Yukiko took what she thought back.
Mock Town was a town frequented by pirates so there were no marines to keep the peace.
Plus with a sickly guy selling apples, a rough guy who yelled he was the strongest man, and other dangers.
Yukiko and Pachi was cautious as she gathered supplies for the trip. Granted she knew she could make more crops, which she already did, so she just had to buy enough meat for Luffy and she knew to create a stash for Sanji while she kept the rest for Luffy.
As she was at a store, she decided to buy the lot.
"My you are a big spender Missy. You have a crew to feed?" The meat vendor asked.
"No, just one captain with an appetite for a large army." Yukiko smiled.
"He needs enough meat for a month?"
"A week or so." Yukiko said giving the vendor 300,000,000 berries.
"Well, thank you Miss. Have a good day."
Yukiko nodded as she got Minerva to teleport it to the ship.
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As she went back to the ship, she encountered a familiar person.
It was Mashira.
"You?!"
"So you live here? What was the idea of attacking us?" Yukiko said.
"Well, we thought that you were going to rob us."
"No, we were just looking for proof of Sky Island as we found a map of a place called Skypiea." Yukiko said catching Mashira's attention.
"Wait. You found a map of Skypiea from that ship?" He asked.
"Well......"
"I know someone that knows of the Island!" Masira said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, he's a descendent of a man that actually been there! What's more, it was before it became a Sky Island."
Yukiko couldn't believe her luck!
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She went to go find Zoro and Luffy who were in town and witnessed them getting beat up by some other big pirate guy!
He had tanned skin and blonde hair and wore a large blue coat like a cape.
"Zoro, Luffy-kun! What happened?!" She asked looking over them.
The big pirate guy, Bellamy, looked over at Yukiko. Seeing the cute girl in front of him, Bellamy decided to walk up to her.
"Hey babe, what brings you around here?" He said leering at her to Yukiko's disgust.
"I was here to find my boyfriend, who you beat up." She frowned as she checked on Luffy and Zoro.
"Are you alright? We gotta get you to Chopper." She said taking Luffy's hand.
"Heh....hahahahaha!" Bellamy suddenly laughed. "Him?! He's your boyfriend?!" Then Bellamy tried to take Yukiko away only for her to evade him.
"Why don't you ditch this loser, and take it up with a real man?"
"No thank you, besides, rude and crude isn't my type." Yukiko said.
Before Bellamy could remark, Yukiko had Minerva teleport them away.
"Why didn't you let me punch him, Yukiko? I'm your boyfriend not him!" Luffy asked.
"We'll be wasting time, but I got good news. That monkey guy, Masira? I ran into him. He knows someone with possible information about Skypiea. He wants us to meet him out of town." Yukiko said making Luffy and Zoro smile as Amphitrite heals them.
"Alright!"
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After meeting with Mashira and another pirate, they were taken to a place where a man named Cricket lives.
They were met with the sight of a castle.
"Whoa! He lives here?! It's a freaking palace!" Luffy exclaims.
"This Montblanc Cricket guy must be loaded!" Usopp agrees.
"Uh, I hate to burst your bubble but....." Yukiko said.
"Take a closer look; it's just a fake." Zoro finished.
"It's really unattractive." Sanji comments. Sure enough, the castle part is just a big wooden cutout covering the real house which is just a tiny hut that actually looks like it's been cut in half.
"Why exactly did Cricket leave and come here?" Nami asks Robin.
"I don't know all the details, but I think it has something to do with his belief that there's gold buried in the hills of Jaya." Robin answers.
"Gold?!" Nami exclaims excitedly.
"Why does everyone always push 'treasure' button around Nami?" Yukiko asked Pachi who shrugged.
After a while, they finally meet the person named Cricket.
However, he was in bad shape!
Chopper diagnoses the man with Caisson's Disease, an illness caused by gas bubbles in the blood when returning from deep under the ocean. He says that the man was most likely diving everyday and not allowing his body enough time to recover, and it finally caught up with him.
Helping Chopper with Amphitrite, Yukiko spoke to Cricket as was awake again.
"You should be lucky we came by, otherwise you would be dead now."
"We want to know how to get to the Sky Island!" Luffy says. "Do you know anything about it?"
But then Cricket erupts into laughter, "Don't tell me you actually believe that place exists?"
"You mean there's no Sky Island?!" Luffy demands.
"I don't know." Cricket says with a chuckle. "I know of only one man who's seen it, but he's considered a famous liar."
Luffy looks at Usopp incredulously. "Don't look at me!" Usopp demands.
"Noland's full name was Montblanc; are you two related somehow?" Sanji asks, from his spot at the table.
"Yep, Noland's my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather." Cricket answers. "I'm his descendant, but we're so far removed that I don't think a drop of his blood is in me." He goes on to tell the crew that his family name is still denounced even to this day because of what Noland did, even though his family has said that he was an honest person and wasn't lying when he said he saw a city of gold.
"I get it!" Usopp speaks up. "You're trying to find the city of gold to clear your family name!"
"Don't be ridiculous! I couldn't care less if the city exists or not! The actions of my ancestors have nothing to do with my life!" Geez, anger issues much? "You can't even begin to imagine what it's like, growing up ridiculed and laughed at because you're a descendant of that man!"
He continues to tells them that many of his family members set out to prove Noland was right, but they all failed. So Cricket left and became a pirate to get away from his family issues.
Anyway, in an ironic twist, Cricket ended up discovering this island where Noland said he saw the city of gold, and he decided to finally settle this matter once and for all. Ever since that day, he's been diving into the ocean, looking for that supposedly sunken city of gold, fulfilling what he believes is his destiny between him and Noland.
"But what about the monkeys?" Luffy asks.
"They're fans of the fairy tale. In fact, Shoujo and Masira believe it and have been supporting me." Cricket answers simply with a small smile.
"So that's why they have been salvaging the falling ships? To find proof?" Yukiko asks getting a nod.
He gives the crew another explanation about the Knock-Up stream, which Zoro remembered Bellamy talking about back in Mock Town. Apparently, it appears about five times a month and connects the ocean to the sky in a huge blast of water for only about a minute, so it's a big risk. If people don't catch the stream just right, they'll fall hundreds of feet and, as Usopp put it, 'be blown into fish food'.
Luckily, Cricket says he can have Masira and Shoujo to reinforce the Merry so she can withstand the explosion. Wow, this guy sure is willing to do a lot for us considering we just met him a few hours ago.
"Hold on, have you really thought about this?" Nami suddenly asks Luffy.
"What?"
Nami sighs and shows him the Log Pose. "Did it slip your mind that, at most, we can only stay a few more days on this island before the Log Pose resets?" She asks.
"That's right!" Usopp exclaims, rather happily. "When will the next stream line up with the Cumulo Regalus? Days? Weeks? Months?"
"The next one will be around noon in two days actually." Cricket says. "And on Jaya, the pose doesn't reset for about six days."
"Wait, so we can make it?" Usopp exclaims.
"'Fraid so." Cricket answers. "If you're scared, then don't go."
Usopp frowns and steps towards Cricket, "Hold on; there's something fishy about this whole thing." He says. "We've known you for less than twenty four hours, and not only do you tell us the exact time this Knock Up stream is going to come, but you're also willing to reinforce our ship to get us there, for nothing?" My ears perk up; that's a pretty good point. "When something appears too good to be true, it probably is!" Usopp goes on. "Noland the Liar is your great grand-something or other, right? So how do we know we can trust you?"
Cricket takes a drag on his cigarette and puffs out a cloud of smoke. "From what Masira's told me, the Knock Up streams appear in seven day cycles; the last one appeared five days ago, so I assume that the next one will appear at midday in two days due south." He then turns and walks past Usopp. "I'm proud to have met a bunch of brave fools like you; you're true pirates." He says, making Usopp flinch but then he smiled.
"Now, let's go inside and eat." Cricket says. "Tonight, I want to make my home, your home, my friends."
‐----------------
That night, we party, eat, and drink like pirates do (except Yukiko, she don't drink). After we eat, Cricket tells us a little more about the city of gold Noland claimed to see, telling us that the most famous landmark was a large golden bell. He even shows us a few of the gold objects he and the monkeys found while diving here. There are a few golden ingots and even a small statue of a strange bird called a South Bird. These few things aren't enough to prove that the city of gold was real, but hey, it's still gold.
As he tells us, he suddenly stops short, "Oh, I almost forgot." he says. "You guys have to go to the forest on the south side of the island and capture one of these South Birds."
"What do we need the bird for?" Sanji asks.
"In two days, the Knock Up stream is gonna appear a few miles south from here; how are you going to get there?" My ears perk up; oh dear, this could be a problem…
"We'll sail due south, obviously." Luffy answers.
"Have you forgotten that this is the Grand Line?" Cricket demands. "You'll be heading for open sea; you won't be able to get your bearings!"
"He's right!" Nami agrees. "Without a land mass to lock on to the Log pose will be useless!"
Cricket nods, "That's why you need a South Bird; they're bodies always point the same direction, since many animals are born with an internal sense of direction."
Luffy laughs, "That makes Zoro dumber than an animal!" Sanji lets out an audible chuckle and I cover my mouth with my paws to hide a snort.
"You may have two days until the Knock Up stream comes, but if you don't catch one of those birds, you can kiss your trip to Sky Island goodbye!" Cricket says.
"And you're telling us this now?!" Luffy exclaims, springing to his feet. "C'mon, let's go get one right now!"
"Well, those are the Captain's orders." Yukiko said.
-------------
While Cricket and the monkeys start working on refitting the Merry, Luffy, Yukiko, Pachi, and the others head off into the forest the next morning.
Nami hugs herself, "How do we always end up these situations?" She whines.
"Because our captain's an impatient moron." Usopp answers.
"You heard Pops, we have to catch one of those mystery birds or we can't get to Sky Island!" Luffy protests.
"Well, we're already here, so we may as well get it done as soon as possible." Zoro says with a shrug.
" That is true; if we catch this South Bird tonight, we can relax and get ready without worry." Yukiko said as Pachi nodded.
They all decide to split up into three teams and all head their separate ways. Robin and Zoro head one way, Chopper, Yukiko, Pachi and Luffy go another, and Nami, Sanji, and Usopp, go another way.
After a while, Chopper looks up and sees a strange bird.
"Hey excuse me, are you a South Bird?" He asked.
The bird makes a strange sound.
"Translation?"
"He said 'yeah, so what?.'" Chopper said.
"Yosh! Leave it to me!" Luffy said but Yukiko intervened.
"I got a better idea." Yukiko said as she pulled out her ocarina and played Lugia’s melody.
Before they knew it, the bird came to rest on her shoulder with a few chirps.
"He said he likes that melody and wants to come along." Chopper said.
"Wow! That was easy!" Luffy cheers.
Even the others were astonished that Yukiko got the South Bird so easily.
"My you really are a Beast Master." Robin says amazed.
"Yahoo!" Luffy cheers. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all start dancing around, "We're going to the sky! We're going to the sky! We're going to the sky!"
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Once they made it by dinner time. "We made it!" Luffy exclaims as he and Yukiko both sit on the head of the Merry.
"Hey Pops! We're back!" Luffy calls, waving.
But Pachi's smile fades as they head back. Something's not right. "Hm? What's wrong, Pachi?" Luffy asks, noticing her frown.
"Something must be wrong." Yukiko said.
Yukiko's eyes slowly widen as she sees a hole going through the place, as well as three figures lying on the ground, unmoving. "We got trouble!" She exclaims, pointing ahead, catching everyone's attention.
"What?" Luffy asks, and seeing what happened.
Cricket's house is just about destroyed, and Cricket, Masira, and Shoujo are lying among the wreckage, beaten and bloody.
"Wh...What happened here?" Nami asks.
"The better question is, who did this?" Sanji says as Chopper and Amphitrite quickly went into doctor mode.
Luffy and Yukiko find Cricket as he coughs and stirs, "Hey Pops! You're alive!" Luffy exclaims.
"What happened?!" Yukiko exclaimed.
"I'm really sorry…" Cricket mutters. "We did everything we could to stop 'em… But We got to get moving...your ship isn't gonna refit itself."
"Hold on!" Luffy grabs his arm. "Tell us what happened; who did this to you?!"
"It's fine, don't worry about it…" Cricket says. "It doesn't matter anymore…"
Yukiko frowns. "Of course it matters, this is anything but fine! Who did this to you?!"
"Luffy!" Nami calls from Cricket's destroyed house. "Cricket's gold is gone!"
Someone came and beat Cricket, Masira, and Shoujo senseless just to steal their gold?! Cricket waves his hand, "Just forget about it; it doesn't matter anymore."
"Forget it; how can you say that?!" Usopp demands. "Think of what you went through to get that gold! You can't just-"
"Shut up!" Cricket snaps. "That gold and what happens to it is our problem; right now, your ship is in no shape to take on the Knock-Up Stream. If we get the rest of the Saruyama Alliance crew here, we should have you ready to set sail by morning."
"Pachi!" Pachi suddenly yelled.
"What is it?" Yukiko asked.
"Hey Luffy, Yukiko. Pachi found something." Zoro calls. We turn to him to see Pachi pointing at a familiar mark painted onto Cricket's house.
"That's Bellamy's mark!" Nami exclaims.
Yukiko began seeing red as did Luffy.
The latter gets up, placing a hand on his hat.
"You need any help?" Zoro asks.
"No, I'll handle this alone." Luffy says.
"Luffy, we don't have time for this; we have to set sail tomorrow!" Nami exclaims.
Luffy doesn't respond and turns to Robin, "If I follow the coast, will that take me back to Mock Town?" He asks.
"Yes, I believe so." Robin answers.
"Kid, don't be an idiot!" Cricket exclaims as Luffy begins to walk off. "There's no way you can take that man on alone!"
"I think you're underestimating what our captain is capable of. He's no ordinary pirate. In fact he defeated Crocodile." Yukiko said.
"Crocodile?! The warlord that got arrested?! I thought he was subdued by Captain Smoker." Masira says.
"The government covered that up. Besides, didn't they say Smoker refused the honor? He'd rather let himself get court marshaled than live a lie." Yukiko said to Masira's surprise as she was right and it made more sense.
"If you want to stop him, use this." Zoro says, holding Wado to him. That about sums it up; there's no stopping Luffy when he gets serious.
"I'll be back by morning, guys." Luffy says.
Nami sighs in resignation and steps towards Luffy, "Three hours, that's all the time you have." She says. "If you're any later than that, we'll lose our chance to go to Sky Island."
Luffy nods, "That's all the time I need."
"No need for running, I'm coming too. I have a few things to say to his crew too." Yukiko said as Pachi nodded.
Luffy looked at them and nodded.
"Melborne, let's head to Mock Town."
"Bellamy's crew is dead meat aren't they?" Nami asked.
"No kidding. I haven't see Yukiko that mad since we went to Lost Island and that Eric guy tried to harm Apis...." Usopp comments.
"At this point, I don't know who Bellamy should be afraid of more." Sanji took a smoke.
"Just facing one is hard enough, but both? I just hope his crew wrote their last will." Zoro comments.
Cricket and the Saruyama Alliance watched a little nervous.
Just how strong are those two?
If they are the real deal, then Cricket pities those who got on their bad side in the future.
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Bellamy is in for it in the next chapter!
And the Bounty of Yukiko and Pachi will be known to the crew too!
Plz comment!