The boat ride was nice. Nami was navigating the hell out of it, and in less than three hours, she saw it.
"Over there—that's the exit!" She pointed toward an opening above them. However, given their current speed and the way the currents twisted around them, there was no way to reach it unless they exited the deep current they were riding.
That was when Franky remembered the Coup de Burst cannon.
"The red button on the helm... press it." Normally, the device required manpower to properly build up power.
But it could also be done automatically. The lightning powering the ship ensured a lot of systems could be automated.
This ship really was kind of futuristic compared to the rest of the world.
Nami didn't press it yet.
"Why aren't you pressing the button? If we miss the exit, we're going to get lost," Usopp said nervously. And, honestly, it was a valid concern.
Franky—aside from Kairo and maybe Robin—was the most familiar with the deep currents. The black market used them frequently to keep business running, since the World Government didn't have full control over them.
They controlled the surface oceans—not the deep currents.
"Not yet." Kairo had never seen Nami this locked in.
Luffy was at the front of the ship, sitting on the head of the Sunny. He'd never imagined water moving like this beneath the ocean.
He wondered if he could fish here—and what kind of juicy meat he might catch.
...Meat.
As he was thinking, he spotted a strange-looking fish.
"Gum—"
"Don't," Kairo said coldly.
"I wasn't going to do anything," Luffy replied, turning toward him, looking extremely guilty.
As if his fist wasn't already cocked back, ready for a Gum-Gum Rifle.
Kairo gave him a look that clearly said: I know you're lying.
"Sanji, Zoro—close the sails!" Nami shouted.
The moment her order left her lips, both Sanji and Zoro rushed to the sails.
There were two of them—one large sail meant mostly for speed, and a smaller one that helped with direction.
"YES, Nami-swan!"
The sails were pulled down.
"Everyone, grab onto something, because it's about to get—" She didn't even finish the sentence.
The moment she pressed the button, the Coup de Burst was released.
The ship was launched violently toward the exit.
"AHHHHHHH!" Usopp screamed, scared shitless. Chopper clung to him for dear life, while Usopp somehow stayed planted to the floor.
Franky's back slammed into the deck as the ship gained terrifying momentum.
Robin sprouted several arms to anchor herself in place, preventing herself from being thrown around.
Luffy, who was at the front of the ship, looked completely fine—as if gravity itself had decided not to mess with him.
The ship burst out of the ocean, flying nearly fifty feet into the air before crashing back down onto the surface.
As it did, the vessel shifted forms, reverting from its submarine configuration back into its normal state—an actual ship.
The sky above was completely overcast. Not a single ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds.
"I'm going to puke," Usopp groaned.
Nami finally relaxed. Navigating the deep currents wasn't easy—it drained the hell out of her.
She collapsed backward, but didn't hit the floor. A cloud chair formed beneath her, catching her.
"We made it," she said, sounding utterly exhausted.
"So this is the Florian Triangle," Zoro muttered, scanning the surroundings. "Looks kind of mid."
"Nami-swan, are you okay?!" Sanji rushed to her side, panic written all over his face.
"I'm fine," Nami replied weakly.
Sanji still looked worried.
"That was fun—let's do it again!"
It didn't take a genius to figure out who said that.
"LIKE HELL IT WAS!" Nami snapped. Luffy had the time of his life while she was sweating bullets the whole way through.
Kairo ignored the chaos, calmly surveying their surroundings.
"Luffy, you said you wanted a musician, right?" Kairo asked.
Luffy, who was currently being scolded by Nami, instantly latched onto the topic like a lifeline.
"Yeah! A crew isn't complete without a musician!"
That genuinely seemed to be his belief.
"Well," Kairo continued, "there's a guy like that here."
"Really?!" Luffy's eyes sparkled. A musician—let's fucking go.
"What kind of musician would even be in the Florian Triangle?" Zoro asked.
"A skeleton."
Sanji gave Kairo a look like he was dead serious right now.
"Does he poop?" Luffy asked.
"Luffy, seriously, that's not the question to ask right now, you moron," Sanji snapped.
Kairo just shrugged.
"You'd have to ask him. All I know is that fifty years ago, he and his crew were lost here. He died." Kairo flipped through a book as he spoke.
"Then how the hell are we supposed to find him if he's dead?" Sanji questioned.
"He ate the Yomi-Yomi no Mi," Kairo replied. "Its ability gives the user an extra life. When he died, his soul left his body. About thirty years ago, reports mentioned a skeleton wandering these seas. Since he was just bones—no skin—I'd say his body decomposed for a while before he returned to it. Maybe a year."
Kairo closed the book.
"That's all I've got."
Luffy leaned over to look.
Inside was a sketch of Brook.
It actually looked pretty neat.
A/N would Zoro have died on the rooftop without Enma?
Vote with powerstone