On the calm sea, water suddenly splashed, and two figures swam out of the sea, climbing onto the shore.
The two were a man and a woman, soaked to the bone, their clothes clinging to their bodies, looking utterly dishevelled.
"Ah, I finally made it!" The man gasped, wiping the seawater from his face.
He looked thin, with yellow curly hair coiling on both sides, and short, messy hair on top.
He was wearing a green suit jacket, paired with a yellow bow tie, and even a crown, making him look comical and strange.
The woman standing next to him tossed her sky-blue ponytail, her light blue dress clinging to her body from being wet.
It outlined her well-proportioned figure, making her look both somewhat charming and dishevelled.
"Finally, we're up." She took a deep breath, her tone calm, but her face showed vigilance. "Who are you guys?"
"We should be the ones asking you!" Nami put her hands on her hips, her brows slightly furrowed, her eyes showing a hint of wariness.
"Strange people emerging from the sea, what are you doing?"
"Ahem!" The curly-haired man straightened up, cleared his throat, and struck what he thought was a handsome pose. "I am Mr. 9, affiliated with... uh, a secret organization!"
"I am Miss Wednesday." The blue-haired woman also spoke, her voice cold. "Our mission has nothing to do with you."
"Hey, hey, hey!" Usopp hugged the mast, his expression tense. "These two don't look good!"
"What exactly are you here for?" Nami asked with a cold face.
"Company secret, no comment." Mr. 9's tone was deliberately profound. "Anyway, it's not something you should know."
"Secret? That's hilarious!" Crocus, who was nearby, puffed on his pipe, his eyes showing disdain. "You guys are clearly here to hunt Laboon!"
"Hunt Laboon?!" Luffy jumped up, his face full of anger. "You want to lay hands on Laboon?"
"Uh... that..." Miss Wednesday's eyes also flashed with a hint of panic.
"Tell the truth!" Crocus snorted coldly. "Your tricks can't fool me. You say it's for a mission, but you actually want to kill Laboon for meat, right?"
The two, exposed, looked at each other and could only nod helplessly.
"We had no choice." Miss Wednesday lowered her head and sighed.
"We live in Whiskey Peak, and the people there are running out of food... If we can bring back Laboon, we can feed many people."
"Even so, you can't harm Laboon!" Luffy clenched his fists, his voice full of anger.
Just as the atmosphere was tense, Nami suddenly frowned: "Wait... what's wrong with my compass?"
Nami suddenly noticed that the needle of the sea compass in her hand was spinning wildly, unable to fix a direction.
Her brows furrowed tightly, her face full of panic. "Is it broken? Impossible! This is my most precious tool!"
"Broken?" Usopp leaned over to look, his face instantly becoming tense.
"Without a compass, how can we go? Won't we get lost at sea?"
"Hahahahaha!" Crocus laughed so hard he nearly fell over, his pipe almost falling out of his mouth.
"You guys, you dare to run to the Grand Line without knowing anything, truly a newborn calf not afraid of tigers!"
"What do you mean?" Nami looked up, glaring at Crocus, her tone showing defiance.
"This compass worked perfectly fine in the East Blue, why doesn't it work here?"
"Because the magnetic field of the Grand Line is completely different from ordinary sea areas." Crocus patted the nearby lighthouse, a hint of a smile in his voice.
"Every island here has a unique magnetic field, and ordinary compasses are simply unusable. Navigators must use a Log Pose when sailing in this sea area."
"Log Pose?" Nami's eyes showed confusion. "What is that?"
Crocus raised his wrist, revealing a transparent glass sphere, with a flexible needle suspended inside, like a feather floating in water.
The sphere was fixed by a metal bracket, connected to an exquisite leather wristband, both simple and sturdy.
"This is a Log Pose." Crocus explained. "It can record the magnetic field information of an island.
After charging is complete on the current island, the needle will automatically point to the next island."
"Charging?" Usopp tilted his head. "What's that?"
"The island's magnetic field needs a certain amount of time to affect the Log Pose." Crocus patiently explained.
"Depending on the island, the charging time will vary; some can be completed in a few hours, while others might take several days or even longer.
Only when the needle is fully charged can it point to the next destination."
"So that's how it is..." Nami gently stroked the compass in her hand, her eyes showing a hint of complexity. "Without this Log Pose, we can't move forward at all."
"That's why I said, you are adorably ignorant." Crocus smiled and shook his head.
Just then, the soaked Mr. 9 suddenly interjected: "Hey, our ship is destroyed."
"What do you want?" Zoro glanced at him, his tone cold. "Do you want to blame us?"
"Of course not." Miss Wednesday quickly spoke up, pulling out a Log Pose from her embrace and handing it to Nami.
"This is our Log Pose. If you can take us back to Whiskey Peak, this is yours."
Nami's eyes lit up instantly. She took the Log Pose, holding it in both hands and examining it carefully.
The transparent glass sphere emitted a crystal-clear glow under the sunlight, and the suspended needle gently swayed, exuding a mysterious power.
"This is a good thing." Nami exclaimed while looking at it. "With this, we can continue our journey on the Grand Line!"
She unhesitatingly put the Log Pose on her wrist, carefully as if it were a precious gem.
"Wait, they are not good people." Crocus said coldly, puffing on his pipe. "Do you really trust these guys?"
Luffy waved his hand carelessly: "It's fine! Don't fuss over small matters!"
Usopp frowned, looking uneasy: "Do we really have to take these two guys? They look like they're full of bad intentions."
"Since you've decided, then a word of warning." Crocus put away his smile and pointed to the distant sea.
"The Grand Line has seven routes. This is the entrance, and your Log Pose will automatically point to one of these routes based on the magnetic field."
"Seven?" Nami frowned. "Why are there seven?"
"The islands on each route of the Grand Line are different." Crocus said.
"Once a route is chosen, you must proceed island by island in order until you reach the destination at the end of the route.
That place is 'the Final Island,' Laugh Tale."
"Oh—so that's how it is!" Luffy's face showed sudden understanding, but the next second he grinned. "What if we don't like this route?"
"Then there's nothing you can do." Crocus sighed. "Once a route is chosen, it cannot be changed. Unless you can circle the entire Grand Line and start over from the beginning."
"Circle it?" Luffy laughed even louder. "Alright! If I don't like this route, I'll just circle it and come back!"
"I can't believe you." Zoro muttered. "Only you could come up with an idea like that."
Nami looked down at the Log Pose on her wrist; the needle was steadily pointing in one direction.
She looked up at the distance and said in a deep voice: "Whiskey Peak is in that direction, let's go."
"Alright! Set sail!" Luffy jumped to the bow, waving his arms and shouting, "New adventure, here we come!"
The Going Merry slowly sailed forward with the sea breeze, and Laboon also saw them off in the sea.
Crocus stood by the lighthouse, watching them leave, muttering:
"The road ahead, that's the real adventure..."