Thunder roared in the sky. Raindrops fell incessantly from the gloomy heavens, and a howling gale blew fiercely, causing the Going Merry on the sea surface to sway and rock violently.
The giant Sea King's sneeze had blasted the Merry directly from the Calm Belt back onto its original course.
Although Tom had landed safely back on the Merry with Nami in his arms, his current condition wasn't great. When he delivered that heavy blow to the giant Sea King, the skin on his right hand had been scraped raw.
Furthermore, Tom was covered in a large amount of the giant Sea King's snot. When he flew back onto the Merry, he crashed into Zoro and Sanji, and unfortunately, these two had gotten stuck to him by the sticky mucus on his body.
So Tom ended up sandwiched between Zoro and Sanji, the three of them now stuck together exceptionally tightly, with almost no gap between them.
"Stinky fisherman, what the hell are you doing?"
"What's with this weird liquid on you?"
Both Sanji and Zoro found the liquid bonding them to Tom rather disgusting. The key was that the liquid, washed by the rain, emitted a faint, unpleasant, foul odor they couldn't stand.
"Uh, it's Sea King snot. You should shake it off quickly."
Tom answered Zoro and Sanji very honestly.
"You bastard, I'll kick you to death!"
"You moron, I'll cut you down!"
Upon hearing Tom's words, Sanji and Zoro immediately lost their patience and cursed in unison.
Thus, the three of them, stuck together by the viscous snot, immediately began to brawl.
Thanks to Tom shielding her, Nami was perfectly clean. Seeing they were out of danger, she wanted to talk to Tom. After all, his Sea King hunt this time had technically failed. She thought Tom might be disappointed or something and had even prepared words of comfort.
But when she found him, she saw the guy was full of energy, trading blows with Zoro and Sanji. At that moment, Nami finally knew she had worried for nothing.
"Nami, are we almost at the entrance to the Grand Line?"
Luffy and Usopp, who had just regained consciousness, came to Nami. Seeing Tom stuck together with Zoro and Sanji while they fought, they curiously asked Nami what was going on.
With a thick black line on her forehead, Nami explained the sequence of events. After hearing it, Luffy and Usopp stared dumbfounded at the three guys who had just separated from the snot. Seeing their sorry state, the two of them unceremoniously clutched their stomachs, fell onto the deck laughing, and didn't forget to mock them.
"You guys are so dumb, actually getting into something like this."
"Good thing I'm not as unlucky as you."
Luffy and Usopp's merciless laughter and words immediately darkened the faces of Tom and the other two. Soon, all five of them were scuffling together on the deck.
"Have you had enough fun yet!?"
Nami's anger gauge soared. They had just left the perilous Calm Belt, and these guys were already fooling around again.
Bam! Thud! Whack! Clang! Bonk!
Having reached her limit, Nami quickly made Tom and the others behave. She addressed the five of them standing in a row, bruised, swollen, and with large lumps on their heads: "Listen carefully. We will soon reach the entrance to the Grand Line. I've figured out how to enter the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain's canal."
"From now on, you'll follow my instructions. Anyone who messes around gets a five million Berry fine!"
Nami raised her right fist, shaking it at the five before her. "Do you understand?"
It was no wonder Nami was so serious. Passing through Reverse Mountain's canal was no simple task. The slightest mistake could lead to the ship's destruction and everyone's death. As the navigator, it was her duty to minimize risks during the voyage and ensure Luffy and the others reached their destination safely. If she wasn't serious now, that would be the real shock.
"Yes, Nami!"
Luffy and the others chorused. Hearing they were about to enter the Grand Line, the five of them grew excited but also became dead serious—even Luffy was the same.
With a little time to spare, Tom and the others changed out of their dirty clothes. When Nami handed Tom his new clothes, she asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
Tom grinned. "I'm not afraid of failure. Sooner or later, I'll become a man who can easily tame even the giant Sea Kings of the Calm Belt."
Seeing Tom genuinely held no disappointment, Nami smiled too. But her smile quickly froze on her face, revealing a hint of embarrassment. Her smooth, porcelain-like face soon flushed with patches of red.
Whack! Slam! Thump!
"You idiot!"
Without hesitation, Nami knocked Tom flat as he changed clothes right in front of her, then strode away, leaving a beautiful silhouette behind.
A earth-shattering scream of agony echoed throughout the ship. While chatting with Nami earlier, Tom's mind had been completely occupied with the recent clash with the giant Sea King in the Calm Belt. He was even summarizing some experience in dealing with Sea Kings. Distracted, he took the clothes Nami handed him and unconsciously started stripping off his dirty ones. Then, just as he boldly declared his future ambitions, he suffered Nami's "poisonous beating."
"Did you guys hear that sound just now?"
Usopp, startled by the sudden scream, asked Luffy and the others nearby.
"That stinky fisherman must have angered Miss Nami again. He never learns."
"Making such a fuss over a little thing. He still needs more training."
Sanji and Zoro, having just changed into clean clothes, heard the someone's miserable cry.
"He actually dares to act up even now. He's so brave,"
Luffy said, genuinely feeling Tom was praiseworthy for daring to anger Nami after her warning.
The storm continued to rage. After some time, the Going Merry was very close to the Grand Line's entrance. Nami called Luffy and the others over again.
"Let me first explain why the ship has to climb a mountain."
Raindrops speckled Nami's face. She wiped the rain away with her hand and continued, "It's mainly because of the ocean currents. If the ocean currents from all four Blues flow toward Reverse Mountain, then those four currents climb the mountain via the canal, collide at the summit, and form a single new current that surges upward. Our ship must ride that current to reach the Grand Line."
"Now is the critical moment to enter that upward-surging current. The rest depends on steering."
Nami had indeed completely understood the principle of the ship climbing the mountain. She glanced at Tom inadvertently. Although his earlier guess had been baseless, it turned out to be correct—there would be an upward counter-current making the ship climb.
"Pay attention. Because Reverse Mountain is a winter island, currents colliding with the mountain walls dive from the surface into the deep sea. If we fail to enter the canal successfully, our ship will be severely damaged. In other words, we'll end up at the bottom of the sea. Understand?"
Nami stated the severity of the situation with a serious face, hoping those five guys would at least somewhat grasp her words.
"I told you already, it's an incredible mountain."
Luffy said very confidently, stroking his chin with a look of understanding.
"Such a smart and beautiful Miss Nami looks absolutely stunning. So amazing."
After hearing Nami's explanation, Sanji looked at her , his eyes already turned into hearts.
"I've never heard of a ship climbing a mountain before."
As Zoro said this, Sanji mentioned he had heard about the Grand Line. It was said more than half of those attempting to enter the Grand Line failed, ending up with both people and ships sunk. So entering the Grand Line was definitely not easy.
"The ship is climbing a mountain. Will we need to ice-skate on the ship?"
Hearing Nami say Reverse Mountain was a winter island, Tom speculated there might be snow and ice on the ship and said so.
"If that's the case, I can make ice skates for you."
Usopp, who had been quite worried upon hearing Nami mention possible shipwreck and death, quickly had his attention diverted when Tom brought up ice-skating.
"I don't think you understood a single word I just said, did you?"
Nami's fine eyebrows twitched as she looked at the five chatting among themselves, truly feeling she had wasted her breath.
"Huh?"
Luffy looked forward and then shouted, "Hey, come quick! I see the incredible mountain!"
"Wait, what's that shadow behind it? It's unbelievably huge!"
Usopp looked in the direction Luffy pointed and saw a massive black shadow standing before them. His jaw nearly dropped in shock.
"That's the Red Line, dividing the two great oceans of this world."
Nami came to the ship's side, looking up at the towering Red Line.
"The cloud layer is too thick! You can't see the top at all!"
Luffy and the others all craned their necks, gazing at the Red Line blocking their path, its top lost to sight. At first glance, it truly seemed to pierce the heavens—sheer cliffs, majestic and formidable. Before this immense, boundless Red Line, anyone would feel incredibly small.
"Our ship will soon be pulled in by the current. Steer properly."
Nami, sensing the ship beginning to sway, urgently addressed Luffy and the others.
"Don't worry, Miss Nami. Leave it to us."
Sanji and Usopp quickly ran to take the helm.
"Look! The incredible mountain really is climbing upward!"
Luffy, seeing the current ahead truly flowing upward against the slope, shouted excitedly.
Ahead of them, they could clearly see a slightly narrow entrance. Although the passage slanted upward, the current surged ceaselessly upward, completely defying the common sense of water flowing downhill—a truly awe-inspiring sight.
"Then after we pass through here, we can go to the Grand Line, right?"
Tom also grew excited. After months at sea, they could finally enter the Grand Line.
"Doesn't seem fake. Our ship really is about to climb a mountain."
Zoro gazed at the current surging endlessly upward ahead. He wasn't scowling anymore; even a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Wait! The ship's direction is off! We need a slight adjustment to starboard!"
Nami estimated the ship's heading. If this continued, the Going Merry wouldn't smoothly enter the entrance that was just wide enough for one ship. She hurriedly shouted to Sanji and Usopp at the helm behind.
"That's right! Starboard! Go starboard!"
Luffy, seeing the ship might crash into the Red Line, also grew anxious.
"We know we need to turn starboard, but the helm won't budge!"
Sanji and Usopp exerted all their strength, but due to the tremendous force of the current, the ship's helm was practically useless. The intense impact of the powerful current had already caused the Merry to lose control.
"I'll help you!"
Seeing Sanji and Usopp alone couldn't pull the helm, Tom moved to assist. But what happened next stunned everyone on board.
With a sharp crack, the ship's wheel Sanji and Usopp were desperately gripping simply snapped off, sending the two tumbling heavily. Luffy and the others stared, eyes nearly popping out: "What are you two doing?!"
"Not good! We're going to crash!"
Nami saw the Merry was about to crash into the Red Line beside them. Thinking of the shipwreck and death that would follow, she was so startled tears nearly flowed.
"Leave it to me! We can't stop here!"
Luffy tossed the straw hat on his head backward. Zoro caught it. Then Luffy jumped off the ship without hesitation: "Rubber Balloon!"
Luffy, having taken a huge breath, inflated his body like a balloon. The Merry crashed into his highly elastic, bloated form, finally changing direction and avoiding a collision with the Red Line.
Of course, Luffy was having a rough time. Having an entire ship run over him wasn't exactly comfortable.
With Luffy's help, the Merry finally successfully entered the Grand Line's entrance. But Luffy hadn't returned to the ship yet and was in danger of falling into the sea at any moment.
Zoro hurried to the stern, reaching his arm forward to its limit, shouting to Luffy in the distance, about to fall into the sea: "Grab on!"
Seeing Luffy successfully stretch his arm and grab Zoro's hand, Nami breathed a sigh of relief: "Great, we…"
Before Nami finished her sentence, a deafening BOOM echoed. A tremendous thunderbolt struck the rock wall to the starboard side of the ship. Immediately afterward, a massive rock broke off from above and hurtled toward the Going Merry.
In an instant, the Merry was shrouded in shadow. At that moment, Zoro was pulling Luffy back from outside the ship. Sanji and Usopp were still sprawled in the helm room. A panicked Nami looked for Tom but couldn't see him anywhere on the ship.
"Tom! Where are you?"
Not seeing Tom made Nami even more frantic.
"I'm here! Leave that rock to me!"
Tom had already acted the moment the giant rock fell. He took out two fishing rods, merged them, attached the sharp spearhead to the top, and then leapt into the air. The extended spear stabbed into the giant rock above his head.
He jumped into the air because the rock was too massive. If he stood on the ship and tried to withstand it directly, the moment his spear made contact, Tom would most likely be crushed straight through the deck and into the ship's bottom—possibly even piercing a hole through the Merry's hull.
To prevent that, Tom had no choice but to try to shatter the falling rock mid-air.
Hmm... Regardless of an object's volume, if I concentrate my attack on a single point, nothing is unbreakable!
Since hearing about Fish-Man Karate from Koala, Tom's control over his own power had improved dramatically. Once someone who relied solely on brute force, he now understood how to maximize the use of every ounce of strength. His spear thrust from below, surging upward, carried overwhelming force—fierce and dominating. With a single strike, he shattered the falling boulder.
The giant rock exploded in the air, scattering countless smaller fragments. As Tom used his spear to deflect the larger fragments coming his way, he was also descending.
Meanwhile, the Merry, riding the upward current, was gradually moving away from him. Tom had no choice. As he retracted his fishing rod, he used the line launcher on his left wrist to shoot a fishing line, sticking it to the cliff wall on the starboard side. Grabbing the line, he stepped onto the cliff wall. Then, the line launcher on his other hand shot another line, sticking it to the rock wall ahead.
Subsequently, Tom alternated firing lines from the launchers on both hands. Gripping the lines, he ran across the steep cliff face as if scaling a wall, chasing after the Going Merry ahead.
"Idiot! Run faster!"
Nami, standing at the stern, saw Tom falling farther behind and shouted anxiously at him.
It couldn't be helped. With the wind and rain, the fishing lines from Tom's hands couldn't shoot very far. If shot too far, the lines were easily blown off course by the wind. Additionally, he was standing at an angle on the cliff wall. While fighting gravity, he also had to run forward continuously at high speed—the physical drain was a burden.
But the Merry was advancing powered by the rising current—a force of nature—completely incomparable to Tom relying on his own strength.
Damn it... Am I really going to fall here, at the entrance to the Grand Line?
Tom, running swiftly across the cliff face, breathed heavily. Rain fell on his head, trickling into his eyes and blurring his vision. But he didn't have a spare moment to wipe away the obstructing rainwater. He heard Nami's shouts and saw Sanji and the others waving and calling to him. Yet his speed was indeed gradually slowing. Though not obvious yet, he knew clearly that if this continued, he was definitely finished.
"A little more! I can stretch my arm and grab you! Don't forget, we're going to the Grand Line together!"
Earlier, when Luffy grabbed Zoro's hand and returned to the Merry, he had unfortunately plunged headfirst into the deck. Having just pulled his head out, he came to the stern. Seeing Tom on the cliff wall getting farther away, he put one foot on the ship's railing and shouted loudly to Tom.
"I know that, of course!"
Gritting his teeth, Tom accelerated forward again. After closing the distance a bit, he drew the fishing rod from his arm sheath. As he began to fall toward the sea, he used the extended rod to push off against the cliff wall, propelling himself toward the Merry.
"Good! This'll do it!"
Luffy stretched his arm toward Tom. Just as Tom was about to fall into the sea, he finally caught Luffy's outstretched hand…
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T/N :
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