The First Island

"Damn it, that dog." Rogge wanted to throw Billy overboard. He regretted everything.

They had been about to climb Reverse Mountain, and to prevent any accidents, they hadn't dared leave Billy on deck. So that bastard Jelly had put him in Rogge's room.

Half a day had passed before they knew it. The dog wasn't particularly brave, and the climb up and down the mountain, followed by Laboon ramming Reverse Mountain, had scared the piss and shit out of him.

Now, looking at his bed covered in dog piss and shit, Rogge was on the verge of a breakdown.

"I'm going to kill you." Rogge hauled the whole bed out of his room, intending to throw it into the sea with Billy.

Jelly and Ham clearly had other ideas. Having a dog around was pretty nice. They saved Billy, while Rogge tossed the bed overboard. It was covered in dog piss and shit. How could he use it again? Even without being a neat freak, he couldn't stomach it.

He didn't even want to sleep in his room anymore, so he stayed up in the lookout on the mast.

"How could I let two promising young men run into each other so soon?"

As Rogge trained, he kept turning Crocus's words over in his mind.

Their route was entirely different from the one the Spade Pirates had taken over Reverse Mountain a few days earlier. Unless both crews reached Sabaody at the same time, they were unlikely to meet anywhere in the First Half.

Rogge hadn't paid attention to the news about Ace. He wasn't in the habit of reading newspapers, and he hadn't expected Ace to reach the Grand Line before them.

"We're rookies from the same generation, I guess," Rogge murmured.

So far, Ace was outshining him. After all, Ace had a Logia Devil Fruit. In a place like the First Half, he would have virtually no opponents unless he did something suicidal like provoke Marine Headquarters.

"So what if he's a Logia? He still ends up dead. I'm not missing the Marineford War."

The next island on their route was called Tavern Island. There were only seven routes through the First Half, and once a crew chose one, the islands ahead were practically set. There was almost no chance of straying off course.

On the Grand Line, you couldn't trust anything except your Log Pose. Even the most experienced navigator wouldn't dare sail recklessly there. That was what made the Grand Line so dangerous.

With only one needle, there was no choice to make. They simply had to follow it to the next island. That part of sailing was simple enough; anyone who knew a little about the Grand Line could manage it.

But the real danger in the First Half wasn't navigation, or even the weather. It was people.

The Grand Line was a pirate's paradise. The pirates of all four Blues combined probably couldn't match the number in the First Half, let alone the New World. They weren't even on the same level.

The weather in the First Half wasn't too complicated, and there was no need to worry about attacks from Sea Kings. The real danger was people: pirates, bounty hunters, Marines, and criminals scattered across the Grand Line.

Why were only those who reached Sabaody called rookies? Because they had survived the first round of elimination. Only those who made it through the competition in the First Half of the Grand Line earned that name.

You were more likely to run into pirates than an island. That was no joke.

Sure enough, when Rogge reached Tavern Island, he ran into Pirate Hunters. Newcomer pirates entered the Grand Line all the time. Pirates in the New World looked down on those in the First Half, and pirates in the First Half naturally looked down on those from the Four Blues.

Bounty hunters thought the same way. To them, these newcomers were prey. Islands like Whiskey Peak and Tavern Island, the first stops on their respective Grand Line routes, were usually packed with bounty hunters. Many newcomers never made it any farther, and most of those were killed by bounty hunters.

The moment they landed, someone set their sights on them. Jelly said helplessly, "It's only the first island, and they're already giving us this kind of welcome."

"Only natural. I'd do the same in their place," Ham said with a smile.

"You go into town. I'll watch the ship. We'll have a problem if someone steals it," Cook said.

"Sorry for the trouble. Need me to buy you anything?" Ham asked.

"When Jelly buys supplies, have him get extra beef and mutton. I don't eat fish," Cook told him.

"Got it. If they have meat, I'll buy more. Every last one of you is a bottomless pit," Jelly said with a sigh.

There were only five people on their ship, yet the amount of food they went through every day was astronomical. Jelly was at his wit's end, especially with Rogge, who ate five meals a day and put away mountains of meat.

Yesterday, they had held a huge celebration at Twin Cape to mark their departure and burned through eighty percent of their stores. It had given Jelly a much clearer idea of how much Rogge and the others could eat. Let them eat their fill, and he would never find out where their limit was.

"No wonder they call it Tavern Island. This place really has character." Bare-chested, Rogge walked down the street, taking an interest in the island's buildings.

"The smell of wine is everywhere. There must be some good stuff here," Ham said excitedly.

"I smell it too. Definitely good wine around. Let's hit a tavern and get something to eat first." Rogge headed toward a restaurant.

"Should we really do that? Cook's still on the ship," Ares said quietly.

"He doesn't eat fish. We'll just order fish," Rogge said with a shrug.

Ares thought it over. Unable to see anything wrong with the logic, he nodded. "Fair enough."

Jelly and Ham looked at Ares as if he were an idiot. He hadn't even caught what was wrong with Rogge's nonsense. How had he ever managed to learn medicine?

As they entered the tavern, the rich scent of wine washed over them. Who went to sea and didn't like a drink? Rogge and the others found a table and sat down.

"Hey, that's our table." A scruffy thug walked up and put a hand on Rogge's shoulder.

"No one was sitting here. Since when is it yours?" Rogge asked, puzzled.

"Because I say it is. Cut the crap and get lost." The thug shoved Rogge's shoulder.

"Heh heh!"

Laughter rang through the tavern. Everyone around them drew their weapons and grinned at Rogge's group.

"Looks like we've got a little trouble," Rogge said with a shrug.

"I'll handle it." Jelly stood up.

"Kill them! There's a fifty-million-Beli bounty on his head!" A man rushed forward with a cutlass and slashed at Rogge's head.