Jaya Island, early morning!
Luffy woke up from his sleep.
"Ah! I slept so well!" Luffy stretched, yawned, and walked out of the room.
"Luffy, you're finally awake! I thought you'd sleep until noon! Then we wouldn't have to go to Sky Island!" Nami said, hands on her hips.
"Hurry up, Luffy, we're about to set sail!" Zoro said.
Luffy came before the Going Merry. "Wow, has the Merry changed this much? So cool!"
Looking closely, the Going Merry, originally a sheep-headed ship, had been transformed into a giant rooster (image).
"This is the Going Merry's flying equipment!" Usopp said proudly, pointing at the "chicken wings."
"Actually, I think it should have been a dove. Doves can fly much better than chickens, right?" Zoro grumbled.
"Why are you saying that, you idiot!" Nami yelled.
"Alright, we're leaving, my friends! Is everyone ready?" Luffy shouted excitedly.
"We've been waiting for you!" Sanji said calmly.
"Then thank you, old man! And you too, Gorillas, and Masira… thank you all very much!" Luffy said sincerely.
"Alright, set off! Gorillas and Masira will follow you!" Cricket said softly, suppressing his reluctance.
"Alright, get on board, let's get on board first!" Masira said.
"Mm, follow us closely! We'll lead the way for you." Gorillas said.
The Straw Hats boarded the ship.
Cricket shouted, "Saruyama Alliance, don't let your guard down! Even if the sky falls, you must escort these people to the very end!"
"Oh, oh, oh, oh!!!" The crew responded.
"Everyone, let's go!"
The ship weighed anchor, then slowly turned and gradually sailed away.
Cricket looked at Luffy, who was standing at the stern.
"Little brother, this is where we say goodbye.
But there's one thing you must understand. The Golden Bell and Sky Island – no one has ever proven their existence in the past, but likewise, no one can prove they never existed!
Perhaps some will laugh and say this is my twisted logic.
What's wrong with that? This is a man's romance."
"Romance!" Luffy looked at the resolute Cricket and couldn't help but shout, "Why do you firmly believe the Golden Bell is at the bottom of the sea and not in the sky?"
Cricket was startled. "Why do you think that?"
"Because Golden Island and Sky Island are both legends, aren't they?" Luffy said with a light laugh, pressing down on his straw hat.
"I see! Then please… go and verify it for me.
If it's in the sky, please ring it and let me know!" Cricket shouted hoarsely.
"Mm! We definitely will!" Luffy clenched his fists and raised them upwards.
...Meanwhile, the Blackbeard Pirates' ship was sailing.
Of course, it was more of a raft than a ship.
"Ah! It's already dawn! How is it? Did you see anything?" Teach asked.
"No, I didn't even see a silhouette opposite us!" Burgess said, holding a telescope.
"Zehahahah, you didn't find them, but I did!" Teach laughed. "But they also discovered me, that's all!"
"Hm? So they're going to Sky Island, aren't they?" Burgess asked, puzzled.
"Zehahahah, actually, I'm not sure. But a person with that kind of spirit, if he says he's going there, he definitely will!" Teach said. "We must intercept him halfway. If he goes to Sky Island, everything will become troublesome!"
"So there really is a Sky Island in this world!" Van Augur asked.
"Zehahahah, of course there is!" Teach laughed. "But we also need to find a way to get that kid's head. After all, it's worth 300 million Berries! If we can get it, the position of a Warlord of the Sea will be mine."
"Blackbeard Pirates, advance!"
Doc Q and Burgess paddled, and the raft's speed immediately increased by more than tenfold!
...On the Going Merry,
A red glow flashed in Luffy's eyes and then disappeared.
He then started playing with the Southbird.
"Look!" Luffy moved the Southbird's beak from south to east, and as soon as he let go, the beak immediately returned to the south. "It's amazing, just like a compass!"
"Jiu~ jiu~ jiu~ jiu!" The Southbird chirped repeatedly.
"Chopper, what is he saying?" Usopp asked, puzzled.
"He's saying, 'I'll just fly in a direction other than south, and then you guys will explode!'" Chopper explained.
Immediately after, the Southbird's beak turned north, but it was sweating profusely. In less than half a minute, it turned back to the south.
"This guy feels uneasy if he doesn't face south!" At once, Luffy burst into laughter, rolling on the ground.
...At the same time, the Cumuloregalis appeared!
"Damn it, the Cumuloregalis appeared earlier than expected! This is bad. Gorillas, do you have a solution?" Masira said anxiously.
"Deploy the Sea Explorers! Immediately check the location of the underwater current!" Gorillas gave the command.
One by one, small gorillas jumped off the ship and into the sea.
Then, Gorillas took out a microphone and shouted loudly, and a sound wave spread in all directions.
Luffy, meanwhile, was lying on the Merry's sheep head (chicken head), a red glow flashing in his eyes. 'Found it! But… let's forget it!'
"Reflected sound waves confirm a large current in the 12 o'clock direction!"
"A giant creature detected in the 9 o'clock direction! Estimated to be a Sea King!"
"In the 10 o'clock direction, there are waves opposite to the current, very likely a giant whirlpool."
One by one, the small gorillas emerged from the sea, reporting the situation.
"That's it! Turn the rudder to the 10 o'clock direction! That's the precursor to the Upstream Current! Make sure to keep moving forward in that whirlpool, don't turn back!" Masira said excitedly.
The sea surface began to undulate continuously, and the ship also swayed up and down.
"The sea level is rising, everyone be careful!"
"This is an earthquake before the eruption, everyone be careful!"
The ship drifted unsteadily on the sea... "Brother, it seems this eruption is definitely happening." Masira said excitedly.
"The scale of the eruption is also very large, all the elements are present." Gorillas said excitedly.
"Let the whirlpool carry you! Follow the whirlpool, as long as you don't turn the rudder, you'll reach the center!" Masira shouted a reminder.
At the same time, a giant whirlpool formed in the middle of the sea... On Jaya Island,
Cricket was smoking a cigarette, looking into the distance.
"This is the first time in my life I've met idiots like you! Fools who disregard their lives to pursue their dreams…"
..."The ship is about to be swallowed!" Usopp cried out.
"I've never heard of falling into such a huge whirlpool!" Nami shrieked.
"This is the first time I've seen such a big whirlpool!" Robin said in surprise.
"I'm not going to Sky Island anymore, I want to go back, I want to go back!" Usopp cried in fear.
"Give up, Usopp, it's too late." Zoro said calmly.
"Go, Merry!!" Luffy shouted excitedly.
..."Alright, brothers, from now on, you're on your own!" Gorillas shouted loudly.
"Mm, thank you all!" Luffy smiled, showing his teeth.
"Luffy, why don't we just not go? With such a huge whirlpool, we'll sink to the bottom of the sea! Sky Island is just a fantastical island in fantasy!" Usopp shouted.
"Hehe, Usopp! I don't know if Sky Island is a fantastical island or not? But if we don't go, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!" Luffy looked at Usopp.
At the same time, the ship was spinning in the whirlpool, heading towards its center.
The ship fell into the whirlpool, but at the same time, the whirlpool disappeared.
"What's going on? The whirlpool… disappeared!" Zoro said in surprise.
At the same time, streams of bubbles furiously erupted from the bottom of the ship.
"No, the whirlpool didn't disappear. The seabed is about to erupt!" Nami exclaimed, realizing.
"Stop!" Just then, a raft burst in!
"Ah! They still came!" Luffy said calmly.
"I finally caught up to you, Straw Hat Luffy!" Teach laughed wildly.
"Who is he?" Nami asked.
"He's the one who destroyed Mock Town!" Zoro said, his hand on his sword hilt, a grave expression on his face.
"What?!" Everyone's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Brat, I've come for your head, worth 300 million!" (Teach)
"300 million?" Luffy was a bit confused. Wasn't it 100 million?
"You still don't know, do you!" Then Teach took out two wanted posters. "Your head is now worth 300 million Berries, the announcement is out!"
"300 million Berries?" Luffy was a little surprised, but that was all. In his current extreme state, he possessed the combat power of a weak Yonko Commander, comparable to Jack the Drought or Charlotte Cracker. In terms of bounty alone, it should be at least 700 million to 1 billion, so it was still too low!
"It's true, it's a new bounty!" Usopp said in amazement, holding a telescope. "Zoro, you're a wanted criminal now too!"
"What? Wait a minute! What about me? I should have one too!" Sanji said anxiously.
"None!"
"Let me see clearly!"
"None!"
"I understand, it must be because of the Alabasta incident that it instantly shot up to 300 million!" Nami's shock was evident.
"Only 60 million Berries! Isn't that enough?" Zoro said with a hint of arrogance.
"Alright, everyone, the Upstream Current is about to start! Hold on tight!" Luffy roared.
Just then, the seabed erupted, and a sky-piercing current of water suddenly appeared!
It extended directly from the seabed to the sky, a true miracle of nature!
"What? What is this?" Teach was utterly shocked!
The next second, the Blackbeard Pirates' raft directly shattered, and everyone fell into the sea. The Blackbeard Pirates were wiped out for the first time!
The sky-piercing current formed a path to the sky! And the Going Merry, using the wind blowing from below, soared along the Upstream Current without hesitation!
"Nami! Alright!" Luffy looked helplessly at Nami, who was clinging tightly to him. Her orange hair flew in the wind, and her panicked and frightened, lively face was exceptionally captivating, her beautiful figure pressed tightly against Luffy's chest!
"Miss Nami!" Sanji looked at this scene. "My heart is broken!"
Nami, held by Luffy, felt as if she was in a gentle wonderland, all her worries and fears disappearing! It made Nami couldn't help but sigh: If only time could stop!
"Nami, if you don't get up soon… we're going to fall!" Luffy was even a little panicked at this moment.
"Oh!" Nami broke free from Luffy's embrace, her cheeks flushed, a little shy, and a little reluctant.
"Nami, are you okay!" Luffy also felt uncertain at this moment. What if he was a Yonko Commander? In front of nature, even a Yonko Commander would fall!
The reason he said this was also because the ship was about to float up!
"Don't worry, this is the sea, not a water column, but an Upstream Current! And the wind blowing from below is an updraft produced by a massive eruption of geothermal heat and steam from the seabed!
Since the elements are wind and sea, there must be a way! I am this ship's navigator!" Nami said confidently. "Now, everyone, follow my orders!"
"Yes, Miss Nami!"
"Mm!"
"Then let's go!"
..."Now the starboard side is taking wind, immediately turn the rudder to port!"
"Try to make the ship conform to the current!"
"Aye, aye!"
"Oh no, the ship is about to leave the water!" Chopper said in a panic!
"Don't worry, it'll definitely be fine!" Nami said with a determined look.
Gradually, the ship began to leave the water.
But it wasn't falling downwards; it was shooting straight up into the clouds!
"It's flying, it's flying!"
"Our ship is flying into the sky!"
"Is it real or fake?"
...Jaya Island
"Go, rush to the end of your dreams!"
"Go!"
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