"This is Giant's Peak? It's so high?" Rosen and his group arrived at the mountainside. In truth, he could have used Moon Walk to ascend directly.
But to avoid missing anything important, he opted for the more traditional method of climbing. Confirming things later wouldn't be an issue.
After consuming the Bloodline Elixir, Kung Fu Dugong was currently adjusting. Its steps were heavy, leaving small craters in the solid ground with every footprint.
The boost in its strength was evident—a single light slap shattered a massive boulder, leaving MR.5, who had just gained a power-up himself, dumbfounded. Why did he still feel like he couldn't beat this little thing?
"Any discoveries yet?" Rosen asked. Though the mountain was towering and filled with dangerous beasts, they posed no real threat to the group. Without Rosen even lifting a finger, officers like Daz Bones had already cleared the path.
"Not yet. It might be at the summit," Nico Robin replied, shaking her head. So far, nothing noteworthy had been found.
"Any rumors you've heard before?"
"There are some, but they mostly concern the dangerous inland rivers of the island. Probably unrelated to the mountain," Robin explained.
Rosen nodded and didn't press further. As time passed, they soon reached the summit—a vast open area littered with ruins.
With no significant cover, fierce winds howled, and clouds drifted past, some even lower than the peak itself. Rosen scanned the horizon but saw no visible route to the Sky Islands.
Giant's Peak was certainly tall, but it wasn't 10,000 meters—closer to 5,000 or 6,000 meters at most.
"Boss, what's that?! A cloud rising from the ground?" Robin suddenly pointed toward the sky on the opposite side of the peak, where an unnatural-looking cloud floated upward.
"Is it a cloud? Maybe disturbed by an updraft?" Daz Bones sounded uncertain.
"I'll check." Rosen activated Moon Walk. Despite the chaotic high-altitude winds, he effortlessly reached the slowly ascending cloud.
"Is this artificial cloud from the Sky Islands?" Rosen sensed no nearby airflow supporting it.
Moreover, if powerful winds were responsible, the cloud should have been torn apart rather than maintaining its shape as it moved. It showed no signs of dispersing, almost as if it had solidified.
To an ordinary observer, this might not seem unusual—given the Grand Line's unpredictable weather. But with Rosen already suspecting a Sky Island route, the connection was easy to make.
His first thought was of artificial clouds. The Sky Islanders had advanced cloud technology—cloud paths, solid clouds, floating island clouds (used for exiling criminals). If this place was linked to the Sky Islands, his theory seemed plausible.
But confirmation required firsthand testing. Since falling wouldn't kill him, Rosen stepped onto the massive cloud without hesitation—and stood firmly.
"The boss is standing on a cloud?! How?!" Even in this world, they knew clouds weren't solid, let alone capable of supporting a person.
"It's true!" Robin was equally astonished. Was this the path to the Sky Islands—riding a cloud upward? Did it move automatically?
"The cloud's ascent follows a trajectory—not random. Is something pulling it?" Rosen stood atop the cloud as it carried him higher, eventually plunging into the dense layers above.
Inside the cloud layer, everything was a sea of white. Rosen reached out—these were ordinary clouds, nothing special.
"A cloud path?" As the white cloud continued rising, Rosen spotted a distinct pathway.
Unlike the surrounding mist, it formed an arched bridge—not just one, but many, stretching into the distance. The white cloud he rode merged into one of these paths, as if reaching its destination.
Using Moon Walk, Rosen observed closely. The path wasn't solid but fluid, resembling the White Sea's properties—essentially a water-like cloud river.
From a distance, it appeared narrow, but up close, it spanned over a kilometer in diameter.
It seemed like a tributary of the White Sea, but with artificial modifications—raised edges to prevent ships from falling off during travel.
Rosen couldn't see the end, but he guessed this was the route to the Sky Islands, with Angel Island likely being the nearest destination.
The question was: how to get a ship up here? Carrying it manually? That was nearly impossible—otherwise, people would've already done so from Jaya.
Moon Walk allowed aerial movement, but lifting a massive ship while battling turbulent winds and thin air? That was exponentially harder.
A better option was using sand waves to transport the ship to the summit, then boarding the ascending cloud—far more feasible.
But for those without sand-based abilities, how could they move a ship to the peak?
Even if individuals with exceptional strength boarded the cloud and reached the sky path, navigating a river-like cloud path by swimming was suicidal—especially with unknown distances and potential dangers like sky sharks.
The survival rate would be abysmal.
"Wait—the cloud rose from below. There must be a ground-based entry point. If this is an ancient path to the Sky Islands, it shouldn't be this convoluted. Normally, departures would start from the ground." Rosen descended along the cloud's ascent path.
Robin and the others watched as Rosen vanished into the clouds, then reappeared, bypassing the summit entirely as he descended toward the ground. Had something gone wrong?
"What kind of strange weather is this?" Before reaching the ground, Rosen spotted a river flowing into the sea, emitting thick mist that formed dense white clouds.
Near this mist-covered river, some sea creatures floated lifelessly, their bodies bleached white. Was this the hazardous inland river Robin had mentioned?
Was there an underwater volcano? Even so, it shouldn't produce solid clouds. Though the mechanics were unclear, perhaps these unique conditions made it the Sky Island route.
Several faint white clouds drifted upward from the river—hard to notice unless one was close. Most would dismiss them as mist. But as they rose, Rosen saw them solidify.
He landed on one—it was indeed solid. This must have been the original departure point, though something had changed. Perhaps toxic gases made it unusable later.
But just as he thought this, the cloud beneath him suddenly dissipated. Others ascending nearby also began breaking apart, merging into the final surviving cloud—now truly solid.
"If you're unlucky enough to board a dissipating cloud mid-ascent, you're done for! Though a skilled individual might leap to another cloud in time—but if those also vanish, you're out of luck." Rosen was startled. This method was far riskier than he'd thought.
Statistically, if eight ships ascended simultaneously, only one might reach the sky path. Rosen wasn't a scientist—he had no interest in figuring out which clouds would succeed.
After his investigation, he concluded the first method was still the most reliable: using sand to move the ship to the summit, where the clouds were already solid.
(End of Chapter)