Chapter 68: Alabasta – Sky Island Map & the Dream of the Sky
On the vast blue sea, the Merry rocked gently with the waves.
"Haa… haa…" Sweat beaded on Vivi's forehead, but her eyes burned with determination.
She braced both hands on the deck, gritting her teeth through Sol's basic physical training regimen.
"Since I've decided to become part of this pirate crew, I absolutely refuse to be a burden!" Her voice trembled slightly but was filled with resolve.
Sol stood to the side, arms crossed, a faint smile on his lips.
Aside from Zoro the training maniac, this was only the second crewmate to actively seek special training from him. That determination pleased him deeply.
Suddenly the sky above Vivi darkened.
She paused mid-push-up and looked up in confusion: "Sol, is it going to rain?" Before she finished speaking, her pupils shrank sharply and her face went pale.
"A ship… a ship is falling from the sky!"
A massive, heavily damaged pirate ship—several times larger than the Merry—came plummeting from the clouds. Its scarred hull looked especially ferocious in the sunlight. With a deafening roar, the giant vessel crashed into the sea nearby, sending up towering waves dozens of meters high.
"Grab the railing!" Sol shouted. The Merry rocked violently in the raging waves; barrels and tools rolled wildly across the deck. Usopp clung desperately to the mast—until a skull suddenly smacked him square in the face with a thwack.
"AAAAHHH! A skull!!" The long-nosed sniper screamed in terror, flailing to throw it away.
"Ahh—baka! Don't throw it over here!" Chopper and Karoo hugged each other tightly, both scared half to death by the flying skull.
Luffy stretched his neck to stare up at the now-calming sky, eyes sparkling under his straw hat: "So cool! How can a ship fall from the sky?!"
Nami stared at the Log Pose in her hand, which was spinning wildly, brows furrowed: "Hey, Sol, come look at this! The needle's pointing straight up—is it broken?"
Sol walked over and glanced at the needle firmly pointing skyward: "Log Poses never malfunction. It only gets pulled toward stronger magnetic forces."
"You mean…" Nami's breathing quickened as an astonishing guess formed in her mind.
"Correct. Sky Island," Robin finished the sentence Nami hadn't yet voiced. "Though honestly, even I've never seen any literature on Sky Islands, so I can't be one hundred percent certain."
"Sky Islands do exist," Sol said with a casual shrug.
"Alright!! There really is a floating island in the sky!" Luffy leaped onto the railing, straw hat flapping wildly in the sea breeze. "Then let's just turn the rudder upward and sail straight into the sky!" He waved his arms dramatically, rubber limbs drawing exaggerated arcs in the air.
Usopp immediately jumped onto a barrel beside him and saluted theatrically: "Aye aye, Captain! Rudder upward—full speed ahead!" He pretended to spin an imaginary wheel with great seriousness.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, idiots." Sanji leaned against the railing, cigarette dangling, blowing a perfect smoke ring. "The rudder can't point upward. Your flying dream is doomed." He smirked at the two who instantly froze like statues.
"How can this be…" Luffy and Usopp deflated like punctured balloons, slumping into the corner to draw sad little circles, dark clouds literally hanging over their heads.
At that moment Robin elegantly activated her ability. Several slender hands sprouted from the deck and gently lifted a black coffin floating nearby on the sea.
Click. The lid was carefully opened.
"Kyaaah—!" Nami, Chopper, Vivi, and Karoo instantly huddled together behind the mainmast, trembling. Nami peeked out half her head, voice shaking: "R-Robin! Why would you open something like that?! Your hobbies are way too creepy!"
Vivi felt the same—she had never seen someone as bold as Robin before.
Sanji, however, crouched beside the coffin with great interest, watching Robin carefully piece together a shattered skull fragment with tweezers.
"Death combined with beauty…" He cupped his face dreamily, hearts in his eyes. "What a poetic scene! Even the way Robin-san assembles skulls is enchanting~"
"Where are Luffy and the others?" Zoro suddenly noticed how quiet the deck was. He turned and heard raucous laughter coming from the wreckage in the distance.
"Those two idiots went exploring, fine—but why did Sol go with them?"
Chopper peeked out from behind the mast with only his big round eyes showing: "Sol said he was worried those two landlubbers would get into trouble, so he followed them."
"Done." Robin gently brushed sea salt from the bone fragments. The shattered skull was now whole again in her hands. Her slender fingertip lightly tapped two symmetrical round holes at the temple: "These were made intentionally."
"Meaning this person died from having their brain pierced?" Sanji asked.
"No—these are surgical incisions. It should be called 'trepanation,' right, ship doctor?" Robin confirmed.
Chopper bravely edged closer for a look: "Correct. In the past, people would drill holes in the skull to treat brain tumors, but that's very ancient medical practice."
Robin slowly put away her tools: "He died about two hundred years ago, around thirty years old. Cause of death was likely illness leading to castration—because compared to the other bones, only the teeth are relatively well preserved." She opened a yellowed document; the pages crackled. "There are traces of tar—this is a burial custom specific to certain regions of the South Blue. Judging by the historical period… this should be an expedition ship from long ago."
Robin flipped through the document. Her finger suddenly stopped on an illustration: "Found it. The St. Briss expedition from the Briss Kingdom in the South Blue—set sail 208 years ago. The picture matches the ship that just fell perfectly."
Nami—somehow already leaning over Robin's shoulder—exclaimed: "It's true! It's identical to the wreck!" Her eyes widened. "You figured out all that just from bones? That's amazing!"
"Corpses may not speak, but the information they carry doesn't lie. Expedition teams usually leave behind all kinds of data and records," Robin explained to Nami.
"But the ship sank," Nami said helplessly, spreading her hands.
Suddenly—bang bang! Luffy and Usopp were kicked back onto the deck like cannonballs.
Sol vaulted gracefully over the railing, his soaked white shirt clinging to his body: "Seriously—I told you two to be careful. I just spotted what looked like a treasure chest down there."
But Luffy—already back on his feet—grinned and pulled a rolled-up piece of yellowed parchment from his shirt: "But I found something super awesome!" He dramatically unfurled it. "Look! A map of Sky Island!"
"SKY PLEA…" Nami took the faded paper, fingertips brushing over the worn text as she read softly.
"Just like Sol said! There really is a Sky Island up there! It's the legendary dream island!" Luffy bounced with excitement, straw hat tilted sideways. "Then let's go! We're going to Sky Island!"
Usopp and Chopper instantly joined the frenzy—even Karoo flapped his wings and quacked excitedly. The four of them stacked into a human pyramid and jumped around the deck: "Sky Island! Sky Island! We're going to Sky Island!"
"Hey hey, don't get too excited yet." Nami stood with one hand on her hip, helplessly waving the map. "Even with a map, I have no idea how to get to a place like that."
"Ehh?!" Luffy's face stretched dramatically in disappointment. "How can that be, Nami? You're the best navigator ever! Think of something quick!"
"Think your big head! It's not something I can just figure out instantly!" Nami glared back fiercely.
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