On Mock Town's eastern coast, in front of half a castle.
The sea breeze swept over the rugged coastline. The cigarette Cricket had been holding in his mouth had somehow fallen onto the sand.
He stared blankly up at the black-haired young man before him, who was as tall as a tower and radiated an Abyss-like air of deep calm.
"You believe that legend?"
Cricket's voice was hoarse, and trembled faintly despite his efforts to hide it. For decades, he had risked getting the bends every day as he searched the ocean floor to prove that his ancestor, Noland, hadn't been a liar. All he had gotten in return was endless mockery and scorn from everyone on the sea.
And now, a top pirate who even dared to go toe-to-toe with a Marine Admiral hadn't laughed at him. Instead, he'd told Cricket, with almost infuriating certainty, that the Golden City was in the sky.
"On these seas, only the weak mistake the unknown for a fairy tale."
Ace looked down at him calmly. "I only believe in what I'm about to conquer. Tell me where and when the Knock Up Stream will appear."
Cricket took a deep breath, suppressing the emotions surging within him. He picked up the cigarette from the ground, lit it again, and took a long drag.
"You've come at just the right time. The Knock Up Stream is a natural disaster that occurs in the waters around Jaya Island. There's a massive cavern in this sea, deeper than the ocean floor. When cold seawater flows into it, geothermal heat at the bottom vaporizes the water and produces enormous amounts of steam. The pressure keeps building until it triggers a violent underwater eruption, creating a colossal current capable of launching ships into the sky. The eruption lasts