"Down below?!" Deuce shouted in confusion, then quickly stepped aside when he realized Jerry's gaze wasn't actually focused on him.
Seeing that Jerry's attention remained fixed on the churning waters beneath them, Deuce looked up and exchanged bewildered glances with the rest of the crew before asking hesitantly, "You mean... Laugh Tale is underwater?"
"What else would I be talking about?" Jerry blinked with a matter-of-fact expression. "Did you think I meant something else?"
Hearing this revelation, everyone exchanged surprised looks before breaking into excited discussion.
"Amazing! Our journey wasn't wasted after all!"
"Does this mean I can finally start my livestream coverage?"
"No wonder the pointer seems to be tilted downward instead of horizontal!"
When everyone's initial excitement subsided slightly, Jerry mused thoughtfully, "I wonder if it was like this when Roger's crew arrived all those years ago, or if rising sea levels caused by weather patterns or some other phenomenon submerged the island beneath the surface."
Hearing this speculation, Carina was the first to react with obvious alarm. "Submerged? What about the treasure? It won't have been washed away, will it?!"
"What?!" Everyone froze simultaneously as the implications hit them.
If the island had truly been swallowed by the ocean, forget about whether they could reach it successfully—even if they managed to land, they might not find anything of value remaining.
Moreover, everyone understood that with Jerry's abilities, they wouldn't be in danger even if the area was flooded, but it would be an entirely different story if the island had been completely destroyed.
"It doesn't matter," Jerry declared with a relaxed expression. "Since we've come this far, we have to investigate properly. What if the island is still perfectly intact?"
Jerry privately suspected the island wasn't that simple anyway—otherwise it wouldn't have been chosen by certain historical figures, and they wouldn't have gone to such elaborate trouble creating guideposts and Poneglyphs to mark the way.
Moreover, he knew that technology from eight hundred years ago seemed far more advanced than the current era, so it wouldn't be surprising if there were sophisticated methods for dealing with such situations.
Additionally, as one of the designated locations for his system's ultimate quest, Jerry had even more reason to firmly believe in his assessment.
"Well, there's no point in speculating endlessly," Deuce agreed with a pragmatic nod.
Ace swung his arms enthusiastically and urged, "Let's hurry up and go explore together!"
"Yes, Boss Jerry, it's all up to you now!" Skull echoed with anticipation.
The others also focused their attention on Jerry, waiting expectantly for his next move.
Jerry smiled broadly, raised his fist, and shouted with characteristic confidence, "Alright! If we could handle diving to Fishman Island, there definitely won't be any problems here!"
However, at that precise moment, the wind and clouds surged dramatically as heaven and earth seemed to change color entirely.
The relentless wind and rain that had been battering them suddenly stopped for a brief moment. The air became violently agitated, as if it were rapidly spinning around an invisible point imperceptible to the naked eye, and within seconds a tremendous gale erupted.
The storm clouds overhead appeared to be torn apart by this rotating force, revealing a circular opening that allowed brilliant sunlight to pierce through the darkness that had shrouded them moments before.
This spectacular scene made Jerry and the others—who had been preparing to dive—stop and stare in absolute amazement.
But in the next instant, as this powerful whirlwind became increasingly violent, massive waves surged upward and a gigantic whirlpool suddenly materialized on the ocean's surface. It began devouring everything nearby like the enormous maw of some abyssal creature slowly opening beneath the sea.
Under the turbulent water flow, the Black Star was inevitably drawn toward the swirling vortex.
The sudden violent shaking and tremendous inertial forces made Skull and Carina cry out in alarm.
Jerry immediately waved his arm, and the water barrier that had been protecting the Black Star began rotating in perfect synchronization, quickly neutralizing the vibration and forces generated by the whirlpool. This allowed their ship to float peacefully at the vortex's edge without being dragged downward by the powerful currents.
"The bottom of this whirlpool seems to be exactly where Laugh Tale is located," Jerry observed, standing at the ship's rail and gazing down into the center of the rapidly spinning and descending vortex.
Deuce stared downward in fascination and speculated, "Maybe this is the correct method for reaching the island?"
"Boss Deuce, how many ships do you think could actually survive this whirlpool?" Skull asked nervously, swallowing hard.
Brook nodded with obvious understanding. "The ship we had back then definitely wouldn't have made it. Even if we could have reached this location, we probably wouldn't have been able to see Laugh Tale at all. Poor Laboon would have waited forever..."
Carina, standing nearby with an expression of pure excitement, declared, "That's because you were too weak at the time! I bet that's exactly why the great treasure remained preserved and protected."
Carrot's eyes filled with anticipation as she stared at the vortex, clearly lost in imagination about what adventures awaited them below.
Cavendish gently stroked Farul beside him, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "We're going to be the first people to actually land on Laugh Tale, aren't we?"
Ace seemed lost in thought and remained uncharacteristically silent.
Jerry observed everyone's varied reactions and couldn't help asking, "Do you want to wait for this vortex to stabilize and descend naturally, or should we dive directly through it?"
He reasoned that there was no need to overthink the whirlpool's presence or worry excessively about the mechanisms behind its formation. They simply needed to reach the island itself.
Ultimately, Jerry had no profound interest in whatever secrets Laugh Tale might be hiding—he just understood that visiting the island was absolutely necessary for completing his goals.
"Go, go, go! I can't wait any longer!" Cavendish immediately shouted with barely contained enthusiasm.
Hearing this declaration, everyone voiced their agreement.
Although Deuce was curious about investigating the whirlpool's mysteries from their current position, he had no objections to proceeding directly to the source of everything.
After all, with the main course spread before them, he didn't want to waste time obsessing over appetizers.
"Alright then, let's dive!"
Without waiting for additional responses, Jerry began manipulating the surrounding water flow and guided the Black Nova swiftly beneath the ocean's surface.
Although the whirlpool's currents remained violently turbulent all around them, the Black Star seemed to exist in an entirely different dimension, completely unaffected by the chaotic forces.
As their ship descended, everyone observed the underwater environment with growing amazement at the whirlpool's strange and overwhelming power. Countless conflicting currents crisscrossed and shuttled in opposing directions along the massive vortex's edges.
Debris from unknown origins was hurled about by the ocean currents, torn into fragments by the whirlpool's force, then swept away by tangential streams rushing toward unknowable destinations at incredible velocity.
Below the vortex's center, an island suspended mysteriously in the depths gradually became visible.
The Black Nova moved like a graceful fish, navigating freely through the aquatic chaos. Soon, the legendary island completely filled everyone's field of vision.
"Is that really Laugh Tale?!" Deuce and the other crew members spoke in hushed tones as they gazed upon the final island that had captured the imagination of pirates worldwide for over two decades.
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