The One Piece World
Ren Kurogane found Law, who was currently busy dissecting the Sea King carcass, and asked, "Found the reason why these things went berserk yet?"
Law rolled his eyes and snapped back, "Big Brother, I'm a doctor, not some miracle worker who can communicate with Sea Kings. Besides, you gave me a dead one!"
He was just an ordinary ship's doctor. Why did Ren Kurogane assume he could diagnose a Sea King's psychological breakdown?
"I see," Ren Kurogane nodded sagely. "Seems you still have a lot to learn."
"..." Law chose silence. He felt Ren Kurogane had a fundamental misunderstanding of his job description.
"If you can't analyze it, forget it. It's not a big deal anyway." Ren Kurogane stretched and said, "Dump the remains into the sea. We're getting ready to scale Reverse Mountain!"
Hearing this, Law felt a surge of relief. He promptly kicked the Sea King's biological samples off the deck and slumped into a chair to start slacking off.
Under Hill's direction, they arrived at the base of Reverse Mountain. Looking at the seawater defying gravity and rushing upward in the distance, everyone's faces were filled with anticipation.
Thud!
Ren Kurogane hauled a wooden barrel onto the deck and placed one foot firmly on top of it. Seeing everyone's gaze fixed on him, he grinned broadly.
"Our legendary career is about to begin! Let's swear our oaths! I'll go first! I am definitely going to find the Pure Gold and become an eternal existence!"
Thud!
Hill placed her foot on the barrel next. "I want to read every book in the world and become a woman of vast knowledge!"
She had come from a chaotic slum. Before meeting Ren Kurogane, she was a pitiful soul living at the very bottom of the world, worrying every day about her next meal. If she hadn't met him, she couldn't imagine what her life would be like now. As for why she wanted knowledge? Ren Kurogane once told her that "knowledge changes destiny." That was why she studied everything—navigation was just one of many subjects she had mastered. Fortunately, she had a brilliant mind that hadn't wasted the past few years of effort.
Thud!
Klin added his foot to the pile. "I don't have any grand dreams. I'll just do my best as the Captain's right-hand man. Oh, and you have to share some of that Pure Gold with me!"
"Tsk—" The crew looked at him with mock disdain.
Klin didn't care. He had known Ren Kurogane for over a year, and Ren had explained the effects of Pure Gold—near-eternal life. Who wouldn't be interested?
Thud!
"I'm going to kill Doflamingo!" Needless to say, that was Law.
Then, Blue and Grey added their feet.
"I'm going to become the most courageous sailor!"
"Haha, this old man doesn't have grand ambitions left. Just being able to travel around the world once is enough to make me happy!"
"Alright! Carry our dreams! Set sail!"
Crunch!
They stomped down together, smashing the barrel to splinters, and steered the ship into the rising currents of Reverse Mountain!
"Whoa! Watch it!" "We're going to hit the side!" "Reef ahead!" "Room!"
The journey up was anything but peaceful. Everyone was moving so fast they left afterimages. Finally, after breaking through countless obstacles, the summit appeared in their sight.
"We're here!" "Charge!"
Boom!
The powerful current launched the Starsea into the air. Fortunately, it landed safely back in the water without capsizing. They were at the top of Reverse Mountain, the meeting point of the four blues. Aside from the rushing water, there were countless shipwrecks here—remnants of predecessors who had failed the climb.
"The top is actually pretty spacious," Ren Kurogane remarked.
"So this is the summit! So cool!" Blue looked around, completely unaware that the real danger was just beginning.
After a few seconds of drifting, the ship's speed accelerated rapidly. A gap appeared before them.
"Hold on tight! We're going down!" Ren Kurogane roared, pulling Hill into his arms while his other hand gripped the ship's railing like a vise, enjoying the ultimate roller coaster ride.
"AAHHH!!!"
The sensation of weightlessness hit them. Everyone clung to the ship, screaming as the scenery blurred past.
"Hahahaha! This is awesome!" "Idiot! Watch where you're grabbing!"
After a heart-pounding sprint, the Starsea entered the sea perfectly.
Pfft!
Ren Kurogane spat out a mouthful of seawater. One hand held Hill, the other dragged the anchor as he emerged from the waves. Klin held onto Law and Blue, while Uncle Grey was already on the shore, coughing up water.
Securing the ship, Ren Kurogane laughed heartlessly. "Safe landing!"
"How was that safe..." Law's eyes were hollow; he felt he had been broken by the experience.
Blue and Grey were busy draining the water from the ship, while Klin was already washing his clothes. Hill, having changed into dry attire, sat on a rock; the "bungee jump" had left her legs weak, and she needed a moment to recover.
As they rested, a scarred whale's head suddenly breached the nearby water, slamming head-on into the Red Line.
Rumble!
The whale was titanic. Its head alone was dozens of times larger than their ship. It was impossible to imagine the size of its entire body.
"Eek!" Hill was startled by the sudden noise and dove into Ren Kurogane's arms.
Ren Kurogane comforted her while fixing his gaze on the Island Whale, Laboon. "He's massive..."
To be honest, seeing Laboon in reality was a completely different concept than seeing him in an anime. Such a behemoth made even Sea Kings look small.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Laboon slammed into the Red Line again and again. Ren Kurogane had no interest in meddling. Once the water was drained from the ship, they climbed back aboard and set sail. As for Laboon, they'd leave him for the protagonist, Luffy!
"Captain, pick a direction," Hill said, looking at the Log Pose.
"Mm. Raise the sails. Let the wind choose for us!"
"Here we go again..." "Hahaha! That's our Captain!" "Sails up!"
The sails caught the wind, pushing them toward the horizon.
"Huh? Why is it snowing?" "Ah, it's turned into hail."
Hill explained, "This is the Grand Line. Because the magnetic fields are chaotic, if your luck is bad, you can experience all four seasons in a single day."
"Not just the seasons, but extreme weather—like 50°C heat and -80°C cold. They say there's even fire-rain, though I doubt that's possible."
By the end of her sentence, even Hill sounded unsure. She couldn't imagine what fire falling from the sky would look like.
"That's all real," Law interjected. "In the Grand Line, you can throw your common sense away. Anything inconceivable can happen here!"
While Law was speaking, the snowy sky suddenly cleared, and warm sunlight bathed them. But as time passed, the warmth became a scorching heat.
"This damn weather... what a nightmare!" Ren Kurogane grumbled.