East Blue, Near the Grand Line, Aboard the Going Merry
Luffy and the others were discussing matters in the ship's cabin.
The guiding light from the lighthouse ahead had gone out completely after some time. Fortunately, with Nami there, those completely incompetent in navigation like Luffy and the others didn't end up lost at sea in the stormy, thunder-and-lightning-filled weather.
"Listen up, everyone. If we continue forward, we'll reach the entrance to the Grand Line," Nami said very seriously to Luffy and the others. "But if we keep going like this, we'll run into the legendary mountain."
Hearing Nami's words, Tom and the others tilted their heads in unison. "Mountain?"
"That's right. Because the Grand Line's entrance is a mountain." Nami's forehead was covered in black lines as she looked at the five standing in a row, arms crossed, necks all turned left together. She hadn't expected them to understand. Placing the sea chart on the table, she pointed to a spot. "Look at this. I originally thought it unlikely, but the place illuminated by the guiding light is indeed Reverse Mountain, located on the Red Line."
Everyone gathered around the table, looking where Nami pointed on the sea chart. To help them understand, Nami deliberately marked the Merry's current location.
From the chart, if the Merry continued sailing, they would indeed, as Nami said, hit a giant mountain. Luffy and the others thought the Merry would really crash into Reverse Mountain.
"Don't worry, the ship won't crash into the mountain. Look, at this point…" Nami moved her jade-like finger slightly, pointing to another spot on the chart.
"That's way too exaggerated! How can a ship climb a mountain just because there's a canal?" Usopp was the first to question Nami, imagining the Merry going upstream on a canal slanted up Reverse Mountain. He genuinely felt this was impossible.
"No, I think it's not impossible for a ship to climb Reverse Mountain via that canal." Tom didn't doubt Nami's words. He remembered an amusement park ride called a log flume from his past. With enough power, a boat could climb upward.
"Has your fisherman's brain finally opened up?" Sanji asked, looking at Tom in surprise. He had expected Tom to oppose Nami again, maybe even annoy Nami, and was ready to kick him. Who knew Tom would rarely agree with Nami, leaving Sanji feeling oddly deflated.
In Sanji's view, whatever Nami said was right. Anyone who opposed her was an idiot. Thus, Usopp was unfortunately included in the idiot category.
"You don't think the things drawn on this map are wrong? Do you have some idea?" Nami, seeing Tom not only not question her but agree with her, was very happy. A smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"It's pretty simple, right?" Tom stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Think about it. Normally, it's almost impossible for a ship to climb a canal up Reverse Mountain against the current. So I think… the canal should have an upward-rushing river. For our ship, that would be downstream, right? Then couldn't the ship climb up?"
Tom's idea was indeed simple and direct. By eliminating what he thought was impossible, what remained was possible—a straightforward logic. If a ship couldn't climb against the current, it might climb with it, if the river had enough force to push upward.
"Can what you're saying really happen?" Usopp felt Tom's words sounded even more ridiculous than his usual bragging. A downward-tilting canal should have a downward flow—the opposite of Tom's claim.
"I don't know either. I was just guessing." Tom scratched his head. He was only proposing a possibility; how could he explain the principle to Usopp?
"That's too careless! If things go wrong, our ship could be destroyed. How would we get to the Grand Line then?" Usopp said. His concern wasn't unreasonable. This was a critical moment for entering the Grand Line; they couldn't afford the slightest mistake.
"Wait…" Nami's beautiful brows furrowed. She initially also thought Tom's idea impossible. But carefully examining the sea current markings on the chart, her brow tightened further, her expression growing increasingly focused, giving her a different kind of charm.
Unknowingly, Nami, deep in thought, pushed aside Tom, who had been chatting with Usopp, and sat down on the chair. Her bright eyes were fixed on the chart as she took out a pen and began drawing.
Tom was chatting cheerfully with Usopp when Nami slapped him flying. He tragically crashed into Usopp and Sanji in front of him, and the three fell together.
Tom was about to settle accounts with Nami, but seeing her completely absorbed in thought, head down, pen moving nonstop, clearly fully focused, he gave up the idea.
"I get what you're saying now! We're going to ride the ship up the mountain!" Luffy finally figured it out after thinking hard and said excitedly. "A ship climbing a mountain… What an incredible mountain!"
"That map was taken from Buggy, right? Can we trust it?" Zoro voiced his opinion. "Why do we need to head for the entrance? Can't we just keep sailing and enter the Grand Line from anywhere?"
"No, you're wrong there!" Luffy loudly pointed out Zoro's mistake.
"He's right. Why take a detour when there's a shortcut?" Tom agreed with Luffy. Turning to Zoro, he added, "I bet you take detours all the time—that's why you're such a direction idiot."
"What did you say?!" Zoro instantly snapped and immediately started fighting with Tom.
As Tom and Zoro started brawling, Luffy shouted, "You're both wrong! Going through the entrance is cooler! So we have to enter through the entrance!"
Nami, who was on the verge of figuring things out, could no longer tolerate the noise from Tom, Zoro, and Luffy. Her face darkened as she stood up.
Nami delivered several iron-fisted strikes, slamming Tom, Zoro, and Luffy flat on the floor. "So noisy! Quiet down!"
Sanji and Usopp, who were looking outside through the cabin door window, were lucky enough to escape.
"Look, it's clearing up."
"Yeah, it's so calm outside."
Usopp and Sanji both noticed the weather change.
"What? How can this be? We should be able to ride the storm to the Grand Line's entrance!" Nami, having mostly figured out Reverse Mountain's secret thanks to Tom's accidental hint, was in a good mood—until this new situation appeared.
"The weather's great!" Luffy and the others walked onto the deck, looking at the clear blue sky—a world of difference from the earlier storm. They chatted happily, but Nami's expression grew darker and darker.
"Oh no! We've entered the Calm Belt!" Nami glanced at the Straw Hat pirate flag on the mast—completely limp, not fluttering at all. Her face changed drastically as she cried out.
"Calm Belt?"
"What's that?"
"It's still storming over there."
"But it's strange—there's not a bit of wind or rain here."
"Never mind that. Such nice weather—I want to fish."
Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Zoro, and Tom showed not a trace of tension. Instead, they were relaxed. Tom even took out his fishing rod.
Luffy, drooling, told Tom to catch lots of fish. Sanji reminded him to watch the surrounding waters—being near the Grand Line entrance, they might catch fish from other seas, like the delicious Elephant Bluefin from before.
Zoro, seeing Tom ready to go all out, told Usopp to bring up a few barrels of liquor. Maybe having another party before entering the Grand Line wasn't a bad idea.
Seeing those guys acting so relaxed made Nami's anger instantly max out.
Nami, face dark, shouted at them, "Don't act so relaxed! Lower the sails and start rowing! We need to get back into the storm's path as soon as possible!"
Seeing Nami truly furious, they all froze.
"Why are you so nervous? This is a sailboat—why row?"
"Why go back into the storm on purpose?"
Luffy and Usopp bombarded her with questions.
"Don't ask so much! Just listen to me!" Nami's face darkened further as they responded verbally but did nothing.
"Nice weather like this is rare."
"Yeah, I was all ready to fish."
"Nami-san, what kind of fish dishes do you like?"
Zoro, Tom, and Sanji leaned by the railing, greeting Nami cheerfully as she approached.
Seeing their attitudes, Nami's anger completely exploded.
Bam! Pang! Dong! Kuang! Thud!
Nami's face was terrifyingly dark as she flattened all five. "Let me make this clear! This ship is already drifting south!"
"Have we already entered the Grand Line?"
"That's great!"
"Woo! I've finally reached the Grand Line!"
"Huh? This place looks just like the East Blue."
"We should make tonight's dinner really lavish!"
Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, Tom, and Sanji were all excited.
"You idiots! If it were that easy to reach the Grand Line, everyone would be here!" Nami finally snapped. Her terrifying shark-teeth grin appeared as she roared at the five idiots. "Listen up! We must enter the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain for a reason! The Grand Line is flanked by two seas—windless seas known as the Calm Belt!"
"So 'windless' means no wind."
"No wonder I feel a bit hot."
Nami bared her sharp teeth at Luffy and Tom. "That's not the point! Simply put, these seas—"
Before she could finish, the ship shook violently, as if from an earthquake.
"What's happening? An earthquake?" Usopp screamed in panic.
"Idiot! We're at sea!" Sanji snapped.
Before anyone could react, the ship lifted off the water, landing on the head of a creature dozens of times larger than the vessel. At the same time, the surrounding sea erupted as countless bizarre, gigantic creatures surfaced.
This sudden change left them all sweating cold, mouths agape. Usopp fared the worst—he foamed at the mouth and fainted instantly.
"What I was trying to tell you is… this is a Sea King nesting ground. And these are the giant ones…" Nami slumped on the deck, hugging the mast tightly. As she said this, she truly began to cry.
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T/N :
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