RNP Chapter 73 Soaring ocean currents!
Chapter 73 Soaring ocean currents!
Chapter 73 Soaring ocean currents!
Overnight, the island where pirates gathered had transformed into the shape of Norton.
The pirate crews that originally gathered on the island had their captains either defeated or killed by their officers.
Terrified and helpless, the pirates pledged their loyalty to Norton in order to survive.
That's how the world of pirates works—survival of the fittest. To survive, you either need to constantly find stronger backers, or become so strong that no one will dare to bully you.
Clearly, the pirates in Mogu Town are not the latter.
After conquering the entire town of Mogu and taking stock of his spoils, Norton discovered that his fleet had reached the size of the Krieg Pirates in the original timeline.
They possess a total of fifty pirate ships.
Of course, the strength of the Norton Pirates is far beyond what the Krieg Pirates in the original timeline could compare to.
Norton instructed Kuro to stay on the island to inventory the spoils and oversee the reorganization, and asked Sanosuke to stay behind to keep watch. Then, Norton boarded the White Pearl and set sail again.
This time, the goal is naturally to reach the Sky Island's Sky Current.
Given the sturdiness of the ships, it would be impossible to bring all fifty ships on this trip to the Sky Island.
That would result in significant losses; there are too many uncertainties.
Not every ship is as sturdy as the White Pearl. Norton had enough faith in the ship that Funing had built, but he didn't care about other ships.
They didn't bring many people with them. Besides the essential personnel to keep the White Pearl running, and Nami, Furyn, and Zoro, they only brought Zeff to cook.
They didn't even bring the doctor, and Chopper stayed in Mock Town, with Dalton and Al taking care of protecting them.
In the battle to subdue Mogu Town, although the officers were not seriously injured, quite a few ordinary crew members were injured and needed medical treatment.
After wandering at sea for several days, Nami finally got a clue and, after much effort, found the location where the Sky Current appeared.
"There is a giant hollow structure on the seabed with a diameter of several thousand meters, and its depth exceeds the conventional seabed reference level."
When low-temperature seawater is continuously injected into the bottom of the cavity through special means, the water gradually vaporizes and forms a high-pressure steam environment due to the geothermal effect generated by crustal activity.
The steam pressure increased over time, eventually exceeding the rock strata's bearing capacity and triggering an explosion, creating a vertically rising water flow.
According to an elderly local resident of Mogu Island, the phenomenon has a strict periodicity, with five outbreaks occurring every month.
Each eruption lasts precisely 60 seconds, during which the water rises at supersonic speeds. The eruption coordinates exhibit random distribution, and adventurers must rely on luck to ride the current.
Through Nami's account, Norton and the others gained some understanding of the so-called Sky Current.
As a navigator, Nami was incredibly dedicated.
While the other officers were busy fighting, Nami had already visited the elderly people living in Moko Town one by one, and only then did she obtain the specific information.
"So, all we can do is wait?" Norton asked.
"That's how it is in theory." Nami thought for a moment and nodded.
After waiting for two hours, night finally began to approach from the south.
"It's the Emperor Cloud! The ocean current is about to appear!" Nami quickly reminded everyone.
As Nami shouted, the White Pearl suddenly shook violently.
Given the size of the White Pearl, ordinary ocean currents would not be able to move it at all, which shows how terrifying this current was.
Before long, a huge whirlpool appeared on the sea ahead.
"Quickly check if the pointer is pointing in the right direction!" Funing hurriedly reminded Nami.
Nami looked down to confirm, then nodded slightly: "It can't be wrong! It's been pointing straight at that cloud of cumulonimbus!"
"What should we do next?"
"Just sail with the current! As long as you follow the current to the center of the whirlpool, you'll be fine!"
"That's too outrageous!" Fu Ning couldn't help but doubt that being caught in a vortex of that magnitude would definitely mean certain death!
Norton, however, didn't care at all: "Just trust Nami! Get ready! We're about to head to the Skypiea!"
The White Pearl was caught in a massive whirlpool, a whirlpool in which even sea kings could not struggle and were dragged to the bottom of the sea by the ocean currents.
"Luckily, Big Black didn't come along," Zoro muttered to himself.
Even though the giant black mist whale is a kilometer long, it cannot fill this whirlpool. The possibility of it being swept into it cannot be ruled out.
Just as the White Pearl was about to be swallowed by the giant whirlpool, the whirlpool suddenly disappeared.
Nami's expression suddenly turned serious: "Quick! Everyone get into the cabin! Find the most stable place to secure yourselves!"
"The Sky-Piercing Current is coming!"
The pirates on the White Pearl quickly sprang into action, grabbing onto the hull or entering the cabins. Then, a huge ocean current propelled the White Pearl into the sky!
The ocean currents were so powerful that even the White Pearl, with its massive size, seemed tiny. Huge waves rose hundreds of meters high, and the central current was so strong that it was indescribable, like a white mountain pillar standing between heaven and earth.
The White Pearl was propelled upwards by the massive currents of water and updrafts!
It was described as ascending, but in reality, it was flying along the surface of a huge column of water. The powerful inertia of the surging ocean current easily lifted the massive White Pearl.
However, things weren't going so smoothly. In front of the White Pearl, shipwrecks and sea monsters kept falling, all gathered up by the massive whirlpool from before.
"Leave the steering of the ship to me!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Norton arrived in front of the statue of the girl holding a flying bird, and whenever something fell down, he would casually swat it away.
Almost nothing that is blown away is less than 100 meters in size.
The sails of the White Pearl were hoisted, Zoro took the helm under Nami's command, and Funing had already hidden in the cabin.
The White Pearl plunged into the Jade Emperor's Cloud.
Suddenly, everyone felt a suffocating sensation, difficulty breathing, and dizziness. After that, they found themselves in a sea of clouds.
"We've arrived at Skypiea!" The pirates emerged from the ship's cabin.
"It's still early," Nami glanced at the Log Pose, "It's still pointing upwards! Skypiea is still above us!"
"How do we get up there?"
Suddenly, a creature appeared to rise and fall in the sea of clouds, resembling a giant octopus, rapidly approaching the White Pearl.
Seeing this, Zoro rushed out and stopped the octopus from attacking the White Pearl!
The octopus's tentacles were cut open, and its skin burst like a punctured balloon, leaking out the gas inside.
"What on earth is going on? What are these creatures like here...?" Zoro wiped his sweat.
At this moment, several more fish leaped out of the sea of clouds and landed on the deck of the White Pearl.
Nami picked them up and examined them closely. The scales of these fish were almost like feathers, and they were so light that they were like nothing. They were a species she had never seen before in the East China Sea.
"I've never seen this kind of fish before. I wonder what it tastes like?" Zeff leaned over. He took a few fish and headed straight for the kitchen.
Nami's lips twitched slightly. She looked up and saw that Funing had already gone from the cabin to the lookout tower.
"Guys! Something's up!"
"A strange man wearing a bull-horned mask is charging this way from the clouds!"