"It's ten o'clock in the morning right now."
"That old man said that at eleven today, an rising sea current will appear."
"As long as we reach this location ahead of time, we can ride the current and soar up to ten thousand meters in the sky."
"That's how it works, right, Robin?"
On the narrow deck of the Going Merry, Luffy sat cross-legged on the floor, pointing at a nautical chart spread out in front of him.
His finger tapped again and again on a small circled spot on the map as he explained things to everyone.
At the end, he turned to Robin—who had gone with him to gather information—and asked for confirmation.
Robin bent slightly, brushing aside the hair that covered her bright eyes. With a gentle smile, she spoke softly:
"Don't forget, we also need to unfurl the sails at the critical moment."
"The rising sea current is vertical, so we can't ride it forward like we did at Reverse Mountain."
"The force that pushes us comes entirely from the airflow collision caused by the rising current—"
"In other words, the power of the wind."
Luffy nodded vigorously at once.
"Oh! Right, right, right…"
"That old man did say something like that."
"Nami, Merry—then I'll leave it all to you!"
Nami stepped forward, carefully studying the map in Luffy's hands. After a moment, she suddenly flashed a playful smile and answered confidently:
"Don't worry!"
"Leave everything to me!"
"With Merry's perfect coordination, even without the rising sea current , I could still send the Merry above ten thousand meters!"
As she spoke, a green glow suddenly bloomed in Nami's palm.
A mysterious magic circle formed around her arm.
A spiraling miniature tornado leapt forth, dancing lively at her fingertips as if it had a will of its own.
Merry squinted her eyes and smiled foolishly at Luffy, as if saying, "Just leave everything to me."
The sight filled Luffy with relief.
After listening to their discussion, Usopp suddenly grabbed Zoro's shoulder, his face pale as he muttered weakly:
"Zoro… I think I've caught a disease where I die the moment I go ten thousand meters up."
"What!? What!?"
"Usopp, are you sick?!"
Chopper, standing nearby, instantly transformed into his muscular form. Grabbing Usopp's shoulders, he shook him back and forth while shouting:
"Let me check! What kind of illness is it?!"
"Does it hurt here? Or here?! ..."
Ever since boarding the ship, Chopper hadn't had many chances to help everyone.
The moment he heard Usopp claim he had a serious illness, he lit up like a starving man seeing a feast—excited and overjoyed.
"Ugh!… Ugh!… Ugh!…"
"Cho!… pper!… Let!… go!… of!… me!…"
Foam spilled from Usopp's mouth as he clutched at Chopper's arms, but no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't escape the "doctor's" iron grip.
Luffy stared blankly at Usopp, who had been shaken half-unconscious by Chopper.
Sometimes Luffy wondered—doctors were supposed to be angels in white…
But could it be that a cute little devil lived inside Chopper's heart instead?!
...
"Luffy!!! Look over there!!!"
Just as everyone on the ship was laughing and fooling around, Nami—standing at the railing—suddenly pointed toward the distant sky and shouted.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn over, their gazes following the direction of her slender finger.
In the far distance, a massive stretch of dark clouds was slowly rolling toward them.
Nami, the only one aboard who truly understood navigation, cried out instantly:
"That's a Cumulonimbus Giant Cloud!"
"It's formed from seawater vaporized by the extreme heat of underwater volcanic upheavals!"
"When those clouds appear, massive underwater whirlpools always follow!"
Hearing her explanation, Koby stared at the enormous cloud mass—large enough to blot out the sky entirely—and said in fear:
"But Miss Nami, it's heading straight toward us!"
"That's right!"
Luffy's eyes sparkled as he stared at the terrifying cloud bank crackling with lightning.
"That old man talked about this too!"
Robin suddenly laughed and exposed Luffy on the spot:
"Luffy, you remembered it wrong again."
"He said that once Cumulonimbus Giant Clouds appear, we should avoid taking risks."
"Uh!"
Luffy chuckled awkwardly, but there was no hesitation in his eyes as he turned to Nami.
"I think sometimes adding your own judgment makes things better!"
"No problem, right—my navigator?"
"Of course!!!"
Nami gazed at the dark clouds overhead, her magic subtly flowing as she sensed the wind.
In the next instant, a streak of turquoise divine light shot from her eyes, leaving behind a faint trace in the air.
"Merry! Retract the sails! Hard starboard!"
"No problem, Nami!"
Merry leapt up in response.
In the blink of an eye, her body became weightless as she transformed into her ship-spirit form, floating above the Going Merry.
Under her precise control, the ship rapidly adjusted according to Nami's commands.
Luffy turned to Koby beside him.
"Koby, take Chopper and Wutian back to the cabin first. Look after them."
"Yes, Luffy-sama!"
Then Luffy shouted toward the rear of the ship:
"Laboon! Go back now!"
"Brook!"
"Understood, Luffy-sama!"
"Po—oh~"
With a straight beam of red light, Laboon—who had been deep beneath the sea securing the damaged Pluton—vanished instantly, returning to the red-and-white Spirit Ball in Brook's hand.
...
"Everyone, hold on tight!"
"The whirlpool is coming!"
As Nami's words fell, the ocean underwent a violent transformation!
The once relatively calm sea suddenly surged into a wave more than ten meters high.
Under Nami's guidance, the Going Merry cut across the wave sideways, like a surfer riding a monstrous swell, soaring high above the raging sea!
"Merry! Rudder back thirty degrees!"
"Roger~"
Merry's voice rang out, ethereal and clear.
The ship's bow shifted instantly as Merry adjusted the hull to the specified direction.
At that moment, something bizarre happened!
Amid the surging waves, another massive swell suddenly rose—
Slamming into the wave Merry was riding at a perfect ninety-degree angle!
BOOM!!!
The two colossal waves collided and merged, blasting an enormous curtain of water into the air!
And the Merry—having already changed direction—borrowed that overwhelming force and shot straight upward!
Nami, who had calculated everything in her mind, threw her arm up and laughed loudly toward the distant calm sea:
"Hoist the sails!!!"
"Full speed ahead!!!"
Luffy followed her lead, roaring toward the front:
"Let's go!!!"
"Brothers!!!"
Snap! Snap! Snap!…
The sails of the Going Merry unfurled one after another.
The whirlwind created by the crashing waves rushed directly into every sail!
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Completed version available on Patreon P@treon(.)com/Veltoria