(Sec 64) * * * * *
At the Holy Land, Mariejoa...
"Master Bartholomew Kuma has returned!" yelled a marine soldier. Kuma, Vice Admiral Garp and Sengoku were having a meeting this day.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Sengoku shouted at Kuma, whose wounds seemed to have healed since the last we saw him. "Are you telling me that they managed to escape from your powers!? I want a better explination then that! I'm the one who has to report to the higher-ups!"
Garp started laughing, "Just what I expected from my grandson!"
"Garp, be quiet!" Sengoku ordered as he turned back to Kuma, "I gave you special Government orders to eliminate the whole crew, yet you couldn't even bring back Straw Hat Luffy's head? This is a disgrace!"
Garp laughed again, "Don't worry about that, Sengoku! Luffy isn't the kind of guy who would go around bragging about defeating Moria anyway!"
"Hmph! Kuma, I hope you didn't take pity on those pirates just because they were injured. Because you've failed to take it seriously, this game of cat-and-mouse will have no end. If they continue following the Log, as they are now, they will draw ever closer to the Navy HQ."
"Do not forget," Kuma said, "about the other crew. Vyse and his Blue Rouges. They were quite formidable. It was because of them I could do nothing."
"Oh yeah! By the way," Garp interupted, "I brought the new tea! Get out the crackers!"
"GARP! Will you be quiet!?" Sengoku demanded again.
Back on the Grandline, The Little Jack and the Thousand Sunny were sailing side by side. Drachma thought it would be a good idea to let the wind do the work instead of the moonstones.
"What exactly is going on?" Luffy asked Chopper, Usopp, Brook, Vyse and Vail as they sat on the edge of their ships fishing.
"This is no good..." Usopp said.
"Indeed..." Brook said
"I can't catch anything," Vyse stated.
"This is strange," Chopper said.
"We've hit a rough patch," Vail said.
"Ah, This is so boring!" Luffy shouted.
"Well, Let us be patient," Vyse reasoned.
"Aah, Nami!" Luffy said as he leaned back, "Are we gonna reach Fishman Island soon? Are we?"
"Oh, shut up! We are definitely getting closer!"
"Fishman..."Sanji said, "Mermaids!" he started daydreaming.
"Sanji, I'm tired of this!" Luffy said as he threw his fishing line in the air, "Food!"
Vyse looked over, "Huh, what's that?" he pointed over to a shadow in the water.
Usopp put on his goggles, "AWESOME! It's a school of fish!"
"See? Good things happen to those who wait. Yohohohoho!"
Vail started flipping through gizmos in his arm, "Ah, here we go, the fishnet."
"WOW!" Luffy said, "They're heading strait towards us!"
Aika walked over, "Can I try?"
Nami also walked over, "Something feels off here..."
"Gotchya!" Vail said as he fired his net just as the fish were swimming by.
Zoro looked up, "Those are..." everyone faced the front of the ship.
"Could it be?" Nami asked.
Usopp started panicking, "What's up with that overt 'This is bad, Captain'-Face!?"
Dark clouds circled overhead, waves started crashing together, eventually causing a whirlpool.
"Serpent Currents!" Nami shouted.
Vail released the fish and brought his net back in, heading for the helm of the Little Jack.
"Serpent...Currents?" Aika asked.
"Everyone, be careful!"
A water tentacle shot from the sea as the Little Jack took flight.
"It's almost like they're alive," Vyse stated.
"This is really bad, all right!" Franky said.
"Yohoho...well, well..."
"AWESOME~!" Luffy shouted.
"Sanji-kun!" Nami yelled.
"Leave it to me Nami-swan!" Sanji said as he took the wheel. A water tentacle headed strait for Sunny, "It won't move!" Sanji said as he struggled with steering.
Zoro jumped up and threw a couple of slashes, making the tentacle burst into rain.
Another came for Sunny. "Weapons...LEFT!"
A few went for Jack. "Alpha STORM!"
"Take That!" Drachma shouted as he shot his arm at one.
"Cutlass Fury!"
"Hey, What are you doing!?" Zoro shouted, "Steer the ship!"
"Shut up! With all these waves, it's impossible to navigate properly!"
"Gum Gum...PISTOL!"
Brook jumped up as another one came and sliced twice. The water tentacle froze in place for a moment until Brook's blade was re-sheathed. "I must say, I have heard of the term 'playful snakes' before...what perfect sense of naming! Yohohohoho!"
"Hey!" Usopp shouted, "Is this really the right time for you to be impressed!?"
"Gum Gum...GATLING GUN!" Luffy shouted as he took on three at once.
"Pirates of old...Defend our cause!" Vyse prayed as several more of them came to attack.
The Skull Captain appeared with several other floating skeletons, "ATTACK!"
Two went for Franky, "Star Shield!"
Brook and Zoro started a tag team effort blocking two sides of the deck. "We can't keep cutting them forever!" Zoro shouted.
Robin crossed her arms and sent an arm umbrella to stop another.
"Crystales!" Fina and Piastol shouted as several more came to attack the ship.
"How long is this storm going to continue!?" Usopp shouted.
"How far does it go!?" Chopper added.
Nami looked through a pair of binoculars.
"Should we try and escape with the Coup De Burst?" Franky suggested as he continued blocking with his star shields.
"Great idea!" Usopp shouted.
"It won't work," Nami stated, "I can't see an end to the currents. Even with the Coup De Burst...we wouldn't escape!"
"Yohohohoho!" Brook laughed, "Shall we sing a song?" Everone stared at him, since the barrage had momentarily stopped. "At times like this, you just have to remember that no matter how dangerous a storm current is, it will pass eventually."
"Searching for a way out of the storm..." Vyse said to himself, "yup, that's the best idea I've heard."
"Then let us sing our way through it!" Brook finished.
"Great Idea, brook! Let's do it!"
Brook was about to start playing when the Sunny started raising from the sea, nearly crashing into the Little Jack.
The water snake flung them forward, "We're Falling!" Franky shouted.
Chopper fell off. "I got this one!" Drachma said as he launched his arm, just barely catching Chopper before he hit the wtater.
"I thought I was gonna die." Chopper said as the Little Jack caught up with Sunny, putting Chopper back on board his own ship.
After a long battle with the water tentacles, Luffy got back of the head of the Sunny, "...I can see it! I can see it!"
"The light at the end of the storm!" Vyse shouted along.
"Not that! The Red Line!"
"The Red Line!?" Usopp shouted in disbelieve.
"We finally made it!" both crews shouted.
"There was a nasty storm on that day, too," Sanji said, refering to the day they entered the Grand Line, back when it was just five of them.
"It...has taken me fifty years..." Brook started, "Yohohoho"
"Let's Go, you guys!"
Then out of the water came the largest of the water tentacles, at least 50 times bigger.
"WO~W!" Luffy shouted in amazement.
"Make sure to steer properly," Zoro said as he got ready.
"I don't take orders from you!" Sanji stated.
"Think we can avoid it with the Paddle?" Franky asked.
"We wouldn't make it in time," Robin stated.
"Sanji, Ride that wave!" Nami ordered.
"You sure?" Drachma protested, "I've got a harpoon cannon ready to blast that."
"HEY! What do you mean, ride it?" Franky also protested.
"Leave it to me!" Nami stated, "When we went to Sky Island I experienced a much more amazing one!"
"Ah yes," Sanji recalled, "The Knock-Up Stream, right?"
"That sure was fun, huh?" Luffy said.
"It wasn't fun at all!" Chopper shouted.
"But of course!" Usopp shouted, "We'll make it this time, too!"
The large tentacle slammed down in front of Sunny, launching it up just high enough to land on it. The Little Jack landed behind it, also riding the wave.
"I'm sure the Coup De Burst will work now!" Franky said as he steered the ship.
"Pull in the sails!" Nami commanded.
"Full speed ahead!" Vyse shouted, "Prepare to sky rocket!"
Sunny flew off at the peak of the wave, "Let's do it! Coup De BURST!" The cannon of the back of Sunny fired, launching it farther then it normally would have.
Vyse and his crew stood in awe, "Damn...we need something like that."
"Did someone say 'Sing through the Storm?'" Jones said as he appeared wearing a yellow poncho and rain hat, "Oh, the Straw hats are quite far," he ran towards the back of Jack, "Coup...De..."
Vyse snapped out of his trance and turned around,"Jones!? NO!"
"BURST!" The Little Jack also took off, closing in on the Sunny. "Oh...we may crash now...BYE!" And he vanished again.
The Little Jack landed in the water and slowed to a stop right next to the Sunny.
"Man that was dangerous," Vail said.
"We're saved!" Chopper shouted.
"We're here..." Luffy chuckled, "We've finally made it this far!"
"I can't see the top!" Vyse shouted as he looked, "It's huge! So this is the Red Line?"
"It feels kind of nostalgic..." Nami said.
"I wonder if we've matured since then?" Zoro asked.
"I kinda feel like crying!" Usopp sobbed, "A lot of stuff has happened, huh?"
Luffy chuckled some more, "Anyways, now we're halfway there! The Twin Capes on the other side of the world, where we met Laboon, Is connected to this spot! It's great that we've all made it this far, huh?"
"I hope I won't be much of a burden to you all," Kaya said, "I'll do everything I can to help!"
"Apparently, I came over Reverse Mountain from South Blue when I was just a kid," Franky said, "but I guess that's a 30 year old story."
"I came to this sea from West Blue, five years ago," Robin stated.
"When we've crossed the other half of the world, and see this wall again..." Luffy trailed off, "At that time...I'll be the Pirate King!"
"But we've got to be careful now," Nami warned, "This place is close to the 'Holy Land' of the world Government and the Navy HQ, Mariejoa."
Franky changed the dial on the helm so 'Surprise Pool 4' would appear on the side of the Sunny, where Chopper, Usopp and Vyse swam.
Zoro went up to the crow's nest and started working out. As he worked, he remembered his moments against Kuma. He threw the large weight up into the air and stood on his hands, catching it with his feet. "I'm too weak," he said as he remembered more from that last battle. "I have to become stronger, I'm still far to weak!"
"How is it, Robin, Brook, Luffy?" Nami asked into the Den-den Muchi.
"No use," Robin answered, "It's completely black."
Luffy laughed, "It's totally black out there! Hey, I think I saw something there!"
"Yo H~O! Was that the eyeball of a monster!?"
"Monster?" Vyse said as he Chopper and Usopp got up from the pool.
"We're gonna DIE!" Brook shouted. Everyone waited for another response. "Although I am already dead, YOHOHOHOHO!" Everyone took a sigh of relieve, "Oh, Miss Nami-san, Aika-chan? I have a question...what panties are you wearing today?"
"Shut up and take this seriously!" Nami shouted into the Muchi.
"Scary..." Chopper said.
"Hey, you guys!" Franky said into the Muchi, "The Shark Submerge can't go any deeper the five thousand meters, so be careful!"
"Hmm?" Brook said, "The hull seems to be creaking."
"Yes," Robin said, "Because we're deeper then five thousand meters right now."
"Ah, but that means...That's Terrible! We're going to be Crushed by the water pressure!"
"OH! The monster from earlier! It's still here!" Luffy said as a giant Sea Rabbit came by.
"What a big mouth he has," Robin laughed as she steered away from the bite the beast was taking.
"Watch out!" Luffy laughed as it came after them.
"Here it comes again!" Brook shouted.
Luffy continued laughing.
"This sounds pretty bad..." Vyse said.
"I don't want to ride the Shark Submerge..." Chopper stated.
"Me neither," Usopp agreed.
The kitchen door opened up, "Nami-Swan! Fina-Chwan! The 'Horror-Nashi Tarte' from Thriller Bark is done!"
"Oh, It looks delicious!" Fina commented.
"YO~! Look behind us!"
"Here it comes! We're gonna be eaten!" Luffy laughed.
"This is a problem," Nami stated as she took a bite, "It tastes Great!"
"It's good!" all the men sang after there first bites.
"It's the same problem we had with Sky Island," Sanji said as he crossed his arms.
"That's right," Nami said as she looked at the log pose, pointing straight down. "We know the direction we have to take, but we have no idea how we're gonna get there."
"Sounds just like the Maw of Tartus to me," Enrique said.
"How are we going to reach Fishman Island?" Aika asked.
The Shark Submerge resurfaced. "We're back!" Luffy shouted.
"That was fun!" Brook said.
"Welcome back! Good work!" Nami complimented.
"It's no use!" Luffy said, "We can't see anything of the bottom of the sea at all. Is Fishman Island really there?"
"Yohohoho! That was my first time riding a submarine."
"If we had gone further down, the pressure would have killed us." Robin stated.
"The Log Pose is certainly pointing down, but..." Nami said, "This is no good. I should have gotten some more info from Lola and the others."
The Sea Rabbit jumped up from the ocean. Luffy shouted "IT'S THAT THING FROM EARLIER!"
"IT FOLLOWED US!" Brook yelled.
"Don't think you can beat me when we're above the water!" Luffy said as he jumped onto the Sunny figurehead.
The Sea Rabbit let out a mighty roar. "Gum Gum...RIFLE!" Luffy hit the Sea Rabbit in the stomach. The beast started falling backwards.
"Somehow, he didn't seem that big." Usopp stated.
"Because we dealt with Odz. Seems like we're fine." Chopper Laughed, "Gyahahaha!"
"Something came out," Piastol said.
"A fish?" Luffy said.
"A person!?" Usopp shouted as they heard a scream.
"No, It's superman!" Jones said popping out of an air door before popping in again.
"No, that's wrong..." Brook said.
"That's a..." Robin started.
"Could it be!?" Sanji said, a heart in his eye. The mermaid crashed into Sanji, knocking him to the ground.
A starfish landed on his feet, "We're here!"
The mermaid got up, "We're saved! That was incredible!"
"Don't act impressed!" The starfish yelled, "A little longer in there and we would have been goners! How could you not run away from a monster like that!?"
"Well, I didn't notice it..."
"How could you possibly not notice something as huge as that!?" The starfish looked down, "Hey, not that it matters to me, but there's something under you..."
"Huh?" the mermaid looked over, "AAAH! I crushed a human!!! I'm sorry! Are you OK?" She started shaking Sanji's shoulders.
"Oh, don't worry about it~! Anyway, who are...~"
The Straw Hats and Blue Rouges just stared.
"Please! Pull yourself together!"
"That's..." Nami started,
"I can't believe I did something like that! Please pull yourself together!"
Everyone looked at her fish tail and looked up her body to her human head.
"Could it really be...?" Aika trailed off.
"A Mermaid!?" Everyone shouted.