Everyone immediately had dark lines on their faces.
"You damn cook!!" Zoro roared, directly punching Sanji's head.
"Get out of the way! Usopp is the one who needs treatment the most right now!"
Nami's face instantly darkened, and she stomped on Sanji's head with a "bang," saying viciously:
"Sanji, do you really want to die?"
And just as Chopper was frantically trying to save him, Usopp suddenly opened his eyes, sat up, gasping for air, his face filled with terror.
"Ugh ah ah ah—!!" Usopp looked at the vast expanse of white clouds surrounding the ship, his face changing drastically, and he instantly jumped up, looking around frantically in terror.
"This... isn't this clouds?! Where exactly is this place?!" Usopp shouted, clutching his head, his eyes full of panic.
Nami rubbed her forehead, saying helplessly, "So... this must be the 'Sky Sea.'"
"Sky Sea..." Chopper murmured, repeating the words, looking at the floating clouds around them, his eyes filled with wonder.
Nami glanced at the log pose, finding that it was still pointing higher, and she frowned, murmuring:
"But... the log pose is still pointing upwards."
Hearing this, Robin looked thoughtfully at the sky, and said softly:
"It seems... this is only the middle layer of the Cumulus Cloud."
"We have to go even higher?!" Chopper and Usopp exclaimed in unison.
Usopp's face was full of terror, and he immediately hugged the mast, "Wait! We're already in the sky, aren't we?! Where else can we go higher?!"
Although Nami was equally surprised, she quickly adjusted her thoughts, "Anyway... let's get the ship moving first!
The airflow here seems very stable, we should be able to find a route."
Luffy laughed excitedly, "Alright! Then let's go up and see!"
Zoro shrugged, looking nonchalant, "We're already here anyway, so let's keep going."
Sanji lit a cigarette, "Since the Captain has given the order, let's charge forward."
Lin Ning stood on the deck, looking at the endless sea of clouds, a slight smile playing on his lips, "An unknown world... truly exciting."
"All hands on deck!" Nami stood at the bow, her gaze firm, "Target—the higher sky!"
Enveloped by the sea of clouds, the going merry rode the wind and waves, continuing to sail into the deeper Sky Sea.
The going merry slowly advanced across a pure white sea of clouds, the surroundings as silent as a dream.
Only the faint sound of the ship cutting through the clouds echoed in this mysterious Sky Sea.
Just then, Luffy suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted:
"Hey, Nami! Look, there seems to be a gate ahead!"
Everyone looked up at his words, only to see a massive, towering gate beneath a giant cloud current that resembled a waterfall!
Nami's eyes widened, and she said in shock, "There's actually a gate in a place like this?"
Robin crossed her arms, a playful smile on her lips, "It seems nothing is surprising in this sea."
"Haha, no matter what! We'll know once we pass through there, right!" Luffy excitedly waved his fist, looking at the mysterious gate with anticipation.
Usopp squinted, pointed at the words on the gate, and read aloud, "Gate of Heaven...?!"
In an instant, Usopp's face turned pale, "Th-this is too ominous!! It sounds like we're going to die!"
"Perhaps... we're already dead," Zoro suddenly said calmly, his face terrifyingly serene.
Sanji stroked his chin, nodding seriously, and added:
"In that case, all these supernatural phenomena can be explained..."
"Wh-what?! Σ(っ °Д°;)っ" Chopper's tail puffed up in fear, and he hugged Usopp tightly.
He screamed in terror, "C-could it be that we're actually already dead?!"
Just then, Lin Ning frowned slightly and interrupted in a calm tone, "Alright, stop joking around."
His voice wasn't loud, but it had a reassuring power that instantly calmed Chopper and Usopp, stopping their wild thoughts.
However, Luffy, who was nearby, listened excitedly, his eyes sparkling as he said:
"Wow! 'Heaven,' that sounds amazing! I can't wait!"
—Just as the going merry was about to approach the Gate of Heaven, Usopp suddenly cried out:
"Hey, hey! Look! Someone's appeared over there!!"
Everyone looked towards the gate at his words.
Through the swirling clouds, an old, stooped woman in a pink dress, with small white wings on her back, slowly emerged.
She held a camera in her hand and, with a "click," actually took a picture of the going merry!
Chopper pointed at her in shock, stammering and shouting:
"L-look! She has wings on her back!!"
Luffy's eyes widened, and he jumped up excitedly, "An angel! Is this an angel?!
Eh, so angels look like this... like a dried plum."
Nami rolled her eyes, speechless, and couldn't help but retort:
"Stop spouting nonsense!!"
The old woman slowly spoke, her tone flat as if devoid of any emotion:
"I am the surveillance officer of the 'Gate of Heaven'—Amazon.
May I ask, are you here for sightseeing? Or for... war?"
Her words made everyone pause.
Nami frowned, "To say sightseeing, not quite... Anyway, we want to go to Sky Island."
"Sky Island?" The old woman slowly nodded, "To go to the upper layer, please pay the entry fee—1 billion Extol per person."
"One... one billion?!?!?" Usopp's eyes nearly popped out, and his face instantly turned ashen!
Lin Ning frowned, "Extol? Is that the currency here?"
Chopper also said nervously, "No matter how you calculate it, 1 billion is too exaggerated!!"
Robin pushed up her hat brim, "1 billion per person, and there are seven of us... so that's 7 billion Extol."
"..." Zoro's eyes suddenly grew cold, and he said in a low voice, "This old woman... isn't trying to extort us, is she?"
Nami immediately switched into her calculating mode, crossing her arms and pondering for a moment before tentatively asking:
"If... I mean if, what happens if we don't pay?"
"Not paying is also an option," the old woman said airily, her tone completely unperturbed.
Everyone: "???"
"Then that's fine!!" Luffy laughed heartily, waving his hand to make the going merry move forward, "Then let's go! Off to Sky Island!!"
Usopp quickly shouted, "Right, right, right! We don't have money, we're leaving! Goodbye, old lady!"
The old woman calmly counted the number of people, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Hmm, seven people in total."
However, just as her words fell—
"Whoosh—!"
The white sea of clouds suddenly churned, and beneath the surface, two huge dark shadows abruptly appeared!
The next second, two massive pincers suddenly emerged from beneath the clouds, clamping down hard on the going merry's hull!
"What?! The ship's been caught!!" Usopp screamed in terror.
Zoro had already detected something approaching the going merry through his Observation Haki, and instinctively gripped his sword hilt, about to draw his sword.
But Lin Ning stopped him with a look, signaling to wait and see the situation first.
The old woman spoke calmly as before:
"A specialty of the White Sea—'Express Shrimp'."