A/N: For those of you who read this chapter before, I had to rewrite it for a later arc.
It was a crazy trip just getting to the Grand Line. Meeting Apis, the encounter with the giant sea kings in the calm belt, the Millenium Dragons. All leading up to the entrance to the Grand Line.
"There it is!" Johnny shouted as they all looked ahead of them to see a giant rock wall that was taller than the clouds in front of them.
"That's the Red Line!" Gin said.
"I can't see the top!" Usopp shouted.
"No way. It's true." Zoro said as he looked through some binoculars. "The water's really flowing up the mountain!"
"Then let's head for that gate!" Luffy said.
"Just head on through and let the current do the rest!" Nami said. They all then began to sail towards it before they started shifting to the left.
"Turn to the right!" Luffy shouted.
"RIGHT!" Sanji and Usopp yelled as they tried to turn it, only for the steering mechanism to break.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" they shouted as they were on a collision course with one of the gates.
"We're not even there yet and we're about to die!" Gin shouted.
"Hang on!" Luffy shouted before he jumped straight off the boat with Zoro grabbing his hat as it flew off his head.
"Luffy! Are you nuts?!" Nami shouted.
"I got this!" Luffy shouted back before he did something that made them all stare in surprise. Luffy had kicked the air and was sent back at the ship.
"WWWWWHHHHHHAAAATTTTT?!" they shouted as Luffy hung onto the side of the boat before using moon step at a rapid pace to push the boat back on course. He then jumped on board before everyone started celebrating as they began sailing up the mountain.
"WE'RE GOING UP THE MOUNTAIN!" Luffy yelled as the wind whipped past them all as he held onto his hat.
'I'm going back to this sea!' Gin thought. 'Even after seeing the horrors, why am I excited?' He then turned to see everyone else smiling before he looked ahead. 'These guys are rubbing off on me.' he thought before he couldn't help it and smiled as well. Despite the sudden arrival of Eric, and his departure thanks to Nami, nothing happened as they all soared up the mountain. Each of them were now thinking of the dreams they had set out to achieve as they soon entered the clouds, then sailed above them.
"We're above the clouds!" Sanji said. They all looked to see water from all four seas collide at the top as they sailed upwards. Everyone was watching in excitement as they hit the top and went sailing into the sky for a few moments.
"GOING UP!" Johnny yelled before the ship pointed at the waterway that led to the Grand Line.
"GOING DOWN!" Yosaku screamed as they slammed down and started sailing down with a deafening roar.
"I CAN SEE IT UP AHEAD!" Luffy yelled. "THE GREATEST SEA OF THEM ALL! THE GRAND LINE!"
"This is amazing!" Usopp yelled from the mast.
'Chopper! Robin! Franky! Brook! Just wait a little longer guys!' Luffy thought. 'We'll meet each other again soon. And I'm bringing more friends with me! This time, we'll see our dreams through to the end!'
BUUOOOOH
"You guys hear that?" Zoro asked.
"Hear what?" Alvida asked.
BUUOOOOH
"You mean that?!" Nojiko asked.
"Sounded like a foghorn!" Sanji said.
'That's no foghorn!' Luffy thought with a smile as they sailed through the clouds. They finally got lower than the clouds before they all flipped out.
"There's a giant mountain in front of us!" Sanji yelled.
"What?! There shouldn't be anything past the Twin Capes!" Nami yelled back.
"Then what is that thing?!" Zoro yelled.
"It's not a wall!" Yosaku yelled.
"It's a giant whale!" Johnny shrieked.
'Laboon!" Luffy screamed in his head.
"THAT WASN'T THERE BEFORE!" Gin yelled.
"It's there now!" Usopp hollered with tears in his eyes. "What do we do?!"
"Calm down!" Sanji said, though he was also close to losing it. "It probably hasn't noticed us since it's that big!"
"Doesn't matter, CAUSE WE'RE GONNA CRASH INTO IT!" Zoro shouted before pointing to a small opening to the left Laboon. "Look! An opening to the left! Steer that way!"
"The rudder's broke!" Usopp reminded them all. Luffy surprised them all again as he jumped off the Merry's head and hung onto her neck as they kept sliding down the mountain.
"What's he doing now?!" Alvida shouted, clearly not understanding why the Captain would jump off the ship when he couldn't swim.
"Don't know! Right now we gotta turn the ship!" Zoro shouted before he and all the other Straw Hat men tried to turn the broken rudder with no luck. Alvida started to sweat as Nojiko closed her eyes and braced for the worst. Nami just stared in horror at the scene.
"Too late." she said before the whole ship lurched. All the men were thrown about while the three woman lost their balance as they fell toward the bow of the deck, but were stopped thanks to the railing on the ship. They looked down to see Luffy kicking the air while keeping his hands on the Merry's neck, slowing the ship down until they completely stopped.
"Phew." Luffy said before he realized he was falling and stretched his arm out to grab the railing and pull himself back up on deck, leaving two slight hand prints into the wood under the Merry's figurehead. 'Glad I kept the Merry from getting hit this time.' he thought. Everyone slowly came back out to the deck before staring up at Laboon until Zoro found his voice.
"R-RUN! RUN AWAY!" he shouted before they all started rowing towards Laboon's right.
"That thing is bigger up close!" Johnny yelled.
"How'd it not notice us?" Yosaku asked.
"Who cares?!" Gin shouted as they all were near Laboon's eye before he started wailing again.
"AGGHHHH! MY EARS!" Sanji shouted.
"KEEP ROWING!" Usopp shouted. Nami looked up to see Luffy was now staring up at Laboon with a smile.
"Hi whale!" Luffy yelled as he waved at it.
"What is he doing?!" Alvida shouted.
"Whale!" Luffy shouted again.
"Luffy will you stop that?!" Zoro shouted at him. Luffy just got an annoyed look. He knew his crew would kill him, but this was something he had to do.
"I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Luffy shouted before socking Laboon in the eye.
"YOU MORON!" they all shouted at him with tears in their eyes. Everyone waited as Luffy's arm retracted before Laboon looked down at them. "IT SEES US!"
"Hiya Whale!" Luffy yelled as he waved at Laboon. "I'm Luffy. What's your na-"
"STOP TALKING TO THE WHALE!" Zoro, Usopp, and Gin shouted as they kicked Luffy away. It didn't help since Laboon groaned angrily before opening it's large mouth as the water seemed to flow into it's mouth like a black hole.
"Please...no." Nami said as tears started rolling down her face. Soon the ship was caught in the current as it started heading toward Laboon's mouth. As they did, Luffy got knocked overboard but used his moonstep to stay out of the water as Laboon closed his mouth.
"Alright then." Luffy said as he was hopping in the air and looking around on Laboon. "Where's that hatch?" He looked around a bit more before he saw the hatch he used last time before jumping down to it, opening it, jumping inside, and sealing it shut. "There we go. Now, to join the others."
()()()()
"We got eaten by a whale, right?" Usopp asked. Everyone was staring around in a surprisingly calm fashion.
"No doubt about it big bro Usopp." Johnny said.
"If that's so," Gin asked as he looked up and saw the sky. "Why are we back outside?"
"In one way, out the other?" Yosaku said, earning a fist from the female Straw Hats.
"SHUT UP!" they shouted.
"There's even an island over there." Sanji said as they saw an island inside with a palm tree. While they were trying to figure out what happened, a giant squid appeared in front of the ship. Before they could attack it, something shot at it from behind and killed it. Everyone looked to see an old man with a flower around his head staring back at them. They began, or tried to, have a chat with the old man, but only ended up getting annoyed to no end by him. They eventually found out his name was Crocus before they found out that they were still in the whale's stomach, and that the sky, clouds, and birds were all a painting that he made. He began to explain until the whole place started shaking, revealing that the island was a floating ship with an iron bottom.
()()()()
Luffy was being bounced around inside the iron hall as he tried to walk through it. He didn't know why last time, but couldn't stop laughing this time.
"This is fun!" he said before he landed next to a riverway. "Alright. I got here and then-" he said before the place tilted and he started sliding away. "Right. This way!" he said as he stood up and started running down the corridor. He kept running until he saw two figures up ahead. One was a man with a crown on his head and 9's on his cheeks. The other was a face he hadn't seen in a long time: Vivi. "GANGWAAAAAAAY!" Luffy shouted, scaring the shit out of both of them before bursting through the door. Soon, all three were falling toward an ocean of stomach acid as Luffy saw his ship and crew below, who were looking up at him in confusion. "Hi guys. A little help here!" he said before falling into the stomach acid.
"Luffy?!" Zoro shouted before he, Johnny, and Yosaku jumped in after them. They pulled them on board. While this was happening, Crocus had left for a moment to give Laboon a sedative to calm him down and to keep him from bashing his head against the Red Line.
"Looks like the whale's calmed down." Nami said as Luffy and the other two were now breathing up on deck.
"Looks that way." Zoro said before looking at their 'guests'. "Now who are you two? Talk!" he said as Sanji was now drooling over the sight of Vivi.
"Mr.9," Vivi whispered. "These heathens are pirates."
"I can see that Miss Wednesday." Mr. 9 whispered back. "But if we speak to their humanity and compassion, they should understand our problem. Maybe."
"You insects still here?!" Crocus yelled from atop an iron platform. "I'm getting tired of this and for the last time. So long as I draw breath, you will NOT harm Laboon!" Both Mr.9 and Vivi began to laugh.
"You won't stop our mission." Vivi said in conceited tone as she grabbed her bazooka.
"We were sent to kill this whale and that's what we're gonna do!" Mr. 9 said as they both raised them into the air.
"TIME TO GIVE THIS WHALE A NEW BLOW-HOLE!" they said in unison. "FIRE BABY!" they shouted, not knowing that Luffy appeared behind them and aimed their bazookas at each other right as they pulled the triggers. All three of them were caught in an explosion as everyone stared in shock. The smoke cleared to show all three were burnt by the blast. Luffy was okay while the other two stood in a daze before falling over out cold.
"I like this whale." Luffy said. "Leave him alone." he said. Crocus smiled at that before inviting them to his island.
"So who are these two anyway?" Nami asked.
"Just some thugs who want to kill Laboon for food." Crocus said as he went back to his paper while sitting in a lawn chair. "Laboon could feed their greedy bellies for 2-3 years."
"Laboon?" Nami asked.
"The whale." Crocus said. "A rare species of whale called an Island Whale that comes from the West Blue. I won't let them kill him for food."
"How'd he get here then?" Nojiko asked. Crocus looked at them before explaining how he came down Reverse Mountain with a group of pirates, despite them trying to leave him behind for his own safety. They played and fought for three months while repairing their ship, but had to part ways since the Grand Line would be too dangerous. They left Laboon to Crocus, promising to come back when their journey was over.
"That was 50 years ago." Crocus said sadly.
"50 years?!" Sanji said in shock.
"He's been waiting that long?!" Usopp asked with his jaw wide open.
"No wonder he's upset." Nami said. "Anyone would go crazy waiting that long." Soon, they were all sailing through the canal inside Laboon. When they asked Crocus about it, he claimed it was a doctor's playful mind at work.
"A doctor?" Usopp asked.
"That's right." he said. "Legally certified. I ran a clinic in the Grand Line once, then became a ship's doctor."
"A doctor huh?" Luffy said. He knew Crocus wouldn't join, but it couldn't hurt. "Why not join us then?"
"Forget it." he said as he started climbing up a ladder. "That's for you young folk."
"Are you treating Laboon from the inside?" Nami asked.
"Yes." he said as he got to the top. "He's too big to treat outside, so I had to take drastic measures." he said as he opened up a door to allow them back outside. As they sailed outside, they heard more of the tale about why Laboon won't stop ramming his head against the Red Line, and how the pirates ran away through the Calm Belt.
'Not Brook.' thought Luffy as he looked at Laboon.
"He seems smart." Nami said. "Why not tell him?"
"I have." Crocus said in a grim tone. "But Laboon won't listen. He believes that the Red Line is keeping him from his friends, so he keeps ramming it in hopes of destroying it." That was too much for Johnny and Yosaku, who were both now crying at such a sad tale. "If he believes his friends are gone, then it's over for him. He can't go back to West Blue, so we have a problem. Laboon's a lost soul who wishes to be with his friends, but is now killing himself to do so."
"Sad." Sanji said as he puffed on his cigarette. "So you got saddled with their burden huh? What will you do now?"
"I'm all that Laboon has." Crocus said. "His scars on his head are deep. His heart, deeper. If not me to tend to him, then who? It's a strange system of friendship, but it works."
BUUOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!
Everyone looked to see Luffy's arm stretched out and smashed into one of Laboon's fresh wounds, making the whale shake in pain and rage. Everyone just stared in astonishment and shock as the two started fighting for a bit. Luffy was on the rock cliff with Laboon charging.
"IT'S A TIE!" Luffy shouted, stopping Laboon in his tracks. Everyone stared as Luffy sat up and smiled at him. "I'm strong, but I bet you knew that." he said. "I can tell when someone wants to fight. Well, I'll fight you if you want. You sparred with your shipmates I bet and you miss it huh? Well, I'll top what they could do. How about this? After my friends and I sail around Grand Line, we'll find you." he said. Laboon started to tear up before Luffy finished, "Then we'll have a rematch!"
"BUUOOOOOOOOOOH!" Laboon howled with tears in his eyes, now waiting to fight Luffy again.
()()()()
After some time, Luffy had painted his poor version of his Jolly Roger onto Laboon.
"There!" Luffy said, covered in paint. "This is a symbol of my promise to have a rematch with you. It's rushed, so you'll rub it off if you hit your head, okay?" Laboon gave a low howl in understanding. He then went back to his friends but frowned a little when he noticed Vivi wasn't there before noticing a log pose on deck. Before anything else happened, Nami started screaming, gaining everyone's attention. "What's wrong?"
"The compass is busted!" she said. "It just keeps spinning." Everyone looked to see that the needle kept on spinning.
"We had the same problem." Gin said. "We could never understand why."
"So you all came here without fully preparing?" Crocus asked. "Are you all here just to die?"
"Is it the magnetic field?" Nami asked.
"Correct." Crocus said. He then began to explain that common sense on the Grand Line is completely useless, and that to navigate safely through the Grand Line, one needed a special compass called the Log Pose. Luffy pulled out the one that Mr. 9 dropped, which caused Nami to ask why he didn't tell them that he had one earlier. Crocus then continued with his explanation of the Log Pose and how it works. "You start at one of seven starting Islands at the beginning of the Grand Line. Once chosen, you have to follow the log pose to the next island. Soon though, all of the routes merge to one, which is the final island in the Grand Line, Raftel. It's existence has only been proven by Gold Roger and his crew."
"That must be where the One Piece is!" Usopp said with a smile.
"That's a promising theory." Crocus said.
"We'll find out soon enough." Luffy said as he finished off the food. "I'm full. Let's go."
"YOU ATE ALL THE FOOD?!" Sanji yelled.
"Even the bones!" Usopp said in surprise as a few of the crew members just looked on in disbelief.
"You bastard!" Sanji growled. "I made that food," he said before kicking Luffy away "SPECIAL FOR THE LADIES!" he shouted as Luffy flew past Nami, breaking the log pose. Nami just stared at the broken Log Pose before looking at Sanji.
"Oh Sanji." she said in a forced calm voice.
"Yes, my lovely Nami?" he asked with hearts in his eyes.
"BOTH OF YOU GO SOAK YOUR HEADS!" she shouted before knocking them both into the water. Most of the crew were looking at the broken pose, now feeling hopeless about getting any further. Crocus offered them a new one as thanks for saving Laboon, who had brought Luffy and Sanji up to the shore, along with Mr. 9 and Vivi. They all looked at each other before Mr. 9 and Vivi begged them to take them to Whiskey Peak.
"Whiskey Peak?" Luffy asked in mocked confusion. "Weird name."
"What's that place?" Usopp asked.
"It's where we live...Sir." Mr. 9 said.
"Why not go on your own ship?" Nami asked.
"Sadly, it was destroyed." Vivi said, not noticing the sad frown on Luffy's face. Luffy was really starting to dislike seeing and hearing Vivi like this. He just wanted to hug her since it had been years for him when they last saw each other.
"Kinda pushing it, aren't you Mr. 9." Nami said. "Especially since you tried to kill that whale." They then began to try to question them, but got nothing since they said that 'Secrecy' was their organization's motto before begging them to take them. "Well, the Log Pose here is broken." Nami said.
"WHAT?! THAT WAS MINE!" Mr. 9 yelled in anger.
"YOU TRICKED US!" Vivi shouted.
"Oh yeah. Crocus gave us a new one." Nami said, which caused them to do a 180 and beg again.
'That bitch tricked me!' Mr. 9 thought.
"They can come." Luffy said, shocking most of them.
"Why?!" Usopp asked. "They're nothing but shady people!"
"I wouldn't trust these two." Gin said.
"Don't sweat it." Luffy said. "And as for our route, we don't like it, we'll pick another one next time."
"Good plan." Sanji said as he puffed on his cigarette. "Once we get to the end, we'll have to find something else to do."
"Yeah." Luffy said. "Now that me and Laboon have an understanding, I can leave without worrying about him.
"Who...are you anyway?" Vivi asked.
"The man...who will become King of the Pirates." Luffy answered with a grin.
'Stupid pirates.' Vivi thought as she and Mr.9 fought back a laugh while Crocus smiled widely at that. Soon they were all onboard the Merry as they prepared to sail.
"It should be pointing to Whiskey Peak." Crocus said as he pointed at the Log Pose on Nami's wrist.
"Right." Nami said.
"I'm off Laboon!" Luffy yelled. "You better be ready for a fight when I get back!" he said, to which Laboon made a soft sound in understanding. "Next Stop! Whiskey Peak! Let's go everyone!"
"YEAH!" they all shouted as they sailed away. Crocus and Laboon stared at them as Crocus spoke.
"They may be the pirates we've been waiting for." Crocus said. "That man had a mysterious air about him. Don't you think so? Roger."
That's it for this one. Sorry it took a bit longer to update. 10 hour shifts are crazy.