84. Bad Start
Finally, the Clown Pirates will go to Grandline. They've trained for 6 months so they will be ready to face any trouble in Grandline. This journey will be very different from their previous journey on Blues, so they need to prepare everything.
They've also bought everything that they'll need on Grandline. They've filled their ship with all their necessities. Then the most important thing that they shouldn't forget is Log Pose.
Buggy has tasked Jude to get a Log Pose and learned it. Log Pose will be very crucial because their journey will be decided by it. That's why, as a navigator, Jude needs to understand how it works.
Buggy doesn't want to use Eternal Pose if he can. Going to the unknown is always interesting and he wants to do that. He wants to go randomly based on Log Pose's direction until they reach Sabaody.
After reaching Sabaody, Buggy will start to use Eternal Pose. He will explore the first half of Grandline with it. The journey on New World can wait, he is not in a rush to enter New World.
The Clowns go to Reverse Mountain directly from Karate Island. It is not that far, but also not that close. They arrive at Reverse Mountain after 5 hours of sailing.
Everyone is looking at Reverse Mountain with amazed looks. Even Buggy who has seen it before is still stunned by it. They all look at the water that going up the tall Red Line and wonder how it can happen.
"Wait! It's not the time to be amazed. We need to control the ship or we will crash into the Red Line," says Jude to the others.
"Ah, you're right," says everyone with a dumb expression.
Buggy immediately instructs the crew. Jude will tell them what to do, Cricket will control the steer, Mantis & Manba will watch the sides, Palu will keep guard in case of the steer breaking because of the strong current, and Buggy will watch the front.
The ship keeps moving toward the Reverse Mountain. They handle the ship to follow the current and not crash into the wall. The current is very strong and it makes the steer very heavy to move.
"CAPTAIN, THERE'S A SHIP ON THE LEFT. WE WILL CRASH INTO THEM IF WE KEEP GOING LIKE THIS," shouts Manba to Buggy.
"WHAT?! WHAT SHIP IS THAT?" asks Buggy.
"It's a big pirate ship, a galleon," says Manba after looking at the ship.
"Damn, our ship will lose if we crash. Sink it!" says Buggy to Manba.
"AYE AYE!" replies Manba excitedly.
Manba immediately takes his bazooka and aims it at the galleon ship. He shoots his bazooka and it flies at fast speed toward the galleon ship.
The pirates on the Galleon ship are also getting ready to attack the Little Hunter. But they're not in the range yet, so they can't shoot.
Suddenly, the pirates get alerted by something that flies toward them. They try to look at it and finally realize what it is, but they're too late.
Manba's bazooka hit their ship's hull and make a big hole in it. His bazooka has been upgraded in these last 6 months. With Palu's & Buggy's help who know a lot about weapons, Manba's bazooka's power & range have increased a lot.
Water starts to enter the ship through the hole at a fast speed because of the strong current. The pirates do what they can to save their ship, but it's not working. Their ship starts to sink after the water level inside the ship gets very high.
They curse the Clowns, but it's just how the pirate world runs. They can't blame anyone for their weakness. In this world, only the strong will survive.
The Clowns can't be happy with their success because they haven't entered the Reverse Mountain. They control the ship to follow the current and after some time, they finally succeed to enter the gap where the current moved up.
"Finally! Release the steer, there's nothing we can do now. The current will control our ship," says Buggy.
Everyone nods and they all go to the front deck to watch where they'll go. They keep going up and their excitement is raising too. Then soon, they finally see the top where all 4 seas' water meet.
"Get ready!" says Buggy to his crew.
The Clowns nod and everyone except Buggy takes a bazooka each. They are ready to attack if they meet with other ships from other seas. The chance is low, but there's still a chance.
Their caution isn't that baseless. They really see something coming from East & North Blue when they reach the top. They can only see the silhouettes, but the Clowns didn't think twice to attack those 2 unknown objects.
Manba, Mantis, & Palu shoot the one from East Blue. While Cricket & Jude shoot the one from North Blue. The 2 objects get shot while flying up because of the current and pushed back.
Now they can see those 2 objects. The one from East Blue is a pirate ship, while the one from North Blue is just a big log that got swept by the current.
The log gets destroyed completely, while the ship gets shot in the lower hull. The bazookas' bullets hit it and explode, creating a very big hole and flipping the ship.
They've destroyed both objects, but the debris is still flying to them. The pirate ship also doesn't get destroyed completely. It is still in a big piece and moving toward them. It will crash to Little Hunter.
Buggy immediately unsheaths Pollux and charges it with haki. Then he swings Pollux toward the other ship. His swing creates a big white arc that cuts the ship in half. Each half of that ship flies past the Little Hunter and they come out unscathed.
"Phew, that's close," says Palu in relief.
"I didn't think that this will really happen. To meet another ship on the summit is like a 1 in a million chance," says Mantis.
"That's why we need to get ready. Even a small coincidence can be fatal for everyone in Grandline. Bad luck is the worst enemy in the world, even more so for Grandline. A small coincidence & bad luck can lead to death," says Buggy.
Buggy tells them the truth. A coincidence and bad luck may really kill them. They can suddenly encounter very bad weather, meet with giant seakings, or even meet with strong enemies. All of those are affected by their luck.
The Clowns have known that and prepared for that. They are ready for anything that will come in their way. They've trained hard so they can face any challenge in the future.
The Clowns look ahead while their ship is descending from the summit. Soon, they see the bottom of the current and look at the sea of Grandline. At least that's what they're hoping for because what they see is a tall dark wall that blocks their path.
"WTF! HOW CAN OUR LUCK BE THIS BAD? WE HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED," yells Buggy in frustration.
They've met trouble before going up. Then met trouble on the summit. Now, they meet another trouble at the bottom. Buggy knows that this thing is here, but he never thought that it will block their way too. The one who blocks them is the giant whale, Laboon.
Buggy orders Palu & Manba to prepare their 2 front cannons. He orders Cricket to control the ship. Then Buggy detaches his hands and sends them forward to slow down the ship before hitting Laboon.
When the ship gets close to Laboon, Buggy orders Palu & Manba to shoot their 2 front cannons. They shoot and the ship stopped moving forward. Buggy also pushes the ship back and Cricket moves it to the left.
Laboon look at the Clowns with its giant eyes when they passed in front of its right eye. Buggy looks back at Laboon with an intimidating gaze and says, "What? You're the one who blocks our way, so we do what we need to do. You've got a problem with that, Laboon?"
Laboon starts having cold sweats and shivering. Then it dived down into the sea because it feels afraid of Buggy. Buggy can only sigh and massage his temples.
Buggy looks at the new sea and says, "What a troublesome start. But at least we're here now, Grandline."
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