Inside the cabin.
Mikita clung to Ryan like a koala, her cheeks flushed a captivating pink, a few strands of sweat-dampened golden hair sticking to her forehead. The sudden "knock knock" at the door instantly shattered the intimate atmosphere.
"Captain, something's happened," Zala's voice came through the door, carrying a hint of urgency.
Mikita stiffened, her ears turning red as if about to drip blood, and she scrambled to push off Ryan's shoulders. "P-put me down first..."
Ryan, however, remained composed. He lifted Mikita with one hand and called out, "Come in."
The cabin door creaked open. Zala's gaze swept over the two of them for barely half a second before she strode forward and handed over the Log Pose in her hand. "Captain, look at this."
"Pointing... upward?" Mikita, still nestled in Ryan's arms, tilted her head to look at the bizarrely behaving pointer.
"It's been like this for fifteen minutes."
Zala's voice remained grave. Though her eyes lingered briefly on their entangled posture, there wasn't a trace of unnecessary emotion behind her glasses. "Normal island magnetic fields don't behave like this. Unless... the Log Pose is being drawn by an island with a stronger magnetic pull—one that isn't even on the sea's surface."
"You're right," Ryan murmured, withdrawing his gaze. "Most likely, it's being pulled by Sky Island's magnetic field."
He hadn't expected to encounter Sky Island. Then again, their journey had begun from Alabasta, and their route wasn't too different from the Straw Hat Kid's crew. It wasn't entirely surprising.
"Sky Island?" Mikita's arms remained looped around Ryan's neck, too stunned by the revelation to care about their current intimacy. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "That... that place actually exists?"
"The Grand Line is full of wonders—nothing's impossible," Ryan replied, his hand still resting just below the small of her back, unmoved. "It's hidden ten thousand meters up in the clouds, invisible to the naked eye. No need to be so shocked."
Mikita opened her mouth, about to say something, but swallowed her words. Instead, she bit her lip, her eyes holding no anger—just a hint of reproach, as if chiding her captain for his recklessness.
"What do we do now?" Zala glanced at the two of them, their obliviousness to others making her frown slightly.
"Since we've stumbled upon it, might as well take a look," Ryan said with a chuckle, his eyes glinting with interest. "Beats drifting aimlessly at sea."
A fairy-tale land like Sky Island—it'd be a shame not to visit after coming this far.
"Captain, didn't you say Sky Island is ten thousand meters in the air...?" Zala adjusted her glasses, her tone pragmatic as she reminded him, "Our ship doesn't have any means of ascending. How are we supposed to get up there?"
"I have a way," Ryan replied, pulling Mikita tighter against him. He took a slow breath before continuing, "First, stop the ship. I'll... handle things here, then join you."
Zala either didn't catch the implication or chose to ignore it. She simply nodded, turned, and closed the door behind her, sealing the cabin back into their private space.
The moment the door shut, Ryan suddenly lowered his head, his gaze falling on Mikita's flushed cheeks. Amused, he teased, "Now, shall we resume what was interrupted?"
"Captain... you're such a bully," Mikita murmured, her voice trembling softly. Yet, her arms tightened around his neck, her fingers unconsciously gripping him a little harder.
.....
Sometime later, Ryan glanced at Mikita, who was nearly limp in his arms, a smirk tugging at his lips before he turned and pushed open the cabin door.
The sunlight on the deck was blinding. Daz Bonez still sat at the bow, while Zala stood by the railing, clutching the Log Pose tightly. BABE stood guard at the helm, his usually dull face betraying rare traces of anxiety, with Rasu crouched at his feet. The four of them—and the dog—remained silent, as if they'd been waiting for a long time.
Ryan strode straight to Zala, his eyes locking onto the pointer in her hand. "Keep an eye on the direction," he said briskly.
The moment the words left his mouth, Ryan's body began to transform. Peach-pink Scales erupted from the nape of his neck, spreading across his entire body in the blink of an eye. His bones cracked and expanded violently as a hundred-meter-long Dragon Body burst through the space above the deck. The colossal form hovered, its shadow enveloping the entire ship, the Scales refracting dazzling light under the sun—both awe-inspiring and suffocating in its oppressive presence.
Everyone on the deck froze. Daz Bonez shot to his feet, his eyes flashing with shock.
As an assassin, he'd witnessed countless battles, but nothing as mind-shattering as this. The sheer pressure emanating from the Dragon Scales was more chilling than any killing intent, instilling an instinctive terror.
BABE clung to the helm to avoid being blown over by the gusts from the Dragon Wings, his typically blank face now etched with fear for the first time. Zala staggered back two steps before her knees gave out, sending her crashing to the deck, her eyes wide behind her glasses.
Their crew had been defeated by the Straw Hat Kid's group in Alubarna, Alabasta's capital, and thus had never witnessed Ryan's transformation into a dragon. This was their first time seeing it—no wonder they were stunned.
Ryan glanced down at the fallen Zala, his massive head pausing above her for a moment. Then, his enormous body began to coil, his tail resting lightly against the stern. Suddenly, a cluster of pale golden Flame Clouds surged beneath the ship—soft yet resilient, lifting the entire vessel without so much as a wobble.
The Flame Clouds undulated faintly with the Giant Dragon's breath, glowing warmly and forming an eerie harmony with the peach-pink Giant Dragon above.
"Hold on tight."
A deep Dragon Roar reverberated through the air, vibrating painfully against their eardrums. Before anyone could react, the Flame Clouds lifted the ship, carrying it upward as the Giant Dragon led the ascent. The vessel rose higher and higher, the sea below shrinking into a tiny blue-green speck.
Zala struggled to her feet, gripping the railing as she stared upward. The Giant Dragon weaved through the clouds, its peach-pink Scales slicing through the sea of mist, the resulting air currents causing only the gentlest of tremors—yet the ship remained steady.
Daz Bonez stood at the bow, watching the dragon's silhouette cleave through the clouds. His clenched fists slowly relaxed as he finally understood: the man he followed was no ordinary powerhouse, but a true primordial beast.
BABE still clung to the helm, though his eyes now held a strange glint. In his simple understanding, a "captain who could turn into a Giant Dragon" was probably the strongest existence imaginable.
Another Dragon Roar pierced the clouds, propelling the ship even higher into the sky.
There, beyond the sea of clouds, lay an unknown realm—the legendary Sky Island. And now, riding the Flame Clouds, following the Giant Dragon's lead, they were flying toward a place so fantastical it defied imagination.
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