"Retrieved! Retrieved!..."
The group turned to look and saw a ship several times larger than theirs. At the bow was a monkey holding two gongs.
Just then, a sound came from the ship.
"All the shipwrecks in this area belong to our Masira Pirates, that is, to my Salvage King Masira. Ladies, are you ready?"
The large, ape-like Masira waited for a long time but no one answered him, which made him a little dissatisfied.
He looked at his men and asked, "What are you doing? Why aren't you reacting?"
After waiting for a long time without anyone answering him, and just when he was about to give his men a good scolding, one of them finally stepped forward and stammered, "..."
"Boss... did you just say that all the shipwrecks in this area belong to us?"
"Of course! You've been with our pirate crew for a while now, how can you still ask such a stupid question?" The Masira looked at his subordinate with some dissatisfaction.
Upon hearing the Masira's words, the subordinate fell silent for a long while before asking in a low voice:
"And... what about those in the sky?"
"Idiot, what are you talking about? Do you think there are ships that can fly in the sky?"
None of the men said anything, but they all pointed behind the Masira.
"What are you guys doing? Saying all this weird stuff..."
The Masira said as he turned his head, and the instant he turned, he saw the most incredible thing he had ever seen in his life.
w(ﾟДﾟ)w!
"The ship... the ship... the ship is really floating in the air?!"
The Masira rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but no matter how many times he rubbed, the ship remained suspended in the air.
He stood there, stunned, speechless for a long time. Finally, he realized what had happened and exclaimed in Satori:
"I know, I must be dreaming. I knew it! How could a ship float in the sky?"
Then he punched himself hard in the mouth.
"Bang!"
"Ouch... it hurts!"
But he no longer cared about whether he was in pain or not; instead, he immediately jumped up and stared blankly at the ship in the sky.
Just then, he saw something strange in the sky. Squinting to take a closer look, he began to doubt his own eyesight once again.
He turned his head blankly, looked at his subordinates behind him, and asked, "Have you... seen anyone flying in the sky?"
The subordinates nodded in unison, and the Masira instantly broke out in a cold sweat.
That's it, the whole ship has gone mad, they've caught a disease where everything seems to fly.
The boat is, and so are the people!
This is outrageous! He needs to go get his blood pressure medication!
--
Meanwhile, Xia Chen and the others had already returned to the Going Merry.
" Sex Fiend cook, die!" The moment Sanji landed, Zoro drew his sword and slashed at him.
Sanji was startled by this sudden turn of events, and after recovering, his anger flared up. He retorted, "Third-rate swordsman, you think I'm afraid of you...?"
Ignoring the two bickering, Xia Chen and the others started discussing amongst themselves.
"So? Any leads?" Usopp asked.
"No!" Xia Chen shook his head.
"These are probably all porcelain pieces from who-knows-how-many years ago, worthless. They've probably already been searched!"
"Huh? Then how do we get to Sky Island?" Usopp was a little disappointed, but then he seemed to have thought of something and asked Xia Chen:
"By the way, Xia Chen, could your cloud just send us up there?"
"It's not working. My clouds can only fly to a certain height. I can't fly to places as high as Sky Island!" Xia Chen said helplessly, spreading his hands.
His cloud can't fly up?
How could that be? He just doesn't want to fly. Flying straight up is no fun; he wants to experience the Knock Up Stream!
Besides, he hasn't even checked off his list of Jaya Island yet. Going there directly would mean missing one of his chances to visit it, wouldn't it?
"In that case, the trail has gone cold again! We still don't know how to get to Sky Island!" Nami sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
"Actually... we can ask the people in the nearby seas. They live in this area year-round, so they should know something, more or less!" Xia Chen said meaningfully.
Upon hearing this, everyone involuntarily turned their gaze to the ship beside them, and the same thought popped into their minds.
Xia Chen smiled and greeted everyone.
"Let's go and pay them a visit!"
In just a few seconds, Xia Chen and the others arrived at the Masira Pirates ' ship.
As soon as they boarded the ship, they attracted the attention of the people on board, who all adopted defensive postures and looked at them with hostility.
Who are you! What are you doing on our ship?
"Hello, we'd like to ask how to get to Sky Island!" Luffy forward and said.
"We don't know anything about that ethereal thing. You'd better leave now, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
"Oh, I see!" Luffy was a little disappointed.
"Why is it so noisy outside? I just went in for a little while," the Masira, walking out of the cabin with a displeased look on his face.
He's sick and needs to rest, yet these people keep bothering him. They have no sense of propriety at all.
"Huh? Who are you?" the Masira asked curiously, looking at Xia Chen and the others in front of him.
Luffy didn't answer him, but instead exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you look like Masira!"
Upon hearing this, the Masira's anger vanished instantly, and he asked happily, "You also think I look like an ape? You have excellent taste!"
"Yeah, you really do look like an ape, hahaha..." Luffy said again.
Haha... I think so too!
After laughing for a while, the Masira looked at Luffy curiously.
"Brother, what brings you to my ship?"
Everyone:...
So, they've become brothers?
"We want to go to the Sky Island, do you have any ideas on how to do that?"
" Sky Island? That's just a legend. Not many people would believe in such a thing!" The Masira stroked his chin.
"However... I happen to be one of those few people who believe it! Because our boss is quite knowledgeable in this area, and if we're talking about how to get to the Sky Island, he might be the only one in the vicinity who knows!"
"Oh, your boss knows?" Luffy looked at him excitedly.
"Of course!" The Masira's face showed a proud expression.
"Could you take us to your boss?"
"Well, most people definitely can't do that, but you're my brother, so it's no problem!" The Masira patted his chest, making it clear that he'd take care of it.
"Really? Thank you so much!" Luffy forward and tightly grasped the Masira's hand.
"Hey, why bring this up? Good brother, for life!"
Luffy: "Good brothers, for life!"
Everyone:...