Jaya

Jacob, Yamato, and Porche set up camp near an empty wooden house, its walls weathered by time, nestled beside a thick bamboo grove.

The night air was superb, and the sky above was clear, illuminated by the moon's soft glow.

Yamato was playing with the strange, elongated animals that roamed the island, laughing as she chased a bizarrely long rabbit around.

Jacob was engaged in brutal physical training. His wrists were wrapped in seastone cuffs. Sweat dripped down his face as he performed one-handed push-ups, forcing his body to grow stronger without relying on his Devil Fruit.

Porche was sulking. She hugged her knees to her chest, her lips pressed into a pout as she occasionally glanced at Jacob.

"Tch. This is boring."

Jacob didn't look up. "Then do something."

Porche scoffed, kicking a rock. "Oh yeah, what exactly am I supposed to do? Chasing rabbit like your crazy girl? Or train like a madwoman?"

Jacob smirked. "Well, I gave you a solution."

She rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

The night passed uneventfully, and by morning, the soft roar of moving clouds signaled the arrival of another group.

Nami's floating cloud hovered just above the clearing, finally catching up.

Jacob looked up to see Nami, Kuina, Kaya, Carina, and Desire standing on the edge of the wooden decks built on the clouds.

Nami looked absolutely exhausted. Her orange hair was messy, her clothes were soaked from the storm, and her eyelids drooped as she slumped against the railing.

In contrast, Kuina was utterly composed, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she scanned the area.

Kaya, Carina, and Desire looked visibly shaken, still reeling from the dangers of the Grand Line.

Nami let out a deep sigh. "Jacob… I swear to god, if you ever leave us behind again, I will strangle you."

Jacob chuckled, crossing his arms. "You made it, didn't you?"

Nami grumbled something under her breath before eyeing Porche.

"And who's this?"

Porche, still sulking, looked away.

Jacob shrugged. "New crewmate."

Carina smirked. "Ohhh, another one? What happened to 'I will not kidnap people anymore'?"

Yamato cackled. "I punched a guy, and then we took her!"

Everyone stared at her.

Porche groaned. "I hate all of you."

Nami rubbed her temples. "This is ridiculous."

***

After three days of rest, the crew set off toward Jaya.

Still obsessed with the strange animals, Yamato attempted to smuggle the elongated rabbit onto Nami's cloud.

"No."

Nami's voice was firm, her arms crossed.

Yamato pouted. "Why not? It's so funny-looking!"

"We are not bringing a freakishly long rabbit into my cloud."

Jacob, already sitting lazily on the cloud, grinned at the exchange.

"Let her have it, Nami. We could use a mascot."

"NO."

In the end, Nami wins the argument, and Yamato reluctantly lets the rabbit go, watching it hop awkwardly away.

Once in the air, Jacob decided to help push the cloud forward. He engulfed himself in blue flames and positioned himself behind the platform as a propeller.

It worked… for a while.

Then, Porche Falls Off

Porche, leaning over the edge of the railing, lost her footing when Jacob suddenly increased his flames.

"W-WHAAAAAA—"

She screamed as she plummeted through the sky.

"JACOB, YOU IDIOT!" Nami yelled, immediately controlling her cloud to slow the fall.

Kaya gasped and ran to the edge. "S-Someone, grab her!"

Jacob cursed and dived after her, catching Porche mid-air before flying back up.

Nami, Kaya, and even Desire stood there, arms crossed when he landed.

"What the hell was that?!" Nami snapped.

"You almost killed her!" Kaya added, fuming.

Desire shook her head. "Seriously? And you expect us to trust you?"

Jacob held up his hands. "Relax, I caught her, didn't I?"

Porche, still clinging to him, punched his shoulder. "You better be glad I'm not dead, you moron!"

Meanwhile, Yamato and Carina were doubled over in laughter.

"BAHAHAHA! She fell off! Did you see her face?!" Yamato wiped a tear from her eye. "That was hilarious!"

Carina grinned. "You really need to work on your propeller, Flame Boy!"

Jacob grumbled, rolling his eyes before plopping down onto the cloud again.

With that… the journey to Jaya continued.

***

After four days of travel, the crew finally reached Jaya.

The journey had been much slower than when Jacob flew alone. Traveling with Nami's cloud meant slow moving.

Jacob hovered slightly above the cloud, scanning the island below. His sharp eyes quickly spotted a clearing near the shore—an odd cardboard cutout of a castle stood on a cliff.

"There. Steer the cloud toward that spot." He pointed down.

Nami clicked her tongue but complied, expertly maneuvering the cloud down toward the clearing.

They landed softly.

The place was silent.

There were signs of recent activity—footprints in the dirt, some logs freshly cut, and a few fishing nets drying under the sun—but no one was around.

Jacob frowned. "Strange… There should be someone here."

Yamato stretched her arms. "Maybe they went to the market?"

Kaya looked around.

Carina crossed her arms. "Or they left in a hurry."

Desire glanced at the makeshift castle cutout and scoffed. "This place looks ridiculous. Who the hell lives here?"

Jacob ignored her remark and focused on his senses. His Observation Haki picked up faint traces of life beneath the sea. Someone was diving nearby.

"Alright, you guys wait here," Jacob ordered. "I'll check out the water."

Before Nami could protest, Jacob engulfed himself in blue flames and flew off toward the ocean.

Yamato poked the castle cutout, and she grinned. "This guy has a sense of humor."

Carina sighed. "Or he's just weird."

Kaya nervously clutched her medical bag. "I just hope this isn't trouble."

***

As they waited for Jacob to return, Kaya wandered through the small, makeshift home. Amid the scattered equipment and old furniture, she noticed a thick, well-worn book on a wooden crate. Curious, she dusted it off and read the title aloud.

"Montblanc Noland…?"

Nami, Carina, Kuina, and Desire looked up from where they sat.

"Who's that?" Nami asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Never heard of him," Kuina added.

Kaya opened the book and skimmed through the pages. The illustrations caught her attention first—a man with a distinctive topknot, a broad smile, and a strange-looking island covered in gold.

Porsche smirked. "Oh, you guys don't know? That's hilarious."

The other girls turned to her, puzzled.

"Know what?" Carina frowned.

"Montblanc Noland." Porsche folded her arms. "He's the biggest liar in history."

The room fell silent.

"What?" Nami blinked.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Kaya asked, still holding the book.

Porsche rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you East Blue girls don't know about him? I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're not from North Blue."

Yamato, who had been lazily poking at the cardboard castle, perked up. "Oh? A legendary liar? This sounds interesting!"

Porsche sighed, clearly reluctant but willing to indulge them.

"Fine, I'll tell you the story." She walked over and plopped down next to them.

"Montblanc Noland was an explorer from hundreds of years ago," Porsche began. "He traveled all over the Grand Line and claimed to have discovered a city made entirely of gold."

The girls leaned in, fascinated.

"A city of gold?" Carina's eyes sparkled with interest.

"Sounds like the city of gold Reiju told us before," Kaya muttered.

"Yeah, except it never existed," Porsche said smugly. "He told the king of his homeland about it, and they set out on a huge expedition. But when they arrived at the island…"

She paused dramatically.

"There was nothing there."

The girls stared at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean, nothing?" Kaya asked.

"Exactly that," Porsche smirked. "No gold, no city, nothing but jungle. The king was furious and labeled Noland a liar. When he returned home, they executed him for making a fool out of the kingdom."

Yamato frowned, scratching her chin. "That sounds… tragic."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you run your mouth," Porsche shrugged.

Kaya looked back at the book, flipping through the pages again. The illustrations seemed to tell a different story—Noland was depicted as a hero, not a liar.

"But what if he was telling the truth?" Kaya whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

Porsche laughed. "Oh, come on. If a city of gold actually existed, don't you think someone would've found it by now?"

Nami tapped her chin. "Still… a city full of gold…" She glanced at Carina, who had the same look of scheming interest.

Kuina, on the other hand, looked deep in thought.

"And this city was supposed to be… where?" Kuina asked.

Porsche raised an eyebrow. "Jaya, obviously."

The room fell silent again.

"Wait, what?" Nami's eyes widened.

"The golden city was supposed to be on Jaya," Porsche repeated. "But, as you can see, there's no gold here."

The realization made the girls exchange glances.

"Then why does whoever has this book believe that Nolan wasn't a liar?" Kaya murmured.

Yamato grinned. "Maybe he's still looking for it!"