Welcome Town?

Fluffy snow fell over the choppy sea as the Going Merry sailed through the blizzard.

"What the heck?! It was raining just a moment ago, so why is it snowing now?!"

"This is the Grand Line's weather. It's seriously bizarre."

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

On the Going Merry's deck, Nami had a scarf wrapped around her neck and warm earmuffs on her head. Even in a down jacket, she was still shivering.

"Women are so hard to understand."

Looking at Nami's bare white thighs, Reiner said helplessly, "Nami, if you're so cold, why don't you wear thicker pants?"

"None of your business, bleh~" Nami stuck out her tongue playfully.

They had left Loguetown and entered the Grand Line several days ago, meeting Laboon and Uncle Crocus as expected.

Through Crocus's introduction, they had also learned some information about the Grand Line.

Because the Grand Line's magnetic fields were incredibly chaotic, ordinary compasses were completely useless here. That part was fine, though—Reiner had prepared a full ten of them yesterday.

The real trouble was that the chaotic magnetic fields also made the weather, ocean currents, and wind directions here exceedingly strange.

Even Nami had been somewhat flustered at first, adding quite a bit to Reiner's workload.

Whenever the weather changed, his undead handled the steering, raising and lowering the sails, and everything else. They drained water on rainy days and cleared snow on snowy days.

Nami had even made him burn the bones of skeleton undead for warmth. She was utterly heartless, treating skeleton lives like they meant nothing.

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

Nami thought for a moment.

"We're about to enter the range of the next island's magnetic field. The wind and currents should become relatively stable then. If all goes well, we should arrive before sunset today."

"Cactus Island, the Grand Line's first stop." Reiner began looking forward to it.

It had been a year and a half since he had transmigrated here. At last, he had accumulated enough strength to enter the Grand Line.

Luffy and Zoro deserved much of the credit. Without their two templates, it would have been harder than climbing to heaven for Reiner and his motley crew to go looking for trouble with Kuro and Arlong.

As long as he could build up enough strength in the early stages, his ability could keep snowballing from there.

Now that he had two Saw Devil undead, the enhanced Wolverine Undead fused with Sanji's template, and the Bone Chain Sword created with Arlong's template, he finally possessed fairly decent strength for the first half of the Grand Line.

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

After all, the giants' terrifying all-around physical abilities were right there for all to see. In his hands, they would be even stronger than their original bodies.

"Shishishi, look at my snowman Laboon!"

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

"Wahahaha, that's amazing, Usopp!" Luffy praised excitedly.

Reiner could not help admiring Usopp's snowman as well. With its exquisite crown and lavishly styled outfit, it was lifelike indeed. Still, why did it look so familiar?

"Tsk tsk, is that Kaya?" Reiner recalled a certain figure and teased Usopp, "Don't tell me you miss that gentle haven already, Usopp."

"Wh-wh-what are you saying?!"

Usopp took several steps back, blushing. "I'm going to become a brave warrior of the sea! How could I possibly be bound by romantic feelings?"

"I think Kaya is pretty great. She's beautiful and gentle. How about I bear that burden for you?"

"You dare, brat!!!"

"Haha, all right, I'm done teasing you." Reiner turned to Sanji with a smile. "Our head chef, what are we having for lunch today?"

"Well~, that Elephant Trunk Tuna from last time is already on its last legs. Let's slaughter it."

Sanji pondered for a while and exhaled a puff of smoke. "What should we make with it? Any ideas?"

Luffy: "Grilled fish!"

Usopp: "Fish head soup!"

Reiner: "Sashimi!"

Zoro: "Whatever."

"Then we'll stew the fish head into soup, make sashimi from the belly, and grill the rest. As for the tastiest part, the fish nose—

—of course, the adorable Miss Nami will decide!" Sanji's eyes turned into hearts as he instantly became a lovestruck fool.

"Tch, Ero-Cook."

"What did you say, Marimo?!"

Reiner could not help smiling at the two rivals. Sanji had only been aboard for a few days, yet he and Zoro had already begun their mutual loathing.

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

"You've improved quickly, Reiner." Zoro could not help remarking. "It hasn't even been two weeks, and your weight load has gone up again."

"Well~, it's mostly thanks to the Devil Fruit boost. Training gets twice the result with half the effort." Reiner explained.

When he had first transmigrated here, he had been an ordinary person too weak to truss a chicken. Now, his physical abilities far surpassed those of normal people.

Without the boost from a Zoan Fruit, it would have been difficult for him to reach this level through training alone.

"At this rate, you'll probably surpass me in less than a year." Watching Reiner do push-ups with 1,200 kilograms on his back, Zoro could not help tightening his grip on his barbell.

"Not at all. I'm not the only one improving. It'll be a long time before I catch up to you." Looking at the 2,100-kilogram barbell in Zoro's hands, Reiner unconsciously put more strength into his own arms.

The two silently competed until Sanji called them to eat.

After the meal, Reiner returned to the lookout post to keep watch, bringing his barbell with him.

It was not until dusk, when the sun was nearly touching the horizon, that Reiner finally spotted a small island.

From afar, he could vaguely make out rows upon rows of houses. Behind the town stood several enormous cactus-shaped peaks.

"Everyone! I can see an island! There's a town on it!" Reiner shouted down below, then lit a cigarette and watched as the ship slowly approached.

Luffy and the others immediately grew excited. After sailing on the ship for days, they had finally reached an island with signs of life.

This island was called Cactus Island. A river divided it into two, and the Going Merry followed it inland to a port.

"Pirates!"

"Quick, tell everyone! Pirates are here!"

Someone at the port spotted the pirate ship and hurried into town. After quite a while, the port was packed with villagers.

Strangely, there was not the slightest hint of panic on the villagers' faces. Instead, every one of them looked delighted.

"Brave warriors of the sea!"

"Welcome to Whiskey Peak!"

Hearing the clamorous cries from the port, everyone wore odd expressions except Luffy and Usopp, who looked excited.

"Hello, everyone!"

"Waaah~~, they called me a brave warrior of the sea."

Compared to those two, Nami and the others reacted much more normally.

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

"Hehe, what a strange town." Zoro studied the "villagers" below the ship with interest.

Soon, everyone disembarked. Reiner threw down the anchor, secured the Going Merry, and jumped down as well.

A tall man with a huge curly afro stepped forward, clearing his throat like an opera singer warming up.

"Ah~, ah-oh-oh~"

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

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

Upon hearing that, Luffy immediately rushed over to greet him. Before long, the group had happily mingled with the villagers.