Mohji asked, his face pale, "Captain Buggy, what should we do now?"
Buggy, still furious, glared at Takumi. Without saying a word, he split his upper body from his lower half and hovered in front of Takumi, shouting angrily, "Takumi! You did this on purpose, didn't you?"
Takumi chuckled and asked, "What did I do?"
"You…!" Buggy was beyond frustrated. "You brat! Aren't you planning to go to Sky Island? Let those other fools take you! Why are you targeting me? Don't you know how dangerous it is to get to Sky Island?"
"I know."
"Then why—" Realizing something, Buggy's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, have you been to Sky Island before?"
Takumi replied calmly, "No."
"Huh?!" Buggy nearly fell over, almost hitting the ship's railing. "You…"
Feeling like he was being played with, Buggy lunged to grab Takumi's shirt. But before his hand could make contact, Takumi took a couple of steps back, easily avoiding Buggy's grasp.
Buggy froze for a moment, then quickly drew eight throwing knives, one between each of his fingers, and launched them at Takumi. "You think you can push me around that easily?!"
Takumi dodged Buggy's attacks with ease for a few moments. But growing tired of the game, he finally clenched his fist, covering it in Haki. Timing his counterattack perfectly, he delivered a swift and powerful punch directly to Buggy's head.
With a loud "bang," Buggy's eyes rolled back, and he was slammed into the deck, creating a Buggy-shaped crater.
Hearing the commotion, Cabaji and Mohji rushed onto the deck, carrying Buggy's lower half. When they saw their captain half-buried in the wooden floor, their expressions turned grim.
Meanwhile, Takumi leaned casually against the railing, drinking from his wine flask as the moonlight bathed the scene.
The rest of the night passed without incident.
The next morning, Cricket arrived to see Takumi off.
Looking around, Cricket remarked, "Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot fewer people on board?"
Mohji, near tears, replied, "It's not just you… it really is just us now."
Cricket blinked in surprise. "And you're all planning to set sail like this? Are you sure it'll be okay?"
Takumi answered calmly, "It'll be fine."
Cricket shook his head with a smile. "Ah, to be young."
Though in truth, Cricket himself wasn't even thirty yet.
Seeing that the time had come, Takumi instructed Mohji and Cabaji to set sail.
Although the two of them were filled with dread, they dared not defy Takumi's orders. Reluctantly, they followed the direction the South Bird pointed, steering the ship southward into the open sea.
Cricket stood on the shore, watching them leave, a hint of worry in his eyes. "I hope you all manage to catch the updraft… Just don't fall."
Inside the ship's helm, Mohji asked in a hushed tone, "Cabaji, should we… should we jump ship and swim for it?"
Cabaji glanced around cautiously before whispering back, "That Takumi kid hears everything. Don't say anything, or if he catches on, we're done for."
"Ugh, and Captain Buggy is still unconscious…" Mohji glanced at their still-unresponsive captain, lying on the deck with his eyes rolled back. "You don't think Captain Buggy's going to die, do you?"
"Don't jinx it!" Cabaji snapped, punching Mohji. "Captain Buggy's not that easy to kill!"
"You jerk! How dare you hit me!" Mohji reared back to punch Cabaji in return, but his fist stopped inches from Cabaji's face. His expression changed to one of disbelief.
"What is it?" Cabaji, sensing something was off, followed Mohji's gaze and saw a massive, ominous cloud formation looming ahead. "What… What is that?"
Takumi stood on the deck, his face impassive as he looked toward the menacing storm cloud known as the Emperor Cloud.
Mohji quickly handed control of the ship's wheel to Cabaji and ran to the deck. His voice shook as he asked, "Do we… do we keep going? That cloud looks insanely dangerous. If we keep heading in, won't we be in serious trouble?"
Takumi replied, "Keep going."
Mohji was dumbstruck. "K-Keep going?"
Takumi shot him a cold glance.
Startled, Mohji stammered, "Y-Yes, understood… Continuing forward…"
Dejected, he hurried back to the helm.
Soon enough, the ship entered the shadow of the Emperor Cloud.
Takumi closed his eyes, activating his advanced Observation Haki to sense the ocean beneath the ship. While he couldn't directly feel what lay at the sea's bottom, he could detect the shifts and patterns in the ocean currents, which allowed him to pinpoint the location of the rising sea current.
After a few moments, Takumi detected several whirlpool-like currents beneath the water. The largest one, right in the center of the Emperor Cloud's shadow, was unmistakably where the updraft would appear.
Opening his eyes, Takumi gazed at the horizon ahead. Soon, a massive whirlpool came into view.
Cabaji and Mohji rushed back onto the deck. When they saw the enormous whirlpool stretching out in front of them, their faces paled with despair.
Mohji buried his face in his hands, tears streaming down his cheeks. "It's over… We're done for! Even if we tried to turn back now, it's too late!"
Richie, Mohji's lion, let out mournful howls of terror.
Cabaji's face turned white as a sheet.
At that moment, Buggy slowly regained consciousness, his head still throbbing. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing but the dark, swirling clouds overhead.
"Huh? Why isn't the sun out yet?" Buggy groaned as he rubbed his aching head. His body had reassembled itself during the night. When he stood up, he noticed Cabaji and Mohji staring at something in horror. Confused, Buggy walked over to them.
Then, Buggy saw it. The massive whirlpool looming ahead of the ship.
His eyes bulged out of his skull, and his jaw nearly hit the deck. "What the hell is that?!"
"Captain Buggy! You're finally awake," Mohji cried, tears streaming down his face. "But it's too late. We're all going to die here."
"W-Wait!" Buggy looked up at the dark clouds overhead, his expression growing more and more grim. "Is that… is that the Emperor Cloud?"
Takumi calmly answered, "Yes, it is."
Buggy's face crumpled with despair, tears pouring down his cheeks. "You idiot! You're really taking us into the updraft… If you want to die, don't drag me into it!"
"Captain Buggy, the ship is about to enter the whirlpool!" Mohji clung to one of the masts, crying out, "We're doomed!"
The ship was filled with panicked cries as it neared the massive whirlpool.
But just as it seemed like the ship would be swallowed whole…
The whirlpool disappeared.
The ocean surface returned to an eerie calm.
Mohji and Cabaji exchanged shocked glances.
Only Buggy and Takumi knew what was about to happen next.
In an instant, a powerful updraft surged from the ocean floor, erupting into a massive column of water that shot toward the sky.
Buggy's ship was caught in the surge, carried upward with the raging torrent, rocketing toward the heavens.
"Wh-What?! The ship… the ship's really flying!" Mohji's face went pale.
"No… This is bad!" Cabaji shouted, his face twisted with fear. "The ship's starting to veer off course! If we fall from here, we're all dead!"
It was too late for Buggy to abandon ship.
"Damn it!" With no other options, Buggy quickly gave orders. "Mohji, get to the helm! Cabaji, raise the sails!"
******
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