Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

"Be careful."

Rowan gave a word of advice and then watched the three fishmen jump into the sea.

Meanwhile, the sailors around them began to get busy.

Crocodile noticed the others' actions and also came onto the deck.

He frowned.

During the voyage over the past few days, Crocodile consulted a large amount of information and finally had a general idea of ​​Rowan's thoughts.

Rowan probably wanted to experience a very special sea condition called "sky current" to propel the ship into the air and achieve the so-called "ascent to the sky".

However, this has led to a host of problems.

First of all, although the Chongtian Current is a well-known special sea condition in the surrounding waters, it is not easy to predict the exact location of its occurrence unless one is a local who has been observing the current for a long time.

Secondly, even if a towering current were found, without the help of a top navigator, ordinary people simply could not survive in such a terrifying current.

What's needed here isn't just a "navigator," but a "top-tier navigator"!

Regardless of strength, even the most powerful person cannot survive a natural disaster that destroys everything.

Finally, and most importantly, even with the best of luck, there's no guarantee that after the towering ocean currents carry the ships into the sky, they can land safely near the floating island.

Once they are launched straight into the sky and do not land near the sky island, it means they will fall straight down from a height of 10,000 meters into the sea and be wiped out!

"The risk is too great..."

Crocodile lit a cigar; if it were him, he certainly wouldn't have chosen such a risky method.

Rowan found a box to sit on, and waited silently without saying a word.

A dozen minutes later, Hoka and his two other companions returned safely and jumped from the sea onto the deck.

"found it."

Hoka stretched his shoulders and said to Rowan, "It's about two nautical miles to the southwest, very close, and it's about to erupt."

Rowan nodded and ordered the helmsman to proceed in the direction Hokka had indicated.

Crocodile watched this scene silently.

Can the fishman be used to pinpoint the exact location of the Sky Current?

Great, now the first problem is solved, there are two left.

Crocodile became increasingly certain of his previous guess and understood why Rowan hadn't brought Vivi along.

Whether it's being propelled into the sky by a surging ocean current or experiencing the harsh climate of the floating island, neither is something a little girl could withstand.

He leaned against the mast, watching as the ship he was on sailed to the place Hoka had described.

A dozen minutes later, Crocodile heard the roar of the sea.

The stable ship began to tremble violently until it tilted and rocked!

The helmsman shouted, "On your marks! The rest of you, hold on tight to the railings!"

The sailors immediately complied, and Dalton and Bell were especially on high alert.

They all learned from Rowan that the trip was extremely dangerous, but like Crocodile, they were unaware of Rowan's specific plans.

The fishman Hoka roared, "Watch out, the Sky Current is coming!"

Crocodile immediately elementalized the soles of his feet, using the gravel to fix himself to the deck, his expression grave.

Hopefully, that old monster really has a way, and it's not about relying on some vague "luck"!

A huge whirlpool gradually formed on the sea surface, swallowing the ship in which everyone was located, and lowering it by several meters.

That was a sign that the surging ocean current was about to erupt.

The entire ship began to rock violently, and the bow tilted downwards.

"Hey!"

Crocodile frowned and said to Rowan, "If you have a way, use it quickly!"

He didn't believe Rowan hadn't prepared a backup plan.

But when Crocodile looked up at Rowan, he was even more puzzled.

Luo Wen was playing with the piece of paper he had gotten from the navigator, folding it repeatedly until it became a "paper airplane".

"call out……"

Rowan whistled and threw the paper airplane.

The paper airplane, caught in the turbulent air currents, was swept towards the center of the vortex along with the ship.

[Chapter 51: Soaring into the Sky]

What is he doing?

Crocodile did not understand Rowan's actions.

At this moment, the power in the sea had clearly reached its peak.

In the scarce available information, there has been a statement that goes like this:

There is a large hole deep in the seabed nearby. The cold seawater flows into the hole and generates a huge amount of steam due to the influence of seabed geothermal activity. When the pressure of this steam accumulates to a certain level, it will cause an underwater eruption.

That was a massive eruption powerful enough to ignite the seawater and create a "sky-piercing current".

At that time, for about one minute, seawater will continuously surge into the air at a height of 10,000 meters, causing a terrible natural disaster.

Crocodile wasn't sure if that statement was accurate, but he was now certain that the towering current forming before him truly deserved the name "disaster."

That's a terrible disaster that you should avoid if you can!

An Alabasta navigator secured himself with ropes and forced his way to Rowan's side.

"Ancestor, the Cloud Emperor is not directly above us; it is still some distance away!"

The so-called cumulonimbus clouds are extremely thick cloud layers that sunlight cannot penetrate, creating a near-night environment where cumulonimbus clouds pass by, and creating very special weather phenomena in the vicinity.

The clouds rise high into the sky, but they neither generate air currents nor turn into rain.

Some have boldly speculated that the Jidi Cloud is a "cloud fossil" that has been floating in the high sky for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

That was also the destination of Rowan and his companions' trip.

The navigator shouted, "We have to wait for the Emperor Cloud to get a little closer. If we get swept into the sky now, we'll never get there!"

Logically speaking, given the current situation, everyone is undoubtedly doomed to die.

But there was not a trace of fear in the navigator's voice. Instead, he explained everything clearly to Rowan and meticulously fulfilled his duties.

For some reason, this navigator always felt a sense of security.

This sense of security comes from the Alabasta ancestor standing before him, Ryan Rowan!

Rowan stood on the deck, holding a scepter.

"Stabilize the boat, hold on tight to the railings, and prepare to face the surging current!"

"Yes!"

The crowd responded loudly and immediately did as instructed.

Then, in the next second, the roaring sea suddenly calmed down, and everything around seemed to stop.

Only Rowan's low growl echoed across the deck.

"go ahead!"

boom!

As if in response to Rowan's words, a deafening roar echoed from the depths of the sea.

A current nearly 100 meters in diameter shot into the sky, carrying the surrounding ocean and the ships of the Four Seas Alliance into the air!

The ship's bottom was close to the outer edge of the ocean current, and it was "turned upright" in an instant.

The people on the ship quickly adjusted their positions, with most staying inside the cabins to take shelter, while the sailors clung tightly to the railings.

Dalton pulled the sailor who was about to fall up, and the sailor immediately grabbed a rope.

Together with the other sailors, the two men fully unfurled the sails.

The vertical airflow impacted the sails, causing the entire ship to surge upwards with the ocean current!

"Watch out, something's fallen!"

A warning sound came, and everyone looked up to see a small sea monster that had been swept away by the ocean currents and died.

Although it is described as small, judging from its size it weighs at least ten tons and is rapidly falling towards the ship.

"I'll do it!"

With a loud shout, Belfalcon activated his orc form, transforming into a giant falcon wielding a sharp blade.

After a sharp screech, Bell used his feet to propel himself into the air, aiming at the dead small sea king.

Swish!

In a split second, Bell drew his sword and cleaved the small sea king in two, causing it to fall to the left and right, avoiding the ship.

Bell returned to the deck, where two birds clung tightly to the ship's mast.

His flight speed is far slower than the ship's ascent speed, but he can use short bursts of speed to get ahead of the ship.

"You're in charge of the left and right flanks. I'll clear the way ahead!"

Hokka and Dalton exchanged a glance and nodded.

They couldn't stand as steadily on the vertical deck as Bell, but they could rely on their strong physique to grip the cable tightly with one hand and keep watch on both sides with the other.

Several stones fell; Bell cut through the one directly in front, while Dalton and Hawke each smashed the stones on the left and right sides that might scratch the hull.

Even Crocodile patiently intervened, promptly eroding a rock that could have torn the sail into ordinary sand.

He returned to the deck, his feet elementalized and fixed in the gap, and turned his head to growl:

How much longer until we arrive?

Even he could clearly feel the power the ocean currents were giving the ship was diminishing.