**Chapter 66 — "The Goddess, the Storm, and the Mountain Ahead"**
Aqua's POV
Let me paint you a picture, darling. The Going Merry is getting absolutely railed by a storm that looks like Poseidon himself woke up on the wrong side of the bed, chugged a barrel of sake, and decided to take it out on us. Waves the size of Marineford's walls are slamming into the hull like they've got a personal vendetta. The wind? Screaming. The rain? Sideways. Lightning? Flashing so bright it's basically nature's strobe light. And me?
I, Aqua-sama, the ever-glorious, eternally radiant, slightly damp goddess of water, am lounging on a deck chair that Sanji personally reinforced with like, twelve layers of varnish and a prayer. My towel is folded into a perfect swan (his doing). My orange juice has a little umbrella in it (also his doing). And the storm? It parts around me like I'm Moses and the Red Sea just realized who's boss.
Not a single drop touches my divine skin. My hair? Flawless. My nails? Manicured. My vibe? Untouchable.
"Another glass, Sanji~" I purr, twirling my straw like it's a scepter.
He materializes out of the rain like a lovesick ghost, heart-eyes glowing through the downpour, sliding across the deck on his knees because the ship is tilting at a 45-degree angle and he still refuses to spill my drink. "Aqua-swan! Your beauty outshines the lightning! The thunder trembles at your grace! Here—freshly squeezed, with a hint of lime, just how you like it!"
I take it like I'm accepting tribute from a peasant. "Mmm. You may rise."
Behind me, CRACK—BOOM. Zoro gets yeeted into the mast again. His face meets wood with a sound like a coconut hitting concrete. He peels off slowly, swords clattering, and glares at me through the rain like I personally offended his ancestors.
"You could help, you know!" he roars, spitting seawater.
I sip daintily. "Help? Me? Darling, I am the storm. I don't help mortals—I curate their suffering with style."
{Ego}: "And people wonder why you' re called the Useless Goddess."
[System]: "Be nice, {Ego}. She's just... how do I put it-adorably pathetic."
{Ego}: "That's not better."
I flip my hair (it flips back perfectly, because physics fears me) and ignore the peanut gallery in my head. "Aah~ Nothing like a little apocalyptic weather to set the mood for breakfast."
Then—because the universe hates me—my thoughts drift to him.
Sunny.
Specifically, Sunny and Nojiko doing the horizontal tango last night like I wouldn't notice.
I sip my juice so fast I inhale a chunk of pulp and choke. The goddess of water, choking on orange juice. Embarrassing.
"That shameless human," I hiss, and the rain above my head hisses into steam. Literal steam. The clouds part in a perfect circle like they're scared of my wrath. "He didn't even tell me! No divine DM! No 'hey Aqua, cover your ears'! Not even a blush this morning when I stared at him like I was gonna smite his soul!"
I kick my legs dramatically. The deck chair wobbles. Sanji dives to catch it.
"I'll haunt him," I declare. "I'll put seashells in his boots. I'll replace his shampoo with squid ink. I'll—"
{Ego}: "Plot revenge while sitting down. Classic Aqua."
[System]: "He didn't tell you because you'd drown him in his sleep, sweetie."
I freeze. "...Maybe."
Just as I'm mentally designing a cursed seashell that screams sea shanties at 3 a.m., the storm stops.
Not fades. Not calms. Stops. Like someone hit the mute button on the apocalypse.
The wind dies. The waves flatten. The air gets heavy.
Zoro, mid-swing at a wave that's no longer there, faceplants into the deck. "The hell?"
I blink. The silence is wrong. Behind us, the storm still rages like a toddler mid-tantrum. Ahead? Glass-smooth water. No ripples. No breeze. Not even a fish fart.
My useless goddess brain takes three full seconds to boot up. Then—
"Oh no," I whisper. "This feeling…"
Flashback: Two Years Ago – The Calm Belt BBQ
Sunny drags me by the wrist across a mirror-flat sea that stretches into infinity. The sun's beating down, the air's thick, and I'm whining because my sandals are sinking into the sand of some random island.
"Why are we here again?" I complain, fanning myself with a palm leaf.
He grins—that dark, terrifying, 'I'm about to ruin someone's day' grin that makes even maked gods nervous. "Welcome to the Calm Belt, Aqua. Home of the Sea Kings."
"Eh?! We'll die!"
"Nah. We'll eat."
He says it so casually, like he's picking between chicken or fish for dinner.
"I heard Sea Kings are tasty as hell," he continues, cracking his knuckles. "Grill one up, sell the meat in the Grand Line—500 million, maybe a billion. Easy money."
Then he smiles. And the sea trembles.
Present Day
"OH NO. WE'RE IN THE CALM BELT!" I scream, pointing like I'm in a shounen anime. "SOMEONE WAKE UP THE PSYCHOPATH BEFORE HE—"
---
**Nami's POV – The Compass of Impending Doom**
I'm at the helm, knuckles white on the wheel, when the wind just… vanishes. The sails flop like sad laundry. The compass spins once, twice, then freezes.
"Eh? Why did the storm stop?"
I turn. My stomach drops into my boots.
Behind us: hell unleashed. Ahead: a creepy-ass mirror sea. No waves. No current. No sound.
Usopp's scream from the crow's nest is so high-pitched it could shatter glass. "WE'RE IN THE CALM BELT!!!"
"WHAT?!"
Then—the rumbling.
The water bulges. Massive shadows coil beneath us, longer than battleships, scales glinting like oil slicks.
Zoro draws his swords so fast he nearly takes his own ear off. "Sea Kings…"
One erupts from the depths—its eye alone is the size of the Merry's mainsail. It opens its mouth (rows of teeth like swords) and lifts the entire ship on its head.
The Going Merry tilts at a 60-degree angle. Pots crash in the galley. Lucy slides down the deck screaming, "NOT AGAIN!"
Aqua? Doesn't spill a drop. She's still in her deck chair, now airborne, sipping juice like she's on a carnival ride. "Oh~ it's been a while, my sweet children~"
The Sea King pauses. Its massive yellow eye blinks. Then—bows.
Another surfaces. Then another. Soon, we're surrounded by a dozen Sea Kings, all lowering their heads like they're at church.
Usopp faints. His body slides down the mast and lands in a heap.
Nojiko grabs the railing, jaw dropped. "They're… bowing?"
Lucy, clinging to the mast: "What the actual fuck?!"
Zoro: "This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Kill me now."
The Sea Kings rumble—deep, vibrating tones that somehow translate in my head:
> "Great Goddess Aqua! We live to serve! Command us!"
Aqua stands on the railing, arms outstretched, hair billowing dramatically (even though there's no wind). "WORSHIP ME, MORTALS! BASK IN MY GLORY!"
Sanji collapses to his knees, tears streaming. "I ALWAYS HAVE, AQUA-SWAN!!"
Zoro mutters, "I'm gonna drown her one day. With my bare hands."
The ship is still balanced on a Sea King's head like a circus act. I'm screaming internally.
Then—Sunny stumbles out of the cabin, yawning, hair a mess, shirt half-buttoned. "Why is everyone screaming at—"
He freezes. Blinks at the sea of monsters.
"...What kind of fever dream is this?"
The Sea Kings turn. Lock eyes with him.
And lose their shit.
They scream. Roars of pure panic. One dives so fast it creates a whirlpool. Another thrashes, sending a tidal wave over the deck.
"IT'S HIM!" one bellows in monster-speak. "THE BLUE-EYED FREAK!"
"RUN!"
"HE ATE MY COUSIN!"
Sunny sighs, scratching his head. "Hunted a few. Maybe five. Or twenty. Hard to keep track."
Aqua gasps, hand to her chest. "YOU'RE THE BLUE-EYED FREAK?!"
He shrugs. "They started it. One tried to eat my boat. I ate him. Fair's fair."
{Ego}: "Ah yes, the 'they started it' defense. Classic protagonist logic."
[System]: "He's so cute when he' s terrifying, isn't he? I could just-lock him away forever."
{Ego}: "Okay, that's the yandere part talking."
[System]: "I call it devotion."
The Sea Kings vanish in seconds, leaving the Merry to crash back into the water. Everyone's soaked. Usopp's still unconscious. Sanji's praising Aqua like she parted the Red Sea.
Aqua holds up her glass—still full, still perfect. "Told you. Divine intervention."
Zoro: "I'm gonna drown both of them."
---
**Sunny's POV – The Grand Line Beckons**
"Whew," I mutter, wringing seawater from my shirt. "That was a wake-up call."
Lucy, coughing up seawater: "You sure know how to make an entrance, Love."
Nami facepalms so hard she leaves a mark. "Entrance?! We almost became Sea King sushi!"
Aqua plops back into her deck chair (which somehow survived). "Please. My children would never. They're just… dramatic."
Usopp, waking up: "YOUR CHILDREN TRIED TO EAT THE SHIP!"
Aqua shrugs. "Parenting is hard. They're teenagers."
The sky shifts then—storm clouds peeling back like theater curtains, revealing a golden dawn. The sea ahead tilts upward.
Reverse Mountain.
It rises like a wall of water and stone, splitting the ocean in half. The current surges, pulling us in.
Aqua gasps. "That's—"
"—the gate," I finish, grinning. "Grand Line, baby."
The air crackles with energy. The Merry lurches, sails snapping taut as the impossible current grabs us.
Zoro grins like a maniac. "Finally. A real fight."
Sanji ties down ropes, shouting, "Hold steady, everyone! Lunch will be late!"
Nojiko and Nami wrestle the sails, hair whipping in the wind. Lucy's eyes shine like stars. "LET'S GO!!!"
Usopp's already crying. "WE'RE GONNA DIE! AGAIN!"
Aqua—still in her deck chair—screams, but it's pure joy. "THIS IS BETTER THAN A WATER PARK!!!"
I laugh, heart pounding, and grab the helm with Nami. "Hold on tight, crew!"
The Merry soars. Water roars around us, spray exploding in rainbows. The mountain looms, the current a beast of its own.
We crest the peak—sunlight blinding, wind howling, the Grand Line sprawling below like a promise and a threat.
{Ego}: "And thus, our idiots enter hell. Place bets on who dies first."
[System]: "None. Not while he's here." Her voice softens, warm and possessive. "You'll keep them safe, won't you, darling?"
I whisper to the wind, "Always."
And as the Going Merry plunges down the other side, crew screaming in unison—
"GRAND LINE, HERE WE COME!!!"