Reaching the Grand Line

"Usopp is an idiot~"

"Who did you just call an idiot, idiot!?"

"Haa!? Did you just call me an idiot!?"

While Luffy and Usopp were yet again pressing their foreheads against each other in anger and Yuna casually stowed away her Tone Dial, the entrance to the Grand Line finally became visible.

It was a pathway of water that was actually flowing up Reverse Mountain, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"No way, the water is actually flowing up the mountain. How is that possible?"

Hearing Sanji's question, everyone kept quiet for a moment before Nami started speaking.

"A current strong enough to pull the water up the mountain and into the Grand Line. How incredible. Now I'm really looking forward to what kind of place the Grand Line is."

"Shishishi, let's go!"

"Now that we are about to enter the Grand Line, how about a little celebration?"

As those words left Sanji's mouth, he placed a barrel in the middle of the deck and put his foot on it with a wide smile.

"To find the All Blue."

"To become the King of the Pirates."

"To become the world's greatest swordsman."

"T-To become a great warrior of the sea."

"Hehe, to become the Harem Queen."

Following Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and finally, Yuna all put their feet on the barrel while declaring their goal. Although Yuna's goal felt a little... off, no one commented on it.

"Shishishi, OFF TOO THE GRAND LINE WE GO!!!"

As Luffy's roar echoed over the Going Merry, the crew of six raised their legs and smashed the heel of their feet onto the top of the barrel, destroying it in the process and allowing the crew to drink the alcohol within.

After the crew was done with their little celebration, the Going Merry continued sailing toward Reverse Mountain, but suddenly, trouble appeared.

"There is a problem! The current is too strong, and I can't move the rudder!"

Usopp's panicked yell echoed over the Going Merry, drawing everyone's attention. Usopp was currently holding the ship's rudder, and despite leaning his whole weight into it, it didn't move a single centimeter.

Seeing that, Nami's eyes widened in shock as she quickly analyzed their current course, causing her to panic as well.

"This is bad. If we continue riding this current without deviation, we're going to crash into the Red Line!"

"Let me help you, Usopp!"

The moment Nami announced the danger they were in, Sanji instantly sprung into action and wanted to help Usopp pull on the rudder while Luffy prepared himself to use his rubber body as a cushion.

However, before anyone else could spring into action, the ship briefly shook before her course changed.

"Mah, let me get this one."

Yuna's lazy voice was heard, gathering everyone's attention. Looking at her, everyone saw that Yuna currently had one hand on the ship's reeling, and from that hand, a single string of ice was moving downward into the sea.

From the place the ice touched the sea, it quickly froze, turning large patches of the sea into ice, except for a single canal that redirected the current perfectly toward the entrance of Reverse Mountain, allowing the Merry a smooth passage.

The moment the Merry safely entered the pathway, Yuna's ice melted, leaving no proof of her ability behind.

Silence briefly covered the Merry's deck, but moments later, excitement broke loose.

"Damn, that was so cool!"

"Awesome, shishishi~"

"YOU ARE THE BEST, YUNA-CHWAN~"

"*Sigh* Thanks for that, Yuna. To think we almost sunk before we even could reach the Grand Line."

While Luffy and Usopp had stars in their eyes due to Yuna's action, Sanji instantly started fawning over her, while Nami sighed in relief.

"I see, so you have finally started falling in love with me, Nami."

"Sure, sure~"

'Hehe, seem...'

[Before you say anything else, I would like to let you know that that answer was sarcasm.]

'... I... I knew that.'

[Sure you did.]

Just like that, the crew safely entered the passage, guiding them to the top of Reverse Mountain, and a few minutes later, they finally reached the peak of the mountain, where the water streams from the Four Blues met and flowed into the Grand Line.

The Going Merry safely entered the waterway flowing into the Grand Line, but as she was sailing downward, a rumbling could be heard in the distance.

"Did you hear that?"

Hearing Yuna's question, everyone kept silent for a few seconds, allowing all of them to hear a distance rumbling echoing over the sea.

No one had a clue what kind of thing they were hearing, but they could at least confirm that it was getting louder.

"What is that!? There is a huge wall blocking the exit of Reverse Mountain!"

Drawn by Usopp's panicked yell, no one bothered about the strange rumbling sound and focused on the entrance to the Grand Line, where, indeed, some massive black thing was blocking their path.

While everyone was dumbfounded by that, not entirely sure what they were supposed to do, Yuna squinted her eyes while she focused on her senses.

Second later, her eyes widened in surprise as she realized what was blocking their path.

"That's not a wall. That's a massive whale!"

"""""WHAT!?""""""

Obviously, the crew was shocked by that revelation while simultaneously realizing that the loud rumbling they could hear very clearly by now was the roaring of the whale blocking their path.

As the Merry was getting closer and closer to crashing into the whale, everyone initially panicked about what they were supposed to do to not crash into the massive whale at high speed, but Yuna's leisurely voice quickly reminded them that there was no problem.

"Seriously, that is the third time I have to save the ship today. We really aren't off to a good start, are we?

"Shishishi, isn't it fine? After all, it went well every time."

Hearing Luffy's carefree answer, Yuna smiled wryly as she yet again created ice underneath the Going Merry, gently allowing the ship to sail past the massive whale blocking most of the path.

Unfortunately, before the crew could be happy about passing past the whale, it opened its mouth, resulting in ridiculous amounts of water flowing in its mouth, pulling the Merry along.

"Y-Yuna, can you do something!?"

"Mhh? You want me to cut it?"

"C-Cut it!? Can you even do that!? No, that's not important right now! Can't you use your ice again!?"

"Mhh, not really. I could use my ice to somewhat control our course within the existing currents, but currently, all the currents are going into the whale's mouth.

I could surround the ship's hull with my ice to make it bigger, but I doubt it would help."

Seeing that the Going Merry was slowly getting dragged into the whale's mouth, Nami asked Yuna to do something with her ice, but unfortunately, the situation wasn't the same as before, where they could move with the current.

"Then cut it! CUT IT!!!"

"Nah~"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY 'NAH'!!!"

Watching Nami getting more and more agitated, the rest of the crew decided not to comment any further. From their perspective, they were certain Yuna had some kind of plan. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so relaxed.

Well, Zoro and Sanji thought so, while Usopp had already fainted out of fear, and Luffy was only laughing in excitement, looking forward to whatever kind of adventure was about to come.

However, aside from Yuna having some kind of plan, he also was wondering if Yuna really could cut such a massive creature. He, himself, doubted that he was capable of doing so, after all.

'Just how good is she with the sword?'

Unaware of Zoro's thoughts, Yuna raised her hand to pacify Nami and resumed speaking with a calm voice.

"Calm down, Nami. There is more to this whale than meets the eye. My senses are telling me that there is something rather interesting further ahead in the body of the whale.

Nami wanted to argue further, but seeing the confident look on Yuna's face, she could only give up. Additionally, since Yuna had already used the word "interesting", she could also feel Luffy's eyes basically shining in anticipation due to what was about to happen.

"Well, that being said, we should at least wear some protection while going in."

As Nami was groaning due to Yuna's sexual innuendo, the ice started covering the bottom of the Going Merry, protecting it with a thin layer of ice.

"After all, we don't want any stomach acid or other bodily fluids penetrating Merry."

The urge to smack Yuna for continuing her nonsense briefly overcame Nami, but she managed to push it back, as Yuna's words, albeit a little twisted, were indeed correct.

Just like that, the Going Merry continued moving through the giant whale's body, and to everyone's surprise, they suddenly found themselves in what appeared to be an open space under the sky, and there was even a small island with a house on top of it.

"So COOOL~"

Luffy was instantly amazed that there was an apparently open space within the whale. However, Yuna quickly noticed that the sky was merely painted on the walls, making her chuckle in amusement.

Suddenly, a giant squid rose from the sea, but before it could do anything, multiple harpoons pierced through it, pretty much killing it instantly.

Following that, the body of the giant squid was pulled toward the island, where the harpoons came from, drawing everyone's curiosity.

A few seconds later, an old man wearing feathers on his head exited the house and pulled the squid toward himself while intensely glaring at the crew.

"..."

""""""...""""""

"..."

""""""...""""""

And then he sat down and started reading a newspaper.

"SAY SOMETHING!!!"

While Sanji was losing his temper, the old man briefly glanced back at the crew, resulting in Usopp shaking in his boots.

"D-Do you want a fight!? I-I'm warning you we have a canon!"

"Don't use it, or someone might end up dead."

Hearing the old man's words, Sanji felt some pressure, causing him to loosen his tie instinctively.

"Ohh? And who would that be?"

"..."

""""""...""""""

"..."

""""""...""""""

"Me."

"YOU!?"

Yet again, the old man and the crew were engulfed in a staring contest, but the moment the old man claimed that he would be the one dying, Sanji's temper finally went overboard as he prepared himself to attack the old man.

However, before he could do so, Zoro pulled him back and started talking himself.

"Now, now, no need to get angry. Hey, old man, who are you, and where exactly are we?"

"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking for someone's name?"

"Mhh? Oh, I guess that's right, I'm..."

"I'm Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes. I'm 71 years old, a Gemini, and my blood type is AB."

Before Zoro could get his introduction out, Crocus started giving an info dump about himself, completely ignoring what he had told Zoro previously about introducing himself first, causing Zoro's anger to spike.

"No one minds if I cut him, right!?"

"Now, now, calm down, Zoro. Let me talk with him; I know how to deal with shameless old man."

Before Zoro could commit murder, Yuna stepped in and pulled Zoro away. She was just about to start talking to the old man when he resumed speaking.

"You are wondering where this place is? First, you trespass in my private resort, and then you even start mouthing off to me with an attitude. Where do you think this is? The belly of a mouse? In case you want to get out of here, there is the door; you can leave at any time."

As Crocus finished speaking, he pointed toward a certain direction, where a door looked like it was floating in the sky due to being surrounded by the sky that was drawn on the inside of the whale's stomach.

While everyone was dumbfounded due to there actually being a door outside, Yuna turned around with a smug expression on her face.

"See, I made him tell me everything we want to know about."

' ' ' ' ' How was that your doing!?' ' ' ' '

As these words passed through everyone's mind, they decided not to comment any further, while everyone realized Yuna's method of dealing with the shameless old man: You needed to be shameless yourself!

However, suddenly, everything started crumbling, causing the sea of stomach acid the Merry was in to become chaotic. Simultaneously, Crocus stood up from his seat and looked at the walls of the whale's stomach in concern.

"O-Old man, what is going on!?"

Hearing Nami's question, Crocus briefly wondered if he should answer her or not, but in the end, he concluded that he might as well do so.

"This whale has started bashing its head against the Red Line."

Hearing Crocus's words, Yuna nodded in understanding. When they were coming down Reverse Mountain, she noticed that the whale's head was covered in deep scars. Considering it was currently bashing its head against the Red Line, she didn't need to be a genius to figure out where those scars came from.

"I see, so it's in pain."

Uttering a short sentence, the rest of the crew nodded in agreement while Crocus ignored the Strawhat Pirates and jumped into the whale's stomach acid and swam toward one of the ladders fixed to the wall of the whale's stomach.

Seeing his actions, most of them wrongly assumed that he planned to kill the whale from the inside, while only Yuna noticed that he was deeply concerned about the whale's wellbeing.

However, while the whole place was shaking and tilting, another door on the walls of the whale's stomach suddenly opened, revealing two goofy figures that stumbled out of it, holding a bazooka each.

However, rather than consciously going through the door, they stumbled through it due to how unsteady the footing within the whale was due to it rampaging around.

So, rather than doing whatever they planned to do, the duo tripped, resulting in both of them falling toward the stomach acid below them.

Seeing that, Luffy briefly thought about the situation before making a decision, stretching his arms to catch both of them and drag them on board the Merry.

"Mhh? Why did you pull them in, Luffy?"

Hearing Zoro's question, Luffy tilted his head in confusion before simply shrugging his shoulders.

"Felt like it."

Getting a very "Luffy" answer, Zoro only shrugged his shoulders, no longer bothering about the situation.

Before the duo that got just smashed onto the Merry deck could react, two predators had already zeroed in on them, causing two shadows to loom over them.

"Greetings, beautiful miss. Would you like some tea? How about some snacks? Just say the word, and I'll prepare whatever you want."

"Hello, beautiful. Look at us; half of my hair matches the color of yours. I have to say, yours has an especially smooth and gorgeous blue color. That being said, since we are clearly made for each other, how about a date?"

[Oh? How come you didn't invite her into your harem yet?]

'Meh, she has a somewhat noble demeanor. If she is a stuck-up princess or something like that, I have no interest, so I'll have to feel her out first.'

Meanwhile, the blue-haired woman had no idea what was going on. She expected to fall into the whale's stomach acid, but somehow, she landed on the deck of a ship.

And then, before she could even regain her bearing, two people, a woman, and a man, suddenly started hitting on her, confusing her even further.

That being said, there was only one thing she could say about the duo's advances.

"The f*ck?"