Over a month later.
"We've finally entered the Grand Line!" The Straw Hat Crew were all beaming with joy. Every one of them looked like they had been through hell to get here.
It couldn't be helped. The Straw Hat Crew's lineup was different from before. Without a Navigator like Nami, they had taken who knew how many detours in the East Blue.
Although Oceanus could keep the sea calm and ensure the Straw Hat Crew had nothing to fear even in a storm, he didn't have any ability to recognize routes.
The Straw Hat Crew's navigation was now directed jointly by Usopp, who knew a little about everything, and Kuina, who had sailed the East Blue for some time.
Their skills could only be called passable. They could barely point out the right direction, but they were far behind an expert Navigator like Nami, who could calculate wind direction, currents, and even the weather.
Fortunately, with Oceanus's help, reaching Reverse Mountain had not been much of a problem.
Otherwise, without Nami's guidance, the Straw Hat Crew would probably have been wiped out by Reverse Mountain's upward currents.
In terms of strength, however, there were few in the entire East Blue who could afford to provoke the Straw Hat Crew. Sanji had also been moved by Luffy and joined the Straw Hat Crew, making them even stronger.
Although Sanji had constantly been honing his cooking skills since joining the Golden City, he had not neglected his training. The Dragon Hunting Pirates could offer far better instruction and resources than Red-Leg Zeff had in the original story, and Sanji's current strength far surpassed his original counterpart's.
Under these circumstances, Smoker, the strongest Marine in the East Blue, simply could not stop the Straw Hat Crew. They broke through his blockade in