On the deck, the professors looked at the chests of supplies that had just been brought up and immediately went over to help count and move them.
Seeing that, Smoker did not interfere. Instead, he walked over to Aiden and asked, "Hey, how exactly are we supposed to get to Sky Island? We need a direction, don't we?"
"Oh, right." Aiden looked like he had only just remembered. He raised his wrist and pulled back his sleeve, revealing an ordinary Log Pose he had taken from the Great Bull Pirates.
The two of them looked down at it at the same time. The next second, Smoker's expression froze.
The needle, which should have been pointing toward the next island in the Grand Line, was now pointing diagonally upward, completely defying normal navigation.
"This...?" Smoker stared in shock and instinctively tapped the glass cover. "Why is it pointing at the sky?!"
"No, it isn't broken." Aiden's voice remained calm. "That's our destination."
He pulled his sleeve back down, covering the Log Pose again. He did not explain any further. He simply looked out at the unknown sea ahead.
After sailing for most of the day, the ship arrived at the sea area indicated by the needle. Here, the Log Pose in Aiden's hand was pointing straight up at the sky.
The surrounding sea was strangely calm. There was not a single wave or breath of wind. The water looked like a giant mirror.
"Mr. Aiden... there's... nothing here?" Professor Clover stepped onto the deck and looked around in confusion.
Smoker frowned as well. This unnatural silence felt even more unsettling than a violent storm.
Aiden walked to the bow and stood against the breeze. He spoke calmly, but his voice carried clearly to everyone on the ship. "Everyone, hold on tight."
"Saul, hold the rudder steady. Do not let go, no matter what happens."
"Smoker, use your power to secure all the professors on deck."
"Miss Olvia, take Robin back to the cabin and lock the door."
The orders came quickly and clearly. Although Robin was curious, she obediently let her mother lead her back into the cabin. Saul pressed down on the rudder with his massive body. Smoker released smoke that wrapped around the professors on deck like safety belts, holding them firmly in place.
Under everyone's uneasy and confused stares, Aiden took the simple-looking Wind Flask from inside his coat.
"The Knock Up Stream and those cloud currents should count as weather too," Aiden murmured to himself.
Then he opened the flask.
Whoosh!!
A powerful vortex of wind burst out of the mouth of the flask and shot straight into the sky.
The calm sky seemed to have been provoked. In just a few seconds, the weather changed violently. Black clouds gathered from every direction, blotting out the sun. The clouds pressed low overhead, and daylight turned to night in an instant.
Rumble, rumble!!
The sea beneath them began to tremble violently. A terrifying whirlpool hundreds of meters wide quickly formed under the ship.
It looked as if it could swallow the entire ocean. Towering waves rose around it, and even the air shook with a deafening roar, like some ancient beast waking from the deep.
"Aaaaah!!"
"The ship's going to get dragged in!!"
The professors screamed in terror.
"Hold on tight!!" Saul roared. He used all of his giant strength to keep the rudder under control, resisting the terrifying pull that threatened to tear the ship apart.
The ship was dragged straight into the center of the whirlpool. The hull shook violently, groaning as though it could no longer withstand the pressure.
Just when everyone thought the ship was about to be crushed inside the whirlpool, the world suddenly went quiet.
All the wind, waves, roaring, and spinning water vanished in an instant. The sea turned eerily flat, like a mirror.
That abrupt shift from violent motion to total stillness left everyone dizzy and half-deaf for a moment.
"Is... is it over?" Smoker was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"No." Aiden's voice was calm, but more serious than ever. "Hold on. It's only starting now."
BOOM!!!!!!
Before he could finish speaking, a massive column of seawater erupted from beneath the ship, too enormous to describe. It was as if the ocean floor itself had exploded. A giant white pillar hundreds of meters wide shot up, connecting sea and sky.
Driven by that terrifying force, the ship was launched straight upward.
"Waaaaah!!"
The ship was nearly vertical as it rode the pillar of water. Faster than a cannonball, it blasted through everything and shot toward the clouds. The shrill scream of rushing air pierced their ears, and the force of the acceleration nearly made the professors lose consciousness.
Inside the cabin, Robin's small face had gone pale as she watched clouds race past the window. This was even crazier than any story she had ever read in her mother's adventure diary.
Amid the violent shaking, the ship suddenly broke through an unbelievably thick layer of clouds.
Then, everything in front of them turned pure white.
The ship's hull sank slightly, as if it had crossed from the seafloor into the surface of another world.
Cold, damp mist surrounded them. In an instant, the deck was covered in white fog and droplets of cloud water.
"Cough, cough..." Smoker wiped the moisture from his face and stared around in shock.
As the ship gradually lost momentum, the mist on deck began to clear, revealing the full view of the sea of clouds before them.
It was a vast, endless white expanse. As far as the eye could see, the horizon was filled with clouds like frozen waves, stretching all the way to the edge of the sky.
Sunlight poured through the gaps in the clouds, casting a soft glow across the white sea. A few strange sky fish swam curiously past the side of the ship.
"This... this is..." Professor Clover removed his glasses with trembling hands. "The sky... there really is a sea."
Olvia and Robin also stepped out of the cabin. Robin leaned over the railing and curiously used her Devil Fruit power to touch the soft sea of clouds. Her small face was full of shock.
"Heso!"
A somewhat comical voice came from above. Everyone looked up sharply and saw a knight in medieval armor holding a long spear. He was riding a strange bird with wings like a Pegasus and slowly descending through the clouds.
"Is that a Pegasus?" Saul asked in surprise.
"Oh my." The knight landed on the deck. He looked at the large Blue Sea ship, the giant, and the strangely dressed group, and he seemed just as stunned. "How rude of me. It has been many years since we've had guests from the Blue Sea."
He removed his helmet, revealing the kind face of an old man. "I am the Sky Knight here, Gan Fall. Welcome to the White-White Sea."
As the group's representative, Professor Clover immediately stepped forward and explained to Gan Fall that they were professor refugees seeking protection.
Gan Fall was a kind-hearted man. After hearing what had happened to Ohara, he immediately showed sympathy.
"I see. You have suffered a terrible misfortune." He sighed, but then his expression turned troubled. "However, the God's Land of Skypiea that I rule is only a small island on the sea of clouds. I'm afraid... it cannot accommodate so many people."
"We're not going to Skypiea." Aiden's calm voice cut in.
His gaze had already gone past the sea of clouds and settled on the vast land shrouded in mist not far away, Upper Yard. He knew that place was the ruins of Shandora and the place truly suited for the professors.
"We're going there." Aiden pointed toward Upper Yard.
Gan Fall's expression changed instantly. "No!!" he said at once, his face more serious than ever. "That is Upper Yard. It is sacred land, and the native Shandia have defended it for generations!"
"They are extremely hostile toward outsiders and see us as invaders! Even I cannot get close to it! If a large ship like yours tries to land there, it will definitely start a war!"
Aiden ignored the warning. Meeting Gan Fall's anxious gaze, he calmly gave the order behind him. "Saul, take the helm. Full speed ahead. We're landing there."
"Hey! Stop!" Gan Fall circled anxiously in the air on Pierre. "You'll die!"