The next morning, several figures walked out of the villa hotel.
Sanji hung up his Transponder Snail, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "The crew has finished gathering at the port. They're prepping for departure."
"Yeah, let's head straight there."
Allen nodded, then turned to Nami. "How long until the Knock Up Stream erupts?"
"Estimated time is another two hours. Leaving now gives us plenty of time," Nami replied. She glanced at Vivi beside her. "Where are Luffy and the others? I don't think I saw them this morning."
"Zoro and Usopp went back to the ship last night to help reinforce the Going Merry. Luffy and Chopper said they were going shopping this morning. I've already arranged a time to meet them at the ship," Vivi said with a soft smile.
Although this voyage was unlike any other, the thought of traveling alongside Allen's group put her mind at ease. After all, they had a professional navigation team on board. Having someone as exceptionally capable as Nami traveling with them felt incredibly reassuring.
*If I had to do this alone, there would definitely be no hope,* Vivi thought to herself.
Just then.
*Crash!!*
A loud explosion suddenly echoed from the distance. Allen and the others instinctively turned their heads, watching a thick plume of dust and smoke rise from behind several buildings.
"Fights breaking out first thing in the morning. This town really is a mess," Sanji couldn't help but mutter.
Nami waved it off dismissively. "Probably just some idiots causing trouble again. Just ignore them."
"True enough... let's go."
Allen and the group paid it no mind. They took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped in their tracks.
As if struck by a sudden realization, they turned back toward the rising smoke, a bad premonition creeping into their hearts.
Atop a peaked roof in the distance, Luffy stepped onto the ledge. He raised his fist with a wide, beaming grin, his face practically burning with passion as he shouted:
"Ahahaha! I won! I'm the fighting champion!!"
Allen and the others glared furiously at him, baring their sharp teeth as they roared:
"It really is you, you idiot!!"
"Huh?"
Hearing their voices, Luffy instinctively looked over.
"Hey! I'm over here! Are you guys leaving?!"
Seeing Allen's group, Luffy waved excitedly. He stretched his arm out, grabbed Chopper from the street below, and bounded across the rooftops toward them.
Landing back on the ground, Luffy strutted forward, proudly showing off the gold belt slung over his shoulder. He grinned widely. "Hehehe, look at this! I won it from the fighting champ..."
"Champion my foot!!"
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
Nami and Vivi rolled their eyes and screamed in anger, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks on Luffy.
Allen casually snuck in a couple of kicks from the sidelines.
A short while later...
"I'b shorry... I node I was wronk..."
Luffy followed obediently behind the group, his face beaten black and blue, swollen like a pig's.
The newly acquired gold belt had successfully changed owners and was now slung over Nami's shoulder.
Allen glanced back at him slightly. "This fighting champion you mentioned... was he a tall, muscular guy wearing a mask?"
"Mhm, do you know him?" Luffy asked curiously.
Allen turned his head back around and lied casually, "Nope. Just heard my subordinates mention him."
...
Arriving at the port, the two groups boarded their respective ships.
Under Nami's command, the *Freewill* and the *Going Merry* slowly pulled away from the coast.
Allen stood on the third-floor balcony, looking up at the sky. The weather was still clear and sunny.
He had originally planned to cross the coast to find Noland's descendant, but Nami and Robin had been so efficient that they gathered all the necessary information right in town. Although the process differed from his initial plan, they had successfully embarked on the path to the Sky Island.
As for Luffy's crew...
It was a bit surprising that Vivi had chosen to set sail with them.
Allen turned to look at the small caravel sailing alongside the *Freewill*.
Vivi was standing on the second-floor balcony, staring nervously at the sea ahead, a Transponder Snail in hand to maintain constant communication with Nami.
*Nefertari D. Vivi... what exactly is the relationship between this family and Imu? And Monkey D. Luffy. With two such conspicuous members of the Clan of D. on the same ship, won't that bastard Imu come knocking on their door ahead of schedule?* Allen wondered.
*Then again, in a world where people are born but left to fend for themselves, changing a surname is hardly a big deal. When you set sail as a pirate, you forge your own identity. Maybe if I ever attack Mary Geoise one day, I should just rename myself Francis D. Allen...*
As he was lost in thought, the sky ahead suddenly darkened.
Allen snapped back to reality and gazed at the distant sea. Massive, oppressive black clouds were spreading rapidly, and the wind was growing restless.
Sensing the shift in the weather, Nami opened the door and stepped outside, closing her eyes to read the information carried by the wind.
Next, she pulled out her Transponder Snail and began issuing orders to the crew and to Vivi. The people on both ships quickly sprang into action.
As the ships pressed forward, the sea grew increasingly turbulent. They slowly sailed into the shadow of the dark clouds, and the entire world seemed to plunge into darkness.
Allen's gaze narrowed slightly. Soon, he spotted it—a terrifying, colossal whirlpool dead ahead, its sheer scale rivaling that of a small island.
"Rudder steady! Steer the ship right into it!" Nami shouted loudly. Her eyes were fixed firmly on the center of the whirlpool as she added, "Allen."
"Yeah?"
"Hold me tight."
"Huh???"
"Hold me tight, you idiot! What if I fall off?!" Nami scolded, her voice tinged with panic.
Allen shrugged, reached out, and wrapped his arm around Nami's slender waist, pulling her firmly against his chest.
Her orange hair danced wildly in the wind, carrying a faint, sweet scent of tangerines. Allen's nose twitched; he could clearly smell the refreshing fragrance radiating from her skin, and he unconsciously leaned his head a bit closer to hers.
Pressed tightly against Allen's chest, Nami felt his breath right behind her ear. Her cheeks flushed slightly. She wanted to scold him for taking advantage of her like she usually would, but the words caught in her throat.
Since Allen didn't make any further moves, Nami calmed her racing heart and refocused her attention entirely on navigating.
Soon, the *Freewill* plunged into the colossal whirlpool, and the ship began to shake violently. Behind them, the *Going Merry* was pulled right in as well.
Under Nami's guidance, the two ships rode the currents down toward the dark, abyssal center of the maelstrom.
Gradually, the violent turbulence began to subside, until the sea surface became completely still.
However, Nami didn't relax. Instead, she quickly warned through the Transponder Snail: "Get ready, Vivi! The stream is coming!"
"Got it! I'm ready!" Vivi's reply echoed from the snail.
Immediately after, a massive dome of seawater began to rise directly in front of the ships, quickly swelling into the shape of a mountain.
Before anyone could react...
*BOOM!!*
A pillar of seawater erupted into the sky! The giant Knock Up Stream exploded with ferocious power, violently thrusting both ships up into the heavens!
Everyone inside the cabins was thrown into disarray. A crushing G-force pressed down on them all, making even the air feel incredibly heavy.
Nami gritted her teeth, clinging tightly to Allen as she screamed toward the helm: "Full sails forward! Use the air pressure from the seabed eruption to shoot up in one breath!!"
"Yes, ma'am!!"
On the other side, aboard the *Going Merry*, Vivi was kneeling on the deck, desperately hugging the railing. The oncoming gale blew so fiercely she could barely keep her eyes open. "You can do it, Luffy! Zoro, pull the sails tight! Do not let go!"
"We know!"
"Hyaaa!!"
Lacking mechanical power, the *Going Merry* had to rely entirely on Luffy and Zoro's manual labor. The two gritted their teeth and hauled on the rigging with all their might.
The ship tilted rapidly until it was completely vertical to the sea, riding the massive pillar of water that pierced the clouds straight into the sky!
The howling wind whipped Allen's black hair into a frenzy. He curled his lips into a fierce grin, his eyes burning with excitement as he stared at the rapidly approaching black clouds above.
The Knock Up Stream only lasted for a brief minute, but the speed of its eruption was far beyond imagination.
In no time, the entire ship was completely swallowed by the thick layer of clouds!
...
Seven thousand meters above sea level.
Endless white clouds formed a vast, boundless sea. Bizarre, flat-shaped sky-fish occasionally leapt from the surface, contrasting beautifully with the jewel-like azure sky.
Suddenly, a chorus of screams echoed from afar, shattering the long-standing tranquility of the cloud sea.
*Swoosh! Swoosh!*
Two sailing ships, one large and one small, burst out from the clouds! They soared high into the air before free-falling back toward the sea of clouds!
"We're falling! We're going to fall!!"
"Noooo-!"
"We're gonna die! Help-!"
Nami, Vivi, Usopp, and Chopper screamed in sheer terror, their faces pale as they stared at the rapidly approaching clouds below.
*Crash!! Crash!!*
The two ships slammed heavily into the sea of clouds, splashing up pure white waves dozens of meters high.
Instead of falling through the clouds back to the blue sea as they had feared, the ships remained resting on the cloud layer. After a violent bout of rocking, they slowly settled into stillness.
Aboard the *Freewill*, Nami had her head buried tightly in Allen's chest.
Feeling the ship stabilize, she slowly opened one eye, still shaken, and peeked at the scene outside.
The moment the endless sea of clouds unfolded before her eyes, Nami's pupils dilated in absolute awe. She murmured softly:
"The ship..."
"It's really floating on the clouds..."
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