Chapter 419: Journey to Skypiea: Chasing the Dream Above the Clouds

Thanks to Chopper’s care, Cricket came to and sat up, lighting a cigarette as he did. “I thought you lot were after the gold too.”

“Alright, then, what’s your goal?”

Even though he’d been unconscious earlier, Cricket had still caught bits and pieces of what was happening outside. Now, seeing these people weren’t just chasing after gold, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Luffy balled his fists, eyes gleaming with excitement. “Mister, we want to get to Skypiea! Can you tell us how to get there?”

Cricket glanced at Luffy. “Skypiea?”

“Hahahaha!”

“You really believe Skypiea exists?” Cricket had spent so many years searching here that he knew all about the place they called Skypiea. But the path up was treacherous, and he couldn’t bring himself to send this whole bunch of vibrant youths to their deaths.

“Skypiea’s real, mister. We’re just wondering what it takes to get there,” Ye Fan spoke up.

Cricket’s eyes snapped to the doorway, focusing sharply on Ye Fan.

Ye Fan sounded completely certain, as if he’d been there himself.

“Yeah, mister! The facts prove Skypiea is the real deal. But do you know how to get us there?” Luffy pressed again.

Seeing how determined everyone looked, Cricket realized he didn’t stand a chance of persuading them otherwise. “But do you know just how dangerous getting there is?”

“You don’t have to worry! Our ship is sturdy. If you don’t believe it, come take a look!”

Usopp invited Cricket aboard the Going Merry. Cricket walked the deck, tapping at every part of the ship. The more he knocked, the brighter his eyes shone. Wood this hard was something he’d never seen before.

It was even tougher than the trunk of the Tree of Knowledge.

Feeling the strength of the ship under his hands, then meeting Luffy’s determined gaze, Cricket shook his head in defeat. “Alright, alright, you win. I’ll give you a hand.”

“Yeah!”

“Skypiea! Skypiea! Adventure awaits!”

“Gold! My gold!”

“There’s bound to be some lost history up there on Skypiea.”

“I hope there’s a worthy opponent in Skypiea.”

With Cricket leading the way, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku and the others joined forces to fit the Merry with a pair of wings.

Everyone fell right into their roles—cutting wood, tying ropes. In just four hours, the Merry sported two huge wings.

Along the way, they also met Cricket’s two other companions—the Salvage King they’d run into earlier and a human-sized ape.

“Alright! Safe travels!”

Standing on the shore, Cricket waved at the three ships as they set out.

No one noticed exactly when the sky began to cloud over. Following a signal from the Salvage King’s crew, everyone gathered in this part of the sea.

“That’s the place! Turn the ships to a ten o’clock heading. That’s where the eruption starts. Move into the whirlpool—don’t hesitate!”

The Salvage King and another massive ship flanked the Merry, pushing ahead deeper into the stretch of sea.

The intense shaking on board sent everyone on the Merry stumbling, barely able to stay on their feet. “What the—did the sea just rise?!”

But after a moment, everyone regained their balance and stood steady on deck again.

“That was just the tremor before the eruption. Be careful, everyone.”

“Eruption?”

“Navigator, what about the Log Pose?” Robin sat calmly by the rail, looking at Nami.

At the question, Nami hurried to check her Log Pose. “All three pointers are locked on the clouds ahead.”

“So Skypiea really is up beyond those clouds?”

“The wind’s perfectly at our backs, and the cumulonimbus is drifting straight toward the whirlpool.” Nami moved to the deck and relayed her findings as she peered across the water.

“Wait—whirlpool? What whirlpool? Where’s the whirlpool?” Usopp sounded nervous. Out here, even the toughest pirate crew was no match for nature’s fury.

If their ships got swallowed by the whirlpool, their whole journey might end at the bottom of the sea.

“Bro, this time we’ve really hit the spot.”

“The eruption’s huge. All the signs are there.”

Hearing voices from both sides, Luffy’s face lit up. “We get to fly now?”

“Yep, it’s time!”

“How do we go?” Luffy looked more eager than ever.

An adventure up in the sky promised to be epic.

“Let the whirlpool’s current carry you up.”

Nami’s face paled as if she’d just heard something terrifying. “What?!”

Were they really supposed to go into the whirlpool?

“So what do we do?” Luffy just wanted to know how soon they’d be heading up to Skypiea.

He didn’t spare a thought for the danger, so sure in his belief that they’d reach Skypiea.

“Just ride the current in. As long as you don’t turn back, you’ll make it to the center of the whirlpool.”

“That’s huge!” Drawing closer, Usopp finally caught sight of the so-called whirlpool. It was massive—so deep it looked like it tunneled to the bottom of the sea, impossible to see the end.

Back on shore, Cricket watched the strange, shifting weather on the horizon, cigarette in hand. “Never seen idiots like you before.”

“Chasing dreams, the lot of you fools!”

Meanwhile, the Merry was already entering the whirlpool.

Clutching her head, Nami yelled in panic, “Nobody said we had to go inside the whirlpool!”

“Don’t worry! I’ll protect you and Robin, Nami!” Sanji shouted, head thrown back as he called out.

Even Robin looked rattled, a cold sweat sliding down her face. “I’ve never seen a whirlpool this big.”

After all these years floating across the sea, even with a decade at sea behind them, none had seen a whirlpool so vast—it was big enough to swallow a whole island.

Beside them, the timid Usopp wailed, tears running down his face. “No! I don’t want this anymore! I want to go back! I don’t want to go to Skypiea!”

Zoro, cool as ever, said, “Give it up, Usopp. It’s too late. Someone’s heart’s been set on the sky for ages now.”

If anyone understood what drove Luffy, it was Zoro.

Right on cue, Luffy spread his arms wide and shouted with pure excitement, “Skypiea, here I come!”

“We’re going to the bottom for sure in a whirlpool this big,” Usopp pleaded, trying to convince Luffy to give up the dream.

He was hoping to snap Luffy out of his fantasy of going to Skypiea.

But Luffy dug in his heels. “Skypiea is the dream of dreams!”

“The dream of dreams… That’s true…”

“Yeah, Luffy, this is way too much. Maybe we should turn back while we still can…” Nami, just as scared as Usopp, interrupted before Luffy could finish.

She might have agreed to the idea of Skypiea, but going from here? She still wanted to live a bit longer.

Luffy didn’t care one bit what they were saying, pressing on. “That makes it Dream Island—the adventure of a lifetime! You’d regret missing out on that forever!”

He spun around suddenly, flashing a big grin.

“He’s really pumped up!”

Behind him, Usopp, Nami, and Chopper just slumped in defeat.