By the time everyone aboard the Warhammer was fully armed and prepared...
The Knock-Up Stream finally appeared!
The first change was in the sky, within an instant, dark black clouds spread overhead.
It felt as though the entire world was about to be swallowed.
"Cumulonimbus Emperor Clouds!"
"This is the kind of cloud that appears right before the Knock-Up Stream shows up!"
Hammer immediately recognized the sudden change in weather.
"Nine o'clock! The seawater over there is churning!"
"It looks like a massive whirlpool!"
From her position in the crow's nest, Shirley was the first to notice the turbulent waters.
"That's the spot!"
"Lance! Steer the ship over there!"
"That's the precursor to the Knock-Up Stream, everyone aboard the Warhammer, prepare yourselves!"
As the crew stood at the ready, fully braced for impact, the Warhammer sailed toward the swirling current...
Only then did they realize, oh no, we want to go home.
The scene before them was absolutely shocking.
It wasn't just huge, it was colossal.
Even the massive Warhammer looked puny by comparison.
Everyone was stunned by the overwhelming spectacle.
"Dear god... this is the Knock-Up Stream? I've never seen a whirlpool this enormous in my life."
Lance felt the ship rocking violently in the current and could only marvel at the gigantic vortex before him.
"Enough gawking, dammit! Everyone, brace for launch!"
"This is just the prelude! Once the Knock-Up Stream fully forms, we're getting shot straight into the sky!"
"If you don't wanna fall to your death, hold on tight!"
Was Hammer scared? Hell yes he was.
Even though he knew all about the Knock-Up Stream from his past life, experiencing it firsthand was another matter entirely.
It was terrifying.
Absolutely, terrifying.
As the vortex began spinning faster and faster, the center of the whirlpool began to change.
The center sank lower and lower, as if trying to drag everything into its depths.
"Hold on tight!"
"Ugh! I'm getting dizzy!"
Hammer clung to the mast with both arms, eyes squeezed shut, totally disoriented by the spinning motion.
It was way too much.
Just when everyone's nerves were stretched to their limit...
The vortex suddenly slowed.
Then, an invisible force began rising from the depths of the whirlpool.
Hammer, using Observation Haki, immediately sensed a strong upward force coming from the ocean floor.
"Everyone! HOLD ON! We're about to take off!"
He screamed with all his might, worried some poor fool would freeze up from fear and get flung off.
Sure enough,
The ocean below the Warhammer suddenly bulged, lifting the entire ship high into the air.
The next second, a towering geyser of water erupted from the sea and blasted toward the sky.
The Knock-Up Stream, had fully activated!
The Warhammer was carried up with the massive stream of water, hurtling toward the clouds.
"AHHHHHHHHHH! SAVE MEEEEE!"
"Holy crap! Lance, stop screaming like a ghost!"
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!!"
Lance totally lost it, the sudden vertical acceleration made it feel like his lungs had collapsed.
Hammer wasn't doing much better, and Lance's screams only made it worse. He started yelling incoherently back.
The rest of the crew was panicking just as much.
Even battle-hardened marines looked pathetically small in the face of this monstrous natural phenomenon.
This, was the power of nature.
"Wait! What the hell is THAT?!"
Suddenly, Hammer sensed something massive in his Observation Haki.
He looked down into the stream,
"Mother of god! Are you kidding me?! Even something like THAT got swept up?!"
Kakei and the others followed his gaze and were equally horrified,
It was a Sea King.
A giant one, over a hundred meters long, now completely engulfed in the Knock-Up Stream.
It couldn't break free.
Even worse, it was now drifting toward the Warhammer in a panic.
"We can't let it get near us! If it hits us now..."
"The Warhammer will definitely fall!!"
Shirley screamed in terror. From her height, she could see it all clearly.
They were already over a thousand meters above sea level.
If they fell now, they'd be crushed to pieces.
"Damn it!"
"Gion! Help me stop it!"
Hammer shoved aside his fear and called out to the only swordsman on board.
"Haotian Hammer!"
"Ittō-ryū! Enka (Mist Glow Slash)!"
A massive air hammer and a pink sword slash flew at the Sea King.
But due to the rocking of the ship, even though both tried to stabilize themselves, the attacks missed entirely as the Sea King dove back into the water.
"Shit! It's getting even closer!"
Shirley shouted, panic rising.
Hammer gritted his teeth.
"Oath Hammer!"
"Gion! It's up to you now!"
"I'll give you a power boost!"
As soon as Gion gripped the Oath Hammer, she felt a surge of unfamiliar energy rush into her body.
"So this is your Devil Fruit's power?"
"Not bad!"
She was clearly enjoying the feeling of enhanced strength.
"No time for chit-chat! Kill that damn thing NOW, or we're dead!"
She knew full well this wasn't the moment to hesitate.
Kinpira and the Oath Hammer were raised together.
"Ittō-ryū! Enka!"
"Hammer-Hammer Fruit! Assist Haotian Hammer!!"
The giant air hammer appeared once more, this time, something was different.
The hammer followed right behind the slash.
As the pink slash soared through the air, the Haotian Hammer slammed into it from behind.
The resulting combo caused the slash to explode with incredible destructive force.
"ROAR!!"
The Sea King let out a blood-curdling screech,
Its massive body was sliced clean in half.
One half continued rising with the stream.
The other half was flung sideways and began falling toward the sea below.
Crisis averted.
But Hammer still felt like something was wrong.
The Warhammer was still being pushed upward, violently shaking the entire time.
"Wait... something's off!"
"The Going Merry didn't get launched on top of the Knock-Up Stream!"
"It rode the stream upward!"
"Oh shit..."
Suddenly, Hammer realized the problem.
The Warhammer was being pushed up like a cork on a geyser...
Not smoothly riding the current up like in his memories.
"Hammer, what are you muttering about?"
"I'm saying, we did it wrong!! DAMMIT! I don't even know if we can actually reach Sky Island like this!"
Everyone was stunned.
Wait, what?
Weren't you the one who said this would get us to Sky Island?!
Now you're saying it might not work?!
Hammer was dumbfounded.
The Knock-Up Stream was still going strong, and the Warhammer was still climbing.
Faster and faster.
"Hammer! You're going to get us all killed!!"
"What do we do now?!"
Hammer blankly shook his head.
"Leave it to fate, everyone."
"See you in Heaven, no, wait, Sky Island!"
With that, Hammer closed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and fully embraced his fate.
Everyone else was speechless.
BOOOOM!
The massive Knock-Up Stream launched the Warhammer straight into the sky.