"Idiot! This isn't a ride!" Zoro had Wado Ichimonji driven deep into the bedrock, and Sanji hooked his legs around a massive boulder, anchoring himself.
Usopp and Chopper clung to each other, their tears streaming in horizontal lines behind them as they fell. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"
Ron wrapped one arm around Nami's waist and grabbed Robin's hand with the other. "Hold on! Impact imminent!"
Teach's crew was in even more disarray.
"Captain! What's the plan?!" Van Auger yelled, his sniper scope long gone.
"ZEHAHAHAHA... NOW THIS IS LIVING!" Teach, however, roared with laughter, his body enveloped in a shroud of dark energy that rooted him to the ground. "A true adventure!"
Under the collective gaze of thousands of terrified souls, Jaya Island hurtled toward the cloud sea below like a celestial missile! It tore a massive, gaping hole through the cloud layer, sending Skypiean citizens scattering in panic.
"IT'S GOING TO HIT!!!"
Below, on the White-White Sea, Skypieans were going about their day when someone looked up. A shell cup clattered to the cloud floor.
"Wh-what is that?!"
A colossal shadow fell over all of Angel Island. The enormous silhouette of Jaya Island loomed in and out of the clouds, descending with terrifying speed.
"God! Save us!"
"We'll be crushed!"
The Skypieans screamed and fled. Market stalls were overturned, precious shell crafts shattered, Conis trembled as she held her cloud fox, Su, and even the normally imposing White Berets dropped their lances in shock.
On the sacred ground of Upper Yard, Enel, seated upon his throne, suddenly opened his eyes.
"Hmm?" His Mantra (Kenbunshoku Haki) screamed a warning. He looked up to see the massive shadow darkening the sky. His perpetually bored expression vanished, replaced by one of intense interest. "A falling... island?!"
The self-proclaimed god rose to his feet, his golden staff hitting the ground with a thud. A fanatical light ignited in his eyes. "Magnificent! A divine offering!"
But then, his expression darkened. "No... an impact of that magnitude will destroy my territory!"
"200,000,000 Volts: Raigo!"
Enel instantly transformed, his body dissolving into a hundred-meter-tall giant of crackling lightning, soaring into the sky to meet the falling landmass!
Countless thick bolts of lightning erupted from him, weaving together into a massive, crackling net of electricity in the air, attempting to catch the plummeting Jaya Island.
"CEASE... IN THE NAME OF GOD!"
The moment the lightning net met the island, a blinding flash of light illuminated all of Skypiea.
However—
"What?!" Enel was shocked to discover that while his lightning could slow the descent, the effect was minimal—a drop in the ocean. He could not stop it!
Jaya Island continued its unstoppable fall, forcing Enel to retreat. His lightning giant form flickered unstably, and for the first time, a look of genuine frustration crossed his face.
"In that case..." Enel gritted his teeth, raising his golden staff high. "Then I shall—"
KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
Before he could finish his thought, Jaya Island slammed into Upper Yard with the force of a world-ending cataclysm!
Dust and debris blasted skyward in a colossal plume. A shockwave rippled outwards, shaking the very foundations of Skypiea. And then, an incredible sight unfolded—Jaya Island settled perfectly into the gaping, missing portion of Upper Yard, like the final piece of a puzzle lost for centuries sliding perfectly into place.
As the dust began to settle, the Skypieans timidly peered upward—
The once-incomplete Upper Yard was now whole, as if it had never been sundered.
The ancient ruins of Shandora connected seamlessly with the forests of Jaya. The land torn asunder by the Knock Up Stream 400 years ago had been miraculously reunited!
Enel stood before the Golden Bell, his staff falling from his grip with a clatter. "Hahaha... It seems this God is truly blessed by fate..."
Meanwhile, at the heart of the impact zone, the Straw Hat crew clambered out from beneath the rubble, covered head to toe in dust.
Luffy spat out a mouthful of dirt. "Ptooey! Are we there yet?"
Ron brushed the dust from his shoulders, taking in their new surroundings. "It would seem... we've just solved a 400-year-old puzzle."
....
Smoker's warship rocked violently on the suddenly turbulent sea. The Marines on deck clung to the railings for dear life.
The normally unflappable "White Hunter" gripped the railing with white knuckles, the impossible sight of the Knock Up Stream reflected in his wide eyes.
"Th-this is..."
Before him, a pillar of seawater over a thousand meters in diameter pierced the heavens, a mythical pillar connecting sea and sky!
The violent current had sucked all the water from the surrounding nautical miles into itself, leaving behind a terrifying, draining whirlpool.
And Jaya Island, which should have been on the horizon, was simply... gone.
"Re-reporting, Colonel... No, my apologies, Vice Admiral Smoker!" Tashigi corrected herself, her glasses reflecting the apocalyptic scene, her voice shaking. "Jaya Island's last confirmed coordinates are... but..."
"Does it look like we need a report? The entire island was blasted into the sky, wasn't it?" Smoker's voice was thick with disbelief. The scene before him defied all logic.
He stared up at the water column vanishing into the clouds, his hair whipping in the fierce wind. "Damn it... If we had arrived half an hour earlier... we'd have been swept up with it."
Taking in the terrifying vista, Tashigi's knees buckled, her sword clattering to the deck. "It's too horrifying... We almost vanished without a trace..."
The Marines aboard were equally shaken. None had ever witnessed such a world-altering event.
"That's terrifying! The current is flowing upwards!"
"Jaya Island is gone!"
"Are you kidding me?! A whole island, just... launched?!"
"What about the pirates on it? Did they all go to heaven?"
"Are we... are we still supposed to pursue them?!"
Smoker slammed a fist onto the ship's rail, his Justice Coat snapping in the wind.
"Contact Headquarters! Immediate report!" He took a steadying breath. "Inform them that Jaya Island has been carried away by a Knock Up Stream. Its current location is unknown. The Straw Hat Pirates... are also missing in action!"
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi fumbled for her glasses on the deck. As she put them back on, she witnessed an even more astonishing sight—the colossal pillar of water began to contract, as if being slowly retracted by some immense, unseen force.
The sea level began to visibly rise, the stolen water rushing back to fill the void.
"Vice Admiral! The sea... the sea is returning to normal!"
"All ships, pull back to a safe distance."
Smoker stood firm on the deck, his gaze sweeping over the flotsam now bobbing on the churning waves.
The wreckage of hundreds of pirate ships littered the surface: shattered masts, splintered planks, twisted cannons, and waterlogged Jolly Rogers that looked particularly stark in the returning sunlight.
"This is really..." He bit down on his cigar, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily. "A promotion delivered by the heavens themselves..."
....
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