(A/N: From the moment the Skypiea Arc starts, there will be more dialogue than plot progression in the beginning chapters, which might sound boring, especially with the majority of the chapters being dialogue-heavy and having less plot progression. But bear with it—I'm building something, and the dialogues will be useful in the future to create lots of chaos and brainrot comedy. So, if you feel the dialogues are getting boring or becoming too much, just hang in there. If anything, this will last at most until Chapter 90. After that, the amount of dialogue will be significantly less compared to the chapters before Chapter 90, and the plot will progress at a much better pace. And trust me, I'll make it even funnier, with even more brainrot comedy content that just freshens your mind after the hectic days that life throws at you.)
"GOT YOU!"
The sea bulged higher. The roar became deafening.
And the Knock Up Stream erupted.
A massive column of water exploded upward, catching Smoker mid-flight. The force slammed into him like a giant's fist, sending him tumbling backward through the air, his smoke form scattering in all directions. He spun helplessly, arms flailing, and crashed back onto the deck of his own ship, rolling to a stop against the mast.
"URGH!" Smoker groaned, his head spinning. His cigars had fallen out. His coat was soaked.
Tashigi rushed to his side. "Sir! Are you alright?!"
Smoker coughed, pushing himself up. His eyes found Takuya, who was now rising into the air on the pillar of water, his ship lifting gracefully toward the clouds.
Takuya looked down at him. He raised his hand in a lazy wave.
"Too slow again, Smokey! Maybe next time, don't try to catch a flying pirate when the ocean is about to sneeze!"
Smoker's face was purple. He opened his mouth to scream, but the wind swallowed his words.
Takuya's voice drifted down one last time. "I'll save you a cloud! Try to keep up!"
The Dune Serpent and the Going Merry rose higher and higher, disappearing into the white expanse.
Smoker punched the railing, cracking the wood. "THAT MAN! I'LL—I'LL—"
"Sir, please calm down!" Tashigi grabbed his arm.
"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!"
But then, in the chaos of the rising water and the Marines scrambling, a small pouch of cookies appeared in Tashigi's hand. A disembodied hand sprouted from her own sleeve, pressed the pouch into her palm, and vanished just as quickly.
Tashigi's eyes went wide. She looked up.
High above, on the rising Dune Serpent, Robin stood at the railing. Takuya held her firmly from behind, one arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her balanced as the ship shuddered and climbed. The wind whipped her hair, but she didn't stumble. His grip was steady, certain, as her hands were clasped in front of her chest..
Her lips curved into a small, knowing smile—a mirror of Takuya's own. She gave Tashigi the slightest nod.
Tashigi's heart hammered at the risky move, especially when Smoker was besides her and was already purple in anger. She clutched the pouch.
Then, a handful of loose cookies tumbled down from above, scattering across the Marine deck. They bounced off the rails, the mast, a sailor's head.
"COOKIES!" someone shouted.
"THEY'RE THROWING COOKIES AT US!"
"ARE THEY DRUGGED?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! DON'T EAT THEM!"
Panic spread. Marines stumbled over each other, trying to avoid the scattered treats. One man slipped on a cookie and fell flat on his face. Another started screaming about the Cookie Messiah returning for revenge.
Smoker's eyes twitched violently. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN! THEY'RE JUST—"
"COOKIES, SIR! EVIL COOKIES!"
"THEY'RE NOT EVIL!"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW, SIR?!"
Smoker wanted to punch something. Preferably Takuya. But Takuya was already a hundred feet in the air.
Takuya's voice drifted down, casual and mocking. "That's right, Smokey! A whole pouch for your crew! Share nicely! Except you—you're on a diet!"
Smoker's face went purple. "I AM NOT ON A DIET!"
"COOKIE DIET!" a Marine yelled, then clapped his hand over his mouth.
Tashigi stood frozen, the pouch she held in her hand against her chest. She watched the Dune Serpent shrink into the clouds.
'Another message,' she thought.
The loose cookies scattered across the deck—that was the signal. Chaos for the others, cover for her. While every Marine panicked over drugged treats, she slipped the cookie pouch into her blouse. No one saw. No one would ever know.
Her face burned, but she didn't question it. This was how they communicated now—cookies in secret pouches, delivered discreetly. The pouch was both her reward for the information she'd passed and her next set of instructions. She would find them later, written on the inside of the wrapper in that tiny, precise script.
She tucked the pouch deeper into her blouse making sure that it doesn't fall or she gets caught with it by anyone at all.
'Next time,' she thought, 'Maybe he'll send something stronger than tangerine. Maybe strawberries. That's my favorite.*
Her cheeks were still red, but she allowed herself a small, hidden smile.
Smoker was already barking orders. "TURN THE SHIP AROUND! FIND ANOTHER WAY UP! I DON'T CARE IF WE HAVE TO SAIL TO THE MOON!"
Tashigi adjusted her glasses, tucked her blouse flat, and followed him below deck. The pouch stayed hidden.
Not a single Marine had seen a thing.
---
Above the clouds, the Dune Serpent and the Going Merry shot through the air, carried by the Knock Up Stream. The wind howled. The sea fell away below them.
Nami's legs were rooted to the deck—not by fear, but by several arms that had sprouted from the wooden planks, wrapping gently around her ankles and calves. Robin's doing. Nami didn't flinch. She didn't even look down. She just spread her arms wide, let the wind rip through her hair, and screamed.
"WE'RE FLYING! WE'RE ACTUALLY FLYING!"
Her voice was raw, her eyes wide. The log pose on her wrist still pointed straight up, but she didn't need it anymore. She could feel the wind, the pressure, the way the ship tilted. And beneath her feet, those arms held her firm. She wasn't going to fall. She wasn't going to die. Because he was here. Because they were all here.
She didn't think about the words. She just knew. And she laughed.
Beside her, Vivi had her eyes squeezed shut, her arms locked around the mast. But she too felt the limbs wrapped around her legs—Robin's silent gift of safety. Slowly, Vivi opened one eye, then the other. The world was a blur of white clouds and blue sky. She didn't let go of the mast, but her knuckles stopped being white.
Robin herself stood calmly near the railing, as if being launched into the sky was a normal Tuesday. Takuya held her from behind, one arm around her waist, keeping her steady. She leaned back into him, her hands resting on his arm. No fear. No tension. Just trust.
Mira had the south bird perched on her shoulder, both arms stretched out like wings. "WHEEEEE! THIS IS BETTER THAN ANY RIDE I HAD TILL NOW!" The bird squawked but held on. Mira laughed, spinning in place, completely unbothered by the chaos.
On the Going Merry, Luffy had climbed onto the figurehead and was standing on one leg, arms stretched wide, his mouth open so wide the wind filled his cheeks like balloons. "SKYYYYYYYY! ISLAAAAAAAAAND! WE'RE GOING TO THE SKY ISLAND!"
He hopped from one foot to the other, nearly slipping, then caught himself with rubber arms wrapped around the mast. "I'M GOING TO CATCH A CLOUD AND EAT IT! I'M GOING TO FIND GOLD! I'M GOING TO—"
He paused, sniffing the air. "—SMELL THE SKY! IT SMELLS LIKE... LIKE..." He couldn't find the words. He just grinned. "IT SMELLS LIKE FUN!"
Usopp was crying, his tears flying sideways in the wind. "WE'RE GOING TO DIE! THIS IS HOW WE DIE! FALLING FROM THE SKY AFTER BEING LAUNCHED BY A GIANT WATER CANNON!"
Chopper had transformed into his heavy point and was holding onto Usopp with both hooves, also crying. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE EITHER! I NEVER EVEN GOT TO SEE A REAL SKY FISH!"
Zoro stood with his arms crossed, his expression bored, his feet planted wide. The wind didn't seem to bother him. "Shut up. We're not dead yet. And if we were, crying wouldn't help."
Sanji held onto the railing, his cigarette somehow still lit, his eyes fixed on the Dune Serpent ahead. He watched the women—Nami laughing, Vivi clinging but safe, Robin held in Takuya's arms, Mira spinning like a child. His jaw tightened.
'He's taking them to the sky,' Sanji thought. 'And I'm right behind him. That bastard Smokey couldn't even touch him.'
He almost laughed. Almost.
Cricket was crouched near the mast, his pipe clamped between his teeth, his knuckles white around a rope. His monkey had wrapped itself around his neck, chattering in terror. Cricket's eyes were wide, but not with fear—with wonder.
"This is it," he breathed. "This is what my ancestor saw. This is what they called a lie."
Masira was hanging upside down from a crossbeam, having lost his footing. "BOSSSSS! I'M GOING TO FALL!"
"Then hold on tighter!" Shoujou shouted from the other side of the deck, his massive frame pressed against the railing. His voice boomed even over the wind. "WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"
The clouds parted. A white sea stretched before them—endless, strange, glowing faintly in the sunlight that pierced through.
The sky was waiting.
The clouds parted like a curtain being drawn open.
White. Endless white stretched in every direction, soft and glowing, as if the sky had turned to milk. Below them, the blue sea had vanished completely. Above them, more clouds—thicker now, almost solid, forming strange shapes that floated like islands.
"We're... we're in the clouds," Vivi whispered, finally releasing her death grip on the mast. "We're actually above the clouds."
Mira whooped, still spinning, the south bird squawking in protest. "I told you! I told you it was going to be fun!"
Robin's arms unwound from around the women's legs, dissolving into petals. Nami felt the release but didn't move. She stood there, arms still spread, letting the wind dry the tears that had escaped her eyes.
'We made it,' Nami thought. 'We actually made it.'
She looked back at Takuya. He was still holding Robin, his face calm, as if being ten thousand meters above the sea was nothing special. Their eyes met. He gave her the smallest nod.
Nami grinned and turned back to the horizon.
—
On the Going Merry, chaos had reached new heights.
Luffy had climbed onto the highest point of the mast and was hanging upside down by his legs, arms stretched toward the clouds. His fingers grazed the white fluff, and he giggled like a child.
"I'M TOUCHING THEM! THEY'RE SO SOFT!" He squeezed a handful of clouds, and it squished through his fingers. "Ooh, they're WET! The sky is all wet! It's dripping down my arm!"
Usopp buried his face in his hands. "Luffy, please stop talking."
"Why? It feels good! Really good! I want more!"
Zoro took a long drink from his sake bottle. "Someone shut him up."
Sanji stared at the sky, his cigarette burning. 'He has no idea what he's saying. None at all.'
Luffy grabbed another cloud, moaning with exaggerated pleasure. "Ahhhh... that's the stuff. The sky likes me. It's letting me touch it everywhere."
"LUFFY, I'M BEGGING YOU!" Usopp screamed.
But Luffy just laughed, completely oblivious, still hanging upside down. "You guys should try it! It's so soft and wet! Best sky ever!"
Chopper tilted his head. "Is there something wrong with what he's saying?"
"Don't ask," Zoro and Sanji said together.
"THEY'RE CLOUDS, YOU IDIOT!" Usopp shouted from where he was curled in a ball near the helm. "CLOUDS ARE MADE OF WATER! THAT'S WHY THEY'RE WET!"
"BUT THEY'RE IN THE SKY!" Luffy dropped from the mast, landed on his head, bounced, and scrambled back to his feet. "SKY WATER! I'M GOING TO DRINK THE SKY!"
"PLEASE DON'T!"
Chopper had transformed into his heavy point and was standing at the bow, his hooves gripping the railing, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL! I CAN SEE FOREVER! FOREVER!"
Zoro was sharpening his sword, completely unbothered. "We're not dead yet. That's what matters."
Sanji lit a fresh cigarette, the flame struggling against the wind. His eyes were still fixed on the Dune Serpent ahead. But something in his chest had loosened. Not healed. Just... loosened.
'We're in the sky,' he thought. 'He actually did it.:
Cricket was on his knees near the mast, his pipe fallen from his mouth, his hands trembling. His monkey had stopped chattering and was just staring, jaw hanging open.
"Four hundred years," Cricket whispered. "Four hundred years, and no one believed him. But he was right. He was right." His voice cracked. "The city of gold. The island in the sky. It's real. All of it."
Masira had finally fallen off his crossbeam and was lying flat on his back, staring up at the white expanse. "Boss... we're in heaven."
Shoujou stood frozen, his massive frame somehow still, his voice booming despite the awe. "THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"
---
A/N: If my story made you smile even once, that's a win for me. That's what I want to live for—brightening dull days and reminding people that joy still exists.
My dream is to make a difference in someone's life through my stories, to someday reach a legendary level of storytelling, and spread as much happiness I can in this world, before I take my leave from this world.
If you wish to read future chapter before the others then join my patreon, link is below. And if you can't it's alright, just adding a few words of appreciation and sharing with your friends and other readers will be enough that I need.
Thank you for choosing my Stories to read.
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