Compared to the gloom when they first entered Reverse Mountain, the weather was now clear and the breeze was gentle. The warm sunlight felt cozy.
But at this moment, Nami and Sanji didn't feel any warmth. Instead, they felt a chill running through their bodies, and their hearts grew cold.
Because they saw that Goku had actually gone to provoke that giant whale—whose eyeballs alone were comparable in size to their entire ship!
And he provoked it by trying to take a bite out of it!
"Hey—!!! Have you lost your mind?!"
"We know you can eat a lot, but do you really think you can eat this whale?!!"
"Wait, it's not going to be you eating it; it'll be all of us, ship and all, getting eaten by it!!"
Their hearts screamed in unison a thousand times over.
They desperately wanted to flee, but their bodies were stiff as boards. Cold sweat poured down as their expressions twisted in sheer terror.
For they saw the massive whale, whose gaze hadn't been on them before, shift its eyes and lock onto them with a death stare!
"Its skin is so tough!"
After taking a bite of the whale and realizing it was incredibly hard to chew, Goku smacked his lips, his appetite vanishing.
He then commanded the Power Pole to shorten and carry him back to the Dream Chaser.
But at that moment, the whale suddenly moved. The surface of the sea surged violently as if an ocean storm had been born.
Splash!!
The whale turned its body to face the direction of Goku and the others.
Then, it opened its abyssal mouth, large enough to swallow an entire island, and a powerful suction force erupted!
In an instant, the seawater in front of it was devoured, dragging along countless shrimp and fish, as well as the completely helpless Dream Chaser!
"Waaaaah!! We're going to be eaten!!"
Nami clutched her face, watching in horror as they and their ship were pulled into the whale's mouth.
Sanji was drenched in cold sweat. He desperately wanted to steer the ship to safety, but the suction was far too powerful. In the blink of an eye, they were swept into the whale's maw along with the rushing seawater, leaving them powerless to resist.
"Oh? Did we get eaten?"
A carefree voice suddenly drifted from the side. They turned to see Goku holding the back of his head, curiously scanning their surroundings with a completely oblivious expression.
Creeeeak!!
Nami and Sanji's fists clenched so hard they creaked, and their teeth were bared like fangs.
The two of them, eyes turning white with rage like a furious lioness and a maddened lion, rained blow after blow down on Goku's head.
"How dare you say that! It's all your fault! We only got eaten because of you!!"
"We've been eaten, do you understand?! And yet you're still acting like you don't have a care in the world!!"
They were beyond furious.
They had been lucky enough to avoid trouble and could have slipped past the whale unnoticed to officially begin their journey on the Grand Line.
But because of Goku's stunt, not only did they fail to leave, they ended up inside the whale's stomach. Now, how were they supposed to get out?!
Goku, nursing the lumps on his head with an innocent look, winced.
"I was hungry."
"Hungry? If you're hungry, why didn't you ask Sanji to cook for you?!" Nami, still not over it, gave him another thump.
"I've never seen such a big whale before. I wanted to see if it tasted good," Goku muttered.
"..."
Nami and Sanji felt utterly defeated by him.
To pull such a ridiculous stunt just to see if something tasted good—there was surely no one else like him in the entire world!
While they were having their 'lively' discussion, the Dream Chaser drifted deeper into the interior, carried by the seawater.
Along the way, everything was dark, making it impossible to see much.
But suddenly, a light appeared ahead. Like castaways chasing hope in the abyss, the Dream Chaser headed straight for it.
Shortly after, the darkness was washed away, and light once again enveloped the ship.
The sudden brightness forced Goku and the others to instinctively shield their eyes. After a moment, they lowered their hands and stared at their surroundings, their mouths hanging open in shock.
"Wh-where is this place?!"
"Huh?! Is that Master Roshi?!"
Before them was a scene of blue skies and white clouds, with gentle ripples on the water—a beautiful, idyllic paradise.
In the middle of this body of water, which could tentatively be called a lake, a small island sat quietly.
A small wooden hut stood on the island. Outside, an old man with white hair styled like a peacock's tail was lying leisurely on a beach chair, quietly reading a newspaper.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Nami and Sanji's eyes bulged, and their mouths were wide enough to fit several eggs.
They never imagined they would find a place like this after being swallowed by a whale.
"It's not Master Roshi," Goku muttered with a hint of disappointment after getting a clearer look at the man's face.
The moment the island came into view, he was reminded of Master Roshi's Kame House, which was an island of similar size.
There was also a small house on it, and Master Roshi also enjoyed reading things while lying on a beach chair.
So his first instinct was that he had finally found Master Roshi, until he saw the face and realized his mistake.
The question remained: where exactly were they?
The three looked at each other and decided to approach the island to ask the man for information.
After all, he seemed to be the only living person there.
As the Dream Chaser drew near, the old man on the beach chair seemed to notice something. He looked up at them.
His gaze was intense and his face expressionless, exerting an indescribable sense of pressure.
In an instant, Nami couldn't help but swallow hard, her head shrinking back slightly.
Though Sanji didn't react as strongly, beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
Only Goku—
He didn't seem to feel any pressure at all. He bent his knees and leaped from the ship with a thud, landing right in front of the old man.
!!!
Nami and Sanji's hearts jumped into their throats, terrified that Goku was about to do something else to make them choke with anxiety.
"Yo! Hello, old-timer! Where is this place?"
Fortunately, Goku was acting like a normal person for once. He just flashed a bright smile and gave the old man a friendly greeting.
Nami and Sanji both let out a sigh of relief.
After hearing Goku's greeting, the old man stared intensely at him. Just as Goku was starting to feel confused, the man spoke: "My name is Crocus. Who are you, kid?"
"My name is Son Goku!"
Goku said with a grin. Then, as if remembering something, he pointed behind him. "Oh, right! That's Nami and Sanji. They're my friends and crewmates."
Nami and Sanji glanced at each other. Sensing that the man named Crocus didn't seem hostile, they also jumped down from the ship and introduced themselves.
"Hello, sir. My name is Nami."
"I'm Sanji."
Crocus glanced at them before turning his attention back to Goku.
"Are you pirates?"
"Pirates? Of course not! We're bounty hunters!" Nami was quick to answer.
She then added, "Well, you could also say we're adventurers chasing our dreams. We're definitely not pirates, that's for sure!"
She spoke with absolute conviction.
Crocus looked thoughtful. "Adventurers, huh?"
"Woooooo—!!!"
Suddenly, a long, drawn-out cry echoed through the entire space.
At the same time, the ground began to shake violently. The small island rocked, and the calm surface of the lake turned into a churning sea.
Nami lost her footing and fell flat on her back.
"Ouch! What's happening?!"
She looked around in shock. Sanji quickly helped her up, his face full of questions, just like Goku's.
Unlike them, Crocus's expression changed instantly. Without even taking off his clothes, he dove headfirst into the lake and swam rapidly toward the shore.
"What's that?!"
Goku and the others looked over and discovered a massive iron door stretching across the distance!
Crocus was swimming toward that very door.
Once Crocus reached the bottom of the iron door, he quickly climbed up a ladder attached to it. He reached a passage above and soon disappeared from the sight of the three.
"I'll go see what's going on!"
After taking off the shell he always wore on his back, Goku bent his knees and leaped across the distance, landing directly on the entrance of the passage to chase after Crocus.
Leaving Nami and Sanji staring at each other on the spot.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]