At dawn the next day, on the eastern coast of Jaya Island, the headquarters of the Masira–Shoujou Salvage Alliance bustled with activity.
"Wahoo! The Going Merry looks so cool now!"
Luffy cheered as he jumped aboard. After a full night of refitting by the ape brothers and their crews, the ship had been given a brand-new look.
The most eye-catching features were the huge wings fixed to both sides of the hull—
and, oddly enough, a rooster head on the bow.
Laina stared at the new figurehead, expression twitching.
"Why in the world did they have to add that thing? It looks so useless…"
He couldn't help picturing a certain someone from his past.
If the Merry's ship spirit ever appeared, would she even fix the ship—or just start dancing on the bow like some street performer?
Oh no… that cursed BGM's playing in my head again.
"Alright, you'd better set out soon," Colligate called from the shore, cigarette dangling from his lips.
"The Knock-Up Stream's expected today, but no one can say when exactly. Miss it, and you'll have to wait another month."
"Got it, old man! Bye-bye!"
Luffy waved enthusiastically from atop the rooster's head.
Laina ordered his undead to action. The Merry slowly drifted from the dock, accompanied by Masira and Shoujou's crews escorting them partway out to sea.
After about ten kilometers, the sky suddenly began to darken at an unnatural speed. Ahead loomed a vast wall of storm clouds stretching endlessly across the horizon—
as if the world's end had come.
Gale winds screamed against their faces. Laina's blond hair whipped wildly in the gusts.
The once-calm ocean turned violent, waves pounding the hull and soaking his blue shirt through.
"Everyone! You see that whirlpool ahead?" Masira shouted from a neighboring ship.
"That's where the Knock-Up Stream will erupt! We can only guide you this far. Stay with the current's flow, but don't get too close to the center!"
"Got it! Thanks for everything!" Nami shouted back.
"May fortune smile on you!" Masira and Shoujou's ships cut their tow lines and turned back, leaving the Merry alone as it sailed toward the roaring vortex.
The crew's expressions varied: Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper whooped with glee; Zoro, Sanji, and Robin watched quietly but alertly; Nami and Laina busied themselves with the ship's adjustments.
Yet all shared the same burning excitement.
"Laina, furled the sails!"
"On it!"
The surrounding waters churned wildly, drawn toward the growing whirlpool. As they drew nearer, the true scale of it came into view—
Its diameter rivaled a small island, and within it, a Sea King over a thousand meters long thrashed helplessly before being swallowed whole.
"You've gotta be kidding me!!"
"We—we're gonna die!!"
Usopp and Chopper turned pale, clinging to the railing and trembling.
Following the current's pull, the Merry began to spiral downward along the whirlpool's rim.
"Not too close to the center! The main eruption will smash the ship apart! Turn forty degrees to port!" Nami commanded.
"I know! I'm trying!"
"The current's too strong! The undead can't hold the wheel steady!"
"I'll handle it!"
Laina rushed into the helm room, grabbed the wheel with both hands—
His arms bulged with veins, muscles swelling, the strain making the wood creak and groan under the pressure.
"Hold it steady, Laina!" Nami shouted from the doorway, clutching the railing.
The Merry shook violently. Even bolted furniture rattled; glass and crockery shattered across the floor.
They held their course for what felt like ages—
Then, suddenly, the shaking lessened.
But Nami's expression grew more tense, not less.
"Everyone, hold on tight! The Knock-Up Stream's coming!!"
The words had barely left her lips when the Merry pitched forward, its bow lifting skyward—
BOOM!
A colossal pillar of water erupted upward, a roaring dragon piercing the heavens!
The Merry clung to the stream's edge, shooting vertically through the sky like a soaring falcon!
The initial impact pinned everyone to the deck as if gravity itself had multiplied.
The wings attached to the ship tilted slightly, catching both wind and lift from the torrent, stabilizing their ascent between pressure and buoyancy.
After several agonizing seconds, the pressure eased. The crew managed to stand again—
upright against the near-vertical deck.
"At this rate, we won't make it before the stream ends!" Nami cried.
"Unfurl the sails! The updraft will help push us higher!"
Under her direction, Laina's undead moved efficiently, pulling ropes and opening sails.
Laina also summoned his undead hawks to guard the skies—just in case.
Soon, the Merry burst through the clouds and into—
The White Sea.
Seven thousand meters above the ocean, an endless expanse of white stretched in every direction.
Unlike the freezing snow of winter islands, this was ethereal—peaceful, almost divine.
"WAAAHHAHAHA!!"
The Merry broke through the cloud surface, splashing up waves of white vapor.
Startled sky-fish darted around them, curious but soon losing interest.
"Look! This cloud's so bouncy!"
Before anyone could stop him, Luffy jumped onto a fluffy cloud mass and began bouncing.
"Hey, Luffy, don't touch random things, eh? Wow, it really is soft."
"Like cotton candy!"
The trio's excitement returned full force.
Nami collapsed onto the deck, still pale.
They'd barely survived that.
Her eyes darted toward the trio on their impromptu trampoline, and she sighed, pressing her temples.
"Unbelievable… Do they not realize we almost died just now?"
"Well, we didn't," Laina chuckled, offering his hand to help her up.
"Not bad, Navigator—world-class work."
"Hmph. You know it."
She couldn't hide the pride in her grin as she patted his shoulder.
"You did well, too."
"Thanks—but I might've snapped the wheel in half."
"…What?"
It was true. The wheel had cracked under the force. Still, given the storm, it was a miracle it lasted that long.
"So, how do we move now?" Nami asked.
"Uh… I'll have the undead row," Laina admitted.
They looked around. Everywhere—just white.
Clouds they once looked up at now drifted close enough to touch.
Laina reached out, brushing a hand through the mist as pale serpentine fish glided through the clouds nearby.
"Incredible… A sea of clouds that can carry ships, with creatures like Sea Kings…" Nami whispered, awestruck.
Robin smiled faintly. "You think something might eat us soon?"
"Don't say creepy things, Robin!"
"There—something ahead." Laina pointed toward the horizon. "Looks like… a gate?"
But before they could head that way—
A shrill whistle split the air.
Laina's instincts screamed. He looked up—
A cannonball sliced through the sky toward them.
He leapt instantly, drawing his Bone Chain Sword, spinning it into a shield just as the projectile struck.
BOOM!
The explosion rippled through the air, scattering white clouds.
Laina used the blast's force to flip backward and land smoothly back on deck.
Smoke drifted across the bow.
What happened?!
Enemy attack!! We're under fire!!