Storyline
Jaya, East Coast: Mont Blanc Cricket tells the Straw Hats everything he knows about Sky Island. At times, a phenomenon occurs where it suddenly goes pitch black. Luffy and Usopp recall their experience, which involved the addition of large giants. Cricket goes on to explain that the darkness comes from the shadow of very large clouds, ‘king clouds’, which pile up into huge mountains so that they block even the sunlight. Cricket suggests they may be petrified clouds that have been passing over the world for millennia. He leaves it to the audience to believe him or not, but if there are Sky-Islands, it is on these clouds.
Luffy and Usopp want to leave immediately, but after Nami gives them a bad face, they keep listening. Cricket tells them they need to find a knock-up stream that can take them to the sky. A vertical stream upwards. It’s dangerous, knock-up streams are a natural disaster that are only conjectured to be created because it’s too risky to explore. Cricket explains it by a cavity forming at the bottom of the sea, into which cold water enters. The subterranean heat causes an explosion in which the water shoots up into the sky like a stream for about a minute. This happens about five times a month. If there isn’t a king cloud with a Sky-Island above the explosion, a ship just falls back down. Usopp therefore tries to talk Luffy out of it, but to no avail.
Looking at the rotten The Going Merry, Cricket promises that Masira and Shoujou will fix it, which the two enthusiastically affirm. Nami reminds them of the log port, which will point to another island in a day. They ask Cricket when the next time a king cloud will appear over a knock-up stream. He thinks noon tomorrow. Usopp doesn’t believe him and asks him why he’s so trusting when he doesn’t know them. Even Luffy can’t stop him. Usopp accuses Cricket of being a liar just like Noland. The latter calmly replies to him that after the cloud appears in Masira’s territory, there is an event a day later where the knock-up streams become active. This happens south of his cabin. He is happy to have met the Straw Hats and invites them to dinner, including Usopp.
Usopp is embarrassed and asks Nami if he is being pathetic and cowardly. But she understands his reaction and advises him to just apologize, which he does, with a slightly wet nose. Dinner degenerates into a party, which is chaotic as always with the Straw Hat Pirates. Robin reads Noland’s log on the side. The last words are: “I saw gold in the skull’s right eye.” No one understands this sentence and only blank pages follow. But that is why they dive every day. From the sea, Bellamy’s gang approaches, intent on Cricket’s gold.
Jaya, East Coast: The following is read from Noland’s log: “21.5.1122 – Arrival in Jaya. A strange birdcall is heard, and the ringing of a huge golden bell, resounding as if to tell of a golden age.” There follows a philosophical contemplation of human ignorance. The ringing of the bell showed them their mortality. Everyone in the cabin celebrates Noland after the log excerpt. Cricket pulls out one of three bell ingots. One ingot is used to weigh gold, which Robin takes as proof of the existence of a city. Another ingot represents a bird, as described by Noland in his logbook.
The birds are called South Birds, Masira is about to describe a skill of theirs when Cricket gets loudly upset. You need to get into the forest immediately and capture a South Bird. The knock up stream will originate just south of Jaya’s cape. No compass works on the Grand Line, so you don’t know where the cardinal points are. Some animals have an internal magnet, but it is even more extreme with the South Bird. He always knows the direction, no matter where you put him. The gang of monkeys will fix the Going Merry while the Straw Hats search for the bird in the forest. They have until sunrise or they will have to forget about Sky-Island. They quickly hear a South Bird scream and form hunting teams.
Group 1: Sanji, Usopp, Nami. They follow the voice Usopp is trying to imitate to attract the bird. Nami has a tarantula on her back, which causes excitement. Only Usopp is not afraid and even plays with the spider. The other two are disgusted by it and shortly after by the rest of the insects before their eyes.
Group 2: Zoro and Robin. The former kills a giant centipede, which Robin disapproves of. He warns her that he still doesn’t trust her. Due to Zoro’s lack of sense of direction, Robin takes the lead.
Group 3: Luffy and Chopper. Luffy is very happy when he finds an Atlas beetle. However, Chopper calls it a rhinoceros beetle and asks him if the beetle is more important to him than the One Piece, which Luffy finds to be a difficult question. They discover a bird. In pursuit, it drops two wasp nests on them. Chopper translates the bird’s screech. He kills anyone who lays waste to the forest.
East Coast, Cricket’s hut: Bellamy has arrived with his gang and wants to get the gold. He taunts Cricket and looks forward to the fight, as Masira and Shoujou also want to fight.
| TV Episode Guide | Jaya Arc (Anime) |
