"What the hell is that water pillar?!"
Nojiko stood at the ship's edge, staring wide-eyed at the massive updraft column rising from the ocean beside them.
The rest of the crew aboard the Divine Slave were just as stunned. None of them had ever seen anything like it.
"Sora, do you know what that is?" Kaya tugged at his sleeve, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
Hearing her question, Nojiko, Makino, and the others all turned to look at Sora.
To them, he was practically all-knowing and all-powerful.
Feeling their eyes on him, Sora smiled and explained:
"That's called the Knock-Up Stream."
"It's a natural disaster unique to the seas near Jaya Island. Deep below the ocean here, there's a massive empty cavity. When cold seawater flows into it, the heat from below causes it to vaporize. The pressure builds and—boom—the Knock-Up Stream erupts from the sea."
The girls nodded with sudden understanding, eyes shining with admiration.
How did this man know so much?
Even Vivi gave him an impressed glance before asking, "And now you're steering us straight at it—what exactly are you planning to do?"
As he spoke, Sora was already manipulating the ship's rigging, making rapid modifications.
"There's an island up there," he said, grinning. "A Sky Island. This stream is the only way to reach it."
"A Sky Island?" Vivi and the others were stunned.
It was the first time any of them had heard of such a thing.
Only Reiju and Shalria remained calm—they'd heard of Sky Islands before.
"You're… you're seriously going to ride that up?" Zala pointed at the fast-approaching stream, clearly thinking he was insane.
Marianne went pale with fright, and even Vivi looked uneasy.
Kaya, Makino, and Nojiko, on the other hand, had full faith in Sora and remained composed.
"You'll see soon enough."
Sora chuckled, waved his hand, and several ropes shot out, dragging Kaya, Vivi, and the others into their rooms, securing them to their beds. They'd only be a distraction on deck right now.
At the helm, Sora fused with the Divine Slave, his awareness extending to every part of the ship. He carefully adjusted the sails and rudder, and even used synchronized cannon fire on both sides for fine-tuned control.
He didn't have Nami's navigation instincts, but with full control over the ship itself, Sora had everything he needed to steer into the stream.
With precise timing and adjustments, the modified Divine Slave successfully caught the Knock-Up Stream and surged upward toward the sky.
Soon after, the girls were pulled back up to the deck via rope, so they could witness this rare and breathtaking experience.
"Sora, that was amazing!" Kaya looked at him with stars in her eyes.
Makino, Nojiko, and the others were equally shocked and thrilled. He'd actually pulled it off.
"I'll admit, that was impressive," Vivi said as she looked down at the shrinking sea below.
"Hmph! Of course he's amazing. He's our young master!" Anna said proudly.
Shalria just stared at Sora with such worship in her eyes, it looked like she might throw herself at him any second.
"Let me go, let me gooo!"
Mikita flailed in her harness, wanting nothing more than to leap into Sora's arms and kiss him right then and there.
Zala and Marianne also snuck glances at Sora, clearly affected.
『Ding! Vivi's affection has increased...』
『Ding! Makino's affection has increased...』
『Ding! Zala's affection has increased...』
『Ding! Mikita's affection has increased...』
『...』
Sora grinned at the flurry of system messages.
Thirty minutes later—
The Divine Slave broke through the clouds and reached Sky Island.
Sora looked around—no sign of the Going Merry or the Straw Hats. They must've been flung into a different area by the current.
"So this is Sky Island?" Kaya was dazzled by the endless white sea of clouds around them.
"Whoa, I just saw some weird-looking shark!" Nojiko shouted, pointing off the side of the ship. She tossed a coin into the cloud sea.
BOOM!
A Sky Shark burst out of the clouds, and the side of the ship cracked from the explosion.
Vivi blinked in shock—wasn't that Mr. 5's power?
The girls might've been loosely connected to the Straw Hats, but thanks to the Marines hiding the truth, none of them realized it.
SMACK!
Sora smacked Nojiko on the head.
"Next time, throw it farther!"
If this kept up, they'd blow the ship apart themselves.
"Okay, okay, geez... Why hit me for that?" Nojiko pouted, holding her head.
"Because you clearly didn't learn your lesson."
Sora shrugged, then turned toward the edge of the ship.
On the cloud sea not far away, several figures riding strange shell-propelled boards were rapidly approaching.
"Shandians?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Didn't think they'd be the first to show up."
"What's a Shandian?" Kaya asked, curious.
Vivi and the others looked to him for answers.
As the figures drew closer, Sora stroked his chin.
"There's a story… in the North Blue, about a man named Mont Blanc Noland…"
"In the tale, he claimed to have seen a city of gold, but was executed when he couldn't prove it."
"His descendants spent their lives searching for the lost city of Shandora. One of them, Mont Blanc Cricket, even risked his life despite a serious illness."
In just a few minutes, Sora gave the girls a condensed version of Noland's tale.
They listened in awe, and Vivi and Kaya were both moved to tears.
Then he turned to the approaching Shandian warriors, standing on the railing as they listened to his story in silence.
"And the Shandians," he continued, "they remember their great warrior Kalgara's final wish."
"They've spent generations trying to ring the Golden Bell of Shandora—to send their message to the descendants of Noland, waiting on the Blue Sea below."