One month later — the Grand Line, waters near Jaya Island.
The White Gull lay anchored upon a sea as smooth as a mirror, its surface reflecting the deep blue of the sky above.
"Jaya Island…"On the deck, Tezoro held a nautical chart, his brows knit tightly together.
He then lifted his head and looked toward the bustling harbor not far away, where ships came and went in constant motion—
Mock Town.A place that, at this point in time, had yet to become a den of pirates.
"Vice Admiral Gern," Tezoro turned and asked, "Mock Town is just ahead. Should we disembark there to resupply and gather information from the locals?"
"After all, if the charts are correct, this is the very sea region mentioned in the legend of Noland the Liar's City of Gold—Jaya's waters."
"No need."Gern Reginald Sigmar leaned against the railing, eyes lifted toward the sky, the corners of his mouth curving upward faintly."Because we've already landed."
"…Landed?"Tezoro froze, instinctively scanning their surroundings. Aside from the endless sea and the distant half of Jaya Island with Mock Town perched upon it, there was no sign of any other landmass.
"Gern, you're joking… right?"Snake Princess lounged lazily against the mast, her orange-red hair fluttering in the wind. She chuckled softly as she stroked her pet serpent."There's nothing here but seawater."
"If Gern says we've landed, then we've landed!"Lipo bounced over to Gern, looking up at him with bright eyes as her fluffy rabbit ears stood straight up."Gern, did you find something?"
Gern lowered his gaze to her, warmth filling his eyes.
He reached out, pulled her into his arms, and ruffled her hair with a smile."As expected—my Lipo understands me best."
Seeing this, a trace of envy flickered across Snake Princess's eyes. She immediately changed her tune."Actually, I believe you too, Gern.Sky Island must be somewhere nearby!"
She spread her arms dramatically, striking a come-hug-me pose.
Gern, however, acted as though he hadn't seen her at all. He walked right past her, his gaze returning to the sea as he murmured,
"I think I know how to get up there."
Tezoro sighed helplessly."Vice Admiral Gern… even if it's called Sky Island, it can't really exist in the sky, can it?Maybe it's just some hidden island in the sea, exaggerated by adventurers and given the name 'Sky Island.'"
"Exactly, exactly! Legends always get embellished," Snake Princess pouted in agreement—while clearly annoyed that Gern hadn't hugged her.
Gern didn't argue. He merely smiled faintly.
He raised his hand. A wisp of pale vibration particles gathered at his fingertips, and he gently tapped the air.
In an instant, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to be tugged by an invisible force, rippling with subtle distortions.
"Look over there," Gern said, pointing toward the distance.
Everyone followed his gesture.
At the line where sea met sky, a slender column of water suddenly burst upward.
"That's just a sea current, isn't it?" Tezoro frowned."Even if it's rising—"
Mid-sentence, realization struck him."Wait… Vice Admiral Gern, you're not saying—"
"That's right," Gern nodded."Here, the Knock Up Stream is the only passage that can send a ship straight into the sky."
"So…"Lipo bounced excitedly."We're really going up to the sky?!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Snake Princess's eyes, quickly replaced by haughty displeasure."Hmph. Even so, you still should've hugged me just now."
Gern cast her a helpless glance, then his expression turned serious.
"But the Knock Up Stream appears only once in a great while. So—since there isn't one right now…"
He paused.
"…we'll make one ourselves."
Before the words had fully settled, Gern abruptly lifted his hand, palm facing downward, fingers spread.
BOOM—CRACK, CRACK!!!
In an instant, the entire sea surface seemed crushed by an invisible giant hand.A monstrous vortex—over a kilometer wide—collapsed inward, the water spiraling violently.
Under the influence of vibrating air particles, the vortex compressed tighter and tighter.Molecules collided, friction intensified, rotational airflow accelerated—and the pressure at the vortex's core skyrocketed.
"W-What is this?!"Tezoro clutched the railing, his face draining of color."Vice Admiral Gern—you're not planning to launch us into the sky with your ability, ship and all, are you?!"
Snake Princess's pupils shrank as she instinctively tensed."The ship won't hold up…!And Lipo—get off Gern's back right now!"
Gern ignored them all.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he slammed his palm downward.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying shockwave erupted from the depths of the vortex, blasting through the deep sea—
ROOOOOAR!!!
A colossal column of water, hundreds of meters wide, exploded upward from the vortex's center, roaring toward the heavens like a furious sea dragon!
"Hold on tight!" Gern shouted.
"Heaven-Shaking · Return to Void."
Lipo screamed as she wrapped her arms around Gern's neck.Tezoro gripped the helm with white-knuckled desperation.
Snake Princess stumbled, nearly flung off the deck—only for Gern to hook an arm around her waist and yank her back.
"Y-You—!"Snake Princess was just about to show her elegant, flustered side—
when a blast of wind slammed straight into her mouth.
…Yes.You can imagine the result.
Let's just say—all dignity was lost.
Driven by the surging sea current, the White Gull accelerated wildly.
The hull shook violently, as though it might be torn apart at any moment.
Gern strode to the bow, flicked his black blade Bahuang, and created a vacuum layer between the ship and the raging sea current—just in case.
The next instant—
The White Gull was completely swallowed by the Knock Up Stream, shooting skyward like an arrow loosed from a bow!
Amid the violent turbulence, Lipo's screams, Tezoro's shouts, and Snake Princess's completely unintelligible la-la-la-la blended into chaos.
Reflected in Gern's eyes, the sky drew ever closer.
Sky Island…I'm coming.
As their altitude rose, the scenery blurred. Clouds tore past the ship on both sides at terrifying speed.
Finally—after a blinding flash of white—
The White Gull burst through cloud layers at 7,000 meters… 10,000 meters—
and slammed heavily into a vast, pristine sea of white clouds.
"W-We're… really in the sky?!"Tezoro clung to the railing, staring at the endless cloud ocean below with a deathly pale face.
Lipo pressed her rabbit ears flat against her head, her fluffy tail puffed up like a snowball."T-The clouds… are solid?!"
She cautiously hopped down from Gern's back, peering over the railing at the white sea beneath them and swallowing hard."It's just like the ocean!"
While the two of them were stunned beyond words—
Snake Princess stood frozen like a statue.
She mechanically hugged her giant serpent, her orange-red hair blown into total disarray.The proud, coldly beautiful expression she always maintained was completely gone—her face utterly blank.
Moments earlier, during the ascent, Gern had hooked an arm around her waist and tucked her under his arm, carrying her straight into the sky.
Her dignity.Her carefully cultivated mature aura.
All of it had been ripped apart by the raging wind.
"Snake Princess?"Gern waved a hand in front of her eyes."Really? A great swordswoman scared stiff already?"
Her pupils finally focused.
Slowly, she lowered her head and looked at her wrinkled cheongsam.Then she touched her hair—now resembling a bird's nest.
Finally, her gaze dropped to Gern's hand, which was still resting on her waist.
"Gern… you didn't just—"
"I did."
"GERN REGINALD SIGMAR!!!"
...
[Lazy Scientist's Mini-Lecture: How vibration creates an ocean current]
By exploiting oceanic resonance.Seawater molecules are already in constant thermal vibration. By directly manipulating their vibration frequency, you can synchronize them into resonance, converting microscopic vibrational energy into macroscopic kinetic force.
When all particles vibrate vertically in the same phase, mechanical waves stack within a localized region of the sea surface, creating an extreme high-pressure water column (similar to acoustic levitation—just on a massive scale).
Then comes tectonic vibration coupling:By delivering a final shock directly to the seabed's crustal particles, an artificial "undersea earthquake" is induced.
High-frequency plate vibrations force seawater upward—much like volcanic eruption mechanics.
With sustained energy input, the sea current can overcome gravity itself and blast straight into the atmosphere!((٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و))