Chapter 103: The Island Beneath the Sea

Usopp burst to the surface while shouting for help at the top of his lungs, his face filled with terror.

Hearing the commotion, Luffy immediately became excited and waved enthusiastically.

"Hey, Usopp! Is there something fun down there?!"

His eyes were already sparkling with curiosity.

Nami, Sanji, Zoro, Chopper, and the others were also drawn over by the sudden shouting.

They rushed to the ship’s railings and leaned over to look down.

Each of them wore varying degrees of curiosity, eager to find out what had happened.

"Down there... down there..."

Usopp had clearly seen something horrifying.

His face was deathly pale.

After swallowing hard, he continued in a trembling voice:

"I just... I just saw an island down there!"

"What?!"

Luffy’s eyes widened in shock.

"An island? Usopp, do you have a fever?"

Chopper exclaimed as he reached toward Usopp’s forehead, wanting to check if he was sick.

"Chopper, I think you should examine his head too."

Sanji looked equally unconvinced.

"Maybe his brain got cooked."

"Idiot. How could there be an island underwater?"

Zoro glanced over lazily before hugging his three swords and continuing his nap.

He clearly didn’t believe a word of it.

Only Nami believed him.

After all, she was absolutely certain that the Log Pose was pointing to this exact location.

She immediately asked:

"Usopp, what kind of island was it?"

Usopp was on the verge of going crazy.

He had seen it with his own eyes, yet nobody believed him.

Being doubted like this made him both frustrated and anxious.

Just when he was about to give up, someone finally showed interest in what he was saying.

Grabbing the opportunity, he hurried to explain.

"It’s flat! The whole island is flat!"

"Well... more accurately, it’s made up of lots of huge flat rock formations stacked together."

"There’s nothing on it! Just craters everywhere, like it’s been bombarded by cannon fire!"

"It’s completely black, like some ancient battlefield that was abandoned ages ago!"

"It’s only about a meter below the ocean surface!"

"If you don’t believe me, go look for yourselves!"

Usopp gestured wildly as he spoke, trying his best to help everyone visualize what he had seen.

However, Nami frowned after hearing the description.

"An island like that...?"

Her tone was full of doubt.

Usopp nearly lost his mind.

The problem was that he had genuinely seen an island.

A flat landmass with absolutely nothing on it.

Not even a blade of grass.

Just then—

BANG!

The Going Merry suddenly lurched to a halt as if it had struck something solid.

Everyone aboard instantly lost their balance and tumbled across the deck.

Luffy, who had been sitting at the figurehead, was caught completely off guard.

His body pitched forward.

He nearly fell into the sea.

"Ah! I’m falling!"

Luffy shouted in alarm.

But he quickly reacted.

"Gum-Gum—Stretch!"

His arm shot forward like a rubber band and wrapped around the sheep figurehead.

Using the tension, he snapped himself safely back onto the ship.

Patting his chest, he let out a sigh of relief.

That had been far too close.

"What happened?"

"Did Merry hit something?"

Luffy shouted anxiously.

The others also scrambled back to their feet and looked around.

Everyone understood that the impact had been caused by a collision.

The only question was—

What had they hit?

A sense of unease spread through the crew.

They worried that the Going Merry might have suffered serious damage.

After all...

On the unpredictable seas of the Grand Line...

Even minor damage could become a life-threatening problem.

"Hey, Usopp—"

Before Luffy could finish speaking, Usopp dove headfirst into the water.

He quickly swam beneath the surface and inspected the area.

Moments later, he resurfaced with a shocked expression.

"The bottom of the ship hit that island!"

"But it’s not serious! There’s no major damage!"

His tone carried obvious relief.

"Now do you believe me?"

"There really is an island down there!"

"It’s only about a meter beneath the surface!"

Usopp pointed excitedly toward the nearby waters.

His voice was filled with disbelief and excitement.

Even he found the existence of such an absurd island difficult to comprehend.

A landmass hidden just beneath the ocean surface?

If he hadn’t seen it himself, he never would have believed it.

Then again—

This was the Grand Line.

Nothing was truly impossible here.

At this point, the others had no choice but to believe him.

They could clearly see that the color of the water ahead was noticeably darker than the surrounding sea.

Meaning there really was something underneath.

"The Grand Line is incredible."

"There’s even an island like this."

Zoro and Sanji exchanged glances before jumping overboard.

Zoro entered the water first.

As he descended beneath the surface, the sight before him left him speechless.

A vast, flat island stretched beneath the sea.

"This... this..."

His eyes widened.

He exchanged a shocked look with Sanji, who was equally stunned.

The two immediately surfaced.

Meanwhile, Usopp remained completely confused.

He couldn’t understand why they looked so shocked.

Just as he was about to ask, Zoro interrupted him.

"Get back on the ship."

"Something huge happened here."

Seeing the unusually serious expressions on both Zoro and Sanji, Usopp instantly realized this wasn’t a joke.

He hurried back aboard.

At the same time, Chopper, Nami, and Luffy had already gathered around.

"What is it?"

Chopper asked curiously.

"What did you see?"

Nami followed up immediately.

Everyone grew tense as they waited for an answer.

Zoro took a deep breath.

His face looked grim.

Lowering his voice, he said:

"Impact craters."

"Endless impact craters."

◇ BONUS & SUPPORT ◇

◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!

◇ 1 bonus Chapter for every 100 Power Stones.

◇ Read 100+ Chapters ahead on P@treon → /Sagamaster789