Several days later, the Swordfish sailed into a violently raging sea.
"Holy—what kind of hellish place is this?!"
Aldo staggered, nearly blown off his feet by the roaring wind. He desperately grabbed the wooden railing of the ship to steady himself.
The wind was unnaturally strong.
It carried sheets of seawater that slammed into people's faces, making it impossible to open their eyes.
The Swordfish rocked violently among the furious waves.
The sails were stretched tight like iron plates, and even the thickest mast groaned under the strain.
"It's not just the wind—look at those waves!"
Feiqi barely finished shouting before a mountain-like wall of water crashed onto the deck.
BOOM!
With a thunderous roar, seawater flooded over everyone's ankles.
Several sailors who reacted too slowly were swept off their feet and rolled across the deck.
Everyone clung desperately to ropes, hatch frames, or any fixed object they could grab.
"Captain! Ahead… I can see the outline of an island! Confirmed—Liashda Island!"
Hans's voice roared from the helm, barely audible over the deafening storm.
"But the chart says the west side is a vertical cliff! The north side has reefs!"
"Only the east side… there's a cape jutting into the sea. Maybe—maybe we can try landing there!"
Inside the helm cabin, Sami braced himself against the violent swaying of the ship.
He narrowed his eyes and stared through the misty spray at the faint dark silhouette where sea met sky.
"Everyone! Hold on to something!"
"Hans! Adjust the course and aim for that cape!"
"This is the last stretch before High West! Hang on!"
What followed was a long, exhausting battle with the sea itself.
The helm wheel spun wildly in Hans's hands.
After a fierce struggle against the raging ocean, the Swordfish finally edged closer to the eastern cape.
Then something strange happened.
The moment the ship rounded the cape—
It felt as though they had passed through an invisible barrier.
The destructive roar of the storm outside suddenly weakened.
The waves still rolled due to momentum, but their force had softened greatly.
Inside the curve of the cape lay a calm harbor, naturally protected from the storm.
The crew collapsed onto the soaked deck, gasping for breath like survivors of a disaster.
Ahead lay a small dock built along the cape's natural terrain.
Several ships were moored there.
But they were nothing like the usual merchant vessels.
Most were light, streamlined, and painted in bright colors.
Even more striking was the shallow water near the harbor.
Small sailboats and surfboards darted across the waves.
Dozens of agile figures skillfully rode the steady swells, surfing and racing in the wind.
Clearly, this naturally sheltered harbor had long since become a paradise for surfers.
The Swordfish slowly docked.
Now they could properly observe the strange island town.
Looking around, nearly every large building had windmills installed on the rooftops.
After passing through the cape, the sea wind became gentle—perfect for turning those windmills.
The soft creaking of spinning blades mixed with the sound of waves.
The entire town exuded a relaxed, leisurely atmosphere.
"Alright, let's move quickly."
Sami clapped his hands and withdrew his gaze.
"Leon, Feiqi—take half the crew and stay on the Swordfish."
"Check for damage and refill our freshwater supplies."
"The rest of you spread out and find out where we can buy a Heaven Ascension Boat."
Sami himself set off with Aldo, Kahailo, and several other officers, searching along the docks.
However, after asking several shops, none of them sold Heaven Ascension Boats.
Soon they arrived at a store marked by a huge oak ship-anchor sign.
The sounds of sawing and hammering came from inside.
It looked like a small shipyard.
When they pushed the door open, the scent of wood and paint filled the air.
The interior was spacious but cluttered.
Logs of varying sizes, half-finished keels, rolled sails, pulleys, locks, and carved figureheads were scattered everywhere.
Several bronze-skinned young men in their twenties or thirties were busy at their workbenches.
Aldo walked straight to the nearest one and tapped his shoulder.
"Hey, brother. Got a question."
"Where on this island can we buy a Heaven Ascension Boat?"
"A Heaven Ascension Boat?"
The young man stopped working and looked up in surprise.
"You guys… serious?"
"That thing…"
He wiped sweat from his forehead.
"People still looking for those these days?"
"No shipyard has made one properly in ages!"
"So it's the same story again…"
"Alright then, sorry for the trouble."
"Wait!"
The young man glanced at Aldo and then at Sami's group behind him.
They didn't look like they were joking.
So he turned and shouted toward the back of the shop.
"Dad! Come here!"
"We've got customers—customers asking about Heaven Ascension Boats!"
The curtain was pushed aside by a large hand covered in sawdust.
A middle-aged man in his fifties walked out.
"Who's asking about a Heaven Ascension Boat?"
"That would be us."
"We need one."
The man frowned deeply and examined them.
"You people…"
"You're trying to go to the sky?"
"Uh…"
The question sounded strange, but Sami nodded anyway.
"Yes. We're heading for Skypiea."
"Skypiea…"
The man repeated the word softly.
Then he waved his hand.
"I'm not trying to discourage you."
"But nobody's gone to Skypiea in decades."
"That's why we stopped building Heaven Ascension Boats long ago."
"I doubt any proper shipyard on this island still has one."
"These days everyone builds small sailboats and surfboards—things suited for playing around in this wind-protected bay."
He pointed outside toward the colorful boats in the harbor.
After a pause, he continued.
"If you really insist on finding one…"
"There might be one place."
"Where?"
The man pointed toward the western side of town.
"Follow the main road west."
"Don't turn."
"Keep going until the end of the road, near the cliff."
"You'll see an old broken windmill."
"Under that windmill is a shabby shed."
"There's a strange old man there—Barry."
"He might still have a prototype Heaven Ascension Boat stored away."
Then the man's expression turned serious.
"But let me warn you."
"I can't guarantee he'll sell it."
"And I definitely can't guarantee that thing can still fly."
"If you ask me…"
"That boat should probably be sitting in a museum by now."
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