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The Strongest Frost Loli (191)
🕑 Added 2025-02-07 17:05:21 +0000 UTCChapter 191 - A Ship Falls from the Sky
“It’s starting again, folks, Radio ‘New World’! Your host today is me, Donald Moderato!”
“And your assistant, Chocolat! Nice to be here.”
“Actually, I have some unfortunate news. Our assistant of several years, Monet, has suddenly resigned for personal reasons. I’m heartbroken to see such a beauty go…”
“If it’s beauty you want, I’m right here. I’m just as lovely as Monet, wouldn't you say?”
“Look in a mirror before you speak.”
“I’ll knock you into next week!”
“…Well, anyway, moving on! We have a very special guest with us today! No time for sad stories! Let’s give a warm welcome to our distinguished visitor—the ‘Golden Emperor’ himself, Gild Tesoro!”
“Greetings, everyone! Tesoro here, producer extraordinaire for the Twilight Pirates!”
“Most of you probably know me, but here’s a quick recap! I head the entertainment division of Twilight, and I’ve had the honor of producing and writing numerous hits for our beloved songstresses, Ann and Carina! And, of course, I’m a rather popular singer myself!”
“Hahaha, you’re too kind, Donald. You’ll make me blush.”
“Nonsense! I haven’t even begun to sing your praises! So, tell us, what exciting news have you brought us today?”
“Right, well, no point keeping you in suspense. As many of you know, the civil war in Alabasta has recently ended. So, to celebrate, and as part of our ongoing reconstruction efforts, we’re launching a live concert tour! Ann, Carina… and we’ve even invited the ‘Diva of the Deep,’ Maria Napole! The live performances will be broadcast via Visual Den Den Mushi, so don’t miss out!”
“A live tour! Does that mean we’ll finally get to hear Ann’s new single, released just last week?”
“It’s on the setlist, of course! And… this is still under wraps, but we have a very special surprise planned for the tour. Stay tuned!”
“You can’t miss this! And the dates are…”
***
The Straw Hats were in no position to listen to the radio. Chunks of wood, shards of metal, and even human bones rained down upon them. A ship, a whole ship, had just fallen from the sky. They were struggling just to keep the Going Merry afloat amidst the chaos and debris.
After a few frantic minutes, the storm subsided, and the crew stared in stunned silence at the wreckage of the fallen vessel.
“…Wh-what was that…?”
“A ship… from the sky?”
They looked upwards, but the sky was mostly clear, a few clouds drifted lazily. Usopp and Chopper, huddled together, trembled at the inexplicable phenomenon.
“Ah!?”
“What’s wrong, Nami!?”
“The Log Pose… it’s pointing upwards… and it’s not moving! It’s broken!”
“What!?”
They were en route to the next island, having just left Alabasta. Losing their navigational tool in the middle of the ocean was essentially a death sentence. The crew paled, but Robin, Pedro, and Zepo remained calm.
“It’s not broken. If the Log Pose has changed, it means it’s locked onto an island with a stronger magnetic pull.”
“Locked onto…? But… it’s pointing upwards!?”
“If it’s pointing upwards, it means a Sky Island has captured the Log Pose.”
Luffy was the first to react to Robin’s words.
“The sky!? There’s a sea up there… with islands!? Let’s go! Full speed ahead! Upwards!”
“Aye, aye, Captain! Hard to port—I mean, hard upwards!”
Luffy and Usopp’s excitement escalated, so Robin, using her Hana Hana no Mi ability, clamped Luffy’s mouth shut. Once things had calmed down, she explained the situation.
“But a Sky Island… a sea in the sky, with islands? That’s impossible! It must be broken!”
“No, Sky Islands exist. I’ve been to one myself.”
“You have!?”
“We haven’t. She must be talking about her time with Twilight.”
Pedro answered Nami’s question. Only Robin had been to a Sky Island. While the others had heard stories, actually visiting one was a different matter altogether.
That said, there were several Sky Islands. Their first priority was to salvage anything useful from the wreckage before gathering information.
“As someone who’s been there, let me give you some advice. Never doubt the Log Pose, no matter what happens. There’s always an island where it points… remember that, Navigator.”
“Uh, yeah… okay.”
Luffy was eager to hear more about Robin’s Sky Island adventures, but the wreckage was sinking fast. Leaving Chopper on watch, the crew rushed to salvage anything they could.
They found no logbooks. The swords and armor, neglected and rusting, were useless. The ship’s interior showed signs of a struggle, bodies scattered throughout. Though, the impact of the fall could have caused the disarray.
Time was running out. They managed to retrieve a large coffin filled with what looked like junk. Their most significant finds were a map Luffy had discovered and a broken contraption that resembled a ship.
“Look at this!”
“‘Skypiea’…?”
“It’s a map of a Sky Island.”
The paper was yellowed and brittle, but the name was familiar to Robin. While the others speculated about the ship’s origins, Robin began piecing together the skeletal remains within the coffin.
The skull had a hole, a sign of trepanation, an ancient medical procedure. The individual was in their early thirties, likely deceased from illness. Their teeth, unlike the rest of the bones, were remarkably well-preserved, coated in tar. This practice was unique to a specific region in the South Blue, suggesting the deceased was part of an expedition from that area.
Armed with this information, Robin searched her records.
“Here it is. The St. Bliss, an expeditionary vessel from the South Blue kingdom of Bliss. It set sail 208 years ago.”
“You can tell all that from a skeleton…? Amazing…”
The emblem depicted in Robin's book matched the one on the wrecked ship’s sails. The ship had been adrift in the sky for at least two centuries. The crew stared at Robin in awe.
“…So, what about information on Sky Islands?”
“Patience. I haven’t finished reviewing the records.”
“But if you’ve been to a Sky Island, you know how to get there, right? How do we even reach a Sky Island?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t!?”
Usopp couldn’t help but interject. If she had been to one, surely she knew the way. However, Robin’s previous ascent had been unconventional. It wasn't a method the Straw Hats could replicate.
“I reached the Sky Island because someone with the ability to levitate objects carried the entire ship. I didn’t use, nor do I know, the conventional route.”
“Someone with that kind of power…?”
“But what do we do? If the Log Pose is stuck pointing at the sky, we’re stranded!”
Without an Eternal Pose, and with their Log Pose fixated on the heavens, they couldn't reach land. While they had ample food supplies, it was only enough for their planned journey, not for weeks adrift at sea.
However, Robin assured them it wasn’t a concern.
“Twilight also handles maritime rescue operations, for situations like this.”
“But how will they find us in the middle of the ocean…?”
“We have a Den Den Mushi, don’t we? We can contact them and tell them our location.”
Using multiple transponder snails stationed on nearby islands, they could pinpoint their position through triangulation. Twilight had erected these transponder snails worldwide specifically for this purpose. Even pirates, for a fee, could access their maritime rescue services. It was information worth knowing for any seafaring individual.
“So, being stranded isn’t a major concern. Though, it will cost us.”
“Really…? I didn’t know that.”
***
As they reviewed the salvaged records, a strange music reached their ears. A colossal ship, several times larger than the Going Merry, approached. The crew aboard were boisterous and jovial, the ship adorned with various peculiar contraptions, the most prominent being a large monkey figurehead at the bow.
“Ahoy there! Heave to! Is this where the ship went down!?”
“Aye, aye, sir! Boss Masira!”
It was a noisy bunch. As the Straw Hats observed the newcomers, the man they called “Boss Masira” noticed them.
“Hey, you lot! What are you doing here? This is my territory.”
“Territory?”
“That’s right. Any ship that sinks in these waters belongs to me. You haven’t been pilfering, have you…? Hmm!?”
The Straw Hats exchanged glances at Masira’s declaration. They had salvaged some items, but… the ship was sinking anyway. It wasn't stealing, was it? Nami seemed unconcerned, and the others agreed.
“We haven’t touched anything.”
“Good. Just making sure.”
“Say, you lot aren’t planning on salvaging that wreck, are you?”
“Of course we are! We raise sunken ships! If a ship is afloat, we sink it and then raise it! There’s no ship we can’t salvage!”
The crew was impressed by Masira’s unwavering confidence. Salvaging a galleon seemed impossible, but his conviction piqued their curiosity. Since they were waiting for rescue anyway, they decided to watch.
Masira’s crew, perhaps feeling observed, seemed unusually nervous and boisterous as they prepared for the salvage operation.
“That’s one impressive monkey.”
They secured the wreck with a large anchor they called a “cradle” and attached it to the monkey figurehead, which, it turned out, wasn’t just a decoration. They planned to pump air into the wreck, lifting it to the surface, and then tow it with ropes.
The sheer volume of air Masira exhaled was astonishing. Such lung capacity was a rare gift. Even Zoro and Sanji were impressed.
“Say, am I that ‘monkey-like’?”
“What’s that supposed to mean…?”
“It means ‘handsome’!”
“That’s not a word…”
“You mean, ‘monkey-business’!”
“Hey, don’t flatter me too much! Ukkiki!”
Luffy’s words made Masira blush. As they spoke, the wreck rose closer to the surface, its hull now visible. It seemed like a significant find, even for Masira’s crew. Their excitement grew.
“Say, what are you planning to do with it once it’s up?”
“Sunken ships often hold valuable items. Documents, precious metals. We salvage those and sell them. The ship itself might be damaged, but we can dismantle it for lumber and sell that too. Sometimes, collectors buy the whole wreck if it’s historically significant, but… it depends on the price.”
“Huh…”
They sold salvaged logbooks and records to collectors. An unusual business, to say the least. While they called themselves pirates, they seemed a different breed altogether.
“So, what were you doing in the middle of the ocean, just hanging around a sunken ship, not salvaging anything?”
“We were just passing through, when a ship fell from the sky.”
“Ukkiki! That’s rough!”
“Yeah, our Log Pose is stuck pointing upwards, so we’re waiting for rescue.”
“We have a base on a nearby island. We can take you there, if you’d like.”
With the salvage operation complete, and his crew securing the wreck, Masira chatted with Sanji. Apparently, his involvement ended with the initial air supply. The rest was delegated to his subordinates.
He made his offer while sipping the tea Sanji had prepared. The Straw Hats agreed. Rescue could take days. The sooner they reached land, the better.
They contacted Twilight, cancelled their rescue request, and followed Masira’s ship.
“Thanks! You’re a lifesaver!”
“Just call it fate! Ukkiki!”
Luffy and Masira seemed to have hit it off, their arms slung around each other’s shoulders. With the salvage complete, they set course for Masira’s base – when, suddenly, night fell.
“What the!? It’s suddenly night!?”
“That’s impossible! It’s not that late!”
“Then what is this!? Another Grand Line phenomenon!?”
This wasn’t the gradual dimming of twilight. It was as if the sun had simply vanished. As the Straw Hats panicked, Masira remained relatively calm. Or rather, he knew what to do, having witnessed this before.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s get this ship moving! Now!”
“What? You know something about this?”
“Not really. No one knows anything about this!”
While some Grand Line phenomena had been explained, others remained a mystery. This was one of the latter, and Masira had seen it with his own eyes, several times.
“The sea is dangerous right now! Let’s get out of here!”
“B-Boss…!”
“What’s wrong? Why have you stopped…?”
“Th-that… that’s…!”
Masira’s crew pointed, and everyone, including Luffy, stared in disbelief.
There, in the distance, loomed a colossal shadow, far larger than any ship. It was a humanoid figure, its arm raised, a spear clutched in its hand, its tip pointed downwards.
It was a scene from a nightmare, a terrifying apparition that made everyone tremble and break out in a cold sweat.
“It’s a monster!”
If that spear descended, they were doomed. They frantically furled the sails, grabbed the oars, and rowed with all their might, fleeing the scene as fast as they could. No one understood what they had just seen. It defied explanation. All they knew was they had to escape.
(By the way, Chocolat is the fake Nami from the Fake Straw Hat Crew.)
(The Jaya arc will be covered, but mostly unchanged, so it will be summarized.)
