One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Five [Rewritten]

"Told you he couldn't do it" Luffy grinned before he, Usopp, and Chopper all burst out laughing.

"Hey, show the boss some respect and pipe down over there!" one of Shoujou's men snapped.

"Nah, they're fine—why it reminds me of the old days when I was young and reverie" Shoujou blissfully sighed as he held a hand up to stop his men from throwing a fuss. There was a slightly faraway look in his eyes as he reminisced over the past.

"Uh-oh, what'd they say?" Luffy asked, quickly calming down from his laughing fit as he finally let go of the bird he was messing with. "Hey, there's no point in getting all worked up fellas—try to relax" he smiled.

"And who put us behind schedule again?" Sanji grumbled in irritation.

"You know what, he's right" Masira suddenly piped up in agreement with Luffy "Being tense won't get us anywhere, we may as well enjoy ourselves" he grinned.

"I see your point—full speed ahead men! Anyone not relaxing answers to me" Shoujou nodded in agreement.

"Ah, that's better" Luffy sighed.

"This is ridiculous..." Zoro grumbled.

"Yes, but it's rather fitting" I giggled.

"How so?" he raised an eyebrow as I closed my eyes and tilted my head in thought.

"Well, it just seems fitting that Luffy would be relaxed and calm even though there's a possibility that we might miss our chance in making it to Sky Island—perhaps he has faith that we'll make it in time no matter what or he's just being his usual self and not fully aware that we have a time limit" I opened my eyes and looked at the swordsman with a small smile. "So, in a way, what's happening now is rather fitting" he only hummed in response.

"Boss, look!" one of Masira's men suddenly cried out.

"What's wrong?" the monkey asked.

"I see the Cumulorgalis cloud to the southwest!" the man relayed.

"It can't be, what time is it?" Masira asked.

"Ten o'clock—they're a full hour early!" the man answered.

"Shoujou, do you think we can make it?" Masira worriedly asked.

"Dispatch the unit divers, find me those currents!" Shoujou quickly instructed.

"They're incredible!" Nami said in awe as she looked up at the massive clouds that were slowly rolling in.

"What's going on?" Usopp asked just as Sanji stepped out onto the deck and began to curiously look around.

"The Cumulorgalis clouds appeared a lot sooner than expected, so now everyone's scrambling to find a current" Nami explained.

"Sonar waves detected!" one of Shoujou's men proclaimed as he emerged from the water. "There's a large current at twelve o'clock!"

"Large creature detected at nine o'clock—it could be a Sea King!" another added as they emerged from the water as well.

"There are wave activities detected at ten o'clock going against the current—I believe it's a giant whirlpool, sir!" another relayed as he too surfaced.

"That's it! Full speed ahead, directly for ten o'clock!" Masira ordered. "That's where the Knock Up Stream is going to erupt, I'm sure of it—now go!" he ushered as we now sailed toward our destination just as the waters were starting to become rough.

"Hold on" Zoro said as harsh waves began to violently rock the ship.

"The waves are getting higher!" Nami shivered.

"We're going to sink!" Usopp wailed.

"Shit!" I silently cursed, quickly clutching onto Zoro's arm the minute my body was jerked around along with everyone else's and nearly lost balance.

"Steady men, it's an eruption trigger" Masira warned.

"Eruption?" Chopper echoed.

"Hey, Navigator, what does the Log Pose say?" Robin asked.

"It's pointing straight at those clouds" Nami answered as she followed the direction that the Log Pose needle was currently pointing.

"You mean the Sky Island is above that?" Usopp weakly asked.

"I don't feel all too confident about this anymore..." I muttered, eyes now locked on the clouds above as I could already feel the way my stomach started to churn with dread. It was one thing to talk and discuss the possibility of going into the sky and another to actually be doing it.

"The wind direction's perfect—the clouds are lining up exactly over the whirlpool" Nami smiled, amazed by the weather phenomenon happening before her eyes.

"What whirlpool? I haven't seen anything" Luffy curiously tilted his head.

"Nice work, brother! I think we hit the jackpot this time!" Masira praised.

"Yes, and it seems we're in for a nice-sized explosion" Shoujou nodded in agreement.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Luffy asked.

"Of course!" the monkey confidently grinned.

"What's that?" Luffy asked, watching as Masira suddenly connected their ships with ours by rope.

"We'll lead you to the inner edge" he explained.

"Alright, but what should we do?" Nami asked.

"Position yourself on the flow and head towards the center, then you'll be fine" Masira answered.

"He wants us to go to the center?" Nami questioned.

"I don't wanna get sucked in!" Usopp cried out.

"I'm with Usopp on this one..." I weakly nodded, face paling as I nervously stared at the raging whirlpool that was in front of us.

"I don't remember signing up for all this!" Nami whimpered, fear now taking hold of her as well.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you!" Sanji lovingly cooed.

"I've never seen one quite this big before" Robin remarked, tilting her head as she examined the whirlpool we were currently heading towards.