Chapter 97 – Upside-Down Mountain, But Make It Aerial
"There it is—Reverse Mountain."
"Once we pass through, we're officially in the first half of the Grand Line."
Nami clutched the map in one hand, feeling the wind shift with the other.
That sea everyone called a graveyard—she couldn't wait.
Her dream of circumnavigating the world and drawing the ultimate nautical chart started right here.
Carina was practically vibrating.
"Every treasure in the Grand Line—your queen is coming to collect!"
Kuina and Tashigi were just as fired up.
One chasing the title of World's Strongest Swordsman. The other determined to reclaim every famous blade from pirate hands.
Both dreams lay beyond this gate.
Excitement, nerves, anticipation—emotions swirled around the deck.
Aike, meanwhile, was perfectly calm.
He'd already vacationed in multiple worlds. One Grand Line barely registered.
At the entrance to Reverse Mountain,
the upward-rushing current left everyone gaping.
Little Hinata even activated her Byakugan out of pure curiosity.
"Pretty shocking for your first new world, right?"
Aike grinned at her and Yakumo.
"This is something you'd never see in the shinobi world!"
Yakumo nodded hard, her usual quiet demeanor replaced with rare excitement.
She pulled out her sketchpad to capture the scene.
"Bad news!"
Nami's face suddenly fell.
"The current's way too strong!"
"And the wind says a massive storm is seconds away. If we enter now, we'll smash into the rock walls exactly like the records describe!"
Sure enough,
seconds later the sky turned black.
The already violent current went berserk under howling winds.
The Libra started drifting off course.
"Doyu, hard right rudder on my mark!"
"Foxy, use your powers—help straighten us out!"
Nami barked orders like a seasoned captain.
Everyone snapped to their posts, fighting to keep the ship stable.
Watching the girls hustle, Aike almost offered to just repel the entire ocean and fly them over the Red Line.
But Nami looked so cool in command mode.
He decided to let her have her moment.
Thanks to perfect teamwork, the Libra clawed back onto the correct path.
Then Nami looked ahead and froze.
Fifteen separate whirlpools blocked the canal like a wall.
Even Aike was speechless.
In the original story they only got one storm.
He got a free whirlpool apocalypse DLC?
"…Forget it."
Aike gently pulled Nami out of her breakdown.
"We're going over."
Blue light flared from his Tenseigan-Rinnegan fusion eyes.
Repulsive force wrapped the entire ship.
The Libra lifted clean out of the water, soared above the lightning-riddled storm clouds, and flew straight over the Red Line.
Meanwhile,
Crocus had just finished treating Laboon and was climbing out of the water.
A massive shadow suddenly blotted out the sun.
He looked up.
A ship. Falling from the sky. Two meters above his head.
Crocus's "frail old man" act vanished instantly.
Pure veteran instinct kicked in—he flash-stepped onto the shore in a blur.
Two seconds later,
the Libra slammed into the ocean with a colossal splash.
If he'd been any slower, several hundred tons of warship would've pancaked him into the seabed.
His face turned thundercloud dark.
On deck, Aike's eyes glinted with amusement.
"Knew that helpless-old-man routine was fake."
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