Before the colossal castle gates at the heart of the silent world.
On the cliff of the platform.
The boy's words left the girl stunned.
From the previous conversation, Kuina had initially thought Kota was advising her not to set her sights too high.
But now...
Gazing at the boy's determined, expectant, and encouraging eyes, Kuina's lips slowly curved upwards, and the light in her eyes converged to an extreme at that moment.
She said nothing, merely nodding silently.
"I will achieve it."
"Achieve what Kota desires."
"Because I have always stood by your side!"
The unwavering trust from her beloved filled Kuina with strength.
The path to becoming stronger was inherently far from smooth, fraught with all sorts of difficulties. In this regard, Kuina was undoubtedly fortunate to have met Kota.
On this path of strengthening, with the help of Kota, who was like a cheat, she, from childhood to adulthood, only had to do one thing: maintain unwavering resolve.
This was because all the stumbling blocks that stood in her way to becoming stronger had been completely cleared by Kota.
As long as her resolve remained unbroken, Kota could enable her to continuously grow stronger, to the strongest they envisioned.
Kota was confident in his ability to achieve this.
That was why he hadn't dissuaded Kuina from setting her sights on him, but instead, urged her to surpass her past goals and truly stand beside him.
Half a day later.
The Thousand Sunny, after circling around, once again entered the galaxy world that resembled a starry sky.
Against the current, no longer moving at its initial leisurely pace, the Thousand Sunny, under Kota's control, furled its sails and transformed into a flying sword, soaring through this starry galaxy.
Upon seeing the galaxy world again, Fede and Crisna could only sigh with wonder.
By now, the two had completely believed that the boy truly had the ability to get them out of here, and so, deep within their amazed gazes, was a profound expectation for the outside world and the future.
While the encounters with the void beasts had elevated their horizons to a level they had never imagined, they both knew that the future belonged to these young people before them.
It was only these young people who could break free from their world and venture into the vaster expanse of the cosmos.
Though their hearts burned with passion, their bodies, long since dilapidated, could no longer realize the ambitions that had just begun to bloom within them. While regrettable, it was not without solace.
At least they were the first in this world to know of the stars, to know of the vast world beyond their own; they were frogs that had leaped out of the well, were they not?
Turning left and right, following the path they had taken, the Thousand Sunny sped forward.
Soon, they arrived at the location of Fede and Crisna's ship. Without lingering, for neither were people of idle talk.
After all, they had already bid farewell to the past. Moreover, Fede and Crisna were merely guests on the ship and did not possess the standing to invite the host to stop specifically for them.
Upon learning that they were inside the body of a void beast, Kota did not rashly pierce through the space. He knew that doing so might lead them to appear outside the void beast's body.
Furthermore, he was unsure if his current strength was sufficient to breach the void beast's body.
Even if he managed to break through, it did not necessarily mean they could return from there.
It was crucial to remember that the void beast's body resided in the dark world, which was fundamentally different from the real world. Who knew where the outside world was? If they emerged too far from reality, it would be a grave predicament.
Danger was not an immediate concern; after all, he was a part of space itself. Though the omnipresent spatial turbulence was perilous, as long as he did not actively seek it out, his spatial perception would prevent him from encountering it.
However, if the distance was too great, even he would require considerable time to return, let alone with the Thousand Sunny.
Therefore, after brief consideration, he decided to retrace their steps.
As for venturing to other worlds from within the void beast's body...
Even if the void beast were connected to other worlds, they could not depart at this moment.
After all, there were still many people waiting for him in the One Piece world.
The promises he had made would not be abandoned because of this unexpected incident; it was not his nature.
Not long after, they arrived at the location where Kota and the others had initially entered.
Gazing at the galaxy that stretched down from the void above, Kota stood at the bow of the ship and directly retracted the countless layers of space enveloping his body.
Following this, a special energy fluctuation emanated from his body, spreading outwards.
Kota's own aura was too minuscule for a being like the void beast; so insignificant that it would not even truly reveal its form.
But the Other Shore was different.
Leveraging the power of the Other Shore, Kota's form at this moment was imbued with an indescribable, unfathomable divinity that seemed to imprint itself upon the souls of all beings.
Boom! Boom!!
"God, God, God..."
Even without knowing the nature of the power Kota emanated at that moment, Fede and Crisna involuntarily knelt down.
They prostrated themselves on the ground, gazing at the silver-haired figure standing at the bow of the ship, who, in their eyes, glowed with radiance, their eyes filled with fervor.
At this moment, the only adjective that came to their minds to describe the silver-haired figure was "god."
"The Other Shore~"
Ah Hua and the others, who were aware of the existence of the Other Shore, did not fare as poorly as Fede and Crisna, but their gazes towards Kota involuntarily carried a hint of fanaticism.
"Will it come out like this?"
Kota murmured, looking up at the void.
"It will."
The voice of the Other Shore came from Kota's left shoulder.
"The void beast does not care about anything in this world, but there is one thing it will certainly care about, and that is the power of faith."
"Frankly, I don't know what effect the power of faith has on it. For a being as great as it, since its birth, it has been immortal and indestructible. Is there anything else they would care about?"
"What do they care about?"
As the void, which had drastically changed immediately after he retracted his space and released the aura of faith from the Other Shore, spread out, a glint of brilliance flashed in Kota's eyes.
Though he did not know the magical effects of the power of faith, he knew it was a power born from the spiritual will of intelligent beings.
What effect would it have?
What effect would it have on the immortal void beast?
With this thought, Kota's eyes suddenly lit up.
The Other Shore, as a god, like most gods.
From their inception, they existed on a higher plane and naturally would not care about the miracles of life, which were, in essence, the birth of intelligence.
The answer to the void beast's pursuit of the power of faith was actually quite obvious.
It was the pursuit of intelligence!