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Compared to the gloomy, rain-lashed weather they had endured while entering Reverse Mountain, the sky inside the Grand Line gateway was now clear. A gentle, pleasant breeze swept across the water, and warm sunlight bathed the world in a cozy glow.
However, Nami and Sanji felt no warmth at all. Instead, a sharp chill ran down their spines, and their hearts felt like blocks of ice. They watched in paralyzed horror as Sun Wukong provoked a creature whose single eyeball was larger than their entire ship.
And he had provoked it by taking a bite out of it.
"Hey!!! Are you insane?!"
"We know you have a black hole for a stomach, but did you really think you could eat a mountain-sized whale?!"
"It's not going to be lunch! We're going to be the lunch! People, ship, and all!"
Their internal monologues screamed in unison. They wanted to turn the ship and flee, but their bodies were stiff with fright. Cold sweat poured down their faces, and their expressions were distorted by pure terror. The giant whale, which had previously been ignoring them, slowly rotated its massive eye until it was staring fixedly at the tiny Dream Chaser.
"Its skin is so tough!" Satori grumbled. He had found it nearly impossible to chew the rubbery hide and quickly lost his appetite. He smacked his lips, retracted his Ruyi Jingu Bang, and hopped back onto the deck.
But the damage was done. The whale moved, its massive tail causing the sea to surge in waves so high they rivaled a tropical storm. The creature turned its head toward them and opened its abyssal mouth—a maw wide enough to swallow a small island. A terrifying suction force erupted.
In an instant, the ocean in front of the whale was vacuumed up, carrying schools of fish, shrimp, and the completely helpless Dream Chaser into the darkness.
"Wah ah ah ah! We're being eaten!" Nami wailed, covering her face as the light of the sun vanished. Sanji wrestled with the rudder, his muscles bulging as he tried to fight the current, but the suction was overwhelming. They were swept into the throat of the beast, powerless to resist the tide.
"Oh? Were we eaten?"
A boisterous, casual voice cut through their panic. They looked over to see Satori holding the back of his head, looking around with a carefree expression as if they were merely entering a dark tunnel.
Creak!
Nami and Sanji's fists clenched simultaneously. Their teeth sharpened into fangs as they turned on Satori like enraged predators. They began pounding on his head with comedic fury.
"How can you be so calm?! It's your fault we're in this mess!"
"Do you realize we are currently inside a stomach?! Stop acting like it's a field trip!"
Satori grimaced under the barrage of blows, looking entirely innocent. "I told you, I was hungry."
"If you're hungry, ask Sanji to cook!" Nami shrieked, delivering one final punch.
"I've never seen a whale that big. I wanted to see if it tasted like steak," Satori mumbled.
Nami and Sanji collapsed against the railing, utterly defeated by his logic. To face certain death just to conduct a taste test? There truly was no one else like him in the world.
As they drifted deeper into the dim, moist cavern of the whale's throat, a light appeared in the distance. The Dream Chaser followed the glow like a moth to a flame until the darkness was washed away by a sudden, blinding radiance.
The trio shielded their eyes. When they finally looked out, their jaws dropped in unison.
"Wh-where are we?!"
"Wait... is that Grandpa Master Roshi?!" Satori blurted out.
Before them lay a surreal paradise: blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and glistening waves. In the center of this internal lake sat a tiny island with a small wooden house. Reclining in a beach chair outside the house was an old man with white hair and a hairstyle that looked like an open peacock's tail, leisurely reading a newspaper.
"What is this? Are we in heaven?" Sanji stuttered, his eyes bulging.
"It's not Grandpa Roshi," Satori added, his voice tinged with disappointment as he got a closer look at the man's face.
For a moment, Satori had truly believed he'd found the Kame House. The size of the island and the peaceful atmosphere were nearly identical to his master's home. Once the initial shock faded, the three decided to approach the island to find answers.
As the Dream Chaser drew near, the old man looked up. His eyes were sharp, and his expression was so stern it radiated an intense pressure. Nami subconsciously recoiled, and even Sanji felt a bead of cold sweat form on his brow.
Only Satori remained unfazed. He leaped from the ship, landing with a heavy thump on the island directly in front of the stranger.
Nami and Sanji held their breath, terrified Satori would bite him too.
"Yo! Hello, Old Man! Can you tell us where we are?" Satori greeted him with a brilliant, friendly smile.
Nami and Sanji let out a synchronized sigh of relief.
The old man stared at Satori for a long time. Finally, he spoke: "My name is Crocus. Who are you, brat?"
"I'm Sun Wukong!" Satori grinned, pointing back to the ship. "Those are my friends, Nami and Sanji. We're companions!"
Seeing the man seemed harmless, Nami and Sanji joined them on the shore. "We're not pirates," Nami clarified quickly. "We're adventurers—Pirate Hunters, actually. Definitely not bad guys!"
Crocus pondered this for a moment. "Adventurers, eh?"
Suddenly, a long, mournful cry echoed through the space. The entire "sky" and the island began to shake violently. The lake surface churned into a frenzy. Nami lost her balance and fell onto her back.
"Ouch! Now what?!"
Unlike the confused trio, Crocus reacted with urgency. He dove into the water and began swimming toward a massive iron gate that stretched across the horizon of the internal sea. He climbed a ladder onto a high passageway and vanished from sight.
"I'll go see what's up!" Satori shouted. He unstrapped the heavy Turtle Shell he always wore, bent his legs, and leaped across the massive distance, landing on the passageway to follow Crocus.
Nami and Sanji remained on the swaying island, staring at each other in total bewilderment.