Chapter 46: Knockup Stream and White White Sea

Chapter 52:

The Knockup Stream and the White White Sea

"What's going on here?" Gin demanded, the same question burning in the minds of Luffy, Zoro, Coby, Sanji, Chopper, and Robin. They had all exited the forest at about the same time, the Southbird perched on Coby's shoulder. Oddly enough, Luffy had shed his shirt and was holding a Hercules beetle within it.

Before them was the shocked group of the Bellamy Pirates, said group split between staring at their sinking ship or staring at the pirates that had just exited the forest.

"Would you look at that," Bellamy stated, ignoring the waves from their sinking ship lapping at the shore in favor of locking eyes with the other captain. "It seems weaklings do band together."

"We were strong enough to beat you," Gin grumbled.

"Did you do this?" Luffy growled, gesturing at the downed forms of Cricket and the Monkey Brothers. Off to the right, Nami and Usopp surfaced with Amy draped between them.

"So what if I did?" Bellamy snarked.

"Then I'd have to kick your ass."

"We'll see about that! Spring... Sniper!" Bellamy's legs changed into springs which wound up before launching him toward the Straw Hats. Everyone had dropped into a fighting stance, but the action turned out to be unnecessary. With a single call, the Southbird summoned a swarm of giant praying manti that flew in over the pirates' heads. They swiped at Bellamy who was unable to dodge in midair, cutting at his clothes and his skin. Luffy then stepped out of the way, leaving the other captain to crash through two trees before colliding with a third.

"Captain!" Sarkies yelled. He rushed forward, intent on reaching his friend, but Zoro blocked his path. "Get out of my way!"

"I don't think so," Zoro replied, unshething Wado Ichimonji. "You beat up my captain and my student. I can't let you get away with that."

"Bring it on!" Sarkies challenged. He rushed forward with his curved blade, the weapon that provided his epithet of "Big Knife" Sarkies. Zoro blocked it effortlessly.

"Have you ever heard the name Roranoa Zoro before?"

"He's some 10-million Beri chump from the East Blue," Sarkies responded with some confusion. "I take it that's you?"

"I am. And you better remember my name because I'm going to be the world's best swordsman, so there's no shame in losing."

"Losing what?" Sarkies snapped, pulling back to slash at the green-haired swordsman. "I'm a man worth 38-million Beris! I won't lose to a stuck-up bastard like- "

With barely a move, Zoro shot past the other pirate before he could move and was slowly sheathing his sword. As soon as Wado Ichimonji clicked into place, the cut across Sarkies chest, right over the line of his tattoo, opened and he fell, unconscious.

The rest of Bellamy's crew shook with fear and anger. Their ship was sunk, their captain and first mate were down for the count without really any energy given from the other crew, and the Saruyama Alliance was getting back up. They were outmatched, outgunned, and had no real means of escape.

"Now give back whatever you took and get out of here," Luffy ordered. The bag containing Cricket's gold fell to the earth and the pirates bolted, only two going out of their way to grab Sarkies and Bellamy before they left.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed as they faded from sight. "That was fun."

"Thank you," Cricket coughed. "And I see you got a Southbird. No clue how you managed that without tying it up, but whatever. We've got work to do if we want to make sure your ship can make it through the knockup stream.

"Then let's get to it," Luffy answered. "Skypia, here we come!"

"Hey, Captain Luffy?" Coby asked as he, his captain, and Grace watched almost everyone else working on the Merry. Luffy had been kicked out due to his inability to not break things, Coby had been the unfortunate victim when Usopp turned with a board, and Grace was just being lazy. She had forced Coby into his Dino Mode and was using him like a very big pillow.

"Yeah?" Luffy answered.

"I've been thinking-"

"That's dangerous," Grace quipped.

"I've been thinking," Coby began again, "Nami's hometown had been overrun by pirates who claimed it as their turf, right?"

"Yeah?" Luffy questioned "And?"

"What if the same thing happens to your village. Or what if Syrup Village is attacked and we aren't there to protect it?"

"Oh Goda, you're right! Do you have an idea for that?!"

"I think we should send flags to each of the islands or villages where we gained a crewmember. At least the defenseless ones. You know, claim them as our turf. You've become really infamous, after all, so our flag would ward off a lot of the small-time pirates in the East Blue."

"I like that idea," Luffy nodded. "...How many flags is that?"

"Well," Coby began, "there's your island, Gecko Island for Usopp, Cocoyashi for Nami, and Drum Island for Chopper. That's four. Are there any other places you want to add? "

"What about where I got you and Zoro?"

"Shells Town? It has a Marine base. We can't claim it. At least, not without storming it and kicking them all out."

"Then what about Alabasta?"

"I suppose we could send one to Vivi, but the political backlash might hurt the kingdom if she flies it."

"Five flags," Luffy finalized. "Fusha Village, Usopp's home, Cocoyashi Village, Chopper's island, and Alabasta."

Grace nudged Coby. "Paint. Go get it."

The dinosaur sighed. "Fine. I'll be back in a second."

Luckily, they had just enough time to run into town and send the flags Grace painted off with some Package Gulls, larger carrier birds related to the News Coos that always delivered the newspaper. The advertisements guaranteed five-day delivery.

The knockup stream was even more terrifying and exhilarating than Reverse Mountain had been.

By the time the Straw Hats and the Monkey Brothers left that morning, the Going Merry had been reinforced and outfitted with wings, a tail, and chicken decorations. The only one who hadn't been impressed was Zoro who claimed, "It looks stupid. Chickens don't know how to fly; we should have dressed it up like a pigeon".

Either way, the Merry arrived at the designated place with an hour to spare, which was a good thing since their estimates had been off. The knockup stream was about to happen. Much to Usopp's, Nami's, Amy's, Grace's, and Coby's dismay, the Merry sailed directly into the giant whirlpool that formed. The man from Mock Town with the black hair and his crew appeared, apparently wanting to claim the bounties on Luffy's, Zoro's, Gin's, and Coby's heads.

Before they could however, the knockup stream blasted the Merry upward and shattered the man's smaller raft. The Going Merry pitched at a near 90-degree angle and only survived through Nami's quick orders. They literally flew the last half of the way up the knockup stream and into the clouds.

Unfortunately, the Merry did not make it through the clouds unscathed. The thicker-than-average clouds managed to rip off most of the wings and tear the sail by the time the ship came to rest on a white sea. The crew were all lying on the deck, each weak in their own puddle of water.

"Did we have to come up that way?" Amy questioned hotly, hugging Grace close. "I'm sure there had to be another way."

"Come on, guys," Luffy snickered. "That was fun!"

"No it wasn't!" Coby, Usopp, Chopper, and Nami yelled.

"Have you all even looked at where we are?" Zoro questioned, pointing out over the ship's railing. The crew gasped; the ship was sailing over a sea of clouds.

"But... but," Nami gaped. "This shouldn't be possible!"

"Nothing is impossible, Ms. Navigator," Robin chuckled. "What does the log pose say?"

"It's still pointing up," Nami answered with a frown.

"Does that mean we still need to go up?" Coby asked. "The air is too thin already."

"AHHH!" Chopper screamed. The binoculars he'd been using to scan the horizon fell to the deck. "There's a crazy guy blowing up ships! He's heading this way!"

"I thought we were the only ones that came up," Amy muttered. Out of nowhere, a tan man in a grass kilt, a Tiki mask, and shoes with little shells on them blurred into view on the railing. His torso was left bare to show his six-pack and a bazooka rested on his shoulder. He fired.

Gin moved as fast as he could, which was slower than he was used to due to the thinner air 7,000 meters in the air. He just made it, his tonfa batting the cannonball the bazooka fired up past the mast to explode harmlessly. Tiki Guy grunted in displeasure before blurring out of focus, moving too quickly for the Straw Hats to react. Gin, Zoro, Luffy, Sanji, and Coby were thrown off their feet, each of them having either pulled out their weapons or falling into a fighting stance, and the man reappeared in the air, his weapon reloaded.

"PIIYAAAY!" a bird called. A man in a full suit of armor appeared out of nowhere, his spear catching Tiki Guy in the stomach and launching him into the clouds. Armor Guy fell to the upper deck by Nami's tangerine orchard and a large, pink bird with brown spots landed next to him. Only the white beard that fell down to his legs was not covered by his armor.

"So cool!" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper gasped.

"I am the Sky Knight," the man said gruffly. "I take it you travelers are from the Blue Sea, yes?"

"What do you mean?" Amy asked as the men pulled themselves up.

"We of the White Sea and the White White Sea call those who are not from the clouds Blue Sea Dwellers. That is where you are from, correct?"

"Yes, it is," Robin nodded.

"As I thought. You travelers must be careful for you may encounter other guerrilla warriors who would like nothing more than to make you food for the skyfish. Of course, you could always buy an emergency whistle from me for only a million Extol and I would protect you then. I am a soldier for hire, after all."

"How much is an Extol?" Nami questioned.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Luffy answered the man. "I'm getting used to the air already."

"You can't have adjusted that quickly!" the Sky Knight cried. "Wait, why are you only adjusting now? And why do you not know of Extols? You should have been able to exchange money back on one of the earlier islands."

"There were others islands?" Gin growled as Nami started shaking Luffy for making them ride the knockup stream. "That means there was another way to get here!"

"Don't tell me you Blue Sea Dwellers actually road up on that stream! To think that there are people still willing to do that... Did all of you make it?"

"All of us are here," Robin nodded.

"Then your risk was worth it. If you had taken the other route, maybe one or two of you would have arrived alive. Not many people take the knockup stream anymore since it is an all-or-nothing gamble; either everyone lives, or everyone dies. Here." The man dropped a whistle on the deck of the ship. "For your bravery, I will bestow upon you this emergency whistle. If you blow it, I will come to your aid. But be warned, it has one use before I take it back."

"Before you go," Coby stopped him, "could you please direct us toward Skypia?"

"Tis that way," the man answered, pointing toward a cloud formation that looked like a waterfall. "Also, I am known as Gan Fall and this is my partner, Pierre. He is a bird that ate of a Horse-Horse Fruit." To show off, Pierre transformed into a pegasus which Gan Fall climbed onto. "Farewell, travelers!" Gan Fall called as he flew off.

"That was interesting," Sanji muttered, breaking the tension on the ship. The crew got to work, sailing the Merry toward the path they had been given. After battling skyfish Sea Kings and bouncing on what the crew dubbed cloudburgs, the Merry finally reached an entrance called Heaven's Gate. The lights on the gate would have made a certain flashy captain very proud.

Inside, they met an old woman with wings. She was wearing a pink dress that covered nearly all of her short frame and had grey hair styled into two buns. Taking out a camera, she snapped a picture of every one of the Straw Hats before introducing herself as Amazon, the keeper of the gate.

"Are you here for sightseeing or plunder and conquest?" she asked nonchalantly, as if pirates came for plunder and conquest every other day.

"Sightseeing, I guess," Amy shrugged.

"Good to know. That will be one billion Extols for each of you for the entree fee."

"What if we don't have any Extols?" Coby asked. "Will Beris do?"

"Don't go giving away my money!" Nami scolded.

"One Beri is about 10,000 Extols," Amazon answered. "If you are paying in Beris, then that would be 10,000,000 Beris for each of you, so 110,000,000 Beris total."

"We could just hand over our shitty captain and Coby," Sanji suggested. "They're worth that much together."

"Hey!" the two wanted pirates yelled.

"I don't want to pay that much," Nami whined.

"Come on." Zoro rolled his eyes. "After raiding Gasparde's ship, taking the winnings from Partia, and all that stuff we took from the Rainbow Mist, we have more than enough in our hold to pay."

Sanji kicked at him in the side, launching the swordsman toward the bow. "If the woman doesn't want to pay, she doesn't have to!"

"You wanna go, Curly Brow?" Zoro roared, stomping back toward the cook.

"Bring it on, Shitty Swordsman!" Sanji responded, the two butting heads.

"Enough," Gin ordered, beating them both over the head with his tonfa. Meanwhile, Coby had convinced the navigator to part with some of her wealth with the argument that, if the City of Gold was on Skypia like some of the rumors the Monkey Brothers had told them claimed, then they could pilfer it, but that was only if they had room in their hold and were able to get around unimpeded. Being criminals in Skypia would just make them have to run from the law. With a group effort, the needed amount in gold was piled next to the old woman. If she was surprised that they had that much gold in their hold, she didn't show it. Amazon waved her hand as two large claws latched onto the broken wings of the Merry.

"Skypia's famous Express Lobster will take you to the White White Sea," Amazon told them. "Please enjoy your stay."

And the lobster took off.

End of Chapter 52

I'm not really satisfied with this chapter. It feels way too rushed to me, but so much of it is Canon that the presence of more members would not notably change. HOWEVER! I can promise you that some pretty big changes will be starting next chapter and hopefully at least some of them catch you off guard. Until then!

Read and Review!

-SwordOfTheGods