#reverse mountain arc

into the Grand Line and encountering Laboon

we start first at the Reverse Mountain Arc, where our heroes passes the Red Line and into the Grand Line. Ichiji is very excited and unfortunately, gets a massive panic-induced anxiety attack.

i mean, come on. first, they nearly crash into the mountain when they're riding on the stream up the mountain, then they almost crashed into a giant whale and then, they get EATEN by the same whale

Ichiji stays with his crew while Luffy got (briefly) seperated from them. Ichiji is very confused about how they ended up in a resort (?) inside the whale and meets the strange old man, Crocus.

compared to the rest, Ichiji appreciates Crocus' sense of humor and finds him very humorous.

Ichiji is very touched by the story of Laboon and the pirates he's waiting for. like Sanji, he's realistic about the possible theory that the pirates might be dead.

he is, just like the others, very agitated and panics when Luffy decides to fight Laboon...and in his weird way, makes a promise to return.

log poses and two weirdos

after they gets to the surface, Nami notices that the two weirdos who tried to kill Laboon, Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday, are missing. Ichiji coldly says that he doesn't care what happened to them and they could get eaten by giant sea squids. Nami gives him a slap on the head for his tactless remark while Sanji laments to her that his older brother is a little petty and holds onto grudges too easily.

Ichiji is concerned when Nami panics about her compass malfunctioning when she draws plans for their Grand Line journey. when they got the explanation about log poses, the magnetism in the Grand Line, Ichiji remarks that he forgot something and pulls up a small leather book.

Sanji recognizes it and yells at him why he has it. Ichiji, with a small smirk, tells them that Zeff gave him his old logbook, which contains his detailed journey in the Grand Line. Sanji seethes a little, obviously jealous that Zeff trusted Ichiji with his prized logbook.

Ichiji instead asks Crocus if log poses was common to buy in the Grand Line and gets the bad news that they would be, unfortunately, stuck at Twin Capes since they can't travel without a log pose. then Luffy reveals having a log pose, the very one Mr.9 dropped.

Luffy and Sanji ends up accidently breaking it, though, and Ichiji takes this as a sign to return to the ship, not in the mood of dealing with his little brother and his silly romance antics.

later, then they're approached by Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday and being asked to travel to Whiskey Peak, Ichiji is against it since he doesn't trust people who just tried to kill their whale friend. his vote is vetoed, since Luffy decides to go to Whiskey Peak anyways and captain's word is law.

the straw hats, along with their new guests, sets sail for Whiskey Peak and Ichiji briefly wonders if their new destination has their namesake drink. Usopp wonders why, which Ichiji reveals it's his favorite drink.

Whiskey Peak, a town that welcomes pirates?

upon docking by Whiskey Peak, where they're greeted by a large crowd that seems to adore and welcome pirates, Ichiji is suspicious. he's grown up with a lot of pirate tales from the Baratie and he knows that people welcoming pirates is very rare.

he's visibly annoyed when Usopp, Luffy and Sanji instantly falls for the welcome. during the party in a tavern, Nami is easily lured into a drinking game for some prize money. Ichiji and Zoro bonds a little over their suspicions, being the only ones with rational mindsets. Zoro reveals to Ichiji, being on his 12th drink, that he actually likes Sanji but gets annoyed with his constant womanizing. he also tells that he finds a good friend in Ichiji. the latter appreciates his honesty.

Ichiji, still being suspicious of the overly warm welcome by the town, cooks up a plan in his head. he puts on an act and feigns a migraine, asking the "mayor" if there's a quiet place he can sleep. Ichiji "sleeps" in a smaller room, but takes his chance to quickly make a decoy doll (made up from sacks of potatoes ) and hides it under the bed he's borrowing. when he's being checked on, Ichiji is lying on the bed and pretends to sleep.

while his crew has seemingly collapsed by exhaustion, Ichiji takes his chance to place the decoy on the bed and sneak outside onto the rooftops to investigate his surroundings. he overhears the exchange between Zoro and the "townspeople" and realizes that they're in a bounty hunters' nest. he hides inside an empty house and as soon as a bounty hunter runs past, he ambushes him and steals the clothes and weapons, successfully infiltrating the bounty hunters.

revealing princess Vivi and fighting Mr.5 and Miss Valentine

Ichiji sneaks around and evades Zoro, deciding against joining the fight. he knows about Baroque Works and which high-ranking agents are here, but he feels that he's missing an important piece of the puzzle. he also puts his faith in Zoro and decides that his friend got this covered.

we find out that Ichiji has enhances senses, which is proven when he hears the entire reveal of Miss Wednesday's identity; princess Vivi of Alabasta and that the boss of Baroque Works, Mr.0, has ordered her eliminated.

he makes the decision to join the fight, but using the element of surprise to his advantage. when Vivi is cornered by Mr.5 and Miss Valentine, he surprises them by putting a bullet into one of Mr.5's hands.

Ichiji, standing on a high building, takes off a cowboy's hat and it landes by the agents' feet. he lets himself being revealed in the moonlight, introducing himself as Scarlet Ichiji of the Straw Hat Pirates and mocks Baroque Works at the same time.

"Oh, I thought I sensed a foul stence around here. I understand that your highly esteemed boss, Mr.0, sent you two here to this backwater island, just because he felt threatened by a princess finding out his dirty little secrets? How embarrassing. Mr.5 and Miss Valentine, how about you'll return to your boss with the shameful message that Scarlet Ichiji of the Straw Hat Pirates defeated you?"

Zoro, who just intercepted an "explosive booger" from Mr.5, smirks and remarks that now it's a fair fight, obviously happy that Ichiji is here and he made a badass entrance.

Luffy vs. Zoro and escaping Whiskey Peak

Zoro and Ichiji works together to fight their opponents, but they don't get very far when Luffy catches up to them and starts to fight Zoro, due to a misunderstanding

Ichiji is very annoyed by this and he now defends Vivi on his own, fighting Miss Valentine and Mr.5. the latter is still very furious at Ichiji for taking out one of his hands and Ichiji finds Miss Valentine extremely annoying, as her haughty laughter starts to trigger his temper.

the agents gets quickly taken down when Zoro and Luffy are irritated by their interference. Ichiji stays out of their fight and ensures that Vivi is safe. Luffy and Zoro are taken down by a pissed off Nami.

the four straw hats gets a fully explanation from Vivi regarding the state of Alabasta, the civil war, who pulls on the strings and the accidental reveal of the Mr.0; Crocodile, one of the seven warlords

Ichiji remarks that's he couldn't be less surprised about Luffy and Zoro's excited reactions and Nami's despair. things gets worse when the Unluckies discovers them and marks them as wanted. Ichiji takes this as a sign that they have no choice than to deliver Vivi to Alabasta and fight Crocodile.

Nami is especially upset at his lack of reaction and resigning himself to his fate. Ichiji simply smiles at her and tells her that a long time ago, he made a vow to never turn away anyone asking for help.

Igaram, formerly known as Mr.8 and the captain of the guard of Alabasta, plans a decoy to allow the straw hats to safely escape Whiskey Peak and deliver Vivi to Alabasta. Ichiji remarks that a decoy was risky, but he understands the importance of the mission. however, it goes horribly wrong when Igaram's ship is attacked and seemingly dies. the straw hats decides to take the chance to escape now.

Luffy fetches Sanji and Usopp and they all boards the Merry. Sanji and Usopp, being out of the loop, complains and Nami "sets them right".

Miss All Sunday and heading to Alabasta

not long after they've escaped and after both Sanji and Usopp got everything explaineed, they're unnerved by the surprise entrance of Mr.0's partner; Miss All Sunday (aka Nico Robin)

everyone aims their weapons at her, deeming her as a threat to Vivi. Ichiji, in a surprising twist, doesn't gear up for a fight. instead, he looks up at her with folded arms.

Miss All Sunday neutralizes them quicker than they can see. but she takes the chance to look down at Ichiji and asks why he wasn't prepared to attack unlike his captain and crew mates.

"Because you have something to say. Considering that you are partner to Mr.0, you could've had us killed before speaking up. My theory is that you're here for a reason."

the rest of the straw hats are surprised how quickly Ichiji figured it out. Sanji remarks in his mind that Ichiji is the brains between them; the strategist, always trying to figure out the big picture.

Miss All Sunday seems to be interested in Ichiji, both of them having a brief staring match (first Ichiji/Robin moment!) before she offers them an eternal pose that leads to a different, faster route to Alabasta or they take the longer route, where they might be attacked by more agents and reveals they'll head towards a place called Little Garden.

Luffy takes the decision in his head, though and crushes the eternal pose, saying that she doesn't make the decisions on his ship. Miss All Sunday takes her leave in a rather amiable way, saying that they'll meet again.

soon after she's left, Ichiji remarks "what a strange lady", vaguely impressed that she managed to get on their ship undetected. Sanji, swooning over the woman, asks if Ichiji agrees that Miss All Sunday might be a "mellorine" like Nami and Vivi. Ichiji only says a flat "no" before stalking off to the galley.

he opens up a large book with blank pages and starts to write about their recent adventure in Whiskey Peak, taking his duties as the archivist seriously.

(end. part 5)

You have thoughtful and kind Sanji, who is willing to give the benefit of the doubt to a sea monster...

Vivi!

As always, I find myself wondering about how far in advance things were planned.