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Meanwhile...
In an unknown part of the sea, aboard the Going Merry—
Nami suddenly jumped up in shock, her face turning pale.
Holding up her modified Log Pose, which she had turned into a wristwatch, she shouted to the Straw Hat crew, "This is really weird! Ever since we left Alabasta, it's been gradually pointing toward the sky. And the closer we get to our destination, the steeper the angle gets!"
"At first, I didn't think much of it, but now it's pointing straight up! We have no way forward!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, the Straw Hat crew all gathered around in surprise, staring at the Log Pose strapped to Nami's wrist.
Sure enough, the needle was pointing straight up.
"Come to think of it," Robin said as she walked over, tilting her head in thought, "there are legends about an island in the sky."
"Seriously?" Chopper asked, tilting his head as he gazed at the clear blue sky. "An island... in the sky?"
"Idiot, how is that even possible?" Usopp scoffed, knocking on Chopper's hat. "Legends are just lies, aren't they?"
"Yeah, it doesn't sound possible at all," Zoro agreed, glancing up. "How could an island exist up there?"
"No, the Log Pose never lies! If it's pointing to the sky, then Sky Island must be real!" Luffy declared confidently.
"Even if that's true, we have no way of flying up there!" Nami threw up her hands in frustration.
She couldn't help but think of a certain mysterious and ridiculously handsome man. "If only Shaka's giant panda were here, it could probably fly us up!"
Also, she really wanted to hug and cuddle that giant panda.
"Oh! Why don't we just fly up and check?" Luffy said, clenching his fist in realization.
"Oh sure, just fly up there," Usopp said sarcastically. "That's easy for you to say! Can you fly?!"
"Uh... nope!" Luffy admitted cheerfully.
The crew continued their discussion, but aside from Luffy, who stubbornly believed in Sky Island, the others weren't convinced.
"Wait... what's that?!"
Suddenly, Chopper pointed at the sky, his voice filled with shock.
"That is..."
"No way... you've got to be kidding!"
"It's a ship—!"
Hearing this, the Straw Hats instinctively looked up.
A small black dot in the sky grew larger and larger.
And then their eyes widened in horror. Tears almost sprang out.
Because what was plummeting toward them was a massive, tattered ship—along with countless other objects—falling at an alarming speed.
"RUN, YOU IDIOTS!"
Realizing that the falling ship was headed straight for the Going Merry, Nami's face went pale as she shouted, "If that thing lands on us, we're done for!"
"MOVE—FAST!"
"Hard to starboard!"
"Everyone, grab an oar and row like hell!"
Chaos erupted on the Merry as everyone scrambled to steer clear.
Just in time, they managed to speed up and dodge the massive falling wreck.
"BOOM!"
"SPLASH!"
The ship crashed violently into the sea, sending massive waves surging in every direction.
The Going Merry rocked back and forth, barely escaping disaster.
"Phew..."
The crew let out a collective sigh of relief, wiping cold sweat from their foreheads.
Then, as pieces of debris fluttered in the sea breeze, something unexpected happened—
A yellowed newspaper landed right on Luffy's face.
Annoyed, he snatched it away and was about to tear it up when—
"Wait!" Robin quickly stopped him.
She had sharp eyes and noticed something important. "Look at the date—this is from the year 1470 of the Sea Calendar... This newspaper is from fifty years ago!"
"WHAT?!"
"Wait, does that mean... this ship is from fifty years ago?!"
"But why was it in the sky?!"
"Could this mean... Sky Island is real after all?!"
The crew exchanged bewildered glances.
They had doubted the legend of Sky Island.
But now, with a ship literally falling from the heavens, they couldn't help but reconsider.
"Robin, are you actually interested in these old newspapers?" Luffy asked, watching her curiously as she scanned the pages.
Luffy then noticed more papers and bounty posters scattered on the sea's surface, fluttering in the wind.
"Gomu Gomu no...!" Extending his rubber arms, he grabbed a bunch of them from meters away.
"Hehe, here ya go!" He grinned, handing them all to Robin.
"Thank you," Robin said with a small smile, taking the newspapers and flipping through them.
Nami, Chopper, Usopp, and the others gathered around, curious.
"Whoa, what's this? Bounty posters from fifty years ago?!" Usopp exclaimed.
Grabbing one, he read out loud, "'The Earthquake Man' Edward Newgate... Bounty: Let's see, one, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million... SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-SIX MILLION BERRIES?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"
His jaw practically hit the deck.
"WHAAAT?!"
"SIX HUNDRED MILLION?!"
"No way...!"
"Is this some kind of joke?!"
The crew was stunned.
Up until now, even Luffy's bounty was only thirty million berries.
Someone had a bounty of 666 million... fifty years ago?!
Of course, after the Alabasta incident, Luffy's bounty had actually risen to 100 million, and even Zoro's had increased to 60 million—but they didn't know that yet.
"Actually, this bounty is real," Robin said with a knowing smile, putting down the first newspaper. "If it's the same Edward Newgate, then he's now known as 'Whitebeard'—captain of the Whitebeard Pirates. He commands a vast pirate fleet and is one of the Four Emperors of the New World."
"He was once on par with the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. A true legend of the seas, known as the 'Uncrowned King' and the 'Strongest Man in the World.'"
She glanced at the old bounty poster, staring at the young, golden-haired man with a slightly protruding chin.
"His bounty now stands at 5,046,000,000 berries. Back then, he was probably in his early twenties, just making a name for himself. That's why his bounty wasn't as high yet."
"FOUR EMPERORS?! FIVE BILLION?!"
"He was as strong as the Pirate King?!"
"The Strongest Man in the World...?!"
"Whitebeard... Oh yeah, Luffy's brother Ace mentioned he joined Whitebeard's crew, didn't he?"
Even Zoro and Sanji were left speechless.
Just how powerful did someone have to be... to be called the strongest man in the world?
They could hardly believe it.
"....."