Sky Island?
The island in the sky?
Usopp and Luffy exchanged puzzled looks, blinking at each other before shouting in unison:
"Let's go! To the sky!"
"Undead! Turn the rudder upward!"
"Shut up, you idiots!" Nami yelled irritably. "How are we supposed to get to a place like that?!"
"Think of something, Nami."
"You think I can just think something like that up?! It's impossible!"
Even though she said that, Nami knew from Luffy's expression that he had already decided.
When the captain had no destination, she could still chart the course—but once Luffy had a goal in mind, not even nine hundred oxen could pull him back.
After thinking for a moment, she sighed helplessly.
"Why don't we dive and salvage the wreck first, see if we can find any clues, Lainer?"
"Yeah, got it."
While they were talking, the enormous ship that had fallen from the sky had already sunk beneath the waves.
Lainer summoned all his Undead Fishmen. One after another, they dove into the sea with heavy splashes, their dark silhouettes rushing toward the wreck's location.
"Besides that," he continued, sitting beside Nami, "I know there's a group on Jaya Island who might know how to reach Sky Island."
He'd mentioned Sky Island before, but she hadn't believed him then. Now was a good time to explain.
"It's a long story, though—you ever heard of Montblanc Noland the Liar?"
"Huh? You've heard of him, too, Lainer?"
"And me—I've heard of him," Sanji added. Usopp nodded along.
Lighting a cigarette, Lainer began narrating leisurely, "Yeah, it's a story from four hundred years ago. An explorer named Noland once discovered an island full of gold—"
(Ten thousand words later…)
"So the island still has Noland's descendants, who keep diving for gold even now? How do you know all this?" Nami asked curiously.
"It's a famous tale around those seas. I like to dig up a bit of local info in advance," Lainer replied casually.
And he really had—otherwise, there was no way he'd remember all that.
"But," Nami continued, "you still haven't said how we're supposed to get up there. What does that have to do with the story?"
"In these waters, there's an upward current—you remember that, right?"
"Yeah, you mentioned it last time, but I still don't see how—" She froze mid-sentence, then shouted in horror, "You're not saying we're going to ride that thing up, are you?! Forget it, I'd rather die!"
"Now we can go to Sky Island, right?!" Luffy shouted, thrilled, clearly only catching the words "go up."
Just then, Lainer noticed a strange-looking ship approaching from behind them—the figurehead was a monkey spinning a record.
"Luffy, why are you over there?!" Lainer shouted, pointing at the ship's prow.
"Puhahaha!"
"Really, Luffy, look at that!" Chopper cried from atop Usopp's head, pointing excitedly at the monkey figurehead.
"Let me see! Let me see!"
Luffy crouched on the railing, staring in fascination, his posture making him look even more like a monkey—sending the crew into laughter.
On that ship's deck stood a burly, fur-covered man with brown hair.
It was Masira, captain of the Masira Salvage Team, with a bounty of 23 million Berries.
Planting his hands on his hips, he shouted to his crew:
"Brothers! The wreck's over there! Prepare to dive!"
"Sir! Sir! Captain!"
"Diving suits ready!"
"Cables secured! Ready to descend!"
His men—moving and behaving like monkeys—wore black diving suits and dove headfirst into the water.
Lainer recognized him immediately. Masira had a brother, and the two commanded separate crews. Both called the curly-haired man, Montblanc Cricket—Noland's descendant—"Old Man." They'd been salvaging gold in these seas for years.
Perfect chance to say hello.
With a thought, Lainer summoned more undead; dark shapes began to surface around the Going Merry, rushing toward the wreck.
Splash! Splash!
The Undead Fishmen surfaced one after another, hauling salvaged items onto the deck.
"Looks like their salvage team came for nothing," Lainer remarked.
The undead piled their finds together—mostly rusted weapons and broken armor.
Nami poked at them with her foot in disgust.
"Just a pile of junk? I thought we'd at least find some treasure! And—"
She pointed at a coffin, shouting, "Lainer! That's a coffin! Why did your undead drag up something like that?!"
"Looks like the ship was attacked," Robin said, calmly brushing debris off the coffin and prying it open to examine the skeleton inside.
Nami was speechless. The usually gentle older sister was apparently into... this sort of thing?!
Splash! Another undead Fishman climbed aboard, carrying a locked chest.
"The lock's still intact. Guess it was hidden well."
"Let's see what's inside," Nami said eagerly.
Clang!
Lainer casually sliced through the rusted lock with his Bone Chain Sword, lifting the lid—inside were two uneven chunks of gold, about the size of human heads.
"Gold!"
"But why's it shaped so weird?"
"Maybe it was freshly mined?"
"No, freshly mined gold doesn't look like that," Robin observed, studying the piece. "This one's refined. Probably chipped off a larger gold object."
She searched through the junk pile and picked out a few more items. The rest, the undead, bagged up.
By now, Luffy had already hopped over to Masira's ship and befriended the monkey-like captain in record time.
As the undead packed the remains, Lainer quietly slipped the two gold chunks into the same bag—planning to gift it all to Masira later. After all, they'd need his help.
What's a couple of gold pieces? There's plenty more up in Sky Island anyway, he thought.
Meanwhile, on Masira's ship, the "Salvage King" was demonstrating his odd technique: using a long hose and his monstrous lung capacity, he pumped air into the sunken wreck.
Moments later, buoyed by the trapped air, the ship slowly rose back to the surface—but after inspection, they found nothing but skeletons.
"Ahhh, another wasted trip," Masira sighed.
"Haul it up anyway! Let Old Man Cricket take a look!"
"Sir! Sir! Captain!"
His crew dove back into the sea to secure the wreck. Turning to Luffy, Masira gave a strange monkey-like laugh:
"Oo-chi-chi! Looks like a bust this time! We're heading back—wanna come along?"
"Nah, we're going to the sky! Heeheehee!"
"Wait up!"
The Going Merry pulled alongside their ship. Several Undead Fishmen tossed a heavy bag onto Masira's deck.
Lainer hopped over and grinned.
"Here, this is for you. You're headed to Jaya Island, right? Mind if we tag along?"
"What's this?" Masira opened the bag—and froze. "Gold?! You salvaged this just now?!"
The Masira team's main goal was gold, though it was rare that they ever found any. Without occasional raids on foolish pirates, they'd hardly survive.
"That's right. It's yours," Lainer said. "We just need a little help."
"Oo-chi-chi! You're too generous, brother! Old Man Cricket will be thrilled!"
Masira gripped his hand tightly, beaming.
Heh, a little human courtesy from the Great Xia Empire—utterly overwhelming in this world, Lainer thought smugly.
"My friend! Whatever you need, just say the word! We're heading back anyway, follow us! Let us treat you properly!"
He turned and bellowed to his men, "Prepare to return home! Bring our new friends with us!"
"Wait, Lainer! Sky Island! I'm going to Sky Island!"
"Relax, don't go bananas. They'll help us get there."
"Really?! Hahahaha! Let's go then!"
Luffy leapt back onto the Merry's figurehead, throwing up his hands.
"Set sail—to Curry Island!"
Sanji sighed. "It's Jaya, you idiot captain."
Following Masira's salvage ship, the crew sailed toward Jaya Island.
Along the way, Lainer explained that the Saruyama Alliance had been operating in these waters for years and knew the patterns of the Knock-Up Stream. With their help, they could reach Sky Island safely.
Jaya Island was made up of two landmasses connected by a narrow southern isthmus, forming a U-shape from above. Most of it was dense, primitive jungle like Little Garden.
Masira's alliance had its base on the western coast, nearly devoid of civilization.
On the eastern shore lay a notorious town—Mock Town.
A haven for outlaws—filled with thugs, pirates, and all kinds of criminals.
Unlike kingdoms like Nanohana that merely tolerated pirates, Mock Town was completely beyond the World Government's reach.
Violence and bloodshed were daily occurrences.
"Sounds like a fun town," Zoro said, intrigued.
"Full of adventure!" Luffy grinned. "I've decided—we'll explore the town first, then visit the monkeys!"
Heh. Fun, Lainer thought dryly. Let's see if you're still laughing when you both get your faces smashed in.
The Hyena Bellamy… Luffy wouldn't bother with him, but Lainer was different—he held grudges.
As the saying goes—Thirty years in Paradise, thirty years in the New World.
Bellamy might have grown strong later, but right now…
A wicked smile crossed Lainer's face.
A lapdog of the Warlords, huh? Sounds like a fight worth having.