Chapter 78: The Jinx
After saying this, Bill ignored Ian and conveyed the order to the sailors to stay put. The twelve ships dropped anchor, remaining in place, waiting for Laboon's cries to fade away.
Ian listened carefully, marveling at the folk wisdom of Captain Bill and his crew.
He recalled how Luffy and his crew had recklessly set sail into the Grand Line without knowing anything. When they went down the waterway, they ran into Laboon blocking the path, and just before a collision, Luffy fired the ship's cannon to stop the vessel.
Ian had wondered back then if the cannon's recoil was really that strong, or if every ship entering the Grand Line needed to do the same.
But now, in this real pirate world, he realized he was wrong. Not everyone was as reckless as Luffy's crew. Laboon, the whale, had been waiting at Reverse Mountain for decades. If every ship had crashed into it, the Twin Capes would have been clogged with wreckage long ago. Those entering the Grand Line always found their own way.
Laboon's cries echoed faintly in the wind. After an unknown amount of time, Ian suddenly heard a rumbling sound, and the distant Reverse Mountain trembled. He knew Laboon had started ramming.
The fleet waited quietly. Fortunately, Laboon's ramming didn't last long. When the shaking of Reverse Mountain stopped, Bill listened again and, finding Laboon's cries had vanished, immediately ordered, "Everyone! Weigh anchor! Hoist sails!"
Bill stood at the bow, telescope in hand, scanning the sea.
"What's this for?" Ian asked from behind.
Without turning, Bill explained, "Oh, I'm observing the currents. To enter Reverse Mountain, we must follow the current."
As he spoke, Bill spotted the current's location and shouted, "Turn the helm! Head for two o'clock!"
With Ian's ship leading, the rest of the fleet adjusted course, slowly merging into the current.
Onboard, Ian felt it most clearly. As the ship entered the current, its speed suddenly increased, like a car accelerating with a push in the back. Ian felt the force of the ship's acceleration, even though no sails were unfurled—they were moving purely with the current.
"The current's this fast?!" Ian had a bad feeling.
Bill, still focused ahead with his telescope, replied, "Of course. At this speed, adjusting the ship's direction is tough. This is our test."
Ian licked his dry mouth. He had once thought that if he couldn't find a fleet, he'd just take a small boat like Ace and head to the Grand Line alone. Now, he realized how naive that was.
"Starboard! 13 degrees!"
"Too much! Port! 3 degrees!"
"Good! Hold it!"
Bill's commands came regularly. The helmsman nervously followed them strictly. Ian knew Bill was fine-tuning the course. The current covered a large area, but the entrance to Reverse Mountain's waterway was narrow, so they had to aim precisely.
As they neared the entrance, the current grew more turbulent, and the ship's speed increased noticeably. Under these conditions, any major turn would be suicidal, likely breaking the helm. So Bill's orders were tiny adjustments.
The Red Line appeared before them—a towering mountain range stretching endlessly, like a horizon blocking their path.
Some sailors, likely first-timers to the Grand Line, panicked at the sight of such a massive obstacle. If they made a mistake, they'd be smashed to pieces and sink to the bottom. They screamed, "Turn back! Turn back! We'll crash!"
"Ian, shut them up!" Bill ordered without looking back.
Ian acted quickly, rushing over and knocking each panicked sailor unconscious with a solid hit.
Anyone with sailing experience knew panic was useless. On the same ship, they had to trust the captain's decisions.
At that moment, Ian understood why a captain held such authority on a ship.
Bill was tense too, sweat on his forehead. Though he'd traveled the Grand Line over a dozen times, he couldn't guarantee luck every time.
Outside the hull, waves surged violently. The ship's speed peaked with the current. Ian looked south, knowing that heading straight south would lead to the Grand Line's Calm Belt. Crossing that would bring them to the Grand Line. It seemed simple, but no one chose that route, opting instead for Reverse Mountain. That showed how dangerous the Calm Belt was.
Through the mist, Ian saw the entrance. Their ship's course seemed perfect for entering, but Bill didn't relax. Before entering, any carelessness could lead to irreversible consequences, so he kept issuing commands, fine-tuning the course.
Boom! With the sound of water crashing against the shore, Ian's ship suddenly tilted upward, its bow rising. Everyone stumbled, rolling like gourds across the deck.
But even as they fell, the sailors erupted in cheers!
"Long live Captain Bill!"
"We made it! We're in!"
The ship tilted because they'd entered the waterway, climbing the mountain. Bill, an experienced old captain, had adjusted the course perfectly. In that moment, he was the hero of the ship.
Bill sighed in relief, turning to Ian with a laugh, "Ha! Looks like fate wants me to retire smoothly!"
Ian smiled back, finally relaxing.
"How are the ships behind us?" Bill called out.
A sailor at the stern, telescope in hand, reported, "Ship Two is in... Ship Three is in... Ship Four... Oh no! Ship Four's course is off!"
Hearing this, many rushed to the stern. Ian followed, seeing Ships Two and Three at a distance, both safely in the waterway. But at the entrance, Ship Four was clearly veering off course.
Ian grabbed a telescope from a sailor and looked. On Ship Four, chaos reigned. Several men struggled at the helm, trying to turn it, but the current was too fast. Despite their efforts, the ship kept drifting.
Then, the helmsmen suddenly collapsed.
"No! Their helm broke!" another observer shouted.
"They're doomed!" Bill said regretfully.
In Ian's view, Ship Four was swept by the current, crashing headlong into the cliff beside the entrance. The impact shattered the ship into countless fragments.
Sailors were thrown into the air, then fell into the sea, never resurfacing. The wreckage followed.
"They've been swept away by the current," Bill said, removing his captain's hat and holding it to his chest in mourning. "May they rest on the ocean floor."
No one spoke, including Ian. They all removed their hats in tribute.
Ian had heard about the Grand Line's dangers before, but it was just talk. Now, witnessing Ship Four's total loss, he felt shaken. A whole ship, a hundred or two hundred people, gone in a single maritime disaster!
The current hitting the cliff created a downward pull. Even strong swimmers couldn't surface, becoming corpses in the dark, cold depths. It was a horrifying sight, yet Bill and the others seemed used to it, as if they'd seen it many times.
"We've lost a ship. What now?" Ian asked Bill.
"What else?" Bill shrugged. "Everyone who boards a ship is prepared to die. We've lost one, but we have eleven left. We keep going."
Ian didn't know what to say. Truly, he'd seen too little.
Maybe because of Ship Four's tragedy, the remaining ships were extra cautious, adjusting their courses with full focus. They entered the waterway one by one without further losses.
Only Ship Four was lost. Ian shivered, thinking, "Ship Four, what a terrible fate! I'll never board a ship with that number again!"
As the ship climbed the waterway, Ian asked Bill, "How high is this mountain? How long will we climb?"
"Usually about three minutes," Bill said, pipe in mouth. "Soon, when we near the top, you'll see the waterways from the other three seas. East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue—all their currents converge at the peak of Reverse Mountain."
See other seas' waterways? Ian paused, then asked, "Uncle Bill, what if another sea has a ship climbing Reverse Mountain at the same time? Wouldn't we crash at the top?"
"It's happened before," Bill laughed. "But it's rare. You might not see it in years."
"What if it does happen?" Ian pressed.
"Then it's about who survives," Bill shrugged, smiling. "Don't worry. We're not that unlucky."
But before he finished, the lookout in the crow's nest suddenly shouted in panic, "Ship spotted! From the South Blue waterway! We... we're going to collide!"
Bill froze, staring blankly at Ian.
Ian wanted to slap himself. "Damn it! I jinxed it!"