Post by Aromancer on Dec 9, 2019 23:54:56 GMT -5
Lee sat down at his favorite seat in Gold Roger bar as the sounds of other patrons surrounded him. It was the first time in a long time he'd just taken a day off; between illusionist pirates, mushroom cultists, and a crew of fishmen, not to mention all the countless other adventures he'd had here in the East Blue, his life had been... hectic, for lack of a better word.
But such was the calling of the bounty hunter, after all. And Lee was grateful for it, truly grateful! He felt like he'd done some real good here in the East Blue, made his mark on the citizens of Loguetown. He was finally getting the recognition he deserved!
Like take these jokers over here, laughing as they tallied the coin they'd just stolen from a small merchant ship. Lee pulled out his leaflet of Wanted posters; looks like each of the five was going for a cool million each. He betted even the mere mention of his name would be enough to send these small fries running with their tails between their legs! He swaggered over to the young crew, cockily placing his hand on his sword.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said to the pirates, "but I stongly suggest you all surrender right now... or face the wrath of Viper Lee!"
The pirates stared at him for a moment, listlessly. Eventually, one spoke up. "Who?"
Lee stared at him in shock. "V-Viper Lee! The legendary bounty hunter, Viper Lee!"
The pirates continued to stare.
"I defeated Desmonde the Wolf Ticket! Destroying Angel! Captain Kratos?"
"...Wasn't Kratos beat by that Ryu guy?" One pirate mused.
"W-well he wouldn't have done it without my help!" Lee protested, his face turning red.
The pirates laughed at the sight of Lee blushing. "Listen, kiddo," one said, standing up to quite an imposing height, indeed. "We're some'a the biggest, baddest new pirates on the seas: the Cannonball Pirates!" His subordinates whooped and hollered behind him. "We only been on the seas for two months, and we've already got a million berri on each of our heads! So why don't you take you're four-foot-nothin' 10-year-old self and get outta my bar?"
Lee narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. He wasn't about to take that crap from some lowlife pirate! He hunted pirates! "My name is Viper Lee," he said, "and for your information, I'm sixteen years old and five foot ten!" He pulled out his sword, the legendary Shichishito, and dashed towards the laughing pirate captain.
The captain threw up a fist just in time to block the blow. For just a second, uncertainty - maybe even fear? - flickered across his face. But soon that bravado was back again, with a cocky laugh to signal it. "Alright! You got guts, kid! I'll give you that! But the cannonballs are gonna blow you outta the water!”
"Take it outside," said the barkeep, disinterestedly polishing the counter while the two factions sized each other up.
"Yeah, good idea, barkeep," the captain said. "Come on, kid. Wouldn't want your blood to stain the upholstering!"
Lee snarled. Then, heedless of the barkeep's request, he jumped into the air, spinning his blade around to swing at the captain's head.
The element of surprise was a useful one for Lee. All too often, his opponents were caught off-guard by his sheer aggressive nature. His strike so caught his opponent off-guard that the arm that he used to block the blow was completely cleft from his body. He yowled in pain, his other arm shooting out to grab Lee by the collar.
“Oh, you’re dead, kid.”
The passers-by in front of Gold Roger Bar were quite surprised indeed when a teenager hurtled through the glass of the nearby window at the approximate speed of a cannon ball. Lee was blown into the side of the building across the street, coughing up blood as he stood up shakily. “So, that’s how you wanna play it, is it?” He asked himself. He readied his blade as the five pirates hurtled through the hole in the window after him.
The pirates were certainly terrifying, charging at him with unparalleled speed and power. It was easy to see how they’d so quickly built up their bounties. But Lee had dealt with foes whose bounties were ten times theirs, and he could deal with these enemies no sweat.
For while their speed and power were quite intimidating, indeed, the Cannonball Pirates were incredibly inaccurate. More used to throwing themselves at the sides of ships, they struggled to hit such a small, fast target as Lee. Lee had no such issues, and with a few well-placed stabs of the Shichishito, each pirate soon found themselves too wounded to continue the fight.
Still, that had been a close one, Lee mused, as he got to work tying up the Cannonball Pirates. These guys were no joke; they’d earned their bounties. One wrong move and he would have been nothing but a splatter mark along the ground. Maybe he could use that in his argument to get full price for them.
***
“Damn, Lee, I gotta say, I’m impressed!”
“Aw, shucks, Colonel,” Lee said bashfully, as he collected his bounty. “These guys weren’t THAT bad! Although, I do think they’re worth a little more than five mil, don’t you?” He fluttered his eyes adorably.
The Colonel merely laughed and shook his head. “The poster said five mil for all five of them, and that’s what you’re gettin’. You know I can’t go showing favoritism just on account ‘a you used to be enrolled at the academy!”
“Ah, well, it was worth a shot,” Lee pocketed the money and began to head out.
“Hey, Lee, why’d you quit, anyways?” The Colonel called out to his retrreating figure. “You’re only, what, three months into the whole bounty hunting gig? Already taken down some of the baddest bad guys left in the East Blue? The marines’d be happy to have ya!”
Lee paused for a moment, then turned back around, sighing. “Just wasn’t in the cards for me, I guess.” He leaned against a nearby post. “I’m not very good at taking orders.”
“Well then, how’s about a suggestion?” The Colonel asked, giving the boy a friendly smile. “You do good work here in Loguetown, and we’re glad to have ya, but you know where the marines are having their REAL problems?”
“In the Grand Line, yeah, I know, you tell me every time I drop off a “package.” Lee smirked at the old Colonel. “And every time, I tell you the same thing: I’m not going there until I can get there on my own power!”
The Colonel raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Come on, Lee, you know that ain’t feasible. Only one man’s EVER gone over that waterfall by himself!”
“I know that,” replied Lee, confidently. “That’s why if I ever manage it, I’ll know that I’m that man’s equal!”
Dracule Mihawk. The man Lee wanted to beat more than anyone else. One of the Shichibukai, with a sword even more legendary than Lee’s own. It would take a lifetime to achieve, but Lee was certain that if he could make the trip to him alone, he would be Mihawk’s equal by the time the two men met.
The Cannonballs, who had woken and recovered somewhat by this point, laughed derisively. “Yeah, right! Going up Reverse Mountain? By yourself? Man, it’s bad enough I got beaten by a kid, but a suicidal kid is just -ow!”
“Well… if you’re truly certain that’s the path you want to take,” the Colonel said, leaning back and rubbing his fist after whacking the captain on the head, “I might be able to offer you some help… as a favor for all the help you’ve been to the marines.”
“I already told you, I don’t want any-”
“I know, I know. You want to “do it on your own power.” But I think we can both agree you’re not making that trip without a Log Pose? That really is suicide!”
“I never actually got that one,” Lee replied, thoughtfully. “Isn’t it, like, right on the equator? So as long as you sail towards the sun, you should be good, right?”
“Better navigators than you have tried, Lee,” the Colonel said, winking at the boy, “none of ‘em have lived to tell of it.”
Lee nodded. “Fair enough. So, you want to just… give me a Log Pose?”
The Colonel nodded happily, walking over to a dusty old box. “Bought one in me younger days, when my heart was full of adventure. Never did work up the guts to actually try and make the trip.” He turned to Lee. “Maybe you’ll be different, eh?”
Lee grinned as he took it, placing the pose in his pocket. “Thanks, Colonel. Don’t worry; I’m gonna make it over that line one of these days, and when I do, it’ll be your log pose that guides me to Mihawk!”
The Colonel merely laughed at that. “Good luck on your journey,” he told Lee. “‘Cuz if you ever find him, you’ll need all the luck you can get!”
Lee smiled at the man one last time, then left to go spend his new fortune.
***
“One bowl of your finest ramen, my good sir!” Lee said, sidling up to the stand. For a city so close to the equator, Loguetown had a curiously high density of ramen stands. Not that Lee was complaining; ramen was awesome.
He was just being handed his bowl when a scream rang out a couple blocks away. “Oh, that’s my cue!” He quickly drained the ramen bowl, then dashed off, sword in hand, to stop whatever dastardly criminals were rampaging through the streets today.
Wait… he’d fought these guys! These were the Cannonball Pirates! They were tearing through the streets with reckless abandon, moving towards the docks with frightening speed!
But Lee was quicker. As the pirates screeched to a halt on the docks, he stood there, leaning against a pier, idly swinging the Shichishito in his hands. “Man, you guys don’t know when to give up, huh?” He asked them, smirking. “I wonder if the Colonel will give me your bounties again after I take you in the second time?”
Two or three of the pirates chuckled darkly. “I don’t think that old geezer’s gonna be handing out any more bounties any time soon,” the captain laughed, clutching his amputated arm.
Lee’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do to the Colonel?” He asked, holding his sword out in front of him with death in his eyes.
“I think you should worry yourself more with what we’re gonna do to you.” The Captain turned to his four men. “Get the ship ready. I got a score to settle with the kid.”
The other pirates nodded and rushed off, leaving Lee alone with the Captain. “My name,” he said, as he began his assault, “is VIPER LEE!” And with that battle cry ringing in the ears of the onlookers, the two combatants charged at each other.
Lee swung his sword at the larger man, but his attack was intercepted by… was that a ball and chain? The man was swinging around a cannonball like it was a wrecking ball… one-handed!
He wound his arm back for a swing, the unpredictable path of the ball causing Lee to lose his footing somewhat. But he’d trained for this moment, learned from other enemies how to deal with threats like this one. He pivoted on his feet, catching the ball as it swung towards his head. Then, with a sharp yank, he snapped the chain and the ball fell to the ground.
The captain paused, looking bewildered at the useless links in his hand. Then he wrapped them around Lee’s sword, jamming the Shichishito into the ground. He left Lee to retrieve his blade and began running to join his mates. “That ship ready yet, men???” He cried, somewhat panicked.
Lee gave chase, losing significant ground due to his shorter legs but still managing to keep pace with the captain. “Almost, Captain,” cried the other crewmen, “but how’re we gonna lose this kid?”
“Easy!” The captain laughed, as he hopped aboard. “We’re gettin’ outta this small-time blue and heading to a place where we can REALLY flex our muscles!”
His first mate looked at him in equal parts horror and awe. “You don’t mean…
“We’re going to the Grand Line!” The captain laughed, as his men pushed away.
But Lee wasn’t about to lose them just because he’d fallen behind a little. Focusing his energy, Lee took a deep breath… and began jumping on the air after them!
The captain turned to look back, expecting to see Lee shaking his fist impudently behind him. He did not expect to see the boy flying towards their ship at a frankly inhuman speed! “Quick, men! Hoist the sails! Get this barge going as fast as it can! We can’t let that kid get us!”
But it was too late. Lee was far faster than a boat, and soon enough he landed on the ship’s bough, standing confidently with his arms crossed and trying to hide just how out-of-breath he was.
Now, of course Lee had already dispatched these men quite easily once before. But this time, they weren’t underestimating him, they were being more careful with their attacks, and he was completely exhausted from all the running on air. All of a sudden, this was a much more even fight than it had been that morning. He staggered back from the incoming fists, each one hitting with the force of a ballistic projectile. These guys were clearly called the “Cannonball Pirates” for good reason.
Even the ship was fast, sailing towards Reverse Mountain at a much higher clip than most other ships would. As Lee desperately evaded his foes’ incoming strikes, the mountain slowly came into view.
He had to finish this quickly. As one pirate went in for a strike, Lee deflected the blow and used the pirate’s momentum to hit a man on the other side. He slashed into the shoulder of another man, quickly jerking his blade out of his shoulder as he rammed the butt of the sword into the last Cannonball crewman.
They were coming up on Reverse Mountain now. The captain hoisted a couple cannonballs while Lee fought off his crew, throwing them with just as much force as if they’d been shot out of a real cannon. It took all Lee’s faculties to avoid the cannon balls as they were hurled at his face.
But this hazard also offered him a blessing in disguise. He was able to guide the captain’s crewmen into some of the oncoming cannon balls, blasting them off the side of the ship with a shrill scream. Soon enough, the only two men remaining on the ship were Lee and the captain.
The captain smirked as Lee rushed towards him. “I wouldn’t attack me if I was you,” he said threateningly. Behind him, the specter of Reverse Mountain loomed proud and mighty. The storm surrounding it whipped the skies above into a frenzy. “You kill me, and this ship goes right up Reverse Mountain! A suicide mission for a little kid like you!”
Lee stared up at the mountain, his resolve wavering. He definitely wasn’t prepared to try to make the treacherous journey up Reverse Mountain, not yet! He’d thought it would take years for him to reach the point where he could traverse up the mountain! He wasn’t ready so soon! He didn’t have any equipment, or supplies, or…
No. No! He shook himself out of his reverie. Fate had guided him toward this mountain! He had his sword and the Colonel’s Log Pose! That was enough! “I always wanted to make the trip up Reverse Mountain,” he told the captain, smirking. “Alone.”
The captain looked at him, a horrified expression on his face as Lee, with one swing, lopped off his head. He then moved towards the bough of the ship, looking up at the massive monument in front of him. “For the Colonel.”
The river was drawing the ship in, flowing rapidly as it headed towards the peak of Reverse Mountain. “Come on, Lee,” he said to himself. Tons of ships had made this trip before, and many more would in the future! He could do this; it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility!
The ship lurched to the side as it began to head up. Lee jerked the wheel in the opposite direction, righting its course. It began to veer in the opposite direction, but he was able to keep it from spilling over the edge, if only barely.
But as the ship entered the current, the water’s unusual strength began to buffer the ship back and forth. Lee was hurtled against his will to and fro, his Tsuchinoko’s Leap the only thing keeping him from hurtling overboard.
Soon the ship was veering into the side of the cliff. Lee yanked on the rudder, but the sheer force of the current caused it to snap like a twig! “Shit! If I don’t do something fast, the ship’s gonna fall apart beneath me!”
He dashed to and fro on the ship’s deck, his shichishito batting away the cliff with its indestructible strength. But with every shove, more and more of the ship began to fall apart. First the sides of the ship came off, and the lower deck was flooded with water; then the mast was blown off by the wind. He was so close to making it to the top, but the higher he got the more the ship was destroyed!
The lifeboats! Lee rushed over to where a small lifeboat lay, big enough for the five Cannonball Pirates to rest on should anything happen to their ship. He grabbed a few oars and whatever supplies he could, cutting the line to the lifeboat just as the ship fell apart completely.
Lee was breathing heavily, completely shell-shocked, but as he left the crumbling ship behind, he took a moment to look around at his surroundings… and was astonished by their sheer beauty! He had come up above the clouds, and was now looking out at an ocean of soft, fluffy white air, nothing but clear blue sky above him. He took a moment to stare in awe at the sight... before the current suddenly rushed him back down again, towards the Grand Line.
***
Lee wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since his descent. All he knew was that when he woke up after slamming his head into the lifeboat, the sun was high in the air, with not a cloud in sight anywhere behind him. Reverse Mountain was far behind him, but it had left him the parting gift of a straight shot through the Grand Line.
He wearily sat up, rubbing his head. His confusion slowly turned to elation as he looked around the clear, glistening sea. He’d done it! He’d made it across the Grand Line! He let out a whoop in jubilation; Viper Lee had just become the first person to make it through Reverse Mountain all on his own!
A thought occurred to him. He rooted around in his pockets for a second, finally pulling out the Log Pose the Colonel had gotten him. Thank goodness, it was unharmed. And it was pointing him dead ahead, towards his first new adventure in the Grand Line!
Lee looked out to the East, thinking of the man he’d left behind there. The Colonel was probably dead, but Lee would never forget him… or the gift he’d given the boy. He would aid the marines in bounty hunts along the Grand Line, all the while getting ever closer to his ultimate goal: defeating the mightiest swordsman in the Grand Line, Hawkeye Mihawk!
But such was the calling of the bounty hunter, after all. And Lee was grateful for it, truly grateful! He felt like he'd done some real good here in the East Blue, made his mark on the citizens of Loguetown. He was finally getting the recognition he deserved!
Like take these jokers over here, laughing as they tallied the coin they'd just stolen from a small merchant ship. Lee pulled out his leaflet of Wanted posters; looks like each of the five was going for a cool million each. He betted even the mere mention of his name would be enough to send these small fries running with their tails between their legs! He swaggered over to the young crew, cockily placing his hand on his sword.
"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said to the pirates, "but I stongly suggest you all surrender right now... or face the wrath of Viper Lee!"
The pirates stared at him for a moment, listlessly. Eventually, one spoke up. "Who?"
Lee stared at him in shock. "V-Viper Lee! The legendary bounty hunter, Viper Lee!"
The pirates continued to stare.
"I defeated Desmonde the Wolf Ticket! Destroying Angel! Captain Kratos?"
"...Wasn't Kratos beat by that Ryu guy?" One pirate mused.
"W-well he wouldn't have done it without my help!" Lee protested, his face turning red.
The pirates laughed at the sight of Lee blushing. "Listen, kiddo," one said, standing up to quite an imposing height, indeed. "We're some'a the biggest, baddest new pirates on the seas: the Cannonball Pirates!" His subordinates whooped and hollered behind him. "We only been on the seas for two months, and we've already got a million berri on each of our heads! So why don't you take you're four-foot-nothin' 10-year-old self and get outta my bar?"
Lee narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. He wasn't about to take that crap from some lowlife pirate! He hunted pirates! "My name is Viper Lee," he said, "and for your information, I'm sixteen years old and five foot ten!" He pulled out his sword, the legendary Shichishito, and dashed towards the laughing pirate captain.
The captain threw up a fist just in time to block the blow. For just a second, uncertainty - maybe even fear? - flickered across his face. But soon that bravado was back again, with a cocky laugh to signal it. "Alright! You got guts, kid! I'll give you that! But the cannonballs are gonna blow you outta the water!”
"Take it outside," said the barkeep, disinterestedly polishing the counter while the two factions sized each other up.
"Yeah, good idea, barkeep," the captain said. "Come on, kid. Wouldn't want your blood to stain the upholstering!"
Lee snarled. Then, heedless of the barkeep's request, he jumped into the air, spinning his blade around to swing at the captain's head.
The element of surprise was a useful one for Lee. All too often, his opponents were caught off-guard by his sheer aggressive nature. His strike so caught his opponent off-guard that the arm that he used to block the blow was completely cleft from his body. He yowled in pain, his other arm shooting out to grab Lee by the collar.
“Oh, you’re dead, kid.”
The passers-by in front of Gold Roger Bar were quite surprised indeed when a teenager hurtled through the glass of the nearby window at the approximate speed of a cannon ball. Lee was blown into the side of the building across the street, coughing up blood as he stood up shakily. “So, that’s how you wanna play it, is it?” He asked himself. He readied his blade as the five pirates hurtled through the hole in the window after him.
The pirates were certainly terrifying, charging at him with unparalleled speed and power. It was easy to see how they’d so quickly built up their bounties. But Lee had dealt with foes whose bounties were ten times theirs, and he could deal with these enemies no sweat.
For while their speed and power were quite intimidating, indeed, the Cannonball Pirates were incredibly inaccurate. More used to throwing themselves at the sides of ships, they struggled to hit such a small, fast target as Lee. Lee had no such issues, and with a few well-placed stabs of the Shichishito, each pirate soon found themselves too wounded to continue the fight.
Still, that had been a close one, Lee mused, as he got to work tying up the Cannonball Pirates. These guys were no joke; they’d earned their bounties. One wrong move and he would have been nothing but a splatter mark along the ground. Maybe he could use that in his argument to get full price for them.
***
“Damn, Lee, I gotta say, I’m impressed!”
“Aw, shucks, Colonel,” Lee said bashfully, as he collected his bounty. “These guys weren’t THAT bad! Although, I do think they’re worth a little more than five mil, don’t you?” He fluttered his eyes adorably.
The Colonel merely laughed and shook his head. “The poster said five mil for all five of them, and that’s what you’re gettin’. You know I can’t go showing favoritism just on account ‘a you used to be enrolled at the academy!”
“Ah, well, it was worth a shot,” Lee pocketed the money and began to head out.
“Hey, Lee, why’d you quit, anyways?” The Colonel called out to his retrreating figure. “You’re only, what, three months into the whole bounty hunting gig? Already taken down some of the baddest bad guys left in the East Blue? The marines’d be happy to have ya!”
Lee paused for a moment, then turned back around, sighing. “Just wasn’t in the cards for me, I guess.” He leaned against a nearby post. “I’m not very good at taking orders.”
“Well then, how’s about a suggestion?” The Colonel asked, giving the boy a friendly smile. “You do good work here in Loguetown, and we’re glad to have ya, but you know where the marines are having their REAL problems?”
“In the Grand Line, yeah, I know, you tell me every time I drop off a “package.” Lee smirked at the old Colonel. “And every time, I tell you the same thing: I’m not going there until I can get there on my own power!”
The Colonel raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Come on, Lee, you know that ain’t feasible. Only one man’s EVER gone over that waterfall by himself!”
“I know that,” replied Lee, confidently. “That’s why if I ever manage it, I’ll know that I’m that man’s equal!”
Dracule Mihawk. The man Lee wanted to beat more than anyone else. One of the Shichibukai, with a sword even more legendary than Lee’s own. It would take a lifetime to achieve, but Lee was certain that if he could make the trip to him alone, he would be Mihawk’s equal by the time the two men met.
The Cannonballs, who had woken and recovered somewhat by this point, laughed derisively. “Yeah, right! Going up Reverse Mountain? By yourself? Man, it’s bad enough I got beaten by a kid, but a suicidal kid is just -ow!”
“Well… if you’re truly certain that’s the path you want to take,” the Colonel said, leaning back and rubbing his fist after whacking the captain on the head, “I might be able to offer you some help… as a favor for all the help you’ve been to the marines.”
“I already told you, I don’t want any-”
“I know, I know. You want to “do it on your own power.” But I think we can both agree you’re not making that trip without a Log Pose? That really is suicide!”
“I never actually got that one,” Lee replied, thoughtfully. “Isn’t it, like, right on the equator? So as long as you sail towards the sun, you should be good, right?”
“Better navigators than you have tried, Lee,” the Colonel said, winking at the boy, “none of ‘em have lived to tell of it.”
Lee nodded. “Fair enough. So, you want to just… give me a Log Pose?”
The Colonel nodded happily, walking over to a dusty old box. “Bought one in me younger days, when my heart was full of adventure. Never did work up the guts to actually try and make the trip.” He turned to Lee. “Maybe you’ll be different, eh?”
Lee grinned as he took it, placing the pose in his pocket. “Thanks, Colonel. Don’t worry; I’m gonna make it over that line one of these days, and when I do, it’ll be your log pose that guides me to Mihawk!”
The Colonel merely laughed at that. “Good luck on your journey,” he told Lee. “‘Cuz if you ever find him, you’ll need all the luck you can get!”
Lee smiled at the man one last time, then left to go spend his new fortune.
***
“One bowl of your finest ramen, my good sir!” Lee said, sidling up to the stand. For a city so close to the equator, Loguetown had a curiously high density of ramen stands. Not that Lee was complaining; ramen was awesome.
He was just being handed his bowl when a scream rang out a couple blocks away. “Oh, that’s my cue!” He quickly drained the ramen bowl, then dashed off, sword in hand, to stop whatever dastardly criminals were rampaging through the streets today.
Wait… he’d fought these guys! These were the Cannonball Pirates! They were tearing through the streets with reckless abandon, moving towards the docks with frightening speed!
But Lee was quicker. As the pirates screeched to a halt on the docks, he stood there, leaning against a pier, idly swinging the Shichishito in his hands. “Man, you guys don’t know when to give up, huh?” He asked them, smirking. “I wonder if the Colonel will give me your bounties again after I take you in the second time?”
Two or three of the pirates chuckled darkly. “I don’t think that old geezer’s gonna be handing out any more bounties any time soon,” the captain laughed, clutching his amputated arm.
Lee’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do to the Colonel?” He asked, holding his sword out in front of him with death in his eyes.
“I think you should worry yourself more with what we’re gonna do to you.” The Captain turned to his four men. “Get the ship ready. I got a score to settle with the kid.”
The other pirates nodded and rushed off, leaving Lee alone with the Captain. “My name,” he said, as he began his assault, “is VIPER LEE!” And with that battle cry ringing in the ears of the onlookers, the two combatants charged at each other.
Lee swung his sword at the larger man, but his attack was intercepted by… was that a ball and chain? The man was swinging around a cannonball like it was a wrecking ball… one-handed!
He wound his arm back for a swing, the unpredictable path of the ball causing Lee to lose his footing somewhat. But he’d trained for this moment, learned from other enemies how to deal with threats like this one. He pivoted on his feet, catching the ball as it swung towards his head. Then, with a sharp yank, he snapped the chain and the ball fell to the ground.
The captain paused, looking bewildered at the useless links in his hand. Then he wrapped them around Lee’s sword, jamming the Shichishito into the ground. He left Lee to retrieve his blade and began running to join his mates. “That ship ready yet, men???” He cried, somewhat panicked.
Lee gave chase, losing significant ground due to his shorter legs but still managing to keep pace with the captain. “Almost, Captain,” cried the other crewmen, “but how’re we gonna lose this kid?”
“Easy!” The captain laughed, as he hopped aboard. “We’re gettin’ outta this small-time blue and heading to a place where we can REALLY flex our muscles!”
His first mate looked at him in equal parts horror and awe. “You don’t mean…
“We’re going to the Grand Line!” The captain laughed, as his men pushed away.
But Lee wasn’t about to lose them just because he’d fallen behind a little. Focusing his energy, Lee took a deep breath… and began jumping on the air after them!
The captain turned to look back, expecting to see Lee shaking his fist impudently behind him. He did not expect to see the boy flying towards their ship at a frankly inhuman speed! “Quick, men! Hoist the sails! Get this barge going as fast as it can! We can’t let that kid get us!”
But it was too late. Lee was far faster than a boat, and soon enough he landed on the ship’s bough, standing confidently with his arms crossed and trying to hide just how out-of-breath he was.
Now, of course Lee had already dispatched these men quite easily once before. But this time, they weren’t underestimating him, they were being more careful with their attacks, and he was completely exhausted from all the running on air. All of a sudden, this was a much more even fight than it had been that morning. He staggered back from the incoming fists, each one hitting with the force of a ballistic projectile. These guys were clearly called the “Cannonball Pirates” for good reason.
Even the ship was fast, sailing towards Reverse Mountain at a much higher clip than most other ships would. As Lee desperately evaded his foes’ incoming strikes, the mountain slowly came into view.
He had to finish this quickly. As one pirate went in for a strike, Lee deflected the blow and used the pirate’s momentum to hit a man on the other side. He slashed into the shoulder of another man, quickly jerking his blade out of his shoulder as he rammed the butt of the sword into the last Cannonball crewman.
They were coming up on Reverse Mountain now. The captain hoisted a couple cannonballs while Lee fought off his crew, throwing them with just as much force as if they’d been shot out of a real cannon. It took all Lee’s faculties to avoid the cannon balls as they were hurled at his face.
But this hazard also offered him a blessing in disguise. He was able to guide the captain’s crewmen into some of the oncoming cannon balls, blasting them off the side of the ship with a shrill scream. Soon enough, the only two men remaining on the ship were Lee and the captain.
The captain smirked as Lee rushed towards him. “I wouldn’t attack me if I was you,” he said threateningly. Behind him, the specter of Reverse Mountain loomed proud and mighty. The storm surrounding it whipped the skies above into a frenzy. “You kill me, and this ship goes right up Reverse Mountain! A suicide mission for a little kid like you!”
Lee stared up at the mountain, his resolve wavering. He definitely wasn’t prepared to try to make the treacherous journey up Reverse Mountain, not yet! He’d thought it would take years for him to reach the point where he could traverse up the mountain! He wasn’t ready so soon! He didn’t have any equipment, or supplies, or…
No. No! He shook himself out of his reverie. Fate had guided him toward this mountain! He had his sword and the Colonel’s Log Pose! That was enough! “I always wanted to make the trip up Reverse Mountain,” he told the captain, smirking. “Alone.”
The captain looked at him, a horrified expression on his face as Lee, with one swing, lopped off his head. He then moved towards the bough of the ship, looking up at the massive monument in front of him. “For the Colonel.”
The river was drawing the ship in, flowing rapidly as it headed towards the peak of Reverse Mountain. “Come on, Lee,” he said to himself. Tons of ships had made this trip before, and many more would in the future! He could do this; it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility!
The ship lurched to the side as it began to head up. Lee jerked the wheel in the opposite direction, righting its course. It began to veer in the opposite direction, but he was able to keep it from spilling over the edge, if only barely.
But as the ship entered the current, the water’s unusual strength began to buffer the ship back and forth. Lee was hurtled against his will to and fro, his Tsuchinoko’s Leap the only thing keeping him from hurtling overboard.
Soon the ship was veering into the side of the cliff. Lee yanked on the rudder, but the sheer force of the current caused it to snap like a twig! “Shit! If I don’t do something fast, the ship’s gonna fall apart beneath me!”
He dashed to and fro on the ship’s deck, his shichishito batting away the cliff with its indestructible strength. But with every shove, more and more of the ship began to fall apart. First the sides of the ship came off, and the lower deck was flooded with water; then the mast was blown off by the wind. He was so close to making it to the top, but the higher he got the more the ship was destroyed!
The lifeboats! Lee rushed over to where a small lifeboat lay, big enough for the five Cannonball Pirates to rest on should anything happen to their ship. He grabbed a few oars and whatever supplies he could, cutting the line to the lifeboat just as the ship fell apart completely.
Lee was breathing heavily, completely shell-shocked, but as he left the crumbling ship behind, he took a moment to look around at his surroundings… and was astonished by their sheer beauty! He had come up above the clouds, and was now looking out at an ocean of soft, fluffy white air, nothing but clear blue sky above him. He took a moment to stare in awe at the sight... before the current suddenly rushed him back down again, towards the Grand Line.
***
Lee wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed since his descent. All he knew was that when he woke up after slamming his head into the lifeboat, the sun was high in the air, with not a cloud in sight anywhere behind him. Reverse Mountain was far behind him, but it had left him the parting gift of a straight shot through the Grand Line.
He wearily sat up, rubbing his head. His confusion slowly turned to elation as he looked around the clear, glistening sea. He’d done it! He’d made it across the Grand Line! He let out a whoop in jubilation; Viper Lee had just become the first person to make it through Reverse Mountain all on his own!
A thought occurred to him. He rooted around in his pockets for a second, finally pulling out the Log Pose the Colonel had gotten him. Thank goodness, it was unharmed. And it was pointing him dead ahead, towards his first new adventure in the Grand Line!
Lee looked out to the East, thinking of the man he’d left behind there. The Colonel was probably dead, but Lee would never forget him… or the gift he’d given the boy. He would aid the marines in bounty hunts along the Grand Line, all the while getting ever closer to his ultimate goal: defeating the mightiest swordsman in the Grand Line, Hawkeye Mihawk!