The next three days were filled with nightmares about being eaten by frogs. Plus, some of them were mixed in with the terrible memory of the body of the demigod I'd killed outside of Arlong Park, Fennu. So to say that I wasn't very well rested when we saw the Red Line was like saying the Empire State Building is tall.
"Nami-san!" called Sanji. He was up in the crow's nest with me, helping me as co-lookout. "Report of love! There's dark clouds up ahead with a storm underneath!"
Leaning out over the railing, Nami sighed. "Guess we're back on our original course, then. We should see the Red Line soon."
Lucy stretched her arms up, latched onto the edge of the crow's nest, and flung herself up here with us. Now that there was three people in the lookout post at the same time, it was a bit crowded, but she didn't seem to mind. "Alright!" she giggled. "We're finally getting to the Grand Line!" She started patting Sanji on the back, but it wasn't really a pat so much as a hit. "Oi, Sanji! We're getting there! We're getting there, man! We're getting there!"
"I know!" Sanji cooed, his eyes turning to hearts as he swooned at his beloved captain's touch. "It's amazing, LUCY-CHWAN!"
She started hitting me, too. "Oi, Yuril! We're getting there, man! We're getting there! We're getting there!"
I frowned and hit her over the head. "I can see that, now shut up."
"Meanie."
About two hours later, we had almost reached the storm and were done with lunch—a delicious fish filet made with some salmon that Lucy and Usopp had caught the other day. Nami rolled out her map of the Grand Line, flattened it on the table, and slapped it, getting everyone's attention.
"Alright, guys, listen up!" she told us. "I've heard the rumors, but it's written here on the map, too. If it's true, then the entrance to Grand Line is a mountain." She was wearing a light blue diamond-patterned tank top with a darker blue heart over her sizable chest.
"A mountain?" Lucy repeated.
I grinned. "Is there an echo here or something?"
Snickers from Usopp. Then he went back to what he'd been doing previously: Trying desperately to move the rudder. But either he was weak or it was stuck, because it wasn't moving.
"You mean we have to crash through a mountain?" asked Zoro, raising an eyebrow. "The hell?"
"I thought it was crazy too," Nami soothed, "but there are canals drawn along the mountainside. That might mean we have to climb it."
"Oo, sounds like fun!" our captain approved.
"What are you talking about?" Zoro grumbled. "Even if there was a canal, it's impossible for a ship to climb a mountain."
"But that's what the map says!" the ginger protested.
Zoro was unmoved. "You stole that map from Buggy, right? You really want to trust it?"
I jumped in. "Oo, oo, I know this! The canals have such a strong current that they actually force themselves up the mountainside! But the currents on either side of the canals go down, and if we hit those, we'll smash into the Red Line and sink to the bottom of the ocean!"
"Listen to them!" Sanji barked at Zoro. "There's no way anything Nami-san says could be wrong!"
"Oi, Zoro!" Usopp whined.
Nami sighed. "Sanji-kun, go help Usopp with the steering rudder, will you? I can't think straight with all that noise!"
"HAI, NAMI-SWAN!" He wiggled over to the rudder. How the hell did his legs even do that? He grabbed hold of the rudder and said, "Here we go! ...Huh?" The rudder still didn't move.
"The current's too strong!" grunted his companion.
Come to think of it, my neck had been tingling for quite some time now...
"Eh?" Nami blinked and stood up. "Usopp, say that again."
"I said that the current's flowing too fast!"
The gingerhead frowned thoughtfully then her eyes widened in realization. "The current... so Yuril was right! We must've sailed onto one of the currents around Reverse Mountain! We really do have to climb the mountain!"
"You're still going on about that?" Zoro snorted.
Nami nodded and pointed to a spot on the map. "Listen: There's no doubt that the 'guiding light' last week was pointing to Reverse Mountain, which is on the Red Line."
Sanji had left the rudder to come look at the map, and Usopp yelled, "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO HERE?"
The ginger ignored him and pointed to a blue line drawn horizontally from the center of Reverse Mountain to the Grand Line. "See this? If the other four lines from the Blues flow up the mountain, they'd meet at the top and flow straight down it here into the Grand Line."
I tilted my head. "There's one part about that I don't get. Wouldn't we have so much force from the current that when we reach the top, we'd soar over the meeting point and down into either one of the other Blue currents or the mountain itself?"
Nami shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we'll see once we get there. Do you guys understand?"
Lucy rubbed her chin and grinned. "I get it! It's a mystery mountain, right? Shishishi!"
"IT'S NOT A MYSTERY!" I yelled, hitting her upside the head in frustration and exasperation. "WE JUST SPENT, LIKE, THREE MINUTES EXPLAINING IT TO YOU!"
The other girl sighed. "I don't think you get it at all... In any case, our ship is already riding on either the current up to the mountain, or the currents going straight down. So if we're lucky and if we don't mess up our steering, we should make it up Reverse Mountain in one piece."
I chuckled. "Ha! One piece! Nice pun!"
"IT WASN'T A PUN!"
"NAMI-SAN, YOU'RE SO AWESOME!" I don't even need to point out who said that...
Zoro was set permanently against it. "I ain't never heard of that. Ships climbing mountains."
"I've heard something!" Sanji cut in.
"About the mystery mountain?" wondered Lucy.
"No, not really. Just that about half of everyone who attempts to enter the Grand Line dies trying. So I know it ain't easy to get in."
My neck's tingling grew stronger and we heard it start raining outside.
"Sanji-kun, furl up the sails!" Nami ordered.
"HAI, NAMI-SWAAAN! Yuril-chan, can you help me?"
"Alright."
I sighed and ran out of the kitchen with the love cook. We scooted up the main mast and dashed along the thick poles sticking out on either side of the mast that the sails were attached to. I heaved and pulled with all my might, dragging the heavy canvas up and hanging onto the ropes for dear life. The wind was so strong I felt like a rag doll. A single gust could blow me off at any time, either tossing me into the sea (in which case, I'd probably survive because of my demigod powers) or tossing me into the ship (in which case I'd become a Yuril-pancake). As I was thinking about this, I happened to look up. What I saw made me gasp. A red rock wall was reaching out of the ocean in front of us, and it was so tall I couldn't see the top. It was taller than the clouds! It was so huge I nearly crapped myself!
"Oi!" I called. "Reverse Mountain dead ahead!"
Everyone else ran out of the kitchen and gasped. "Man, it's huge!" commented Usopp. Because of my current position, I couldn't see his face, but I thought his expression must've been hilarious.
"The entrance to the Grand Line..." Nami said in a small voice.
"Lucy, catch me!" I shouted over the roar of the wind. I let go of my perch, having successfully furled up my side of the sails, and for a moment had the frightening sensation of dropping into space. Then I felt an arm wrap around me and I was pulled into a soft landing. I rolled off Lucy and thanked her.
Lucy grinned. "No problem!" Then she stood up and turned again, squealing in excitement. "So that's the Red Line, eh?"
"Y-You c-can't even see past the clouds!" Usopp reported, looking stricken.
I frowned. "Where's the canal? I can't see it!"
Suddenly my neck went crazy and the ship rocked a little. Lucy screamed, "We're getting sucked in!"
"Grab the helm!" Nami commanded. "Yuril, try to make a current into the canal entrance! There's a small break in the mountain; that's where we want to go!"
I squinted and saw what she was talking about. "Right, I'm on it!" I sent my thoughts out to the sea, but it was wild and rough. I was feeling extremely energized, however, despite my lack of sleep, and I commanded it sharply to flow into the canal. There was a moment where it resisted my order, and I shouted in my mind, DO IT NOW! Finally, the patch of sea we were sailing on changed direction and flowed into the current that was pushing up Reverse Mountain.
It had taken a lot out of me, though, and I fell to my knees, panting.
Zoro had a pair of binoculars and was peering through them at the crack, jaw dropped. "I-I... I don't believe it!" he muttered. "The water really is ... climbing up the mountain!"
I raised my eyebrow. Even though I'd been pretty much accepting everything before this point, I wouldn't be able to believe this unless I saw it with my own eyes. I ripped the binoculars away from the Marimo and looked at the crack myself. I did a double-take. Nearly crapped myself again. The water was moving so fast it was actually flowing uphill past the clouds! There was also a series of gates that had been built up in the entrance of the canal that had Japanese kanji on them, saying things like Good luck! and May God be with you; yo u'll need him where you're going.
"Make sure we keep a straight course!" Nami yelled. "If we don't, the ship'll smash into pieces on the cliff!"
A horrible image of the Merry crashing into that giant, unbreakable will flashed through my mind. I swiveled around and glared at Usopp and Sanji, who were manning the helm. "IF YOU TWO IDIOTS GET US KILLED, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
"That doesn't even make any sense!" Usopp pointed out, grunting with the effort of trying to move the helm. "How can you kill us if we're already dead?"
"I DON'T KNOW, BUT I'LL FIND A WAY SOMEHOW!"
"We're drifting!" noticed Lucy. "Go to the right! Right, right, right!"
"The right?" said the teen with the world's longest nose. "Okay, hard to starboard!" He and Sanji heaved with all their might, but as I was watching, the helm still didn't budge. In fact, it broke.
"YOU BASTARDS!" I screamed, my voice actually getting a little hoarse. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU SOMEDAY!" I swiftly turned and sent my thoughts out to the sea again, forcing the rebelling current to get us back on the correct path.
Just in time. Even a second slower and we'd have smashed into the water gate.
Sanji and Usopp were doing a victory dance in the kitchen.
Lucy, holding onto her hat to keep it in place, grinned in triumph.
As one, us Straw Hats roared, "WE DID IT!"
We had made it into Reverse Mountain . We had a straight path up to the sky, and the next stop, if all went well and we didn't soar into the other side of the mountain like I'd asked, then the next stop was the Grand Line.