Under the shocked gazes of countless Marine soldiers on the warship below, the Black Star Pirates soared into the sky.
"Woohoo! Takeoff!" Jerry shouted while standing on deck. Ace and Carrot, secured in their respective safety seats, cheered in unison with him.
"Whoa!" Brook's afro shook violently as the skeleton opened his mouth wide and screamed, while Skull gripped the handrail tightly and remained silent.
"Jerry, aren't you the one controlling this knock up stream? Can't you slow down a bit?!" Deuce also clutched his seat's fixed armrest tightly and yelled at Jerry.
He felt secretly grateful they'd cleverly added these safety restraints, preventing him from being tossed around like during their experience with Zunesha, which had left his back aching and legs weak.
Carina hugged Kotatsu tightly and shouted: "That's right, you show-off! Could you not go so fast every time?"
"Meow~" Kotatsu, in his kitten form, rubbed against Carina as if telling her not to be too nervous.
Cavendish didn't seem overly excited. He held his hat steady with one hand while using the other to comfort Farul, who was pressed flat against the deck.
Soon, everyone entered the Cumulus Cloud. When their vision cleared, Jerry controlled the ocean current just in time to stop the ship's ascent and land steadily above the cloud layer.
"Wow! We can actually stay on top of white clouds! The clouds seem so solid!" Carrot quickly unbuckled her safety belt, jumped up excitedly, and marveled at the spectacular sight before them.
In fact, Zunesha's height was also considerable, but there had been no sky islands in that area. At least Carrot had never seen anything like this before—the clouds around Zou were too ethereal to support a ship resting on them.
Ace and his friends released their safety devices one by one, stood up, and gazed together at this rare and magnificent view.
"It's incredible... we're really floating in the sky!" Deuce exclaimed. Once again his motion sickness kicked in, but his physical discomfort couldn't dampen his excitement. He quickly pulled out his notebook, slumped against the ship's railing, and began writing and sketching.
"Carrot, give me a hand..." Carina's weak voice called out, and Carrot hurried to her side.
After a while, everyone looked around at the vast sea of white clouds surrounding them, and their mood gradually calmed. Deuce put away his notebook and asked: "So where do we go next?"
"I was just thinking about that. It seems we have some uninvited guests since we just arrived," Jerry observed.
Everyone followed Jerry's gaze and saw a man in strange attire moving quickly across the white sea of clouds, gliding rapidly toward them.
The man was shirtless, holding a shield in his left hand and wearing a tribal mask over his face. He slid to the Black Nova's side, jumped up, raised what appeared to be a cannon with his right hand, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Faced with the sudden attack, Ace took the initiative and counterattacked with a punch, not hesitating for a moment.
The attacks from both sides collided in mid-air, and Ace's blazing Fire Fist instantly destroyed the projectile fired by the enemy's weapon and continued flying forward.
"Hm! A Devil Fruit user?" The attacker reacted quickly and nimbly dodged Ace's attack. Realizing the pirate crew before him shouldn't be underestimated, he glanced toward the sky and quickly fled.
"What was that? He seemed to have wings on his back. Is he from Sky Island?" Brook asked, tilting his skull curiously.
"Don't worry—another one is coming soon," Jerry said, glancing to the side.
A strange cry echoed through the air, and then an old man in armor riding a massive bird with an unusual appearance landed on the deck near the ship's bow.
He glanced at the retreating attacker, then turned to Jerry and the others: "You're from the Blue Sea, correct?"
Jerry blurted out: "Why? Do you want some Blue Sea yogurt? Or fermented noodles?"
"Eh? That sounds good. Is it delicious?" Ace's eyes lit up, his attention instantly shifting away from the strange bird beside the old man.
"Jerry! I, I, I want to try some!" Carrot raised her right hand, also wanting to taste whatever Jerry was offering. After all, Jerry would occasionally produce delicious foods and drinks she'd never seen before from his mysterious storage.
Just like the boba tea from before—after drinking it, she'd felt as if she'd traveled around the entire Grand Line several times through the sky, leaving her with an unforgettable aftertaste.
"Ahem! Stop this nonsense!" After halting the random chatter from his crewmates, Deuce stepped forward and replied to the old man with obvious embarrassment:
"Excuse us, sir. If the 'Blue Sea' you're referring to means the ocean beneath these clouds, then yes, we are Blue Sea people."
"May I ask what we should call you? Also, is this the area where Sky Island is located?"
"I am the Sky Knight, Gan Fall, and this is my partner, Pierre," the old man said, patting the large bird beside him as he introduced himself. Then he frowned and seemed somewhat hesitant:
"From what you're saying... didn't you come here via Heaven's Gate?"
"What's that?" Everyone else looked at the old man with confusion. Faced with new terminology continuously emerging from his mouth, they deeply realized the importance of proper education.
Deuce waved his hand, looking embarrassed by their ignorance: "Excuse me, sir, we don't have much formal education and don't understand these terms. We just arrived here via a knock up stream. Could you tell us about Sky Island?"
In fact, when Jerry saw the previous attacker and the old man before him, he knew they'd come to the right place.
However, Jerry really couldn't remember much about Sky Island beyond some vague memories. When Deuce asked for information, he remained silent.
"You actually rode that monstrous current up here... No wonder you were able to repel the Shandian attack," the old man said in amazement, then smiled and continued:
"This is the White Sea, seven thousand meters above the Blue Sea. There's another layer—the White White Sea—at ten thousand meters. The air here is thin. When ordinary Blue Sea people arrive here, they experience shortness of breath and weakened combat ability..."
"Well... I suppose you may not need assistance. However, aerial combat is still dangerous. I'm a freelance mercenary. I'll leave this whistle with you in case you need help."
"When you blow the whistle, I'll come to your rescue. Afterward, you'll only need to pay five hundred million Extol."
When he finished speaking, Deuce immediately asked: "Ahem! So, sir, White Sea? White White Sea? And what exactly is Extol?"
Jerry followed up by saying: "Yes, we know Ace, and we know about Ace coins, but what's an Extol?"
After these words, not only did Deuce look confused, but the other Black Star Pirates also exchanged bewildered glances, looking from Ace to Jerry and back again.
Gan Fall was equally puzzled by Jerry's strange reference to "Ace coins," but it didn't affect his solemn nod as he waved goodbye to everyone:
"Well, that covers the basics. I wish you good luck!"
Then Pierre, who had been standing beside Gan Fall, took off into the air and transformed into an unusual-looking Pegasus, carrying Gan Fall as they disappeared into the distant sky.
"Jerry," Ace said slowly, "what exactly are 'Ace coins'?"
"I have no idea," Jerry replied with a completely straight face. "I was hoping you could tell us."
The crew stared at both of them, realizing that Jerry had somehow managed to confuse not only the Sky Knight but also themselves with his nonsensical terminology.