The warmth from the oden seemed barely dispersed before the Oro Jackson sailed into strange waters.
The sea was calm, yet somehow the sky overhead felt oppressively low, the cloud cover thick as solidified cream.
"Huh? Captain! Is this thing broken?"
Kozuki Oden crouched in front of the compass, poking hard at the glass cover of the Log Pose.
The needle that should have been pointing to the next island was now stubbornly, rigidly pointing straight up at the sky.
"Broken? Ha ha ha, Oden, this is what it looks like when it's working right!" Roger strode over, slapping Oden's back hard, pointing at the overhead cloud layer so thick you couldn't see daylight. "It's telling us our next stop is up there!"
"Up there?!" Oden's mouth gaped wide enough to stuff a rice ball in. He looked up at the sky, his face full of disbelief.
Roger narrowed his eyes, sensing the increasingly humid air, his expression growing serious. "Everyone get ready! Take in the sails, secure everything!"
The crew immediately sprang into action, furling sails and tying down cargo with practiced speed.
The two apprentices, Shanks and Buggy, nervously checked each other's ropes tied to the railings.
"Hey, Buggy, are we really going to shoot into the sky? Are we gonna die?" Shanks's voice carried a trace of trembling.
"Shut up! This great man won't die in some godforsaken place like this!" Buggy was tough with his words, but his pale face and constantly shaking legs betrayed him. "If anyone's dying, you're going first, you redhead!" Even as he spoke, he kept tying rope after rope around his own waist.
Before long, the sea surface began showing abnormalities.
With the Oro Jackson at its center, the calm seawater started rotating, forming a massive whirlpool.
At the whirlpool's center, the seawater sank down unnaturally, as if pressed by an invisible giant hand.
Then, an indescribably terrifying force erupted from the ocean depths.
"It's coming!" Roger roared, gripping the helm tightly.
"BOOM!"
Accompanied by a deafening roar, a giant water column hundreds of meters in diameter, wrapped in violent air currents, shot skyward from the whirlpool's center!
The Oro Jackson was like a leaf caught in a waterfall, instantly hurled into the sky by this great force called the "Knock Up Stream."
The ship's hull violently tilted and pitched, as if it would fall apart at any second.
However, the quality of Treasure Tree Adam held strong!
"Waaaahhh!"
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!"
Shanks and Buggy's screams were nearly torn apart by the gale. The two kids' faces pressed hard against the railing, snot and tears smearing their faces, their appearance utterly pitiful.
The other crew members weren't much better off, faces turning green as they clung desperately to the rails and masts, feeling like their internal organs had shifted positions.
"Nozdon! Sunbell! You two stop swaying!" A crew member clinging to the deck roared at the two "mountains of meat" in the ship's center. "If you fall over, we're all done for!"
The massive Nozdon and Sunbell were indeed steady as mountains, the gale unable to budge them an inch.
Nozdon's weight was reassuring! Right now, not a single pound of flesh was wasted!
But his normally good-natured face had turned green as seaweed. He forced down the churning in his stomach, responding in a muffled voice.
"Don't worry, this level of wind, I... urp!"
Before he finished speaking, a spectacular arc crossed the deck. Nozdon ultimately couldn't hold it in.
The surrounding crew instantly wore expressions even more desperate than before.
Just as the hull emitted an overburdened "creaking" sound, seemingly ready to break apart at any moment,
A figure moved across the swaying deck as if on level ground, reaching the dragon figurehead at the bow in a few steps.
"Vortex: Azure Dragon Spiral!"
Kyle swung his naginata down sharply, an invisible wave expanding outward from the blade's center.
The next moment, an incredible scene unfolded.
That wild, untamed giant water column capable of tearing apart everything seemed tamed by divine hands.
The water flow spiraled, condensing into a dragon's body. Splashing waves transformed into dragon scales. The roaring whirlpool shaped into a dragon's head!
The originally chaotic water flow and air currents began rotating and gathering in an orderly fashion, actually coiling around the Oro Jackson's hull in the form of a lifelike water dragon!
The water dragon roared. Its body became the most stable track. Its scales became barriers isolating the gale.
The ship's violent shaking stopped abruptly, replaced by smooth, high-speed ascent.
The deck instantly fell silent.
Shanks and Buggy stopped screaming, staring dumbfounded at the magnificent dragon form made of seawater encircling the ship, their mouths gaping even wider than Oden's had earlier.
"You've... you've got to be kidding..." Buggy's voice was dry. He even forgot to wipe his messy face.
"A... amazing!" In Shanks's eyes, beyond shock was an indescribable worship.
Kozuki Oden also dropped his smile. He stared blankly at that man standing atop the dragon's head like a deity controlling natural disaster, his heart stirring with tremendous waves.
Controlling the sea... is such a thing truly possible?
Gaban and Rayleigh exchanged glances, both seeing approval in the other's eyes.
"Gu ha ha ha... wait, that's wrong, ku ha ha ha!" Roger laughed heartily, his voice full of exhilaration. "Well done, Kyle! This is way cooler than just charging up!"
The water dragon spiraled, carrying the Oro Jackson in a majestic and mighty posture, shooting straight toward the heavens.
The crew aboard hadn't yet recovered from Kyle's miracle-like technique when the cloud layer overhead, thick as if eternal, was forcefully pierced open by the dragon's head, creating a massive hole.
Dazzling sunlight instantly poured down, dispelling the cold and dampness brought by the Knock Up Stream.
Everyone instinctively squinted. When they opened their eyes again, the scene before them plunged the deck into silence once more.
A boundless white ocean made of clouds stretched as far as the eye could see.
Above the pristine sea of clouds, a lush green island floated quietly. The trees growing on the island displayed strange spherical shapes, and the architectural style was completely different from the Blue Sea, carrying an ancient and sacred atmosphere.
"Hey... Shanks, pinch me." Buggy's lips trembled, his eyes bulging so wide they almost popped from their sockets.
Shanks instinctively raised his hand and gave him a hard smack on the back of the head.
"Ow!" Buggy yelped in pain, clutching his head and glaring at Shanks. "You actually did it for real!"
"You told me to pinch you!" Shanks yelled back righteously, but his gaze was soon drawn back to the wondrous scene before them. He murmured, "So... Skypiea really exists..."
Under Kyle's control, the Oro Jackson smoothly "landed" on the sea of clouds.
The sturdy hull pressed against the cloud layer, truly like a ship entering harbor, stirring up ripples of clouds in circles as it slowly came to rest.
The water dragon encircling the ship completed its mission. With a low roar, the dragon's form quietly dispersed, transforming back into water vapor that merged into this sky realm.
Kyle withdrew his naginata, leaping lightly from the figurehead and landing steadily on deck, breathing out in relief.
"Thump."
Nozdon's massive frame could hold out no longer. He plopped down on the deck with a heavy thud.
He looked at the soft clouds beneath his feet, then at that incredible island in the distance, his honest face full of relief at surviving a disaster.
"We're saved... urp!"
His stomach churned again. He instinctively turned his head and unleashed another earth-shattering vomit over the ship's rail.
"Well done, Nozdon!" A crew member patted his back, laughing loudly. "At least you didn't throw up on the deck this time!"
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, the previously suffocating tension instantly vanishing.
Kozuki Oden gripped the rail with both hands, practically leaning out of the ship.
He looked at the clouds soft as cotton, then at that island floating in the distance, his eyes showing undisguisable shock and fervor.
"Ha ha ha ha! My journal! Where's my journal!" He spun around, fumbling frantically in his clothes. "If I don't write this down, it's absolutely unforgivable! An ocean in the sky! An island on the sea! Wa ha ha ha!"
"Rayleigh! Gaban!" The two kids Shanks and Buggy had already crowded over, their eyes full of stars. "Are we going to explore that island right now?"
"Of course!" Roger's booming voice rang out again. He leaped down from the rail, spiritedly waving his hand.
"All hands! Raise the sails! Destination: Skypiea!"
"Ohhhhhh!"
The silent Oro Jackson filled once more with earth-shaking cheers across this white ocean.