Chapter 61: Diving.

"What happened?"

"Is it freezing?"

"Kuzan is here?"

Garp was stunned, and Kizaru looked just as surprised. The other Marines, whose hearts had been heavy with fear moments ago, suddenly relaxed. Just three seconds earlier, it felt like they were staring into the abyss—but now, it was as if they had been pulled back from the brink. The emotional whiplash was intense.

"Is it Admiral Aokiji? It has to be Kuzan!"

"That's right!"

Excitement rippled through the Marines again.

"Not Kuzan," Garp said firmly, shaking his head. "Aokiji's been on leave at Marineford. I just saw him this afternoon."

"Indeed," Kizaru added. "I had dinner with him today. He never left headquarters."

Mole had only just called to report that Akainu was defeated and sent into the sea. Now the Navy had been ordered to rescue him—but the call didn't clarify Vane's abilities. What was shown wasn't just a simple Paramecia-type burst fruit, but a freezing power almost identical to Aokiji's Ice-Ice Fruit!

Garp and the others hadn't anticipated that this chilling force was also his ability.

The explosive Devil Fruit… paired with this mysterious ice ability… Could it be two Devil Fruits?

The idea was terrifying.

Throughout history, no one had ever successfully wielded two Devil Fruit powers. Those who tried died as a result. The concept of wielding two abilities was unthinkable. In all known understanding of Devil Fruits, such a thing simply didn't exist. No one dared to attempt it.

"Could it be some divine ability?" Garp muttered.

"Impossible," he quickly countered himself. The thought was too crazy to be real.

Kizaru speculated, "Maybe it's the woman beside him. She's rumored to be a traitor to the World Government. But according to her last known data, she wasn't a Devil Fruit user, and her power level was under 700. Even if she consumed a fruit recently, it wouldn't explain this level of mastery. And this freezing… it's too refined. What kind of power is this?"

Garp frowned. "So, it's not her. Then what is it?"

The air grew colder. Ice had overtaken the sea. The waves were frozen solid, a blanket of white stretching across the ocean. Even the warship's hull was frozen beneath the waterline, halting its movement completely. Even if the ice underneath was broken, the wall of frigid water around them spanned hundreds of meters—an impassable blockade. By the time they navigated around it, Vane and his crew would be long gone.

They had no choice but to give up today.

And Vane… Vane would pass right under their noses into the New World.

"What a terrifying freezing power," Garp muttered.

"So, is this also Vane's ability?" Kizaru asked.

"I don't know… but it's frightening. Could someone else on board have this power? Maybe a new crew member we're unaware of?"

---

For coated ships, one simply had to expand the coating membrane, allowing them to dive beneath the sea. The membrane forms a protective bubble, shielding the ship from the crushing pressure and cold of the deep ocean.

There were two paths from the first half of the Grand Line to the New World. The safest was the one sanctioned by the World Government—passing through Mariejois atop the Red Line. However, doing so meant giving up your ship at the entrance. That path was reserved for the Navy, merchants, and nobles. Pirates had no place there.

The second path was beneath the Red Line—through the 10,000-meter-deep seas to Fish-Man Island. A terrifying descent plagued by crushing pressure, Sea Kings, and untold dangers. But it was the only route pirates could take to reach the New World.

In the heart of that perilous descent, Vane activated the ship's coating mechanism. A clear membrane expanded, encasing the vessel like a transparent sphere.

"Sir… that's incredible," Kalifa said, her eyes wide as she looked at the ice-covered ocean surrounding them. This overwhelming power—it felt divine. Perhaps even gods were no more powerful than the man she followed.

The Lord never failed to surprise her.

She didn't question where his power came from. She knew better than to ask what shouldn't be asked. All that mattered was following Vane. In her past life, as a government spy, she had been bound by endless rules and feared silencing if she leaked a secret.

Now, she was free—and that was enough.

"Prepare to dive," Vane ordered.

"I'll take the helm!"

Moments later, the King of the Deep dipped beneath the water's surface, diving into the sea like a leaping fish. In the blink of an eye, it vanished beneath the waves—heading toward Fish-Man Island.

---

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