They prepared to reach the Grand Line, but since it was still raining, they had to steer toward the light.
Luffy and Nami were outside the kitchen watching the path ahead while the rest stayed inside, taking shelter from the rain.
"The rain is pretty strong," Oliver said while exercising.
"Yeah... don't you ever get tired of working out?" Usopp asked.
"No. I do it to get stronger, so I can't stop. We got beaten badly at Arlong Park, and that can't happen again now in the Grand Line," Oliver replied.
At that moment, Nami came in wearing a raincoat, with Luffy completely soaked.
Luffy dried himself with whatever he could while Nami placed the map on the table, drawing everyone's attention.
"The entrance to the Grand Line is a mountain," Nami said, pointing at the map.
"A mountain?!" Usopp asked.
Oliver stopped exercising to pay attention.
"Yes! I thought it was impossible, but look at the map—look here," she pointed at Loguetown. "The place the guiding light pointed to is right here on the Red Line. Reverse Mountain."
"What do you mean? That we have to go through the mountain?" Luffy asked.
"No, there are canals here, see?" Nami replied.
"Canals?! You've got to be kidding. Even if there's a canal, there's no way a ship can go up a mountain!" Usopp said in disbelief.
"But that's what the map says," Nami replied.
"That'll be fun to watch," Oliver said, sitting down and taking off his leather jacket.
"How could what Nami-san says be wrong?! It's obviously correct!" Sanji said.
"That's the map you stole from Buggy, right? Can you really trust it?" Zoro asked.
"We're going to climb a mountain with our ship?! Amazing!" Luffy said excitedly. "Is it some kind of mysterious mountain?"
"Why is it necessary to enter through the entrance? Couldn't we just go in from the south?" Zoro asked.
"You're wrong!" Luffy shouted.
"Yes, there's a reason," Nami said.
"It's better to enter through the entrance!! Are you stupid or what?!" Luffy yelled.
"No!" Nami said, hitting him on the head.
"Hey! The storm just passed!" Usopp shouted.
"You're right. It's really calm," Sanji said.
Oliver swallowed, knowing what was coming.
'I don't feel like seeing the size of the Sea Kings,' Oliver thought, slightly nervous.
"This can't be. We should've entered while facing the storm," Nami said.
Everyone went outside and found themselves in a warm, windless climate.
"Wow, the weather's great," Luffy said.
"Oh no... we're in the Calm Belt," Nami said, scared.
"Calm Belt? What's that?" Usopp asked.
"It's a horrible place, really horrible. We have to go back to the storm," Oliver said as he moved to gather the sails.
"Go back? Why do we have to go back to the storm?" Usopp asked.
"Just hurry, bring in the sails and start rowing!" Nami ordered. "The Grand Line is surrounded by two strips of sea. And this is that strip—the Calm Belt!"
At that moment, the ship started moving violently as a massive number of enormous Sea Kings appeared, leaving the entire crew in shock.
"It's a nest of the largest Sea Kings," Nami said, trembling as she held onto the mast of the Going Merry.
"W-We have to get out of here," Oliver said, feeling an overwhelming sense of danger throughout his body.
They all prepared so that the moment they hit the water, they would start rowing immediately to escape the Sea Kings.
They were standing on top of a Sea King that began to move, causing the entire ship to shake violently. They nearly fell overboard and had to hold on tightly.
One Sea King noticed them and rushed toward them, but fortunately another Sea King interfered, preventing them from being eaten—though it was more about deciding which one would eat them.
Thanks to that, they managed to return to the storm.
"That was close. We're back in the storm," Luffy said, lying on the Merry and breathing heavily.
Just like him, everyone else was in the same state after what had happened.
'I think I just developed thalassophobia,' Oliver thought while lying on the floor, trying to recover from the shock.
"Now do you understand why we have to go through the entrance?" Nami asked.
"I get it," Zoro replied, recovering.
Nami stood up and thought about how to enter the Grand Line.
"I knew it. We really do have to climb the mountain," she said.
"If the massive ocean currents from the four seas flow toward this mountain, they must go up through the mountain's canals to reach the Grand Line. What we need to do is follow the current and stay alert. Reverse Mountain is a winter island, so the currents from each side flow toward the depths," Nami explained.
"If we accidentally enter from the side trying to get into the canal, we'll crash into the Red Line and become sea food. Got it?" she asked.
"So it's a mysterious mountain," Luffy said, already recovered.
"I don't think you understood," Nami said, resigned.
"That's a lot of information for Luffy," Oliver said.
As they talked, a gigantic mountain piercing through the clouds came into view.
'Is the Red Line a natural structure, or did something create it like this?' Oliver wondered as he looked at it up close.
While they were still amazed by the massive mountain, the current suddenly pulled them in.
"WE'RE BEING SUCKED IN! GRAB THE HELM!" Luffy shouted.
Immediately, Sanji and Usopp rushed to take position at the helm.
"Hahaha, this is amazing," Oliver said.
The entrance was a massive canal climbing up the mountain thanks to the ocean current.
"The sea is actually rising!" Zoro said, impressed.
"We're drifting off! A little to the right! TO THE RIGHT!" Luffy shouted.
"Right?! This thing is heavy!" Usopp said as he and Sanji tried to turn the helm, but all they managed to do was break it.
With the helm broken, they lost control of the ship.
"The helm! WE'RE GOING TO CRASH!" Nami screamed, eyes filled with tears.
Luffy quickly ran to the front, tossing his straw hat to Zoro before jumping and positioning himself between the Merry and the mountain.
"Gum-Gum Balloon!"
Using his Devil Fruit, Luffy inflated his stomach like a balloon, preventing the ship from crashing and saving them from a deadly impact.
"WE'RE SAVED!" Nami shouted in relief.
"GRAB MY HAND, LUFFY!!" Zoro yelled.
Luffy stretched his arm, and Zoro grabbed it, pulling him back onto the ship.
Everyone was overjoyed—they were just moments away from entering the Grand Line.
"WE DID IT!" they all shouted excitedly after passing the hardest part.
"WOW! I CAN SEE THE GRAND LINE!!! This is the greatest ocean in the world!" Luffy shouted happily upon seeing his first step toward becoming the Pirate King. "Let's go!"
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