The Wicked Wench had just stopped by Loguetown for the entire day, and even though Jack already knew what would eventually happen in this town in the far future, there was nothing particularly interesting going on at the moment.
The only place that managed to pull his attention for a short while was the shop that sold Zoro the Kitetsu sword.
Even then, Jack understood that he already possessed a weapon far superior to the Kitetsu, and if he truly desired a Kitetsu blade, he would rather take it from the person he disliked the most, which was Nusjuro.
So he simply passed by the famous shop without putting much thought into it.
The group spent their time restocking items, buying supplies, and picking up anything that caught their interest.
Once the entire day of preparation came to an end, the crew boarded the Wicked Wench again. With everything they needed now stored inside the ship, they began their departure toward the Reverse Mountain, ready to start their journey into the Grandline.
Before anyone could settle in, Jack suddenly spoke. He stood in front of them and looked at each member of his crew.
"If any of you are having doubts now, say your concerns out loud. If you want to leave, we can take you back to Loguetown and even give you money so you can return to your homes."
The whole crew exchanged glances among themselves, then looked back at Jack. After a short moment of silence, every member of the pirate crew burst into laughter, loud enough that the whole ship echoed with it. Jack could not help but smile at their reaction.
"Captain, you should have asked that before we spent all that time travelling the seas," B suddenly commented, and the rest of the crew immediately agreed with him.
"Yeah, I already spent a lot of time getting used to sailing here, so do not count me out now," Kuwajima added.
He was the newest addition to the crew and the one who had struggled the most with sea sickness. In his first week on the Wicked Wench, he often vomited from dizziness, so he understood what it meant to go through the adjustment period.
"We are ready to follow you until we reach the end of the sea, Captain," Club said, with Cricket nodding and agreeing right beside him.
"Jack, you have been dreaming about this day since we were little kids. I do not think a single one of us can even imagine leaving you before you start your adventure," Aramaki stated. His tone was more serious than the others.
Aramaki had been with Jack from childhood, and from the moment they became close friends, Jack always talked about wanting to explore the entire sea and become the freest man alive.
Since Jack's family had been persecuted by the World Government, Aramaki had always taken it upon himself to be Jack's support and make sure Jack reached his dream no matter what happened.
Meanwhile, Issho found himself remembering his own unpleasant memories of the Grandline.
Every time his mind returned to those memories, he also remembered the things Jack had done for him and the friendships that had formed.
Because of that, Issho gradually started regretting his own past actions, especially the moment he blinded himself.
He wanted to see Jack's face, yet he had taken that ability away from himself. Still, he stood by them, carrying no doubt about following Jack into the Grandline.
Jack, whose observation haki allowed him to sense their genuine enthusiasm and their true thoughts, could not help but think back to his previous life. In that life, he had spent most of his time alone, living the typical story of an orphan that no one wanted.
One Piece had always been the story that made him feel accompanied and understood. Almost every main character had circumstances that mirrored parts of his life, so he used to fantasize about being in the sea like them.
Now, in this life, Jack genuinely felt like he was living inside One Piece. Despite all the battles he fought, the killings he had done, and the training he endured, this moment of heading into the Grandline carried a deeper meaning.
It was the same starting point that Luffy had in the original story, and just like Luffy, Jack was now surrounded by people who supported him and would not abandon him when faced with danger.
Everything still felt unreal to Jack, as if he were inside a dream he would suddenly wake up from.
He feared that one day he might open his eyes and find himself back in his previous life, alone again.
But every morning he woke up on the Wicked Wench, surrounded by the friends he had made, and the fear slowly weakened.
Maybe the real One Piece genuinely was the friends he made along the way, Jack thought for a moment while looking at the people around him. But in the next second, he corrected himself with a small smirk in his mind.
No, now it was time to go and see the real One Piece. He felt excited thinking of reaching the end of the sea, of making his name echo for generations, and of changing many things in the world that he had disliked when he first read the story.
The Wicked Wench sailed forward with an enthusiasm that did not fade even when they eventually arrived at the bottom of the Reverse Mountain.
"This is it, gentlemen. On the other side of this mountain begins the Grandline. Now let us go and make our name," Jack announced. He shouted with genuine excitement, and the crew responded with cheers of their own while Aramaki began steering the ship.
Jack had given Aramaki a specific command this time. He did not want Aramaki to create the wooden protective dome they usually used when climbing the Reverse Mountain.
Jack wanted to see the full view of the other side before they started falling. Aramaki agreed, and the ship proceeded upward without their usual wooden shell.
After a few minutes of climbing, the crew gathered on the deck and saw that they had reached the top of the Redline.
For a short moment, they simply stood there and took in the view that spread before them, appreciating the beauty of a place they were seeing for the very first time.
Then the Wicked Wench began its descent down the other side. None of the crew panicked. All of them wore relaxed smiles as the ship fell.
A minute later, the Wicked Wench landed safely on the Grandline's sea.
The Log Pose started spinning rapidly before settling and locking onto the direction of the first island they would visit.
"We are in the Grandline," Laffitte said, and the entire crew cheered once more.
They celebrated immediately, choosing to anchor the Wicked Wench and feast together, not caring even a little if a storm approached them.