The sea finally stilled.
The thunder had rolled eastward, leaving behind a bruised-purple sky and the smell of rain and gunpowder.
Broken planks and bits of cannon drifted between the Ravenant and what was left of the Marine flagship.
On deck, Ash wiped the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.
The tachi, Mikazuki Munechika, hung at his side, still steaming from the clash. He drew one long breath, tasting salt and smoke.
Behind him, Zoro climbed back aboard using a severed mast as a ladder, still laughing, three swords slung across his back.
"You're bleeding all over my training ground,"he said.
Ash glanced at him. "You mean my ship?"
"Yeah," Zoro grinned, "same thing."
A low growl of thunder echoed somewhere far off, but the fight was done.
Marines were retreating or unconscious; even Darius Volt, battered but alive, was kneeling on his ruined deck, saluting in silence as the Ravenant turned away.
Nami stood near the helm, orange hair plastered to her face, checking the log pose on her wrist.
Her hands trembled slightly — part exhaustion, part adrenaline.
"Current's shifting,"
she said.
"We've got maybe five minutes before the tide reverses completely. If we miss that window, we'll get crushed against the mountain wall."
"Then we better not miss it,"
Ash replied, stepping beside her. He rested one hand on the railing, watching the enormous current that spiralled upward toward Reverse Mountain's mouth like a stairway to gods.
From the galley hatch, Reina Vale emerged, sleeves rolled, smoke still curling from her fingertips.
The air smelled faintly of caramelized sugar and gunpowder.
"Meals are half-cooked thanks to your fireworks, Captain," she said.
Ash grinned. "Perfect timing. I like my dinner dramatic."
She snorted and set down a tray of steaming cups — spicy broth, conjured from her Chef Chef Fruit.
"Drink. It'll fix the shakes."
Zoro downed his in one gulp and promptly coughed as steam blasted from his nose.
"Spicy!"
"That's the point," Reina said, deadpan.
Across the deck, Law leaned against the railing, hat low over his eyes, scanning the marines' retreat.
Beppo perched beside him, tail swishing, still dripping from the rain.
Law's voice was quiet. "We should move. The current's starting to roar."
Beppo nodded eagerly. "Aye, Captain—uh, I mean, Vice Captain—uh, I mean—"
Ash waved him off. "You're doing fine, furball."
'Haha- somehow while traveling in north blue in these past months we got to meet this furball panda - when we met him he said he was a fan of law and wanted to travel with him....and then,here we are .'
Ash mused in his thoughts, as he never thought he would get to have a talking cute teddy on his ship.
Medusa stood near the bow, cloak whipping in the wind, eyes hidden behind her violet shades.
Her chain-bound weapon rested coiled at her side like a sleeping serpent.
Even after that battle, her expression hadn't changed; calm, devoted, unreadable.
When she turned toward Ash, she inclined her head slightly and gave a smile — a knight acknowledging her lord.
He nodded back.
No words needed.
---
A deep caw broke the silence as Ruin, the massive raven, descended from the clouds.
Water streamed off his black feathers, each beat of his wings pushing air like a hammer.
He landed atop the figurehead of the Ravenant — a carved reaper holding a scythe — and spread his wings wide.
The marines still conscious on their distant deck froze at the sight.
A single, echoing CAW rolled across the water, so deep it rattled cannon barrels.
Nami looked up, smiling despite herself.
"Your pet really knows how to make an entrance."
Ash chuckled. "He's not a pet. He's our herald."
Ruin cocked his head, meeting Ash's gaze with intelligent dark eyes.
For a moment, it felt like the entire crew stood beneath the judgment of that stare — a reminder of who they were, what they'd just survived, and what waited beyond the mountain.
---
As the ship reached the currents of Reverse mountain- Nami barked orders, her tone snapping everyone to life.
"Zoro, tie down the foremast! Reina, secure the galley hatch! Law, make sure Beppo isn't eaten by the current! Medusa—hold that bow steady. We're going up that thing."
Zoro grinned, grabbing the ropes.
"We're actually trusting her navigation again?"
"Do you want to drown?"
Nami shot back.
"Point taken."
Ash moved to the wheel.
"All hands, ready!"
He wrapped his fingers around the helm — slick with rain, warm with purpose.
The ship's crimson sails unfurled, heavy with water but catching the sudden rising wind.
The gold-lined edges shimmered against the gray sea like embers ready to ignite.
From the base of Reverse Mountain, the up-current roared — a living wall of water that pulled at their hull.
Ash's grin widened. "There's our ride."
He leaned forward.
"Nami, tell me the heading."
"Straight up," she said simply.
For just a heartbeat, everything grew still.
Even the sea seemed to hold its breath as the Ravenant aligned with the current.
Ash closed his eyes. The hum of the ship, the smell of salt, the low rhythm of his crew working together — it was all music.
He whispered to himself,
"To the Grand Line, huh… Let's see if you're ready for us."
Ruin answered with another low caw, wings half-spread like a black banner.
And then the ocean moved.
The ocean reared beneath them like a beast waking from centuries of sleep.
Then the Ravenant shot forward—bow lifting, crimson sails snapping as the up-current caught the keel.
Water wrapped the hull in spiralling ribbons of white foam, the ship tilting so steeply that the horizon disappeared.
"Hold on to something!" Nami shouted over the roar.
Zoro grabbed a rope and immediately tied the wrong knot.
"That's not how you secure a—" she began, but the ship lurched and he was gone from sight.
"—line," she finished flatly, watching him swing past the mast upside-down.
Beppo clung to Law's leg, fur bristling. "We're going to die, Captain!"
Law's expression didn't even twitch. "If we were, we'd already be dead."
"Not helping!" Beppo squeaked.
Reina braced herself near the galley door, one hand glowing faintly as she summoned a shimmering net of caramel that hardened into golden strands.
She flung it upward—thwip—and the web latched onto a beam, holding a pile of supplies in place.
"Who left my pots on deck?!" she yelled.
Ash raised a hand guiltily from the helm. "They made good cannonballs!"
"I'll cook you next time!"came a threat from cook.
The ship hit the first curve of the mountain current.
The impact threw spray higher than the mast.
Medusa planted herself at the bow, chain weapon unfurled, violet eyes glinting through the rain.
Each time debris slammed toward them, her chain cracked outward, shattering wood and ice alike.
She didn't speak; her movements were a measured rhythm against the chaos—serene violence.
Reverse Mountain loomed ahead: an impossible wall of black stone veined with rivers running up.
Four enormous currents met at its peak, all colliding in a single summit that vanished into cloud.
Nami's voice rang through the gale: "Port ten degrees! The current's twisting—if we don't line up we'll smash into the ridge!"
Ash threw the wheel, muscles straining. "You're the boss, Navigator!"
Lightning flared behind them, revealing the remnants of the Marine fleet.
Two battered ships tried to follow but the current tore one apart within seconds; splinters vanished into foam.
Law watched the wreckage drift away.
"Natural selection," he murmured.
Ruin flew ahead, wings cutting lines through the storm.
The giant raven's cry echoed off the cliffs—an unholy trumpet leading the charge.
The marines who saw it from below would remember that sound for years.
The Ravenant clawed its way upward, planks groaning.
Every gust of wind became a hammer; every drop of water felt like gravel on skin.
"Haul the starboard sail!" Nami yelled. "If we catch too much wind we'll spin!"
Reina and Beppo jumped onto the rigging, pulling ropes while cursing in unison.
Beppo's fur puffed out from the spray; Reina's hair clung to her face like ink.
Zoro, having somehow righted himself, stomped onto deck. "Which way's starboard again?"
"THE OTHER RIGHT!" the crew shouted in chorus.
Ash laughed, even as the ship bucked beneath him. "You're improving, Zoro! Last time you asked which way up was!"
For a heartbeat, the world was only water and motion. The roar of the current drowned thought itself.
And then—the impossible—light broke through the storm, a seam of gold opening above.
"We're near the top!" Nami called. "Brace for the crest!"
The sea flattened abruptly. They burst from the tunnel of rushing water onto a mirrored plateau of calm.
Clouds thinned; sunlight poured across the deck, refracting through the mist in rainbow shards.
Everyone froze.
Before them stretched the summit basin of Reverse Mountain—a glassy lake suspended between four oceans.
On either side, colossal waterfalls plunged downward into the unknown.
For the first time since the battle, silence held the crew. Even Zoro's usual complaints died on his tongue.
Ash stepped to the bow, wind catching his coat. His eyes, still rimmed faintly in crimson, softened.
Below, Ruin circled lazily, wings slicing through sunlight like black silk.
"The Grand Line…" Ash said quietly. "Finally."
Nami smiled, exhaustion melting into pride.
"We actually made it- second time at that !"
Reina leaned on her shoulder, half-laughing.
"You doubted me for a second, didn't you?"
"You burned a rope to stop it fraying," Nami reminded her.
"It worked."
Zoro cracked his knuckles.
"So this is the famous line. Doesn't look that scary."
The mountain answered with a low rumble—the outflow current sucking at their hull.
Ash grinned. "You just had to say that."
"Here we go!" Nami shouted. "Everyone hold on!"
The ship tilted forward.
The calm vanished as gravity reclaimed them.
The Ravenant plunged over the edge, sails snapping downward like wings.
The crew screamed, laughed, or both.
Zoro bellowed "I REGRET NOTHING!" while Reina whooped and conjured a spiral of candy-crystal platforms under her feet just to surf mid-air for a second before diving back to deck.
Beppo clung to Law, eyes bulging; Law calmly used Room to rearrange falling barrels into a neat line.
Medusa's hair streamed behind her like violet fire, her face utterly calm as if descending into hell was a daily commute.
Ash stood at the prow, one hand gripping the mast, the other raised high.
Ruin dived alongside them, wings spread wide, a shadow against sunlight.
For a moment they were weightless—frozen between sky and sea.
Then the ship roared through clouds, the ocean rushing up to meet them like a mirror.
They burst from the bottom of the mountain into blinding blue.
The air here was warmer, the sea a deeper shade—alive with unfamiliar birds and drifting islands.
Strange clouds coiled in shapes none of them had ever seen.
The Ravenant hit the water with a thunderous splash, sending waves rolling outward.
For a few long seconds, no one moved.
Then Zoro climbed to his feet, hair plastered to his face. "We alive?"
Reina coughed up seawater. "Mostly."
Nami looked at her log pose, the needle spinning wildly.
"Welcome to the Grand Line," she whispered.
Ash laughed—a sound that rolled across the deck and into the open sky.
"We did it."
He lifted a hand; Ruin circled above, letting out a long, echoing cry.
"From this day forward," Ash said, voice firm but smiling, "the world will know the name of the Dreadruin Pirates."
The crew answered with cheers, laughter, and the ringing of blades against railing.
Far behind them, the broken remains of the Marine fleet drifted at the mountain's base.
Rear Admiral Darius Volt watched through a spyglass, rain soaking his shoulders.
He lowered it slowly.
"The Reaper has entered the line,"
He said to no one, "and the age just shifted."
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______To be continued ______