"Two nautical miles east!"
Sora scanned the ocean currents from the bow and shouted back to Ross.
"Got it!"
Ross nodded, a silver gleam flashing in his eyes. Instantly, the seawater around the ship churned like a living thing, summoned by his will. It surged wildly, lifting the vessel onto a towering wave hundreds of meters high.
The ship rode the crest effortlessly, a mere speck dancing among the colossal swells that crashed like rampaging beasts. Ross could sense the seabed's movements in real time, but navigation wasn't his forte. Sora's expertise guided them—Ross just confirmed the currents below were indeed funneling eastward, straight toward the upwelling's eruption point.
"It's here!"
At Sora's cry, the crew braced themselves. Most hit the deck, clinging tight, but powerhouses like Zephyr and Gion stood firm, unfazed as the ship plunged forward.
Whoosh!
The bow dipped into a massive vortex, miles wide and yawning like a monstrous maw. The upwelling current Sora had pinpointed pulled them in relentlessly, an invisible grip dragging the ship downward. The hull bucked wildly in the storm of waves, water slamming against it with thunderous roars.
Yet the seastone-reinforced keel held steady, unshaken by the fury. No cracks, no give.
"The ocean's power never ceases to amaze," Gion murmured, a veil of blood-red mist from her Bat-Bat Fruit, Model: Vampire wrapping around her. It shielded Sora and Stella from the spray, keeping the seawater at bay.
Devil Fruit users couldn't touch the ocean without losing their edge, but pre-coating their powers countered that weakness.
Nearby, young Reiju— the crew's favorite—giggled in Zephyr's steady arms, eyes wide with thrill as they plummeted. For her, this was pure adventure. And next to Zephyr, the old Rokushiki master, she was as safe as could be. He could wade through the depths without a second thought.
"You lot are nuts..." Moira muttered through gritted teeth, flat on the deck and gripping a railing for dear life.
Sky Island? It was a fairy tale. And trying to reach it via this madness? She figured they'd all end up fish food. She'd never braved Reverse Mountain or seen a true powerhouse in action—this felt like suicide.
Ross released his grip on the water, dropping lightly onto the deck. No need for more control now; the current had them. He'd simply sheathed the ship in a protective water barrier, like a makeshift coating, to ward off any mishaps.
BOOM!!!
A world-shaking rumble erupted from the vortex's depths, like the sky cracking open. The bottom imploded, a black void sucking in everything. Seconds later, the pent-up water exploded outward in a colossal geyser.
WHOOSH!!!
The ship rocketed skyward on the surging column, dwarfed by the miles-wide torrent. The pressure battered the hull, threatening to rip it apart, but Ross's powers and the reinforced build held firm.
"It's... flying!"
Moira's head snapped up, terror widening her eyes as the horizon rushed away below. A hundred-meter ship, airborne? Unbelievable.
The rest of the crew stayed cool. After all, Ross had once conjured a 10,000-meter wave at Reverse Mountain to haul them up. This was just another ride.
Jaya Island faded into a hazy speck astern, vanishing as they climbed. The air thinned, turning crisp and cold. They'd escaped the sea's grasp, entering uncharted heights.
Clouds loomed ahead, vast and fluffy like a cotton sea—or a stormy expanse frozen in white. A genuine sea of clouds?
Sora's breath caught. "No way..."
They'd theorized it, but witnessing this surreal ocean of mist still floored them.
"Does the cloud sea hit Devil Fruit users like regular seawater?" Gion asked, brow furrowing.
Bad enough having an underground ocean; now one in the sky?
"Definitely," Sora replied. "This is unique to the area. The upwelling rams into the 10,000-meter Cumulus Cloud layer overhead, saturating it with seawater to form the White Sea. It's basically ocean up here."
Gion nodded grimly, extending her mist to cover the group.
BOOM!!
The ship burst into the White Sea, visibility dropping to a foggy whiteout. The world blurred into a misty veil.
"Life in there too?"
Gion pointed ahead, where a massive, shrimp-like beast glided through the clouds like a fish in water.
"Absolutely," Sora said. "Water breeds life. These currents erupt weekly, hauling up sea kings and other critters. Some perish, but the survivors adapt, feasting on the fallen. Over time, they build whole ecosystems."
The ship soared on, piercing deeper into the ethereal realm. Below, the Grand Line stretched endlessly, but up here? A whole new world awaited—legends made real.
—