The strong wind howled, and the clouds overhead were dark and heavy, threatening a violent storm at any moment.
The Beagle rapidly darted through the waves. Under Perona's command and Victor's control, they quickly reached the entrance of Reverse Mountain, aided by the fierce winds.
Looking ahead, there was an endless red mountain range, its peak obscured by clouds, with no end in sight. Majestic, spectacular – this was the world's greatest natural wonder, the Red Line!
"Horohorohoro~~ Big Brother Victor! Is this Reverse Mountain?" Perona summoned a large number of ghosts to form a lookout group, constantly monitoring changes in the ocean currents.
Victor flicked his finger, and the Beagle's sails slightly changed direction, precisely adjusting the bow of the ship directly towards the entrance of Reverse Mountain.
"To be precise, what we're seeing is the Red Line. Reverse Mountain is a part of the Red Line, and it's also the first intersection of the Red Line with the Grand Line," Robin tightly grasped the ship's railing to prevent herself from being thrown off by the rocking Beagle:
"Ahead is the entrance to Reverse Mountain, and it's also the most legitimate entrance from the West Blue to the Grand Line."
"Everyone hold on tight, we're about to 'climb'!" Victor gripped a ship's rope with his right hand, and then all the ropes on the Beagle seemed to come alive, slowly writhing.
Subsequently, several free ropes wrapped around Robin's and Perona's waists. The remaining ropes moved to fully spread the sails, and the violent wind once again accelerated the ship's speed. At the same time, the ocean current began to surge rapidly, and the Beagle, propelled by the surging current, rushed fiercely towards the entrance of Reverse Mountain!
Whoosh—!!!!
Faster and faster, faster and faster! The entire ship instantly rushed to the peak of Reverse Mountain, briefly gliding tens of meters in the air, then falling towards the wide sea lane ahead. But the landing point was slightly off – the Beagle was about to crash onto the mountain range next to the sea lane!
"Waaahhhh!!! We're going to die, we're going to die!!" Perona and Mai Hime shrieked, hugging each other in fear. Robin's forehead was beaded with cold sweat as she tightly hugged the rope wrapped around her.
Victor's lips curved into a slight smile, a vein popped on his forehead, and he suddenly exerted force on his right hand, which held the rope.
"Don't worry... Resin Zipper - Rider - Interstellar Flight!"
Instantly, the entire Beagle came alive. The sails expanded, and large amounts of resin zippers surged out from both sides of the hull, instantly restructuring to form two huge gliding wings within a second. The two wings of the winged goddess of Victory figurehead also spread open.
Beagle - Gliding Form!
Victor smiled and waved his fingers like an orchestra conductor. The gliding wings subtly adjusted their angle, and the entire ship's gliding direction was precisely adjusted towards the entrance seaway of the Grand Line.
Amidst the girls' cries and laughter, the Beagle glided quickly and steadily towards the seaway entrance of the Grand Line!
At the same time.
Grand Line entrance, Twin Capes.
This is the beginning of the Grand Line, and the starting point of seven routes. Here, a towering lighthouse points the way for every traveler entering the Grand Line.
Of course, there are always some not-so-smart guys who try to cut corners.
"Hey! Old geezer! Quick, tell me! What's wrong with my compass needle?!"
A huge pirate ship was docked next to the lighthouse, its figurehead a wooden rhinoceros head. On the shore, a group of fierce-looking pirates surrounded a bald old man with petal-like hair.
One of the pirates, who looked like a navigator, grabbed the old man's collar and held up a compass in his other hand, shouting loudly, "Did you do something here? Speak up! Or I'll kill you!"
The petal-haired old man, dressed in a flamboyant vacation shirt, had several copies of the World News scattered at his feet. He frowned and said, "You know nothing and dare to run to the Grand Line? Dying together, how touching..."
A big man with a captain's hat frowned and said fiercely, "Old man, do you really think we don't dare to kill you? Will, who am I!?"
A thug next to the petal-haired old man shouted loudly, "Old man! You better be honest! Our captain is 'Rhino Bill', famous in the South Blue! He has a bounty of a whopping 45 million Berries!!"
"Oh~~~ 45 million Berries, huh~~~" The petal-haired old man dragged out his words, his tone particularly perfunctory.
'Rhino Bill's' brow furrowed even deeper. He pulled out the long sword from his waist and was about to say something when he suddenly heard a whistling sound overhead.
Everyone looked up. A beautiful two-masted ship with wings descended from the sky and smoothly landed on the sea not far from the lighthouse.
After landing on the sea, the two-masted ship's wings immediately detached and retracted, and then its sails swelled, slowly sailing towards the lighthouse's shore.
A subordinate next to 'Rhino Bill' raised a telescope and looked for a while, then suddenly showed a wicked smile and hurried to report to 'Rhino Bill': "Captain! There are several pretty girls on this ship! There's only one man, looks scrawny and weak, not even enough for one punch from you, Captain!"
'Rhino Bill' smiled with satisfaction: "I didn't expect to make a haul as soon as we reached the Grand Line... Lads, take this ship down for me! Kill the men, and after I'm done with the women, you can have your fun!"
A group of villains cheered like howling ghosts, completely ignoring the petal-haired old man. The petal-haired old man frowned slightly, and while they weren't paying attention, he turned and walked into the lighthouse cabin.
These villains, clustered around Captain 'Rhino Bill', walked towards the shore. The navigator disgustedly kicked a newspaper, spat on it, and then hurried to catch up with the main group.
The Beagle slowly docked beside the lighthouse shore, which had already been occupied by 'Rhino Bill' and his crew. They all held muskets and long swords, shouting menacingly, trying to intimidate the people on the ship.
Their captain, 'Rhino Bill', carried a long sword and shouted loudly: "You guys on the ship! Get down here right now! Obey and I'll spare your lives, only taking your goods!
Dare to defy me, 'Rhino Bill', and I'll have all your heads chopped off!! Did you hear me?!"
On the deck of the Beagle, Perona and Mai Hime had just recovered from the sensory shock of falling from a great height and were leaning over the railing, curiously looking at the shore below.
'Rhino Bill's' eyes lit up. That kid really didn't exaggerate, there really were two captivating beauties! That delicate black-haired, purple-eyed beauty made him drool just looking at her, and the pink-haired little girl was also a beauty. A great haul, a great haul!
He cleared his throat, and shouted louder: "Get down immediately! Or I'll kill you! Huh? Pretty boy, are you the cook? Immediately get down with these two girls, and I might spare your life." 'Rhino Bill' saw Victor appear at the edge of the deck, and his momentum grew stronger.
Victor, in a black suit, his face slightly cold, stood on the railing with his hands in his pockets, and slowly said, "...If you dare to utter another word, I'll kill you."
"You little brat, you said... Huh? Why are you pulling me?!" 'Rhino Bill' was furious. He was about to curse when the navigator next to him pulled his arm hard. Annoyed, he turned to look at this idiot who wasn't supporting him and was constantly undermining him. If he didn't give a good reason, he wouldn't get any 'leftovers' later!
"Cap-Captain... I think I've seen this person before..." The navigator's face was pale.
'Rhino Bill' was stunned: "Huh? Are they from the South Blue too? You said you know him... Is he a relative of yours?"
The navigator scurried back to his previous spot, picked up the newspaper from the ground, and meticulously examined the front page. His face grew even paler.
Clutching the newspaper, he stumbled twice while nervously running towards 'Rhino Bill'.
Reaching 'Rhino Bill's' side, the navigator timidly handed the newspaper to his captain, then slowly retreated to the back of the crowd.
'Rhino Bill' took the newspaper in confusion, and then his eyes landed on the striking front-page headline and photo.
"W-Warlord of the Sea? West Blue H-Hero..." 'Rhino Bill' swallowed hard, then cautiously looked up, comparing the increasingly displeased man on the deck with the photo in the newspaper. The result was identical.
He was straightforward enough. He immediately threw the newspaper away, plopped down on his knees, and roared with his unique loud voice:
"This humble one was rude just now! It is a capital offense to have disturbed 'Ferocious Chains' Victor-sama's mood! Please, in your immense generosity, spare this humble one!"
'Rhino Bill's' subordinates, those villains, looked at each other, not understanding what their captain was doing. However, their strong point was obedience. If the captain knelt, they knelt too, and they all shouted in unison the exact same words 'Rhino Bill' had just uttered.
On the other side, the petal-haired old man rushed out of the house with a huge harpoon, wanting to rescue the young people from these villains, but found a mass of people kneeling on the shore.
Is it a new trend for pirates to kneel before robbing? The old man felt out of touch with the times.
Victor pointed at 'Rhino Bill's' pirate ship and said lazily, "Take all of you, get back on your ship... Don't stand in my way!"
"Y-Yes! Thank you for your magnanimity, sir!"
The group stumbled to their feet, clamoring as they rushed back to their pirate ship, immediately raising the sails to prepare to set sail.
Even if the compass didn't work, 'Rhino Bill' didn't care anymore. Getting lost at sea was better than being instantly killed by that fierce god! Even a 'Warlord of the Sea' had been defeated by him. What was he, a mere South Blue pirate with a 45 million Berry bounty and no Devil Fruit ability, but a walking bounty?
From this, it seemed that this 'Rhino Bill' had a good sense of self-awareness.
However, it was too late.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted on the deck. 'Rhino Bill', annoyed, rushed out of the captain's cabin, about to curse these good-for-nothings, when he found the scene before him like hell.
His own ship's ropes, like sea monster tentacles, pulled the crew members into mid-air. The ropes tightly coiled around their necks, and dull crunching sounds of breaking neck bones constantly echoed from above. 'Rhino Bill' had just pulled out his long sword when he was tightly bound by several thick ropes and pulled into mid-air.
By this point, he understood who was attacking them. He roared in despair, "Sir! Sir! I was wrong! Spare me! Spare..."
His voice cut off abruptly, followed by a dull crunching sound, and the entire pirate ship fell silent.
In the distance, Victor hooked his index finger, retracting the 'Guiding Zipper'. He turned to look at the petal-haired old man, who was cautiously watching him, and revealed a sunny smile:
"Excuse me, Mr. Crocus."
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