Luffy's piercing, excited shout instantly shattered the slightly amusing atmosphere in the dining room.
"I see the Incredible Mountain!!!"
Usopp's story came to an abrupt halt. He and Nami sprang from their chairs almost simultaneously, their faces instantly filled with curiosity and anticipation.
"Is it real?!"
"Let's go out and see!"
Nami, wearing a raincoat, was the first to rush out, with Usopp close behind. As he reached the doorway, he didn't forget to turn back and shout to Tomioka, who was still seated: "Hey! Tomioka! Come and see! The real adventure has begun!"
Tomioka looked at the two rushing out, feeling a bit puzzled. He could sense the difference between them and the other three on the deck—they were both very weak… What exactly was it about this ocean that attracted them, making them want to explore it even in their weakness? Wasn't it already a great fortune to be alive in this world? Tomioka silently stood up, draped his semi-dry haori back on, and followed them out of the dining room.
As soon as he stepped onto the deck, an scent mixed with rain hit him. But even more stunning than the scent was the epic, grand spectacle before his eyes.
It was as if the entire world was filled by an infinitely tall, dark red colossal wall stretching in both directions.
It pierced through the low-hanging dark clouds, broke through the gloomy sky, its height and width reaching the limits of his vision, as if this was the end of the world.
"So… such thick clouds! I can't see the top at all, nor the edges!" Usopp muttered, craning his head upwards.
"That's right! That's the Red Line!!!" Luffy stood at the bow, pointing forward, trembling with excitement, his eyes under the Mugiwara gleaming with an incredibly bright light.
"Shanks told me! Once you see the Red Line and cross it, you've entered the Grand Line!"
Shanks… Tomioka silently repeated the name. He had heard Luffy mention him a few times since boarding the ship.
It seemed like someone Luffy often reminisced about.
"Red Line?" Tomioka looked at the colossal wall, which seemed to have existed since ancient times, and voiced his question.
"Yes! That's it!" Luffy nodded vigorously. "It's a super huge continent that circles the entire world! Super—amazing!"
Just as everyone was marveling at this natural wonder, Zoro, with his arms crossed, reminded them rather spoil-sportingly: "Hey, Navigator, if we keep going, we're going to crash head-on into this wall. What kind of entrance is this?"
"Idiot! Look at that crack ahead!" Nami retorted unceremoniously, her voice filled with the excitement of having found their target. She pointed forward.
Everyone followed her refer todirection. On the seamless, dark red colossal wall, there indeed existed a deep fissure, almost blending into the background.
As the distance closed, the fissure gradually revealed its true form: a magnificent and unparalleled canal entrance that had been carved out.
Ocean currents surging from all directions, as if gathered by an invisible giant hand, eventually converged into this sole passage, rushing towards the depths of Reverse Mountain.
Everything before their eyes had exceeded the realm of what common sense could explain.
Nami looked at the scene before her and murmured, "How amazing."
"It's like… a dream…" Even Zoro's face showed a look of awe.
"We're getting sucked in!"
Luffy shouted, breaking everyone's enchantment.
"Got it!" Sanji immediately ran to the helm.
Usopp instinctively wanted to follow to help. Usopp ran two steps, then suddenly stopped, as if remembering something.
He turned around, vigorously wiped his nose, and struck a pose like a Captain, saying to the silent Tomioka beside him: "Hey! Look, Tomioka! This is one of my eight thousand subordinates, the helmsman Sanji! He's about to carry out a great voyage under this Captain's orders!"
A clear tic-mark instantly appeared on Sanji's forehead. He wanted to say something but held back.
"We're almost there! The canal entrance!" Luffy's voice rang out again, full of urgency.
The Going Merry was caught by the enormous current, rushing towards the increasingly close canal entrance at an astonishing speed. The water flow became exceptionally turbulent, and the ship rocked violently.
"A little to the left! No! To the right! To the right!" Luffy yelled commands from the bow.
Sanji desperately operated the helm under Luffy's instructions, unable to help but complain: "You bastard, did you even aim right?! The direction is way off!"
"Ah! I suddenly thought of a good idea!" Luffy slapped his head, an excited, eureka-like smile appearing on his face. He suddenly remembered the maneuver he used when he rescued Tomioka in the Calm Belt earlier.
He quickly ran to the bow, his legs skillfully wrapping tightly around the Going Merry's figurehead, securing himself.
"Gum-Gum—"
His upper body and arms stretched out towards the canal entrance with unprecedented speed and length!
To everyone's astonishment, his body spanned the last distance, and his two rubber hands precisely and powerfully grasped the huge, ancient stone pillars at the canal entrance!
"Full speed ahead!!!" Luffy roared excitedly, his arm muscles bulging. Using the immense force of his rubber contraction, he began to pull the Going Merry faster and more steadily into the correct course, like dragging a toy boat!
"Luffy, when did you get so smart?!" Nami looked at the steadily guided Going Merry, unable to help but exclaim. This was indeed a pretty effective way to get out of their current predicament.
"Hahahahahahaha!" Usopp immediately became smug, as if he had come up with the idea himself. He slapped Tomioka's shoulder next to him, continuing to boast.
"Tomioka! Look! Monkey D. Luffy is also one of my capable subordinates! As expected of the top warrior under Captain Usopp! Wahahahaha!"
[Target: Usopp]
[Status: Carried away]
[Preference: Boasting]
[Suggestion: …]
Tomioka listened expressionlessly to the incessant chatter beside him, the lines of his cold profile seeming to stiffen a bit more.
For the first time, he regretted the previous suggestion to "acknowledge and humor him"—Usopp's words were simply too dense. Then he quietly moved two steps to the side.
However, at this moment, when there was no accident, Luffy was the biggest accident.
Luffy's body and arms suddenly retracted rapidly, hitting the deck with a loud "thud." He rubbed his head, seemingly having fully come to his senses, and suddenly turned to stare at Usopp: "Hey! Usopp! I'm the Captain!"
Almost at the same instant, the Going Merry, having lost its traction, lurched violently to one side due to inertia. The surging current was carrying it, and it was about to crash hard into the solid stone wall at the canal entrance!
Nami's scream instantly pierced through the wind and rain: "Ahhhhhhh! Idiot Luffy! We're going to crash!!! Turn the rudder! Turn the rudder!"
Zoro looked at the two clowns, a vein throbbing in his temple: "Two complete idiots!"
Sanji had already lunged at the helm, desperately trying to turn the ship, but the current's power was too immense, and the rudder was incredibly heavy. It looked like the figurehead was about to have an intimate encounter with the stone wall!
At the critical moment! It was Luffy again!
"Gum-Gum—"
Luffy's reaction was astonishingly fast. He again took a sharp breath, his stomach rapidly inflating like a giant rubber balloon, instantly filling the gap between the bow and the stone wall!
"Balloon!"
Bang!
A dull but powerful thud. Luffy's highly elastic body acted like a giant cushion, forcefully bouncing the Going Merry back.
The ship violently swayed as it was pushed back into the current, temporarily escaping the danger of crashing, but it still rocked unsteadily in the current. Luffy himself was propelled into the air by the recoil, looking like he was about to fall into the surging tributary nearby.
"Zoro!" Luffy shouted from the air.
"Got it!" Zoro instantly understood, rushing to the ship's side in a single stride, firmly planting his feet. "Grab me quickly!"
Luffy immediately stretched out his arm, firmly grasping Zoro's outstretched arm.
Zoro grunted, his muscles bulging, as he forcefully resisted the pulling force and violently swung Luffy back onto the deck.
At this moment, the Going Merry was still swaying and spinning in the uncontrolled current, liable to crash into the rock wall again at any moment.
As Sanji struggled with the out-of-control helm, sweat beaded on his forehead, a calm voice spoke beside him.
"Let me try."
Sanji froze, turning his head to see Tomioka, who had walked up to him without him noticing. There was no ripple in his deep blue eyes, but a convincing calm.
There was no time to hesitate. Sanji instinctively let go: "It's all yours!"
Tomioka firmly gripped the wildly shaking helm. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
His breathing rhythm instantly changed, becoming long and deep, his aura seemingly synchronizing with the surging ocean currents.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm."
At this moment, in his hands, the violent helm seemed to transform into another Blade, and the surging, chaotic currents beneath his feet became an enemy to be sensed.
His entire perception was heightened to the extreme. Through the helm, he felt the force and direction of every underwater current.
His wrists began to adjust, not fighting against the ocean's power, but rather like deflecting an enemy's force, skillfully using the momentum to guide.
Under Tomioka's control, the Going Merry's bow was slowly straightened, steadily cutting back into the main current of that miraculous canal!
"Oh!!!" Luffy was the first to cheer.
Zoro raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "...Not bad."
Nami let out a long sigh of relief, almost collapsing onto the deck.
One after another, colossal canal gates, like thresholds, began to rapidly whiz past. When the ship passed through the last stone gate, it meant they had completely entered the interior of this miraculous path.
"We're in!!!"
The ecstatic joy of surviving a great danger instantly replaced the previous peril, and everyone erupted in a fervent, boundless cheer!
Nami stood at the bow, excitedly waving her raincoat;
Zoro, holding his three swords, a confident smile playing on his lips, faced forward;
Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp excitedly jumped and high-fived.
Even Tomioka couldn't help but subtly glance around, observing the ancient, chisel-marked rock walls rushing past on both sides, and the water below that carried the ship upwards, his eyes reflecting surprise at this wondrous natural phenomenon.
Just then, Sanji clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention: "Hey, everyone! That ceremony we couldn't do in the storm, let's do it now!"
As he spoke, he again brought out the familiar barrel and placed it in the center of the deck.
"Let's hold our ceremony for about to break into this greatest sea!"
Sanji announced loudly, being the first to place his foot on the barrel. "I, for finding All Blue!"
Luffy immediately jumped over, unhesitatingly placing his straw sandal on it, his voice loud and firm: "I, for becoming the Kaizoku-ō!"
Zoro stepped forward, placing his foot on it with a steady motion: "I, for becoming the world's greatest swordsman!"
Nami smiled as she squeezed in, placing her foot beside it: "I, for drawing a map of the entire world!"
When it was Usopp's turn, he looked at the incredibly firm dreams of his companions, his face flushed slightly, and he stammered a bit, but still bravely declared loudly: "I... I-I-I am for becoming a brave warrior of the sea!"
Everyone's gaze finally fell on Giyu Tomioka, who was the only one still standing outside the circle.
Nami gave him a cheerful and sincere smile: "Come on, Tomioka. I know you want to say you're not one of us, but at least we're teammates traveling together now. We can celebrate this important moment together, right?"
Tomioka looked at the empty space intentionally left on the barrel, then at the gazes around him—Luffy's anticipation, Zoro's unspoken approval, Sanji's invitation, Usopp's encouragement, and Nami's sincerity.
He was silent for a moment, then finally took a step, walked to the barrel, and gently placed his right foot in that last empty spot.
His voice was still calm, but with a barely perceptible added solemnity than usual.
"I… am for finding my way home…" Tomioka paused, as if considering how to phrase it, and finally gave the answer: "And… I don't want to be disliked…"
The air on the deck seemed to freeze for a second.
"Huh?" Zoro's reaction was direct and blunt. He frowned, with an expression that said, 'What kind of problem is that?' "Who dislikes you? No one even notices you when you're quietly minding your own business, okay? When you talk, you just get weirder."
"Pfft…"
"Pffthahahaha…"
Zoro's remark hit everyone's funny bone.
First, Usopp couldn't hold back a snort, then Sanji turned away, emitting suppressed laughter, then Nami covered her mouth, and finally, Luffy was also infected by the atmosphere.
"Wahahaha! Zoro, you're so mean!" Luffy was the loudest laugher.
Nami also laughed, shaking her head: "Honestly… both of them are problem children."
This lighthearted laughter, like an invisible acceptance, quietly enveloped Tomioka.
And amidst this laughter, the Going Merry also seemed to be infected, its bow letting out a proud whinny, suddenly rearing upwards!
The light abruptly brightened; they had broken through the clouds at the top of the canal!
In an instant, it felt as if they had reached the peak of the world.
The view suddenly opened up. The summit of Reverse Mountain was a mountaintop sea, where currents converged and then surged towards the completely unknown Grand Line on the other side of the mountain!
"Waaaahhh!" Luffy was the first to climb onto the Going Merry's figurehead. Standing at the highest point, he cupped his hands around his mouth and, with all his might, let out a declarative shout towards that ocean full of infinite possibilities:
"We're here!!! Grand Line!!!"
The Going Merry, following the enormous drop and the converging currents, plunged downwards!
"We're plunging down!!!"
A tremendous sense of weightlessness struck, but it couldn't suppress the boiling blood and cheers of everyone on board.
The fierce wind pulled everyone's clothes and hair backward. Luffy spread his arms, laughing and shouting: "I see it! This is the greatest sea in the world! The Grand Line!"
Giyu Tomioka gripped the railing, looking down at the magical sea below—with its flashes of lightning and myriad phenomena, yet radiating infinite charm, attracting countless adventurers. The strong wind filled his haori of different patterns.
A new journey had already begun.
[2433 words]
I hope your like the chapter 😊.
[Power Stones Required]