Deuce shook his head and walked toward the proprietress and other civilians alongside Carina, ready to help with communication and reassurance.
After some initial conversation, the townspeople quickly recognized the genuine sincerity and goodwill radiating from the pirates. Through careful observation, they concluded that aside from Brook and Skull—who admittedly looked rather unusual—the rest of the crew seemed perfectly normal and trustworthy.
The restaurant's proprietress, who was also Shirley's mother, solemnly thanked Jerry and his friends before hurrying out the door to spread the wonderful news of the one-eyed pirate gang's defeat throughout the entire town.
After some time, Deuce and the local doctor finally completed basic medical treatment for all the injured townspeople and guards.
Knowing that the settlement had already sent word to the nearest Marine base, and wanting to avoid unnecessary complications, Jerry's crew decided to continue their journey after completing their essential supply purchases.
"Huh? You're leaving so soon?"
At the harbor, little Shirley gently stroked the soft fur on Kotatsu's back while sighing to Carrot and little Bonney beside her. Despite having met only a short while ago, the three girls had already become fast friends.
"Yeah, but when we have time in the future, we'll definitely come back to visit you," Carrot nodded earnestly, her ears drooping slightly with genuine sadness at their parting.
"I know how you feel," little Bonney added with an exaggerated adult-like gesture, spreading her hands and shaking her head. "I also have to keep searching for my dad, who's gone off to who-knows-where. It's really quite worrying when you think about it."
Through their conversation, Shirley had learned that the "big bear" who had safely returned her to her hometown years ago was actually Bonney's father.
She patted Bonney's shoulder gently and nodded vigorously in sympathy. "That's so true! These fathers really are troublesome. My dad is always running around on business and isn't even on the island right now..."
"Ha ha ha! Are you two planning to stage a rebellion and become the parents instead?" Jerry, who had been sitting nearby chatting with Skull and the others, suddenly caught their conversation and turned to tease them with obvious amusement.
The girls couldn't help but burst into giggles at his comment, and the atmosphere became wonderfully relaxed and cheerful.
After a moment, Shirley pursed her lips thoughtfully and looked at Carrot and Bonney with obvious longing. "I really envy you both for being able to sail the seas with Jerry and everyone else."
Faced with Shirley's wistful expression, Jerry scratched his head and offered a encouraging grin. "Hey Shirley, why don't you try studying medicine? You might have real talent for it, and that could be your ticket to adventure on the high seas someday."
"Eh? Medicine?" Little Shirley blinked in surprise before falling into deep, serious thought about the possibility.
Seeing that Jerry had successfully redirected Shirley's attention with just a few well-chosen words, the other members of the Black Star Pirates couldn't help but snicker at his smooth deflection technique.
Soon enough, Jerry and his crew said their farewells to the grateful townspeople and set sail once again.
It was worth noting that to express their heartfelt gratitude, the residents refused to accept payment for any of the supplies Jerry's crew had purchased—every single item was given as a gift.
However, when they departed, Jerry secretly slipped a folded note to Shirley with instructions to give it to the adults later.
The message was concise and practical, reminding the townspeople not to forget to collect the bounty rewards when they handed over the captured one-eyed pirate and his gang to the Marines. Those bounties would provide valuable funds for rebuilding and repairing their damaged town.
"Wow! Are we really going to ride that cloud passage up ahead?" Little Bonney stared at the approaching celestial pathway with sparkling eyes, her excitement bubbling over as she cheered loudly.
Deuce nodded in confirmation, then gazed up at the dreamlike passage woven from rainbows and clouds with a slight frown of concern. "I remember when old Gan Fall explained the difference between using the Summit route versus riding a knock up stream directly."
He paused, organizing his thoughts. "The Summit is supposed to be relatively safe, but there's no guarantee that everyone who attempts the journey will make it through successfully."
"Natural knock up streams are basically gambling with your life—either everyone arrives safely at Sky Island, or everyone falls to their death together."
Looking at the magnificent scene before them, Deuce could find no words other than "beautiful" and "dreamlike" to describe it. He sensed no obvious danger, but if there truly was no risk involved, why wouldn't passage be guaranteed for everyone who tried?
The more he thought about it, the more Deuce regretted not asking the townspeople for more details while they were still on the island. People living in the nearby area would surely know more about the local mysteries and hazards.
"Boss Deuce, sometimes you don't need to overthink everything," Skull said, obviously recognizing his concerns. "Things have a way of working out when the time comes."
He placed his hands on his hips and held his head high with characteristic confidence. "Besides, Boss Jerry can control knock up streams themselves, so why would you be worried about getting through this little cloud slide?"
"Why do you inflate my reputation so casually..." Jerry slapped his forehead in exasperation, though deep down he agreed with Skull's assessment.
After nodding to everyone, he used his water manipulation to create a current that lifted their ship straight up toward the low-hanging sea of clouds.
Even though the "slide" channel formed by the sea of clouds descended from the sky above, its lowest point still hung nearly twenty meters above the ocean surface.
For ordinary people, the most practical way to get a pirate ship onto the cloud sea passage would be to wait for the strong winds and massive waves that periodically swept through the surrounding waters. Using those enormous waves as a natural ramp, they could reach the cloud passage entrance, then rely on the upward-sweeping winds to climb along the route toward the White White Sea.
"Oh! There are quite a few traps hidden here," Jerry observed with surprise as the Black Nova ship touched down on the cloud sea passage.
His friends immediately asked with curious concern, "What do you mean by that?"
As they asked, Jerry casually tossed an object toward a section of sea clouds ahead of their ship.
Everyone watched as a bright red, eye-catching fishing bobber sailed through the air. They followed its descent as it approached what appeared to be solid sea clouds, but instead of floating safely on the surface as expected, the bobber sank directly through the clouds and disappeared completely.
"What the..." Deuce and the others stared in shock.
This section, which looked identical to the genuine sea clouds around it, was actually composed of ordinary atmospheric clouds with no substance whatsoever. There was no actual "sea" present—just normal water vapor that couldn't support any weight at all.
If travelers who didn't understand the difference mistakenly sailed into such a false passage, they would plummet straight down to the Blue Sea surface below, giving them an excellent opportunity to personally test the law of gravity.
However, these "traps" were completely obvious to Jerry, who could clearly sense and manipulate genuine sea clouds through his abilities.
Seeing his friends' stunned realization, Jerry spoke with obvious smugness. "See? Especially you, Deuce—you're such a terrible navigator! If I hadn't been here, you would have led everyone straight into a deadly trap."
Deuce's eye twitched as he rolled his eyes and responded with a pointedly fake smile. "Ha ha, how terribly rude of me. I'm just a ship's doctor with limited navigational knowledge, after all."
Jerry pursed his lips and spread his hands in mock innocence.
Amid everyone's laughter and good-natured teasing, he controlled the sea clouds with practiced ease, steering their ship to go straight at some points and turn at others as the situation demanded.
Through this rainbow-filled, brilliantly colorful, absolutely dreamlike passage, they soared safely upward into the vast sky above.
The journey to Sky Island had begun once again, and this time they were taking the scenic route.
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