Orochimaru, sanctioned by Nami, was carried away by Zoro, still in a daze, wondering how Nami managed to hit him, as it defied all logic.
Orochimaru remained in self-imposed isolation in a corner until it was time to set sail again.
Luffy fought Laboon and promised to return, preventing Laboon from crashing into the Red Line.
Usopp, holding a wooden plank, began to repair the going merry with a hammering sound, then suddenly remembered something.
"Where are those guys?"
"Ah... you mean those two strange things? They must have run off, but who exactly were those two?" Nami looked a bit puzzled, thought about it for a moment, then decided not to bother, as they were irrelevant people anyway.
Usopp, with a shark-like expression, repaired the Merry's mast with a hammer. "Seriously! Luffy made the ship so dilapidated. Hey! Zoro, don't sleep! Orochimaru! Stop moping! Come help! I'm not the ship's carpenter!"
"Ah!!!!" Nami's shriek rang out. Sanji, holding a grilled fish, ran over, followed by Usopp and Luffy.
"The compass is broken," Nami said, on the verge of tears.
Crocus looked over. "It seems you came here without knowing anything. I can't stand it. Are you here to die? Doesn't anyone in your Pirate Crew understand? What about that good-looking young man? Doesn't he know a lot?"
"Ahahaha... Orochimaru, you mean?" Luffy scratched his head. "He's probably in self-isolation and won't talk to anyone for a while. Grandpa said he always has all sorts of strange pride, and he used to get beaten by Grandpa because of it." He then nervously glanced at Orochimaru squatting in the corner, realizing he shouldn't have mentioned it, and quickly changed the subject.
"Ah... is this food?" Luffy squatted in front of the grilled fish and began to gnaw on it.
"In this sea area, all common sense is useless. That compass isn't broken; it's because the islands of the Grand Line contain a large amount of magnetic minerals, so the entire route's magnetic field is very abnormal, and the currents and wind directions are constantly changing. If you're a Navigator, you should understand how terrifying it is here."
"That's true. If there's no way to indicate direction, it would be hopeless. I never knew that before... Don't mind me, hahahaha." Nami chuckled dryly, scratching her head.
Luffy was still struggling with the grilled fish, eating and saying it was delicious.
"If you want to sail in the Grand Line, you must have a log pose. It's a special compass that can record magnetism," Crocus stated.
"Is it a very strange compass?" Luffy mumbled with his mouth full of grilled fish.
"Yes, its appearance is quite unique."
"Is... is it like this?" Luffy stretched out his arm, handed over the log pose he had just picked up, and continued to eat his grilled fish.
"Oh, oh, oh... that's it."
"I see, but wait a minute, Luffy~ Why do you have something like this!" Nami, with a shark-like face, punched Luffy in the face.
(╬￣dish￣)=○(￣ε(#￣)
Luffy whined, "This was left on the ship by the strange duo just now. Why are you hitting me?"
"Go with the flow."
Crocus's voice came. "By using the log pose to remember the magnetic field, you can go to the next island. In this sea area, the only thing you can rely on is the magnetism recorded by the log pose. The route will eventually fix itself to a single line, and the name of the last island reached is Raftel, the end of the Grand Line. Historically, only the Pirate King has reached that island."
"A log pose... The log pose must be carefully preserved. It holds the fate of our voyage." Nami looked at the compass with a big smile.
Luffy finished the last bite of fish and swallowed it. "Alright, the meal's done. Let's go get ready."
"You ate it all by yourself!! Not even a bone left," Sanji's eyes were wide with shock.
He then kicked Luffy with a flying kick. "I wanted Miss Nami to eat more!" The impact of Luffy being kicked sent the log pose directly shattering.
Nami's eyes were hollow (ᄑ_ᄑ)... Then she kicked Luffy and Sanji into the sea, on the verge of tears. "The precious compass is broken... what do we do...?" She then thought of a certain self-isolating person, her voice choked with sobs. "Orochimaru..."
The self-isolating Orochimaru raised a hand, and a box of log poses appeared directly in front of Nami... So Nami was dumbfounded, and immediately kicked Orochimaru back onto the ship.
"If you had so many, why didn't you take them out earlier! You irresponsible first mate!"
It happened again... Orochimaru crashed onto Zoro again, making Zoro see stars. "I'll kill you all... One day I'll kill you all."
A moment later, the previously strange duo knelt before Luffy's group.
"Whiskey Town, what a strange name."
"It's the town where we live. We will definitely repay this kindness. Please take us along the way," the two sincerely knelt on the ground and pleaded.
"By the way~ our log pose is broken, and we don't have any more. Even so, do you still want to get on the ship?" Nami asked with an innocent expression.
"What! It's actually broken! Isn't that my thing!! We've been humble to you... but in the end, you can't go anywhere either!" The duo furiously sprayed Nami.
"Ah~ But it turns out our first mate bought some directly in Loguetown, so we still have one." Nami rubbed her lips with a mischievous smile.
Although the two cursed inwardly, they prostrated themselves again. "We think you're all good people! So please, please take us with you!"
"Alright, you can get on the ship," Luffy blinked at the two. "Are you going to Whiskey Peak? Then let's go."
"Is it really okay? You can only choose the route here at the starting point," Crocus reminded.
"If we're not satisfied, we can just go around again, right, Orochimaru? We've also made a promise with the whale, it's almost time to go now." Luffy laughed, looking at the recovered Orochimaru, then jumped down from the stone man, ready to depart.
The strange duo was shocked.
"Who exactly are you?"
Luffy pressed his straw hat and smiled, "Ore wa Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King."
Behind Luffy, the duo heard these words, and their faces instantly showed disdain, making a dismissive gesture to their mouths and scoffing, "Stupid pirates." Orochimaru appeared behind the two, his snake tail threateningly tightening around their necks, lifting them into the air. They watched the person suffocate, desperately pulling at Orochimaru's tail, trying to break free. Orochimaru showed a cruel smile, but his head was patted by Zoro. Seeing him shake his head, Orochimaru was a bit displeased but still threw the two directly into the warehouse.
At dusk, Luffy stood on the Merry, bidding farewell to Crocus and Laboon. "Goodbye, old man like a flower. We're leaving, whale.
Towards Whiskey Peak! Full speed ahead!"
The Merry sailed away with the beautiful sunset, accompanied by Laboon's cries.
Crocus watched the group leave. "Could they be the pirates we've been waiting for? What an incredible man, isn't he... Roger?"