Nameless Deserted Island. A Tranquil Bay.
On the white sands, Carina sat cross-legged on a moisture-proof cloth. Before her lay hundreds of exquisitely minted ancient gold coins and over a dozen top-grade rubies and sapphires—the spoils of war salvaged from the Iron Country's vaults.
Carina closed her eyes, her slender fingers dancing over the treasures as if playing a silent piano. With every touch, a faint ripple—imperceptible to the naked eye—merged into the heart of the metal and stone.
"Gah! Get rich! Berries likes getting rich!"
Berries, the brilliant-feathered Macaw, flapped his wings and landed on the edge of a treasure chest. He tilted his head, his shiny black eyes reflecting the glittering gems as he let out a loud, articulate squawk.
"Quiet, Berries. These aren't toys for you to peck at."
Carina opened her eyes and held a gold coin up to the sunlight. It looked ordinary, but it was now a "node" of the Tsushin Tsushin no Mi. Within a specific range, any sound vibration hitting this coin would be converted into brainwaves and transmitted directly to her mind.
Sabo walked over, carrying a bucket of fresh water. He looked at the scattered fortune with a hint of curiosity. "Are these the 'bugs' you're spreading? How do you plan to get them into circulation without looking suspicious?"
"Spending them directly is too easy to track," Carina replied, a shrewd curve hooking her lips. She began packing the "Echo-Nodes" into small leather pouches. "The Grand Line never lacks for greedy scavengers or black-market rats. We only need to 'accidentally' drop these bags near major shipping lanes or shipwreck reefs. Treasure-hunting pirates will do the rest. In fact, my birds have already 'lost' a few pouches near Marine supply bases over the last two days."
"Money and gems travel faster than the plague on this sea," Carina continued, her eyes flashing with confidence. "They'll flow into casinos, auctions, and the pockets of high-ranking officers. Soon, the secrets of the entire route will find their way to our ears."
Sabo nodded, impressed. Using human greed as a delivery system for a surveillance network was a masterstroke of psychological warfare.
"Gah! Big ship! Falling from the sky! GAH!"
Berries suddenly bristled his feathers, letting out a sharp, piercing screech that echoed across the bay. Carina's expression instantly hardened. After a week of intensive training, the clever bird could now relay simple, urgent concepts from the seagull scouts.
She closed her eyes, her consciousness surging through the Resonance Bond, connecting to the vision of a seagull fifty nautical miles away.
In her mind's eye, a terrifying scene unfolded.
In a stretch of sea near an island known as Jaya, a massive pirate ship was sailing peacefully. Suddenly, the thick cloud layer directly above was violently torn asunder. An ultra-large ancient galleon—covered in centuries of moss and decay, yet as massive as a small mountain—crashed straight down from ten thousand meters in the air!
BOOM!
The ill-fated pirate ship was pulverized instantly. The resulting tidal wave slammed into the nearby coastlines. Through the "Vibe-Coin" she had planted on a local gang leader in the harbor, Carina heard the terrified screams of the onlookers.
"Is that a ship falling from the sky?!"
"Sky Island! The legends are true! It's a wreck from Skypiea!"
"Don't be stupid, it's just the Knock Up Stream tossing trash! There's no such thing as a hidden kingdom!"
Carina snapped her eyes open, her breathing shallow and hurried.
"Captain!" She turned toward Ace, who was just emerging from the jungle. "Fifty miles out, near Jaya Island. Our scouts just saw an ancient galleon from hundreds of years ago fall directly out of the clouds!"
Hearing the words "Jaya" and "shipwreck falling from the sky," a sharp, all-knowing glint flashed in Ace's eyes.
"Jaya... so we're already this close."
Ace strode onto the beach. He knew exactly what that ship was: the St. Briss. It was the first signpost pointing toward the kingdom of gods ten thousand meters above.
"Does Sky Island really exist?" Sabo asked, gripping his alloy staff, a look of wonder in his eyes.
"Not only does it exist, but it hides the resources we need to change the entire strategic layout of this crew," Ace replied, turning his gaze toward the Eclipse.
The black warship had been transformed. After Jeno's feverish labor, it now looked like a predator of the deep. Ace walked to the prow, looking up at the ferocious Vermilion Bird Figurehead, then toward Jeno, who was emerging from the hold covered in grease and clutching a massive wrench.
"Jeno." Ace's voice was steady. "If I ask this ship to not just cleave the waves, but to withstand water pressure that could crush a fleet and propel us ten thousand meters into the sky... can your boilers handle it?"
The air went still. Sabo and Carina stared at Ace as if he'd gone mad.
Jeno's hand paused as he wiped his goggles. He stared at Ace for a long, silent moment. Then, a manic, borderline-insane laugh erupted from the mechanic's throat.
"Propel us ten thousand meters into the sky?!" Jeno slapped the reinforced Stellar Obsidian hull. "What kind of third-rate hack do you think I am, Captain?"
Jeno pointed at the massive steam vents and the razor-sharp Suzaku ram.
"I've installed two sets of the highest-output steam boilers ever conceived! I've reinforced the keel with starfall steel! If you have the guts to take the helm..." Jeno's eyes burned with a mechanical fanaticism. "...I'll punch a hole through the damn clouds for you!"
"Very well."
A burning ambition ignited in Ace's eyes. He didn't waste a single word more. He turned to the rest of the crew, his voice carrying a weight that made their blood boil.
"Prepare to board! Pack every crate and set sail immediately. Target: Jaya Island."
"We're going to catch that soaring current and give the Eclipse a maiden flight to the heavens!"
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