Morning arrived on Jaya Island.
Luffy woke from his sleep.
"Ahhh! That was a great sleep!"
He stretched and walked out of the room.
"Luffy, you're finally awake," Nami said with her hands on her hips.
"I thought you'd sleep until noon. In that case we wouldn't have to go to that so-called Sky Island at all."
"Hurry up," Zoro said. "We're about to set sail."
Luffy walked toward the Going rry.
"Whoa! The rry looks like this now?! That's aweso!"
The once sheep-shaped ship had been modified—
Now it looked like a giant rooster.
"This is the Going rry's flight equipnt," Usopp said proudly, pointing to the massive "chicken wings."
"Honestly, I think we should've made it look like a pigeon," Zoro comnted.
"Pigeons can at least fly better than chickens."
"Why are we even discussing that?!" Nami shouted.
"Alright! We're heading out, everyone!" Luffy yelled excitedly.
"Are you all ready?!"
"We've been waiting for you," Sanji said calmly.
Luffy turned toward Cricket and the others.
"Thanks for everything, old man! And you too—Masira, Shoujou… thank you so much!"
Cricket suppressed his reluctance.
"Alright… ti for you to go."
"Masira and Shoujou will escort you."
"Get on board first!" Shoujou said.
"Stay close to us," Masira added. "We'll guide you."
The Straw Hat Crew boarded the Going rry.
Cricket suddenly roared:
"Saru Mountain Alliance! Stay alert!"
"Even if the sky falls, you must escort them safely!"
"OOOH!!!" the crew shouted in response.
The anchors were raised.
The ship slowly turned and began sailing away.
Cricket watched Luffy standing at the stern.
"Kid… this is where we say goodbye."
"But rember one thing."
"No one has ever proven that the Golden Bell or Skypiea exists."
"But no one has ever proven they don't exist either."
"So people may laugh and say this is just nonsense."
"So what if it is?"
"That's the romance of n!"
"ROMANCE!!!" Luffy shouted.
Then he suddenly asked:
"But why are you so sure the Golden Bell is under the sea and not in the sky?"
Cricket froze.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because both the City of Gold and Sky Island are legends, right?" Luffy said with a smile under his straw hat.
"I see…"
Cricket looked at him intensely.
"Then please… go prove it for ."
"If the bell is in the sky…"
"Ring it."
"Let hear it!"
"We will!" Luffy shouted, raising both fists.
anwhile—
The Blackbeard Pirates sailed nearby.
Or rather… drifted on a raft.
"Ah! It's already morning!" Teach said.
"See anything?"
"Nope," Jesus Burgess replied, holding binoculars.
"I don't even see a ship."
"Zehahaha! You didn't find them—but I did!" Teach laughed.
"Though he probably noticed too."
"So they're really going to Sky Island?" Burgess asked.
"Zehahaha! I'm not entirely sure."
"But soone with that kind of spirit…"
"If he says he's going, then he'll definitely go."
Teach grinned.
"We need to intercept him halfway."
"If he reaches Sky Island, things will get troubleso."
"So Sky Island really exists?" Van Augur asked.
"Of course it does," Teach laughed.
"But more importantly…"
"We need to take that kid's head."
"That's a 300 million Berry bounty!"
"If we bring that in…"
"The position of Seven Warlord of the Sea will be mine!"
"Blackbeard Pirates—forward!"
Doc Q and Burgess began rowing harder, and the raft sped up.
On the Going rry—
A flash of red passed through Luffy's eyes.
Then he began playing with the South Bird.
"Look at this!"
Luffy turned the bird's beak east.
But once he released it—
The beak instantly pointed south again.
"That's amazing! It's just like a compass!"
"Jiu! Jiu! Jiu!"
"Chopper, what's it saying?" Usopp asked.
Chopper listened carefully.
"It's saying: 'Even if I try to fly sowhere else, I'll feel terrible.'"
Luffy forced the bird to face north.
The bird began sweating heavily.
Less than thirty seconds later—
Its beak snapped back to the south.
"Hahaha!" Luffy laughed so hard he rolled on the deck.
"So this guy literally can't stop facing south!"
At that mont—
The sky darkened.
Massive clouds gathered.
"The Cumulonimbus Clouds appeared earlier than expected!" Shoujou shouted nervously.
"Masira, can you handle this?!"
"Deploy the Undersea Scouts!"
Masira gave the order.
Small monkeys leaped into the sea.
Then Masira grabbed a microphone and roared.
Sound waves spread across the ocean.
anwhile, Luffy lay casually on the rry's figurehead.
A faint red glow flickered in his eyes.
Found it…
But forget it.
Monts later—
Reports began coming in.
"Echo scan confirms a massive current at 12 o'clock!"
"Large creature detected at 9 o'clock—likely a Sea King!"
"Abnormal waves at 10 o'clock—possibly a giant whirlpool!"
One by one, the monkeys surfaced to report.
"That's it!" Shoujou shouted.
"Turn the rudder to 10 o'clock!"
"That whirlpool is the precursor to the Knock Up Stream!"
The sea began to tremble.
The ships rose and fell violently.
"The sea level is rising!"
"Careful!"
"This is a pre-eruption earthquake!"
The ships rocked wildly.
"Brother," Shoujou said excitedly.
"This eruption is definitely happening!"
"The scale is huge," Masira added.
"All the conditions are perfect!"
"Let the whirlpool carry you!" Shoujou shouted to the Straw Hats.
"As long as you don't fight the current, it'll take you to the center!"
Soon—
A massive whirlpool ford in the middle of the sea.
On Jaya Island—
Cricket smoked quietly, staring into the distance.
"You idiots…"
"Risking your lives for dreams."
"I've never t fools like you before."
The Going rry spiraled into the whirlpool.
"We're going to be swallowed!" Usopp scread.
"I've never seen a whirlpool this huge!" Nami shouted.
" neither," Robin said calmly, though surprised.
"I don't want to go to Sky Island anymore! I want to go back!" Usopp cried.
"Too late," Zoro said calmly.
"Charge forward, rry!!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"Alright, brothers!" Masira roared.
"From here on out—you're on your own!"
"Thanks!" Luffy shouted with a wide grin.
"Luffy! Maybe we shouldn't go!" Usopp panicked.
"This whirlpool will sink us!"
"Sky Island is just a fantasy!"
Luffy looked at him.
"Usopp."
"I don't know whether Sky Island is real or not."
"But if we don't go…"
"We'll regret it for the rest of our lives."
The ship spun toward the center of the whirlpool.
Suddenly—
The whirlpool disappeared.
"What?! The whirlpool vanished!" Zoro exclaid.
"No…" Nami realized.
"The seabed is about to erupt!"
Bubbles burst violently beneath the ship.
Just then—
A raft appeared.
"Stop right there!"
"Ah… so you did co," Luffy said calmly.
"Zehahaha!"
"I finally caught you, Straw Hat Luffy!"
It was Marshall D. Teach.
"Who's that?" Nami asked.
"He's the one who destroyed Mock Town," Zoro said grimly, placing his hand on his sword.
Everyone froze.
"Kid," Teach grinned.
"I'm here to claim your 300 million Berry head."
"300 million?" Luffy blinked.
"Wasn't it 100 million?"
"You didn't know?" Teach laughed.
He held up two bounty posters.
"Your bounty is 300 million Berries now!"
"Wow! It's real!" Usopp shouted through binoculars.
"Zoro! You're a wanted man too!"
"Wait—what about ?!" Sanji panicked.
"…No poster."
"Look again!"
"Still none."
"That's because of Alabasta," Nami said in shock.
"It jumped straight to 300 million!"
"Only 60 million?" Zoro scoffed.
"That's not enough."
"Everyone!" Luffy shouted suddenly.
"The Knock Up Stream is about to start!"
"Hold on tight!"
At that mont—
The ocean exploded.
A colossal pillar of water shot from the sea floor straight into the sky.
A miracle of nature—
The Knock Up Stream.
"What the hell is this?!" Teach shouted.
The next second—
The Blackbeard Pirates' raft shattered.
Everyone fell into the sea.
The Blackbeard Pirates experienced their first total wipeout.
anwhile—
The Going rry rode the upward blast of wind and water.
Straight toward the sky.
"Nami! It's okay now!"
Luffy looked helplessly at Nami, who was clinging tightly to him.
Her orange hair fluttered in the wind.
Her frightened yet beautiful face pressed against his chest.
"NAMI-SWAAAN!!!" Sanji scread in heartbreak.
anwhile—
Nami felt as if she were in a gentle dream.
All her fear faded away.
If only ti could stop…
"Uh… Nami…"
"If you don't let go soon…"
"We're going to fall."
"Oh!"
Nami jumped back, blushing.
"Don't worry!" she said confidently.
"This isn't just water!"
"This is a Knock Up Stream!"
"The upward wind is created by geothermal heat and steam exploding from the seabed!"
"As long as there's wind and sea—"
"There's a way to sail it!"
"I'm the navigator of this ship!"
"Everyone! Follow my orders!"
"Yes, Nami-swan!" Sanji shouted.
"Aye!" the crew replied.
"Right-side wind!"
"Turn the rudder left!"
"Match the ship with the current!"
"Understood!"
"The ship's leaving the water!" Chopper panicked.
"It's fine!" Nami said firmly.
Little by little—
The ship lifted off the ocean.
Not falling—
But rising.
Higher and higher.
"We're flying!!"
"Our ship is flying into the sky!"
"No way…!"
Far away on Jaya—
Cricket looked up at the sky.
"Go…"
"Fly toward the end of your dreams."
"Go!"
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