Paradise, the waters near Jaya Island.
Mihawk held a chilled sweet drink in one hand and a porcelain white teacup in the other. The faint sound of laughter from above made Mihawk look up at the night sky.
"Truly an enviable ability."
The Great Swordsman Mihawk, because he had not consumed a Devil Fruit, did not possess the ability for sustained flight.
As for the source of the laughter...
It was Seven jumping down from Sky Island. When he was about a hundred meters from the sea level, Seven instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning and landed steadily on the deck.
His long silver hair was already standing on end.
At this moment, Seven finally understood why that guy Kaido liked jumping from Sky Island; it really was exhilarating.
Not only did it cause an adrenaline surge, but it also left one feeling refreshed, forgetting all worries.
From the moment Seven landed on the deck, Mihawk's gaze was drawn to the musou isshin hanging at Seven's waist.
"This blade..."
Seven, like a beast protecting its food, quickly turned sideways to shield musou isshin. "Mihawk, this is my beloved. It's not for loan."
Mihawk: "Let me have a look."
Seven: "No."
Mihawk drew the black blade yoru from behind him and pointed it straight at Seven. "Come, Captain, let me gauge your cultivation during this period."
Mihawk also wanted to see how Seven had earned the recognition of such a mysterious and precious blade.
"Hey, you two big brothers." The Doctor plucked up the courage to walk between them. "Before you spar, could you help me take off these handcuffs first?"
"Also, our ship can't withstand the Flying Slashes you two would unleash."
Mihawk put away the black blade yoru and returned to the cabin. This kid had grown stronger again, while he remained stagnant. After seeing the Gold Country, it would be time for him to continue his training.
Seven yawned.
"Doctor, keep a good night watch tonight. Tomorrow, this Captain will help you open those Sea Stone handcuffs."
"Yes, Captain."
Seemingly remembering something, Seven grabbed the Doctor. "Just now, did Mihawk call me Captain?"
"Yes, Captain."
Hearing this, the pride on Seven's face almost overflowed. He waved his hand and smiled. "Go on then. If you run into a giant whirlpool, remember to wake me up."
"Alright, Captain."
Having successfully recruited his first crew member, Seven was in high spirits. He returned to his bedroom with his hands in his pockets, humming a tune. "Next, I need to continue building a rapport with Mihawk."
Before going to Sky Island, with Seven's strength, he wasn't even worthy of being an opponent for the Great Swordsman Mihawk.
Now, having obtained the Super supreme grade blade musou isshin, which amplified Haki by 100%, along with the Musou no Hitotachi cultivation experience, Swordsman Seven was barely qualified.
After a quick wash, Seven fell asleep clutching musou isshin and was soon in a dreamland.
In the dream: Captain Seven led vice-captain Hawkeye Mihawk, Helmsman Jinbe, Combatant Kuma, Fujitora, Rocks, Roger, Whitebeard... punching Marine Hero Garp, stomping on Fleet Admiral Sengoku, and taking down the three Admirals Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru with one strike each.
Eventually, he defeated Imu, overthrew the World Government, established a world where everyone could eat their fill, ascended to the throne as King, and established a vast harem.
"Captain! Captain!"
Just as he was expanding his harem in the dream, King Seven was suddenly awakened by an urgent knocking at the door.
Seven sat up in bed, grumbling, "Couldn't you wait for me to finish the dream?"
Hanging his beloved blade musou isshin at his waist, Seven opened the door irritably. "Found a whirlpool?"
"Captain, a giant whirlpool."
Seven hurried to the helm. "Quickly, go wake up Mihawk. If the whirlpool doesn't erupt into a knock up stream, the two of us will have to rely entirely on Mihawk."
Why has the Gold Country remained almost undiscovered for over 400 years?
On one hand, the eruption of a knock up stream is extremely rare; on the other hand, steering a ship into one carries a fifty-percent chance of the ship being destroyed and everyone on board dying.
"Nani?!" Cold sweat poured down the Doctor's forehead.
"Hurry up!" Seven had already turned the bow, heading toward the hundred-meter-wide giant whirlpool ahead.
The Doctor hurried into the cabin, but just as he was about to knock, Mihawk opened the door and sliced through the Doctor's Sea Stone handcuffs and shackles with a single strike.
When the two arrived on the deck, Seven gripped the helm with both hands and grinned.
"Mihawk, hold on tight!"
A man who smiles often usually doesn't have bad luck.
The pirate ship rushed into the giant whirlpool at high speed, hovering for a split second above it.
Amidst the Doctor's hysterical screams, a hundred-meter-thick cylindrical knock up stream erupted from the bottom of the whirlpool, soaring straight toward the sky.
The pirate ship landed on the surface of the knock up stream. Carried by the impact, it rose straight up with the current at a speed even Newton would find hard to explain.
knock up stream
"Mihawk, 揚帆."
Although there were only two crew members on board, Captain Seven still commanded methodically.
As the knock up stream surged higher and higher, the expressions of the three on board were all different: Seven was howling with excitement, the Doctor's face was pale, and Mihawk's gaze was sharp.
"If you don't want to fall to your death, use your ability to teleport the ship a bit."
The Doctor didn't think much of it, assuming Seven believed he had eaten the Space-Space Fruit.
"Let me catch my breath, Captain."
"Hurry up, stop talking nonsense. The knock up stream might not reach Sky Island directly. You don't want to fall to your death, do you?"
Thinking of the miserable scene of falling to his death, the Doctor finally overcame his fear. A white halo swirled around his right hand, enveloping the entire ship.
With a whoosh, the pirate ship teleported dozens of meters.
"Continue."
In this way, following the knock up stream and aided by the Doctor's fruit ability, the pirate ship was finally about to reach the White Sea, ten thousand meters in the sky.
"One more push, we're almost there."
When they were still a few hundred meters from Sky Island, the knock up stream seemed to lose its power and began to fall vertically.
Seeing this, Mihawk stepped off the pirate ship to gain momentum and, with a series of leaps, landed on Sky Island.
The Doctor, acting like a madman, used his fruit ability to teleport onto the island just in the nick of time.
Seven, meanwhile, transformed into a bolt of lightning and landed casually beside Mihawk.
As for the pirate ship they had stolen from Loguetown, without the power of the knock up stream, it fell straight down, destined to be smashed to pieces.
The Doctor knelt on the ground with his rear in the air, his hands supporting his body. It was impossible to tell if it was saliva or tears on his face.
"That was a death trap... Captain."
Seven gripped the hilt of the blade at his waist and waved his hand. "Let's go. We're heading to the Gold Country."
...Two days later.
In the waters near Jaya Island.
A yellow light flashed past. As it passed the wreckage of a ship floating on the sea, a figure wearing a yellow-and-white striped suit slowly appeared.
It was Marine Vice Admiral Kizaru: Borsalino, who had departed from Marineford and circled around Sandy Island and Jaya Island several times.
"Even the ship is destroyed?"
Kizaru pulled a den den mushi from his pocket, took a few photos of the wreckage, and fell into thought.
"Who could have done this?"
The World Government? Or pirates?
After searching for a long time and still failing to find the bodies of the two targets, Kizaru had no choice but to contact Sengoku.
den den mushi: "Borsalino?"
"Sengoku-san, the target ship has been destroyed. I haven't found the targets' bodies nearby. It seems someone might have acted ahead of us."
den den mushi: "Good work. Come back."
"Understood."
Just as he hung up the den den mushi, rumbling sounds echoed. Kizaru looked up at the thunderous, lightning-filled sky.
"Kowai ne."
"So, are they up there?"