„SKY ISLAND?! So there's actually an island in the sky?" Luffy's eyes had transformed into actual stars—sparkling, enormous, irrationally excited. „A real floating island?!"
„So the ship's skeleton fell from that island," Usopp murmured, stepping carefully toward the wreckage bobbing in the waves.
„I don't really see any island," Zorro said, squinting at the clear blue sky as though sheer willpower would make clouds part. „Just empty air."
„You are mistaken," Robin said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. „It's more accurate to say that there is a sea floating in the sky."
A beat of silence.
„That makes even less sense," Sanji concluded, exhaling smoke.
„AWESOME!" Usopp and Luffy yelled in perfect, chaotic unison.
Nami was still staring at the log pose, her expression caught somewhere between scientific fascination and financial terror. The needle trembled, straining upward at an angle that defied every maritime law she knew. Her lips moved silently.
Is it possible…
Mario just smiled.
He would definitely want to see the sky island. Purely as a tourist, of course. Buy some souvenirs. Try the cloud cuisine. Maybe take a nap on a floating river. But fighting against Enel? Absolutely not. He had more important things to do. Blackbeard. Doflamingo. Whatever destiny had yanked him into this world for.
Still, for now—he could let himself enjoy the impossible.
„With the things we've seen?" Mario said aloud, keeping his real thoughts tucked safely behind his grin. „Why not?"
„We need to go! Like right now! Raise the sails! Start paddling toward the sky!" Luffy and Usopp were already yelling, bouncing around the deck like rubber balls.
„How about we first investi—"
„Say no more, Mario!" Luffy was already sprinting, launching himself off the railing toward the now-slowly-sinking wreckage.
Mario watched in confusion as the Straw Hat captain sailed through the air, arms pinwheeling, trajectory aimed directly at a half-submerged piece of debris.
„Does he just forget that he can't swim because of the Devil Fruit?" Mario asked Sanji, who had appeared beside him, entirely unbothered.
„I don't think he forgets," Sanji said, snuffing out a cigarette against the railing. „I think he just doesn't care when something piques his interest. Consequences are tomorrow's problem."
„That's… strangely philosophical for you."
„I've had a lot of time to think while cleaning up his messes." Sanji lit a fresh cigarette. „Also, you're bleeding."
Mario looked down. A thin gash across his forearm—must have been debris. He hadn't even felt it.
„Adrenaline," he muttered, pressing his palm against the cut.
From the sinking wreckage came Luffy's triumphant yell:
„I FOUND TREASURE!"
Mario shook his head, smiling despite himself. Somewhere in the distance, the wreckage groaned and took its final breath, slipping beneath the waves. Luffy clung to a barrel, still grinning, as water lapped at his chin.
„Help," he said cheerfully.
Zorro sighed and walked toward the railing, fishing Luffy out of the water with one arm while the captain clutched his soggy barrel like a lifeline.
"Guys, I did it! I found something amazing!" Luffy said, beaming from ear to ear despite water streaming down his face. "Ta-da!"
He unfolded a map—cracked, waterlogged, but still legible—that he'd pulled from the wreckage.
Nami's eyes widened. She snatched it from his hands, her finger tracing the faded ink.
"A map of a sky island? 'Skypiea'?"
"Well? Well? Does that mean there really is an island in the sky? Do we get to go now?" Luffy pushed his face into Nami's, stars practically vibrating in his eyes. She shoved him away with a grunt.
"YOHOOOO! We're going to Sky Island!" Usopp yelled, punching the air.
"The Island of Dreams!" Chopper added, hooves raised.
"OF DREAMS!!!" Luffy echoed, already bouncing.
"You know there's a possibility that the map is fake, right?" said Nami, her navigator's skepticism cutting through the hype like a knife.
The look on Luffy's, Usopp's, and Chopper's faces was like the whole world had just ended. Eyes hollow. Jaws slack. Dreams crumbling to ash.
"Ah," Nami backpedaled quickly, "it exists. It must be real…" She offered a apologetic smile. Then her expression sharpened. "But… we have no idea HOW TO GET THERE!"
She screamed the last part while hitting the mast—the one patched with metal plates—producing a resounding BONK that echoed across the deck.
"Please, easy with the ship!" Usopp interjected, wincing.
"YOU ARE THE NAVIGATOR! FIGURE IT OUT!" Luffy yelled in protest, stomping his foot like a child denied dessert.
Mario watched from the sidelines, arms crossed, a smile tugging at his lips. The whole situation was just hilarious.
"What we need is information," Nami said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "We need to salvage what's left from the wreckage!" She pointed toward the bobbing debris with certainty.
"Yes! Let's GO!" Luffy cheered.
"Let's fish it out!" said Usopp, already producing a fishing rod from somewhere on his person.
"Like hell you will!" Zoro screamed in frustration, gesturing at the scattered wreckage.
"Then how about this…" Usopp's eyes gleamed with that particular madness that usually preceded either brilliance or disaster. He started tinkering with empty barrels, rope, and glass—scavenged from who-knows-where.
Mario had no idea how he did it. But after some time, three improvised diving suits made from oak barrels sat before them, complete with glass portholes and sealed joints.
"So who's going?" Nami asked, her gaze sliding deliberately across the crew before landing squarely on Mario. "I'm counting on you."
"Oh hell…" Mario muttered, already regretting every life choice that had led him here.
And after some time, Zoro, Luffy, and Mario stood ready to dive, barrel-suits in place, ropes tied around their waists.
"Explain to me why I have to go?" Mario asked, his voice echoing slightly inside the oak chamber. He sounded profoundly depressed.
"Because you are the ONLY responsible adult here," Nami said matter-of-factly, adjusting the glass opening on his barrel. She tightened a seal, patted the wood twice, and gave him a kiss on the glass and smiled .
"Don't worry! My design is foolproof!" Usopp announced proudly, stepping back to admire his handiwork.
"LETS GO LETS GO LETS GO!" Luffy had two barrels stacked on him—one for his body, one extended upward to accommodate his rubber body—because thanks to his Devil Fruit powers, he couldn't touch water. He looked like a deranged snowman made of wood.
Mario stared at him. Then at Zorro, who wore his barrel with grim resignation, three swords somehow strapped to the outside.
"This is insane," Mario said.
"Probably," Zorro agreed.
"LAST ONE IN IS A ROTTEN EGG!" Luffy yelled, and promptly tipped himself over the railing like a falling tree.
The splash was enormous.
Mario sighed—a long, deep, soul-weary sound—and followed.
***
Mario definitely did not like the idea of going to the bottom of a sea full of god knows what creatures. This wasn't a manga. This was real life, for god's sake. His heart hammered against his ribs with each meter they descended, the pressure building not just in the water but in his chest.
But as he sank toward the bottom, the sunlight filtering through the surface in golden shafts, he could not help but marvel at the beautiful scenery. Coral formations he'd only ever seen in documentaries sprawled below him like an underwater forest. Fish the size of his arm—no, his whole body—drifted past in lazy schools, scales catching light like scattered jewels.
„Do you hear us?„
The voices crackled through the pipe connected to his makeshift diving suit—a primitive communication system Usopp had rigged from old tubing and sheer desperation.
"Loud and clear," Mario said, his voice muffled inside the oak barrel.
"THIS IS AWESOME!" Luffy screamed, barely containing his enthusiasm. Mario could practically see the grin stretching across the captain's face inside his double-barrel contraption.
"Oh crap…" Zorro's voice cut through, low and tense. "Look down."
Mario tilted his barrel—awkward, clumsy—and peered through the small glass porthole.
His blood ran cold.
Below them, coiled around the wreckage like living currents, were sea monsters. Dozens of them. Massive sea snakes, each as thick as the Going Merry's mast, their scales shimmering in iridescent patterns of emerald and obsidian. Their bodies twisted and looped through the water with terrifying grace, forked tongues flickering between rows of needle-sharp teeth.
The sight was something to behold. Beautiful, in a primal, ancient way. Bioluminescent patterns pulsed along their spines—slow, hypnotic, like distant galaxies breathing.
But also terrifying.
Mario felt his throat tighten. His hands inside the barrel went cold.
„Don't look at us," he prayed. „Please don't look at us."
Somehow—miraculously—they didn't. The sea snakes paid the three descending figures no attention at all. They were focused on something deeper, or maybe just indifferent to the strange wooden creatures drifting into their domain. Thank whatever god watched over fools who chased sky islands from the ocean floor.
"There it is," Luffy said, his voice suddenly quieter. Almost reverent.
Mario looked.
They were slowly nearing the wreckage of the ship—now lying on the bottom of the sea, cradled in a bed of white sand and swaying kelp. The galleon that had fallen from the sky rested on its side, its hull cracked open like a ribcage, exposing dark hollows where cargo and dreams had once been stored. Octopus already clung to the wood. The sail waved gently from the broken railings.
It was a majestic and sad sight.
Once, this ship had sailed among clouds. Once, it had known wind that didn't carry salt—only the thin, cold air of the heavens. Men had walked its decks, laughed in its quarters, perhaps even died on its planks. And now it lay here, swallowed by the very sea it had somehow escaped.
Mario floated in silence, staring at the wreck. The weight of it pressed against him more than the water ever could.
"Let's find something useful," Zorro said, already kicking toward the largest breach in the hull. His swords gleamed faintly through the murk.
The hunt for treasure and information was on.
Mario squeezed through the wreck's tight corridors, the oak barrel scraping against splintered wood with every turn. Dim light filtered through cracks in the hull, casting eerie shadows that danced like ghosts.
"Anything yet?" Zorro's voice crackled through the pipe.
"Just soggy furniture and a lot of creepy silence," Mario muttered, kicking past a floating chair.
Suddenly, a loud CRUNCH echoed through the water—metal against wood, sharp and violent.
Mario spun around just as jagged claws burst through the wall beside him, shredding the rotten planks like paper. Splinters exploded inward. His heart slammed against his ribs—then eased just as quickly.
He knew exactly what was happening.
"WHOA?! WHAT IS IT NOW?!" Luffy's panicked yell filtered through the pipe, followed by the sound of him thrashing inside his barrel.
But Mario didn't panic. He almost smiled.
The Masira Pirates had arrived.