Knock Up Stream

Generations of people, four hundred years of perseverance.

Yet all of it might well have led them in the opposite direction from the real answer. It left him dazed...

Cricket knew this was most likely the true answer.

Then what had been the point of his ancestors' sacrifices and perseverance, generation after generation, exploring the seabed for four hundred years...?

People were like that. Until the mystery was solved, they held fast to what they believed.

But when the real answer was revealed, they discovered it ran counter to everything they had firmly believed.

All their perseverance had been meaningless. No one could take that calmly...

Three days later, in the waters around Jaya.

There was still some time before the knock up stream erupted, but the sea had already begun to churn.

A whirlpool had formed right at the eruption point.

As time passed, the whirlpool grew larger and larger, and the stationary warship began to shift slightly.

Cricket stood beside Sakazuki, gazing at the enormous whirlpool.

He held a strange bird in his arms, looking a little nervous.

The South Bird, also known as the South-South Bird, had a somewhat plump body and a vacant expression.

Its head was like a compass needle, always pointing south. There was also some Beli ready in the cabin.

These were all preparations for their upcoming trip to Sky Island.

"It's coming."

Sakazuki's low voice sounded in everyone's ears, startling them.

They were just about to check what had changed when the ship suddenly shook.

Rumble!

An enormous roar rang out as the whirlpool suddenly spun faster and more violently.

The roaring seawater dragged the warship toward the center of the whirlpool, faster and faster.

Until, under the combined effects of its speed and weight...

Whoosh!!!

The warship broke free of the sea's surface and was flung toward the hollow at the whirlpool's center.

Standing aboard the airborne warship, Cricket and the soldiers stared at the seawater below, their faces pale.

We got thrown into the air!

Sharp gasps rang out!!!!!

They all looked toward the man at the bow and saw that Sakazuki's expression hadn't changed.

He looked as though nothing had happened, which calmed them somewhat.

In truth, only a brief instant passed. Just as the warship was about to fall into the hollow...

Boom!!!!!

The sound of the warship crashing into the water rang out.

The whirlpool had vanished in an instant, leaving only a calm sea.

"Hold on to the railings."

Sakazuki's low voice rang out.

He placed one hand on the railing and picked Cricket up with the other.

Seeing this, everyone hurriedly grabbed the railings.

The sea seemed to swell into a bulging mound of water.

It lifted the warship, carrying everyone higher and higher.

Endless seawater burst through the bulge, becoming a Knock Up Stream that drove the warship toward the depths of the clouds.

"Whoa!!!!"

"We're sailing straight up?"

"This feels so strange."

"Hahahahaha!!!"

"Go!!!!"

"Whoo!!!!!"

The warship sailed vertically along the current. Seeing such a sight for the first time, everyone kept crying out in amazement.

But after a while, something felt wrong. Why did they seem to be a little farther from the water?

"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding!!!"

"We're doomed!!"

"No way!!!"

"I...!!!"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!!!!!"

More and more people noticed that the warship had pulled a little away from the water.

And when they saw the Sea Kings falling beside them, they finally realized it wasn't an illusion.

They really were getting farther and farther from the water!!!

Whoosh!!!

The instant the warship left the water, the hand Sakazuki had pressed against the railing turned into magma, which rapidly surged out.

It wrapped around the hull like a coating, leaving the middle hollow and forming an arrowhead shape on the outside.

Armament Haki covered and hardened it, and an enormous black arrowhead appeared in the air.

Boom!!!!

Endless magma erupted from the bottom of the black arrowhead, propelling it into the sky.

Boom...

In truth, bringing Cricket along had merely been a casual favor. Since he was here anyway, he wouldn't hold back when it came to all the good things on Sky Island...

But Sakazuki's main objective was the flying Ark Maxim... or rather, its blueprints.

The White Sea.

It lay seven thousand meters above the Blue Sea.

The air was thin, and there were countless small sky islands.

It could be reached through High West or the Knock Up Stream, with the return route lying at the eastern end of the clouds.

Above it lay the White-White Sea, home to a nation known as the "Sacred Realm," the Land of Gods.

The Land of Gods lay another three thousand meters above the White Sea.

It consisted of Angel Island and God's Island, "Upper Yard."

Of course.

The most important things here were the blueprints for the Ark Maxim, countless riches in gold, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and more. He might as well take what was there for the taking...

Boom!!

With an enormous crash...

A gigantic black arrowhead burst through the surface of the White Sea.

The instant it emerged, the enormous black arrowhead softened, writhed, and vanished.

A warship crashed onto the water, throwing up waves several meters high that splashed back down.

Back in the sunlight, everyone gazed at the white world around them.

"What is this???"

"Clouds?"

"Wow!!!"

"It's all white."

"Are we floating on clouds?"

"How is that possible!!!!"

They gasped!!!

"It's real."

The adjutant took out the documents on Sky Island.

"This should be the White Sea, a navigable sea formed from the sea cloud within the Milky Road Clouds."

"Whoa, it really is made of clouds."

"How can you be sure this is the White Sea?"

"Because of that."

"Hm?"

"Is that...?!"

"A white waterfall flowing upward?"

Following the direction of the adjutant's finger, the soldiers looked over.

Some clouds blocked their view, but they could still faintly make out a white waterfall flowing upward.

"Yes. That should be Heaven's Gate."

"Heaven!!!!!"

"You mean that Heaven?!!!"

"No. That place is also made up of sky islands. It's home to the only nation on Sky Island, the Land of Gods."

"That's the entrance to the Land of Gods: Heaven's Gate."

The adjutant explained it to everyone. The soldiers around him looked disappointed; they had thought it might be paradise.

"Oh, so that's it. I thought we'd get to see God."

"What nonsense are you talking about? There's no such thing as a god."

"Hahahahaha."

"There isn't an actual god, but..."

He drew out the last word, making everyone look at him expectantly. The adjutant smiled.

"There is a Skypiean Race. The kind with wings."

The soldiers around him cried out in amazement, then looked toward the bow with eager anticipation.

Sakazuki nodded to the adjutant, who waved a hand and looked toward the distant waterfall flowing upward.

"Destination: Heaven's Gate!"

"Whoo!!!!"