Before a red wall stretching from sky to earth.
The Freedom ignored the rapid rush of seawater, like a stone pier laid across the ocean, letting the surging currents crash against it without moving an inch.
The ship, now completely submerged in the mist from the red earth continent and the roaring sounds of the waves, was unaffected. The expressions on the faces of everyone aboard, however, remained unchanged.
Staring at the red earth continent, only a few dozen meters from the Freedom, Kong Tai looked up.
He knew that above it lay the Holy Land, Mary Geoise. Once he ascended, he could meet the world's ultimate secret, "Imu."
Just then, the clouds above began to churn as if disturbed by something. The head of a massive silver dragon slowly emerged from the clouds.
Only its head was visible, but the dark shadow in the clouds revealed the silver dragon's immense size. With the dragon's appearance, the roaring of the waves crashing against the red earth continent seemed to diminish.
At that moment, everyone on the ship tensed, preparing for battle.
They had seen this silver dragon before. If not for Kong Tai and its powerful, sun-like energy cannon, perhaps everyone on Coco Crux, except for Kuina, would not have escaped. They would have been wiped from existence, just like the half-vanished Coco Crux.
Seeing this silver dragon again, a presence that had long been a vague fear in their hearts, their immediate caution was understandable.
The dragon did not look at anyone else on the ship. As soon as it appeared, its dark red, vortex-like pupils locked onto the boy at the ship's bow, who was also looking up at it. Their gazes met, the boy's azure blue eyes meeting the dragon's crimson depths.
"Is it truly impossible to get out?"
Kong Tai murmured, looking at Uranus, who merely watched them without any discernible action. "I suppose so. You are a caged bird, after all. If you could escape, you would have done so long ago. Why would you trouble yourself to have the world's strongest come to your rescue?"
With that, Kong Tai chuckled, lowered his gaze, and retracted it. "No rush. I'll fulfill my promise, meet an old friend, and when the world is ready, we'll meet again."
As his words fell, Kong Tai extended his right hand and fiercely grasped the void in front of him. Then, to the astonishment of everyone, and the horror of Uranus, he tore it forcefully to the right.
*Riiiiip~*
A sound like tearing fabric echoed instantly throughout the sea, resonating within the souls of all living beings. At the same time, a transparent passage, like a water curtain cave, slowly appeared in front of the Freedom.
Gazing at the water curtain, everyone could clearly see the Sabaody Archipelago, which should have been on the other side of the red earth continent.
"This..."
Although they had witnessed many of Kong Tai's miraculous breakthroughs in the past two days, the appearance of this real, myth-like scene caused their minds to momentarily freeze.
Above, Uranus, observing the spatial passage before the Freedom, was first stunned, then its dark red pupils began to fluctuate violently. There was no fear within, only excitement.
As if sensing Uranus's excitement, Kong Tai looked up. His azure eyes seemed to pierce through Uranus's crimson pupils, seeing another, a similarly humanized pupil that mirrored Uranus. The owner of this pair of eyes seemed to know Kong Tai had seen her. Though no sound was transmitted, Kong Tai could feel the expectation within those pupils.
"What are you expecting?"
"Do you truly think I will save you?"
"Or do you believe you can suppress me, forcing me to save you?"
Shaking his head with amusement, Kong Tai withdrew his gaze. With a thought, the motionless Freedom began to move. It passed through the void torn by Kong Tai and slowly disappeared from view.
The inside of the void was not beautiful; rather, it was a dizzying, disorienting sensation. Upon entering, everyone on the ship felt as if they were floating and spinning uncontrollably. The pressure here was also completely different from the outside. Before anyone could fully process the experience, the Freedom emerged from the void, seemingly out of nowhere, on the other side of the red earth continent, and gently landed back on the sea.
The now-sober crew members quickly turned to look behind them. They saw a spatial passage that had become a mere line, rapidly closing like a closing door. In an instant, the line vanished, and all that remained before their eyes was red. It was the red earth continent, identical to the side they had just left. Had the direction not changed, they would have believed they were still in the same spot, having not moved at all.
Turning to look at the silver-haired youth standing languidly at the bow, drinking wine, everyone on the ship felt a sense of unfamiliarity. In the past, Kong Tai was strong, so strong they could only look up to him. But now... now, Kong Tai was so strong that they no longer even had the qualification to look up to him.
Kong Tai naturally felt the complex gazes from behind him, but he said nothing. If they were to follow him to the stars, the future voyages would undoubtedly bring them encounters with more legendary events and beings. These experiences would make them feel like mere ants. Without a firm heart, the more they encountered, the more self-conscious Ah Hua and the others might become, potentially losing their confidence altogether. Even knowing Kong Tai was their captain, their leader, he could not truly decide their future lives for them.
If they could not forge the will to be ants with the heart of a dragon before entering the cosmos, Kong Tai would consider not taking them. The strength, Kong Tai could now provide. Extracting the Devil Fruit powers from their bodies was effortless for him now. But as mentioned, these powers could not change Ah Hua and the others' innate potential, nor could they offer any mental enhancement. Replacing their Devil Fruits would only make them grow into inflated ants, but it would not change the fact that they were still ants. They might stand at the pinnacle of this world, but they would never break free from its constraints to truly become gods capable of traversing the stars.
Kong Tai did not expect them to reach the level of Kuina, who could break world constraints with her own will. But at least, they should strive to reach the level of an Admiral through their own efforts. After all, this was a world of spirit. As long as their hearts were strong and their will was firm, coupled with the experiences they had gained following him—broadening their horizons far beyond those of ordinary people in this world—and with Kong Tai's domain constantly providing them with advantages, if they still failed to meet Kong Tai's expectations, then he could only say they should remain in this world and be its "gatekeepers."