Associations and Blueprints

Tom's Workers.

The not-so-large room was crammed with all kinds of tools and blueprints, with several photos pinned to the walls... among them was the legendary mermaid Kokoro, whom Luffy called "Granny Monster."

Reg only glanced at her before looking away... just like Sanji, her appearance dealt a fatal, devastating blow to the "beautiful" dream in his heart.

After telling Tom what he wanted, Tom began sketching rough drafts on paper... while Reg thought about the Oro Jackson.

It was now the year 149, and in a few months it would be 1494... in other words, six years before what he remembered.

After Roger recruited Crocus aboard at Twin Cape, they would spend years completing their final voyage... originally, this had nothing to do with Reg.

Yet the sight of that nearly completed ship stirred up Reg's memories... when Nekomamushi and Inuarashi from Zou Country recounted their past to Luffy, they mentioned this: races, landscapes, and climates they had never seen before... a sea of clouds floating in the sky, and islands submerged beneath the sea yet bathed in sunlight.

A sea of clouds floating in the sky... could that refer to Sky Island?

Before Luffy and the others left Sky Island, Robin had also seen the Poneglyph... and learned of the ancient weapon Poseidon.

Beside that Poneglyph stood a stone tablet inscribed in ancient script: I have come here and will carry this passage to the end of the world—Pirate Gol D. Roger.

Rayleigh had personally said that Roger could not decipher ancient writing... but he could hear their voices.

It was like having the answer while solving a math problem... he only had the final answer, not the formulas or the steps used to calculate it.

Therefore, Roger could never have written words like those... but the daimyo of Wano Country, Kozuki Oden, who had once been Whitebeard's crewman, could.

The Poneglyphs had been personally carved by his ancestors and scattered across the world... yet Kozuki Oden's ancestors had not recorded their contents by any other means.

"Cherry blossoms..."

Thinking of Wano Country, Reg's thoughts drifted to the Summit War... in Whitebeard's memories, the two had drunk together beside a waterfall in mountains filled with cherry blossoms. Roger brought up how he had a terminal illness and would soon die, and the two discussed Laugh Tale and the will of "D."

The samurai of Wano Country, Foxfire Kin'emon, had said this... when Whitebeard and Roger came to the island, he and the others had all seen them.

Perhaps Kozuki Oden had completed his "job change" then, with Whitebeard's tacit approval.

That "job change" was rather subtle, and Reg had three guesses:

1. The two were rivals... Roger played the emotional card of "I'm about to die," and only after stirring Whitebeard's sympathy between kindred spirits did he persuade him.

Otherwise, with Whitebeard's personality of cherishing his "sons," he would never have let Kozuki Oden follow Roger around the world on adventures.

2. "1" was wrong... if Kozuki Oden had voluntarily asked to follow Roger and witness history, Whitebeard would not have stopped him either.

3. Roger simply snatched him away from Whitebeard without caring about anything else. Roger had the ability to do so... but he likely could not withstand the combined pursuit of Sengoku, Garp, and the other Marines together with Whitebeard.

Of the three, Reg leaned more toward the first guess. No matter what... the final outcome was predetermined: Kozuki Oden would board the ship.

Only he, who could read and write the ancient script, could carve ancient words onto the Poneglyphs... such as the one on Sky Island.

When Reg's thoughts reached this point, his heart skipped a beat... this was the downside of remembering his past-life memories too clearly.

He was about to head to Sky Island, and observing the Knock Up Stream would take time... the Roger Pirates would also need time to begin treatment. Those two periods were far too close together.

"Forget it... there's no use thinking so much. I'll play it by ear when the time comes."

Reg gathered his thoughts and closed his eyes, while Tom's pencil continued to swish across the page... if they really did meet, with Rayleigh as a "half-acquaintance," there would be no problem as long as Reg showed no hostility.

And if they did not meet, that was no big deal... for the current Reg, reaching Sky Island and obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit were what mattered most.

Knock, knock, knock... soft knocking sounded at the door.

Without turning around, Tom waved at Reg. Reg rose and opened the door to find Iceburg standing there, his face flushed and his head drenched in sweat.

"Um... that... I'm Mr. Tom's apprentice," Iceburg explained.

"Mm, I know... Mr. Tom speaks highly of you. Curious?" Reg teased.

"No. But as his apprentice, I need to learn."

Iceburg spoke with complete seriousness, then quickly slipped past Reg and went to Tom's side to examine the blueprint he was designing.

Reg blinked and sat down at Iceburg's workbench... this was a classic case of "his mouth said no, but his body was honest."

Now it was time to see the skill of the world's greatest shipwright... Reg remembered that Cricket, the uncle with the diamond-shaped face, had said that in the waters around Jaya Island, the Knock Up Stream appeared around five times each month and lasted approximately one minute each time.

Its location was unpredictable, so one had to observe in advance to predict where it would appear... Cricket's theory was that there was a massive hollow beneath the waters around Jaya Island, one even deeper than the seafloor.

Whenever cold seawater flowed into that hollow, geothermal heat below would create steam. Once the steam pressure became too great, it caused an eruption on the seabed, blasting ships into the sky through a massive current.

The first place Luffy and the others arrived at was the White Sea... roughly 7,000 meters high.

Based on the duration of the Knock Up Stream... its ascent speed was roughly 116 meters per second.

Converted to hourly units, that was 4,000 kilometers per hour... Reg remembered a similar speed from his past life: the maglev train in Shanghai had a top speed of 410 kilometers per hour.

At such a speed, it was no wonder those sailing ships would be torn apart if handled improperly the moment they shot upward.

Reg described all of this to Tom... this tanuki-like man who loved to laugh "ha ha ha" was quite kind and highly professional.

As for why Reg knew such details, Tom asked only one question: "Are you sure?"

After receiving Reg's confirmation, Tom plunged into his work with complete focus.

Reg was not worried that Tom might harbor ill intentions toward him... he could use the words "Pluton" as a trump card, and could even extort a huge sum of money from him if he wished.

Pluton was said to be a massive ancient warship... capable of destroying an entire island with a single cannon shot.

That warship had been created in Water Seven long ago... Tom possessed Pluton's blueprints and was the protector of this generation. Naturally, Reg would not casually provoke trouble of that kind.

"Looks like this won't be resolved anytime soon..."

After glancing at Tom, who had his head lowered, and Iceburg, who was studying intently, Reg closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Yet before even a few minutes had passed, Tom's booming voice rang out. "Hahaha... Mr. Reg, this impressive ship will definitely meet your needs."

"It's done already?"

Reg opened his eyes, his face full of surprise... Iceburg, whose expression showed sudden understanding, picked up the blueprint with both hands and solemnly spread it out before him.

It was a flat-bottomed, narrow-bowed, twin-masted sailboat, quite similar in size to an escape boat.

A pair of wing-shaped wooden panels extended from either side of the ship... Of the two masts, the main mast bore a canvas sail, while the secondary mast supported a round, balloon-like canvas canopy over the vessel. Beside the secondary mast were the letters: pen.

The blueprint reminded Reg of the Going Merry that Luffy and the others had once ridden... It had been fitted with two wings and, relying on Nami's navigation skills and the air currents, had soared skyward onto the White Sea of Sky Island.

"These twin wings can be operated to make use of the rising airflow brought by the Knock Up Stream..."

"This control lever lets you adjust the angles of the sails at the same time..."

"A balloon will be installed on the secondary mast... With the press of a button, it can keep the ship floating in the air for a while..."

Iceburg enthusiastically introduced this unique vessel to Reg... Though it was small, it would be quite complex to build, with functionality taking up a large proportion of its design.

Reg listened quietly until the end, then nodded... There was nothing he was dissatisfied with. With a sailboat like this, his chances of success would increase greatly.

"Mr. Tom, this one will do... How many Beri will it cost in total?" Reg looked toward Tom.

Tom tugged at his beard, thought for a moment, then spoke. "Although this ship is only this size according to Mr. Reg's requirements, it must be built to the standards of a full sailboat."

"The keel, right?"

Reg spoke... A keel was a longitudinal structural member running along the center of a ship's base, connecting the stem and sternpost. It sat at the bottom of the vessel.

Crosswise ribs reinforced the structure above the keel... At the bow and stern, the keel curved around the stem, and it was usually the first part of a ship's hull to be built.

Simply put... the keel was like a human heart.

"Mm... You'll be facing a Knock Up Stream, after all. No matter how cautious we are, it's necessary. I happen to have a section of Treasure Tree Adam here, which can be used for the keel... That's top-quality lumber."

Tom's expression turned serious... He could not allow a ship he built to be unable to withstand even a single wave.

Lucky!

"Treasure Tree Adam... I have five million Beri. Do you think that'll be enough?"

Reg put on a surprised expression... It had come at just the right time. The section of Treasure Tree Adam Tom mentioned was probably what had been left over from building the Oro Jackson.

"Hahaha... Five million is enough." Laughing heartily, Tom rose and headed for the door.

"Mr. Tom!"

Iceburg grew somewhat anxious. Five million Beri would at most be enough to buy that section of Treasure Tree Adam... The other material costs and labor fees were practically being given away for free.

"If it isn't enough..."

Reg had only gotten halfway through before Tom turned back and shook his head, interrupting him.

Smack... Then Tom slung an arm around Iceburg's shoulders. "Iceburg... Don't you want to find out whether Sky Island really exists? Mr. Reg, could I trouble you to bring back some local specialties?"

"Of course... Thank you, Mr. Tom."

Reg thanked him earnestly... Faced with such a wildly fanciful request, Tom not only did not mock its impracticality, but chose to believe in and support him. He had even offered a considerable discount. What a good man!

"Then it's settled... It'll be ready within two days. Oh, you don't have a place to stay yet, do you?" Tom grinned.

Reg nodded, and Tom patted Iceburg. "Go on, take Mr. Reg to your room so he can rest first."

"...Understood, Mr. Tom."

Iceburg nodded helplessly... Mr. Tom was always like this. As long as he liked someone, he became incredibly generous.

"Have you really been to Sky Island?" Iceburg asked curiously as they walked, but Reg merely smiled without answering.

"Hmph... I'll be waiting for those local specialties you bring back." Iceburg's mouth twitched.

Reg nodded, then said, "Maybe we'll have other chances to work together in the future."

"Is that so? Then you'd better survive."

Iceburg held out his palm... People who dared to face nature head-on were always worthy of admiration, especially a little runt like this.

Smack... Reg returned the high-five without hesitation. "Of course... Look forward to the gifts I bring back."

Just then, Reg even wondered... Could he build a ship like Enel's, one capable of flying through the sky?

He quickly suppressed the thought... Now was not the time to think about such things.