wavered precariously in the fierce wind, threatening to dissipate completely.

Wilder clenched his jaw, muscles bulging as he strained to maintain control, drawing the swamp—and everyone attached—back towards his body.

The crew landed in a heap on the deck. To prevent anyone from being thrown off again, a thick layer of swamp quickly spread across the deck, partially submerging everyone up to their waists.

But one crisis merely gave way to another. Just as Wilder had secured everyone, a colossal rogue wave surged towards them from the distance!

"Aah! We're gonna die, gonna die, gonna die!" Bacon shrieked, eyes practically bulging from their sockets as he clutched his head!

Wilder clicked his tongue in annoyance, his brow furrowed deeply.

In the blink of an eye, the giant wave was upon them! Its heavy shadow slowly swallowed the warship! An instant later, the towering crest began to crash down!

"Yves!"

Only when the wave loomed directly overhead did everyone truly grasp its terrifying scale. Wilder stared up at it, eyes wide with desperation, shouting Yves's name through gritted teeth!

A drop of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. A wave like this was no joke! If it crashed down on them, no one on the entire warship would survive! As for the slim chance of survival after the storm passed, Wilder refused to entrust his life to fate!

"I know," Yves's cold voice replied. He placed his hands flat on the deck. A thin, translucent film rapidly spread outwards from his palms, instantly enveloping the entire warship!

Hsssss! With a long, drawn-out inhale, Yves's eyes bulged, and his body began to inflate, his chest and abdomen swelling into a massive sphere!

Whoosh! As he exhaled, his torso deflated visibly, but in contrast, the film bubble around the ship rapidly expanded!

In moments, a membrane sphere formed, completely enclosing the huge warship.

The ship itself was too massive for the bubble to lift it clear of the water, but this was enough. Wilder's objective was achieved; he just needed the bubble to protect them. His only prior concern had been whether Yves's ability was strong enough to encompass the entire vessel, but it seemed he had underestimated him.

The wave crashed down heavily, instantly submerging the ship!

Wilder and the others felt a sudden sense of weightlessness, followed immediately by a disorienting, tumbling sensation.

The film possessed incredible toughness, but it wasn't enough to withstand such immense force directly. However, the sphere's shape allowed it to effectively diffuse the terrifying pressure.

Although the membrane sphere began to emit ear-splitting stretching sounds, it ultimately held firm.

The sphere was forced deep underwater by the wave's impact, plunging everyone into darkness, only to rapidly bob back to the surface. This violent cycle repeated – pushed down, then bouncing back up. The constant churning made everyone aboard violently ill, vomiting together on the swamp-covered deck. Even Wilder's face was tinged green as he fought desperately against the roiling nausea in his stomach.

An unknown amount of time passed. Eventually, the rain stopped, and the sky cleared…

On the now calm sea surface, a single sphere suddenly bobbed up. Pop! Finally reaching its limit, the bubble burst open.

On deck, everyone remained stunned and silent for a long moment. A single cough finally broke the spell, and instantly, an overwhelming sense of euphoria – the relief of having survived a catastrophe – washed over them.

"I… I survived?" Bacon mumbled, slumping against the mast, disbelief still clouding his dazed eyes.

"The hull is taking on water. Don't celebrate too soon," Ashin stated grimly, jumping down from the railing he'd apparently vaulted over. He was dripping wet, having clearly gone overboard to inspect the ship's condition.

"There's an island ahead," Yves added coolly. "It wouldn't be too late to head there while the ship can still move."

It was obvious they were no longer in the same sea region. The storm had carried them somewhere unknown. The current waters were unnervingly calm, a stark contrast to the raging tempest they had just endured. If not for the faint sea breeze, they might have thought they'd drifted into the Calm Belt.

At Yves's words, everyone roused themselves and looked into the distance.

Sure enough, about five or six hundred meters away, lay an island of moderate size. It was shrouded in a greyish haze, obscuring any details of its landscape.

Wilder stood at the bow, his gaze shifting from the hazy sky – the sun was not far from setting completely – towards the island. A frown touched his brow as a flicker of unease passed through him.

"Head for the island ahead," Wilder ordered decisively after studying it for another moment.

Regardless of his unease, landing was necessary. The situation left no room for hesitation; the ship was taking on water and needed repairs, which meant they had to reach shore.

The warship slowly made its way towards the island. An eerie silence seemed to have fallen over the sea since they entered this region; the journey proceeded without conversation.

"Does anyone know what sea this is?" Wilder finally asked after a long silence.

"No idea, Boss," Jacks, the experienced sailor, replied. "The East Blue is vast, much larger than the Grand Line. There are plenty of unexplored waters. This could easily be one of them." Wilder didn't refute his assessment; Jacks knew the seas as well as any pirate.

He was right. The East Blue was indeed enormous.