"Usopp! What are you doing?! There are more and more holes in the hull!"
"Tom! Use your line to pull me! I need to save my strength for repairs; I can't run anymore!"
"Sanji! I'm hungry!"
"Then come help me steer, Luffy!"
"Ah! Miss Wednesday fell overboard!"
"If you can't hold on, get out of the way, you troublesome broom-head!"
"I told you to keep an eye on our surroundings! There's another giant dolphin coming from behind! Why are you running to the front?!"
"Nami! Is the pointer direction correct?"
"Don't just eat! Steer properly!"
"Tom! That's what I wanted to eat!"
"You're the one stealing my food!"
"Miss Nami, have some of this too. It's a special drink I made for you."
"The Grand Line is so scary... The Grand Line is so scary..."
"Everyone, hang on a little longer! Judging by the air pressure, the weather should return to normal soon."
The rampaging gale blew for over four hours straight, during which it was mixed with blizzards and lightning nearly ten times. The Going Merry was almost capsized by the crashing giant waves. Luffy and the others, on the violently rocking ship, worked almost non-stop. After holding on for so long, the sky finally cleared.
However, the sun was already setting. The afterglow of the setting sun poured down on the ship as Luffy and the others lay exhausted on the deck, too tired to get up.
During those four-plus hours, Tom had knocked away over twelve giant sea beasts that attacked their ship amidst the chaos, caught three more for Sanji to cook to replenish their energy, saved Miss Wednesday several times after she was thrown off by the violently rocking ship, and helped Usopp move rapidly back and forth across the ship so he could repair it at top speed. He only wished he knew how to create clones.
Tom, Luffy, and the others lay on the deck, so tired they didn't want to move a finger, panting heavily. They hadn't expected to be thoroughly tormented by the capricious weather on their very first day in the Grand Line.
"Mmm... Slept well."
Zoro, having slept comfortably all afternoon, opened his sleepy eyes, stretched, and stood up. Then he saw Luffy and the others sprawled everywhere on the deck, all looking slack. He felt he should remind these guys. "Hey, the weather's nice, but you're all too lazy, aren't you?"
"Tom, want to do some special training with me later?"
Zoro, well-rested and wanting to loosen his muscles, invited Tom.
Train my ass! I've had enough training for today!
Tom lay on the ship weakly and waved his hand at Zoro.
"You need to know we've just entered the Grand Line. How can you be so careless?"
Zoro said in a scolding tone, making Tom's mouth twitch repeatedly—he almost jumped up to kick this green-haired guy away.
"The ship's going the right way, right?"
Zoro didn't forget to ask Nami, whose throat had gone hoarse from all the shouting.
You bastard!
At that moment, everyone on the ship wanted nothing more than to give Zoro ten hard slaps.
"Hmm?"
Zoro noticed Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday were also collapsed to the side. He walked over and asked, "Why are you two on this ship?"
"Discovered it way too late!"
Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday felt utterly speechless. Zoro had been awake for a while and only now noticed them.
Then Luffy, having recovered some energy, told Zoro they were heading to the town where those two lived.
"We're taking them back? We have no obligation to do that."
Zoro said to Luffy. Luffy agreed they had no obligation, but he'd promised, and it was on the way.
"You two look like you're full of bad intentions. What are your names?"
Zoro examined the two who gave their names, looking them up and down. He stroked his chin and continued, "The first time I heard your names, I thought they were a bit strange. Feels like I've heard them somewhere before."
As Zoro, with certain thoughts surfacing in his mind, was about to continue, Nami arrived behind him with a darkened face and punched him in the eye socket. "No matter what!"
"What was that for?!"
Zoro felt he hadn't done anything wrong but got punched by Nami. He lowered his face and turned to look at her, his face shadowed, clearly angry.
"You actually dared to sleep so soundly! No matter how much we called, you just kept snoring!"
Nami's face was so dark it could drip ink, her right fist clenched, delivering a round of beatings to Zoro.
Wham! Thud!
In the blink of an eye, several large lumps rose up on Zoro's head. He squatted on the ground holding his head, his mind full of question marks, not understanding why just sleeping would get him beaten.
"Everyone, stay alert! Something else might happen."
After teaching Zoro a lesson, Nami turned and told Luffy and the others not to let their guard down.
"Now I know how terrifying this sea is, and why it's called the Grand Line!"
Nami stood on the deck, one hand on her hip, the other raised, saying loudly, "It's because the navigation I've learned so far is completely useless here! That's why it deserves to be called 'grand'!"
"Is she really okay?"
"Who knows? I don't understand navigation anyway. She'll handle any problems. At least we haven't gotten into trouble yet."
Usopp and Tom, lying nearby, had their hands on their foreheads, watching seagulls fly by as they chatted idly.
"Don't worry, there's always a way. The proof is right there. Look!"
Hearing Tom and Usopp's conversation, Nami flashed a bright, confident smile. "Everyone, get up! We've reached our destination!"
"I see an island! And there are giant cacti on it!"
The moment Luffy heard Nami, he ran anxiously to the bow, climbed onto the sheep figurehead, and looked ahead. Then he excitedly turned back and shouted to Tom and the others.
"Really! Huge cacti."
Tom also got up, quickly ran to the bow. He saw an island not far ahead with many cacti at least twenty meters tall standing upright on it, extremely conspicuous.
"That's Whisky Peak!"
Luffy sat on the sheep figurehead, holding down the straw hat on his head, facing the sea breeze and said excitedly, "Great! We've arrived safely!"
Just as Luffy and the others focused on the island ahead, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday jumped onto the ship's railing, leaving behind a sentence, "See you if fate allows," and jumped into the sea, swimming away rapidly.
As Nami and Usopp were still puzzled about the identities of the two who ran off, Luffy said not to worry about them and to hurry ashore.
The island ahead, covered in giant cacti, was split by a river. Nami said they could sail up the river into the island's interior.
Usopp worried if there were monsters on the island. Sanji thought since this was the Grand Line, monsters wouldn't be rare. Luffy said if they encountered an unbeatable monster, they'd just eat it.
Hearing Luffy say they could escape if things went wrong, Nami told him that was impossible. They had to stay on that island for a while.
This was because the Log Pose needed to record that island's magnetism before the needle would point to the next island's direction. They could only continue sailing then. The time to record each island varied. Some took hours, others might take days.
In short, regardless of what was ahead, they had to go to that giant-cactus-covered island, or they couldn't continue sailing.
"You mean, even if that island is full of monsters, we have to go there?"
Usopp asked Nami in panic. Nami affirmatively told him yes.
Meanwhile, Tom was talking with Zoro. After some conversation, Zoro finally understood why he got beaten earlier.
Hearing Usopp, Tom said to him, "Are you that afraid of monsters? That weird fish with a horse face I caught earlier, you called it a monster too. But didn't you end up eating it?"
"That's different! What if there are monsters on that island scarier than you, the monster? Then you'll end up in their stomachs! Aren't you afraid?"
Usopp placed one hand on Tom's shoulder and asked in a low voice.
"What's there to be afraid of? If that happens, I'll just become a monster scarier than the scary monsters. Problem solved. If we're unlucky and really die, our graves can be set atop those tall giant cacti, right? Then anyone coming to this island later can see our final resting place from far away. Not bad luck at all."
Tom's words made Usopp's jaw hit the deck. He turned pale, cold sweat pouring, patting his stomach and said, "You... listen to me... I actually have a chronic illness... I have a disease that prevents me from entering islands! It's acting up again! If I go to that island, I'll die! Don't get any closer!"
Unfortunately, no one listened to Usopp. Luffy was shouting loudly that they'd deal with problems when they arose; he was itching to get ashore.
Luffy thought since there was a river ahead, it would be strange not to check it out.
This fit Luffy's temperament. Zoro agreed, thinking too much was useless; they'd know the situation once they got there.
Sanji was even telling Nami he would properly protect her on the island. Coincidentally, Tom heard this and bluntly stated that this pervert cook had his priorities backward; he should focus on cooking first. Otherwise, he wasn't a chef but a plate-carrying waiter.
Tom said this because during the storm earlier, when Sanji went to the kitchen to make some food, the ship shook too violently and knocked over a soy sauce bottle, making the food too salty and below his usual standard.
Sanji couldn't tolerate Tom's words and immediately started fighting him on deck.
Poor Usopp, who was pretending to be sick and lying on the ship unable to get up, received no attention.
Moreover, while fighting, Tom and Sanji each stepped on him once. Now Usopp was truly tragic.
Zoro, seeing Usopp lying on the ship clutching his stomach with a painful expression, asked how long he planned to keep pretending. Zoro didn't know Usopp's stomach really hurt.
After some discussion, everyone decided to land on the island, preparing to either escape or fight at any moment.
As the Merry sailed toward the river ahead, the fog was too thick. Though they could faintly hear what sounded like human voices, they couldn't be sure if they came from island residents.
The crew spread out, keeping watch from different positions. Usopp, wearing his sniper goggles and holding his slingshot, was so nervous his legs trembled.
But as the thick fog dispersed, Luffy and the others heard bursts of cheering from the island residents onshore:
"Welcome to the Grand Line! Welcome to our town!"
"Welcome to Whisky Peak!"
"Long live the brave warriors of the sea!"
"Hey! Over here! How are you?!"
People on both banks enthusiastically greeted Luffy's crew. Seeing their Jolly Roger, they showed no fear, instead looking happy, blowing trumpets and scattering confetti. The welcome grew louder and louder, the atmosphere lively and harmonious.
It felt like suddenly entering the home of warm and hospitable hosts who insisted on treating you properly. The guarded expressions on Zoro and the others gradually relaxed.
Luffy was already sitting on the ship's railing, swinging his arms and greeting the residents onshore: "Hey!"
Island residents, adults and children, stood on both banks, raising their arms and cheering. Many beautifully dressed girls threw flirtatious glances at them.
Sanji immediately had hearts in his eyes, falling into that gentle paradise, staring intensely at those girls. "There are so many cute girls here."
Usopp, seeing there were no monsters and the townspeople actually welcomed them pirates, greatly relaxed, happily waving his arms. "So here, pirates are heroes in everyone's hearts!"
Tom hadn't expected their first island in the Grand Line to be danger-free, with residents who actually liked pirates. He felt somewhat more at ease.
After docking, Luffy and the others met the mayor of Whisky Peak, a man with three large curls of hair on each side of his head, holding a megaphone, named Igaram.
Tom, still on deck, looked at Igaram's big curls, then at Sanji's curly eyebrows, and quietly told Zoro that Sanji's eyebrow patterns resembled Igaram's curly hair.
Sanji walked over and asked what Tom and Zoro were discussing. Zoro then said he'd seen another curly-haired person like Sanji and asked if Sanji was happy, since they shared similar features, though Sanji's curls weren't as abundant as the other's.
Hearing this, Sanji immediately exploded in anger and started throwing punches at Zoro.
Luffy, stepping ashore, pointed at Igaram and said the old man's hair was too curly.
"Welcome to Whisky Peak! This is a town famous for its fine wine and music. What we're best at is hospitality toward outsiders."
Igaram addressed Luffy's crew, occasionally coughing a few times, touching his throat and clearing it, making "Mah mah mah" sounds. He continued, "We have plenty of wine and delicacies we're proud of. Let your adventure stories be the drinking accompaniment. Enjoy the feast!"
"Let me host a banquet..."
Here, Igaram habitually cleared his throat, called out "Mah mah mah" a few times, then said to Luffy and the others, "...to entertain you all."
"Mister! We gladly accept your hospitality!"
Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji, hearing Igaram would host a banquet for them, agreed without thinking, hooking arms and cheering in celebration.
"What are you so happy about?"
Tom had been tinkering with something on deck and just came down. Seeing many residents watching them and Luffy's group looking happy, he asked.
"What? A free banquet?"
Hearing Luffy, Tom immediately wrapped his arm around the others, cheering together: "A party! A party! This is the Grand Line! Long live the Grand Line!"
These guys are all idiots!
Nami looked at Tom and the other three with a thick black line on her forehead, her fine eyebrows twitching repeatedly. She asked Igaram how long the Log Pose needed to record the island's magnetism.
But Igaram said the banquet was about to start; they shouldn't discuss serious matters now. They should enjoy themselves fully first.
"Let the party begin!"
With this shout from the townspeople, the first banquet the Straw Hat crew would attend after entering the Grand Line commenced.
The sun at Whisky Peak had quietly set. The blood-red afterglow illuminated the rippling sea, draping it in a red cloak. The water flowing in the rivers by the shore looked as if dyed in blood, completely crimson.
Unknowingly, night fell, the moon hanging high. The welcome banquet at Whisky Peak continued.
"And then, I said to them coolly, 'You damn Sea Kings! Don't touch my friends!'"
Usopp, holding a wine cup and looking somewhat drunk, was drinking while bragging wildly to those around him about how he fought vicious Sea Kings in the storm, drawing waves of cheers. Some girls looked infatuated with him, calling him "Captain" Usopp.
Actually, Usopp was just recounting how Tom had dealt with Sea Kings and hunted during the storm, only switching the protagonist to himself.
If Tom knew Usopp was not only using his exploits to brag but also pick up girls, who knows what he'd think.
"But during the great escape in the Calm Belt, I was trembling a bit. But that should be called trembling with excitement, right?"
Usopp, suddenly struck by inspiration, remembered hearing Sanji talk about events in the Calm Belt, where Tom had soloed Sea Kings. He couldn't help but brag about that too, even more exaggeratedly. In his story, Tom became someone who passed out upon seeing those giant Sea Kings.
In reality, the one who fainted upon seeing giant Sea Kings was Usopp himself.
Thus, without Tom's knowledge or doing anything, the residents of Whisky Peak came to regard him as a minor character who would go weak-kneed just hearing a Sea King's roar. This also led them to completely ignore Tom in their subsequent plans...
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T/N :
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