The ship sailed steadily through the West Blue.
Everything looked… calm.
Rain was alone in the captain's cabin, studying the huge sea chart.
Bang!
The cabin door was shoved open roughly.
Smoker walked in with a dark, stormy face. He slammed the door shut behind him without a word, strode straight up to Rain, and slapped a crumpled newspaper down hard onto the chart.
It was the "Devil · Clark" bounty poster—500 million.
Rain lifted his head, looked at Smoker, then at the bespectacled face on the poster.
He put on a show of surprise and let out an "Oh?"
"What's wrong, Smoker? You interested in this 'Clark' too? Five hundred million—he's definitely a big shot."
Smoker didn't say a single word.
He just stared at Rain's face, eyes full of shock, anger, and the kind of regret that said, I should've realized sooner.
Rain felt a slight chill crawl up his back, but his face stayed calm.
They stood off in the cramped cabin for a full half minute.
Finally, Rain broke the silence.
He didn't look at Smoker—he looked down at the bounty poster like he was talking to himself.
"Well… at least now, if we ever go back, it'll be easier to explain."
Smoker's eyebrows jumped.
Rain continued in the same unhurried tone:
"After all, we two Marine recruits were knocked out and went missing at Ohara… by a five-hundred-million-berry 'devil' who even defeated Vice Admiral Kuzan—Devil Clark."
He looked up and gave Smoker a you know what I mean smile.
"—Surviving something like that already counts as good luck… doesn't it?"
Smoker's chest rose and fell hard.
He got it.
This bastard had even prepared the excuse.
Smoker snatched the newspaper up, spun around, and marched out.
"Hmph."
A cold snort squeezed out between his teeth. He yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind him.
Rain stared at the shaking door panel and smiled.
"Good. He's finally fully on the pirate ship with me."
…
A few days later, the ship reached the final stop before Reverse Mountain—Bell Town.
It was a booming port town.
The docks were packed with all kinds of ships, and the air was thick with the sweet, sticky scent of rum. Everywhere you looked were rookie pirates, faces lit with excitement for the Grand Line.
"Saul, you stay on board with the scholars," Rain ordered. "You're too conspicuous. Don't go ashore."
"Dereshishishi—don't worry! Leave it to you guys!" Saul laughed.
Rain and Smoker changed into plain clothes, pulled up their hoods, and blended into the noisy crowd.
They went first to the largest trading company and directed porters to haul barrel after barrel of fresh water, huge amounts of rum, smoked meat, fruit, and medicine onto the smaller ship they'd arrived in. Feeding several thousand people required an enormous volume of supplies.
After half a day of work, once the resupply was settled, they entered the town's biggest navigation goods shop.
"Boss," Rain asked directly, "do you have a Log Pose to Jaya?"
The shop owner was a one-eyed man. He lifted his eyelids and gave Rain a sideways look.
"Hah? Jaya? That's a Grand Line island! Kid, you're in the West Blue!"
Then he lowered his voice, glancing toward the door.
"The World Government forbids selling Grand Line Log Poses in the Four Blues. You trying to get me killed? Get out—get out!"
Rain and Smoker exchanged a look and stepped outside.
"What now?" Smoker frowned. "Without a pointer, we'll be headless flies the moment we enter the Grand Line."
"Relax." Rain scanned the area.
He pointed across the street to a tavern. "Go wait there. I'll ask around elsewhere. There's always a way."
Smoker nodded. He knew Rain always had a solution—and it was easier for Rain to move alone.
After Smoker left, Rain turned into a deserted alley and opened the system shop.
"I remember… the system shop should sell Eternal Poses," Rain thought.
He searched for a pointer to Jaya—and sure enough, an Eternal Pose category popped up.
He found [Eternal Pose: Jaya].
Description: Permanently locks onto Jaya's magnetic direction, unaffected by the Grand Line's chaotic magnetic fields. Can directly navigate to the target island.
Price: 10,000 Sin Points
"Robbery…" Rain winced, but still chose to redeem it.
A strange object appeared in his hand: a glass sphere mounted on a wristband, the needle inside pointing firmly in a fixed direction.
Rain pulled his sleeve down to fully conceal it.
Then, on a whim, he tried searching the system shop for "Laugh Tale."
The interface lagged for a moment, then displayed:
[Eternal Pose: Laugh Tale]
Status: Not redeemable
Requirement: ??? (Insufficient information, unable to locate)
"Of course." Rain shrugged and didn't dwell on it.
He adjusted his hood and headed for the tavern.
Smoker was sitting at the counter, drinking.
"Sorted?" Smoker asked.
Rain sat beside him, lifted his left arm, rolled up his sleeve, and showed the Eternal Pose.
"Sorted."
Smoker glanced at it with mild surprise but didn't ask questions—he assumed Rain had some black-market channel.
"Good." Smoker finished his drink. "Let's get out of this dump."
With the Eternal Pose, everything became simple.
After resupplying, under Rain's [Advanced] navigation skill, the massive refugee ship aimed itself at the legendary "no return" devil waters—Reverse Mountain.
"Doctor! Tell all scholars to grab onto the fixtures in the cabins!"
"Saul! Get to the helm—use your weight to stabilize the wheel. No matter what happens, don't let go!"
"Smoker! Get on deck—be ready to use smoke as a buffer!"
Rain stood at the bow, facing the terrifying upstream current, issuing the final command:
"Full speed ahead!!"
BOOM!!
The ship plunged into the upstream canal headfirst.
A brutal acceleration hit instantly. The entire vessel groaned as if it would shake itself apart, wood and metal crying creak, creak, creak.
"WAAAAAH—!!"
"We're going to fly!!"
The scholars screamed in terror. Robin, meanwhile, clung excitedly to the railing, face flushed red as she watched the Red Line rush past on both sides.
The ship was lifted by monstrous waves, climbing—climbing—climbing!
Through clouds, over the summit—
At the very peak, weightlessness struck.
"Hold on!!"
"Dereshishishi!!" Saul pinned the wheel with his massive body.
The ship plunged down from the crest, diving into the legendary sea beyond.
RUMBLE—!!
With a tremendous impact, the ship slammed onto calm water.
The turbulent airflow, the eerie magnetic field, the unfamiliar smell of the air…
Scholars stumbled out onto the deck, staring at this brand-new ocean—and erupted into thunderous cheers.
"We did it… we made it!"
"This is… the Grand Line!!"
Rain stood at the bow, ignoring the cheering behind him.
He raised his left hand and looked at the Eternal Pose's needle.
"Grand Line… here I come."
~~~
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