The weather was clear, the wind gentle and kind, and the Going Merry sailed slowly along the coastline. By evening, they reached the east shore of Jaya.
Masira's crew had given them a rough map marking their hidden base. Though scrawled and imprecise, it was enough to lead them there after some searching.
"Whoa! Look — a castle!" Luffy pointed excitedly to a structure along the coast.
"Cool, they're rich, huh?"
"Look more carefully — that's not a castle."
As the Merry drew closer, the crew saw that the "castle" was nothing but a painted wooden facade hiding behind it a house barely half as large.
"Is this for real?"
"Not grand at all — looks run-down, even half-finished."
Lina's mind flashed back to Skypiea: he had once seen a similar half-structure there, an illusion of grandeur masking modesty.
At that moment, two figures emerged from the hidden building. Among them were the tall ape-man salvager (Masira) and another strange figure — long green hair trailing the ground, limbs spindly, with an odd presence.
Lina recognized him immediately: Masira's brother, Gorilla, the legendary undersea explorer.
"Everyone! Dock anywhere you like."
"Right behind you!"
They moored, dropped anchor, and walked up to the building.
Bang.
The door swung open. Masira's voice called from within: "Father! The guests have come — the ones who delivered the gold this morning!"
"Gold?" Nami turned sharply at Lina.
"He's talking about the two gold lumps we salvaged."
"Wait — you gave all that gold away?!"
Nami was outraged. She knew they needed help, but that was an extreme act of trust and generosity.
Lina poked her cheek and smiled. "Don't worry. We'll make a real treasure soon."
Inside the room sat a man with a chestnut-shaped quiff — Montblanc Colligate, heir of Noland's line.
"Whoa! Your head looks like a steamed bun!" Luffy bounced to his side and poked.
"It's a chestnut, idiot captain," Colligate said lightly, smoking. Then he turned back to business:
"I've heard from Masira — you want to ride the Knock-Up Stream to Skypiea, right?"
"Yeah!" Luffy said eagerly.
Colligate pulled back, smiling thinly.
"Dream big, kid. Even if Skypiea exists, the stream may not take you there — there's a 90% chance your ship and crew will be destroyed. As for the gold, I appreciate your gift — but I won't help you."
Lina rose and sat across from Colligate, lighting a cigarette.
"Skypiea exists. We have the map. Don't underestimate youthful dreams."
Robin stepped forward, placing the maps on the table:
"I surveyed the island earlier. Matching your data with mine, I believe part of Jaya was once blown into the sky by a giant stream."
She laid a second map of Jaya beneath the Skypiea map.
"Perhaps this is the 'Golden Land' the legend spoke of, hidden in the skull's right eye."
Together, the two maps formed a shape: a skull.
Colligate's eyes widened.
"This… this is it!"
Others gathered. In the family's lore, the famous lying explorer Noland had been mocked for centuries — and Colligate, his descendant, had long hated the name.
He wasn't seeking to rehabilitate Noland's reputation. Rather, he had decided to end the feud in his lifetime.
He left Jaya many years ago as a pirate, diving for gold in seas around the island, haunted by Noland's final dying words:
"I know now — the Golden Land sank, or flew up!"
In children's stories, Noland was portrayed as foolish and clownish. But in the Colligate family version, at his execution, his voice had cracked, tears streaming, shouting those words in agony.
He remained on Jaya, diving into ruins, gathering fragments of the truth.
"If this map is real, then maybe Noland's truth was never buried in the sea — maybe it was sent to the skies."
Sanji's eyes went wide. "You know that story too?"
"Yes — it's a tale from the North Sea," Colligate replied, turning to Sanji.
"You're from the North Sea?"
Sanji's face twitched. "…I'm from the North Sea originally, but I grew up in the East."
Colligate nodded slowly.
"If all of this is true…" he whispered, clenching his fists.
He thought of decades spent diving, risking life and limb, chasing a lie.
He exhaled, leaning back.
"But even if it's true, riding the Knock-Up Stream is still a death sentence. Are you sure?"
"Captain of a ship, with lives aboard. Are you certain?" Colligate pressed Luffy.
Luffy shared a calm look with his crew. Then he turned back to Colligate and said firmly:
"Yes — I am certain!"
Colligate laughed, louder than the tension demanded.
"So be it. Then let's begin! My sons — get to work on your end. Everyone, help them refit the ship!"
He stood and motioned to Masira and Gorilla:
"The ship is yours, boys. I'll explain the stream in more detail."
"Understood, Father!"
"Let's get to it!"
Luffy cheered.
Skypiea! Gold! Adventure begins!
Lina felt exhilarated — being a pirate was about moments like this.
Though their personalities differed, Lina and Luffy shared one trait: desire.
He had always known Luffy invited him not because of his Devil Fruit, but because of what he believed in.
Colligate lectured them on the Knock-Up Stream's schedule: it appeared about five times a month.
But this was no experiment — failure meant losing the ship and crew. Lina could preserve life with his undead, but not the Merry.
This attempt was do-or-die. Every detail had to be right.
Nami summarized:
"So we sail toward the southern point of this island — we'll encounter the stream tomorrow," she said.
"There's another question," Colligate interjected:
"Do you know which way south is?"
Nami paused — once at sea, directions blur. The Log Pose only points to the next island; they needed real bearings.
"In the forest lives a strange bird called the South-Pointing Bird," Colligate said, pulling out a gold statue shaped in its image.
"It always points true south."
"You'll need to capture one before dawn."
Luffy's eyes lit up. "Forest adventure!"
Lina muttered, heading for the door.
"But I'll get one too."
He summoned three small dinosaurs — ones he had collected off Little Garden — and aimed a net.
Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy leapt aboard them.
Even if they failed to catch a bird, the Log Pose would hold direction for two days, and with a known offset to true south, they could still navigate.
But Colligate smiled. "I don't mind you trying. And the ship's being refitted anyway — let the boys have some fun."
Lina extinguished his cigarette and mounted a dinosaur.
"Let's hunt."
Night fell.
Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper traipsed through the forest, mud-caked and bloody-eyed, chasing a single South-Pointing Bird.
"Stupid bird! You mocking us?!"
"Wait, Luffy!"
From behind, Lina rode forward, net in hand, with the bird caught gently in his grasp. He smirked.
"I've got it — go prep the ship."
—
Meanwhile, in Mock Town, a tavern erupted in excited whispers.
"A hundred and fifty million!"
"And two others — one hundred and twenty million each!"
"Ha! Three bounties over 100 million in one ship—ridiculous!"
A young man hustled through the crowd.
"Look at this one! He's part of the Straw Hat crew — I talked to him earlier today!"
Laughter rang out.
"Everyone grab a copy of this!"
They passed out the new bounty posters.
"Straw Hat logistics officer Liner — 50 million!"
"Ha! Just a logistics guy? He can't be serious."
"Heard him ask me where Bellamy's base was. He paid me to show him. See?"
Bellamy was roaring drinks at the bar. He glanced at the posters and barked a laugh.
"Three million? That's weak sauce! Still a nobody."
Over in a dim back room, Blackbeard examined three new posters of his unconscious subordinates.
One hundred fifty million. Two at one twenty. That's not enough.
He chuckled, then turned his gaze to Lina's name.
Looks like they want to make me take notice, he muttered.
Blackbeard's smile twisted.
Navy HQ is holding a meeting. They want someone to replace Crocodile. Maybe I should pick a worthy target… Straw Hats might just be it.
He paused, then shook his head.
Not yet. Too unstable. Let's wait for a better time.