POWAAAA...
I was busy for past few days, that is why I was not able to upload anything.
.
.
Can someone please suggest some proofreading sites or apps that are free. I really need it, mine is not working anymore.
.
.
I am going to make Yuji a little overconfident and then break it all down during his encounter with Crocodile.
.
.
Attendance Please:
--------------------
After befriending Laboon, Luffy did what only he would do, he painted his Jolly Roger boldly across the whale's forehead. Then, with that familiar grin that somehow conveyed both childish mischief and absolute certainty, he told Laboon the one thing that would truly make the whale listen.
"If you hit your head on the Red Line again, the painting will be erased. So, you can't do that anymore, understood?"
Laboon's eyes widened. The great whale let out a low, rumbling cry that vibrated through the water and resonated in everyone's bones. For fifty years, this creature had known only grief and solitude. Now, a rubber boy had given him something to protect.
Crocus stood apart from the scene, tears slipping down his weathered cheeks. He had waited decades to see Laboon choose something other than pain.
The moment passed as the Log Pose on Nami's wrist finally locked onto the first island in the Grand Line.
As they prepared the Going Merry for departure, Crocus pulled Nami aside and handed her several leather-bound volumes, their spines worn and cracked with age.
"Geological surveys of the Grand Line," he said, pressing them into her arms. "Current patterns, seasonal island classifications, magnetic anomaly charts, your log poses won't tell you everything. These waters lie, girl. Best you learn to spot the signs."
Nami held the books as if they were made of gold, which, to her, they might as well have been.
Then Crocus turned toward his two captives, still bound and looking deeply regretful for every life choice that had led them here. His face settled into a flat, unreadable expression.
"You know what? Just take these two with you and leave them on the next island. I don't want anything to do with them."
"Huh, you sure?" Nami's merchant instincts kicked in immediately. "You could just hand them over to the Marines!"
The temperature around the two captives dropped several degrees. Sweat beaded on their foreheads with almost comical speed.
"No, no, sis… please don't do that… we beg you…" Vivi pressed her forehead to the ground, her voice cracking with genuine terror.
"Yeah, we promise we won't harm the whale ever again," the orange-haired man, wearing that ridiculous prop crown, nodded frantically. "Heck, we won't even come near the Twin Capes."
Nami studied their bowed forms, then looked at her crew. One by one, they shrugged, a collective whatever.
Luffy spoke up, as casual as ever. "It's okay. They can come with us."
The words landed with the weight of a royal pardon.
"Well, you heard the captain," Nami said, crossing her arms and letting sternness creep into her voice. "Now thank him for not dropping you in the middle of the sea."
The two captives swiveled toward Luffy and bowed so low that their foreheads nearly touched their knees. "Oh, great captain, thank you for your generosity!"
Luffy's laughter rang out across the water. "They're funny."
--------------------
The Going Merry caught the wind as her sails unfurled, and the Grand Line welcomed her with open arms.
Behind them, Laboon's farewell bellow rolled across the waves, deep enough to resonate in the chest. The crew waved back until the whale, the lighthouse, and the twin capes all blurred together into one shrinking silhouette.
Crocus watched from his perch until the little caravel became a mere speck, then faded into a memory.
"So that's the boy whom destiny has chosen."
He tilted his head back, studying the mid-afternoon sun as if it might hold the answers. A strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Let's see if Vergil's and Shanks's plans work."
--------------------
The Grand Line revealed its true nature within hours.
One moment, the summer heat pressed down like a heavy blanket. Then, without warning, winter bit into their bones. Snow swirled where sunlight had danced just moments before. Then came spring humidity. Then it shifted back again. The sky couldn't make up its mind, and the ocean remained indifferent.
"God damn it… it's freezing!" Nami huddled in the dining area, layered in winter clothes, with Wasuke's journal spread open before her. One eye tracked the Log Pose's steady needle while her fingers traced Yuji's late grandfather's handwritten observations. Without this journal, she realized, they would already be lost.
Sanji moved around the kitchen, steam rising from a pot of soup he was preparing, for Nami and the two temporary freeloaders who had made themselves very small and very quiet in the corner.
Outside, on the main deck, the snow fell in sheets so thick that it seemed the world had forgotten what color was.
Yuji and Zoro stood in the middle of the deck, topless and sparring.
Steam rose from their skin as snowflakes landed and immediately melted. Zoro's muscles strained against the cold, his movements slightly slower than usual, his breath coming in controlled bursts to conserve heat.
Yuji, by contrast, moved as if the cold were merely a suggestion. His late grandfather had drilled endurance into him until extreme weather no longer bothered him.
On the other side of the ship, a different type of training was underway.
Yuji had assigned Usopp the task of helping Luffy train in Observation Haki using the same method he had described back in Syrup Village.
So now, Luffy sat blindfolded on the deck, his rubber limbs hanging loosely at his sides, while Usopp circled him wielding a sturdy stick. The sniper's strikes came from unpredictable angles, high, low, diagonal, and sometimes two in quick succession from the same side to exploit pattern recognition. Each hit landed with a satisfying thwack.
Then they switched. Luffy, still grinning despite the welts forming beneath his shirt, took the stick while Usopp tied the blindfold over his own eyes. The sniper's natural instincts flared immediately, that sixth sense that had always made him an exceptional shot now sharpening into something more deliberate. He couldn't see the strikes coming, but he could feel them: the shift in air pressure, the whisper of intent.
'Observation Haki,' Yuji's words echoed in his mind. 'You already have it, Usopp. You just don't know how to listen to it yet.'
Soon, Sanji joined the sparring on the forward deck. The cook and swordsman faced their first mate, three bodies moving through the blizzard in a dance of violence. Zoro's three-sword style carved arcs through the falling snow. Sanji's kicks exploded with enough force to momentarily part the air, while Yuji moved between them like water finding cracks in stone.
Their first voyage through the Grand Line was going smoothly, almost impossibly so. The extra preparations Yuji had demanded were paying off, and Nami, using Wasuke's journal as her guide, navigated the treacherous waters with a confidence that would have otherwise taken months to develop.
--------------------
Three hours passed amid shifting climates. Temperatures rose and fell with unpredictable swings. The crew changed clothing more frequently than they rotated through watch shifts.
Then, abruptly, the world settled.
Clear skies stretched overhead as the late afternoon sun began its slow descent toward the horizon. Half an hour remained until sunset. The ocean lay flat and calm, glittering with golden light.
Everyone gathered on the main deck; their bodies relaxed with anticipation. Land was close now.
The two freeloaders huddled on the far side of the deck, speaking in hushed tones, their eyes darting nervously toward the crew.
Zoro caught their glances and decided he had had enough of their mystery.
"Hmmm… you know, we never asked your names, did we?"
The duo stiffened. Vivi's fingers twitched at her sides. "Y-Yeah..."
Zoro's eyes sharpened. His hand did not move toward his swords, but the implication was clear. "So, what are you waiting for? An invitation?"
Sweat beaded on their brows under the intense scrutiny of the entire crew.
"I—I'm Mr. 9." The crown-wearing man's voice cracked slightly on the number.
"And I'm Ms. Wednesday," Vivi said, her codename slipping out with a weak smile that fooled absolutely no one.
Usopp hummed from his spot near the railing, one eyebrow raised. "Those are quite strange names. It almost sounds like…"
"…codenames," Nami finished the thought, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
The duo looked away with the theatrical innocence of guilty children.
"Shishishishishi… they are really weird!" Luffy announced from his perch atop the Merry's figurehead, apparently finding this the highest form of entertainment.
Yuji ignored the exchange entirely. He leaned against the ship's railing, his gaze fixed on the distant shape emerging against the horizon.
Sanji stood beside him, a cigarette trailing smoke that the wind swiftly carried away.
The island grew closer, its details sharpening with every passing minute. Cactus-like rock formations jutted from the coastline, distinct and unmistakable.
"YAAAHOOOO!!! MY FIRST ISLAND IN THE GRAND LINE!!! LET'S GOOOOO!!!!" Luffy's enthusiasm exploded across the deck like a bomb. He practically vibrated, his rubber limbs stretching with excitement.
And then, splash!
Everyone turned toward the sound just in time to see two figures cutting through the water at an impressive speed, swimming away from the Merry with the desperate energy of people fleeing a burning building.
Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday are already halfway to shore.
"Well," Usopp muttered, blinking at their retreating forms, "that was anticlimactic."
"Forget them. They're not our responsibility," Nami said, turning away as her attention returned to the approaching island. "We're about to reach land."
Zoro hummed, still watching the two swimmers disappear into the shadow of the coastline. "We should keep our guard up."
"Huh?" Luffy, Usopp, Nami, and Sanji all turned to him with varying degrees of confusion. Yuji merely raised an eyebrow.
"Those two… their names sounded familiar like someone I met a few weeks ago before I joined the crew," Zoro said with conviction. "His name was Mr. 7. He said he worked for some organization called Baroque Works and came to recruit me."
The crew's expressions shifted from confusion to alertness.
"Everyone who works for that organization uses codenames to conceal their identities: numbers for men and days of the week for women."
A beat of silence passed as the implications settled over them.
"That's why I'm telling you all to keep your guard up. No one truly knows what kind of organization Baroque Works really is."
Nods all around. Even Luffy, whose attention span was famously brief, seemed to file this information somewhere important.
They turned as one toward the island.
--------------------
The Going Merry slipped into the river channel, leaving the open sea behind.
A thick fog enveloped the ship, completely blinding the crew to their surroundings.
"God damn it! Where the hell did this fog come from?!" Nami exclaimed, trying to see through the thick white void.
"Hey," Usopp's voice cut through, strange and uncertain. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Sanji squinted into the fog.
"It's like someone is whispering."
"Uhh… Usopp, are you sure about that?" Luffy tilted his head from his spot at the bow. "I can't hear anything, and I'm sitting at the front."
"Yeah, I'm one hundred percent sure, voices, all around us."
The crew exchanged glances, though the fog rendered them invisible. But before unease could take root, Yuji spoke.
"That's his Observation Haki."
All eyes turned toward the voice of their first mate.
"Usopp, as a sniper, has a natural talent for Observation Haki. Now that he's started training it, he's beginning to tap into what was already there," Yuji said in a matter-of-fact tone, as if explaining weather patterns. "If he says he's hearing voices, that means there are people around us on the riverbank."
Usopp's eyes widened with wonder. "Whoa… so this is what it feels like, to really use Observation Haki?" He pressed a hand to his chest, as if he could feel something working inside him. "It's… unique. Like hearing a song before it starts playing."
Zoro looked down at his hands. "With my strong physique, I should be able to unlock Armament Haki first, right?"
Yuji shrugged. "Probably. You, Luffy, Sanji, and I are physical fighters; it's a logical progression."
Luffy rubbed his chin with exaggerated wisdom, nodding like a philosopher who had just solved a great puzzle.
Sanji looked down at his feet, already imagining what it would feel like to coat his legs with Haki.
"Aniki?" Nami's voice came from closer than expected. She had moved toward Yuji's voice in the fog. "Can you teach me too? This Haki thing? I don't want to be..." She hesitated. "Deadweight."
"Don't call yourself that," Yuji responded quickly and firmly. "You're our navigator. Our entire journey depends on your skills. That's not deadweight, that's essential."
He paused, then spoke again.
"But yes, I'll train you. I was already planning to teach you how to use a bo staff more proficiently. You already use one, so you have the foundation. What do you say?"
Nami's silhouette nodded vigorously in the fog. "Don't worry, Aniki. I won't disappoint you."
Yuji's acknowledgment came as a nod she somehow sensed. Then his voice sharpened. "Now, stay sharp. The fog's about to clear."
As if obeying a command, the white curtain began to thin. Shapes emerged from the murk, buildings, docks, figures, a shoreline crowded with people.
The fog vanished entirely, and they saw clearly.
The entire town had come out to greet them. Men, women, children, and elders were packed along the shore from every angle, waving flags and banners, their faces beaming with enormous smiles.
"WELCOME, DEAR PIRATES!"
"WELCOME TO THE GRAND LINE!"
"WELCOME, BRAVE WARRIORS OF THE SEA, TO OUR BEAUTIFUL TOWN!"
"WELCOME TO THE TOWN OF CELEBRATION, WHISKY PEAK!"
"HURRAY FOR THE HEROES OF THE SEA!"
The cheers rose in a cacophony that should have been heartwarming, should have been.
Usopp waved back at the crowd, his smile stretching into something that almost looked genuine. "Well, that's definitely not suspicious."
"This is fishy," Zoro said, his hand resting on Wado's hilt.
"I have to agree with the marimo." Sanji flicked his cigarette away, watching a group of women who were cheering and waving directly at him. They were beautiful. They were enthusiastic. They were, he realized with a connoisseur's eye, terrible actresses. "Ain't no way they're welcoming a pirate crew like we're celebrities. I call cap."
He studied the women with the clinical detachment of a surgeon. "I can tell when women are showing genuine emotions and when they're faking it. And them?" He gestured with his chin. "Bad actors. They could fool any low-grade simp, but not a professional missionary of love like me."
The entire crew stared at him with expressions of profound exhaustion.
Nami sighed. "Well, whatever. But I can see it too. This is one hundred percent a trap, some kind of setup for rookie pirates who have just entered the Grand Line." She glanced at Zoro. "Nice call earlier about keeping our guard up."
"So, what should we do?" Usopp asked.
Yuji answered without hesitation, "For now, let's play their game. Go with the flow until the Log Pose resets and points to the next island."
Then he turned toward his captain. "Oi, Luffy—"
The rubber man turned to meet his first mate's gaze.
"—just do what you usually do."
Luffy's grin slowly spread across his face as he fully grasped what Yuji meant. The rest of the crew exchanged confused glances, but Yuji simply waved them off.
The Merry bumped gently against the dock, and the crew disembarked into chaos.
Immediately, the townsfolk swarmed around them, firing questions from every direction about their journey and adventures. The Straw Hats dispersed into the crowd, each playing their assigned role in this peculiar theater.
Sanji found himself surrounded by adoring women, fully committed to his role, his charm turned up to the maximum. Usopp launched into one of his epic tales, arms gesturing wildly as he described battles that had never happened, with the conviction of a man who had lived them. Luffy drew a crowd of teenagers who gasped and laughed at the impossible elasticity of his body, which he demonstrated with gleeful abandon. Nami was encircled by heart-eyed men showering her with compliments, which she accepted with calculated grace.
Only Yuji and Zoro remained apart.
The townsfolk gave them a wide berth. Yuji's tall, intimidating posture and Zoro's piercing, deadly glare created a perimeter that no one dared to cross. They stood together amid the sea of celebration like rocks resisting the tide.
Then a man approached.
He was tall, with hair styled in an elaborate Victorian judge's fashion, tight rolls on either side framing a genial face. He walked toward the crew with the practiced ease of someone accustomed to public appearances.
"Err… ahem! Ma-ma-ma-ma~~!! Welcome, young heroes." His voice carried the theatrical flair of a stage performer. "My name is Igarappoi, and I am the mayor of this small town."
He spread his hands in a welcoming gesture.
"Now, you might be a little confused, perhaps even surprised, about why we are welcoming a pirate crew with open arms. You see, Whisky Peak is the first town in the Grand Line when entering through Reverse Mountain. As such, we welcome all sailors, Navy or Pirate, to this beautiful town and host a grand feast to celebrate their achievements. After all, entering the Grand Line is a significant milestone."
His arms spread wide, encompassing the decorated buildings, the cheering crowds, and the banners fluttering in the evening breeze.
"My town, Whisky Peak, is a bustling hub of ale brewing and music. We pride ourselves on our hospitality and our top-quality ale, of which we have an ocean. We would love to hear the tales of your adventures. Would you be so kind as to join us for a celebration in your honor? Ahem... Ma-ma-ma-ma~~!"
Silence.
The Straw Hats stared at him with blank, unimpressed expressions.
"Is something wrong?" Igarappoi's theatrical smile wavered at the edges.
"Dude," Usopp deadpanned, "did you really have to give us that entire long explanation?"
"Oh! Well, my sincere apologies for wasting your time." The mayor executed a bow so elaborate that it was almost a performance.
Luffy chuckled. "Shishishishi... I like this guy."
Nami stepped forward, cutting through the theatrics with her characteristic pragmatism. "Say, Mister Mayor, how long will it take for the Log Pose to reset and record the next island?"
The man hummed, tilting his head. "Log? Oh, young miss, please set aside such trivial matters for now! Rest from your travels!" He then turned to address the crowd, his voice rising. "All right, everyone! Prepare for the festivities! Let us pay tribute to the adventurers!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Nami exchanged a glance with her crew, one that conveyed entire conversations without a single word.
The sun slipped below the horizon.
Whisky Peak's celebration began.
--------------------
Like the chapter, then please share you powerstones with me.
See you in next chapter....