The wind had changed.
And the Going Merry was once again surrounded by blue — open, endless, shimmering sea.
No sandstorms.
No war cries.
No collapsing palaces or ancient Poneglyph chambers echoing with secrets.
Just sky above, waves below, and the quiet hum of sails catching wind.
The Straw Hat Pirates had left Alabasta behind.
But not unchanged.
Rex leaned against the rear mast, arms folded as his coat fluttered gently in the breeze. The bandages around his knuckles were fresh — reminders of the energy he had wielded in Alubarna. His gaze was on the horizon, but his mind was elsewhere.
He could still see the glyphs.
Still feel the echo of ancient power crawling under his skin.
They weren't just techniques anymore.
They were his.
They had always been his.
And now the world knew… something.
Not everything.
But enough to start asking questions.
"Hey, Rex!" Luffy called from the front of the ship, grinning. "Race you to the top of the mast!"
Rex blinked.
"…What?"
"Last one up eats Usopp's cooking!" Luffy cackled, already halfway up the ropes.
Usopp leaned out from the kitchen port. "HEY!"
Rex sighed, then smiled. Not the smirk he gave enemies — but the real one.
He pushed off the mast and jumped, body light and practiced as he ran vertically up the wooden beam in a blur, passing Luffy mid-climb.
"WHAT?! HE'S FAST!" Luffy shouted, almost dropping his hat.
Rex sat casually at the top beam, legs swinging.
"I'll pass on seaweed soup surprise," he called down.
"You cheated!" Luffy pouted.
"Nope. Just efficient."
Zoro snored under the shade of the forward mast.
Sanji peeled onions at the barrel station, occasionally humming a quiet tune.
Nami sat on a blanket near the helm, maps sprawled in front of her, a quill in one hand and a compass in the other.
Rex dropped down beside her silently.
"Still charting ahead?"
She didn't look up. "Always."
"I thought we let the Log Pose decide."
"Only if you're fine with dying early."
He raised an eyebrow.
She smirked. "I'm plotting storm routes and sea current patterns around the next island cluster. We'll hit one in about a day."
"Do we know which one?"
"Nope," she said, popping the "p."
Then she paused. Her voice dropped slightly.
"Can I ask something?"
He nodded once.
"You saw that Poneglyph. You read it."
"Yes."
"And you didn't need Robin."
"…No."
She looked up at him finally. "How?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then, slowly, he turned his palm upward and let a small flicker of chakra hum between his fingers — invisible to most, but there all the same.
"The Poneglyphs don't just use words," he said. "They use rhythm. Flow. Motion."
"They're not only meant to be read. They're meant to be… felt."
She stared.
He flicked the energy away. "You were right. It's connected to the sea, too."
Nami sat back, breath shallow. "You're like… a walking legend."
"I'm just the first one in a long time who remembers."
She gave him a long look.
"You scared me back there, you know."
Rex blinked. "How?"
"When you used all of that power — the Rasengan, the clones, the beam, whatever else you did — you looked like you were carrying more than just force. You looked like you were breaking rules."
Rex looked out at the water.
"I didn't break the world," he said. "I reminded it of what it used to be."
She didn't respond right away.
Then she smiled gently.
"Then remind us again. When we need it."
Below deck – Later
The soft creak of wood echoed in the dim hallway. Rex walked past sleeping hammocks and quiet gear storage, eventually stopping before a small crate tucked under a cloth.
Inside?
A single stone fragment.
Carved. Faintly.
He'd taken it from the chamber without anyone knowing. Not to hoard it — but to keep it from being lost again.
[…Fragment matched. Translation stability: 61%. Sequence Alpha. Cross-referencing One Piece origin line. Poneglyph entry complete.]
He looked down as the fragment pulsed once — blue and faint like a heartbeat.
One symbol stood out.
The same he'd seen at Alubarna.
The spiral slash.
He traced it with his thumb.
"To reach the sky, the storm must awaken."
"To reach the truth, the thunder must fall."
Rex stared.
"…The next piece is above."
On deck – the next morning
"GUYS!!" Usopp screamed from the crow's nest.
"What is it now?" Zoro groaned, still half-asleep.
"I SEE SOMETHING IN THE SKY!!"
Everyone looked up.
A storm cloud hovered over the ocean, thick and towering — but rising vertically.
From the sea itself.
"Is that… a water column?" Sanji blinked.
"No," Nami said. "That's a Knock-Up Stream."
"A what?!" Luffy shouted, bouncing. "IT KNOCKS US UP?! I WANNA GO!!"
"Hold on," she said quickly. "If we ride it wrong, we'll die!"
Rex stepped beside her.
"No," he said. "We're going."
She gave him a what are you, crazy look.
He nodded to the sea.
"The sky holds a piece. I know it."
Below deck – secret briefing
Rex unrolled the stolen fragment and placed it on the crate table. Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper gathered around.
"What is this?" Zoro asked.
"It's part of the same Poneglyph I read," Rex said. "The language matches. But this one's… directional."
"Directional?" Nami asked. "Like a map?"
"More like a beacon," Rex replied.
He pointed at a series of sky symbols etched next to a cracked spiral.
"It's pointing upward."
Luffy's eyes lit up.
"You mean... the next island is in the sky?!"
Rex nodded.
"And whatever's up there — the next Michael Glyph, maybe more — it's calling now."
Usopp slumped to the floor. "So we're flying into a sky island... on a fountain of water... with ancient magic pirates chasing us…"
Chopper blinked. "Cool!!"
Rex stood.
"I'm going up," he said. "Even if I have to leap off the clouds alone."
Luffy grinned.
"You're not going alone."
Final Scene – On the edge of the Knock-Up Stream
The sky above them twisted.
Clouds boiled.
The sea below rumbled.
The Knock-Up Stream surged — massive and endless, glowing with power no one could explain.
The crew braced themselves on the Going Merry as Nami shouted coordinates, trying to calculate the stream's center.
"WE HAVE ONE SHOT!" she screamed.
"DO IT!!" Luffy yelled.
The ship rocked.
Waves rose.
And Rex stood at the bow, coat whipping behind him, as the stream finally erupted.
The ship launched into the sky.
The world blurred.
And for a moment — the stars spun.