Locking Onto the Knock Up Stream, Soaring to 10,000 Meters

"Jaya Island?"

Dadi's expression shifted slightly when he heard the name.

"Lord Lei En, you're going to a place like Mock Town, where pirates gather in droves? That's a lawless den of outlaws known as the 'No-Man's Land.'"

"Relax. With us around, those lunatics are nothing more than walking cash machines."

Lei En yawned and waved his hand dismissively.

"Hurry and get an Eternal Pose pointing to Jaya Island from the black market. Money isn't an issue. We're in a hurry."

Though Dadi was somewhat worried, he had already sworn loyalty, so he said nothing more and immediately headed to the black market, where he bought an Eternal Pose at a high price.

With Dadi, this versatile old hand, steering the ship, Lei En finally no longer had to suffer through hauling the sails himself.

The sailboat slowly left Loguetown and sped toward the first half of the Grand Line.

A few days later.

Life aboard the ship was quite pleasant.

Dadi truly deserved to be called a former Marine officer. His navigational skills were superb, and he kept the ship in impeccable order.

Little Carol was also very well-behaved. He always shyly hid behind Dadi, but whenever he saw Lei En, his eyes filled with admiration.

As for Kuina, other than eating and sleeping, she spent most of her time on deck wildly swinging her sword. She was a sword fanatic through and through.

"Lord Lei En, according to the Pose, we've already entered the waters around Jaya Island."

Dadi gripped the helm and glanced at the Pose on his wrist, his brows tightly furrowed.

"But are you sure we're not docking at Mock Town and are instead heading for that rumored 'forbidden sea' that devours people?"

Lei En lay on a deck chair, sipping juice in complete comfort.

"That's right. We're not going ashore. We'll cruise around nearby and wait for the 'current' to appear."

"A current?" Kuina wiped the sweat from her forehead and walked over in confusion. "What kind of current requires us to wait in such a dangerous place?"

Lei En smiled mysteriously and pointed up at the azure sky.

"The Knock Up Stream. This time, we're taking this ship and flying up to the Sky Island ten thousand meters above."

The deck fell silent in an instant.

Dadi looked at Lei En as if he were insane, nearly losing his grip on the helm.

"Fly... fly ten thousand meters into the sky?!"

Dadi swallowed, his voice trembling.

"My lord, don't joke around! How can a ship possibly fly into the sky? Sky Island is nothing but a legendary fairy tale meant to fool people!"

Kuina also looked utterly incredulous, but out of blind worship for Lei En, she merely tightened her grip on her sword hilt.

"I'm not joking."

Lei En sat upright, his gaze turning sharp.

"Sky Island really exists. And there's something there that will allow me to truly stand at the pinnacle of the world."

He clapped his hands and rose to his feet.

"Dadi, stop worrying about it and follow my orders. See that patch of dark clouds ahead? Sail the ship over there."

Following Lei En's finger, Dadi saw an incredibly dense mass of ink-black clouds that had somehow gathered over the previously clear sea ahead.

Faint lightning flickered within the clouds, radiating an oppressive aura.

"This is madness. Complete madness..."

Dadi gritted his teeth, but he still sharply turned the helm, sending the ship charging into the shadow-covered waters like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The moment they entered the area, the atmosphere around them became incredibly strange.

The sea breeze suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to solidify, becoming so stiflingly hot that it was hard to breathe.

Then, the once-calm sea began to churn violently.

"Rumble—!"

A deep roar rose from the seabed, like the bellow of some ancient beast.

Dadi discovered in terror that the seawater around the sailboat had begun spinning madly counterclockwise!

A terrifying whirlpool over several hundred meters wide rapidly formed beneath the ship!

"My lord! The ship's going to get sucked in! We'll be torn apart!"

Dadi clung tightly to the helm, his face deathly pale as he shouted in despair.

Little Carol burst into frightened sobs, while Kuina nervously drew Yubashiri. Yet before this natural catastrophe, the sword in her hand seemed so feeble and powerless.

"What are you panicking for? Hold onto the railings!"

Lei En stood firmly on the deck like an unshakable pillar, his eyes fixed on the very center of the whirlpool.

"It's coming!"

The instant Lei En's words fell!

"Boom—!!!"

A world-shaking blast that seemed to shatter their eardrums erupted!

The pressure at the center of the whirlpool reached its critical point.

A colossal water column dozens of meters wide, connecting heaven and earth, burst through the sea like an erupting volcano, carrying world-destroying force!

The Knock Up Stream had erupted!

That violently overwhelming force caught Lei En's little ship with incredible precision.

Amid Dadi's shrill scream, which was nearly breaking apart, the entire sailboat shot into the sky like a rocket, forcibly propelled by the water column at a terrifying speed beyond the speed of sound!

One hundred meters!

One thousand meters!

Five thousand meters!

The immense sensation of weightlessness pinned everyone flat against the deck, leaving them unable to move.

All around them was the deafening howl of rushing water, while the gale sliced through the sails like blades.

"Ahhh! We're going to die!!!"

Dadi squeezed his eyes shut and screamed wildly. He had never experienced anything this thrilling in his entire life.

Yet Lei En stood at the bow, facing the fierce wind with his arms spread wide in excitement.

He watched the Blue Sea below grow ever smaller, his eyes flashing with an extreme desire for the power that awaited him.

"Sky Island! The Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"

Lei En grinned like a tyrant about to snatch away everyone else's toys.

"I'm here to steal it first! Enel, you so-called 'god,' are you ready to become my errand boy?"