Demons, Swords, And Other Things That Nearly Killed Me

Call Me Ishmael (My Captain Just Punched a Whale)

        "Nami!! The light just went out– isn't that bad?!" Luffy hung upside down from Merry's figurehead, holding his hat to his head so it wouldn't fall off. "What're we gonna do? Our guiding light is gone!"

Nami looked at her map as she tugged her raincoat closer to herself. "It's a lighthouse– it can go out from time to time. Besides, you have a navigator for this. I know the basic directions to get there at least."

"Wow, you're amazing!"

The young woman was antsy as she watched Luffy put himself in many precarious positions on the figure head. He was currently resting his chin on his crossed arms as his body just dangled in the open air.

"Can you get down from there?!"

"No! This is my spot and you can't have it!"

"WHO SAID I WANTED IT?!"

"You can't have it!"

Nami sighed loudly as the rain continued to pour down relentlessly. There was no more thunder, not even a hint of lightning, but the harsh winds didn't change and the rain only came down harder the longer she stayed outside on the ship's deck. Luffy's words, and his stupidity, was starting to irk the girl.

"But that's– That's not what I'm trying to say. All of this is going to be troubling, since it's exactly as the rumors say..."

...

Nami slapped down her map on the kitchen table. A few droplets of rain rolled off of her coat as a concentrated work settled upon her face.

"The entrance to Grand Line is through a mountain."

"A mountain?!"

The group that was inside of Merry's kitchen, which included Sanji, Usopp, Zoro, and Luffy, listened intently to Nami as she spoke. (Only Luffy was gnawing on a glass cup like the genius that he was).

Everyone but (Name) was in the room. She must've been grabbing a few things in her room or just doing something else. Nami recalled quickly that she mentioned needing a change of clothes, since the rain had soaked through them. (Though considering (Name), she'd probably be gone off in lalaland with her new clothes)

Usopp most likely never knew peace in his life, as he trembled as he asked Nami to repeat what she just said.

"We have to pass through a mountain to the entrance."

"We-We're dead..."

The orange haired girl huffed, "Yeah yeah– I thought the same thing when I first heard of it. Even I didn't believe it when I saw it on the map. But the guiding light pointed at Reverse Mountain, which is right on Red Line."

A finger tapped on the map where Nami had circled where they needed to go. "Are we gonna crash through a mountain?"

Nami gestured to a line, "No, there's a waterway right here."

"Waterway? Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"That's crazy!" Usopp inspected the map closely as he continued. "There's no way a ship can climb a mountain!"

The young woman frowned. "That's what the map says."

Sanji leapt to her defense. "It's not like Nami can be wrong!"

Zoro cocked his head to the side. "Isn't that the map you stole from Buggy? Are you... Are you sure that's reliable?"

"WOoOoHh! We get to go up a mountain!" Luffy cheered, "That sounds soooo coooool! It's like a magic mountain, right, Nami??"