Raiden Ei, with a fruit in her mouth, withdrew her consciousness from the system panel.
She had seen everything else and there was nothing worth paying attention to; as for the Devil Fruit, she would put it aside for now!
Now she needed to consider heading to the Grand Line.
To reach the Grand Line, she first had to pass through the Reverse Mountain.
She would choose one of the seven sea routes, and then she could enter the Grand Line.
However, once a route was chosen, it could not be changed until she reached the Sabaody Archipelago, where she could choose a route again to enter the New World.
"Hmm, it seems the Sky Island is on the seventh route, so I'll take the seventh route!
If I don't manage to reach Whiskey Peak, I can just return to Reverse Mountain and choose again."
"It's also possible to get to the Grand Line via the Calm Belt, but there are many Sea Kings there, so it's a bit dangerous."
Those weren't the sea beasts she had encountered before, but actual Sea Kings hundreds of meters long, and a whole group of them wandering in the Calm Belt.
It was best not to go there and invite trouble without sufficient strength.
"When my strength is greater in the future, I can go there to grind for experience; I should be able to accumulate energy faster there."
Raiden Ei stood up from the wooden barrel and clapped her hands.
She planned to leave immediately and head straight for Reverse Mountain to avoid further complications; she didn't want to be caught by the Marines again.
She took out the directional measuring tool and the sea chart of Loguetown from the system backpack.
After carefully confirming them, she put them away.
This was the navigation technique she had learned from books; it might be a bit rudimentary, but it was sufficient for her.
"Alright, let's go!"
She recalled the wooden barrel and raft directly into the system backpack, and her figure dropped into the sea.
She planned to swim there; there were definitely warships patrolling the surface, and it wouldn't be good if she was discovered.
Her figure dove into the deep sea and quickly headed in one direction.
She had deviated from the course when she was fleeing previously, so she might be a bit far from there now, and it would take a little longer to reach Reverse Mountain.
As she moved forward, the Current gradually became rapid.
Even without using Geppo, her speed wasn't slow as she was pushed by the Current.
Before long, she saw a wall blocking her path.
Instead of being alarmed, she was delighted; this meant she had reached Reverse Mountain.
She quickly left the Current and used Geppo to swim directly toward the sea surface.
Since she was already near Loguetown, it took her over an hour to reach Reverse Mountain.
During that time, she encountered quite a few sea beasts and beautiful underwater scenery.
With a'splash,' Raiden Ei leaped out of the sea and stood steadily in the air.
She looked up at the Red Line that pierced the clouds.
When she watched the anime before, she had only thought it was tall and magnificent, but now, looking at it, it was more than that; the heavy aura rushing towards her felt oppressive.
Listening to the continuous sound of waves crashing against the Red Line, she mused, "Is this the Red Line that encircles the entire sea?
If I walk around the top, would that count as a trip around the world?"
Raiden Ei used Geppo to run directly toward the summit of the Red Line.
With 'thump, thump, thump,' her figure rapidly ascended.
In just a few minutes, she passed through the clouds and reached the top.
However, the mountaintop was not as flat as she had imagined; it was truly rugged peaks.
Where it entered the clouds, the wind howled fiercely; an ordinary person might not even be able to stand steadily there.
Raiden Ei stood on a huge rock that had been scoured smooth by the fierce wind, listening to the roar of the wind by her ears.
Her clothes were almost dry in an instant.
"Distance really does create beauty.
To travel around the world from here would require very strong power.
If one had such great power, why would they bother coming from here?"
The environment here was still too harsh; she should continue moving forward.
"I wonder if Pirate King Roger's ship doctor is down below; I could ask him which route leads to Whiskey Peak."
Raiden Ei didn't linger there.
She used Geppo and jumped directly off the bottomless cliff opposite, and the rushing airflow swept over her entire figure as she plummeted downward at extreme speed.
"Whoa, this is more thrilling than flying up! We're almost there."
It took several minutes to reach the summit from the other side, but now she reached the sea level in less than 30 seconds.
Raiden Ei quickly used Geppo to slow her descent; otherwise, she might have been smashed to death.
Finally, when she was still dozens of meters above the sea surface, she stopped.
Using Geppo, she walked on the calm sea surface, carefully observing the surroundings.
"Phew, I've finally passed Reverse Mountain and entered the Grand Line.
The Marines shouldn't be able to chase me so easily now, right?
Huh! Why is there another huge mountain over there?"
Raiden Ei suddenly saw a towering mountain abruptly appear on the vast sea.
It was probably too far away, and she couldn't see its specific appearance at all.
She recalled that in One Piece, there was such a huge mountain that was always there.
"Could it be that whale Laboon?
Besides it, there shouldn't be anything else this big, right!"
Raiden Ei was a little uncertain; after all, she hadn't seen such a large creature with her own eyes yet.
She used Geppo to quickly head in that direction; she needed to see what it was with her own eyes.
As she got closer, she saw clearly that it was indeed a whale, standing there motionless like a mountain, with huge eyes open.
As she approached the whale, her figure became as tiny as an ant in front of it.
She used Geppo to fly toward the top of its head and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's really huge!
It's a good thing I didn't come through the Calm Belt to the Grand Line; otherwise, a group of Sea Kings this size would definitely be more troublesome than this."
Raiden Ei arrived on the whale's head and found an old man with half-white hair.
He was holding a bucket filled with green liquid and pouring the liquid onto the whale's bleeding wound.
As soon as Raiden Ei appeared on the whale's head, the old man looked over, his gaze sharp as he stared intently at her figure.
"Hello, old man!
I've just entered the Grand Line.
I saw this mountain-like whale blocking the way, so I came over to take a look."
Raiden Ei descended directly from the air onto the whale's head and greeted the old man without being subservient or overbearing.
Although she remembered who he was, she was unwilling to expose his identity; doing so would only invite trouble.
It was best to treat him as a stranger; not exposing what one sees is also a form of respect for others.
"Hahaha, welcome to the Grand Line.
My name is Crocus, the lighthouse keeper of Twin Capes.
Is there anything I can help you with?"
Crocus saw that Raiden Ei had no ill intentions and put down his work.
He recognized Raiden Ei; she was the headline in today's newspaper for daring to kill a Celestial Dragon and defeating an Admiral.
Being able to reach here while being hunted by the World Government and the Marines meant she certainly wasn't weak.
He was willing to chat with her and help with any reasonable requests.
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