A while later, your ship returned on its course toward Sabaody Archipelago. Keimi and Hatchin explained the only way for your crew to reach Fishman Island, the answer was there. And as you approached the island, you had...an uneasy feeling about this.
"Woah. There's flying things around here" said Sanji, watching the bubbles of soap.
"It's like a fantasy" smiled Robin.
"The trees are so big..." you mumbled, looking at the nature in amazement. "There are bubbles flying everywhere, too"
"What's it all about though? They're floating from the ground to the sky" said Usopp, turning to Keimi.
"They're emitted by the island" the mermaid answered.
"Emitted? You mean..."
"Really? Why?" asked Luffy, running all around the Sunny in excitation.
"May I ask a question. Sorry to interrupt, but is the Log Pose all right?" said Robin, turning to Nami who let out a noise of recognition, checking her wrist.
"It's pointing toward Fishman Island now, but...Hey, this island won't overwrite the Log Pose, will it?"
"No need to worry about that" answered Hachi. "The Sabaody Archipelago is really a bunch of trees. It has no magnetic force"
"So these aren't islands, then?" wondered the cooker.
"Well, have you heard of trees called 'mangroves'?"
"The kind that expose and cover their roots depending on the tides?"
"That's right" nodded Hachi. "Though, on this island, their roots are exposed all the time. The Sabaody Archipelago is home to the world's biggest mangroves, the Hustle Muscle Mangroves"
"Hustle Muscle Mangroves? Sounds like they've got a lot of hustle!" chuckled Luffy. "I do too!"
"There are a total of 79 trees. Each one is an island with its own towns and facilities. They are collectively called the Sabaody Archipelago" continued to explain Hachi.
"Huh? There are numbers written on the trees" saw Chopper above Brook's afro.
"Yes, each of them is marked with a number. The one straight ahead, Grove #44, is the commercial entrance, so let's dock the ship a bit further in"
"Oh. Maybe you won't get lost this time, probably, Grassy" you smirked at Zoro who gritted his teeth in anger.
"Why don't you shut up, bitch?"
The Thousand Sunny finally docked at Grove #41. Luffy was the first one to jump on land, looking even more excited than before. A child at Christmas.
"Okay, everyone, remember the number of this island!" Hachi turned to all of you. "As I said before, all the islands are connected by bridges, so if you remember the number, you won't get lost"
"I know someone who'd still get lost" muttered Usopp and Chopper nodded his head.
"Huh? What?" asked sleepily Zoro and the two sighed in exasperation. "WHAT?!"
You walked behind Luffy and let out a small squeak when a bubble appeared under you. Your captain gushed at the sight, staring at the said bubble.
"It popped out of the ground! Cool!" said Luffy before jumping on, balancing himself on the bubble. "Look, (y/n)! I'm on"
"Now, just take some height and then we will hope the bubble pop so you will fall to your death..." you smirked, causing Usopp and Chopper to glare at you in disbelief. "Haha. I made a joke"
"SHE LAUGHED WITH A STRAIGHT FACE!" shouted in shock the reindeer.
"IT ISN'T A JOKE" cried out the sniper next to him.
You realized that Luffy was nowhere to be seen, and you grew worried. Not for his well-being, you clearly didn't care about that. No, YOUR own well-being you were worried about. And your fears confirmed themselves when you heard a scream above your head, signaling that your captain's bubble blew up.
"(YYYYYYYYYYYY/NNNNNNNNNNN)" yelled Luffy.
"Not again-KYA!" you cried out cutely when he crashed on you.
"C-cute" said in unison Usopp and Chopper, blushing brightly.
"Hehe! Sorry, (y/n)! You're comfy, though..." laughed heartily Luffy.
You rolled your eyes and punched your captain to the face, sending him into one of the trees.
"By the way, Hachi, what did we come to this island for?" demanded Nami to the fishman. "You said something about a coating for the ship earlier"
"Right. We'll go see a coating craftsman and have your ship coated in resin. In simple terms, that'll allow your ship to go underwater" said Hachi.
"For real?" asked in disbelief Franky.
"That's the only way you humans can get to Fishman Island. But if you get an unskilled coating craftsman, the ship and its passengers will be crushed underwater, and that's the end...I know just one that you can trust, so I'll take you to him"
