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Cactus Island, located in the first half of the Grand Line, served as the starting point for one of the seven magnetic routes. The island's terrain was dominated by bizarre, cactus-shaped mountains, earning it its name. Nestled among these peaks was the town of Whiskey Peak, a den where bounty hunters disguised themselves as welcoming villagers to lure and capture rookie pirates.
These hunters held a darker secret: they were all low-ranking agents of Baroque Works. Recently, however, the flow of pirates had slowed to a trickle, leaving the agents on the verge of starvation. Inside a secret office, the mayor Igaram and an executive known as Miss Wednesday were discussing their dire situation.
"Igaram, Mr. 9 and I just received orders to hunt the Island Whale at the entrance of the Grand Line," Vivi—undercover as Miss Wednesday—said gravely. The princess of Alabasta had spent two years infiltrating this organization to find the mastermind behind her country's civil war: Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
Because the town was starving, the mission to kill Laboon for food was paramount. "Take all our specialized weapons," Igaram advised, his eyes filled with concern for the princess he had sworn to protect. "You must be careful. I've had a constant feeling of unease lately."
Vivi smiled softly. "Don't worry, Igaram. I won't let anything happen to me before our country is safe again."
On the open sea, the Dream Chaser was making steady progress, but its method of propulsion was unusual. Goku was in the water, a thick rope tied around his waist and secured to the bow. He was swimming vigorously, effectively dragging the ship forward through the waves.
"Is he really doing that? This training is too outrageous," Nami-san muttered, leaning on the railing.
Goku had claimed his body felt "itchy" and wanted to increase the difficulty of his daily workout. After realizing that swimming with a 60 kg turtle shell made it impossible to stay afloat, he had settled on this: using the weight of the entire ship as resistance. He had been at it for nearly an hour.
Nami was worried he'd be dragged under the hull if he slowed down, or bitten by a sea beast while restrained. Sanji, standing beside her, was far less concerned about Goku and far more interested in the "romantic" atmosphere. 'Please, Goku, swim for another day! I want this world for two to last forever!' he cheered internally.
"You really have a lot of faith in him," Nami said, shaking her head.
Suddenly, Goku's stomach let out a thunderous rumble. "I'm hungry! Let's eat!"
He attempted to use Moonwalk to leap back onto the deck. However, due to the speed of the ship and the tension of the rope, he miscalculated.
Thwack!
He smacked right into the hull of the ship in a spread-eagle shape.
"Goku!!" Nami shrieked, leaning over to check on him. Sanji snapped out of his daydream as well. Goku looked up from the wooden planks, flashing a wide, toothy grin. "I'm fine, hehe!"
Back on deck, Nami delivered a sharp Duang! to the top of Goku's head. "I told you it was dangerous! What if you crash again?!"
"But I'm fine, Nami-san. I'm not afraid of crashing," Goku laughed, rubbing the bump.
"Do you think I'm worried about you?!" Nami roared. "I'm afraid you'll break the ship! Your body is as hard as iron!"
Goku just chuckled and looked at Sanji with puppy-dog eyes. "Sanji, I'm hungry."
Sanji was about to head to the kitchen when he noticed something on the horizon. "Hey, look. Is that our destination?"
Goku and Nami followed his finger. In the distance, the silhouette of cactus-shaped mountains rose from the sea. Nami checked the Log Pose and cheered. "That's it! We've finally reached the first island of the Grand Line!"