At dawn, as the first light of day just began to show, everyone aboard the Going Merry was already fully prepared and ready to set sail.
Although they were well aware that this "Dead End Race" was a trap, the word "give up" had never existed in the Straw Hat Pirates' dictionary.
Gazing up at the gradually brightening sky, the navigator perceptively sensed the shift in the air currents.
" The wind's picking up!"
Nami glanced at the Turtle Pose in her hand, then shouted to her crewmates, "Sanji-kun, Zoro, lower the sails! Chopper, take the helm..."
Everyone began working in an orderly and efficient manner. Watching from the side, Maya was deeply astonished, thinking to herself that although these pirates usually seemed completely unreliable, they were actually quite professional when it meandered to navigation.
Unfurl the sails, set sail!
Blown by the sea breeze, the Merry traveled upstream along a small river and entered a pitch-black tunnel.
reached a fever pitch, and the ship moved faster and faster—until finally, the Merry shot out like a sharp arrow released from a bow string!
The world suddenly brightened before the Straw Hats' eyes. Right as the view opened up, deafening cheers erupted from both sides of Luffy and the crew!
"Look! It's the Straw Hats!"
"The Straw Hat Pirates have appeared!"
The crew on the Merry looked closely and realized they had already entered the urban area of Hannabal. The riverbanks and nearby rooftops were packed with people waving their arms and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Go for it, Straw Hat kid! I put all my savings on you guys!"
"Yeah, yeah! Your performance better live up to that bounty of yours!"
"Hey, hey, hey, looks like we're pretty popular, huh~~~" Listening to the shouts of the spectators along the riverbank, Usopp felt his blood boiling with excitement, while also feeling a bit lightheaded with pride.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention it to you all, but our pirate crew is actually one of the favorites to win the championship."
Sherlock pushed up his glasses, pointing a finger at a certain clueless captain who was so excited he was about to forget his own name, and explained:
"After all, Luffy is one of the very few contestants with a bounty exceeding 100 million Berries."
"Heh heh... Of course!" Luffy flashed a bright eight-toothed grin, looking immensely proud.
"Kee-ha-ha-ha! If it isn't the Straw Hats?"
Just then, an extremely arrogant laugh suddenly echoed from behind the Merry. Zoro and the others turned around, astonished to find a pirate ship armed to the teeth rapidly closing in on them.
"I really didn't expect the famous Straw Hat Pirates to be sailing such a tiny, ragged piece of junk!"
At the prow of that pirate ship, a fierce-looking pirate with a braided ponytail hoisted a giant broadsword over his shoulder and sneered mockingly, "Can this trash of a ship even make it over the Big Fault?"
"The Condemned, Bigalo—bounty of 49 million Berries," Sherlock instantly recited the enemy's profile.
"Bastard... How dare you look down on our ship!" Sanji lit a cigarette, his forehead lined with black veins of irritation.
"Still, he's not wrong. Compared to their pirate ship, the Merry really has no advantage whatsoever."
Zoro looked around. By now, the Merry had sailed from the tributary into the main river channel, where pirate ship after pirate ship converged from all directions.
Different Jolly Rogers hung from their masts, but without exception, every single one of these ships was a massive warship. Judging alone by the rows of menacing gun ports along their sides, their firepower didn't seem inferior to Marine battleships at all.
In this fleet composed of over a hundred pirate ships, the Merry—a small, old-fashioned caravel—stood out like a sore thumb, looking just like a little lamb that had strayed into a pack of wolves.
Robin nodded in agreement. "It can't be helped. This is Penguin's turf after all. The family that specializes in arms dealing is the last to run short on weapons."
"Um..." The blue-haired girl wiped the fine sweat from her forehead and asked timidly, "Do you guys feel like this ship is tilting more and more?"
"Is this really okay? It feels like we're climbing a mountain..."
"It's fine, Maya. This is what's known as the Big Fault."
Sherlock's tone remained calm as he explained to the crew, "Hannabal's inland river happens to flow past the highest point on this island. On the other side is a waterfall that plunges down at nearly a ninety-degree angle. We'll be doing a free fall there."
"Huh?!"
Except for a certain idiot captain, everyone else's expressions froze. As the Merry's tilt grew steeper, they were forced to crouch half-flat against the deck.
"Indeed. This is also the first real test of this race," Robin added calmly, throwing fuel on the fire.
"It is said that in every previous race, some pirate ships plunged over too fast, overshot, flew straight onto the dry land, and were smashed into smithereens."
"Ehhhh?!!"
The expressions on Nami and the others' faces became even more exaggerated. The rushing gale whipped their hair into a frenzy, mirroring the absolute chaotic mess inside their minds.
"No need to worry. That waterfall is only a few hundred meters high."
Sherlock smiled slightly and reassured them in a slow voice, "After all, we dropped down from Skypiea twenty thousand meters up in the sky before and still landed safely. What is a mere few hundred meters compared to that?"
While Mr. Four-Eyes claimed there was nothing to worry about, his body slowly floated up into the air. At the same time, Robin hastily activated her ability, anchoring herself tightly to the railing.
(Screw you! You four-eyed bastard can fly, so of course you've got nothing to worry about!)
Seeing this scene, Sanji and the others were just about to shout and curse when they suddenly felt their bodies grow weightless, overcome by a soaring sensation of free fall.
The morning sun, previously blocked by the mountain peaks, suddenly burst into view. Its pale golden light shone onto the faces of Nami and the rest; however, they didn't feel an ounce of warmth from the sunlight—instead, a bone-chilling cold radiated from the inside out.
"Ah-re?!" Everyone's expression changed at once. This feeling was identical to the moment they had left the Sky Island back then.
And then...
"Yahoooo!!!" Luffy leaped high into the air in pure excitement!
"NOOOOO!!!" x4 Nami, Maya, Usopp, and Chopper screamed in unison, tears spurting wildly from their eyes.
"How utterly foolish..."
Gazing down at the Going Merry as it rapidly plunged downward accompanied by a string of blood-curdling screams, Sherlock stood in mid-air with his hands behind his back and lightly snapped his fingers.
Poof! Poof! Poof!...
Several Impact Dials attached to the bottom of the Merry's hull began to function. Violent gusts of air surged directly downward, and the powerful propulsive force immediately and effectively slowed the Merry's rate of descent.
Plash! Accompanied by splashing water, the Merry landed steadily onto the river surface.
"Phew~~~ We survived... Was that the Big Fault?"
Feeling that unique sense of relief that only came with being back on solid ground, Nami breathed a pale-faced sigh of relief, slumping onto the deck as if she had no bones left in her body.
"Miss Navigator, now is hardly the time to be daydreaming~"
Wiping the water droplets off her face, Robin looked up toward the pirates who had successfully landed a step ahead of them, the corners of her mouth curving into an elegant smile.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deafening cannon fire erupted one after another. After descending from the Big Fault, those pirate ships didn't pause to reorganize at all; instead, they impatiently locked into battle with one another.
In an instant, the entire riverway turned into a smoke-filled, chaotic battlefield. The sound of gunfire, cannons, and roaring battle cries rang out endlessly.
"What on earth are those pirates doing?!" Seeing this sight, Usopp was completely dumbfounded, his jaw practically dropping to the deck.
"Heh, these guys sure are an impatient bunch."
Zoro silently drew his prized sword at his waist. Glancing at the few pirate ships currently aiming their cannon ports directly at the Going Merry, he wore a mischievous smirk on his face:
"This race has officially begun! Anything goes!"
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