Boom~~~
Snow was falling heavily, and thunder and lightning were simultaneously roaring in the sky! In the normal world, this would break many hearts.
As the saying goes, 'Winter thunder and summer snow, mountains without edges, heaven and earth united, only then will I part with you!'
On the Grand Line, these are 'natural' phenomena.
"Just as Roman said..."
Wearing a cotton coat and earmuffs, Nami looked at the Log Pose in her hand. It felt like the Going Merry was moving in a straight line, but the needle kept drifting to one side.
"Roman, turn left!"
Following Nami's order, the 'idle' Roman immediately turned the helm. Meanwhile, in the cabin, the fake prince Mr. 9 and the real princess Miss Wednesday, wrapped in blankets, complained to Nami.
"So cold,"
"Doesn't this ship have any heating?"
?
Bang!
"Where do you think you are? Get out and help shovel the snow!"
As soon as Nami kicked them out of the cabin, the sky, which had been snowing heavily, suddenly cleared up, and a gentle spring breeze began to blow.
??
"What the heck is this..."
Unfortunately, before the gentle spring breeze could blow for a few minutes, a thick fog suddenly enveloped the air! Visibility was reduced to less than ten meters.
"It's foggy..."
"Watch out, there's an iceberg ahead!!"
"Hurry, turn—"
Bang!
"Roman, turn right."
"Usopp, Sanji, grab some tools and check the cabin. If there's any leakage, fix it quickly!"
"Luffy, move the main sail to catch the wind from the port side..."
"You two, go take care of the..."
Everyone was being directed by Nami, even the two passengers weren't exempt. — Except for Zoro, who was sleeping against the ship's railing. Not even the thunder and lightning, wind and rain, or Nami's kicks could wake him up! In the end, she had to give up on him...
"Come on, everyone, eat while you work~~"
With Sanji joining in, various foods that could quickly replenish energy were continuously made, providing the crew with the stamina they needed. However:
"Luffy! Stop grabbing food while you work!!"
"I want some too~~"
"Of course, mysterious Miss Wednesday~~?"
"I want some too~~"
"Don't you have hands? Do you want me to feed you?"
...
"The weather changes so fast!"
With the sudden gusts of wind, waves several times higher than the Going Merry suddenly attacked, making Nami struggle to cope.
"Luffy, take down the sails—"
"Damn, the compass is off again..."
"Roman, turn right!"
Facing various harsh conditions while needing to quickly adjust the ship's course, Nami couldn't help but miss the times when Roman was normal: he could always use his Devil Fruit ability to resolve crises...
No!
She shook her head hard, shaking off this weak thought.
Nami, you are the navigator of this ship. If you rely on others for your job, what kind of partner are you?
"Quick, quick, everyone move..."
——————
Boom!
Under the lighthouse at Twin Capes, the old man Crocus punched, turning half of 'Roman's' head into flying pieces of paper.
"Focus! Getting distracted in a fight, are you looking down on me?"
Facing the stern Crocus, the 'closed-eyed' Roman bowed and apologized.
"Sorry, it seems there was some chaos on my 'main body' side just now..."
"So, are you going 'back'?"
Facing the old man's question, the always closed-eyed Roman shook his head.
"No need, I trust Luffy and Nami."
"Hmph, then let's continue—"
After getting in touch with him, Crocus found that the boy named Roman was eager to improve his strength, seemingly not for himself. — Judging by the way he unintentionally showed his knowledge of many major forces and secrets in the New World, this kid's background was definitely very impressive!
If he hadn't boarded the 'Straw Hat' ship, he should have had plenty of time to steadily improve his strength. Instead of using various secrets to exchange for Haki training like now.
Unfortunately,
Learning through a puppet could never compare to the real body. Who knows how much this kid could actually learn?
"Your understanding of Armament Haki is too poor,"
"Experts in Armament Haki are usually close combat masters who have complete confidence in their bodies..."
"Although your martial arts are good, you rely more on external defenses rather than fully investing your mind into your muscles..."
Facing Crocus's words, Roman felt wronged. — He could now face blades and axes without blinking, and as for being afraid of getting hurt...
"Charlotte Cracker from Big Mom's crew, who always hides in biscuit puppets created by his ability, is afraid of even getting a shot. Am I not tougher than him?"
Roman was not convinced!
"You seem to know a lot. So tell me, how old is Charlotte Cracker this year?"
Uh...
"That little guy is 43 this year, what about you?"
Alright...
"With your talent, you could catch up to him in Armament Haki in twenty years. But:"
But Roman didn't even have twenty years, not even two years! Two months...
"Alright, let's continue."
Since Armament Haki wasn't his strong suit, he decided to develop Observation Haki first.
---
Coo, coo, coo~~
The sea was calm, and seagulls flew across the sky.
On the Going Merry, Zoro stretched and stood up.
"I had a good sleep~~"
Looking around, he saw Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and others lying all over the place.
"Hey, hey, hey, no matter how good the weather is, you shouldn't be slacking off like this, right? — Are we following the route?"
You—!!!
The few exhausted people on the deck didn't even have the strength to curse. Who knew how Zoro managed to sleep soundly through the thunderstorm and rough seas?
Even pigs didn't sleep as soundly as he did.
Zoro looked at the equally exhausted Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, and belatedly frowned.
"Why are these two on our ship?"
...You're too slow!
"We're heading to their town now." This was Luffy, the only one not lying down at the bow, showing no signs of fatigue, his endurance was truly remarkable.
"We have no obligation to take them home,"
Luffy chuckled at Zoro's words.
"Yeah, we don't."
"Alright, you're the captain, you decide. But—"
Zoro squatted down, looking at Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday on the ground, and rubbed his chin with a wicked smile.
"Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday, right?"
"Your names remind me of something interesting, what could it be..."
Bang!
But before Zoro could 'intimidate' the two hitchhikers, Nami punched him on the back of the head.
"You,"
"We're all busy, and you're the only one sleeping soundly!"
"Huh?!"
Turning around, Zoro's face darkened, veins popping on his forehead.
Zoro was angry!
Bang, bang, bang, bang—
????
Holding his head, covered in bumps, Zoro sat on the deck, dazed and confused, 'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?'
Zoro was silent!
"Anyway, we've experienced the terror of the Grand Line!"
Nami stood at the helm, facing everyone, with Roman beside her, his face expressionless from being inactive for so long. — Fortunately, it didn't affect carrying out Nami's orders.
"My previous navigation skills are completely useless here, that's for sure..."
"Hey, don't get discouraged!"
Facing Usopp's concern, Nami smiled confidently.
"Even so, we can still find a way forward. — Look,"
Not far ahead, an island resembling a 'cactus' loomed in and out of view.
"Round one, we win!"
At that moment, Mr. 9 and Miss Wednesday simultaneously jumped onto the ship's railing, their movements so synchronized that one couldn't help but suspect they had rehearsed many times.
Smack! X2
"Thank you for bringing us back~~"
"See you again, darlings~~"
They performed a 360-degree backflip into the water, without a splash, perfect score! X2
"Those two..."
Are they here just to be funny?
"Forget them, let's go ashore."
Nami raised the Log Pose on her wrist and explained to Luffy and Zoro.
"According to Roman, the Log Pose needs to 'store' the magnetic field on an island before it can point to the next one."
"This time could be a few hours or a few days..."
"So, if there are monsters on the island..." Usopp looked pale, "Guys, I have a 'can't go ashore' disease..."
But as the Going Merry slowly approached:
"Welcome~~!!"
"Welcome, heroes of the sea—"
"This is Welcome Town 'Whiskey Peak,' brave men of the sea!"
Welcoming the Going Merry were not monsters or beasts, nor were there guns or cannons, but rather a dock full of enthusiastic people! They waved various flags, their faces beaming with warm smiles, cheering loudly to welcome Luffy and the others.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa~~~"
"Indeed, pirates are the heroes of the sea~~"
Facing the cheering crowd, Luffy and Usopp responded excitedly. Even Sanji was dazzled by the women in the crowd. Only Zoro sighed while covering his forehead, and Nami whispered the 'code' in Roman's ear.
!
In an instant, Roman, who had been in a daze, suddenly 'came to his senses,' his eyes sharp as knives!
"Nami, this is..."
"We've reached the first island on the Grand Line: 'Whiskey Peak,' and you can see the situation around us — it's very unusual."
Is it here?
Roman rubbed his chin and nodded.
"I understand,"
"You guys go 'play,' I'll watch the ship."
----
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