The route from Skypiea to the Blue Sea below—known as Qinghai—is the Grand Line.
At this moment, Mio slowly guided the ship toward the Sea of Clouds.
After obtaining the Thunder Fruit, Mio had left Bica. Now that the fruit was secured, staying there would only waste time.
In the distance, a large gate stood tall in the clouds. Beyond it lay the Sea of Clouds—a direct drop down to the Grand Line. But descending through it was risky. Without preparation, a ship might fall straight down and shatter to pieces upon impact with the sea below.
That's why a bit of assistance was required.
"Can such a small thing really get us down safely?" Robin eyed the tiny octopus in Mio's hand with deep skepticism.
"Yeah, it's a specialty of Sky Island," Mio replied, pinching the little octopus and grinning. This was the same type of octopus Luffy had once used in the original story. Known as Baron, these creatures weren't unique—Sky Island had plenty of them. Mio had made sure to buy one before leaving Bica. When falling from the sky, this octopus would inflate and act as a balloon to help the ship land safely on the sea below.
The little octopus squirmed in Mio's hand, waving a tentacle proudly as if to say, "Just leave it to me."
The ship continued to glide closer to the gate that marked the boundary to the Sea of Clouds.
Five minutes later, they reached it.
Mio tossed the octopus into the air. As the ship passed through the gate, it began falling straight down, just as he had anticipated.
Robin let out a sudden scream.
In the air, the octopus Mio had thrown began inflating rapidly, sucking in the surrounding air as it flew down toward the ship. It grew to enormous size in mere seconds and latched tightly onto the ship with its tentacles—transforming into a massive hot air balloon.
The ship's fall gradually slowed.
"Phew… That scared me to death," Robin gasped, gripping the ship's rail tightly. Her heart was still pounding wildly.
"Hahaha, Robin, you really need to work on your courage. Once we're in the New World, there'll be much crazier stuff waiting for us. You can't scream every time something happens," Mio said with a hearty laugh.
Robin rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Captain, I'm just a kid, you know! Isn't it normal to be afraid?"
"Fair point," Mio chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. Robin really was still a child.
Just then, Erica emerged from the cabin, overhearing their conversation. Smiling, she walked over with a tray in hand carrying drinks—wine and juice.
Mio grinned and picked up a glass. "Ah, just what I needed. Erica, you really know me well."
He grabbed a bottle of wine and took a deep swig, clearly satisfied.
A faint blush crept onto Erica's cheeks, a bit embarrassed by his praise. Then she added, "Master, Lilith said she has something for you."
"Oh?" Mio raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he lowered the wine glass. "What is it?"
Erica paused for a moment before answering, "A cloak."
"A cloak?" Mio blinked in surprise.
At that moment, Lilith came out from the cabin, holding a black cloak in her arms. She walked over cheerfully and held it up in front of Mio. "Master, what do you think? Do you like it? I had it made back in Bica. It even has our pirate crew's emblem on the back!"
Cloaks were common attire in the pirate world. Marines wore "Justice" cloaks, while pirates often had their own personalized versions.
Mio looked at the cloak and nodded with a wide smile. "Yeah, I like it. A lot."
The cloak was all black, sleek and stylish, with the emblem of the Black Crow Pirates proudly displayed on the back. It instantly appealed to Mio's taste.
"I'll put it on for you!" Lilith said excitedly and gently draped the cloak over his shoulders.
As soon as she did, Erica stepped back and admired him. "Very handsome," she said sincerely.
"Very handsome," Hei Yan echoed calmly, his voice steady but firm.
Warwick scratched his head, thought for a moment, and added, "Master, you look really good."
Robin: "…"
Lilith had been about to offer her own compliment but was momentarily speechless, stunned by Warwick's straightforward (yet somewhat clumsy) praise.
Mio's mouth twitched. He shot Warwick an annoyed glance. Even if you're going to compliment me, don't be so half-hearted. And what's with 'really good'? Do I look like some male model to you?
Wouldn't "domineering" be a better word to use here?
Shaking his head, Mio decided not to dwell on it. He looked down at his new cloak again and gave a satisfied nod. "Not bad. I really do like it."
"As long as Master likes it," Lilith replied, her eyes curling into cheerful crescents.
Mio smiled, reached out to gently pat Lilith on the head, then sat cross-legged on the deck. He picked up another bottle of wine and took a sip before saying, "We'll be back in the Grand Line soon. You all need to start training harder. Once we head for the New World, things will only get tougher. If you're not strong enough, survival won't be easy."
"Erica will work hard," Erica said seriously, nodding.
Hei Yan and the others also nodded silently in agreement.
Mio said nothing more and turned his attention to the Thunder Fruit he held in his hand. He narrowed his eyes slightly, deep in thought over how to use it.
Should he eat it?
Or should he have someone else eat it, kill them, and then extract the fruit's genes?
The first option would give him the power directly—but it also introduced a potential weakness.
The second option was far less reliable. Gene extraction came with unpredictability. He might not even end up with the abilities of the Thunder Fruit.
The dilemma left Mio momentarily undecided.
After mulling it over for a bit, he chose to hold onto it for now.
"Even if I do plan to eat it, I'll wait until I get to Impel Down," Mio murmured thoughtfully.
Come to think of it, with the Thunder Fruit now in his possession, he had three Devil Fruits in total. If he wanted to identify the other two using a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, it'd be a waste of time he didn't want to spare.
Perhaps it was time to consider actually using them.
One could be fed to someone, then killed for gene extraction. The other could be used as a direct gene source.
As he weighed these ideas in his mind—
"Captain, I see Hanba!" Robin called out.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Mio stood and looked down from the ship. The Grand Line's sea was now visible below. From this high up, he could clearly see Hanba's form beneath the surface, swimming steadily in the water.
"Looks like Hanba followed us using the life card," Mio said with a grin.
He waved down at Hanba, then put the Thunder Fruit away. Taking advantage of the brief moment before the ship touched down, he pulled out a map and confirmed their current location.
Next stop: Water 7.
It was time to replace this ship with something even better.