Hello, I'm Fang Yi, captain of the Dragonwolf Pirates!" Fang Yi greeted Crocodile with a smile and a simple introduction.
"Dragonwolf Pirates, huh? I'll remember that." Crocodile replied casually and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Just as Crocodile was about to walk away, Fang Yi suddenly called out:
"Would you have any interest in joining my crew?"
Originally, Fang Yi hadn't planned on asking. But since he was already here, he figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Not like he expected Crocodile to say yes.
But to Fang Yi's surprise, Crocodile did stop. He turned his head and gave Fang Yi a serious look, as though he was genuinely considering it.
"The Dragonwolf Pirates? Guhahaha… And what is your goal?" Crocodile asked with a faint chuckle.
"Freedom!" Fang Yi answered without a moment's hesitation.
"Freedom?" Crocodile blinked, startled by the reply.
"That's right—freedom! To sail across the seas without restraint, to experience every kind of adventure that awaits!" Fang Yi nodded firmly.
Crocodile sneered, then turned his back and scoffed:
"I thought I'd met someone impressive, but it turns out you're just another fool. What a waste of such strong potential."
"You bastard, what did you just say?!" Before Fang Yi could respond, Tiffany exploded with anger. A man who couldn't even beat Shanks dared to speak so arrogantly?
Besides, she thought Fang Yi's words were perfect. Pirates, after all, should be about freedom—sailing the seas as they pleased!
But Crocodile didn't bother arguing further. With a faint smirk, he dissolved into a swirl of sand and vanished.
"Hmph, so arrogant!" Tiffany muttered with a pout, unhappy to see him leave.
"Forget it. We weren't planning to recruit him anyway," Fang Yi shrugged.
"Huh?" Tiffany blinked in surprise. "We weren't? Then why'd we even come here?"
"Heh… because of these two idiots! If I had wanted Crocodile to join us, they wouldn't have gone straight into fighting him." Fang Yi shot a glance at Shanks and Barrett.
"Ahaha~ Well, the weather's pretty nice today," Shanks said quickly, looking up at the sky—though thanks to his earlier battle, the air was still choked with dust and sand.
"You two are hopeless! Captain, in that case, let's just go! Wang Zai doesn't seem to like this place at all!" Tiffany said, noticing that the big wolf was panting heavily, clearly uncomfortable in the desert heat.
She was right. For a furry creature like Wang Zai, this environment was far from friendly. So the group returned to the Dragonwolf and prepared to set sail for Water 7.
But just as they passed by Jaya, they happened to arrive right when the Knock Up Stream was about to erupt.
"Captain, looks like the Knock Up Stream is about to appear!" Shanks said, watching the sky's signs carefully.
"Ah, what a shame! If we weren't in such a rush to get to Water 7, we could have taken this chance to ride it up to Skypiea." Fang Yi nodded.
To him, visiting the Sky Island could wait. What mattered more right now was Tom. If something went wrong with Tom, that would be disastrous.
"Knock Up Stream? What's that?" Tiffany asked curiously.
Everyone else—including Wang Zai—had already been to Skypiea, so they were familiar with it.
"You'll find out soon enough," Fang Yi chuckled. "Just… don't be too shocked."
"Maybe we should wait before moving on. If we run into the Knock Up Stream…" Shanks hesitated.
"This…" Fang Yi considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "It should be fine. The Knock Up Stream doesn't appear at a fixed spot, but it's always within a certain range. As long as we don't sail into it directly, we'll be safe."
Shanks shrugged and dropped the issue.
Last time, when they went to Skypiea, Jaba and Fang Yi had calculated the exact position of the Knock Up Stream. But since they weren't aiming for Skypiea this time, Fang Yi hadn't bothered.
Still, according to his last survey, the current always appeared within a general area. They weren't in it now, so it should've been safe.
But before long, the waves around them began to calm unnaturally. The sea surface grew eerily still. Both Shanks and Fang Yi immediately felt a bad premonition.
"Oi, Captain! Something's not right!" Shanks called out, scanning the waters.
"Yeah… this is strange." Fang Yi frowned. Such dead calm usually only appeared near the Knock Up Stream.
"Don't tell me… we're unlucky enough to get caught in it?" Barrett muttered, swallowing hard.
When it came to the Knock Up Stream, no human power could fight against it.
"Doesn't matter. Let's prepare for the worst! Shanks, Barrett—secure all supplies on deck. Tiffany, shut every door in the cabin!" Fang Yi barked orders immediately.
"O-okay!" Tiffany obeyed quickly, though she still didn't understand why. She ran around closing every hatch and door.
Just as they finished, the still sea began to rumble beneath them.
"Captain… looks like we hit the jackpot," Shanks said with a bitter smile.
The situation was exactly like the one they'd experienced years ago aboard the Oro Jackson.
"Huff… no choice. If we've been caught, then we ride it! Barrett, take the helm! Shanks, furled the sails!" Fang Yi commanded, bracing himself.
"Got it!" Both nodded and ran to their stations.
"What about me, Captain? What should I do?" Tiffany asked nervously, half scared, half excited.
"You?" Fang Yi thought for a moment, then said: "Tie yourself down with a rope. And tie up Wang Zai too—that guy's probably still asleep."
"Eh? Tie myself down? How?" Tiffany asked, baffled.
"Just lash yourself to the ship! Hurry—we don't have time!" Fang Yi shouted as the sea around them began to sink.
"O-okay!" Tiffany quickly tied Wang Zai down first, then strapped herself to the railing.
Only after she finished did she notice—the Dragonwolf was already being sucked into a massive whirlpool.
"C-Captain! We're caught in a whirlpool!!" she screamed.
"Don't worry—it'll be fine!" Fang Yi called back calmly from the bow.
Soon, the ship reached the eye of the whirlpool. Tiffany was shocked to see that the center was strangely calm, as though waiting.
"Get ready—it's coming!" Fang Yi shouted, feeling the tremors rumbling from the deep.
"RUMBLE… RUMBLE…"
Then, with a deafening roar, a massive current erupted from below, blasting the Dragonwolf high into the air.
"Waaahhhhhh!!!" Tiffany shrieked as the ship shot upward, soaring into the sky.
"Now! Barrett—hold the helm steady! Shanks—open the mainsail! We'll ride the current like a wave!" Fang Yi bellowed over the roar, timing the moment perfectly.
"BANG!"
At his signal, Shanks unfurled the main sail. Catching the rushing waters, the Dragonwolf stabilized, sliding onto the torrent as though it were a solid ocean path.
"This… this… this is unbelievable!!" Tiffany gasped, her fear fading into pure awe.
"Good, we're on course. As long as Barrett keeps the helm steady, we'll reach Skypiea without issue!" Fang Yi exhaled in relief.
It was an accident that they had been caught, but so long as they reached the Sky Island safely, there was no real problem.
As for Tom, although the World Government was after him, he should already be working on the Sea Train project. With that invention in progress, the Government wouldn't execute him just yet.
So, Fang Yi being delayed a little wasn't critical. The only real issue was that if they missed the government officials, even rushing there later wouldn't help.
"Captain, what should we do?" Shanks asked. Their original goal had been to reach Water 7 in time to protect Tom. Now, by accident, they were on their way to Skypiea. Still, if they descended quickly after arriving, maybe they'd make it in time.
"Forget it. If fate arranged this, then let's accept it. Besides, Tom's life isn't in immediate danger. The only thing is—we'll lose our chance to divert the World Government's attention away from him. We'll just have to figure it out once we reach Water 7." Fang Yi said after some thought.
"That's all we can do then," Shanks nodded.
Before long, the Dragonwolf pierced through the clouds and burst into the white, foamy seas of the Sky Island.
"It's… It's real! Skypiea exists!!" Tiffany gasped, untying herself and leaning over the rail to stare wide-eyed at the floating island.
But unlike her excitement, Fang Yi, Shanks, and Barrett all immediately sat down cross-legged on deck.
"Eh? Captain, what are you doing?" Tiffany asked in confusion.
"You too—sit down quietly and don't talk. Let your body adjust to Skypiea's atmosphere," Fang Yi instructed with a wave of his hand.
O-okay… Tiffany obeyed, still puzzled, but she sat down beside them without further protest.