40 Chapter 40: Log Pose

Soon the Straw Hats started sailing towards the Grand Line, and as they got closer to the Red Line they noticed a big storm brewing making the waves rock and crash into the ship trying to throw it off course, but with the help of Nami's navigation, they got closer and close to their goal until Usopp broke the rudder making it impossible to steer. Luffy then used his ability to inflate like a balloon and keep the ship from crashing into the Red Line, and just before Luffy could fall into the water Soren caught him and brought him back to the ship.

[*sobbing* We made it!... Thank god! I thought we were gonners!]: usopp

Soren looked over to Usopp who was crying while hugging the deck, Soren then turned his attention back towards the front of the ship and watched as they began soaring up the physically impossible trail of water as they passed what appeared to be White stone gates placed to help guide ships, and soon the Straw Hats were up above the clouds as their ship shot into the air and Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Nami began taking in the sights from the sky while Usopp was still cowering on the ship afraid he would die if he let go of what he was holding. Soren was different as he focused his attention on a specific part of the Grand Line from the air and looked back to where the New World was located and due to his superior senses, he could slightly make out gigantic islands with powerful monsters roaming on them.

'Looks like it is impossible to go backwards instead… Also, the adventure is fun and if I were to end the journey early Luffy would never feel like he accomplished it on his own': soren

Soren sighed and this was caught by Luffy and Nami as they both walked towards Soren as they began sailing down into the Grand Line.

[What's wrong Soren?... Are you bored?]: luffy

[No… I've just seen this before and it's not new to me… Nami, did you get the Log Pose I told you to get in Loguetown?]: soren

[Ahh!... I knew I forgot something… But we can't go back now]: nami

[Don't worry about it… Someone might have an extra one, or we can just steal their Log Pose]: soren

Nami looked at Soren with a deadpan expression before glaring at him.

[You've done this before haven't you]: nami

[Hehe… A few times, but for good reason… The Log Pose is fragile and quite easy to break, so you need multiple of them, and as a Solo explorer I had broken many Poses and needed more, but was never at a town long enough to buy one, so I found Pirates, and if they attacked me I would steal their Log Pose]: soren

Just as Soren finished the conversation with Nami, Zoro shouted about some kind of Black mountain in the way, and Nami said they should be clear to sail on through, but soon Luffy noticed it was not a mountain, but an animal. Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji tried to turn the rudder, but even with their increased strength, the pressure on the rudder due to the water sailing them down hill made it impossible to maneuver, and soon the frontal cannon was shot and slowed their decent enough to not smash their ship, but they did end up losing the head of the ship which was Luffy's favorite spot.

[Hey!... You broke my favorite seat!]: luffy

Luffy then wound his fist back and sent a punch towards the big whale like creature and punched it, and when Luffy's punch landed, it just pissed off the whale and as it tried to swallow them, Soren quickly went to move away and was freed from having the humiliation of being eaten, but Soren wasn't the only one as Luffy also escaped that fate by saving himself after he fell off the ship.

[Luffy!... You okay?]: soren

[Yeah, but he ate our friends!... He needs to pay!]: luffy

Luffy then began to beat up the whale, but none of his punches even made the while flinch let alone tickle him, and when Soren saw the whale start to sink, he jumped over to Luffy and pointed out the steel hatch built into the while and both jumped inside it and closed the hatch as the while fully submerged. Soren and Luffy then ended up in what appeared to be an endless hallway with steel walls, and as Luffy began trying to decide which way to go Soren began walking with his hands in his pockets and Luffy just decided to follow.

[Do you know where you're going Soren?]: luffy

[Nope… I just picked a direction and am now going to walk]: soren

[What do you mean… How can you pick a direction so easily, we need to find everyone quickly, so we must make an educated decision]: luffy

Soren just looked at Luffy with a deadpan expression as he then smacked his face with his hand and used it to pinch the bridge of his nose as he then looked at Luffy and spoke.

[Luffy… There are only 2 possible directions… It's not hard to pick, and the longer you wait picking either forwards or backwards, the higher the chance that Nami and the others will be digested]: soren

When Luffy heard Soren, a face of realization hit him and he started running towards the direction Soren was walking as he began to shout.

[I won't let you guys get digested!]: luffy

'I swear… He's an unchangeable idiot': soren

Soon, some movement inside the while made both Soren and Luffy start to fall sending them through the tunnel at a fast pace, and when they came out, they were in a gigantic corridor that seemed like an endless Black hallway, and when Soren got up to dust himself off, another tild was created and Luffy began to fall while Soren just dug his fingers into the steel and caught Luffy with his free hand.

[Thank's Soren… You saved me]: luffy

Just as Luffy said that, the whale went back to normal, and Luffy hit the ground while Soren had enough muscle control to hold himself in any position, and when Luffy saw that he could stand again he began running towards the direction they needed to go. Soren chased after Luffy and soon they both ran through a door with 2 people standing in front of it with guns in hand, and Luffy just busted right through.

[AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!]: luffy

Soren then took a swan dive out of the corridor and towards the vast sea of gastric acid and when everyone saw both Soren and Luffy accompanied by 2 unknown people, they felt relieved. Soren then dived into the sea and felt the acid trying to eat away at his skin, but a thin layer of Ki surrounded his body and actively protected him from the acid, and as Soren looked towards the bottom he noticed hundred of destroyed and rotted ships and also saw some interesting weapons and decided to collect everything. Soren put all the money into the storage while keeping some gold and jewels in his bag that he carried all his belongings in, while he picked up only the strongest looking swords, and one in particular stuck out as it looked like it had never encountered any kinds of damage, Soren then picked it up and tossed the other weapons and swam back up in time to see Zoro placing Luffy and the 2 unknown people inside the ship.

[Soren you're okay!… I thought you were a goner… What's that?]: nami

Nami noticed Soren was alright and also noticed the weapon in his hand. It was a Katana Blue in color with Black cording wrapping the sword, and some small engravings of flowers around the guard and pommel, Soren drew the blade and noticed a nice even temper pattern, and the steel used to make it was turned into Damascus by the amount of folds the blade had during forging.

[I don't know… When I entered the water I saw all these destroyed pirate ships and decided to check them out and inside one of them I found Gold and Jewels along with this katana]: soren

When Soren said the words "Gold and Jewels" Nami had a money sign appear in her eyes as she tried to jump into the sea of gastric acid to go grab some loot, but before she could make the jump Soren stopped her and showed her what he picked up and told her she could keep it as there was nothing anymore due to the rest of it being in Soren's storage, but nobody buy him knew. Soon the conversation was brought towards the 2 individuals who were rescued along with Luffy, and they took out some bazuka type cannonball launchers and shot them towards the painted whale insides, and then they watched as an old man jumped in front of them to save the whale, and this left the 2 people laughing.

[You know Miss Vivi… It's impolite for a princess of a kingdom to be acting in such a manner]: soren

When Soren's words left his mouth, the woman with Blue hair wearing a light Green coat with a White fur collar, and a Blue striped noodlestraped tank top with a White mini skirt began to freak out as she shouted.

[I don't know what you're talking about!]: vivi

[Don't lie as you can't… I have the ability to read the nature of people and your body may do this, but you feel bad on the inside… As for how I know your name, I have came to Alabasta once when you were just a child and saw you with your father]: soren

Everyone was shocked, especially the man next to her in a Green coat wearing a crown, and they called him Mr. 9, and he even had two 9's drawn on his cheek.

[You fool!... You ruined everything!]: vivi

[Huh?... Miss Wednesday, what is this man talking about!]: 9

[You really are an idiot… *Sigh* I guess my options are limited]: vivi

Vivi then took the small ring on her finger and extended a steel string from it ready to attack, but before she could move Soren had used the new katana in his hands to kill the man known as Mr. 9, After that, everyone sat down and the old man came over and began explaining the story of the Whale known as Laboon, and after that they left the while and Luffy wanted to make it their friend.

[Hey old man… Are you sure they left the Grand Line?]: soren

[Either that or they have died here]: old man

Soren then walked up to Laboon and looked him in his gigantic eye and began to pull of his act for the others around him, he placed his hand on Laboo's skin and closed his eyes and sent a bit of his Ki into him to show Laboon the story he remembered, but spoke of it as if he was recalling the scene from nature.

[Your friends… They didn't forget you… It seems like they had encountered a sickness that passed throught the entire crew within a few days, and everyone died while singing one last song as friends… But… Something's off, one man is dead, but he isn't at the same time]: soren

As the old man and the rest of the Straw Hats heard Soren speak, they became interested in the story as they thought it ended with the old man's side, but it turns out Soren had the complete story due to the power of his "Devil Fruit"

[What do you mean Soren… How can someone be dead, but not be dead… Is he a Zombie?]: luffy

[No… It seems like it's the power of a Devil Fruit… He is a living skeleton who won't die from age, starvation, or sickness, but he could still be killed by destroying his bones… It's a powerful Devil Fruit, but a heavy price to pay for immortality as he is now forced to be a skeleton… And he's a great singer]: soren

[Singer!... Then we need him in our crew! Let's go get him]: luffy

[We could, but he is super far away from here, maybe we will meet him on our trip]: soren

Luffy seemed sad that they couldn't get a singer in their crew yet, but didn't throw out all hope as they could come across him later, and when Laboon heard and saw all the memories of the backstory of his crew he began to feel emotional as Soren then patted him and promised to bring back his only remaining friend.

[Don't worry… You can now rely on us, and I'll be sure to bring back your friend, but for now we need you to stay here and keep the old man company]: soren

Laboon gave a low howl as if saying he understands and then Luffy painted their flag onto Laboon's head as incentive to never bash his head against the Red Line walls. Soon, Luffy noticed that Vivi had escaped to go report back to the boss to try and save her identity since 9 had been killed after he found out, but she noticed that her Log Pose was missing, and Luffy had found it on the deck.

[What's this?... Maybe Nami knows?]: luffy

Luffy then walked towards Nami while she was sitting down trying to come up with a way to travel the Grand Line without a Log Pose since she forgot to get one in Loguetown, but seeing Luffy coming towards her while holding up one she freaked out making Sanji come running over with lunch. Luffy then sat down and began eating while Nami put on the Log Pose and began looking at it in curiosity trying to find how it works, but it was soon broken when Sanji kicked Luffy into Nami breaking the Pose, and making Nami freak out again.

[Don't worry… I'll give you guys my Log Pose as thanks for saving Laboon… Careful not to break this one before you can find a store that sells more, and those will be highly priced due to the demand, and how hard it is to make them… I hope to see you kids in the future, and I hope that man can keep his promise and bring Laboon his friend]: old man