"Bellamy?! Are you really going to do this?"
"You're going to die! Haven't you seen it? Every now and then, a ship falls from the sky in pieces. Do you really want to take a chance on that?!"
"Sarquiss."
Bellamy's gaze was incredibly calm. "I thought so too, but a Shichibukai said that Sky Island really exists!"
Just like the Shichibukai Doflamingo he admired, Straw Hat Luffy, also a Shichibukai, said that Sky Island exists.
If he doesn't confirm it with his own eyes, what good is his past knowledge?
Right now…
He was exactly like the ridiculed Luffy and Zoro in the original story.
"But you're really going to die... Did you forget you ate a Devil Fruit?! If you fall into the water, you'll die!" Sarquiss opened his mouth, feeling parched.
"Why did you become a pirate if you're afraid of death?"
Bellamy raised his right hand high, clenched it, and smiled. "If you don't want to go, then stay at the resort and have fun for a few more days. If you want to go, come with me!"
At the same time…
Grand Line, a certain maritime area.
A small makeshift boat made from four tree trunks swayed with the choppy waves under the dark sky.
No, it couldn't even be called a boat, just a small raft that could easily fall apart in a storm.
On the raft, four people and a horse gathered.
The horse was sick, lying on the raft, and the person lying on its back seemed to have only one breath left, as if he could die at any moment.
"Captain."
The man speaking wore bright red lipstick, a black top hat, and was dressed like a theater character.
Laffitte, the navigator of the Blackbeard Pirates.
He was holding a piece of white paper in his hand, and at that moment, the paper was slowly burning. When the last corner turned to ash and dissipated, Laffitte spoke regretfully:
"Van Augur is dead. When the Vivre Card burns, it means the owner is completely dead."
"Hahaha... Dead, huh? Looks like it was a mistake leaving him in Mock Town. Captain Teach, you should have let me take his place!"
The man with well-developed arm muscles laughed heartily.
"This is really unexpected."
Blackbeard ate a piece of meat in large bites and took a sip of the cheapest rum.
Boom!
The bottle of alcohol was heavily smashed on the wooden raft, shattering into pieces of glass on the spot.
"Hahaha, this is also fate's choice. What a pity, Augur." He laughed loudly.
"Dying in a place where the big stage hasn't even opened yet... You must be sad too, right?"
"Who killed him?"
The muscular man, wearing a belt around his waist, expressed confusion over his companion's death.
"Do you really need to ask? With his strength, the only person on that island who could kill him and stop him from escaping is Straw Hat Luffy!"
Blackbeard smiled. "Hahaha..."
"There is not a single pirate recognized by the World Government who is weak! If he doesn't understand this principle, there is nothing we can do, even if he dies."
"We just left him waiting there for Straw Hat to convey a few words… why did he end up dead?" The weak patient on the bed spoke softly, with a hint of inexplicable mockery at the corner of his mouth.
"Who knows."
The others no longer paid attention.
Laffitte pondered and said, "The current issue is whether he actually got the message across or not."
It can't be that he was killed as soon as they met, right?
Just saying a few words and conveying the Blackbeard Pirates' intentions should have been enough, right?
The Blackbeard Pirates were very interested in the newly emerged Shichibukai and even wanted to recruit him.
"Um?"
Suddenly, Laffitte squinted and saw a person in the sea ahead, in the middle of the storm, riding a bicycle.
"Captain, look ahead."
"That guy is..." Blackbeard's expression froze, and he exclaimed, "Aokiji, Navy Admiral! Why is he in a place like this?!"
Everyone's expressions changed.
"Hahaha, cycling in this storm? What a monster."
It seemed like he also noticed the people on a small raft in the storm.
Aokiji raised his eyelids and greeted, "What a coincidence. Hey, guys, have you seen the Straw Hats' ship?"
The Blackbeard Pirates replied, "It's on Jaya Island."
"Thanks."
Aokiji continued to ride his bike in the pouring rain. After a few steps, he blinked and turned around, saying, "Are you guys pirates too? Flying the pirate flag, huh? What's your bounty?"
"0!"
"Is that so?"
"Does the Navy Admiral have any interest in zero-bounty pirates?"
"With or without a bounty doesn't mean anything. I can't just..."
Aokiji exhaled cold air, and the turbulent sea around him slowly froze.
In the next moment, he was stunned.
Laffitte jumped up and ripped down the pirate flag.
"It was a misunderstanding just now."
"Is that so?"
"Hahaha... Yes!"
Although both sides said so, the torrential rain seemed to suddenly freeze at that moment, and the turbulent sea turned into a frozen landscape in an instant.
Mock Town
The Sunny and Merry were about to dock, but they set sail again.
The two ships continued along the coast.
"On the other side of the island is our base."
Led by the Masira Pirates, they quickly arrived at their destination.
On the sparsely populated coast, there was a luxurious mansion.
After everyone disembarked, they discovered that this house was just a wall. The luxurious mansion was fake, and behind the wall, there was only a small house.
"Does the person who knows about the Knock Up Stream live here?"
Nami got off the ship and looked at the compass on her wrist. The compass was still pointing to the sky.
"Luffy, we must try to get to Sky Island before the magnetic field is renewed. Otherwise, even if we manage to go up, we might get lost when we get back."
The compass is currently being captured by Sky Island's magnetic field. But if they stay on Jaya Island for too long, the magnetic field will be overwritten and start pointing towards the next island.
"So we need to hurry as much as possible." Robin nodded.
In front of the small house, there was a wooden peg with a book placed on it.
Robin walked over and picked up the book to leaf through it.
"'Noland the Liar'? A North Blue fairy tale."
"North Blue?" Sanji captured the key information. "I read this book when I was a child. I didn't expect to find it here."
"Huh? Sanji, are you from North Blue?" Usopp said in surprise.
"Didn't I mention this before? I was born in North Blue but grew up in East Blue."
"Huh!? That's the first time I've heard of it."
The group chatted at the door.
Luffy followed the ape-man towards the small house.
"Father!"
The ape-man shouted as he opened the door. "There's a Shichibukai who wants to go to Sky Island!"
Inside the house, a man with a brown head was lying on a small bed, looking unwell.
Upon hearing this, he forced himself to sit up and looked at the door in astonishment.
"Are you... Luffy from the Straw Hat Pirates?"
Luffy entered the room and immediately noticed the man's discomfort. He shouted outside, "Chopper, there's a patient who needs you here!"
After saying that, he turned to the man on the bed and spoke, "I want to go to Sky Island. You must know about the Knock Up Stream. Can you tell me where and when it appears nearby?"
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉
It's so good to be back... So much going on has destroyed my personal schedule hehehe