One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

Luffy lay on the deck, staring up at the sky. His eyes were filled with determination.

Next time… I'll definitely defeat that guy.

Nearby, Zoro, wrapped in bandages, lifted a dumbbell even larger than his own body.

"Next time, I'm definitely cutting that bastard down."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Luffy's mind.

Ding! Congratulations, host. Mission completed: Fate – Encounter!

Reward (Choose 3 of the following 5):

Constitution Enhancement

Strength Enhancement

Speed Enhancement

Observation Haki Enhancement

Armament Haki Enhancement

Luffy thought for a moment.

"I'll choose 1, 4, and 5."

With a single thought, several streams of warmth flowed through every part of his body.

When he focused again, an incomparably deep black Armament Haki covered his arm.

It felt as if his Armament Haki had undergone a qualitative transformation.

If before it had been wood, then now it was… steel.

A flash of red light appeared in his eyes.

His Observation Haki instantly spread across a range of ten thousand meters. It was no longer a flat circle—it had become a sphere.

The closer something was, the clearer he could perceive it.

Farther away, however, he could only vaguely sense something high above—an ocean in the sky, thousands of meters above the sea.

Luffy looked at the system panel in front of him.

Host: Monkey D. Luffy

Constitution: 70.2 (Advanced)

Strength: 65.5 (Advanced)

Speed: 62.5 (Advanced)

Conqueror's Haki: 65.2 (Advanced)

Armament Haki: 67.8 (Advanced)

Observation Haki: 60.1 (Advanced)

Devil Fruit Ability: Gum-Gum Fruit – 49.9 (Intermediate)

Skills:

Six Powers (Rokushiki) – Basic (Mastered)

Iron Fist (Beginner – Haki)

Life Return – Ultimate

Evaluation: Elite Vice Admiral (Average) → Low Yonko Commander Level (Gear Second)

Note: Doflamingo is set as Yonko Commander level. Among Kaido's All-Stars: Strong YC → YC → Weak YC.

"So… how exactly are we supposed to get to Skypiea?"

Nami had finally recovered a little.

As soon as she asked, everyone instinctively looked at Luffy.

Without anyone realizing it, Luffy had changed—from the ship's goofy captain into the pillar of the crew.

"This?" Luffy pressed down on his straw hat and grinned.

"I have no idea!"

Everyone facepalmed.

"If we don't leave soon, those monsters might catch up to us," Usopp warned.

"It's fine," Luffy said with a smile. "If they come after us, I'll just send them flying."

No one believed him. They had all seen the terrifying power that could destroy an entire town in an instant.

But Luffy didn't argue.

"Oh right, Captain. You might want to look at this," Robin said with a smile.

A hand suddenly appeared beside Luffy, holding a map.

It was a map of Jaya Island.

"As expected of you, Robin."

Luffy lay on the deck studying the map.

Then he stretched his arm out and handed it to Nami.

"We're going to the other side of the island."

"Why?" Nami asked, puzzled.

"I heard there's an old man living there," Robin explained. "Someone the people of Jaya don't accept."

"Alright! Then that's where we're going! Set sail!"

Luffy stretched his arm and grabbed the sheep figurehead, launching himself forward.

"Oh yeah, Sanji—I need food! I've burned through everything in my stomach!"

"Idiot! Didn't you already eat a mountain of food?!" Sanji shouted.

"But I fought a battle!"

Thanks to Life Return – Ultimate, Luffy had no injuries at all—just a bit of fatigue.

The small ship sailed straight ahead.

Soon, however, they encountered another vessel—a strange monkey ship.

"Hey! Who are you people?! Don't you know this is Lord Gorilla's territory?"

A man who looked almost like a giant gorilla shouted at them.

"Oh, we're pirates," Luffy replied with a smile. "We just want to pass through."

"Pirates, huh? Then you must know that Sir Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, has been captured!"

He puffed out his chest proudly.

"If we're talking strength, I'm no weaker than him! Maybe someday I'll even replace him as a Warlord!"

"I'm extremely nervous waiting for that day!"

"…."

Everyone's foreheads filled with black lines.

"That stuff doesn't matter," Luffy said cheerfully. "We're heading to the other side of Jaya. Let us pass."

"What?! You're going to the boss's place?!"

The gorilla was stunned.

"Why?"

"We're trying to get to Skypiea, but we don't know how," Luffy replied.

"Skypiea?!"

The gorilla king froze.

Then he said,

"…Follow me."

Soon, they arrived at a place with a house that looked like a castle.

"So cool!" Usopp shouted. "Is this really someone's house? This looks like a palace!"

"That guy—Mont Blanc Cricket—must be rich!"

"Idiot. Look closer," Zoro said calmly.

"Looks fancy, but it's just someone obsessed with appearances," Sanji added.

"Usopp, that's just cardboard," Luffy said, laughing as he patted Usopp's shoulder.

"This is our boss's place," the gorilla said.

"But he should be diving right now. You'll have to wait a bit."

"Okay!" everyone replied.

"What's this? A picture book?"

Nami picked up a book from the table.

"It's pretty old… The title is 'The Liar Noland.'"

"The Liar Noland?" Sanji asked.

"Yes. Haven't you heard of it?"

"No."

"This book was published in the North Blue," Nami said.

"I'm actually from the North Blue," Sanji replied.

"Wait—you never told us that!" Usopp exclaimed.

"In the North Blue, this story is extremely famous. Even though it's treated like a fairy tale, the main character—Mont Blanc Noland—was a real person."

"It happened over 400 years ago…"

Nami began explaining the story.

Noland was an adventurer who traveled the seas telling incredible stories. People could never tell if his tales were true or exaggerated.

One day, he reported to his king that he had discovered an island in the Grand Line with mountains of gold.

The king, eager to confirm the truth—(or perhaps to claim the gold)—immediately set sail with 2,000 soldiers.

By the time they reached the island, however, only Noland, the king, and 100 soldiers remained.

But what they found there… was nothing but a jungle.

There was no gold at all.

Noland was charged with deceiving the king and sentenced to execution.

His final words were:

"The mountains of gold must have sunk into the sea."

But no one believed him anymore.

Meanwhile, Luffy stood by the shore.

Suddenly, small bubbles began rising from the sea.

A man with a chestnut-shaped hairstyle burst out of the water.

He immediately launched a flying kick straight at Luffy.

Luffy casually dodged.

"You're here for the gold too, aren't you?!"

The man—Mont Blanc Cricket—prepared to attack.

"Boss! They're not bad people!"

The Masira brothers hurried over to stop him.

"They want to go to Skypiea!"

"Skypiea…?"

Cricket was about to say something—

But suddenly collapsed.

"Chopper! Quick, save him!" Luffy said, carrying him inside.

"I'm coming!" Chopper hurried over with his tiny legs.

Inside the house.

Chopper looked serious.

"It's diver's sickness."

"Diver's sickness?!"

"It sometimes happens to people who dive too much."

"Why would he push himself that hard?" Nami asked.

"For gold, probably," Luffy said with a grin.

"Because he's a descendant of Mont Blanc Noland."

"Oh! Same last name!" everyone realized.

"But this illness can be fatal," Chopper said worriedly.

After a while, Cricket woke up.

"Sorry… I thought you were idiots chasing gold."

"But I heard you want to go to Skypiea."

"To be honest… I don't even know if Skypiea exists."

"There was once a man who believed in it more than anyone."

"But he became the most famous liar in history."

"And his descendants have been unable to hold their heads high ever since."

"That man… was Noland."

"He's my ancestor."

"Our family was exiled and mocked for generations."

"But none of us hate him."

"Because Noland… was the most honest man in the world."

Even at the moment of his death, he believed the island he showed the king was the real City of Gold.

He claimed that tectonic shifts caused the gold to sink into the sea.

But everyone thought he was making excuses.

So, amid the laughter of the crowd—

Mont Blanc Noland was executed.

"So you're trying to clear your family's name by finding the gold?" Usopp said.

"No."

Cricket's expression darkened.

"I don't care how great Noland was."

"Just because I share a little of his blood, strangers cursed me since childhood."

"Do you understand what that feels like?"

"For 400 years, countless people have gone to sea searching for evidence."

"None of them returned."

"I used to hate this family name."

"So I ran away and became a pirate."

"I didn't even want to be a pirate."

"I just wanted to escape Noland's curse."

"But ten years ago… my ship arrived here by chance."

"The person who hated Noland the most… was the only one who reached this island."

"But there's no evidence here."

"No proof of the City of Gold."

"So I stopped running."

"This is my duel with that man."

"Before I die… I'll find out the truth."

"So… what about Skypiea?" Luffy asked.

"I already told you."

"The only person who claimed Skypiea existed… was that liar Noland."

"But doesn't that mean Skypiea does exist?" Luffy said with a smile.

"Hahaha!"

Cricket laughed.

"If you start believing Noland… people will laugh at you too."

He took out Noland's logbook and handed it to Nami.

"Navigator. Take a look."

The log read:

Sea Circle Calendar 1120, June 21 — Clear weather

We set sail toward the prosperous town of Vila.

Following the Log Pose, our ship headed northeast-east.

Today we bought a strange device from a passing merchant ship.

It's called a Waver—a small board-like craft similar to a snowboard.

Even without wind, it can glide across the sea.

However, I still cannot control it properly.

It has become nothing more than a toy for the crew.

Apparently its power source exists only in the sky.

They say many strange things like this exist in the sky.

Speaking of the sky, one of my crew showed me something astonishing—

A Sky Fish that jumps through the air.

It was truly fascinating.

Though that place lies beyond our ship's reach…

As a sailor, I hope that one day I can see the Sea of Clouds myself.

— Mont Blanc Noland

Cricket looked at them seriously.

"Listen carefully. I'll tell you everything I know about Skypiea."

"At certain times, enormous clouds form in this sea area."

"We call them Cumulonimbus Clouds."

"By observing them, we can predict when the Knock Up Stream will occur."

"Based on my calculations…"

"It should appear tomorrow morning."

"And the only way to reach Skypiea…"

"…is to ride the Knock Up Stream straight into the sky!"

Usopp trembled.

"If something goes wrong… we'll die, right?"

"Yeah," Cricket nodded.

"This requires both strength and incredible luck."

"Luffy!" Usopp cried.

"You heard him! Only people with insanely good luck can survive that! If we fail, the Going Merry will be smashed to pieces!"

"So we have to go," Luffy said firmly.

"But—"

"Well," Nami said, sighing.

"If Luffy's decided… then we're going."

"It is the captain's order," Zoro said with his arms crossed.

"Once Luffy decides something, it's hard to change his mind," Sanji said, lighting a cigarette.

"Skypiea might even have a Poneglyph," Robin said with interest.

"Then… I'm going too!" Chopper raised his hoof.

And just like that—

The entire crew agreed.

Their journey to Skypiea had officially begun.

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