Chapter 38: The Upward Current
After the ugly bird finally shut up, Luo Lin prepared to head back. He looked around… and realized he had no idea which way he'd come from.
Not that he was directionally challenged! It was pitch-black in the forest, moonlight completely blocked by the canopy, and every tree looked identical!
"Emmmm… which way?"
He scratched his head, stumped.
No big deal. He leaped to the treetops, used the moonlight to get his bearings, and hopped down toward the shore.
As a normal human being, he genuinely couldn't understand how Zoro managed to get THAT lost. Embarrassing!
Humming the most ethnic of ethnic tunes etched into his DNA, he strolled through the silent forest. The song carried far.
Suddenly—noisy voices ahead.
"Hm? Why are they in the forest? Weren't they having a party?"
Luffy's unmistakable machine-gun laugh was easy to recognize.
They'd learned from Montblanc Cricket that the only way to accurately locate the Knock-Up Stream was with a South Bird's guidance.
Yep—the exact bird Luo Lin was planning to turn into soup. He'd completely forgotten.
Now feeling mischievous, he decided to scare the crap out of them.
(He didn't know Robin was in the group too. Tragic.)
If he'd bothered using Observation Haki, he would've noticed. Oops.
Two hops and he was perched in the branches, hidden among the leaves.
Soon the noisy group arrived.
Robin was walking between Nami and the others, but it was too dark for Luo Lin to see clearly.
Usopp and Chopper trailed behind, trembling, eyes darting everywhere. Being dragged into a pitch-black forest at night was pure torture for the coward duo!
"Hehehe… I haven't eaten human in so long… fresh meat delivered right to my door…"
A low, raspy voice—like someone gargling gravel—echoed around them.
Luo Lin was proud of himself; his throat hurt from the effort.
"KYAAAA!! MONSTER!!"
Usopp and Chopper screamed, eyes rolled back, and collapsed stiff as boards. Little ghost souls floated out of their mouths, whimpering about monsters eating people.
Very undignified.
"NAMI-SWAN! DON'T WORRY, I'LL PROTECT YOU!"
Zoro and Sanji instantly dropped into fighting stances, cold sweat pouring.
Nami burst into tears and leaped onto Luffy's neck.
"Let's go back!! There's a monster!! Even if we find the bird we might not reach Skypiea!!"
Even Robin looked tense—rare beads of sweat on her forehead.
Only Luffy was having the time of his life.
"SO COOL!! HAHAHA!! This must be the mysterious South Bird!!"
He started dragging Nami toward the voice.
"Hey! Are you even listening?!"
Hidden in the tree, Luo Lin nearly died holding in laughter. He pinched his throat again.
"Remove the heads first… then hang their guts on the wall…"
He switched to a high-pitched cackle.
"Yes yes~ Let's start with the cute little girl… hehehehe…"
Nami's hair stood on end. Tears exploded. She pounded Luffy's chest with tiny fists.
"KYAAAA!! I don't want the stupid bird anymore!! Get me out of here!! I'm too cute to be monster food!!"
Sanji forgot his jealousy and instantly formed a protective triangle with Zoro and Luffy around Nami.
Robin's expression turned strange.
She'd been sleeping peacefully when Nami dragged her out to "look for the South Bird" and asked where Luo Lin was. Robin had no idea.
She came along just in case.
The first creepy voice made her nervous, but… it felt oddly familiar.
The second voice confirmed it.
Combined with Luo Lin's absence—she had a solid guess.
She closed her eyes slightly. Observation Haki quietly spread out.
Her range wasn't as insane as Luo Lin's, but a few dozen meters was easy.
She froze.
A very clear "anger" vein popped on her forehead.
"Six Wheel Bloom!"
Luo Lin, still snickering in the tree, suddenly sprouted six arms.
Two locked his wrists.
Two yanked his ears.
The last two positioned themselves under his ribs—ready for merciless tickling.
Luo Lin jolted.
"HISS—Robin-baby's here too?! I'm screwed!"
He started to struggle, then remembered: the arms were Robin's arms. If he hurt them, she'd feel it.
He couldn't bring himself to fight back.
In that split-second of hesitation—he was doomed.
The six little hands went to work.
"HAHAHAHA!! OW OW OW!! I'M SORRY!! HAHAHA!! I WAS WRONG!!"
Everyone: ???
What the hell?
Then—THUD!
A figure crashed to the ground, wriggling like a giant maggot while laughing and begging for mercy.
Even after he hit the dirt, Robin didn't stop the righteous punishment.
Nami and the others forgot their fear and crowded around.
It was Luo Lin.
"Luo Lin?! What are you doing here?!"
"He was the one scaring you~" Robin mercilessly exposed him.
Instantly, confused faces turned murderous.
Luffy just looked disappointed—no monster. Sad.
"NANIII?! YOU BASTARD!!"
"I'm gonna cut him!"
"Do you know people can die from fright?!"
Nami's eyes blazed red. She grabbed his collar and roared.
"HAHAHA!! SORRY!! HAHAHA!! I WAS WRONG!!"
His total lack of sincerity only made them angrier.
Nami punched straight for his eye.
Robin immediately dismissed her ability—she never actually hit Luo Lin herself (ear-pulling max)! No way she'd let anyone else hurt him. Neighbor little sister or blood sister—it didn't matter.
Luo Lin couldn't dodge with his collar grabbed.
Iron Body!
CLANG!
"One bag!"
Nami shrieked, tears flying—her hand hurt like hell.
"Can't blame me! You hit first! And you're not cute at all right now!"
"YOU BEAST!! How dare you hurt my beloved Nami-swan!! DIEEEE!!"
Sanji spun into a kick—blocked by a casual hand-chop to the head.
Zoro just watched.
Nami turned teary-eyed to Robin.
"Robin-nee~!"
Robin smiled gently.
"I already punished him♡ Look how hard he fell!"
Blatantly taking Luo Lin's side.
Luo Lin instantly turned into a happy husky, scampering to Robin with his prize.
"Only Robin-baby loves me~ Look! I caught this weird bird to nourish you!"
He proudly raised the South Bird.
In the earlier chaos he'd never let go—impressive grip strength.
Now that he pointed it out, everyone finally noticed.
One look and they all (except Luffy) screamed:
"THE SOUTH BIRD!!!"
Luffy: (✧∇✧) "Whoa!! The mysterious weird bird!!"
Luo Lin: ᕙ(·•᷄ࡇ•᷅ ) ??? What now?
They frantically explained before he actually killed it for soup.
It took a while, but he finally remembered—oh yeah, the bird that mocks Zoro's sense of direction!
Tch tch tch. Can't even beat a bird. Deserved.
Now knowing it was crucial, soup plans were postponed until after Skypiea.
No one cared about the prank anymore. Mission accomplished—they dragged the half-dead coward duo back home.
…
Next morning, Luo Lin woke up on the couch.
(After last night's mischief, he thought he could sleep in the bed? Dream on.)
He opened the door—everyone except him and Robin was already up and ready.
"Luo Lin!! You're finally awake?! We're about to leave—you're so lazy!"
Luo Lin: ??? Luffy, you looking to get beat?
He glared, then looked around.
The Going Merry had been reinforced by the Saruyama Alliance: rooster comb on the figurehead, wings on both sides, every damaged part repaired—way better than Usopp's work.
Professionals, man.
The Devil only got wings added last night.
It was about 7 a.m.—time to go.
The ape bros escorted them out.
Luo Lin felt a little bad—he'd sliced their ship in half and skipped the party.
Good thing they didn't know.
Out of guilt, he left them enough money for a new ship (they'd already bought a bigger one anyway).
"Saruyama Alliance!! Are you confident you can guide the Straw Hat pirates to the Knock-Up Stream?!"
Cricket shouted from the shore.
"Of course!! We're professionals!!"
"Raise the sails!! Set off!!"
…
Four ships sailed together.
The South Bird was tied to the Merry's figurehead (Luffy's doing).
Thanks to Chopper's translation, they learned the bird was trying to lead them north—but its instincts forced it south, causing panic when forced otherwise.
Luffy laughed his ass off.
Around 10 a.m.:
"Cumuloregalis cloud detected southwest!"
"Alright!! Saruyama Alliance—dive and check currents!"
"Roger!!"
Crew members dove from the escort ships.
The green gorilla started howling into a megaphone.
Luo Lin barely resisted the urge to slice him—reason told him no bird murder or no Skypiea.
Soon the divers surfaced.
"Report!! Sonar reflection confirmed!! Massive upward current directly beneath the shadow of the cloud!! Dead ahead!!"
"Report!! Giant Sea King at 9 o'clock!!"
"Report!! Counter-current at 10 o'clock—could form a massive whirlpool!!"
The apes perked up.
"That's it!! The exact spot the Knock-Up Stream will erupt!! All hands—turn to 10 o'clock!! Furl sails!! We're heading into the eye!!"
Nami and co freaked.
"NANI?! Into the whirlpool?! We'll be smashed to bits!!"
"Exactly!! This is supposed to be a disaster!! You should be prepared!!"
The closer they got, the bigger the waves.
The whirlpool was forming.
CLANG!
Grappling hooks from the ape ships latched onto the Merry and Devil.
"Ride the vortex to the center—that's where the Knock-Up Stream will explode!! It'll shoot you straight to Skypiea!!"
The whirlpool grew massive.
The Merry and Devil successfully entered the vortex.
The ape ships released their hooks—they'd be dragged in if they went further.
"Guys, you're on your own now!!"
"OKAY!! THANKS A BUNCH!!"
Luffy waved excitedly.
Everyone else was nervous.
This time only Usopp was screaming in terror—Chopper was actually excited.
On the Devil, Robin hugged Luo Lin tight as they stared at the colossal vortex and struggling Sea Kings.
"I've never seen a whirlpool this big… If the ship breaks we'll drown!"
"Don't worry, baby. I've got you."
"Mm!"
On the Merry, Nami and Usopp were in full "we're dead" mode, desperately trying to convince Luffy to turn back.
Luffy just got more hyped.
Chopper: "SUGOI!! AMAZING WHIRLPOOL!!"
Too late to turn back.
Both ships accelerated—WHOOSH—into the heart of the vortex.
Then… safely landed on flat water.
The whirlpool vanished.
Everyone: ???
"Where'd the whirlpool go…?"
"It disappeared…"
"No!! The explosion is coming from below!!"
Nami the genius navigator saw it instantly.
Then—
"STOP RIGHT THERE, YOU BASTARDS!!"
Everyone turned.
On a wooden raft stood several figures—Luffy instantly recognized Blackbeard from Mock Town.
"ZEHAHAHA!! Finally caught you, Straw Hat Luffy!! I'm here for your 100 million beli head!!"
Luffy: "Huh? Me? 100 million? Since when?"
"You really didn't know? Your new bounty is 100 million!! And Pirate Hunter Zoro—60 million!!"
Usopp confirmed it.
Luo Lin poked his head out.
Yo! Teach! How'd he get here?
"Yo! Teach!"
Blackbeard's expression stiffened.
"Portgas D. Luo Lin!! Why the hell are you here?!"
"Long story short—I'm going to Skypiea too!"
"I see… Pops still talks about you—wanted you as a son!"
"Not interested. And you don't get to call him Pops anymore, do you?"
"Zehahaha! You know already! Wanna join me instead?"
"Nah."
"Shame!! I came for the kid's head today—but since you're here, I'll let him live. Not the right time to fight you yet!"
"Oh, feel free to ignore me."
"Zehahaha—nah, we're leaving!! Men, turn around!!"
Right as Blackbeard gave the order—the sea bulged like something enormous was about to breach.
"IT'S HERE!! HOLD ON TIGHT!!"
BOOM!!!!
The Knock-Up Stream erupted with monstrous force.
The chain linking the Merry and Devil snapped.
Blackbeard's raft shattered instantly.
Luo Lin grabbed Robin and the railing with one arm.
Robin sprouted extra arms to lock them both to the hull.
Both ships shot skyward along the column of water.
But common sense said: ships ride the outside of the stream—weight alone wasn't enough to reach Skypiea!
Luo Lin had Observation Haki active the whole time—he could feel the bow starting to tilt upward.
Soon they'd slip off and plummet.
He hadn't expected this!
Panic rising, he desperately racked his brain for dead memories.
Wind howled.
Then—EUREKA!
"Robin-baby, hold on tight!! I'm going to the mast!!"
"Huh?! What are you doing?!"
"Dropping the sails!!"
"Be careful!!"
Robin trusted him completely.
Two Moon Steps—he was at the crow's nest.
One slash left, one slash right—the sails unfurled with a mighty FLAP!
The Devil instantly surged faster.
Luo Lin exhaled—thank god he remembered.
He stayed at the mast, constantly adjusting the sails to keep them riding both the water column and the rising air current perfectly.
Not long after, Sanji noticed the Merry's bow lifting too.
"UNFURL SAILS NOW!!"
Nami barked the order—she knew the stream carried upward wind!
Catch the wind and ride it all the way to the sky!
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