Welcome Town?

Snow fell thickly over the choppy sea as the Merry sailed through the flurries.

"What the heck! It was raining just a moment ago, and now it's snowing!"

"The weather on the Grand Line is so bizarre."

"Just like Uncle Crocus said. Good thing Lina bought clothes for all four seasons in Loguetown."

On the Merry's deck, Nami had a scarf wrapped around her neck and wore a warm earflap hat. Even with her down jacket on, she was still shivering.

"Women are impossible to understand."

Looking at Nami's bare, pale thighs, Lina couldn't help commenting, "Hey, Nami, if you're so cold, why not put on a pair of thicker pants?"

"None of your business. Bleh!" Nami cheekily stuck out her tongue.

They had left Loguetown and entered the Grand Line a few days ago, meeting Laboon and Uncle Crocus right on schedule.

Thanks to Uncle Crocus's explanation, they had also learned a few things about the Grand Line.

The Grand Line's magnetic fields were so chaotic that ordinary compasses were useless here. That wasn't a problem, though. Lina had prepared a whole ten of them yesterday.

What was troublesome was that the chaotic magnetic fields made the weather, currents, and wind direction here incredibly bizarre, too.

Even Nami had been a little flustered at first, and Lina had ended up with a lot of extra work.

Whenever the weather changed, his undead helped with steering the ship and raising or lowering the sails. They bailed out water when it rained and cleared away snow when it fell.

Nami had even made him burn the bones of his skeleton undead to warm them up. It was utterly outrageous—she didn't treat the skeletons' lives as lives at all.

"Nami, about how long until we reach the next island?" Lina asked.

Nami thought for a moment before replying:

"We're almost within the next island's magnetic field. The wind and currents should be steadier once we're in range. If all goes well, we'll get there before dusk."

"Drum Island, the first stop on the Grand Line." Lina was already looking forward to it.

It had been two... a year and a half since he'd crossed over, and he'd finally built up enough strength to enter the Grand Line.

Luffy and Zoro had contributed immensely. Without their templates, it would have been incredibly difficult for Lina to take on Kuro and Arlong with just the ragtag bunch he had at his disposal.

As long as his abilities let him build up enough strength early on, he could keep snowballing from there.

Now that he had two undead made from Mr. 1, an enhanced Wolverine undead that had fused with Sanji's template, and the Bone Chain Sword he'd fashioned from Arlong's template, he finally had decent strength for the first half of the Grand Line.

Once he got the templates of the two giant chieftains of Elbaf on Little Garden, there would be few people in the first half of the Grand Line who could threaten him.

After all, giants had terrifying physical abilities across the board, and under his control, they would be even stronger than they had been in life.

"Hee-hee-hee! Look at my Laboon snowman!"

"Not bad, Luffy, but it's still too rough. Check out my Snow Queen!"

"Wow! That's awesome, Usopp!" Luffy praised him excitedly.

Lina couldn't help admiring Usopp's snowman, too. With its delicate crown and ornate outfit, it looked almost lifelike. But why did its face look so familiar?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that Kaya?" Lina recalled a certain figure and teased Usopp. "Are you missing the comforts of home, Usopp?"

"W-w-what are you talking about?!"

Usopp blushed and took a few steps back. "I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea! How could I let romance hold me back?"

"I think Kaya's great. She's beautiful and gentle. Why don't you let me take that burden off your hands?"

"You insolent fool!!!"

"Haha! All right, I'll stop teasing you." Lina turned to Sanji and asked with a smile, "So, head chef, what's for lunch today?"

"Well, that Elephant Trunk Tuna from last time is almost done for. Let's butcher it."

Sanji thought for a moment and took a drag on his cigarette. "What should we make? Any ideas?"

Luffy: "Grilled fish!"

Usopp: "Fish head soup!"

Lina: "Sashimi!"

Zoro: "Whatever..."

"Then we'll make soup with the head, sashimi with the belly, and grill the rest. As for the tastiest part, the nose..."

"Of course, the lovely Miss Nami gets to decide!" Sanji's eyes turned into hearts, and he instantly transformed into a lovesick fool.

"Tch, you lecherous cook."

"What did you say, Green Algae Head?!"

Watching the two of them at each other's throats, Lina couldn't help smiling. Sanji had only been aboard for a few days, and he and Zoro were already at the stage where they couldn't stand the sight of each other.

Soon, Sanji went into the kitchen to get busy. Luffy and Usopp began their usual fishing routine, while Lina went to the stern with Zoro to lift weights.

"You're improving fast, Lina," Zoro couldn't help remarking. "It hasn't even been two weeks, and you've already added more weight."

"Well, it's mostly thanks to the boost from my Devil Fruit. It makes training twice as effective," Lina explained.

When he'd first crossed over, he'd been an ordinary person who couldn't even defend himself. Now his physical abilities far surpassed those of normal people.

Without the boost from his Zoan fruit, training alone would never have gotten him this far.

"At this rate, you'll surpass me in less than a year." Watching Lina do push-ups with 1,200 kilograms on his back, Zoro couldn't help gripping his own dumbbells tighter.

"Not a chance. I'm not the only one who's improving. I've still got a long way to go before I catch up to you." Looking at the 2,100-kilogram dumbbells in Zoro's hands, Lina unconsciously put a little more effort into his own lift.

The two of them silently pushed each other until Sanji called them to dinner.

After the meal, Lina returned to the lookout and stood watch, bringing his dumbbells with him.

It wasn't until evening, when the sun was almost touching the horizon, that Lina finally spotted an island.

In the distance, he could just make out rows of houses, with several enormous cactus-shaped peaks behind the town.

"Everyone! I see an island! There's a town on it!" Lina called down. He lit a cigarette and watched as the ship slowly drew closer.

Luffy and the others immediately grew excited. They'd been at sea for days, and they were finally reaching an island with signs of life.

The island was called Drum Island. A river split it in two, and the Merry followed the river inland to a harbor.

"It's pirates!"

"Quick, tell everyone! Pirates are here!"

When someone at the harbor spotted the pirate ship, they hurried into town. Before long, the harbor was packed with villagers.

Strangely, none of them looked frightened. On the contrary, they all seemed delighted.

"Brave warriors of the sea!"

"Welcome to Whiskey Peak!"

Hearing the lively shouts from the harbor, everyone wore strange expressions—except for Luffy and Usopp, who looked thrilled.

"Hello, everyone!"

"Waaah! They called me a brave warrior of the sea!"

Unlike the two of them, Nami and the others reacted rather normally.

"Did I hear that right? They're actually welcoming pirates?"

"Heh. What a strange town." Zoro looked with interest at the "villagers" below the ship.

Soon, everyone disembarked. Lina dropped anchor to secure the Merry, then jumped down as well.

A tall man with a head of big, fluffy curls stepped forward. He cleared his throat, as if he were a singer warming up his voice.

"Ahh... Ah-oh-oh..."

Then the curly-haired man smiled and looked at them.

"My name is Igaram, and I'm the mayor of this town. Welcome to Welcome Town—Whiskey Peak!"

At once, Luffy rushed over to greet him. Before long, the whole group was getting along famously with the villagers.