First Island

"Damn it, this dog." Rogge wished he could throw Billy into the sea. He regretted it.

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

Before they knew it, half a day had passed. The dog had not been that bold while climbing up and down the mountain, but Laboon's collision with Reverse Mountain had scared it so badly that it had shit and pissed itself.

Now, looking at his bed covered in dog shit and urine, Rogge felt like he was falling apart.

"I'm going to kill you all." Rogge carried the entire bed out of the cabin, intending to throw it into the sea along with Billy.

Jelly and Ham obviously disagreed. Having a dog was still pretty nice, so the two of them saved Billy while Rogge threw the bed into the sea. It was covered in dog shit and urine—how could it still be used? Even without a germ phobia, Rogge could not accept it.

He did not even want to go back to his room to sleep. He stayed in the crow's nest atop the mast instead.

"How could I possibly let two promising young men run into each other ahead of time?"

As Rogge trained, he thought about Crocus's words.

This route was completely different from the one the Spade Pirates had taken across Reverse Mountain a few days earlier. Unless they reached Sabaody at the same time, it would be nearly impossible for them to meet in the first half of the Grand Line.

Rogge did not pay much attention to the news about Ace. He did not have the habit of reading newspapers, but he had not expected Ace to reach the Grand Line before them.

"We're from the same generation, I suppose," Rogge muttered.

Ace was a rookie from the same generation as him. Judging from his current performance, Ace was even more dazzling than Rogge. After all, Ace was a Logia Devil Fruit user. In a place like the first half of the Grand Line, unless he foolishly provoked Marine Headquarters, he would hardly have any opponents.

"So what if he's a Logia? He still died in the end. I won't miss the Marineford War."

The next island on their route was called Tavern Island. There were only seven routes through the entire first half of the Grand Line. Once a route was chosen, the islands along it were practically known, and there was no possibility of drifting off course.

In the Grand Line, nothing could be trusted except the Log Pose. No matter how experienced a navigator was, he would not dare act recklessly in the Grand Line. That was where its danger lay.

With a single pointer, there was nothing to choose. They could only follow it to the next recorded island. Sailing like this was simple enough that anyone with even a little knowledge of the Grand Line would not make a mistake.

However, the real danger in the first half of the Grand Line was neither sailing nor the weather, but people.

The Grand Line was a paradise for pirates. The pirates from all four seas combined probably could not compare to those in the first half of the Grand Line, let alone the New World. They were not even on the same level.

The weather in the first half was not too complicated, and there was no need to worry about Sea Kings attacking. The most terrifying thing was people: pirates, bounty hunters, Marines, and criminals scattered throughout the Grand Line.

The reason only those who reached Sabaody could be called rookies was because they had already gone through a round of elimination. Only those who survived the selection and competition in the first half of the Grand Line could be called rookies.

The chances of running into pirates were higher than the chances of finding an island. That was no joke.

Sure enough, the moment Rogge reached Tavern Island, he ran into pirate hunters. Rookie pirates often entered the Grand Line. Pirates from the New World despised pirates from the first half, while pirates from the first half naturally looked down on pirates from the four seas.

The same went for bounty hunters. In their eyes, these rookies were prey. Islands like Whiskey Peak and Tavern Island, located at the entrance to the Grand Line, were usually occupied by large numbers of bounty hunters. Many rookies who entered the Grand Line died young, and most of them were hunted down by bounty hunters.

The moment they landed on the island, they were already being watched. Jelly said helplessly, "This is only the first island, and they're already giving us this kind of welcome."

"That's normal. If it were me, I'd do the same," Ham said with a smile.

"You guys go onto the island. I'll watch the ship. It'll be troublesome if it gets stolen," Cook said.

"Sorry to trouble you. Is there anything you need us to buy?" Ham asked.

"When Jelly buys ingredients, have him get more beef and mutton. I don't eat fish," Cook said, looking at Jelly.

"Got it. If there's animal meat, I'll buy more. Every one of you is a bottomless pit," Jelly said helplessly.

Though there were only five people on their ship, the food they consumed was an astronomical amount. Jelly was helpless, especially when it came to Rogge. He ate five meals a day, and every meal involved a huge amount of meat.

Yesterday, to celebrate setting sail, they had held a grand celebration at Twin Cape. The result was that they used up eighty percent of their supplies. It gave him a much clearer understanding of Rogge and the others' appetites. Once they really let loose, no one knew where their limits were.

"No wonder it's called Tavern Island. This island really has character." Rogge walked down the street bare-chested, somewhat interested in the buildings on Tavern Island.

"The scent of alcohol is strong. There should be good liquor here," Ham said excitedly.

"I smell it too. There really is good liquor. Let's go to a tavern and eat first," Rogge said as he headed toward a restaurant.

"Isn't this a bit bad? Cook is still on the ship," Ares said quietly.

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

Ares thought about it for a moment. Unable to figure out what was wrong with that logic, he nodded. "That's true."

Jelly and Ham looked at Ares as though he were an idiot. He could not even hear the problem with Rogge's nonsense. They had no idea how he had learned such superb medical skills.

The moment they entered the tavern, a rich aroma of alcohol washed over them. What person who went to sea did not enjoy drinking? Rogge and the others found a table and sat down.

"Hey, this is our spot." A shifty-looking thug walked over and placed a hand on Rogge's shoulder.

"No one was sitting here. Since when was it your spot?" Rogge asked in confusion.

"If I say it's mine, it's mine. Why so much nonsense? Get lost," the thug said, shoving Rogge's shoulder.

"Heh heh!!!"

Laughter rang out through the tavern. Everyone around them drew their weapons, each of them staring at Rogge and the others with a grin.

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

"I'll handle it," Jelly said, getting to his feet.

"Kill them! That head is worth fifty million Beli!" A man charged forward with a cutlass, bringing it down toward Rogge's head.