The Going Merry soared into the clouds and hovered there, but no one looked out immediately.
The Straw Hat Pirates is facing a crisis of oxygen deprivation.
"This is what the air looks like; it's truly spectacular."
Shiraishi gazed out of the boat; everything was a vast expanse of white, the clouds like a sea, or perhaps celestial energy rolling outwards from heaven.
Nami, her forehead still damp with sweat, propped herself up and glanced outside. "Is this White Sea?"
But why is the Log Pose still pointing upwards?
Robin sat on the ship's railing, smiling, and said, "Hmm, it seems this is only the middle level of the Cumuloregalis."
Chopper sat there, stunned. "So, we have to go up again? But what are we going to do?"
"I don't know either." Robin never speaks carelessly about questions she doesn't understand.
Meanwhile, having recovered, Usopp had already taken off his coat and struck a strong pose. "First step, Captain Usopp, let's swim!!"
"Oh! Yay! Yay!!"
Luffy immediately joined in the commotion.
Sanji admonished, "Hey, we're not familiar with this sea, so let's not mess around!"
"The sea is just the sea, what's there to be afraid of?" Usopp ignored Sanji's advice and jumped in, sinking without any resistance.
White Sea became very calm.
Shiraishi asked slowly, "I'd like to ask, is there such a thing as an underwater world in the Sky White Sea?"
"Probably, it fell from the clouds and landed on the sea below."
Retsu Unohana chimed in.
"That's why I told him not to mess around, that idiot," Sanji shouted anxiously.
Luffy was terrified and roared, " Usopp!"
He stretched out his arm, trying to pull Usopp out of the White Sea.
Robin advised, "Try to elongate your speech as much as possible."
"But I can't see down there, I can only rely on my senses."
Luffy was so anxious that tears streamed down his face.
"Dazzling!"
Robin shut his mouth and crossed his arms.
Then, eyes grew from Luffy's hands to search for Usopp's whereabouts.
After Luffy's arm emerged from the clouds, Robin also saw Usopp fall out of the clouds.
" Seis Fleur!"
The outstretched hand caught Usopp as he fell freely through the air.
"Okay, pull him up." Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ugh," Luffy gritted his teeth, feeling his body become unusually heavy for some reason. He puffed out his cheeks and used all his strength to finally lift Usopp up.
Usopp came up, followed by a gigantic octopus as big as a mountain.
"Ah! Usopp is going to be eaten!" Chopper shouted in panic.
"Hmph, what's the big deal?"
Zoro leaped into the air, drew his sword, and instantly killed the octopus with a single strike.
The giant octopus sank into the sea of clouds, leaving only a part of it clinging to the ship's railing.
"What a strange creature! This... it's not quite like a fish, even though it's supposed to be one."
Sanji muttered to himself, wondering if this thing could actually be used as food.
Zoro scratched his head and said, "That octopus is also inflated like a balloon."
"Whoa!" Usopp cried out in surprise, pulling a fish out of his pants and fainting from fright.
"This should be the Skyfish, the strange fish mentioned in Noland's diary."
Robin catches the fish Usopp throws at her. "This strange shape must be the result of continuous evolution to survive in this White Sea."
Luffy didn't care about any of that, snatched the Sky Fish, and let Sanji try it out.
Shiraishi also brought over two more and fried them together, saying, "So delicious!"
The texture of the hollow fish is like a cloud, and it's so soft.
Chopper, using binoculars to search for the Sky Island, spotted a large ship in the clouds. "Ah, there's a ship over there! Hey, people?"
Boom! The ship was destroyed, and the man continued his attack.
He held an arc-shaped tower shield, wore a totem-shaped wooden mask on his face, had a well-proportioned muscular physique, and a fur coat around his waist as he sped towards us.
If it weren't for the rocket launcher he was holding in his other hand, he would have looked every bit the part of a jungle warrior.
"Oh no, everyone! Someone is running towards us from the clouds!"
Chopper turned to remind him to be a step too slow.
Winter fell, and the man landed on the ship's railing, shouting, "I'll destroy you!"
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji immediately charged in, and to Nami's surprise, even the three of them combined couldn't gain the upper hand. Was this guy really that strong?
" Unohana- san," she pleaded for help.
Retsu Unohana looked up and said, "It seems I don't need to do anything."
That's enough!
Just then, a loud shout came from the sky.
A knight riding a bird swooped down and shot the jungle warrior wielding a rocket launcher.
The jungle warrior clearly recognized the other party, jumped off the Going Merry without hesitation, and sped away above the sea of clouds.
Nami looked up at the reinforcements, "Who are you?"
"I am Gan Fall, the Sky Knight."
"Pierre," cried the strange bird beside Gan Faure.
"Who was that guy just now?"
Nami initially maintained her normal demeanor, then turned to the three of them, transforming into the Roaring Emperor, "You guys are really terrible! The three of you couldn't even beat one person!"
Sanji was also puzzled and said, " Nami- san is right, I'm such a coward."
Zoro remained silent, lost in thought, trying to figure out where he had gone wrong.
Luffy lay on the ground and honestly said, "I feel strange all over; I can't seem to muster any energy."
Retsu Unohana smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about it. The problem isn't with you, it's just that the air here is too thin."
Upon hearing this, Gan Foul asked, "Are you from the Blue Sea?"
Nami asked with a puzzled look, "What's that?"
" Blue Sea people are a general term for people who live under the clouds. In any case, you must be from the Blue Sea."
Luffy looked at Gan Fall and nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's right."
"No wonder, this is the White Sea at an altitude of 7,000 meters above Blue Sea, and the next level of the White-White Sea is even higher at 10,000 meters."
Generally speaking, people from the Blue Sea become unable to move once they arrive here.
Gan Faure explained.
Luffy practically slapped himself in the face right there, sitting up abruptly and waving his hand, "Great, you're finally getting used to it."
"It's definitely much easier than before."
Zoro also answered.
"..." Gan Fall realized that there are always exceptions. Looking at the Straw Hat Pirates's relaxed attitude, he decided to get down to business. "Ahem, everyone from the Blue Sea."
"I understand you have a mountain of problems, however, I am a free agent mercenary."
Gan Fall said with a serious expression, "If you're not good at aerial combat, you'll be at a disadvantage in this area. You'll either get killed by those guerrillas or become food for the air fish."
"Five million for each of Extol's men, and I will come to your rescue."
Silence fell; no one spoke.
Perhaps feeling it wasn't right to leave an elderly person hanging, Luffy spoke up, "What are you talking about, old man?"
"Uh... my price is already very cheap. Don't even think about bargaining with me. I won't lower it by a single Extol. I need to make a living too."
Gan Faure explained rather flusteredly.
Usopp was already lying down, constantly muttering about how terrifying Sky Island was.
Sanji explained, "We just don't understand what you mean by 'Extol,' and what that 'whistle' thing is?"
"Wait, didn't you come all the way from the Summit of High West?"
Gan Fall finally noticed the unusual nature of the ship.
"You should have visited at least one or two islands and have some understanding of the local culture, right?"
Nami's eyes widened. "Wait a minute," she said, "Your tone makes it sound like there are other ways to get to the Sky Island. Also, you said there would be at least one or two islands along the way. Is there more than one Sky Island?"
Shiraishi simply stated, "We came up here on the Knock Up Stream."
Gan Fall looked at Shiraishi with admiration, "You actually came up using such an ancient method! I never imagined there were still such brave people these days."
"I knew there had to be a proper route."
Nami was in tears, feeling that ever since she boarded this ship, everything along the way had become incredibly difficult.
Luffy smiled. "No matter what path we take, if we can get here directly, isn't that great?"
"What's so good about it? We almost died!" Nami yanked hard on his rubber mouth.
Gan Fall was amazed by their courage and wisdom, so he dropped a whistle on the deck and then turned and jumped onto the large bird next to him.
"The so-called 'one whistle' means that if I blow this whistle once, I will descend from the sky to help you. Consider it a small gift for you brave warriors."
Having said that, Gan Fall rode his large bird—no, it should be called a spotted Pegasus that had eaten Horse-Horse Fruit —and soared into the sky.
On the Going Merry, Nami realized that the old man had said a lot, but hadn't revealed anything he should have. How could they possibly advance?
"It's alright. I see something that looks like a waterfall up ahead. Shall we go take a look?" Shiraishi pointed to a waterfall in the distance.
"Okay, let's go there!"
Luffy nodded.
Thus began the Going Merry's White Sea voyage.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of strange clouds, some of which were so soft that it would be very comfortable to lie on them.
As the Going Merry sailed forward above the sea of clouds, after rounding a cloud-covered mountain range, a huge archway appeared before them.
"It says 'Heaven's Gate' on it."
"Are we already dead?"
"Haha, heaven is so much fun~"
Don't say such unlucky things!
There's someone over there!
Kacha, Kacha, Kacha~~
Amidst a series of flashes, the elderly woman holding Camera Dial below the giant gate looked towards the Going Merry.
Are you here for sightseeing or to fight?
The old woman asked a question, then replied, "It doesn't matter which one it is. If you want to go to the higher-ups, please pay the entry fee: one billion Extol per person. This is stipulated by law."
Upon hearing the number one billion, Usopp was completely stunned. How many Belly is one billion?
Nami forced an awkward smile and asked, "What will we do if we don't have any money?"
Do you want her to pay 1 billion?
It would be better to just take her life.
"You can still go in," the old woman answered truthfully.
"You can go in without paying?!" Usopp exclaimed in astonishment. What good is that law then?
Nami stated directly, "We have no money, please let us in."
The old woman asked again, "Are you really going up there?"
Luffy nodded, indicating that everyone on the ship should board.
The old woman didn't waste any more words. She summoned the White Sea's Express Shrimp, which clamped onto the wings of the Going Merry, and then headed towards what looked like a waterfall but was actually a special kind of cloud, entering the White-White Sea.
A sudden gust of wind whipped everyone's hair. Nami squinted, spotting a sign in the clouds. " God's Land... Holy Land in the Sky?!"
"Look, that's the exit."
"It's not an exit, it's an entrance!!"
Under Luffy's expectant gaze, the Going Merry burst out of the entrance and arrived at the White-White Sea - the God's Land - the Holy Land in the Sky.
After entering through the entrance, they saw the island.
An island built on clouds.
Once the Going Merry reached the shore, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp jumped off and began their adventure on Sky Island.
Robin gazed at the beautiful scenery before her and smiled, " Holy Land in the Sky. This name appears on the map Luffy found. That giant sailing ship that fell from the sky really was here two hundred years ago."
"I never imagined that sailing and landing could be such an adventure."
Robin's face showed a hint of emotion.
Zoro glanced at this cunning woman again; was that also acting?
If so, that would be wonderful.
After the boat was moored, the rest of the people chose to disembark and enjoy the scenery.
That's what adventure is all about: finding a beautiful island, relaxing and enjoying it, and then setting off again with the thought of what the next island will be like.
After Sanji disembarked, he immediately spotted a person on a high slope not far from the shore.
"Hey, there's someone over there!" Sanji shouted.
Usopp cried out in a panic, "Where's the whistle? Where's the whistle? Could it be that guerrilla soldier again?"
Sanji looked closely, then exclaimed in surprise, "It's an angel! An angel!"
Conis, hearing the commotion, stopped playing the harp, turned to look at the crowd, and said, "Hasso!"
Everyone looked at Conis with suspicion.
Conis walked towards them and asked, "Are you from the Blue Sea? This is Angel Beach, the Holy Land in the Sky."
As she spoke, Conis noticed Luffy holding two fruits that looked like pumpkins. "Hehe, that's Kong Fruit. Want some?"
She walked over, picked up a Kong Fruit, and took out a small knife, saying, "Its shell is as hard as iron, so you can't bite it. You have to pry it open from here. Here, have a drink!"
Luffy took the opened Kong Fruit, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Wow, this is delicious! Super delicious!"
"Really? I'll give it a try."
Shiraishi popped a Kong Fruit open, tried sucking out the juice, and found it to be incredibly delicious, even sweeter than coconut juice.
Conis, holding her pet fox Su, said, "My name is Conis. If you have any trouble, I'll help you."
At that moment, Sanji stared intently at Conis and exclaimed, "Ahhhhh! Your gaze is burning my heart!!"
Before Sanji could finish speaking, Nami grabbed Sanji's ear and pulled Sanji behind her.
"You're in the way!" Nami glared at him, then turned to Conis and said, "We have so many things we want to know. In short, everything here is incredible to us..."
Conis smiled and replied, "Okay, please ask whatever you like."