Guarding Reverse Mountain

"Ah?" The navigator wondered if he had misheard. Had Captain Lin Qi just said to bring the ship closer?

"I said bring the ship closer. Do I need to repeat myself?"

"N-No need! I'll have them bring the ship over right away!" The navigator hurriedly saluted and ran off.

Ever since witnessing Lin Qi's unparalleled strength that day, every Marine aboard trusted this Captain from the bottom of their hearts.

The Warship headed unflinchingly toward the storm.

Watching it approach the sea tornadoes capable of destroying ships, the soldiers aboard swallowed nervously. Hopefully, they would not get swept in...

The dark, oppressive storm clouds seemed to weigh on everyone's hearts, making it hard to breathe.

Thud, thud, thud.

Sporadic fist-sized hailstones slammed onto the deck as Lin Qi strode to the bow.

"Captain Lin Qi!"

"Captain!"

The surrounding soldiers all looked at Lin Qi with reverence.

"Don't worry. I'm here." Lin Qi reassured them.

The next moment, he transformed into his thirty-meter-tall Candlelight Form and charged fearlessly into the sky.

"Roar!"

A dragon-like, tiger-like roar resounded through the heavens.

Thunder, Flames, and frost. Dozens of attribute beams as thick as water barrels blasted toward the vicious weather ahead.

Explosions between bolts of lightning scattered the dark clouds. Flames evaporated the rain and hail, piercing through the clouds like sharp swords, while tornado after tornado froze atop the sea's surface.

The godlike sight of creation made everyone aboard tremble in awe.

The same thought rose in all their hearts: luckily, this man was on their side.

Thud.

Lin Qi reverted to human form and landed on the bow. The dark clouds ahead gave way to calm seas and brilliant sunshine.

Only the tornado ice sculptures scattered across the ocean, like works of art, told everyone that what had just happened was not a dream.

A natural disaster had been destroyed by human strength!

"Gulp." The navigator stared blankly at Lin Qi. Captain Lin Qi seemed to be the greatest navigator of all.

What other navigator did not avoid natural disasters like the plague? Yet he had simply bulldozed straight through one.

How could one word like "awesome" possibly describe that?

The true number one navigator.

"H-How amazing!"

"Long live Captain Lin Qi!"

After a moment of silence, thunderous cheers erupted from the ship, and their reverence for Lin Qi rose to another level.

After dealing with the immediate problem, Lin Qi did not dare relax for even a moment. He returned to his room and continued training.

Then, he caught sight of Tom curled up in the corner, sleeping soundly, and anger immediately surged within him.

This stupid cat. Lin Qi had trained for days, and Tom had slept for days. He really did not know whether this thing was a cat or a pig.

"Tom, get up and train with me. You're a Marine now too, so you can't be lazy."

"Meow meow meow?"

Tom was awakened, his innocent large eyes watery as if to say that he was just an ordinary Little Cat.

"Quit pretending. Don't even think about slacking off. Come train with me."

Under Lin Qi's threats and temptations, Tom sighed like a human, then... started doing sit-ups.

"Ha, ha, ha~"

After only a few, Tom's patience ran out. He stuck out his tongue and pretended to be exhausted, moving slower and slower.

"Tom, if you dare slack off, there won't be any Dried Fish for you today."

"!"

Tom's body jolted. He shot Lin Qi a resentful look, then began doing sit-ups so fast he became a blur.

Two hours later.

The adorable little cat that had only been ninety centimeters tall had vanished. In its place stood a two-meter-tall muscular cat with bulging muscles, eight-pack abs, and a huge gold chain around its neck.

It even had a large gold tooth in its mouth.

Lin Qi could not help marveling at Tom's absurdity once again.

Truly impressive.

Tom stood before the mirror with immense narcissism, striking poses.

However, half an hour after stopping his training, Tom naturally reverted to normal—a ninety-centimeter-tall little cat.

From that day onward, Lin Qi never forced Tom to train again...

The end of 2006 quietly passed aboard the ship, and Marineford Era 1507 arrived without notice.

Twelve days had passed since they set sail.

Unfortunately, they had only encountered a few small pirate crews in those twelve days, and had captured just one Ability User.

It was only after becoming an officer that Lin Qi learned capturing one Ability User and sending them to Impel Down earned as much military merit as wiping out a small pirate crew.

There happened to be ten cells beneath the ship's deck. With ten people per cell, they could hold a hundred people.

As they approached Reverse Mountain, the system notification suddenly sounded.

A new Life Choice had been triggered.

Choice One: Arrive at the East Blue immediately. Reward: 500 Points.

Choice Two: Kill 1,000 Four Seas pirates beneath Reverse Mountain. Reward: 20% off coupon for the shop.

Choice Three: Block the entrance. Guard the foot of Reverse Mountain for one month and defeat all pirates. Reward: 90% off coupon for the shop.

"Choice Three."

"Boys, change course. We're heading for Reverse Mountain."

"Yes, Boss Lin Qi!"

After being out for so long, it was time to give Sengoku an answer.

No one had ever tried blocking the entrance at Reverse Mountain, not even the World Government.

For one thing, blocking this place meant facing every pirate from the Four Seas. They might hold them off for a while, but not forever. The manpower and resources required simply were not worth it.

At this point, pirates had only just entered the New World. If left alone, half of them would die within three months anyway. It was a thankless task.

There was another reason: beneath Reverse Mountain lived a former crew member of the Pirate King.

Since those old fellows had already retired, the World Government did not want to provoke them. Otherwise, it would not have allowed Rayleigh to remain at the Sabaody Archipelago for so many years.

Other than Roger, nearly all of the Roger Pirates' top combatants were still around. It would not be pleasant if those old fellows went mad.

But if they could truly block Reverse Mountain, it would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to pirates.

"Wooo~"

As the ship sailed over the sea, they could vaguely make out the lighthouse at the foot of Reverse Mountain in the distance. Suddenly, an ear-splitting wail rang out, and everyone clutched their ears in pain.

"So loud." Hina's little face scrunched up.

Boom~ boom~ boom~!

One thunderous impact after another rang beside their ears like the drums of the Thunder God.

"Stay on the ship. I'll go take a look." Lin Qi vanished into the thin mist using Geppo.

"Laboon?"

As he drew closer, Lin Qi saw a mountain-sized whale smashing into the Red Line—Reverse Mountain.

Blood streamed down from the top of its head.

Lin Qi remembered this whale from the original story.

So he shouted, "Laboon, stop. I have something to tell you."

Laboon was highly intelligent. Hearing him, it slowly lowered its towering head and roared at Lin Qi.

"Wooo~"

Lin Qi stood before Laboon. He was not even as large as one of its eyes.

"Laboon, Brook asked me to bring you a message. His journey is still continuing. At most, in twenty years, he will return to find you. So please, stop using your head to ram the Red Line."