After making the promise with Laboon, Luffy and the others boarded the merry go, ready to set sail.
Before leaving, they all waved goodbye to Crocus and Laboon.
"Crocus, goodbye!"
"We're leaving, Laboon!"
Laboon let out a long cry to the sky, sending them off.
"Bo-oh-oh-oh-oh..."
Crocus, on the other hand, watched the merry go gradually disappear into the distance, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"What an astonishing man!"
"Even you couldn't achieve such terrifying talent and ability back then!"
"Right, Roger!"
...
After leaving Twin Capes, Luffy and the others sailed the merry go towards Whiskey Peak.
And it was their first time personally experiencing the Grand Line's unpredictable weather and environment.
It was clear and sunny when they departed, but not long after, heavy snow began to fall.
Luffy and Uta built a snowman on the deck, Nami studied the map, Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp trained in the heavy snow, Nojiko took measures to protect the orange trees from the cold, and as for Vivi and Mr. 9, Luffy sent them to shovel snow on the ship.
While everyone was busy, thunder suddenly cracked in the sky.
This bizarre and changeable weather left Nami, the navigator, utterly bewildered, making her frown deeply.
"It seems you underestimated the Grand Line!"
Vivi, shivering with cold while shoveling snow, looked at Nami's troubled expression and said.
"By the way, none of you have been steering since just now, is that okay?"
Mr. 9 also huddled, asking with some concern.
"I just confirmed the direction..."
Nami said, checking the Log Pose on her wrist.
Suddenly, she gasped.
"Ah?!"
"How... how could this be?"
Hearing Nami's panicked voice, Luffy asked.
"What's wrong, Nami?"
Nami frowned and said worriedly.
"Our ship has turned direction at some point, and we're now sailing in the opposite direction."
Everyone on board was instantly in disbelief upon hearing this.
"What? Wasn't the ship going straight all this time?"
"Yeah! I was even watching that cloud in the sky; we were always following the cloud's direction!"
Seeing this, Vivi and Mr. 9 looked at the troubled Nami and immediately adopted an arrogant, instructive posture.
"You've been fooled by the waves!"
"Are you really a navigator?"
"The sea here is like this; neither the wind, nor the weather, nor the sky, nor the clouds, none of them can be trusted."
"The only constant is the direction pointed by the Log Pose."
"Got it?"
Hearing their condescending tone, Nami's face instantly darkened, and her teeth gnashed together.
She said angrily in a low voice.
"You two punks, do you want to get off the ship here?"
Vivi and Mr. 9 instantly stiffened, and the next second, they bowed their heads repeatedly, apologizing like bobbleheads.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry..."
Just then, Usopp suddenly exclaimed.
"Oh! The waves are getting higher and higher."
Soon, a series of panicked reports followed one after another.
"Iceberg ahead."
"Nami, it's getting foggy!"
"Oh no, there's a hole in the bottom of the ship, it's leaking!"
"The Log Pose is off again!"
"What kind of sea is this?!"
Nami looked at the Log Pose, which had deviated again, and buried her face in her hands in despair, on the verge of tears.
Vivi and Mr. 9 secretly snickered at this scene.
"How did such a half-baked pirate crew even make it to the Grand Line?"
"Ho ho ho ho... I don't think it'll be long before they flee the Grand Line."
Thump!
Thump!
Luffy gave Vivi and Mr. 9 a punch each, then looked at the despairing Nami and said.
"Nami, calm down!"
Saying that, Luffy leaped to Nami's side, took off his Straw Hat, and placed it on her head, saying.
"Don't forget, you're the navigator I've chosen!"
Feeling the familiar sensation on her head, Nami was momentarily stunned.
She remembered when Luffy saved her; it was as if wearing this Straw Hat made her feel especially at ease.
"I'm sorry, Luffy."
"As the navigator of this ship, I was too negligent just now."
Nami apologized to Luffy and adjusted her mood.
The next second, her gaze became firm, and she began to direct the people on the ship.
"Usopp, you take care of the staysail. Turn the sail into the wind, so it catches the wind from the starboard side."
"Sanji, you take the helm, turn the ship 180 degrees to the left."
"Zoro..."
Nami's commands rang out one after another, and the others busied themselves according to her instructions.
During this time, Luffy also transmitted his heaven-defying comprehension to everyone, allowing them to adapt more quickly and navigate the Grand Line freely.
Soon, the ship, which had been in constant panic and chaos, became orderly.
This sudden change, as if a different crew had taken over, shocked Vivi and Mr. 9.
Especially Vivi, she couldn't help but look at Luffy, who was standing on the second floor, and couldn't help but exclaim in her heart.
"Such strong leadership!"
Although Luffy didn't do any work, with just one sentence, he seemed to have given the navigator a sense of security, which in turn made the entire ship orderly.
Soon, with everyone's efforts, the merry go was back on track, heading towards Whiskey Peak.
The first obstacle of the Grand Line was perfectly resolved.
...
Clear skies, gentle breeze.
The merry go sailed smoothly on the sea.
"Hey, I see an island!"
As usual, Zoro was the first to spot the island.
The others also rushed to the bow of the ship, looking across the sea.
Ahead of the merry go, an island shaped like several large cacti gradually appeared.
As the merry go drew closer, Luffy and the others could seemingly see the island's coastline, densely packed with people.
Looking at the people gathered on the coastline, everyone on the ship immediately felt puzzled.
"What are those people doing?"
"Why are they all gathered on the coast?"
Luffy smiled faintly, his gaze falling on Vivi and Mr. 9, and said,
"Why don't we just ask them?"
From the moment they saw the island, Vivi and Mr. 9 had looked preoccupied.
They had originally planned to lure Luffy and his crew to the island to capture them for a bounty, but after seeing Luffy's terrifying abilities, they began to worry about how the people on the island and they themselves would die.
Now that Luffy mentioned them, both of them looked nervous and uneasy.
"They are welcoming you. The people in our town are very warm and hospitable, and they will enthusiastically welcome and entertain passing guests."
Vivi said, her forehead sweating and her expression tense.
Although Luffy knew perfectly well who those people were, he still pretended to be unaware.
He leaned closer to the nervous and uneasy Vivi, questioning her,
"Welcoming and entertaining guests?"
"Didn't you say there's no food left in your town? And that they sent you to hunt Laboon to be the town's food?"
"A town that can't even feed itself, yet they're going to use their leftover food to welcome guests?"
After Luffy finished speaking, Vivi broke out in a cold sweat.
"Th-that's because..."
Vivi stammered for a long time but couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation.
Mr. 9 also looked nervous and fearful, not daring to breathe.
"I remember now."
Just then, Zoro suddenly blurted out.
The others turned to look at him.
"Remember what?"
Zoro walked over to Vivi and Mr. 9, looked at them, and said,
"At that time, when I heard you call yourselves Mr. and Ms., it sounded familiar."
"You... are from Baroque Works, aren't you!"
Vivi and Mr. 9 were both startled and subconsciously asked,
"How do you know?"
As soon as they spoke, they instantly realized they had let it slip and immediately became even more nervous, closing their mouths.
The others, meanwhile, became even more confused.
"Baroque Works? What's that?"
Zoro's eyes held a hint of recollection as he explained,
"Baroque Works is a large criminal organization that engages in various criminal activities."
"All its members use codenames and don't know each other's identities."
"Even higher-ranking executives keep their appearances a secret."
"I heard that no one even knows who the boss behind this Baroque Works is."
At these words, the others were immediately startled.
Vivi and Mr. 9, meanwhile, turned ashen and remained silent.
Zoro continued,
"At that time, when I was still a bounty hunter, this organization once invited me to join, but I refused."
Saying this, Zoro looked at Vivi and Mr. 9 with cold eyes and said,
"It seems then that all those people on the coast are assassins from Baroque Works!"
"You two, you're trying to kill us!"
Zoro swiftly drew his sword, its cold gleam reflecting on Vivi's face, causing her to tremble and her eyes to fill with terror.
The others, at this moment, looked worried and hesitant.
Usopp was the first to suggest retreat.
"What should we do then? Let's not go to this island; let's go to another one!"
No sooner had he spoken than Nami, who was usually part of the cowardly group, directly refused.
"No! We can only know the direction to the next island after recording this island's magnetic field."
"We must land on this island now."
Sanji lit a cigarette and said casually,
"There's no other way; we'll just have to take them all out!"
Zoro also agreed with this suggestion, drawing his sword and pointing it at Vivi and Mr. 9.
"Then... let's start with these two!"
Seeing this, Vivi's pupils trembled, and her face filled with terror.
Watching the cold gleam of Zoro's blade gradually approach, Vivi suddenly screamed out,
"No!"
Zoro said coldly,
"Hey! This isn't something you can just say no to! I'm the one holding the sword right now!"
Seeing Zoro show no signs of backing down, Vivi suddenly rushed in front of Luffy, pleading with him,
"I can't die yet."
"Please, I still have something I must do."
"Everyone... is waiting for me!"
Luffy looked into Vivi's eyes.
There was no fear of impending death in her eyes; instead, they were filled with infinite hope and determination.
A strong hope to live and a strong determination to accomplish something.
"Luffy, don't believe her. This woman has lied to us again and again; she's definitely lying this time too."
Zoro frowned and looked at Vivi angrily, advising Luffy.
"Please!!!"
Vivi's voice became choked, and tears welled up and poured from her eyes.
She bit her lip tightly, her hope and determination incredibly strong in her eyes.
This scene moved Nami, Uta, and Nojiko.
Their innate female intuition told them that Vivi didn't seem to be lying this time.
"Luffy..."
Several of them murmured Luffy's name, attempting to intercede for Vivi.
But before they could speak, Luffy's voice rang out.
"Zoro, put your sword away!"
Zoro clenched his teeth, calling out in a persistent, advising tone,
"Luffy!"
Luffy looked at Vivi's tear-filled eyes, then suddenly smiled faintly and said,
"I said before, I believe she's not a bad person."
Hearing Luffy's words, Vivi was momentarily stunned.
She stared blankly at Luffy, her eyes filled with both confusion and gratitude.
She didn't know why Luffy trusted her so much, but this trust deeply moved and grateful her.
Vivi said in a choked voice,
"Thank you, Mr. Luffy."
At this moment, Nami, who was nearby, leaned in and asked curiously,
"Who... exactly are you?"
She always felt that this woman was definitely not simple.
Vivi wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and apologized,
"I'm sorry, I can't tell you my identity."
"It will bring you trouble."
Seeing that Vivi was unwilling to say more, Luffy and the others stopped asking.
Instead, they shifted their gaze to Whiskey Peak, which was getting closer and closer.
Zoro placed his hand on his sword and asked Luffy,
"Luffy, what about those guys?"
Luffy smiled and said,
"Since they want to host a banquet to welcome us, let's attend the banquet first!"
"After all, they've prepared delicious food and wine; we might as well enjoy it."
...
Whiskey Peak, on the coast.
"Welcome, welcome!"
"Welcome to the Grand Line."
"Welcome to our town."
As the merry go slowly approached, the hospitable "townspeople" of Whiskey Peak all beamed with enthusiastic smiles, starting to welcome Luffy and his crew from afar.
Luffy and the others all appeared very excited and joyful, enthusiastically greeting these townspeople.
After Luffy's crew and Vivi and Mr. 9 landed, a man with three curly strands of hair on each side of his head walked over and said,
"Welcome, ahem... Ma-ma-ma..."
The man paused mid-sentence and cleared his throat with a beautiful, operatic sound.
After clearing his throat, he continued,
"Welcome, everyone. I am the mayor of this town, Igaram."
"Perhaps you are all surprised! Whiskey Peak is a town where music and winemaking are very developed, and hospitality is our town's proud tradition."
"Our proud wine is as inexhaustible as seawater."
"Tonight, please allow us to hold a banquet to welcome you. May I ask, everyone... Ma-ma-ma... will you grace us with your presence?"
Hearing the invitation to the banquet, Luffy and the others were all incredibly excited and cheered joyfully.
"That's great, we'd love to!"
Under Igaram's lead, Luffy and the others headed towards the banquet location.
Meanwhile, the townspeople on the coast revealed sinister smiles.
"Hahaha! Those idiots fell for it so easily."
"I really didn't expect it to go so smoothly!"
"We have to thank Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday for this! They brought us important guests!"
"That's right! Thanks to both of them!"
Suddenly noticing Vivi and Mr. 9 walking behind Luffy and the others, the townspeople on the coast immediately shouted enthusiastically.
"Mr. 9, Ms. Wednesday, thank you for bringing us important guests."
"That's right, Mr. 9, Ms. Wednesday, you are the heroes of our town, thank you!"
"Thank you!"
Vivi and Mr. 9, who were following behind Luffy and the others, couldn't help but sweat on their foreheads upon hearing these words, stumbling and almost falling flat.
It was already a foregone conclusion that the Straw Hat Crew would fight with the people here, so nothing they said could change that.
All they could think about now was how to escape when the time came.
Night fell, and the bright Moon hung high.
Inside a room.
Usopp's face was flushed, holding a wine glass, striking a proud pose, and bragging to the townspeople beside him.
"At that moment, I coolly said, Sea Kings, don't touch my companions."
Upon seeing this, several women beside him shrieked like fangirls.
"Ahhh! Captain Usopp, how magnificent."
Zoro, on the other hand, was having a drinking contest, cup after cup.
Luffy's mouth was also ceaselessly stuffing meat and wine.
The others were in similar situations, happily and joyfully drinking with the enthusiastic townspeople around them.