Chapter 72: Mock Town
"Sky Island?"
"An island in the sky?"
Usopp and Luffy looked utterly bewildered, turning to stare at each other for a moment...
"Let's go! To the sky!"
"Undead! Quick, turn the rudder upwards!"
"Shut up, idiots!" Nami yelled irritably. "How are we supposed to get to a place like that!?"
"Think of something, Nami!"
"Is this something I can think up!? We can't go!"
Although she said that, Nami knew from Luffy's expression he had already set his mind on going to Sky Island.
When the captain lacked a goal, she could set the course. But once Luffy had a target, even god can't pull him back. After pondering for a moment, she could only sigh helplessly, "How about we go down and salvage first? See if we can find any clues, Reiner."
"Ah, got it."
While they were talking, the giant sailing ship that had fallen from the sky had already completely sunk beneath the waves.
Reiner summoned all his Fish-Man undead. With gurgling splashes, they plunged into the sea, dark shapes swimming rapidly towards the wreck.
"Besides that, I also know there's a group of people on Jaya Island who might know how to get to Sky Island."
Sitting down next to Nami, Reiner added – she hadn't believed in Sky Island at all before, so he hadn't had a chance to say this, but now was a good time to explain:
"It's just... it's a long story. Have you heard of 'Liar Noland' – Mont Blanc Noland?"
"Eh? Reiner, you've heard of him too?"
"Me too! I've heard of him too!"
Sanji and Usopp chimed in.
Reiner lit a cigarette and began to recount the tale, "Mm, it's a story from four hundred years ago. The explorer Noland once visited an island covered in gold..."
(Few moments later...) (Signifies summary skipped)
"There are even descendants of Noland still on the island? And they're constantly diving underwater searching for gold? Reiner, how do you know all this?"
"It's a well-known story on the island. I do a bit of advance scouting, you know."
He really had looked into it; otherwise, he wouldn't remember so many details at all.
Nami pressed further, "But you still haven't said how to get to the sky. What does it have to do with this story?"
"This area of the sea has an upward-shooting ocean current. You remember that, right?"
"Mm, I remember you mentioning it last time. But I still can't figure out—" Nami suddenly realized something, her expression turning terrified as she yelled:
"Don't tell me you plan to use that to go up!? Impossible! Just kill me now!"
"So we can go to Sky Island now, right!?" Luffy yelled excitedly, clearly only hearing the words 'go up' and unable to contain himself any longer.
Just then, Reiner saw a strangely shaped large ship approaching from the distance behind them. The ship's figurehead was actually a monkey DJing.
"Luffy! How did you get over there!?" Reiner pointed at the ship's figurehead and yelled.
"Pfft-hahaha!"
"It really is Luffy! Look quickly!" Chopper, perched on Usopp's head, excitedly pointed towards the other ship with his hoof.
"Let me see! Let me see!"
Luffy, far from being annoyed by the joke, looked thrilled, jumping onto the ship's railing and squatting there to peer into the distance.
This posture made him look even more like a monkey, causing everyone else to burst out laughing.
At that moment, on the deck of the monkey-figurehead pirate ship, a robust man covered in brown fur stood at the bow.
The Saruyama Alliance captain, Masira of the Masira Pirates, bounty 23 million Beri – known as 'Masira the Salvager'. Hands on his hips, he yelled back towards his deck:
"Brothers! The wreck's location is right there! Prepare to dive!"
"Sir! Yes Sir! Captain!"
"Dive suits ready!"
"Rope secured! Ready to dive!" A group of subordinates, behaving remarkably like monkeys, clad in black diving suits, plunged headfirst into the sea.
Reiner already recognized the man. He remembered Masira had a brother, and the two led separate pirate crews, both following the 'Chestnut-Head Old Man' (Noland's descendant, Cricket), whom they called 'Old Man', constantly salvaging for gold in these waters.
Might as well say hello. With a thought from Reiner, dozens of dark shapes gradually surfaced on the sea, swimming rapidly towards the Merry.
Splash!
Splash! One by one, Fish-Man undead emerged from the water, hauling the salvaged items onto the ship. "Looks like their salvage ship made a trip for nothing."
The Fish-Men piled up the salvaged goods. Most consisted of rusty weapons, armor, and the like. Nami walked over, disdainfully prodding the pile with her foot, complaining:
"How come it's all just a pile of junk? I thought there'd at least be some treasure! And..."
Nami pointed at a coffin, yelling at Reiner, "That's a coffin, right!? Why salvage something like that too!?"
"Looks like this ship was plundered before," Robin commented, walking over. Unfazed by the dirty objects, she directly reached out, brushed the debris off the coffin, opened it, and began handling the skeleton inside.
This action left Nami utterly dumbfounded. This big sister, usually so gentle... why does she like this kind of stuff?
Splash! Another Fish-Man undead climbed onto the ship, holding a locked treasure chest in both hands.
"The lock wasn't broken. Probably hidden and undiscovered."
Reiner had the undead put the chest down. Nami immediately ran over impatiently, yelling excitedly, "Quick, open it, Reiner! Maybe there's still something good!"
Clang—!
Reiner casually sliced open the rusty lock with his White Bone Chain Sword. Flipping open the chest revealed two irregularly shaped chunks of gold, each about the size of a head. Only one side was smooth, bearing carved inscriptions, while the other surfaces were all sharp edges and corners.
"Gold!"
"But why does it look so strange?"
"Could it have just been mined?"
"No, raw ore doesn't look like this. This is gold that has already been smelted and purified," Robin corrected, picking up one chunk and examining it closely. "It seems to be loose pieces knocked off a larger gold artifact."
Robin searched through the pile of junk again, picking out a few items. The rest was packed into a bag by the undead.
Unbeknownst to them, Luffy had already run over to the Masira Pirates' salvage ship and, in the blink of an eye, made friends with the crew.
After packing the miscellaneous items, Reiner, while Nami wasn't looking, slipped the two gold chunks he'd just found into the bag as well.
Might as well gift it all to them. After all, they still needed to ask for their help. Besides, Skypiea has tons of this stuff anyway, Reiner thought secretly.
Aboard the salvage ship, the Salvage King Masira, using some unknown method involving an extremely long tube, managed to refill the completely sunken ship with air relying solely on his powerful lung capacity!
Filled with air, the sunken ship slowly began to rise due to buoyancy. However, after sending his subordinates down to explore, they found nothing but a pile of skeletons.
"Ai~~ Looks like another fruitless trip this time."
Masira sighed in disappointment. He looked up and yelled to his crew, "Secure the wreck! Tow it back for the Old Man to see!"
"Sir! Sir! Captain!"
His subordinates equipped ropes and dove back into the sea. Masira then turned back to Luffy, letting out a strange cry:
"Usshisshi! Looks like a wasted trip! We're heading back now. Wanna come with us?"
"Nah! We're still going to the sky! Shishishi!"
"Wait a minute!"
The Going Merry, carrying Reiner and the others, sailed up alongside the salvage ship. Several Fish-Man undead worked together to toss the large bag onto the other ship's deck.
Reiner leaped onto their salvage ship and said to Masira, "A gift for you. You're heading to Jaya Island, right? Mind if we tag along?"
"This is!" Opening the bag, Masira was stunned. "Stuff salvaged from the wreck!? There's even gold!"
The Saruyama Alliance's main salvage target was gold, but finds were extremely rare; most of the time, they only recovered junk.
If not for their decent strength allowing them to occasionally rob unlucky pirates, they would even struggle to feed their own crew.
"Ah, that's right. It's a gift for you. We happen to need your help with something too."
"Usshisshi! Thank you so much! The Old Man will definitely be happy to see this gold!"
Masira extended his thick hands, gripping Reiner's tightly, shouting excitedly.
Hmph, my Great earth social skills... it's like a dimensional reduction strike in this world.
"Good brother! Whatever help you need, just ask! We were heading back anyway. Just follow behind us. Please allow us to properly host you all!"
Masira called over several subordinates. "Men! Prepare to return! Bring our friends home!"
"Wait, Reiner! I wanna go to Sky Island! Sky Island!"
"I know! Don't be impatient! They can help us get up there."
"Really!? Hahaha! Then let's go quickly!"
Luffy jumped back onto the Going Merry's figurehead, raised his hands, laughed, and shouted, "Depart! Curry Island!"
Sanji looked speechless. "It's Jaya Island, idiot captain."
Led by Masira's salvage ship, the group set off towards Jaya Island. Along the way, Reiner briefly explained the situation. The crew understood that the Saruyama Alliance had been active in these waters for many years, understood the patterns of the Knock Up Stream, and could help them utilize it.
...
Jaya Island was composed of two landmasses, connected by a small strip of land to the south. Viewed from the sky, it resembled the letter 'U'. The island featured primitive jungle terrain similar to Little Garden.
The Saruyama Alliance's base was on the west coast, a remote area rarely visited by humans, bearing almost no traces of human civilization besides them. The east coast, however, housed a famous town—[Mock Town].
A paradise for outlaws, gathering hoodlums, pirates, and various other lawless individuals. Unlike Holled Kingdom, which accepted pirates under certain conditions, Mock Town was a lawless zone outside the jurisdiction of the World Government.
It was filled with criminals and crime; bloody violence was a daily occurrence.
"Sounds like an interesting town," Zoro remarked, inexplicably intrigued.
Luffy chimed in, "Smells like adventure! I've decided! Let's go play in town first before going to the monkeys' house!"
Heh heh, play? You won't be laughing when you two get beaten black and blue, Reiner thought speechlessly.
Hyena Bellamy... Luffy disdained fighting him, but Reiner was different. He held grudges.
As the saying goes, thirty years in Paradise, thirty years in the New World. Bellamy certainly grew promising later on. A mocking glint flashed in Reiner's eyes.
A lapdog of a Warlord... still worth a fight!
(End of this chapter)
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 15 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you