"That was fast!"
With Nerl, a highly skilled navigator, and Grey, the scientist who had built the Polar Tang with his own hands, Rod's group entered the rising canal without a hitch.
Once they were on the canal, the Polar Tang immediately surged forward, carrying them toward the mountaintop at full speed.
Feeling the sea breeze rushing past his ears and the clouds streaming by, Rod couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.
Only after entering the Grand Line had they truly stepped onto the stage!
"We're at the top!"
Nia cried out. The Polar Tang shot out of the canal, hovered in the air for a moment, then dropped into another channel.
"Those are the routes from the other three seas..."
From the air, Rod could see the currents from the Four Blues converging at the summit of Reverse Mountain.
If ships from different seas happened to reach the summit at the same time, they would probably wreck and sink.
The thought suddenly flashed through Rod's mind.
The Polar Tang followed the current swiftly down from the summit. Between the current and gravity, everyone felt almost weightless.
"Bo-o-o-o-o!"
A deep voice suddenly rang in their ears.
"What was that?"
"It sounds like it came from far away, but it's so clear. What made that sound?"
"It can't be a Sea King, can it..."
"It's a whale!"
Rod and Nerl spoke at the same time.
Rod knew from the story that at the entrance to the Grand Line, an island whale named Laboon had been waiting for its companions.
Nerl, on the other hand, had simply sensed it with his powerful Observation Haki.
"Raise the sails. We need to slow down."
The crew quickly lowered the sails, and under Nerl's control, the Polar Tang began to decelerate.
"It's only a