As the Gale slowly sank beneath the sea's surface, everyone was instantly transported into a dazzling, vibrant blue world.
Dappled light filtered down from above, while schools of colorful fish drifted all around. The dreamlike scenery was so enchanting it made people want to lose themselves in it.
Not a single pair of eyes on the ship stayed still. Filled with shock and curiosity, everyone looked around nonstop.
As the light overhead gradually dimmed, Robin murmured softly, "The surface is already so far away from us…"
"Haha, this is incredible!"
Yamato, gripping the railing while looking around, exclaimed from the bottom of her heart, her eyes brimming with excitement and novelty.
The impact of the scenery sent shivers through her entire body, her smile stretching wider and wider.
Being submerged in the ocean was an experience like nothing before!
However, not everyone had nerves as strong as hers. As they descended deeper, the sea began to show another side of itself—fear.
"We're getting farther and farther away from where humans live… it makes my heart feel uneasy…"
Watching the surrounding light fade, fine beads of sweat had already formed on Vivi's cheeks.
In the distance, suffocating darkness slowly began to swallow their small ship, bit by bit.
Staring down into the pitch-black abyss below, Chopper's voice at the railing began to tremble.
"W-we're still descending, deeper and deeper… it really won't leak, right? I'm so scared!"
"Can we really make it back to the surface?!"
Carmen swallowed unconsciously, fear creeping into her darting gaze.
As the darkness spread, fear quietly took root.
Just as her mind was about to be overwhelmed, a voice rang out and pulled her back from the brink.
"Everyone, look over there!"
Uta snapped out of her daze and pointed toward a cluster of towering shapes nearby.
"Wow, trees—no, roots!"
The Gale slipped through the massive tangle of roots like a potato rolling through a field, drawing cries of amazement from the crew.
"So that's it. When you think about it, the Sabaody Archipelago is a gigantic mangrove tree."
Robin sketched rapidly in her notebook as she spoke, unable to hide her awe.
"These roots extend all the way to the seabed. Their scale is beyond words."
At that moment, Nojiko left the cockpit and came over to Nami, speaking tentatively.
"Nami, haven't we drifted a bit off the Log Pose's recorded direction?"
"It's fine. We've already caught an ocean current. Once we reach the seabed, we'll just follow the pointer again."
Facing everyone's doubtful looks, Nami raised the Log Pose in her hand and explained confidently.
"Deep-sea currents are similar to what we had on the Grand Line. Right now, we're riding a descending current."
As if she remembered something, she raised her voice again.
"It might get cold soon, so everyone should put on some extra layers."
"Cold? Aren't we heading into the deep sea?"
Hearing the conversation, Vivi walked over and asked in confusion.
She had grown up in a desert environment and didn't know much about the ocean, but she trusted Nami.
"Deep-sea water is naturally very cold. It's just like bathwater—hot on top, cold at the bottom."
Seeing others still puzzled, Robin closed her sketchbook and smiled as she helped explain.
"It's mainly due to the difference between surface currents and deep-sea currents, which causes the temperature gap."
"So that's how it is! The ocean's like bathwater—hot on top, cold below. What an unbelievable current!"
Yamato, who had been eavesdropping with her ears perked up, suddenly looked enlightened, as if a lightbulb had gone off over her head.
It wasn't that hard to understand after all.
"..."
Nami: You'd better really understand it.
"Oh right, don't let your guard down. A monster might suddenly pop out and swallow us whole."
Leno finally spoke up. The deep sea wasn't exactly safe—any random sea beast down here could be absurdly huge.
The moment he finished speaking, terrified screams erupted across the deck.
"A monster?!"
"No!!!"
Chopper and Mikita were already on edge. Leno's words gave their fear a clear target.
Their faces went pale, cold sweat pouring down as they looked ready to burst into tears.
Seeing their panic, Nami shot Leno an annoyed glare.
"Hey, you idiot! Can you stop scaring them already?!"
She then turned helplessly toward Mikita and the others, about to comfort them, when she suddenly noticed the surrounding current accelerating.
She hurried to the bow, and moments later, her excited voice rang out.
"Everyone, we're here!"
"What? An unbelievable current?!"
Yamato flipped forward and dashed to the bow. The others sensed something was wrong and quickly followed.
When everyone reached the front, they were instantly stunned by the sight before them.
Ahead of the raging current, a colossal curtain of water cascaded downward. The torrent thundered like roaring lightning, shaking the soul.
"Amazing!!!"
"So this is the top-to-bottom Heaven-Piercing Sea Current. It's truly magnificent!"
"It's like a gigantic waterfall in the middle of the ocean!"
"..."
Everyone at the bow stood there dumbfounded, utterly overwhelmed.
To see such a grand spectacle at the bottom of the sea was both unbelievable and a testament to nature's awe-inspiring power.
Watching the torrent pouring down at incredible speed, even Leno couldn't help but feel astonished.
"Seeing it in person really beats hearing about it a hundred times."
"Hey, idiot, with a current that fast, is our ship really okay?"
After observing for a moment, Nami grew worried about whether their ship could withstand such a rapid descent.
If they crashed into the seabed or rocks down here, they might not even get a chance to say goodbye.
"Relax. The Gale is the best ship in the world. It'll be fine."
Leno stepped onto the bow, preparing to guide the ship into the descending current.
But at that moment, a presence from the darkness below caught his attention, making his eyes light up.
"Almost forgot about you."
"What is it?"
Nami followed his gaze into the darkness and asked casually.
At the same time, Boa Hancock, Kuina, and the others sensed it too, their eyes flickering.
Judging by the presence, it was something big—but not a real problem. And from Leno's attitude, it seemed he knew it.
Leno glanced back at everyone, his gaze finally stopping on Carmen, a smile flashing in his eyes.
"Carmen, be careful. A monster's about to show up."
"Hmph! You won't scare me again!"
Thinking Leno was tricking her once more, Carmen turned back with a disdainful smile.
A lie only works once. Did he really think she was that stupid?
"Even if a monster shows up, I'm not scared!"
Just as Carmen was feeling smug about seeing through Leno's trick, she failed to notice Chopper, Vivi, and the others.
They were staring behind her in horror.
From their perspective, a massive tentacle rose out of the darkness behind Carmen. Wrecked ships and corpses broke free and floated upward.
From the sheer amount of debris rising, it was clear just how vicious the monster lurking in the dark truly was.
Sensing the sudden silence, Carmen was about to say something—
When Chopper's tearful voice rang out.
"T-there really is… a monster!"
"Again? You really think you can scare me?"
Seeing Vivi and Mikita clinging to each other in terror, Carmen frowned, irritation creeping into her voice.
She admitted she'd been scared by Leno earlier, but she wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice.
And now they were even helping him scare her. That was going too far!
At that moment, a stunned Nami slowly raised her finger, pointing behind Carmen as she spoke carefully.
"L-look… behind you…"
"Look at what… be-behind…"
Carmen was about to snap back when a massive shadow engulfed her from the corner of her eye.
Her body froze instantly. Cold sweat drenched her face, her voice trembling.
"Y-yeah… behind you…"
Chopper, who had somehow latched onto Leno's leg, continued to warn her through tears.
"B-behind…"
Carmen stiffly turned her head. When she finally saw the colossal figure behind her, a shrill scream tore from her throat.
"A monster!!!"
Not far from the Gale, a gigantic octopus-like sea monster was baring its fangs, ready to attack.
"It's a Kraken!"
"What a huge sea monster!"
"There are shipwrecks tangled in its tentacles—it must have attacked tons of ships!"
"..."
With Carmen's scream as the cue, Vivi, Mikita, and the others also screamed, venting their pent-up fear.
Watching the timid group panic, the corner of Leno's mouth lifted—only to meet Nojiko's sharp glare.
Honestly, what kind of captain goes around scaring his own crew?
Seeing that, Leno quickly reined himself in, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly.
"Ahem… everyone, quiet. What if we scare it away?"
"Huh? What are you talking about—scare it away?"
Carmen rushed over, grabbed Leno's arm, and shook him hard.
"Leno, wake up! That's a sea monster, not some random stray dog!"
Nearby, Kuina noticed Robin sketching again and leaned over to take a look.
"It actually looks pretty accurate."
"This thing's rare. Might as well record it for memories."
Robin replied casually without stopping her pen.
"You're still sketching at a time like this? You're way too relaxed!"
Chopper couldn't help complaining. Was there anyone normal on this ship anymore?
When Carmen didn't get a response, her eyes welled up as she looked at Leno pitifully.
Leno patted her head gently and said softly.
"Don't worry. We're counting on it to pull our ship."
Then he fixed his gaze on the sea monster and spoke.
"Kraken, I know you can understand human speech. Come pull our ship, and I'll let you go. How about it?"
"..."
The scene fell deathly silent.
Even the ones who had been screaming froze, all staring at Leno like he'd lost his mind.
What did he just say? Let it pull the ship?
This captain was definitely done for—talking nonsense in broad daylight!
In the distance, the Kraken heard Leno's words. Fury flashed in its eyes as it opened its grotesque maw and roared.
Its massive tentacles thrashed wildly, as if it might attack at any second.
Seeing this, Leno understood—this thing wouldn't listen unless it got beaten first.
With a soft sigh, his pupils instantly turned vertical, and terrifying Conqueror's Haki erupted outward.
Raging crimson lightning spread like a vast net, engulfing the Kraken in an instant.
The enraged sea monster froze on the spot, fear visibly spreading across its enormous face.
Its flailing tentacles went limp at the same time.
Moments later, the lightning faded, and Leno's commanding voice rang out again.
"Come here. Pull the ship."
"..."
After hesitating only briefly, the massive sea monster obediently moved beneath the Gale and gently lifted it.
Only then did everyone aboard snap out of their shock—followed by thunderous cheers.
"Amazing!"
"Long live the captain!"
"What a freakishly strong monster—he even subdued a sea monster!"
"You can do things like that? This is hilarious!"
"..."
"All right, now that we have a ready-made deep-sea navigator, let's set off."
Leno raised his hand to stop them. Somehow, their praise sounded more like insults.
He nodded to Nami, then issued an order to the Kraken beneath them.
"Move out, Kraken!"
Obeying the command, the sea monster carried the ship to the front of the "giant waterfall" and leapt down, plunging rapidly with the current.
Darkness swallowed everything. Aside from the violent shaking of the ship, nothing could be seen.
No one knew how long passed in the pitch-black void until the movement beneath them finally stopped.
They'd reached the bottom.
After turning on all the ship's lights, Leno looked to the navigator.
"Nami, which direction?"
"That way. Straight ahead!"
Under the lights, Nami carefully confirmed the direction, then pointed it out.
She took off her coat and surveyed the surroundings.
Before anyone else could react, there was a loud thud as Chopper collapsed on the deck, tongue hanging out.
"Chopper, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Kaya rushed over in concern. He'd been fine just a moment ago.
"I-I'm fine… I'm just too hot!"
Chopper struggled to roll onto his back.
"I can't stand the heat. I thought the deep sea was supposed to be cold?"
At that moment, Nami's voice rang out in alarm.
"Hydrothermal vents!"
"This is an undersea volcanic zone! We have to leave immediately!"
"..."
…
…
(As I kept writing, I forgot to split the chapters. In the end, I just merged two into one—a 2,000-word chapter!)
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