Chapter 5.1

No matter how poetic the beginning was, no matter how solemn the start of our adventures, the reality was much less pleasant. After all, we were in the middle of a hurricane-force storm. Still, at least we had a beacon to guide us...

- A! US! THE LIGHT IS GONE!

At least two seconds.

"It's a lighthouse, Luffy!" I shouted to my captain as he hung on Merry's neck, all the while fighting motion sickness. Why he insisted on putting himself in the most precarious position over that damn ocean when he couldn't swim was beyond me, but I had become more than accustomed to it in the short time I'd known him. -They can't keep it running all the time, especially in this weather.

"Don't worry," Nami reassured him, rising to the bow of the ship and looking at the map that she was holding in her hands and trying to see something despite the rain. -That's why I'm here, isn't it? I can get us to the Grand Line, I guarantee it.

"If you can walk us through this, then I'd say you're more of a witch than an expert!" I said, only half joking.

- Har har, very funny.

- Shishishi! You're really impressive, you know that?" Luffy asked, turning around and smirking at Nami.

"Yes, yes," the navigator rolled her eyes. -Now, please, get out of there before you fall.

- I'm not going to give up my favorite place.

I couldn't help but laugh at his serious tone. -I wouldn't sit there even if you paid me! I'm already wet enough and don't want to fall into the ocean.

"Coward!" Luffy stuck his tongue out at me.

"Kut-Kut-Kut-KUDAH!" imitated Soundbite with a grin.

"Would you like to go there instead of me?" I asked sarcastically, looking at the snail. He immediately screamed shrilly and hid back into his shell. -Yes, that's exactly what I thought.

- Do it anyway! We can use him as bait!" Usopp shouted from the other end of the deck.

- I'll take that into account.

- TRAITOR!

"Okay, okay, enough fun and games." Nami rolled her eyes with a smile before turning serious. -Cross, do you mind...?

I nodded in understanding and tapped Soundbite's shell before pointing at Nami. - Strengthen it.

Soundbite poked his eye out of his shell before a wheezing noise of increased sound appeared.

- You're on the air.

"Everyone follow me to the kitchen," Nami's voice rang out. -We need to talk about what happens next.

Hastily complying, we secured the ropes and followed Nami into the kitchen, where she laid out an open map on the table.

"I know this will sound crazy..." she began.

"Um, Nami?" I hastily interrupted her by reaching out and pinching Luffy's cheek to stretch it. -There's a rubber man and a sonic snail on board, and the smoke man tried to stop us from leaving Loguetown not more than an hour ago. I think we got used to the "madness" a long time ago.

Nami thought for a moment before pointing to the center of her map. -Even if I tell you that the only way to get to the Grand Line is to sail up the mountain?

"Reverse Mountain, that's right," I nodded in confirmation.

The rest of the crew stared at me in shock.

"Wait, what!?" Usopp screamed in disbelief. -Swim up the mountain!? You can't be serious!

"Oh no, I'm absolutely serious," I firmly shook my head. "Reverse Mountain is practically the only way to get to the Grand Line known to the general public." I looked at Nami. -Can I?

She shrugged her shoulders indifferently. -If you know about it, go ahead.

"Okay..." I walked over to the table and looked at the map before pointing to the drawing that was in the center. -Okay, this is Reverse Mountain. See those lines that cross it?

Sanji chewed on his cigarette thoughtfully, looking at the relatively ancient map. -Yes... What is this?

- Channels. - I raised my hand to prevent any impending protests. -I know it sounds crazy, but these are channels running up the mountain, past the clouds and down into the Grand Line. I have no idea who built them, how, when or why, but they exist.

"N-n-no way..." Usopp stammered, not believing his eyes. -Sail up the mountain!? Th-that's impossible!

"Hey!" Sanji slapped Usopp on the back of the head. -If Nami says that this is how we will get there, then it is so! And... well, Cross is pretty smart too, I guess.

- Oooh, thanks, Sanji!

- Don't tempt fate, snailfish.

- Tsunde...!

"Don't even think about saying that, dumbass." I firmly slammed my hand down on Soundbite's shell with fury in my eyes.

"Looks like this will be fun!" Luffy grinned happily.

"Don't flatter yourself, Luffy," Zoro warned cynically. -Nami, you stole this map from Buggy, are you sure you can rely on it?

"I can guarantee that," I volunteered. "No wonder this map is so valuable; it's eerily detailed. The Marines would probably want to get their hands on it to better control any information on the Grand Line."

"How do you know so much?" Zoro asked with a hint of suspicion.

I gulped slightly at the attention before collecting myself. "No offense, but the East Blue is called the weakest of the seas, and this is one of the reasons why," I answered, shrugging. -Florida is on the Red Line, so we border the North Blue as well as the East. Information on the Grand Line is more accessible there." I frowned thoughtfully. -Well, in any case, general information. Information about the Grand Line tends to... become outdated. Who knows how accurate some of my information actually is.

Usopp shuddered heavily as he considered the implications of that statement. -W-w-what? Wait, what do y-you mean?!

- Yessss... - I hardly suppressed an evil grin, pointing to several points on the map of the Grand Line. -There should be islands here, here, here, and-and-and here. At least from what I remember anyway. Geography: So... variable on the Grand Line.

The sniper suppressed a frightened sob and fell to his knees. "What place are we going to!?" he asked helplessly.

I grinned truly evilly as I hovered over him. -IN HELL.

- Oooo-iiiiii-oooo! - Soundbyte began to imitate the theremin.

Sanji clapped his hands slowly as he watched our antics. -Very funny. Now leave him alone before he has a heart attack.

I grinned and raised my hands in surrender. - Fair, fair. Sorry about it.

"Anyway..." Zoro continued with a sigh. -Even considering how crazy the world already is, what you're saying is a bit too much. Couldn't we just, I don't know, sail straight to the Grand Line or something? For me, the ocean is quite clean.

"NO WAY!" Luffy and Nami roared at the same time.

"They're right about that," I agreed, pointing to the couple.

"It would be completely wrong if we don't start our adventure properly!" Luffy continued, nodding decisively.

- Not in this case.

"Listen," Nami resolutely crossed her arms over her chest. -It's not as simple as you think. After all, there is a reason why not everyone makes it to the Grand Line.

"You can't just take it and swim to the GRAND LINE!" Soundbite nodded in agreement.

"Yes?" Sanji raised an eyebrow curiously. -Why?

I opened my mouth to respond...then paused as I realized something.

Or rather... a lack of something.

I swallowed hard before smiling painfully. -Let me show you better?

- A?

I spread my arms wide. -Do you notice... something is missing?

The crew stared at me in confusion... until Soundbite took the hint and began whistling like the wind. Literally.

"Hmm, now that you mention it, you're right, the rain has stopped," Usopp said, looking out of one of the portholes.

"How!?" Nami screamed, looking at the street in horror. -Can't be! We had to be in this storm all the way to the channel entrance!

"And yet, take a look." I pushed the kitchen door and made a sign with my hand. -The sky is clear.

"Waaaah!" Luffy sighed excitedly, jumping onto the deck and looking around impatiently. -The weather suddenly became beautiful! It's so cool!

"Yes..." Sanji muttered, walking out and looking at the stern of the ship. -But I still see the storm, there, behind. What does it mean?

"Nothing special," I shrugged with a sigh. -Just nature's absolute middle finger to all sea travel.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO CHOOSE BEAUTIFUL WORDS, STUPID!" Nami screamed in horror. -IF YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE, THEN YOU KNOW WHY WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT DAMN IT!

"Huh?" Luffy looked at me confused. -How so? Where are we?

"This is Kalm Belt," I explained with a wide smile. -These are the twin seas that border each half of the Grand Line on both sides. There are no winds, almost no currents, and almost none of them go all the way. Like calm, only on a global scale.

"So the sea is calm all the time?" Zoro asked. -Doesn't that mean we can just swim through it?

- NO, DAMMIT!

"We're right, it's not that simple," I nodded in agreement. -After all, as I said, This is the sea. It will take us weeks, maybe even months, to do this. With seven on board we will almost certainly die of dehydration before we reach our destination. Moreover, I will not discount the possibility that the sea will throw one or two tsunamis at us, from which we would have no chance of escaping. Moreover, Calm Belt is the hunting ground of one of the Seven Shichibukai, Pirate Empress Boa Hancock, who will surely kill us all in ten seconds.

Most of the crew looked at me with undisguised horror, while Luffy grinned at me as if I had just caused an early Christmas.

"And none of them are even the main reason why no one swims here."

"And what is this reason?" Usopp asked nervously, clearly afraid of the answer.

Nami was about to respond... just as the ship suddenly tilted.

"What the hell-!?" Sanji complained.

Soundbite trembled on my shoulder, his eyes rolling wildly. "They're~here..." he sang painfully.

And, in less than a second, for the first time in its life, the Going Merry flew high into the sky before suddenly stopping and knocking us off our feet.

"Ouch..." I groaned, wincing as the bruises I received from Luffy bringing us on board flared up with pain. -It wasn't very nice...

"What was that?" Zoro groaned.

"The main reason..." Nami whined pitifully, desperately clutching the mast.

Usopp wanted to ask what she meant and immediately sat back, foaming at the mouth, as the shadow of the titan's head covered us all.

"The sea is overflowing with Sea Kings," our navigator sobbed with a hopeless smile.

"Yeah..." I giggled helplessly. Unsteadily, I rose to my feet and looked at what was beneath us: black and white skin. My blood roared in my ears and my stomach began to boil. -Actually, this is their natural habitat. Ironic of fate, isn't it? The most dangerous monsters in the world, not counting people, and they live in the quietest part of it.

"Yes, yes, yes..." Zoro snorted hastily, pulling the oars out of the storage room and handing them to Sanji and Luffy. -Okay, listen carefully: when these guys go underwater, we're going to row as hard as we can until the storm hits, okay?

"Yeah!" Luffy nodded in agreement. -We will go to the Grand Line as expected!

"NOT FOR THIS REASON, YOU DUMB-HEADED...!" Nami was interrupted when Merry suddenly flinched. -W-what the...!?

Soundbite blinked in confusion for a second, then squeaked and retreated back into his shell. -Gesundheit! (according to it. 'Be healthy')

I cursed as I stuffed Soundbite into my jacket before running to Merry's rigging and wrapping one of the rope ladders around my arm. -Hold on with all your strength!