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"Everyone, get fired up, we're heading to the Grand Line!"
On a secluded island in the East Blue, a pirate flag adorned with a jester pattern flutters in the wind.
Wearing a pirate captain's cloak, Buggy stands at the bow of the ship, his wild laughter unrestrained and his big red nose dazzling under the sunlight.
"Ohhh! Captain Buggy!!"
On the luxurious deck of the schooner, nearly a hundred fierce-looking pirates raise their weapons high, responding with great enthusiasm and admiration to the man at the bow.
"That damned Zyhark, I've said it before, if I could get out, I would definitely tear you to pieces!"
Buggy, supported by nearly a hundred underlings, clenches the newspaper detailing the movements of the Endless Dream tightly in his hand.
Recalling the suffering and humiliation he endured recently, a malevolent sneer appears on Buggy's clown-painted face.
Here's what happened.
On the third day of being imprisoned in a Navy branch jail by Zyhark, Buggy, along with Cabaji, Mochi, and Richie, three of his officers, successfully escaped using the versatile powers of the Chop-Chop Fruit.
Faced with nothing left, a disheveled Buggy placed all his hopes on a treasure map given by Zyhark.
Guided by the "treasure map," Buggy and his group bravely moved forward, smoothly...
Digging through the underground prison of Navy Branch 106, they found themselves face-to-face with the on-duty guards...
"Excuse us, hardworking marine sir, we took a wrong turn. Could you pretend nothing happened?"
The cunning Buggy apologized profusely while inwardly cursing Zyhark and stealthily reaching for the mini Buggy bomb hidden in his shoe.
After a fierce battle, as expected, they were beaten black and blue by the navy officers who rushed over and thrown back into the dark cell.
It wasn't until a new group of pirates was brought in that Buggy saw a ray of hope.
Among these pirates was a highly skilled hypnotist!
So, Buggy and the vice-captain of the Black Cat Pirate Crew, Jango, collaborated on a daring escape on a moonless night, barely avoiding being shot by navy guns, and even managed to free several prisoners from the branch jail!
Many of these prisoners were acquaintances of Zyhark, like the dual-sword-wielding Smophis and the iron-mace-wielding dude, all pirates who had been arrested for trying to dine-and-dash.
After successfully reestablishing his forces, Buggy decided to chase after Zyhark's floating restaurant on the Grand Line, to that sea area he knew all too well!
Just as the revitalized Buggy Pirates were advancing toward the Grand Line, the Endless Dream, which had entered the Reverse Mountain, encountered an experience none of them had ever had before.
Silently manipulated by Aqua, the normally upward flowing reverse currents reverted to their natural state of "water flows downhill," flowing back from the top of the mountain.
As the Endless Dream was about to fall back to the East Blue while midway up the mountain, Aqua released her control, allowing the currents to surge back towards the peak.
From a distance, the Endless Dream rose and fell on Reverse Mountain like it was sliding down a slide...
"Hahaha! This mountain is so much fun, Zyhark! Is this the Grand Line?!"
Aqua, with her water-blue hair fluttering wildly in the wind, clung to the iconic mermaid figurehead at the bow, enjoying the splashing spray as she played.
King held tightly to the ship's railing, thankful he had been working out these past few days. Otherwise, the inertia from the rise and fall alone would have thrown him off the deck, to a crashing death on the hard, red clay below.
Didn't expect to test my training so soon!
As the Endless Dream made another dash forward, his heart raced, unsure how long he could hold on.
In contrast, the ever-clueful Meowth, who had unwittingly taken shelter behind King, seemed much smarter: no matter what happened, sticking with this powerful man was definitely the safest option!
Well, essentially, it didn't seem that smart...
"I knew there wasn't any record of these currents in the data, Aqua, you sneaky thing!"
When Aqua was about to secretly use her powers to alter the currents again, Zyhark finally realized that the sudden stops and starts weren't natural phenomena inherent to Reverse Mountain!
With a flash, he appeared at the bow and kicked Aqua, the main culprit, into the sea below!
Since the foolish goddess could move freely in water, it served as a little lesson for her love of mischief.
Sure enough, without Aqua's interference, the Endless Dream was swiftly carried by the rapid currents toward the peak.
Reaching the top of Reverse Mountain, the Endless Dream changed direction under the influence of multiple currents, flew out horizontally, and heavily smashed onto the only descending current.
The heavy ship stirred up a sky full of water spray, plunging downward at great speed.
And at the end of this current lay the Grand Line!
"Aaaaah!"
Almost simultaneously, cries of help came from above.
Aqua, thrown into the air by the climbing sea currents, twisted her body in pain, trying to lessen the impact of her fall.
To an unknowing observer, it might look like she was striking a dramatic landing pose.
Meowth watched, his eyes lighting up: I know this, I totally get it now!
As her head neared a close encounter with the lighthouse above Twin Cape, Aqua, in a moment of quick thinking, pulled out her highly flexible goddess robe, pinched the sides, and created a makeshift parachute to gently float down.
That was close...
Before Aqua could revel in her cleverness, the Grand Line's sea breeze blew, destabilizing her hard-won equilibrium and drifting her towards the distant sea.
And there, a huge, deep blue wall with various ridges and ravines stood!
With a deafening whale cry, the "giant wall" slowly cracked open at the top, revealing a mouth filled with large, sharp teeth, comparable to a small island!
In front of this gigantic maw, Aqua in mid-air appeared as a mere speck of dust.
The entity was none other than the giant whale guarding Twin Cape—the Rumbar Pirates' Laboon!
"A whale? This is a whale? Isn't it ridiculously huge?!"
From halfway up the mountain, Meowth, who had gotten a clear view of Laboon, was so startled that his expression went viral.
From his perspective, the Endless Dream was only as big as that fish's eyeball!
King, however, was somewhat better off. Aside from his heart rate accelerating, his face didn't show much panic.
Fear was certain, but not as exaggerated as Meowth's shock.
After all, in his original world, he had seen giants who could destroy half a city with a punch and a centipede elder thousands of meters long!
"Help me, Zyhark-sama, please save me!!!"
As Aqua drifted little by little towards the abyssal maw, her eyes lost focus in terror, and she twisted her body even more desperately trying to escape.
However, Laboon, merely performing a very normal breathing motion, generated a strong suction force, pulling Aqua along with her parachute-like goddess robe into his deep, black-hole-like throat.
Despite the goddess's lowly pleas for help, Zyhark stood calmly on the deck, unmoved.
As the surrounding sea water rushed into Laboon's mouth, the Endless Dream, too, was inevitably drawn towards that dark direction!
Zyhark glanced sideways at the empty lighthouse beside Twin Cape, thinking of the lighthouse keeper who was also the doctor of the Pirate King Roger's crew, Crocus, perhaps vacationing inside Laboon's stomach, and simply let the Endless Dream be "swallowed" by accident.
He showed great interest in this great pirate who had accompanied Roger to the final island, Raftel.
It might also be more convenient to talk to Laboon, using Crocus as a mediator.
As Laboon completed his routine breath, he slowly closed his giant mouth, unaware that he had accidentally swallowed a single-masted sailboat.
The light around them instantly dimmed, and the Endless Dream drifted with the current, bumping through Laboon's wide esophagus.
"Meowth, turn on the ship's lighting system, King, lower the sails a bit and keep the helm steady."
In the dark environment, red lights flickered as Zyhark, keeping his Observation Haki active, turned and gave instructions to King and Meowth.
Though "sailing" inside Laboon's belly was relatively safe, the environment filled with stomach acid still posed a potential hazard to the ship!
"Understood, meow!"
"I get it."
King and Meowth nodded.
Meowth hurried to the control room on the second deck of the cabin and pulled a special switch.
The lights installed at the bow, midship, and stern of the Endless Dream immediately lit up, dispelling the surrounding darkness.
As the lights came on, the sound of the steering wheel turning could be heard, and King maneuvered the Endless Dream in the correct direction, successfully avoiding a ten-meter-long stark white fishbone floating in their original path.
Just as the Endless Dream got back on track, heading towards the dim tunnel's end.
"Phew! I've finally found you guys!"
Aqua, who had been sucked in first, emerged from the water, gracefully landing and rejoining Zyhark and the others.
No amount of darkness could hinder a goddess with the Eyes of God, and the faintly acidic water was nothing to Aqua, who could spend a whole day soaked in a stinky ditch without a care!
To be honest, in terms of endurance (for money), she truly was a role model that all goddesses looked up to...
"So, Zyhark, are we on the Grand Line now? Why does the surrounding environment look so strange? Was that blue wall the entrance? It truly deserves its reputation as the toughest instance, nothing like the East Blue!"
After a brief and half-hearted self-delusion, Aqua nonchalantly made her assumption.
Zyhark: "…"
"Aqua-san, we are actually inside a giant whale's stomach."
King, who was steering at the back, couldn't watch any longer and spoke up.
"How humiliating, it's so humiliating, I've become the first cat in the world to be eaten by a fish..."
Meowth hung his head low, sighing deeply in despair.
"Ah, so we were eaten by a whale, no wonder the sea water tasted so strange~"
Aqua, suddenly enlightened, slapped her forehead, a faint smile on her lips.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, her face froze, perhaps finally realizing their predicament.
"You mean to say, we just got to the Grand Line and were eaten by a whale? Just like that, without any resistance?!"
"No way! Damn it, Zyhark, think of something! Being eaten by a whale and turned into poop and expelled, I absolutely do not want that!!"
The thought of such a humiliating death being known in the divine realm broke Aqua, who cried and yelled, desperately shaking Zyhark's chest.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have a solution for this, Aqua."
Zyhark spread his arms and tilted his head, sighing as if resigned.
Seeing the usually confident him so pessimistic, Aqua's panic deepened.
Letting go of Zyhark's collar, Aqua quickly ran to the first deck's restaurant and hugged the giant egg she had been carefully tending.
If I must die, at least let me ensure the safety of this child!
Her deep "maternal instinct" touched Zyhark deeply.
"Don't worry, Aqua, although we are indeed in a whale's stomach, there shouldn't be any danger."
Zyhark pointed towards the dim tunnel's end, where a faint light twinkled, possibly the final exit.
"If I'm not mistaken, just by passing through an iron door set up there, we can safely leave this whale's body."
"Really?!" Aqua's unfocused pupils once again lit up with intelligence.
As a goddess, she wasn't afraid of dying; what worried her more was the ridicule and laughter from her juniors.
After all, she was someone who cared a lot about her image.
"You'll see soon enough."
Zyhark sat on the bow's goddess statue, quietly watching as the light at the end grew closer and clearer.
...
And so, the Endless Dream navigated through the spacious whale's esophagus, dodging floating fish skeletons and ship debris like subway surfers, until they successfully reached their destination.
The view before them suddenly opened up to blue skies, white clouds, small seagulls, sandy beaches, and coconut trees.
Even though they were still inside the whale's stomach, the Endless Dream sailed into a vast and clear ocean!
Aqua, King, and Meowth couldn't help but look up in wonder, marveling at the bizarre and fantastic world of pirates.
Even the well-traveled Aqua could hardly imagine that the inside of a whale's stomach would present such a seascape!
Is this the Grand Line?
However, what shocked them even more was yet to come.
Ahead on a small island, the wooden door of a house slowly opened, and an old man in a floral shirt and beach shorts walked out.
There were humans living here?!!
(End of Chapter)