At the entrance to the Grand Line—Reverse Mountain.
When the Going Merry shot up into the clouds along that canal that defied all physical laws and reached the highest point of the Red Line, the world seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then gravity took over.
"Hold on tight!!!"
Ronan locked one hand firmly onto the railing, his feet rooted to the deck like an ancient tree, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
The moment the bow crossed the peak, a terrifying sense of weightlessness struck.
The Going Merry became a runaway roller coaster, plunging headlong down a nearly vertical, impossibly wide waterway toward the vast and unknown sea below!
"WAAAAAAH—!!!"
Luffy's excited scream, Usopp's panicked wailing, and the howling wind tearing through the air blended together.
They were going too fast!
The red rock walls on both sides blurred into streaks, leaving only deafening wind and water in their ears.
The ship shook violently, as if it might come apart at any second.
Ronan could even feel the deck planks beneath his feet crying out in protest.
"Here we go—!!!"
"BOOOOM!!!"
With a thunderous crash, the Going Merry slammed down onto the sea surface with overwhelming force.
The impact hurled up a massive white spray tens of meters high, like the roar of an enraged sea god, engulfing the entire ship in mist.
Waves churned violently. The Going Merry was tossed back and forth between crests and troughs for a long while before buoyancy finally won out and the ship stabilized.
The mist cleared. Sunlight poured back onto the deck.
"W-we… survived…" Usopp collapsed limply, his soul seemingly still hovering somewhere above.
Ronan wiped seawater from his face and looked up.
Behind them, on both sides of the sea, stood two oddly shaped, perfectly symmetrical white lighthouses.
Like silent sentinels, they guarded the gateway to the Grand Line.
"That's…" Ronan drew a deep breath, an indescribable thrill rising in his chest. "The Twin Cape lighthouses."
"We made it!"
Nami shouted excitedly. "This is it—the starting point of the Grand Line, Twin Cape!"
"We're finally here!!"
Luffy leapt onto the sheep figurehead at the bow, spreading his arms wide as he embraced this brand-new sea.
"Shishishi! The Grand Line! I'm here!"
The sea around them was eerily calm—deep blue water stretching endlessly, with only the occasional massive seabird gliding past, its cry echoing with loneliness.
This was where countless pirates' dreams began—and where countless ambitions were buried.
But the calm didn't last long.
"Hmmm—"
Ronan and the others' Observation Haki all picked up something strange at the same time.
A massive, suffocating life force was rising rapidly from the depths beneath the Going Merry.
"What's going on?"
Zoro frowned, his hand instantly gripping the hilt of Wado Ichimonji as he stared at the blue sea. "Something huge… is coming up."
"H-huge? How huge?" Usopp had barely gotten back on his feet before his legs went weak again. "The Grand Line really is terrifying! We just got here—are we already fighting?!"
Ronan stood by the railing, his gaze deep.
As a reincarnator, he knew exactly what was about to appear.
The island whale—Laboon.
In the original story, the Going Merry failed to stop in time and was swallowed whole by Laboon.
But this time, due to the butterfly effect, they had avoided that "being eaten" outcome.
Even so, the oppressive presence of a giant beast at this distance was enough to make anyone's heart race.
"Gurgle—"
The sea began to boil as countless enormous bubbles surged upward.
A vast shadow spread beneath the surface, completely engulfing the Going Merry.
"SPLOOOSH—!!!"
With a deafening roar, the ocean seemed to split open.
A black "mountain," carrying the thunder of tens of thousands of tons of seawater, burst up from beneath the waves!
It was a whale.
A whale so enormous it defied imagination—like an island rising from the sea.
In front of it, the Going Merry was nothing more than an insect.
Just its head alone, breaking the surface, blocked out half the sky.
"AAAAAH! A m-monster!!"
Nami and Usopp clutched each other and screamed in despair, tears streaming instantly.
Against a creature of this size, human effort was meaningless—one casual roll from it could generate waves that would smash the Going Merry to pieces.
"So big…"
Luffy craned his neck until it ached, his mouth forming a perfect "O," eyes filled with awe.
"So this is a fish from the Grand Line? It looks really tasty—no, wait, really amazing!"
"With a body like that… even Sea Kings don't compare." Zoro's grip on his sword tightened, sweat forming on his palm. His fighting spirit burned, but so did the pressure.
Laboon didn't attack.
It simply floated there, quietly.
In its massive eyes, there was no killing intent—only profound loneliness and sorrow.
It gazed toward the Red Line and let out a low, drawn-out call.
The sound waves shook the air itself, making the Going Merry's mast tremble.
Just as everyone stood frozen in shock at Laboon's sheer size, something utterly absurd happened.
Click.
A crisp mechanical unlocking sound rang out.
Before the crew's eyes—nearly popping out of their sockets—an iron door opened out of nowhere on top of Laboon's bald, scar-covered head!
"A door?!" Usopp rubbed his eyes. "A door on a whale's head?! Am I hallucinating from fear?!"
Then the door swung open.
A strange-looking old man stepped out from inside the whale.
He was solidly built, with a broad jaw and glasses, his hair fanning out like petals.
He wore a flashy pink shirt patterned with yellow and green flowers, paired with light blue shorts and sandals.
Most striking were the conspicuous scar on his left arm and the green gemstone bracelet on his wrist, glinting in the sunlight.
Crocus.
Once the ship's doctor of the Pirate King Gol D. Roger, now the lighthouse keeper of Twin Cape.
In his hands, like chickens, he carried two people tightly bound with rope—a man and a woman.
The man wore a crown and looked like a circus performer; the woman had long blue hair and, despite being covered in dust, couldn't hide her beauty.
They were Baroque Works' Mr. 9 and Princess Vivi.
Ignoring their pig-slaughter-like struggles, Crocus leapt effortlessly—displaying agility completely at odds with his age—and landed steadily beside the left lighthouse.
He dropped the captives, adjusted his glasses, and swept his gaze across the crew of the Going Merry, his eyes filled with scrutiny and the weight of years.
"So… more newcomers to the Grand Line, huh…"
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