As countless people awaited their arrival on the Cloud Sea, Nami, having been named, knitted her delicate brows slightly.
After pondering for a moment, she looked up, her expression turning serious. "I can watch the currents and find the right moment to ascend."
Everyone brightened.
"But." Nami abruptly changed tack, her beautiful eyes carrying an uncompromising seriousness. "Going Merry won't be coming up with us this time. It can only stay on Jaya Island."
"Huh?"
Luffy was the first to object, springing to his feet. "How can that work?! Going Merry is one of our comrades too! How can we leave it here all alone?! Absolutely not!"
Ignoring his protests, Nami turned directly to Shanks and asked the question that mattered most to her. "Mr. Shanks, I want to ask: back then, how did the Roger Pirates' ship withstand that current and make it up safely?"
"Hahahahaha!" Shanks burst into hearty laughter, his voice full of pride. "That was different! The ship beneath our feet back then was one of the finest vessels in the world, built from the Adam Tree! Its hull was indestructible. Forget a mere ten-thousand-meter Ascending Sea Current—even if it plunged headfirst from ten thousand meters up afterward, it wouldn't so much as lose a scrap of paint!"
After laughing enough, his expression gradually turned serious. Looking at Luffy's young face, filled with unwillingness, he softened his tone. "So, Luffy. Listen to me and leave Going Merry behind." He slowly shook his head. "With that flimsy hull of hers, the current could easily tear her to pieces."
"Is there really no other way?" Luffy pressed on stubbornly, his voice carrying an almost pleading insistence.
Sanji, who had been silently smoking the whole time, frowned and slowly spoke. "It's not like there's absolutely no way."
He exhaled