"Boom—! ! ! !"
A colossal water pillar, reaching from the earth to the heavens, erupted before everyone's astonished eyes.
Like a roaring Water Dragon, it shot straight into the sky, connecting the sea and the heavens!
This scene was heart-stopping.
The going merry was sailing atop this earth-shattering water pillar.
Waves crashed against the hull, the sea wind howled, and the immense water pressure made the entire ship tremble violently!
—This wasn't merely being pushed into the sky; it was about continuing to sail on this vertical water pillar!!
"So, we're not just being directly propelled upwards?"
Lin Ning stood on the deck, as steady as a mountain, watching the rapidly flowing seawater around him. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing an excited smile:
"Interesting... It's getting more and more exciting."
"Wh-what the hell is this, ahhhhhh!!!"
Usopp's shriek instantly echoed across the entire deck. He clung desperately to the ship's rail, his face pale, completely terrified out of his wits!
Sanji also gasped, "Hey, hey, are you kidding?! We... are sailing vertically?!"
Luffy, instead, laughed excitedly, raising his hands high and shouting against the strong wind, "Fun! What's the principle behind this?!"
Nami's voice rang out in the wind, her tone tinged with awe:
"It's the wind!!"
"This strong updraft is formed by the geothermal heat from a volcanic eruption and the explosion of underwater steam!!"
"The water pillar isn't just water, but a violently ascending ocean current!!"
Luffy excitedly waved his fist, "Great! If that's the case, we can go to the sky!!"
"Charge! going merry!!!"
"Wait!!"
At this moment, Robin suddenly spoke, her brows slightly furrowed, a hint of unease flashing in her eyes.
"Things aren't that simple."
Usopp immediately shrieked, "What is it?! Don't scare me!!"
Robin looked at the direction of the water pillar's flow, her voice grave:
"The ship... is starting to float upwards."
"If this continues, we'll be flung out!!"
Usopp and Chopper's faces instantly turned pale, and they hugged each other, letting out heart-wrenching screams:
"What?! Nooooo!!!"
Sanji looked at Robin in surprise, unable to resist asking:
"How can that be?"
Nami stared intently at the wind direction and ocean current, her mind racing, calculating the optimal way to navigate.
A moment later, her eyes sharpened, and she suddenly shouted loudly:
"Quick! Hoist the sails!!"
"Immediately!!"
Usopp was nearly fainting from fear, trembling as he shouted:
"Why?! If we hoist the sails now, won't the ship be blown over by the wind?!"
Nami said firmly:
"Wrong! This water pillar isn't ordinary water, but a violent ascending ocean current!"
"And the wind blowing up from below is a strong updraft formed by geothermal heat and steam explosions!"
"As long as we control the wind and the current, we can sail safely!!"
"As long as the opponent is wind and sea, leave it to me!!"
She clenched her fists, her gaze sweeping over everyone with determination, and shouted loudly:
"Who is the Navigator of this ship?!!"
Sanji was the first to respond, shouting with adoration:
"It's Miss Nami!!!"
"Brothers!! Immediately do as Miss Nami says!!"
"Quick!! Hoist the sails!!"
Zoro, Lin Ning, Luffy, and Chopper all sprang into action, quickly adjusting the going merry's status!
"Starboard wind! Turn to port rudder!!"
"Align the ship with the current!!"
Nami's commands were precise and accurate, and everyone cooperated fully!
In the very next instant—
The ship suddenly shuddered, detached a few meters from the water pillar, and the entire going merry actually floated completely in mid-air!!!
"Hey, hey, hey—!!!"
Usopp and Chopper immediately shrieked!
"We... are flying?!!"
Nami shouted excitedly:
"It worked!!"
Sanji was dumbfounded, unable to help but exclaim, "Miss Nami, you're so cool!!!"
He took a deep breath, and said with a loving expression:
"Miss Nami... I really like you!!!"
Nami's lips curved slightly upwards, her eyes full of confidence:
"As long as you can control the ocean currents and the wind, you can go anywhere..."
As everyone was excited, Luffy suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on the sky ahead.
"Nami, are we almost at Sky Island?"
Nami followed his gaze, pointing ahead:
"If there really is a Sky Island..."
"Then it should be on the other side of that cloud!!"
Everyone followed her Guidelines to look, and saw a vast expanse of huge white clouds in the sky ahead, spanning across their path.
This was no ordinary cloud, but the legendary "Cumulo-Nimbus Cloud"—a special cloud formation that only appears in the ocean currents leading to Sky Island!
Luffy grinned, excitedly clenching his fist and shouting:
"What's on the other side of the cloud?!"
"Whatever it is, we'll know once we charge in!!!"
Nami shouted loudly:
"Prepare to charge into the Cumulo-Nimbus Cloud!!!"
The going merry was flying!
Destination—Sky Island!!!
The speed of the ascending ocean current was faster than anyone had imagined. The going merry, like an arrow released from a bowstring, broke through the thick cloud layer, soaring into the unknown sky.
The strong wind howled in their ears, and the ship rocked violently, almost knocking people off the deck!
Nami, Chopper, and Usopp were almost collapsed on the deck, panting heavily, trembling all over, as if they had just narrowly escaped death.
In contrast to them, Luffy stood at the bow, facing the wind, his eyes wide open, with an incredibly excited smile on his face.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he abruptly turned his head and shouted loudly:
"Hey, everyone! Look outside the ship!"
Zoro, Sanji, Lin Ning, Robin, Nami, and the others all looked up, only to see pure white all around them, as if they were in an endless white sea.
"What is this place?!" Zoro frowned, looking around with awe, feeling somewhat disoriented for a moment.
"It's so magnificent..." Lin Ning also couldn't help but exclaim, having never seen such a sight before.
It was as if the sky inherently contained a "Heavenly Realm," and they had now intruded into this unknown world.
Chopper's round eyes widened, his voice excited and surprised, "It's clouds! We're actually floating on top of clouds!"
Nami was also full of disbelief, her pretty face filled with shock, "What's going on? Why are we floating on the clouds?"
Luffy, however, stood with his hands on his hips, a nonchalant expression on his face, and said as a matter of course:
"Of course we'd float on top, because they're clouds!"
Upon hearing this, Nami's mouth twitched, and she immediately gave Luffy a sharp rap on the head, roaring:
"You can't explain supernatural phenomena with common sense, you idiot!"
Just as everyone was immersed in shock and excitement, Chopper's face suddenly changed drastically, "N-no! Usopp... Usopp isn't breathing!"
"What?!" Everyone was startled and turned to look at Usopp.
Usopp lay stiffly on the deck like a corpse, his eyes rolled back, his mouth wide open, completely motionless.
Luffy stomped his feet in a hurry, waving his hands and shouting, "Quick, think of something! Chopper, quickly give him artificial respiration!"
Chopper immediately jumped onto Usopp's chest, frantically pressing on Usopp's chest, desperately trying to resuscitate him.
"Wake up! Usopp! You can't die!"
Just then, Sanji suddenly had a flash of inspiration, abruptly looked up, and shouted loudly:
"Alright! Then I'll give Miss Nami artificial respiration!!"