One Piece: In Search of Freedom [Book 1]

CH 10: REACHING THE RED LINE! REVERSE MOUNTAIN!

Inherited will...

The tide of the times...

People's dreams...

These things cannot be stopped.

As long as people seek the answer of freedom, these things will never cease to be!

The storm didn't lessen as they moved forward, thunder clapping around them so loud that it felt as if their eardrums would burst at any moment. And after just a short while, the lighthouse could not be seen any longer.

"Nami, this is bad! The light just went out!" shouted Luffy while hanging upside down from the Merry's figurehead, "And that was our guiding light, too! What do we do now?"

"Well, it is only a lighthouse. It can go out from time to time. Besides, it's for times like these you have a navigator, you know? So, don't worry. I know the basic direction at least." Nami wore a raincoat, the map they had stolen from Buggy in her hands.

"Wow, you're amazing."

[Name] stood beside her as she leaned against the railing, a couple of raindrops dancing in the palm of her hand, "That is to be expected, isn't it? She is the navigator of the future Kaizokuou."

Luffy brightly beaming at that. He moved from his position to now hang from the tip of Merry's nose. His legs swinging back and forth below him as only his hands stopped him from falling into the sea.

Just one little mistake or carelessness, and the idiot would drop. Even if he weren't an Akuma no Mi user, with the current state of the ocean, it would be pretty dangerous if he fell. Seeing him playing around like that, [Name] slightly frowned, "Get off from there already and come here. What would we do if you fell, idiot?"

As if not hearing the last sentence, Luffy pouted, firmly shaking his head, "No way. This is my spot. You can't have it."

"When did I say I wanted it, you idiot?! Don't just hear whatever you want!"

Nami just utterly ignored the two as usual, concentrating on the map. The same map that had been disturbing her since she first began to inspect it. "But this is rather troubling... At this rate, it'll be exactly as the rumors say..."

"Eh? What is?" [Name] turned to face her, meeting the puzzled gaze of the navigator. [Name] might have been born in the Grand Line, but this was truly her first time reaching Reverse Mountain. She knew as much as the others when it came to this place.

With Nami leading the way, the trio entered the cabin where the other three men were at. Sanji leaned against the kitchen counter while the other four sat in the table and Nami stood on the other end, opposite of Sanji, with the map by her side.

Indicating to the place where the Grand Line and Red Line met, Nami announced, "The entrance to the Grand Line... is a mountain."

"A mountain?!"

"Exactly. I had a hard time believing it myself when I looked at the map but look! The guidance light was directly pointing at Reverse Mountain located right here on the Red Line."

Usopp stared at the place she was pointing, his voice shaking, "Does that mean we have to crash through the mountain?"

"No, there's a canal right here." her explanation only making the sniper tremble more badly as he imagined the Merry sailing up a mountain, "A canal? That's crazy! Even if that canal really is there, there's no way a ship could climb up a mountain!"