The room was silent for quite some time before Montblanc Cricket finally emerged from his shock. Something inside him seemed to change.
It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted—his entire being seemed reborn. His face now carried a genuine smile, one from the heart.
"Thank you, Lord Buggy. Thank you for resolving my family's 400-year-old doubt, and thank you for telling me where the City of Gold, Shandora, truly lies."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Cricket once again bowed deeply, holding the gesture for a long time.
Seeing his sincerity, Buggy stepped forward and helped him up.
"Live as yourself from now on. Don't let rumors and curses dictate your life."
Buggy knew well from the story he remembered: Cricket had grown up under the crushing weight of scorn and ridicule, branded with his family's "curse." His childhood was filled with misfortune. Even his voyage at sea was partly an attempt to escape that suffocating weight. He had chosen to stay on Jaya because of his obsession with Shandora, his entire life shackled by it. He had never truly lived for himself.
"My lord, I…"
Cricket's words faltered. Tears welled up uncontrollably in his eyes. He understood exactly what Buggy meant.
Buggy patted his shoulder a few times in encouragement. The crew waited quietly for him to recover.
This time, Cricket cried openly—like a child, sobbing loudly, pouring out decades of pain. He didn't care about anyone's eyes on him. He just wanted to let it all out.
The crew said nothing, simply waiting. They knew this was not weakness—it was release. His decades of suffering, the weight of his family's curse, were all being expelled in this single storm of tears.
An hour later, Cricket finally calmed himself. His spirit steadied, his eyes clear again.
Buggy chose that moment to reveal his true purpose for coming.
He asked about the Knock Up Stream. Cricket explained everything he knew, carefully detailing its cause.
According to him, the Knock Up Stream formed because, in the seas around Jaya, there was an enormous hollow cavern deeper than the seafloor itself. When cold seawater flowed into it, geothermal heat below turned it into steam. When the pressure became too great, it erupted violently, blasting upward with incredible force. That eruption of water became a massive current shooting straight into the sky—the Knock Up Stream.
Each eruption lasted about one minute. It occurred five times a month, though the exact locations varied. Many ships had been caught in it, hurled skyward. Some even smashed apart and perished because of it.
Cricket added that the last eruption had happened just a few days earlier. Which meant—the next was due within days.
Buggy's eyes lit up. Their timing couldn't be better. No long wait was needed.
"Lord Buggy… do you mean to ride the Knock Up Stream to Sky Island?" Cricket asked, realization dawning.
"Yes," Buggy replied without hesitation. "Right now, it's the only method available to us."
There were other theoretical ways: through advanced technology, or through certain Devil Fruit powers. But Buggy's crew had neither. The Knock Up Stream was their one path, risky though it was.
"My lord, it's terribly dangerous," Cricket warned. He had seen wrecked ships fall from the heavens, their crews destroyed. He feared for Buggy and his people.
Buggy only laughed.
"Hahaha! That's what adventure is. That's the very purpose of our voyage. Without facing this risk, how could we ever hope to see Sky Island? How could we stand before the legendary City of Gold, Shandora?"
The crew, hearing this, couldn't help but nod. Their captain was right. The sea was full of danger. To sail was to embrace it. And they, too, wanted to see the sky, to behold the Golden City with their own eyes.
"The Captain is right!"
"That's right!"
"We'll go to Sky Island!"
"We'll see the City of Gold, Shandora!"
Voices rose one after another, filling the small half-house with determination.
Cricket looked at their faces and saw their resolve. A flash of struggle crossed his own, but quickly hardened into decision.
"Lord Buggy… would you take me with you? I, too, wish to see that legendary Sky Island. I want to stand in the City of Gold where my ancestor once stood."
The request startled the crew. They hadn't expected him to go so far.
Buggy, however, agreed without hesitation.
"Of course."
If there was anyone who deserved to go, it was Montblanc Cricket. The City of Gold meant more to him than to anyone else in the world. If he was willing to risk life and death for it, Buggy could not deny him. This would be the truest conclusion to Noland's story, and to Cricket's curse.
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you!"
Though Cricket had already let go of much of his pain, the thought of seeing Shandora still sent waves of emotion through him. He would at last set foot where his ancestor had once walked.
With everything said, Buggy's crew prepared to return to the Glorious. Staying ashore was pointless, and Weibull was still on the ship. Leaving it unattended risked attack from greedy fools who might covet it.
Meanwhile, Cricket began gathering his belongings and mobilizing his contacts to watch the seas. They needed to be ready the instant the Knock Up Stream appeared.
To seize this chance, they had to act at the very first moment—the express train to the sky would not wait.