Chapter 28: Enter— Grandline (2)

Everyone except Carmen, Brody, and Pinky had lost their excitement. Reverse Stream which is capable of destroying ships upon ships that meet on top of Reverse Mountain was turned into a picnic for the group. The current of the water was great and any large ship the size of Pinky wouldn't have been able to move except by following the stream down the only entrance to Grandline. But...

"Pinky! Look! A Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna! Eat it!" Carmen had an exciting blush over her cheeks as she pointed at a weirdly shaped fish jumping out of water and landing in Pinky's mouth who munched with a happy yowl.

"Pinky! Open your mouth! It's a big one!" Brody jumped before kicking arcs of air slashes that cut a saw-fish in half that Pinky was happy to swallow!

"You three! You only get 30 more minutes! We can't be playing around. If any other ship comes up, we'll be in mortal danger!" Nami let out an exasperated sigh as Nojiko, trying to complete her 23rd pushup, gasped, "Isn't it fine? It's not like pirates have strict schedules and not all pirates enter Reverse Mountain often either. Besides, are you sure you don't want to train?"

"No," Nami pouted and then looked at Nojiko who was exerting herself to the limits with the help of her fruit. Ever since Nojiko learned how to consciously call out her entire aura reserve in what she called Aura Glint, she had started to control how much aura to call forth and how much to devour while keeping her capacity in check, giving her a greater insight into her fruit's capabilities.

"Are you really going to do 100 pushups, situps, and squats?"

"Brody told us that he could teach us the martial arts style Rokushiki that those agents used. Look, even Alvida is hard at training that Kami-e since her devil fruit makes it the perfect starting point," Nojiko sat up and looked towards Alvida who was trying to consciously dodge the stick in Reiju's hand instead of just relying on her devil fruit.

"Not to mention..." Nojiko looked at the drenched Tashigi wearing a black crop-top for the time being as she waved heavy meat branch in the same striking position constantly. Nami's eyes couldn't help but trail over Tashigi's back as every time she pulled her arms back, the muscles on her back would become prominent despite her supple and petite appearance.

In essence, now that they were 'free', everyone had started to train. Even Carmen was only taking a break and pointing out rare materials for Pinky to eat.

Only Reiju didn't as she remarked about getting a more extreme stimulus than simple movement exercise since their medic was proficient in many forms of combat, too, being trained early on in her life.

Seeing all of them, Nami couldn't help but feel that she HAD to do something but when push really came to the shove... she simply couldn't find the motivation to keep up with training in the discipline.

Sighing in exhaustion, Nami groaned, "I just want a shortcut... uh... maybe a devil fruit?"

"You can try," Nojiko smiled instead of berating. There was no way Nojiko would force Nami to do anything she didn't want to after the experiences she had suffered for years as a crewmate of Arlong Pirates.

"Hmm..." Nami smiled in return before grinning, "Alright, how about I sit on you while you're doing push-ups?"

"I'll die."

"Calling me fat?"

---

With having her fill, Pinky soon swam towards the only downstream of the Reverse Mountain and let the current take everyone down with their momentum reaching so high even Carmen felt her heart drop for a second.

That shit was scary!

Yet, at the entrance of the Grandline, Brody ordered, "Slow down Pinky! Our first destination is right at the entrance— Twin Capes!"

He already had seen the lighthouse built on the left side of Grandline's entrance and waited till Pinky controlled her speed to not crash and dive into the ocean but to remain on its surface. As they did, everyone who has been holding on to a branch or a trunk for their dear life slowly loosened their hold and observed the lighthouse, too.

"This is it..." Nojiko whispered.

"We're here," Reiju smiled.

"I... really came along," Carmen almost sounded in disbelief.

"We're at the Grandline!" Alvida smiled and shouted, "Captain! Let's Celebrate after docking at the lighthouse! We'll share Rum with Pinky, too, and get that pond of rum for you!"

Grinning, Brody looked back, "Hell, yeah!"

"Actually... I don't think you'll get rum directly but only its material," Carmen muttered, making Alvida's and Brody's gaze bore into her as she smiled confidently, "But with enough time, I'll brew the damn best rum for you guys!"

"Whoo-hoo! Oi, Old Man! Are you here alone?" Brody smiled and waved at the old man wearing flower-printed vacation shirts and a headband of long feathers. The bespectacled old man looked at the group and his gaze then fell on Pinkey entirely as surprise briefly flickered in his gaze.

"Me?" The old man who had set his recliner near the red coast and opened up his newspaper looked at Brody with his gaze turning into a sharp glare for a second as everyone viewing him, for some reason, felt... tense. Their breathing and excitement soon calmed down under the old man's stare. The pause felt long and it weighed on their hearts.

"Yeah, I live alone," he answered and then went back to his paper.

"Why the hell did it take you so long to answer that?!" Carmen screamed!

"Don't shout so loudly. You're interrupting." The old man looked at them and his glare sharpened again. As if the weight they had just been relieved off had burdened them again, Brody and others grew quiet. He felt a distinct threat. A distinct pressure. It was nowhere near the one he faced while meeting Yujiro Hanma but... it was too 'real' to not be noticed.

"I-Interrupting? What?" Tashigi's lips quivered as she gently reached out for the hilt of her sword.

The old man's glare sharpened even further if it was possible to describe it as such as everyone heard a loud gulping sound even from Pinky.

"You're interrupting... my reading time," The old man calmly turned his head to read the newspaper.

"I'll kill you, damn old man!" Alvida raged as Brody frowned, "Calm down. He'll really beat you guys..."

"Huh?" Alvida looked at Brody who touched his stomach, "My gut... feels kinda bad."

"That's why I keep telling you to eat in moderation," Carmen huffed and crossed her arms.

"That's not it," Brody looked at the old man, "Oi, old man, what's your name?"

"Isn't it right to introduce yourself before you ask someone else?" The old man questioned.

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"Oh, you're right," Brody rubbed the back of his head, "I'm Bro—"

"You're Brody Ruin Hanma of Devil Back Pirates, I read about you and your all-female crew in the newspaper."

Others pursed their lips as Brody's lips twitched before he shouted, "The hell are you screwing with me for?!"

It was at that time Pinky let out a roar and the next second, from the eastern side of the Twin Capes, a behemoth began to rise from under the sea as everyone's, including Reiju's, expressions turned pale while Brody's lips parted in surprise.

Even Pinky's red eyes threatened to pop out as a giant of a whale with terrible scares on top of its head... and a very ugly Straw Hat Jolly Roger painted over the said, trench-like scars emerged and opened its giant mouth that would easily swallow a beast four times the current size of Pinky!

"Stop it, Laboon!" The old man shouted and the giant whale, whose size Brody failed to measure clearly, closed its mouth as the Captain of the Devil Back Pirates gazed at the Straw Hat Jolly Roger and snapped, "What? Luffy is already in Grandline?! How the hell did he beat me to it!"

"Oh? So you know those punks?" The old man lounging on the coast smiled, "My name is Crocus. Keeper of the Twin Capes. My age is 71. Gemini. Blood-Type AB—"

Veins popped over everyone's forehead!

---

"Oh... so, it's like that, huh?" Brody and others sat around Crocus as he explained how Straw Hats somehow arrived from Calm Belt and ended up getting swallowed by Laboon who had various sections built into it by Crocus himself to treat his injuries from within. And how this whale came to the Grandline with a group of pirates but was left stranded at the entrance.

"Pinky, if he ended up swallowing you even I won't be able to help you," Brody looked at Pinky who was eager to take a bit out of Laboon as Crocus looked at Brody, "How did you even come into possession of this All-Meat Sea King?"

Drinking through Crocus' reserves of alcohol, Brody smiled, "Heh? You know about Pinky? Just what the hell are you, Old Man."

"A Lighthouse Owner. Age 71—"

"Fuck you!" Brody snapped when Reiju peaked out of the entrance of the Lighthouse, "Crocus-san, almost all of your books on medicine are outdated by now. Have you thought of restocking?"

"Eh? Not really. I'm done treating others and live here alone with Laboon. Maybe I'll retire once Straw Hat Punk returns to complete his challenge with Laboon."

"I can't believe that Straw Hat Luffy would actually fight a Whale..." Tashigi whispered.

"Really? I wouldn't believe it if he didn't fight the whale," Nami hummed with an innocuous tone.

"So, do you know how we can get a Log Pose?" Nami questioned as she had been made aware of its importance in navigation for Grandline.

Orthodox manner of navigation in Grandline is useless as the ocean and the weather is treacherous while every island has its own magnetic field! In Grandline, a special compass exists by the name of Log Pose that remembers the magnetic field of an island ahead until one eventually reaches it before resetting and starting to store the magnetic field of the next island. Not to mention the fact that Grandline has seven starting points, each of them having its own routes before reaching the end of this dangerous adventure!

To One Piece!

"I don't have any log pose. I gave the last one to Straw Hat Pirates and the next order of Log Pose would arrive in six months," Crocus drank from his mug as his words made everyone's jaw part open in shock while the evening setting sun reflected over their paper-like pale faces.

"My adventure..." Brody whined and crouched, his eyes going hollow, "If I don't fight every week, I'll go crazy!"

Signing loudly, Nami looked at the keeper of Twin Capes, "Crocus-san, can I read books about grandline from your shelves?"

"Do whatever you like," Crocus shrugged and then looked at the crouching Brody, "Kid, if you really wanna fight. You can always challenge Laboon. You look strong... no," narrowing his eyes, the old man muttered, "Stronger."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brody shrugged and stood up before looking at the sea, "Alright! I'll just swim ahead and when I find an Island, I'll come back—"

"Did you hear nothing Crocus-san said about Grandline?!" Tashigi frowned.

Brody deflated once again.

"6 Months... Devils of the Ocean, please some send fools with Log Pose..." Brody began to move weirdly.

"What are you doing now? Is it a training method to improve muscles?" Nojiko questioned as Crocus' eyes were wide in shock!

"Huh? No, this is a traditional dance in my hometown whenever they prayed for something! Alright! Ocean! You hear me! Send a few fools! FOOLS only! I need people even stupider than me to trick them as I did with my crew to make them join!"

Everyone's expression blanched as Nami shouted out from the window, "You're the fool! Idiot!" While a heavy book squarely struck the back of his head.

---

Alternative Title: Crocus— Haki of Troll

***

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