Porcelain Cougar[One Piece x Reader]

001:Laboon

(I'm sorry to anyone who wanted the War Island Arc, but I'm a bit lazy and feel like everyone just wants to get to the grind line, so if enough people want me to do this filler Arc then I'll come back and write it. So please comment if you do.)

The Going Merry soared higher, carried by the furious current toward the summit of Reverse Mountain. The winds howled around them, salt spray lashing their faces, but the crew clung to their places with grim determination—or, in some cases, sheer terror.

Angel stood just behind Nami, bracing herself with one hand on the rail, her sharp eyes scanning the mist ahead. Though her posture remained steady, a tense frown tugged at her lips. She could feel it—something huge was waiting for them beyond the crest of the mountain.

"We're almost there!" Nami shouted over the deafening roar, tightening her grip on the stairs handle. The ship creaked and groaned, but it held strong, the Merry climbing the river like the determined mountain goat she was.

"Hold on!" Zoro barked, spotting the summit through the mist. "We're going over!"

Luffy, of course, threw his arms up like he was on the world's wildest rollercoaster. "YEAH!!" he whooped, laughing without a trace of fear.

Sanji grumbled something about idiots under his breath but made sure the knots braced over supplies and food crates, that they were gracefully given from the last island stayed tight—which, they were.

Angel's gaze sharpened suddenly. "Something's wrong," she muttered under her breath, her instincts prickling. It felt like a dagger had slowly been pushed between one of her facet joints, forcing her to stand up straight.

At that moment, a deep, low rumble shuddered through the very air around them. The sea foam ahead burst apart—and a massive dark shape loomed up from the water.

The crew's shouts filled the air.

"What the hell is that?!" Usopp shrieked, his hands clamping around the mast as if it were a lifeline.

"It's huge!" Nami gasped, her knuckles whitening on the railing.

Zoro stepped forward instinctively, hand already on one of his swords, his whole body tense. Angel moved up beside him, sharp and ready, her eyes locked on the form emerging from the mist.

The ship crested the final wave, and there it was: a whale. But not just any whale—a gigantic black whale, larger than any creature most of them had ever seen. Its massive body rose up out of the water, covered in old scars and scratches, and it let out a deep, mournful bellow that shook the very air.

Luffy's jaw dropped open, his excitement flaring even higher. "Whoa!! A giant whale!!"

The Going Merry was speeding straight toward the whale's massive head.

"We're going to crush!!" Usopp barked at Nami without thinking, her instincts for survival taking over.

Nami  ran inside trying to twist the whipstaff desperately, almost veering  the ship to the side just enough to avoid a head-on collision—but not enough to escape completely.

BOOM!

A cannonball had been shot at the whale slowing the ships speed down heavily, but not enough to fully stop the ship. Merry's head slammed against the whale's thick hide, breaking off and falling onto the top deck. The crew was thrown off their feet, tumbling across the deck in a heap.

Angel grunted as she hit the railing, grabbing it to stop herself from being tossed into the sea. She heard Luffy laughing somewhere behind her, as if this whole thing was just another game.

"We need a plan before it crushes us!" she snapped, shooting a glare at the grinning captain.

"Maybe it's friendly?" Usopp whimpered from his tangled spot in the rigging. 

Luffy brightened up even more at the thought. "I'll go check!" before slinging himself off the ship.

The whale turned slightly, blocking out the horizon with its sheer size. Its single eye, enormous and sorrowful, stared down at them.

For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Then, with an ear-splitting roar, the whale opened its mouth.

"IT'S GONNA EAT US!!" Usopp screamed, his voice high and shrill.

Angel was already moving, grabbing a rope and tying it around her waist in case she needed to anchor herself. "Brace yourselves!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the rising panic.

The Going Merry was sucked into the whale's mouth, disappearing into the dark.

Inside, the world turned silent—an eerie, muffled quiet that was almost worse than the roar of the storm outside.

The crew lay scattered across the soaked deck, panting and wide-eyed.

"Is everyone okay?!" Nami coughed, staggering to her feet.

Zoro sat up with a grunt, wiping blood from a shallow cut on his temple. "I'm fine."

Angel pulled herself upright slowly, giving a sharp nod. "Still breathing."

Sanji groaned, "I think I landed on my precious face..."

Usopp whimpered, clutching onto the mast again. "This is it... this is how we die... swallowed alive in some fish's belly..."

Angel ran a hand through her rain-soaked hair, her eyes narrowing as she looked around the bright, open space. There was something strange about it... something that didn't feel quite right.

"This doesn't look a stomach," she muttered thoughtfully. "It's... too open sea..."

The others looked around, finally noticing. There was a sky. clouds. An island.

Nami's eyes widened. "Wait... Is that a house inside the whale?!"

Their adventure inside Laboon had only just begun.

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