Chapter 92: One Step to the Stomach

"What one hundred and eighty million? Is another eye-catching rookie about to enter the New World from Paradise?"

From atop the massive rock overhead came Shanks's curious voice.

"Probably; let me take a look."

Beckman, cigarette dangling from his lips, had only glanced at the newspaper for a moment when his eyes suddenly widened in astonishment as he exclaimed:

"Hey! Wait, this isn't someone moving from Paradise to the New World! This kid is from the East Blue; it's their first bounty, and they haven't even entered the Grand Line yet!"

The rest of the crew were equally startled, scrambling up from the ground to gather around.

"The East Blue?! That place could actually spawn a monster like this?"

"Has another formidable figure appeared..."

"Wow, to have a bounty of one hundred and eighty million without even entering Paradise—that's fifty million higher than my own..."

A newly joined cabin boy couldn't help but look up and ask Shanks, "Captain, when you first got a bounty, was it this high?"

"Of course not! This guy is basically breaking records!"

Squatting above, Shanks burst into hearty laughter. "I wasn't that powerful; back when I first sailed with another pirate crew, after angering the Marines, I eagerly searched everywhere for my wanted poster, only to find everyone else had one while I was completely ignored!"

"Eh, there was such a thing, Captain!"

"Shanks, you're so lame," Lucky Roux said, taking a bite of a chicken leg and smacking his lips.

"What's wrong with that? Everyone starts as a rookie. Hey, Beckman, hand me that guy's wanted poster!" Shanks said with a grin.

"Here." Beckman passed it over.

"Younger than I expected... Huh?"

Gazing at the photo of the black-haired youth laughing with arms outstretched amidst wind and rain, Shanks suddenly raised an eyebrow, struck by an inexplicable feeling.

Even though it was his first time seeing the other's face, why did he feel such familiarity... as if there had been some intimate connection between them.

"He seems even more terrifying than I imagined," Beckman added suddenly, still looking down at the newspaper. "This kid is only eighteen, and it's confirmed: he possesses the qualifications for Conqueror's Haki."

"Oh!" Shanks realized.

No wonder he felt like he was seeing one of his own kind; that must be the reason.

At the foot of the Red Line.

After a night of sailing, as dawn wandered across the sea surface, the Curtain Fall finally reached the entrance to Reverse Mountain.

"Ahead lies the Grand Line!"

Nojiko sat in the crow's nest, straining to lift her monocular telescope upward; wasn't the Holy Land Mary Geoise said to be located on the other side up there?

Alas, that Red Line was simply too high and too precipitous; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out the scenery above.

"Everyone to your stations; prepare to cross Reverse Mountain. It's extremely dangerous here without full preparation."

After issuing the orders, Siano turned to look at Nami.

"I'll leave command entirely to you for now. As for the helm, your strength isn't quite enough yet, so I'll leave that to Sister Sister Guyina; she will manipulate and adjust according to your instructions. How about it, do you have confidence?"

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

Nami raised her fist, brimming with confidence.

Before deciding to follow her older brother out to sea, she had specifically sought out and studied all sorts of data regarding Reverse Mountain!

Of course, even so, she still had to exercise twelve parts caution.

The ocean current leading to the mountain peak was far more turbulent than in any other sea, and the passage was quite narrow; the slightest mistake would result in crashing headlong into the sheer cliffs thousands of meters high on either side.

Under such terrifying impact forces, ordinary ships wouldn't even have time to fall back to the sea surface; they would shatter on the spot.

Even the Curtain Fall, constructed primarily from the Treasure Tree Adam, would suffer severe damage to its hull, delaying the journey.

"Alright then! Set sail, climb the mountain!"

Standing on the figurehead, Siano looked up at the towering Red Line, letting the increasingly large waves soak him to the bone as he declared with a hearty laugh, "—Grand Line, here we come!"

"Whoa, climbing the mountain!!!" Nami shouted even more excitedly than he did.

Boom!

The moment the bow crossed the whirlpool zone and plunged into the turbulent current, the ship jolted violently and rapidly began its ascent; having been warned by Zeff, everyone had firmly gripped the railings, and not a single person was thrown overboard.

"Turn the helm fifteen degrees to starboard!"

Amid Nami's continuous adjustments and micro-controls, the Curtain Fall withstood the test of the fierce currents.

Even though the wind and waves grew larger the higher they climbed, the ship remained straight as a sword, smoothly rushing past the summit; the entire vessel leaped high into the air, entering a brief state of weightlessness at that moment—

"We're flying!"

Clinging tightly to the mast, Nojiko shouted excitedly, looking around from the crow's nest. "Huh, is that ocean route directly opposite the West Sea? And beside it... Wow, those are Sea Kings! Everyone, look in the Calm Belt; there are super-large Sea Kings!"

"I see them too; heavens, those few largest ones to the north, just the parts of their bodies exposed above the sea surface must be four or five thousand meters high, right?!!"

"That's why hardly anyone dares to cross the Calm Belt," Zeff chuckled, turning to ask, "Captain, with your current strength, could you cross the Calm Belt on your own?"

"It shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Siano scratched his chin and thought seriously; even if his luck was poor and he got swallowed whole, a Sea King wouldn't be able to chew him up, and there would be plenty of ways to escape then.

But it would indeed be too exhausting, wasting time and energy; with a ship available, it was best to sail whenever possible.

"Hey, we're descending; everyone hold on tight!" Nojiko accurately judged their position from above and had just issued the warning when she suddenly screamed:

"Wait! Something is emerging from below!"

Glug, glug...

The others noticed it too; beneath the sea surface, which should have been empty, a massive shadow suddenly appeared, blotting out the sun and sky.

A gray-blue mountain of flesh slowly floated to the surface; its head covered in rugged scars, it let out a wail filled with sorrow in the morning light as it charged toward Reverse Mountain—

"What is that?!" Nami screamed. "The data I checked never mentioned a Sea King lying in wait here!"

"It's not just any Sea King; it's the Island Whale Laboon!" Zeff roared. "Change course quickly, or we're going to collide!"

"It's too late! Control of the ship is no longer in our hands!"

Just as she said.

At this moment, the Curtain Call was like a roller coaster reaching its critical point and beginning its descent, plunging madly downward with ever-increasing speed.

No matter how hard they turned the helm, it refused to obey.

Violent air currents rushed straight at them, causing nearly everyone's facial skin to tremble uncontrollably.

They could only watch helplessly as the bow drew closer and closer to the massive creature Zeff called "Laboon," and as luck would have it, it happened to be opening its bottomless maw wide—

"Don't panic."

Seeing this scene, Siano instead felt much more at ease and calmly comforted the others, "Charging into its mouth is actually far better than crashing into its head."

"What kind of talk is that, Brother!" Nami immediately hugged his leg tightly, "Not everyone's body is as tough as yours, Brother! Boo-hoo-hoo, if I die, remember to bury me in the tangerine grove on the ship, that way I can still finish the Grand Line with you..."

This unlucky child!

"Stop acting like a Bai Chi." With a dark expression, Siano kicked her against the railing, "You're a Logia-type user; what are you afraid of?"

"Oh, right!" Nami suddenly realized.

In that very instant, a tremendous suction dragged the entire ship into darkness; everyone felt the world spinning wildly, their ears filled with the booming roar of water and the low cry of the whale.

Bang!

The hull slammed heavily onto some soft tissue, bouncing several times.

In the dim light, pink fleshy walls on both sides could vaguely be seen rising and falling rhythmically; digestive fluids gathered into streams within the crevices, pushing the vessel forward into a somewhat narrower passage...

"Are we entering the intestines?" Nami made a bitter face, "So disgusting!"

"What intestines? This is the cardia; you're fourteen years old now, at least brush up on your biology!" Siano irritably rubbed her head, "Get ready; we're about to reach the stomach."

Entering the stomach?

But isn't the stomach slimy and disgusting too?

Nami grew even more worried, looking down at herself; this was the new outfit she had bathed and changed into just an hour ago to welcome their entry into the Grand Line.

Swish!

In that very instant, as if a spotlight had shone upon them, the surrounding light suddenly brightened.

Instinctively looking up, she was astonished to find a massive iron gate dozens of meters high standing before them, swinging open to both sides.

And as the Curtain Call passed through the iron gate, what came into view was—

Nothing less than an endless expanse of blue sky and white clouds, with gentle breezes and bright sun, the climate warm and pleasant, as if everything that had just happened were merely a dream.

Including Zeff, nearly everyone stood dumbfounded.

"This place really does seem a bit like..." Only Siano, witnessing this expected scene, couldn't help but grin, "the set of The Truman Show."

(End of Chapter)