Chapter 71: Jaya – Blackbeard's Laugh & the Path to the Sky Current
"Pffthahahaha!" The tavern erupted in harsh, piercing laughter. Drunken men slapped tables, tears streaming from their eyes. "Sky Island? Hey hey, are you guys here to do comedy?"
Nami angrily thrust her wrist forward, showing the Log Pose: "What's so funny?! The needle is clearly pointing at the sky!"
Her words only made the laughter more frenzied. A red-faced drunk staggered to his feet and exaggeratedly mimicked her: "'The record pointer is pointing at the sky~' hee hee hee…" He wiped away tears of mirth. "Little lady, there's only one explanation for that—your crappy pointer's broken!"
Nami's face flushed crimson. She stood frozen in place.
Bellamy grinned mockingly: "Hey hey, where did you country bumpkins crawl out from? You still believe in these outdated fairy tales?" He spread his arms dramatically. "An island in the sky? Hahaha! Are you living in sailing stories from a hundred years ago?"
"The ever-changing ocean currents of the Grand Line have already been unraveled one after another. Among them is one that flows upward. Looks like you've never even heard of it. Ships swallowed by that current get shot into the sky, then plummet back into the sea."
"Ancient ignorant sailors saw ships falling from the sky and fantasized there must be another world up there—an island in the sky. Too stupid. Every bizarre phenomenon has a logical cause behind it."
But Bellamy didn't see the reaction he wanted on Luffy and the others—only a slight embarrassment on Nami's face. He kept mocking.
"Hahahaha!" Bellamy's laughter was sharp and grating. He spread his arms wide. "What a disappointment! I was actually thinking of testing your strength and inviting you to join the New Age pirates. Turns out you're just a delusional dreamer living in fantasy!"
He took a hard swig of liquor, eyes turning cold: "Listen up, Straw Hat— the era of pirates chasing treasure dreams is long over! Golden City? Emerald City? ONE PIECE? Only the dumbest idiots fall for these fairy tales!"
The bottle creaked in his grip: "You have the strength to rule these seas, yet you throw your lives away for some vague illusion. When you die, people will only hypocritically say: 'Ah, that guy lived in his dreams until the very end—how happy~'"
Bellamy suddenly bared his teeth ferociously: "That's just mocking a beaten dog! Just seeing dream-chasing trash like you makes me want to puke!"
"Because of weaklings like you," he swung the bottle high, "pirates like us get looked down on!"
Crash!
The bottle exploded on Luffy's head. Glass shards flew everywhere. Luffy grunted and collapsed, blood trickling from his forehead.
The watching pirates immediately jeered: "Get lost, trash!" "Your presence is stinking up the booze!"
Countless bottles rained down on the three of them. Nami finally snapped: "Luffy! Zoro! Forget the promise! Beat these bastards to a pulp! Or I'll do it myself!"
But Luffy slowly sat up, wiped the blood from his face, and his eyes were unusually resolute: "Nami, Zoro—promise me… we absolutely cannot fight back in this battle."
Soon Luffy and Zoro were beaten black and blue. Nami stared in disbelief, fists clenched white.
Sarquiss whistled mockingly: "The Navy really has money to burn—giving 30 million to trash like this?"
"Boring as hell," Bellamy cracked his knuckles. "No guts to even fight back. First time I've seen pirates this pathetic."
He swung his fist hard toward Luffy's face.
Snap! A slender hand suddenly intercepted, catching the heavy punch steady.
"Who the hell are you?!" Bellamy glared at the sudden intruder.
"A passing Kamen Rider… ah sorry, wrong show," Sol said, still holding grocery bags in his left hand. His right palm held Bellamy's fist immovable. His smile turned dangerously narrow. "More accurately—I'm the vice-captain of that idiot captain whose dream you just mocked."
"A captain with only 30 million—you think a vice-captain can do anything?" Bellamy sneered.
Sol didn't answer immediately. He first glanced at Luffy and Zoro's injuries. When he looked back: "Looks like… the Navy branch here hasn't updated the bounties yet."
"Let me tell you why this idiot didn't fight back. Because he believes that if he raises a hand, it would mean denying his own dream—and he'd become just like you lot: people who only flaunt brute force."
Sol's right hand suddenly tightened. Bellamy's palm made a sickening grinding sound of bone on bone. "He wants to prove with real action that Sky Island truly exists!"
Bellamy broke out in cold sweat from the pain but still forced a sneer: "Childish… ahhh!!"
"But I'm different," Sol suddenly released him—then delivered a crushing downward kick straight to Bellamy's head!
BOOM!
The wooden floor shattered instantly. Bellamy's head embedded deep into the boards, eyes rolled back, unconscious.
Sol shook out his wrist and swept a sharp glare across the now-silent tavern crowd: "Anyone who mocks my crewmate's dream—I won't let them off easily."
Nami looked thoughtful: "So that's how it is… that's what Luffy was thinking. Then as your navigator, I will definitely guide you all—and the Merry—safely to Sky Island, and slap these people's faces hard!"
The entire tavern was dead silent. Only when the four walked out the door did someone tremble and gasp: "Th-That's 'Fire Dragon' Sol! 100 million Berry pirate!"
Just as they stepped outside, a rough, booming laugh suddenly rang out. The burly man who had argued with Luffy earlier sat cross-legged on the ground, half a bottle of strong rum in hand. He drunkenly raised the bottle:
"Zehahaha! Well said! This round—you win!" He smashed the bottle on the ground. "What bullshit 'treasure-hunting era is over'? Nonsense! People's dreams never end!!"
Amid the flying glass shards, the big man staggered to his feet. Bloodshot eyes locked straight on Sol: "Just keep climbing toward the peak. Let those idiots laugh. Right, Sol?"
The air froze instantly. Sol narrowed his eyes: "Marshall D. Teach…."
"Blackbeard?!" Luffy and the others immediately tensed, re-evaluating the unassuming big man.
"Zehahaha! Relax—you're not my target." Blackbeard licked his missing teeth, grinning ferociously. "I don't want that old monster chasing me all over the world~"
Watching Blackbeard's drunken, swaying back as he left, Nami asked quietly: "Luffy, he's the one…"
"Yeah," Luffy's face unusually darkened. "The man Ace has been hunting."
Sol patted the grocery bag in his hand, breaking the heavy atmosphere: "You're still no match for him right now. Let's head back to the Merry. I've already found out where the person who knows about the 'skyward current' is."
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