PROLOGUE
It was a fine day, and the crew of the Merry-Go was sailing along the Grand Line, not a care in the world. The humidity of the day made everyone sleepy, lazy, and slow. Zoro was asleep on the deck per normal, snoring. His stomach growled loudly in protest of skipping breakfast in favor of more sleep, waking the swordsman from slumber. He groaned loudly and stretched, trying to shake the sleep from his aching limbs.
"I'm hungry." He grumbled, giving words to the obvious, his stomach growling once again, this time in agreement. He yawned, not noticing the red-headed navigator looking at him from the railing. Her next comment suggested she had been listening.
"Well, Sanji's fixing lunch down stairs." Nami replied with a smirk, startling the green-haired swordsman. But he refused to show he had been startled and instead grumbled all the way down to the galley. The smell of food made his stomach growl once more in protest. Sanji was fixing something that smelled incredible and Zoro resigned himself to wait in the warm galley until the food was finished. Little did they know that all this would change very soon…
An hour later, after an exquisite lunch, the crew sat scattered in small groups around deck, lounging. Zoro and Sanji were behind the bridge, taking full advantage of the shade, Zoro snoozing once again. Luffy and Nami were in front of the bridge, watching the sky for any signs of rain and talking quietly to each other about what the next island would hold in store for them. And Usopp and Chopper were on top of the bridge watching the little birds fly by, Usopp telling glorified stories about his adventures and Chopper not really paying him any mind.
Suddenly the Merry-Go was rocked forward, flinging Nami and Luffy forward into the railing, and flinging Usopp and Chopper off the bridge with a clatter. Nami looked over the edge of the rail and noticed a large whirlpool with some glowing purple oval in the middle, eyes wide with fear. The Merry-Go was getting sucked in fast, and the crew had no time to do anything before they had all been sucked into the purple portal.