chapter 105

The day to leave Swallow island finally came, and we were waiting for law to give us his answer before we set sail.

"Do you think he'll come, captain?" Laffite asked with a smile as we both stood on the black pearl's deck, watching the port.

"I have no idea, but even if he doesn't, we still have a good doctor," I replied with a smile of my own. "But if he does show up, then I have a feeling that it will at the last possible second," I added while shrugging my shoulders.

And what do you know? Law did show up precisely at the same time we raised the anchor and were preparing to set sail. "Do you have an answer?" I asked with a smile while looking at the surgeon.

"What does it look like?" Law asked with a raised expression, dangling the backpack he was carrying in front of his face. "Welcome aboard," I said as I gestured for him to get on the ship.

'Now I have not only one good doctor, but two with one of them specializing in surgery and other in medicine,' I think to myself as I watch Law jump into the ship.

'Now I only need a shipwright and a helmsman, and I can't for the life of me think about where I can get a shipwright,'

'I know some great helmsmen, but do I even need a helmsman when I have Triton? No matter, I'll leave it good old reliable future self to figure this out,' I concluded as I turned to look at the people who came to bid us farewell.

Even though we basically saved everyone in Pleasure town, we were still pirates, and so they still didn't like us, so none of them showed up, but who cares?

The people who did show up were Pebo, Shachi, penguin, Wolf, and Charles. "Your friends are here too, Law," I said as I turned to look at the surgeon.

"I thought you were going to ask me to take them with us?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "They aren't prepared for life in the sea, and I doubt you'd agree even if I asked," he added with a blank expression.

"Fair enough," I replied with a smile as I turned to look at Wolf, who looked like he had something to say. "You're going to investigate that strange weather phenomenon, right?" the inventor asked.

"That's right," I replied with a nod. "In that case, come back here and tell what you find, and I'll have something special for your ship," the inventor said with a smile.

"I don't see why not. We'll have to pass by on our way to the reverse mountain anyway," I replied after a second of thought. "Alright, then I'll start working as soon as you guys leave," Wolf remarked with a satisfied smile.

"What about you, little shit?" I remarked as I turned to look at Charles. "Don't you have anything to say?" I asked with a smile, causing Charles to roll his eyes.

"I have nothing to say to you," Charles said, raising his middle finger at me. "But I want to thank Bob, Elly, and Kozue, for teaching me so much," he added after a second of silence, causing Elly Kozue to smile and wave at him while Bob merely smiled.

"Alright, that's enough nonsense for now," I remarked with a smile. "Law, say goodbye to your friends. We've wasted enough time already," I added as I turned to look at the surgeon.

"I've already done that before I arrived here. Let's get out of here," the surgeon said in a firm tone as he turned to look away for his friends, but there was sadness in his voice.

"So be it," I said while shrugging my shoulders. "Laffite, get us out of here!" I exclaimed, watching as everyone quickly moved to their stations.

-0-

"Are you sure this is the place, Laffite?" I asked as we stopped and anchored the black pearl in the middle of the sea. "I'm sure, captain," Laffite replied with a smile.

"In fact, the weather phenomena will happen in a couple of hours, so keep your eyes open," he added while pointing to a specific spot in the water.

"Indeed, a strange weather phenomenon happens here every once in an awhile," Law said from the side with a frown. "Not only that but there are strange talks of ships falling from the sky and sighting of gigantic shadows in the clouds," he added.

"I wonder what that all means," the surgeon wondered in a curious tone. "Wonder no more, my friend," I remarked as I turned to look at him.

"Everyone gather up. It's time for you all to know why we're here," I exclaimed, causing everyone to gather around me with curious expressions on their faces.

"First, let me explain what the weather phenomenon we're waiting for," I remarked, raising one finger. "It's called a knock-up stream, and it is a powerful pressurized water stream that shoots upwards to the sky from the sea," I explained.

"The Knock Up Stream is created by a giant underwater cave filled with gas, and when the gas pressure becomes too powerful, it creates a crack in the ceiling, causing a whirlpool to form and freeing the gas," I added.

"The seabed explodes when that happens, sending a giant stream upwards, which lasts approximately one moment," I concluded, causing everyone to nod, with Wilson merely looking confused.

"So it's a mystery stream," Wilson added from the side, nodding his head like sage bestowing wisdom upon the unwashed masses. "That's the gest of it," I remarked while chuckling lightly.

"Now, for the fun part, we are here to climb that stream and reach the sky!" I exclaimed with a grin. "Why would we want to do such a crazy thing, you say?" I ask, causing everyone to nod their heads fervently.

"Because it's the most interesting way for us to reach the sky island above our head," I added while pointing upwards. "What is a sky island, captain?" Byron asked with a confused expression.

"They are, of course, islands in the sky, as the name implies," I remarked as if stating the obvious. "How and why there are islands in the sky, I don't know, so I won't bother trying to explain it," I added.

"But they are there, and we're going to visit one of them," I concluded. "Islands in the sky, huh?" Law said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"That would explain the ancient ships, suddenly falling from the skies and gigantic shadows," he reasoned, causing everyone to nod.

"Indeed, this isn't the first time I heard about sky islands," Bob said for the side, causing everyone to turn their attention to him. "I've heard of a similar island in the grand line right above Jaya," he added.

"But how are we going to climb this knock-up stream, captain?" Elly asked with a confused expression. "I have no idea," I deadpanned, causing everyone to collapse on the floor.

"Well, I'm sure Laffite will figure something out," I said, shamelessly slapping my navigator's shoulder, causing him to smile. "Leave it to me, captain," Laffite remarked with a confident smile.

"At any rate, some of you might have noticed that the black pearl has been a little faster lately, and that's because I've been decreasing her density, little by little," I explained after everyone gathered their wits.

"I did it just in case something goes wrong, so we could gently float down back into the sea without damaging the ship if the unexpected happened," I concluded.

"Good thinking, captain," Laffite said with a smile. "It will also make climbing the stream a lot easier because we won't have to worry about the ship's weight," he added.

"Anyway, everyone start making preparations," I instructed. "Tie down everything that isn't pinned to the ground, or we'll risk breaking or falling off the ship," I added, and everyone obliged, scurrying around the ship.