Chapter 367: The Rise of a New Force

Chapter 367: Chapter 367: The Rise of a New Force

Chapter 367: The Rise of a New Force

Reverse Mountain was a spectacle created by nature itself.

Towering red cliffs stretched toward the clouds while raging seawater climbed upward along their surface, defying the most basic expectation that water should always flow downhill.

Driven by tremendous pressure from the four seas, the currents surged up the mountain in roaring streams.

Even Robin, Chopper, and Wapol, who had already experienced the unpredictable climates of the Grand Line, could not help staring.

Sanji was no different.

The current was violent.

Most of the surrounding seawater smashed directly against the Red Line rather than entering the narrow channel leading upward. Any ordinary ship that approached at the wrong angle would be driven straight into the rock face.

Chopper watched the cliffs rapidly drawing closer.

"Are we really just going straight ahead?"

"Yeah."

Axel grinned.

"Looks fun."

Sanji’s expression immediately worsened.

The ship entered the current.

Then everything became chaos.

Water roared around them as the vessel was swept upward.

Axel, apparently deciding the natural current was not exciting enough, added his own force to the ship’s movement.

The result was a journey that felt less like navigation and more like an attempt to kill everyone aboard through sheer recklessness.

The ship narrowly avoided the cliffs several times.

Sanji spent most of the ascent convinced that one wrong turn would end with all of them smashed against the Red Line.

By the time they finally burst from the exit and entered the Grand Line, he looked exhausted in both body and spirit.

"I’m going to kill you..."

The threat came out weakly.

Axel leaned against the railing, amused.

"I thought it was pretty fun."

He looked toward Chopper.

"Right?"

Chopper hesitated.

"Well..."

He thought about it.

"It was kind of fun."

Sanji’s head snapped toward him.

"You stupid reindeer!"

"You were screaming louder than anyone!"

Chopper’s face reddened.

"I was not!"

"You absolutely were!"

"I wasn’t!"

"Keep lying and I’ll turn you into venison!"

"I’m not food!"

Their argument continued behind her while Robin quietly watched Axel.

Then she smiled.

"So why did we come here?"

Axel glanced toward her.

Robin closed the book in her hands.

"When we traveled to the East Blue before, we crossed the Calm Belt."

"If reaching the Grand Line were the only goal, we could have done the same thing again."

She tilted her head.

"Or had Big Shark bring us across."

"So you must have another reason for coming through Reverse Mountain."

Axel nodded.

"I’m looking for a doctor."

Robin’s expression shifted slightly.

"A doctor?"

She glanced toward Chopper.

"Chopper is already an excellent physician."

Her eyes returned to Axel.

"Is this doctor supposed to be even better?"

Robin had spent enough time observing the group to understand their abilities.

Chopper might look young and na?ve, but his medical knowledge was extraordinary.

Among the doctors Robin had encountered, few could compare with him.

Axel answered,

"His name is Crocus."

Robin immediately understood.

"Crocus..."

The name was famous enough among people familiar with the older generation of pirates.

The Pirate King’s crew had gradually faded from public view after Gol D. Roger’s death, but the names associated with that voyage had never completely disappeared.

Robin, who had spent years moving through the Underworld, knew more than most.

"So where is he?"

Axel answered casually.

"Inside a whale."

Robin stared at him for a moment.

Then reopened her book.

She decided not to ask.

They did not have to wait long.

A tremendous roar suddenly rolled across the sea.

The sound was followed by a series of heavy waves.

Sanji grabbed the nearest railing.

"What the hell is that?!"

The ship rocked violently.

Or at least, it should have.

A moment later, the vessel became strangely stable.

The waves continued crashing around them, but the ship itself barely moved.

Sanji glanced toward Axel.

So it was him.

The booming sound continued.

Louder.

Closer.

Now that the ship was stable, everyone could safely look for its source.

Chopper pointed toward the Red Line.

"It sounds like it’s coming from the mountain!"

"An earthquake?" Sanji asked.

Robin listened carefully.

"No."

She shook her head.

"The rhythm is wrong."

Her eyes narrowed.

"It sounds more like something is repeatedly hitting the Red Line."

Almost as soon as she said it, the sea exploded.

A colossal blue body surged from the water beside them.

Compared with it, Axel’s ship looked insignificant.

The exposed portion of the creature alone was enormous beyond reason.

Tons of displaced seawater rose into a towering wave and crashed toward the vessel.

Even Robin’s calm expression changed.

The wave struck.

But instead of capsizing, the ship remained upright.

Water flowed around its hull as though an invisible shell had redirected the impact to either side.

When the danger passed, everyone except Axel looked shaken.

Sanji slowly raised his head.

"What... is that?"

Robin recovered first.

"An Island Whale."

Chopper looked toward her.

"Island Whale?"

Robin nodded.

"They usually live in the West Blue."

She stared at the enormous creature.

"I didn’t expect to see one here."

"As the name suggests, a fully grown Island Whale can reach the size of an island."

Chopper’s eyes widened.

"Like Big Shark?"

Sanji turned toward him.

"I’ve been meaning to ask."

"What exactly is Big Shark?"

Chopper immediately perked up.

Robin had just shown off her knowledge, and now he had something he knew.

"Big Shark is a huge Sea King that follows our ship!"

Sanji stared at him.

Chopper continued proudly,

"It’s around the same size as this whale."

"Maybe even bigger."

"It’s hard to tell because they’re both enormous."

"He was the one who carried us through the Calm Belt before."

Sanji’s face stiffened.

"You... keep something like that around?"

He imagined a giant Sea King suddenly deciding its passengers looked edible.

That did not seem reassuring.

Before anyone could say more, the Island Whale raised its head.

Then roared.

The sound shook the air.

Its enormous mouth opened toward the sky, releasing a cry filled with rage, grief, and unwillingness.

Sanji covered his ears.

"What is wrong with that thing?!"

The roar still felt strong enough to cut through him.

Chopper, however, did not cover his ears.

His expression changed.

"It’s crying."

Sanji looked at him.

Chopper stared at the whale with obvious sadness.

"It’s lonely."

"It’s really lonely."

Wapol looked horrified.

"Who cares if it’s lonely?!"

He pointed toward the enormous creature.

"Shouldn’t we be getting away from it?"

Axel shook his head.

"No."

Wapol froze.

Axel continued,

"We’re going closer."

Sanji stared at him.

"And then?"

"We go inside."

Silence.

Sanji slowly turned toward him.

"You’re joking."

"I’m not."

Sanji pointed at the whale.

"You want us to sail into the stomach of something that size?"

Axel nodded.

For once, Wapol and Sanji seemed completely united.

Both looked at Axel as though he had lost his mind.

Robin, however, remembered his earlier answer.

Inside a whale.

Her eyes shifted toward the Island Whale.

So Crocus was inside.

That explained everything.

...

Elsewhere.

A once-prosperous town had fallen into chaos.

Smoke rose between buildings.

The clean streets were littered with broken furniture, abandoned carts, and the belongings of people who had fled in panic.

Pirates moved openly through the town.

They were raiding it.

Inside one damaged house, a young man crouched in the shadows.

His hands shook around a gun.

His wife and child had been killed during the attack.

He had survived.

That no longer felt like mercy.

He had returned home, taken the weapon he once kept for protection, and hidden himself along the path the pirates were using.

Three other men waited nearby.

None spoke.

They did not need to.

The grief in their faces was enough.

The young man forced himself to breathe steadily.

He had never killed anyone.

He had never ambushed anyone.

But rage burned through his fear.

Footsteps approached.

Soft.

Measured.

On the empty street, every step seemed unnaturally clear.

The four men slowly positioned themselves beside separate windows.

They waited.

One hundred paces.

Too far.

Ninety.

Still too far.

Eighty.

Closer.

They continued waiting.

Seventy.

Fifty.

Thirty.

Finally, around twenty paces away, the men moved.

One after another, they rushed from cover and raised their guns.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Three shots sounded.

But the bullets did not come from them.

The first three men collapsed almost simultaneously.

Each had a hole blown through the same part of the chest.

The young man saw them fall.

He did not stop.

His face twisted with hatred as he raised his gun and aimed toward the pirates.

Before his finger could fully tighten around the trigger, another shot rang out.

His body jerked.

The strength left his hand.

The gun fell.

He collapsed beside the others.

A large, rough-looking man laughed.

"Fast as ever."

He wore a bandana and several pieces of jewelry on his hands and wrists. Thick black hair framed his face, while a scruffy beard covered his jaw.

Several teeth were missing from his grin.

Marshall D. Teach.

For now, his name meant little to the wider world.

That would not remain true forever.

His praise was directed toward the thin man holding a long rifle beside him.

Van Augur.

The sniper gave only a slight nod.

Then his eyes shifted.

His rifle moved.

Bang!

Another shot.

A young woman hiding behind a doorway collapsed.

Teach frowned.

"Hey."

He glanced toward Van Augur.

"Couldn’t you wait a little next time?"

"What a waste."

Another man stepped forward.

He carried himself with the air of a performer, dressed almost like a magician, a cane lightly swinging in one hand.

Laffitte.

His pale face held a permanent, unsettling smile.

"I don’t think it was a waste."

Teach looked at him.

Laffitte smiled.

"A woman suitable for our captain should at least be the most beautiful woman in the world."

Teach immediately burst into laughter.

"Zehahaha!"

"Well said!"

He spread his arms.

"Why settle for what’s in front of you?"

"A man’s dream only ends when he stops reaching for more!"

His grin widened.

"One day, I’ll have everything!"

"Wealth!"

"Power!"

"And the greatest women in the world!"

"Wahahaha!"

A huge man laughed nearby.

Jesus Burgess.

He grabbed the remains of a collapsed structure blocking the road and lifted the entire thing aside with brute strength.

"Captain’s right!"

Behind them rode another figure.

A sickly man sat atop a horse, swaying with every step as though he might tumble off at any moment.

His gray hair looked dry and lifeless.

His face was gaunt.

He appeared close to death.

Yet somehow, he remained upright.

Doc Q.

The doctor of Teach’s growing crew.

Laffitte lightly spun his cane.

"Captain."

Teach looked over.

"What’s our next move?"

Laffitte smiled.

"Do we keep running?"

As navigator, he needed a destination.

His pleasant expression never changed.

That smile had once terrified people in the West Blue, where Laffitte had served as a law officer before being exiled for excessive brutality.

Now that same smile remained fixed in place.

Teach looked down the ruined street.

His grin slowly returned.

A new force was beginning to rise.

.....

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