Chapter 589: Final Arrival! Landing in Alabasta! [3/10 Request Subscription]

The next day.

The sun shone brightly.

The sky stretched clear and boundless.

Golden sunlight spilled from the horizon, glinting off the sea surface in blinding flashes of gold, as if the entire ocean were covered in gold.

A gentle sea breeze drifted in.

Whoosh!

The calm sea surface rippled with waves and splashes, the currents colliding and producing crisp, melodious notes.

From afar,

a small sailboat gradually approached, cutting through the still sea like a blade, leaving behind trails of ripples.

On deck,

Lu En ended his day's monotonous cultivation.

He casually picked up a towel,

wiping away the sweat streaming down his forehead.

He lifted his head,

his gaze calm as he surveyed the surrounding seas.

The sailboat lay at the center of the ocean, with no reference points visible in any direction.

And this left Lu En unable to determine.

Which precise stretch of sea he currently occupied.

Relying solely on the direction indicated by the record compass…

He had set out from the Beck Islands, encountering no mishaps along the way, sailing "Zero Seven Zero" with perfect ease.

Therefore,

he cautiously deduced.

He was now very close to his destination: Alabasta.

"At most one day, and I'll reach Alabasta."

Lu En slightly narrowed his eyes, reaching a conclusion.

A light breeze stirred,

lifting his hair and bringing a cool sensation to his skin.

It had been one day since he left the Beck Islands.

Throughout that day,

he had not anchored at any island, but sailed steadily toward Alabasta.

As a result,

he was naturally not far from Alabasta.

He would reach his destination within a day!

Whoosh!

Lu En exhaled heavily, suppressing all thoughts from his mind.

He clenched his fists,

sensing the slight increase in his strength over these past days.

He smiled in satisfaction.

Though the improvement was minor,

fortunately,

he had plenty of time.

Day by day, his strength would rise without end.

His power would rise endlessly, without limit!

"It wasn't bad to have stumbled upon a Devil Fruit along the way."

Lu En lifted the wooden box in his hands, staring at the candle fruit inside.

Gradually,

his gaze shifted away from the Devil Fruit.

He lifted his head,

gazing up at the sky.

Visible to the naked eye,

the previously clear blue sky suddenly began drifting in thick, dark clouds.

Faintly,

a gloomy sensation emanated from the air.

Oppressive!

Like a prelude to some coming storm.

"Will a heavy downpour be coming?"

Lu En pondered.

During this time,

while sailing across this sea, he had rarely encountered such dramatic weather changes as heavy rainstorms.

But don't forget.

This is the Grand Route!

In this crisis-ridden area of the Grand Route, apart from the ever-emerging Sea Kings, the most likely cause of death for sailors is the unpredictable changes in weather.

Once caught in extreme weather, even the most experienced navigators are highly likely to face shipwreck and death.

Now.

Lu En is rarely about to encounter a storm.

This is the first time since leaving Marineford that he has faced such extreme weather.

"My luck has been quite good."

"Ordinary sailors navigating this sea encounter a storm every few days—pashidou society. But I, since setting sail, have only encountered one storm."

Lu En's mindset was calm and natural.

He felt no anxiety, no panic, no emotional turmoil over the approaching storm.

Next,

under his gaze,

the dark clouds gathering above him grew thicker and thicker.

Black, oppressive clouds blanketed the sky over the sea.

They had nearly completely obscured the sky over a hundred li of sea.

Even the sea breeze blowing in,

had grown bitterly cold.

Cold enough to pierce the bone.

"It's coming!"

Lu En slightly narrowed his eyes, sensing it in his mind.

As expected.

The moment he finished the thought,

the unpredictable weather here seemed to confirm his prediction.

Splash!

In an instant, torrential rain poured down furiously.

Wild winds howled,

lightning flashed and thunder roared.

Boom—

Rolling thunder echoed through the heavens, darting and circling wildly within the clouds.

Streaks of purple lightning, as thick as an arm, crashed down violently from the sky.

Deafening,

echoing across a hundred li of sea.

Under the awe-inspiring might of the thunder,

even some Sea Kings beneath the sea dared not surface, trembling in fear, hiding deep below, unwilling to anger the supreme heavenly power of this moment.

Thunder is the most feared force among all living beings.

All living creatures, from birth…

fear thunder.

This is a fear carved into the bone!

A dread that shakes the soul.