Summary:
Nami is frustrated that Luffy hasn’t returned, indicating that he’s 46 minutes late and if he doesn’t hurry, they won’t make it to the Knock Up Stream in time. She figured he was probably running late since he hadn’t thought about how wearing gold would affect his time, but Sanji and Usopp agree that counting time is something Luffy would never consider. Chopper suggests that he might have been beaten, to which Nami replies that she would never forgive him even if he was on time. Just then, Luffy returns, proudly holding the hercules bug (which he aptly named Hercules), confusing everyone present. He is then impressed by the newly modified Going Merry, further deepening Nami’s grudge against him. After returning the cricket gold from Mont Blanc, he urges the Straw Hats to hurry to the ship. Luffy tries to thank him for the ship, but Cricket tells him to thank Masira and Shoujo instead. Luffy does so and offers them Hercules to acknowledge them. However, they urged him to hurry to the ship as time was limited. As Luffy runs to the ship, Cricket reflects on all the times the “city of gold” was mocked as a figment of his ancestor’s imagination. He then yells at the Saruyam Alliance not to screw it up and give everything to the Straw Hats. Luffy smiles at this and finally boards the ship to set sail. As they prepare to leave, Cricket tells Luffy that one thing is certain: No one has ever proven that the City of Gold and Sky Island do not exist. He then wishes the Straw Hats a safe adventure and they finally leave.
Aboard the raft, the Blackbeard Pirates are still searching for Luffy. Blackbeard mentions how Luffy hinted that he was going to Sky Island and that they have to catch him before then or it will be hard to track him down.
Masira and Shoujou remind everyone that it is 7:00 AM and they should arrive at their destination around 11:00 AM. They reiterate that the exact location of the Knock Up Stream varies each time and stress that they need to get there early to find out its exact location. They try to explain further how Luffy’s tardiness affected this, but they notice that he’s not paying attention and is messing around with the southern bird. He keeps turning the bird’s head to see if it will stay in a direction other than south, but keeps tilting its neck south to his amusement. This makes Luffy’s antics very angry and tells him (translated by Chopper) that he will turn the other way to take down the pirates. He turns north, but clearly struggles to do so, and ends up having to look south again, causing more laughter from Luffy and Usopp. Luffy’s nonchalant approach to their schedule annoys them slightly, but they agree that it won’t do them any good and continue on.
3 hours later, they notice the Millennium Cumulonimbus cloud approaching them from the southwest. It’s an hour early, but the Saruyama Alliance takes the necessary steps regardless, sending their divers to search the creek. Shoujou uses his sonar abilities to assess their surroundings. Directly in front of them is a strong sea current (12 o’clock), the Sea King directly from them (9 o’clock) and slightly to the northwest (10 o’clock) are giant waves that indicate a large eddy. . Masira exclaims, that’s it, and tells them to head in a 10 o’clock direction. He states that the vortex and huge waves are a sign of an ongoing explosion that creates the Knock Up Stream. Stormy Waters immediately concerns the Straw Hats and Robin asks Nami to check the pose from the logos. As before, it heads straight for the clouds. Shoujou and Masira both comment on how perfect the conditions are for the Knock Up Stream, and Luffy asks if they can get there. They assure him that they can and begin to pull the ship in the right direction themselves. The hot tub is now extremely large as the brothers tell them that they actually have to get to the center. This elicits mixed reactions from the crew. Nami immediately freaks out because it was never explained to them that they would have to travel to the center of a gigantic vortex. Chopper looks excited at the prospect of their ship flying through the air, Robin just comments on the size of the hot tub, and Sanji promises to protect the ladies. Usopp is also freaking out and wants to go back, but Zoro tells him it’s too late as Luffy is extremely excited to finally get to Sky Island.