Reverse Mountain, a colossus reaching into the sky, towered over the point where four seas merged into a single maelstrom. It stood on the Red Line, a gigantic barrier dividing worlds. Beyond it, on the other side of the world, lay the Grand Line, a mysterious and dangerous land where adventurers and dreamers could find both glory and ruin.
The mountain held unimaginable dangers, but it also served as the only entrance to the Grand Line. Unless you possessed a Log Pose, the compass that showed you the way, you had to pass through it to reach your destination.
The force of currents, defying the laws of physics, stirred the seawater, creating four gigantic currents that, like gigantic rivers, rushed toward the mountaintop. Where they met, forming a gigantic cross, the water rushed downward, creating the only passage into the Grand Line.
Reverse Mountain is both the beginning and the end of the Grand Line. Beyond it, in the New World, began an endless and treacherous journey, where every day held new challenges.
"Wow, how high is this mountain?" Rodney, a young adventurer, looked in disbelief at the peak, hidden in thick clouds.
At the foot of the mountain, where the passage began, seawater magically surged upward, creating the illusion of an incredible waterfall. The walls of the passage were adorned with ancient stone gates covered in mysterious patterns, like relics of bygone eras.
"Momu, let's get up, leave this place, and head for the Grand Line! Freedom awaits us there!" Rodney patted his faithful manatee, Momu, on the back, and he, mooing, rushed off into the current.
The ocean current was turbulent, as if the water was trying to escape from the top of a mountain, but at the same time it rushed upward, violating all the laws of nature.
"Who's going to tell me now that water flows downhill? I'm in a hurry!" Rodney laughed, feeling the wind ruffling his hair and water splashing his face.
They rose through the clouds, and soon a mesmerizing picture opened up before them: four giant streams converged on the top of the mountain, forming a whirlpool that directed the entire world towards a single exit.
"Let's go!" Rodney, his eyes shining with anticipation, pushed Moma toward the descent.
It was thrilling, like riding the most dizzying roller coaster. Momoo was stable, but the waves rose frequently, drenching them from head to toe in wet spray. Rodney was soaking wet, looking like a drowned chicken, but his spirit was high.
"Oh-Momu, speed up, speed up, speed up!" Rodney continued to chatter like a child playing on the most exciting ride in the world.
Emerging from the clouds, Rodney saw an exit, but instead of open sea, a huge black island loomed before him.
"Momu, slow down, slow down, slow down!" Rodney screamed in horror, realizing they were hurtling at high speed toward a collision with an unknown obstacle.
- Mu... - Momu also tried to slow down, but the force of the current was irresistible.
"Human! Why are you so stupid?!" A piercing scream echoed in my ears, as if dozens of people were screaming in agony, their nails scraping against wood, and knives scratching glass.
Momu also closed his eyes in pain, pressing his ears to his skin. His hearing was sharper than Rodney's, and he could understand the language of animals. In these sounds, he detected a mixture of pain, emotion, hope, and sadness.
Unable to bear it, they rolled into the sea, and Rodney followed them, his feet stuck to Mom's scalp as if glued, his hands clutching his horns.
A huge black island loomed before them. It was so huge that it seemed endless.
"MoMu, turn around quickly if you don't want to be swallowed!" Rodney shouted as he saw the huge mouth opening in front of them.
Momu, struggling with the powerful suction, managed to dodge the huge teeth.
"Phew, we're saved." Rodney and Momu simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.
"Is this Laboon the Whale Island? It's absolutely enormous." Rodney looked at the enormous, scarred whale.
Decades ago, the island whale arrived here with the Rumbar pirates. The Rumbar pirates entrusted it to Crocus, the guardian of Twin Point, and made a pact with Laboon to circumnavigate the globe and return. Unfortunately, 49 years ago, the Rumbar pirates were destroyed by other pirates in the Florian Triangle.
In the end, only Brook, who had eaten the Life Fruit, remained of the pirate crew that had brought joy to crying children. He found himself trapped in the Sea of Magical Triangles.
As for Laboon, he waited fifty years, but the Rumbar Pirates he so dreamed of never appeared. Furthermore, due to his enormous size, he couldn't return to his former home by sea. Day after day, he repeatedly encountered the Red Line, striving to reach the other shore and reunite with the Rumbar Pirates. He wanted to honor their previous agreement.
"Forget it, let's do Laboon a favor." Sighing, Rodney gathered chakra near his vocal cords and raised his voice. "Laboon, look here! I have news about the Rumbar pirates!"
The Rumbar Pirates were like family to Laboon.
A thunderous roar echoed across the island, startling Rodney. Its huge eyes, like two glowing orbs, stared at Rodney and Momo, who had turned pale and curled up into a ball. Tears streamed down his wrinkled face, and the manatee's "moo" escaped him in a quiet plea.
"Don't you dare run!" Rodney barked, feeling rage boiling inside him. "If you take a step, I'll cook you. You're no different from those sea kings you ate before. Just like them, I'll eat you!"
Momo, choking with fear, wanted to run, but Rodney's threat paralyzed him. He felt cornered, like a small fish caught in a predator's net.
"I'm in a terrible situation!" (T_T) he whispered, desperation evident in his voice.
Suddenly, as if in answer to his prayer, a piercing sound pierced the silence. Rodney, unable to bear it, covered his ears, but the sound cut through his fingers like a sharp knife cutting through his nerves.
"Boy, how do you know about the Rumbar pirates?" a voice, hoarse with age, came from behind Rodney.
An old man climbed onto Laboon's back, like a ghost from the past. His eyes, hidden behind thick glasses, glittered suspiciously. A flowery shirt and a headdress resembling a cockscomb gave him the appearance of a humorous yet menacing figure.
"That's Crocus," Rodney whispered, recognizing the old man as the ship's doctor of the Pirate Roger and the keeper of Twin Point.
Crocus, spending his days reading newspapers, kept Laboon company, caring for his health. They became inseparable friends, their destinies linked many years ago. It was only during the voyage with Roger that their paths diverged, but upon his return, Crocus once again settled on the island, next to Laboon.
"We made it all the way to Laughing Tale, but we still haven't encountered the Rumbar pirates," Crocus said, his voice sad. "I figured they must have left. To make sure Laboon wouldn't wait in vain, I told him, and he decided to head for the Red Line."
Crocus frowned when he learned the young man claimed ties to the Rumbar pirates. The boy couldn't have been more than twenty, and the Rumbar pirates were a fifty-year-old story. Few remembered them, and yet this guy, seemingly out of nowhere, claimed to know them?
"He's talkative," thought Crocus, "which means he's probably a liar."
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