ONE PIECE: WORTHLESS PROGRESSION

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"CENTER THE SHIP INTO THE PATHWAY!" Dragon's voice boomed over the deck. The man himself stood at the edge of the deck like a statue carved from stone, utterly unmoved by the howling winds or by the heavy waves.

But the ship wasn't having any of it.

As it was pulled faster and faster into the swirling madness, the vessel began to tilt off-course. Its bow veered dangerously toward the jagged rocks lining the pathway.

"WE'RE GONNA CRASH!" Toshi screamed, his voice cracking. ' I didn't know I was gonna die like this! I'm still a virgin! ' The thought flashed through his mind, and if the situation weren't so bad, he might've been more embarrassed about it.

Dragon, however, didn't flinch.

A subtle smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he bent his knees slightly, lowering his center of gravity. His sleeves slid up, exposing forearms that looked like they could snap an anchor chain in half.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Dragon bellowed, his voice echoing against the roaring storm as his struggle became evident. His arms trembled, the veins on his forearms bulging. Then the air around the ship seemed to shift unnaturally, pushing in one unified direction.

 The ship groaned and creaked as it began to realign, narrowly missing the jagged rocks that came eerily close. The hull scraped against the stone frame with a screech, splinters flying as the edge of the ship was shaved off.

Then, everything changed. The ship was yanked upward with a force that made Toshi's stomach felt like it was left behind on the bottom of the river. The current had them now, dragging them skyward.

Toshi clung to the railing for dear life, his fingers aching from the strain. He flailed in the wind like a flag caught in a hurricane, his raincoat doing little more than whipping against him as the rain lashed his face. "OH, COME ON!" he shouted, though the storm swallowed his voice.

The ship flew into the thick clouds, with the world around him turning white and blank. "Shit… Shit! SHIT!" Toshi's voice cracked as he screamed, his grip on the railing slipping inch by inch.

He could feel his fingers giving out, and the image of him falling down the side of the Red Line was now an all too real possibility. He clung desperately, with his teeth gritted and his heart pounding as if it was going to leap out of his chest.. If he let go for even a fraction of a second, he was done for.

"I'm not gonna make it," he struggled. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the inevitable.

Then, just as he thought his arms would give out completely, a glow pierced through the fog above him. At first, it was faint—a faint shimmer, barely visible through the clouds. But it grew brighter as the ship kept sailing upwards.

"What the—" Toshi's eyes snapped open, squinting at the light. The fog began to thin, swirling like a curtain being pulled aside. And then, all at once, the ship burst through the cloud into a breathtakingly clear sky.

The storm was gone. The world above was impossibly huge, with endless blue stretching as far as the eye could see. "Woahhh!" he blurted, his voice breaking with the kind of awe only a kid could muster.

Everything around him felt like a dream...The sun casting a golden glow that made the whole scene feel impossibly serene. With the clear blue sky, with the occasionally clouds flying by. It was breathtaking, like something out of a storybook. For a moment, he could've sworn he'd stumbled into heaven.

But then his gaze drifted downward, and his heart dropped. Below him, what should've been solid ground was instead a dense blanket of clouds. His stomach twisted uneasily, a faint tingling creeping through him as the realization set in. He was on a ship suspended mid air...that was about to fall.

That's when he felt it. The ship tilted, just slightly at first, and then began to drop. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, it was sinking into the sea of clouds.

And then it happened again. The ship jolted, harder this time, and Toshi felt his stomach drop. The speed was picking up fast now, the air rushing past him in a cold, biting wind.

They were falling. Thousands of meters separated them from whatever was below the clouds. The once-beautiful sky was now a blur as the ship plunged downward. Toshi gripped the railing tighter, his heart pounding in his chest.

The clouds below were getting closer, rushing up to meet them. There was no stopping it...They were going to die!

Toshi flailed helplessly in the air as the ship fell, as the ship dove through the dense, misty clouds. The cold rush of wind and rain blasted against his face, soaking him even more thoroughly than before.

Before he could even process what was happening, the clouds thinned. A clearing opened up before him, and for a moment, he was left breathless.

The Grand Line...

Just at the base of the towering cliff ahead, Toshi caught sight of an old lighthouse. But something was wrong. The light from the lighthouse was gone. The tower stood eerily still, abandoned...or maybe the person meant to keep it lit wasn't doing their job properly.

"Whoa..." Toshi managed to whisper.

Then reality came crashing back...literally.

The ship slammed into the water with a giant *splash*, jolting violently as it made contact. Toshi's moment of wonder turned into sheer panic as he plummeted like a sack of potatoes, landing face-first on the deck with a solid THUD!

"ANCHOR AT THE LIGHTHOUSE!" Dragon's voice boomed across the ship. The ship creaked and groaned as it drew up alongside the lighthouse, anchoring just beside the massive red cliffs of the Red Line.

Toshi let out a long breath, still sprawled out on the deck. Relief washed over him as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. His limbs felt like jelly, but at least they were still attached.

"Finally," he muttered, brushing his damp hair out of his face. "That was way too much for one day. " Toshi admitted, it was like riding a roller coaster at Six Flags on tren... and steroids.

Just as he was starting to shake off the last bit of his dizziness, the door leading to the lower deck slammed open. Troy strolled out casually, followed by the others, their clothes completely dry and not a single hair out of place. The others seemed more focused on the state of the ship than on Toshi, with only Troy making his way over to him.

Toshi glared at him, water dripping from his hair and pooling on the deck beneath him. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Troy leaned against the railing, a smug grin plastered across his face. "What's the matter, Toshi? Didn't enjoy the ride?"

"Oh, I enjoyed it, alright," Toshi shot back, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "While you were all chilling in the lounge room, I was out here holding on for dear life."

Troy snorted. "Hey, don't blame us for your life choices. You could've came down, you know."

"Yeah, well, nobody told me we were about to go up a literal mountain and fall thousands of feet in the air! " Toshi muttered, rubbing the growing bump on his forehead.

Troy chuckled, crossing his arms. "Look on the bright side—at least you're still alive." He flashed another grin, not even bothering to hide his amusement.

Toshi groaned, throwing his hands up. "Whatever..."

Before Troy could fire off another word, Dragon's voice rang out from up ahead on the deck. "Enough squabbling. Get ready to move. We're docking here until the storm passes and we repair the ship."

Toshi sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. "Great. More work."

Troy smirked as he walked past, patting Toshi on the shoulder just hard enough to send a small splash of water from Toshi's soaked shirt. "Cheer up, man. Could've been worse."

Toshi gave a subtle nod, deciding not to say anything further. He got off the ship, his boots landing on the reddish, uneven ground. His gaze shifted to the towering lighthouse, its weathered walls streaked with salt and age, standing the cliff of the Grand Line.

"Why am I the only one who ever looks like they've been through hell around here?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. Scratching the back of his head, he took a moment to gather his thoughts. With a slight shrug, he made up his mind. ' Guess I'll check out the lighthouse, then. '

"Oi! Wait up, Toshi!"

The voice startled Toshi, freezing him mid-step as he was about to head off toward the lighthouse. He turned, glancing over his shoulder to see Sogeki hanging off the ship's railing, a half-empty bottle of booze swinging lazily in his hand.

"What?" Toshi asked, raising a brow. "I'm just going to the lighthouse... there might be supplies or tools there."

Sogeki tilted his head, his face scrunching in exaggerated thought. He tapped his chin with one finger while swaying slightly, clearly more focused on his bottle than the conversation. "Hmmm… supplies, you say? Tools, huh? Or maybe you're just trying to avoid getting dragged into more ship repairs."

Toshi sighed, folding his arms. "If you're coming to nag me, save it."

Sogeki grinned, taking a swig of his booze. "Nah, just making sure you don't stumble into some weird Grand Line death trap on your own, rookie. Someone's gotta keep an eye on you."

"It's just a lighthouse. " Toshi replied bluntly, but Sogeki was already hopping down from the ship with surprising ease, landing with a wobble that somehow didn't result in him falling flat.

"Relax, kid," Sogeki said, slinging an arm over Toshi's shoulder. "Let's check out this lighthouse together. Worst case? We find nothing. Best case? We find booze. Middle case? We don't die."

Toshi groaned but didn't push him off. "Fine. But if you start singing or fall into the ocean, I'm not saving you."

"Noted," Sogeki replied with a lopsided grin, waving his bottle in a mock toast. "Lead the way, fearless leader."

Muttering something under his breath about regretting every life choice that had brought him here, Toshi turned back toward the lighthouse.

"I'm running out of booze! I'm starting to sober up," Sogeki sighed, his voice heavy with exaggerated despair.

Toshi shot him a blank stare. ' After all this time...he's just now running out of booze? ' He couldn't help but wonder. ' How much does this guy have on him? ' Curiosity wasn't exactly eating at him, but now it was hard not to think about it.

Sogeki continued to mumble about his impending crisis, but Toshi tuned him out as they approached the lighthouse. His gaze shifted to a set of stairs leading up toward it.

' Was someone here...? ' Toshi thought, narrowing his eyes at the set of cobblestone stairs. ' It's not like stairs just build themselves. '

But he continued and moved forward, preparing himself for the possibility that someone...or something, could be inside. ' And if there is someone, why aren't they doing their job? ' The question lingered uneasily in his mind.

Step by step, he climbed the stairs, reaching the top, Toshi stopped and took in the sight of the lighthouse before him. It was entirely made of old cobblestone, forming a massive cone shape that loomed against the sky.

But what drew his attention even more was the small house tucked right next to it. The house seemed out of place...modest and inviting compared to the lighthouse, with a wooden door and smoke faintly rising from the chimney.

Toshi froze, his eyes narrowing as he whispered under his breath, "Looks like someone's definitely home..."

Behind him, Sogeki took a swig from his bottle—what little was left—and let out a contented sigh. "Great. Maybe they've got more booze."

Toshi groaned. "Seriously? That's your takeaway from this?"

"Hey," Sogeki said with a shrug, stumbling slightly but recovering, "priorities."

As Sogeki rambled on, the door to the house beside the lighthouse began to open with an agonizing slowness.

CREEAAAK... CREEAK...

The sound of the rusty hinges was almost dragging out like the build-up to some dramatic moment. Both Toshi and Sogeki instinctively turned toward the house, their eyes narrowing with curiosity—or in Sogeki's case, hoping for booze.

Then, stepping out into view, was a man unlike any Toshi had ever seen.

The first thing that stood out was the petals around his head—bright yellow with purple near their base, fanning out like some sort of flower crown. The man was tall and stocky, with a muscular frame that seemed at odds with his bizarre fashion choices. He was bald on top, with a little patch of black hair behind the petals, and a neatly split beard. His lower lip jutted out noticeably, with one lip bigger than the other.

He wore a pink shirt with yellow and green stripes, accented by purple circles in the yellow. Blue-gray shorts hung loosely on his legs, paired with sandals. He had on a seaweed necklace, three gold bracelets, and a green-gem bracelet on his left wrist.

But what truly drew attention was the enormous booze bottle clutched in his hand or well Sogeki's attention.

Toshi just stared at the man, unblinking, as the wind tugged at his damp shirt and tousled his hair. The man stared back, equally intense, his eyes slightly bloodshot and veins visibly threading across them.

The silence stretched on.

And on.

And on.

It grew so thick that Toshi could feel it pressing down on him like an unbearable weight. Was this guy trying to size him up? Intimidate him? Kill him?!

Finally, it was Sogeki who broke the awkward standoff. "Uh… you gonna drink that?" he asked, gesturing toward the oversized bottle of booze like it was the last meal on Earth.

The man blinked, his tense posture relaxing instantly as he let out a long sigh. "Ohhh, I thought you guys were here to kill me."

"What?!" Toshi's voice pitched up as he threw his arms in the air. "Seriously? I thought you were gonna kill me! What the hell was that staring contest about, then?!"

The man shrugged. "I dunno, you looked suspicious. Gave me the vibe. Thought I'd get ahead of things in case you tried something funny."

Toshi felt his eye twitch as his exhaustion crept back. "Suspicious? We just got here, soaked to the bone, and you're the one coming out of a creepy house with a bottle of booze!"

"Fair," the man said, nodding casually. "But you still freaked me out. Glad we cleared that up."

Sogeki, meanwhile, had no time for this conversation. His eyes were glued to the bottle. "So… about the booze?"

"Oh, yeah, take it." The man tossed the massive bottle toward Sogeki with an effortless flick of his wrist. Sogeki caught it with both hands, practically cradling it like a newborn child.

"I'm a doctor. Don't even drink," the man added, waving them off. "This is just for a special occasion."

Toshi blinked at the sheer absurdity of the exchange. "Wait. You're a doctor?!"

"Yeah." The man gestured vaguely at the lighthouse and the small house beside it. "Someone's gotta keep this place running and patch up idiots who crash here. Not saying that's you guys… but if it's you guys, I'm here."

Sogeki didn't even hear him, already unscrewing the bottle. "Special occasion or not, this is my kind of guy."

Toshi dragged a hand down his face, sighing deeply. "This day just keeps getting weirder."

TO BE CONTINUED.

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