One Piece: Truly Precious
Hello and welcome back. I really appreciate all of your reviews asking me to continue this fanfic. They make me happy, knowing that this story is so well liked. I have plans for the future, but might need some advice on the New World arcs.
Also, I think I'll have an explanation as to why Jinbei wasn't present at the prologue, but he'll still be a member of the crew…if and when he officially joins them in the manga. Same goes for Carrot.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. One Piece belongs to Oda-sensei.
As the Going Merry sailed through the stormy seas on route for the entrance to the Grand Line, the Straw Hat Pirates were scrambling to follow Nami's directions and keep the ship on course for what the map referred to as, Reverse Mountain.
"Alright full canvas!" yelled Nami, "Bring us about bearing 37 degrees. Zoro, keep that rudder steady but don't let it break from the pressure. Usopp, keep an eye out for the Red Line, we don't want to hit it by mistake."
As said members of the crew scrambled to follow their navigator's orders, the rest of the crew was hard at work, making sure that the ship would survive the trip to the mountain.
"This is insane," said Nojiko as she worked with Gin to keep the sail from tearing, "it's like nature itself is fighting against us!"
"Heh," chuckled Gin as he helped the blunette to secure the rigging, "if you think this is bad, then you're in for a rude awakening once we get to the Grand Line itself."
"It can't be that bad…can it?" asked Nojiko.
"Trust me," said Gin as he finished tying down the length of rope, "it can."
"Enough chitchat," said Nami as she called the crew in for a meeting as the weather calmed for a few minutes, "we're past the easy part now so here's what's gonna happen."
"She calls that easy?" muttered Johnny, getting a slap upside the head from the navigator.
"Anyway," said Nami, "what comes next will require a lot of teamwork and coordination, because we're sailing straight up a mountain and down into the Grand Line."
There was silence for a moment as those new to the crew glanced at the veterans (though they didn't know them to be such) in order to see if their navigator was being serious or not.
"No," said Zoro, "she's absolutely serious. We're going to be sailing straight up a mountain."
"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Nojiko, "We don't have any engines on this ship!"
"Yeah Aniki," said Yosaku, "last I checked, rivers flow down to the sea from the peak, not the other way around."
"Trust me," said Zoro, "it's only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the Grand Line's weirdness."
"In addition," said Luffy, "since we're now gonna be headed into the Grand Line itself, it's time for you to begin learning how to use Haki."
"Haki?" asked Nojiko, "What's that?"
The other three new Straw Hats had similar confused responses, causing the Monster Trio of the ship to smirk in anticipation.
"Haki," said Sanji, "is better known by its two main forms, Kenbunshoku, Color of Observation, and Busoshoku, Color of Armaments. Kenbunshoku Haki can allow you to read and sense an opponent's spirit, allowing one to detect hidden opponents and/or dodge their attacks via prediction."
"The next form, Busoshoku, is like a suit of armor forged by your will," said Zoro, "you can project it around yourself like a shield or…" he held up Wado and channeled Haki through it, causing the blade to turn black, "…you can infuse it into your skin or weapons to make them stronger."
"In addition," said Sanji, "a Haki infused strike can bypass the defenses that a Devil Fruit user has, like Luffy's rubber body or Smoker's smoke. Considering some of the enemies we'll face on the Grand Line, we'll all need to be able to use the two basic forms of Haki."
"You talk like there are more," said Gin.
"There is a third," said Sanji, "Haoshoku, the Color of the Conquering King. That's a skill you can't learn. You either are born with the gift, or are not, but those who can use it can use it to overpower and dominate the wills of others."
"So you five all can use Haki?" asked Yosaku, getting a nod from the crew.
"Even you, sis?" asked Nojiko as she looked at Nami.
"Especially her," muttered Zoro, "how do you think she's able to knock us around when our idiot of a captain is made of rubber?"
"Anyway," said Nami, "we'll have plenty of time for that later, but right now, we're gonna have to worry about the Reverse Mountain. If we don't hit the currents just right, then we'll be smashed to pieces against the Red Line."
The crew nodded and quickly got to work steering the ship toward a certain point on the Red Line. They new members weren't quite sure how exactly a ship would be able to climb a mountain and sail down into the Grand Line, but they had faith that their navigator wouldn't lead them astray. They soon got their answer when they got close enough to the massive continental wall and saw a set of wooden arches going up the mountain. The newcomers to the Grand Line stared in amazement at the channel of water that was forced up the mountain by the swift current despite the pull of gravity.
"Amazing," said Nojiko.
"We're actually gonna sail up a mountain," said Johnny.
"Hard to port!" said Nami, "Let's make sure we get our entry right."
The Strawhats scrambled around the ship to keep the Going Merry from slamming into the side of the channel as they sailed up it. The crew held their breaths as the currents pulled them up the side of the mountain until they reached the peak and did a hard turn in the air to sail down the other side.
"Here we go!" said Luffy as he sat upon the figurehead, "On to the Grand Line!"
"To think I'd come back here like this," chuckled Gin, "somehow it feels right."
"I never thought this would be involved in this trip," shrieked Nojiko as she gripped the mast in fright.
Suddenly through the clouds, a large black shape could be seen blocking the exit of the channel. In fact, it looked like the ship was about to crash into it if something wasn't to be done.
"What is that thing?" exclaimed Johnny.
"We're gonna crash!" yelled Yosaku.
"Is this how it ends?" murmured Gin in horror.
"Not on our watch," said Luffy as he stood from his seat and extended his hands, "Sanji, Zoro!"
"Got your back," said Zoro as he walked up and mimicked Luffy's stance.
"Kida feel sorry for him," said Sanji as he also mimicked the stance, "this is gonna hurt."
In a move that, unbeknownst to the three pirates, mimicked one that the three Marine Admirals used in the original timeline to stop a tidal wave that threatened Marineford, the three strongest members of the Strawhat Pirates channeled the power of their Armament Haki outward and in front of the ship's bow, creating an invisible wall that slammed into the black object, revealing it to be a massive whale that they unfortunately sent flying several feet away.
"Sorry Laboon," sighed Luffy.
As the ship came to a stop, the rest of the crew managed to shake off the shock of seeing three of their members toss a whale aside without even touching it.
"What was that?" whispered Gin in shock, "They didn't even touch it."
"That," said Zoro, "was an example of what Haki can do."
"You're definitely going to have to teach me that," said the former member of the Kreig Armada.
"Ditto," said Johnny and Yosaku.
"First though," said Nami, "we deal with that whale."
The group looked and saw that their crewmates had indeed toppled a large whale with their Haki, and when they thought it couldn't get weirder, a door opened in the side of the aquatic mammal.
"I give up," sighed Nojiko, "this crew is just too weird."