Chapter 71: The Pointer Pointing to the Sky
Now, being pursued by this country, forget going ashore, even drifting nearby wasn't an option anymore.
If they got too close, the enemy would surely attack upon seeing them. If they stayed too far away, the Log Pose wouldn't set.
Hearing this, Reiner directly summoned the undead hawk, extending his hand towards Nami.
"Give me the Pose. I'll sneak in for a bit and meet up with you tomorrow. Besides, I don't have a bounty yet, so it'll be easier to hide after getting inside."
Aside from letting the Log Pose set, he also wanted to see if there was anything worth 'salvaging'.
"Okay. Then I'll leave it to you, Reiner."
Nami took the Log Pose from her wrist and handed it to him. "Be careful once you get in. We'll wait for you around here."
"Relax, it's totally stable," Reiner grinned, taking the Pose, putting it on his wrist, and leaving aboard the hawk.
"I'll take the night watch tonight," Zoro announced, leaping up to the crow's nest to assume lookout duty.
"Mr. Logistics' ability is really convenient," Robin remarked with a smile, watching Reiner gradually disappear into the distance. "Truly reliable."
"Of course! If even Reiner isn't reliable..."
Nami glanced at Luffy and sighed dejectedly. "Ai~ My body is so tired. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
Honestly, four people on this ship are monstrously strong, yet only one has a working brain.
Although the others are reliable in critical moments, in many cases, those so-called critical moments are caused by themselves.
The more Nami thought about it, the angrier she got. Her cheeks slowly puffed out. After randomly punching Luffy on the head, she walked into the cabin and slammed the door shut heavily.
Bang!
Leaving Luffy outside the door with a large bump on his head, looking utterly wronged. "...What did I do now?"
Robin chuckled softly and also followed into the living quarters.
At dawn, the sky gradually brightened. The sun hadn't yet emerged, but the edge of the sea horizon faintly glowed fish-belly white.
The crew, having stayed up all night, were now slightly drowsy.
The Log Pose still needed most of the day to set fully. Reiner wouldn't be back until the afternoon. Lifting the deck hatch near the mast, Chopper yawned, preparing to go down to the dormitory cabin for a nap.
Soon, aside from Zoro keeping watch in the crow's nest, the others also went into the cabins to sleep.
By the time the sun hung high in the sky, Gold Island's streets were already bustling with pedestrians coming and going. Inside a relatively simply decorated high-end seafood restaurant...
"Boss, two servings of seafood ramen. Hold the noodles."
"Ah... Sir, you..."
Thump!
"Aiya, yes sir! Right away! I'll get right on it!"
The boss fawningly picked up the several Beri bills slapped onto the table and headed straight for the kitchen, yelling as he went, "Two bowls of seafood ramen broth! Load it up with seafood!"
Reiner sat on the sofa, took an ashtray from the nearby table, and placed it in front of him. Beside him sat a small girl with twin tails.
"Still got a little while. Let's wait until the Log Pose is set before heading out," Reiner said. He had just come from the casino. It would be a shame not to stay in the high-end room he booked. He planned to check the port again later.
After all, he had only seen the man with the greatsword in those two locations. The Royal Palace was out of the question.
He guessed the opponent's base was likely near the port; if there were any important supplies, the man himself would surely be overseeing them.
As for the casino...
Reiner leaned back, sinking into the soft sofa, entering 'lazy Mode', slowly waiting for his food.
Soon, after eating his fill, the Log Pose had also finished setting, slowly pointing towards the next island.
"Sky Island... Enel," Reiner murmured. He stood up, taking the Frieren summon with him, and headed towards the port.
The sun hung high, blazing down intensely.
Aboard the Going Merry, Sanji lifted the deck hatch and headed towards the second-floor living area, preparing to start cooking.
The others followed him out one after another. Suddenly, a black dot in the distant sky grew larger, drawing the crew's attention.
"I'm back, everyone! We can get ready to set sail!" A shout came from afar, growing closer. Reiner recalled the hawk summon, leaped down from the sky, took off the Log Pose from his wrist, and handed it over.
Luffy immediately jumped onto the sheep figurehead at the bow, grinning and shouting, "Hahaha! Let's set sail, everyone!"
"Nice job, Reiner," Nami praised, accepting the Pose and putting it on her wrist. She pointed at the backpack behind Reiner, smiling slyly, "What goodies did you 'salvage' this time?"
"Dame!" (No!)
Time flowed by. Several days later...
New World. Headquarters of the World Economy News Paper.
"Big news! This is huge news!"
A large bird, dressed smartly like a human, shouted upon seeing the bounty posters just issued by the World Government.
"Someone! Quick, come here! Immediately change the layout for the latest newspaper edition!"
"President! Did some major event happen!?" A nearby employee asked excitedly upon seeing his reaction.
The man called President was named Morgans, a Zoan user of the Bird-Bird Fruit, Model: Albatross... who couldn't fly.
But!
He was one of the Emperors of the Underworld, President of the World Economy News Paper, primarily engaged in gathering and publishing various news.
The intelligence resources he commanded were comparable even to the World Government's, and he often collaborated with them.
Just a few days ago, he had published the news of the Warlord Crocodile being arrested by the White Hunter, Smoker.
Today, he received the latest bounty posters issued by the World Government.
"The Straw Hat Pirates! Just entered the first half of the Grand Line and already showing the stance of Supernovas!"
Morgans yelled excitedly, spreading the several bounty posters just mailed by the World Government onto the table.
"Hey, this is! Seriously!?"
"How could bounty posters issued by the World Government be fake!?"
"They just entered the Grand Line! And their ship already produced three ruthless characters with bounties over 100 million!"
Several employees gathered around, looking at the posters spread on the table, unable to help but marvel.
"Looks like the news agency's sales figures are going to surge this month, President."
"Ahahahaha!"
In reality, the Straw Hat crew's bounty posters had been ready several days prior.
However, the events in Alabasta couldn't be completely hidden. To cover up the Warlord scandal, the World Government could only twist the narrative into Smoker making the arrest.
They then deliberately delayed releasing the Straw Hat crew's bounties until now, staggering it from the news about Crocodile.
New World. On some unnamed island, a figure with a red hedgehog-like hairstyle ran frantically towards a base.
"Boss! Boss! It's terrible!"
"Don't panic so much, Rockstar. You can't become an executive acting like that, hahaha," Lucky Roux loudly mocked the newcomer, tearing off a bite of meat from the chunk in his hand.
Rockstar looked around at the executives sitting in a circle drinking, their intimidating auras making him tremble. He held out the bounty posters in his hand and yelled:
"That Straw Hat kid! His bounty poster has been updated again!"
"Oh! It's Luffy!"
"Quickly! Let's see!"
"What about Usopp? Did he get a bounty?"
The previously tense atmosphere immediately broke. Lucky Roux took the several posters and placed them on the table. All eyes focused on the photos.
"One hundred fifty million!"
"He's really made something of himself, hahaha!"
"Not bad."
Red Hair Shanks drained the booze in his hand in one gulp, slammed the mug onto the table, his gaze fixed on the bounty poster, a smirk playing on his lips as he murmured in a low voice:
"Looks like the day we meet again won't be too far off, Luffy."
"What the heck? That kid didn't get a bounty yet?" Yasopp looked around but couldn't find the figure he was looking for, sighing helplessly.
"Hahaha! Don't look so down, Yasopp."
Shanks threw an arm around Yasopp's shoulder, laughing heartily. "Let's have a banquet, everyone! Let's toast to the young man making a name for himself out on the seas!"
"I think you just want an excuse to booze, Shanks!" Beckman glanced at him.
"Hahaha! What does it matter!?"
The scene returns to the Straw Hat crew. Several more days passed after leaving Gold Island.
Although they hadn't received supplies, luckily they had purchased plenty in Alabasta, and coupled with Reiner's methods for acquiring food, the crew lived quite well.
The sea was calm, the sky clear, the weather fine and sunny.
Yet, sounds of wailing echoed from the Going Merry.
"Ouch, Usopp!"
"Your strength increased! Damn it!"
"I said st—op—!"
"I can't... I'm tired... Let's stop here for today," Usopp lowered the wooden stick, collapsing directly onto the deck.
"How is this damned Haki so hard to train!?" Sanji removed his blindfold, clutching his head as he stood up.
"I'll go make food. What should I make today... Got it! Let's pan-fry that large hairtail fish Luffy caught this morning! And add a little..."
His words stopped abruptly. The previously bright sky instantly dimmed, becoming lightless as a shadow enveloped the Going Merry and a large surrounding area of the sea.
Everyone couldn't help but look up. And just that one look up...
"Sh-sh... ship..."
Usopp's face turned ashen. His mouth gaped open, but he stammered, unable to form a complete sentence. Even Reiner's brow furrowed tightly.
"A ship is falling from the sky!!!"
Covering the sky and blotting out the sun!
A huge, dilapidated sailing ship! Plummeting straight down from the heavens, surrounded by countless floating wreckage!
"It's okay! It won't hit us!"
SPLAAAAASH!!!
The ship crashed into the sea surface, throwing up giant waves that surged towards the Going Merry. A violent rocking and loud noise startled those inside the cabin, who quickly ran out onto the deck.
"What's going on?!"
"What is that!?"
Looking at the massive sailing ship, half floating on the sea surface, slowly sinking, Nami couldn't help but think back to Drum Island. "Did you guys sink someone else again!?"
"No! Not us!"
"It fell from the sky!"
"The sky? You're talking nonsense!"
"Hey, stupid woman! We're not kidding!" Zoro couldn't help but shout. The crew hadn't yet recovered from the shock of the previous scene.
Hearing this, Nami remembered what Reiner had said before. She subconsciously glanced at the Log Pose on her wrist, then suddenly cried out in panic:
"How could this be!? The pointer is pointing towards the sky! Hey Reiner! What exactly did you mean before about a Sky Island!?"
"I don't really understand the principles either."
He only knew that because of Sky Island, the Log Pose might act strangely here. He didn't understand the principles at all. He had briefly mentioned it to Nami before, but clearly, she didn't even believe Sky Island existed.
"The pointer's record has been captured by another island."
"Robin?"
"The reason the pointer is made spherical is precisely because some islands aren't necessarily located on the sea surface."
Robin walked over and explained coolly, "Where we are now, there is a stronger magnetic field attracting the pointer's direction – upwards, in the sky."
"Could there really be an island in the sky? Maybe the pointer is just broken?" Nami still seemed unable to accept it; the notion was simply too fantastical.
"No. In this sea, the Grand Line, everything could be an illusion," Robin stated, her expression serious.
"Only the Log Pose never lies. The Log Pose is absolutely correct. That is the law of this sea!"
(End of this chapter)
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