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"Waaah!"
Amidst Nami's high-pitched shriek, the Dream Chaser plunged straight into the mountain-climbing waterway, ascending the vertical slope with the velocity of a launched rocket. As the immediate danger of crashing passed and the ship settled into its climb, Nami's fear evaporated, replaced by an explosion of adrenaline. She raised her arms and cheered at the top of her lungs.
"Yay! We made it! We're actually doing it! Just a little further and we'll reach the Grand Line!" Her eyes sparkled with pure joy. This was the moment she had dreamed of for years; the legendary sea was finally within her grasp.
Sanji leaned against the cabin wall and flicked his lighter. He exhaled a cloud of smoke with an air of suave confidence, though a wide grin betrayed his cool facade. "The All Blue... the legendary sea of chefs. I don't know where you are in the Grand Line, but wait for me. I'm coming to find you."
Goku pushed off with his legs, performing a neat backflip over the railing and onto the deck. "That was close, that was close," he muttered, before scurrying up the mast to survey their progress. "Sugoi! Look how high we are!" From his vantage point, the ocean had vanished, replaced by the sheer red cliffs of the Red Line flanking the narrow canal.
"Of course! We're on top of the world!" Nami explained, her hands on her hips. "The Red Line is ten thousand meters high!"
"Ten thousand meters? That's amazing!" Goku gasped.
As the excitement of the climb began to simmer down, Nami turned her attention to Goku. "By the way, Goku, what was that blue light earlier? How did you move the ship like that?"
Sanji looked over curiously as well. They both knew that if Goku hadn't acted, the Dream Chaser would have been splattered across the red rock like a bug on a windshield.
"Hehe, that was a Kamehameha," Goku said with a grin, scratching the back of his head. "I used the push to move us."
"A Kamehameha?" Nami and Sanji repeated the strange name in unison.
"It's a really powerful technique Grandpa Master Roshi taught me," Goku explained.
Nami crossed her arms. "If it's so powerful, why haven't you used it before?"
"Because I could beat everyone before without it," Goku said matter-of-factly, tilting his head as if the answer were obvious.
Nami and Sanji exchanged a stunned look. They had already witnessed Goku's terrifying strength, but to realize he had been holding back a massive trump card the entire time was humbling.
The Summit and the Descent
Suddenly, the ship felt as if it were flying. For a heartbeat, they were weightless. Then, the hull slammed back down into the water with a thunderous splash, drenching the deck in salt spray.
"We're at the top!" Nami cried out. They were no longer climbing; they were gliding horizontally across the summit of Reverse Mountain.
But the relief was short-lived. The waterway ahead abruptly dipped into a terrifying downward curve. The Dream Chaser shot forward like an unbridled wild horse, hurtling down the other side of the mountain toward the Grand Line.
"Waaahhh!!!" Nami clung to the railing, her body fluttering like a flag in the wind. Sanji stood nearby, trying to play the gallant knight but struggling to keep his own balance. Goku, however, had jumped onto the very tip of the bow, his hair a mess in the headwind and a wide, happy smile on his face.
"Hahahaha! This is so much fun!" Goku cheered.
"Go, go, go?! Go where?!" Nami roared over the sound of the wind. "If we go any faster, the ship is going to fall apart!"
Goku didn't hear her. He was too busy enjoying the ride of a lifetime. The waterway felt like a waterfall descending from the heavens, the roar of the water echoing like thunder.
The Colossal Wall
As the end of the waterway approached, Nami's terror began to fade into hope. They were almost at the bottom. But then, a mountain-sized shadow rose from the sea, blocking the path entirely.
"Waaahhh!!! What is that?!" Nami's face went pale. A colossal creature, larger than any building she had ever seen, stood directly in their trajectory.
Sanji froze, his cigarette dropping from his lips. He dashed into the cabin, wrestling with the rudder, but the current was far too strong. They were going to hit it.
"Goku! Use that move! Use it now!" Nami shrieked.
Goku didn't need to be told twice. He sensed the danger and assumed his stance. "Ka...me...ha...me...HA!!!"
Boom!!!
The recoil of the blue blast shoved the bow of the ship sideways at the last possible second. The Dream Chaser veered sharply, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision. As the current slowed and the ship drifted into the calm waters of the Grand Line, they looked up in awe. The "monster" was an unimaginably large whale.
"Sugoi! Look at the size of that whale!" Goku looked up, his eyes wide. Then, he rubbed his stomach. Those two Kamehamehas had drained his energy. "I wonder if it tastes good."
Nami and Sanji were still processing the sheer scale of the creature. "Is this the Grand Line? Everything is so big," Sanji muttered.
Suddenly, they saw Goku extending his Ruyi Jingu Bang toward the whale's side.
"Goku! Stop! What are you doing?!" Nami screamed.
Goku ignored her. He used the staff to bridge the gap, leaped onto the whale's massive flank, grabbed hold with both hands, and—true to his Saiyan nature—opened his mouth and took a massive bite of the whale's skin.