Most of this vast world was ocean, covering well over seventy percent of its surface, perhaps even more.
So sailing the Grand Line from Reverse Mountain and circumnavigating the planet was, in a sense, equivalent to conquering the world. Such a feat was unquestionably important and meaningful to the people of this world. Anyone who completed it would earn unparalleled renown and all sorts of indescribable benefits.
Unfortunately, so far, the only person to accomplish this feat seemed to be the one man recognized around the world as the former Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.
The world's miraculous Red Line divided the Grand Line—and even the entire planet—in two. So, in the popular understanding, if you could cross the Red Line by way of the World Government's Holy Land, Mary Geoise, or the trench where Fish-Man Island lay, and enter the second half of the Grand Line, you had reached the New World.
The New World was said to be the most difficult and dangerous stretch of sea to navigate anywhere in the world. Countless warships, merchant ships, passenger ships, and pirate ships had met their end there due to various circumstances and disasters. So completing the feat of sailing all the way around the Grand Line was no easy task.
Generally speaking, there were two ways to reach the second half of the Grand Line, also known as the New World. The first was to submit a request to the World Government. After applying and receiving approval, you could pay a large sum of money to cross directly over the Red Line by way of the Holy Land, Mary Geoise, at its summit.
This method did have one drawback, though: you had to abandon your ship!
Of course, for the Marines, wealthy merchants, and rich people, that wasn't a