Not long after Shirakawa left, the Roger Pirates successfully passed through the raging current known as the "dangerous route of life and death" and arrived at the White Sea.
But this time, their mood was not nearly as excited as it should have been.
After all, their best companion had not come with them, nor would he be able to continue sailing with them in the future.
Shirakawa was different from Barrett. Barrett had always been something of an out-of-place presence on the ship, but Shirakawa was not. Shirakawa got along well with everyone aboard.
So when Shirakawa left, most of the Roger Pirates were bound to stay downcast for several days.
"Such a beautiful and unusual sight. It's really a shame Shirakawa isn't here to see it."
"Relax. With Shirakawa's abilities, getting here would be easy for him. If you miss him that much, why don't you leave and go with him?"
"Better not."
Although most of them missed Shirakawa terribly, that did not mean they could give up their identities as members of the Roger Pirates for his sake.
After leaving the Roger Pirates, Shirakawa found himself in a rather unusual mood. It felt like a child finally growing up and breaking free from the shelter of his parents' wings. After parting ways with them, he suddenly felt much lighter, though he did not really know why.
Once the Roger Pirates had left, Shirakawa planned to leave as well. After all, Jaya was only a small island, more of a transfer point on the way to Skypiea than anything truly bustling.
He spent a bit of money and bought a small fishing boat on the island. It was just like the little boat Luffy used when he first set out to sea, only big enough for two people. Since Shirakawa's physique made food supplies less of a concern, a boat this size suited him just fine.
But perhaps Shirakawa's luck was just terrible.
The moment he set sail, he ran into a massive storm. Just moments ago, the weather had been perfectly clear, but now the sky had suddenly turned dark with heavy clouds.
Fierce winds churned the clouds, and the clouds poured down rain. Shirakawa's tiny fishing boat drifted across the sea like a lone leaf, as if it could be swallowed up at any moment.
"No way. My luck can't really be this bad, can it?"
A boat this small was nothing in the face of such a violent storm, and on top of that, he was not even a navigator.
Even the best navigator in the world would probably be helpless in weather like this with a tiny fishing boat.
Looking at the huge wave in front of him, as tall as a six-story building, Shirakawa immediately made a decision.
Abandon ship and fly.
As he rose into the air and looked at the little boat being swallowed by the waves below, Shirakawa felt a sharp pang of pain.
He had paid good money for that boat.
A hefty sum, at that.
And now it was just gone.
While flying through the air, Shirakawa kept his shield activated the entire time. Otherwise, if lightning struck him, that would be a real problem.
He had already been flying for quite a while, but he still had not left the storm's range.
"Looks like I've really run into a once-in-a-century storm. Is it seriously this huge?"
At that moment, Shirakawa suddenly found himself admiring Mihawk a little. The future World's Greatest Swordsman could travel fearlessly through the Grand Line and the Four Seas on what was practically a coffin board.
Could it be that Mihawk was just incredibly lucky and had never run into terrible weather?
If that was really the case, then Shirakawa felt a little annoyed.
Why was Mihawk's luck so good, while the moment he set out to sea, he ran into storms and tidal waves?
"What is that?"
Finally, after flying for a little longer, Shirakawa saw an island.
An island in the sky.
"This is a Sky Island? No way. I'm not going to run into Roger and the others up there, am I?"
But the Sky Island in front of him seemed rather small, so it was probably not the one the Roger Pirates had landed on.
"What place is this?"
After circling the island once in the air, Shirakawa discovered quite a few houses. It looked like people really did live on this Sky Island.
The weather on this island was also extremely bad, but just as Shirakawa landed and was about to knock on the door of one of the houses, the weather suddenly began to clear up.
"What kind of situation is this?"
Shirakawa was completely baffled. The weather had changed far too quickly, as if the heavens had suddenly switched expressions.
Just then, the door in front of him abruptly opened, followed by a sharp scream.
Shirakawa saw a short old man in a blue wizard robe staring at him in horror, as if he had just seen something terrifying.
Shirakawa turned his head and looked behind himself, only to find nothing there.
"What's wrong with you?"
Shirakawa gave him what he thought was a fairly friendly smile. He certainly did not think he himself looked frightening enough to scare an old man like this.
"What are you?"
Only after a long moment did the old man finally calm down. He backed into the house and shut the door, leaving only a crack open. Through that narrow gap, Shirakawa could still see those frightened eyes fixed on him.
"My name is Adolf K. Shirakawa. I'm from the Blue Sea."
"Then how did you get up here?"
"Obviously, I flew up here. More importantly, what place is this? It's actually a Sky Island."
"This island is called Weatheria. It's a small Sky Island."
"Is that so?"
Shirakawa curiously looked around the island. Windmills could be seen everywhere, and there were even hot air balloons. In the distance floated an enormous cloud, with a rainbow arching nearby.
Then Shirakawa suddenly realized this place seemed a little familiar.
Wasn't this where Nami had trained for two years?
A floating Sky Island whose speed and direction of movement depended entirely on the wind.
If the wind blew one way, the island went that way. If the wind was strong, the island flew faster. If the wind was weak, it moved more slowly.
"What's your name?" Shirakawa asked the little old man again.
"Haredas."
"Oh."
The next second, Shirakawa pushed the door open and walked right inside. For him, Haredas's strength was practically negligible.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Shirakawa force his way in, Haredas immediately demanded an explanation. But when Shirakawa turned his eyes toward him, his tone weakened at once.
"Coward," Shirakawa muttered under his breath.
"What exactly do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just taking a look around."
Shirakawa walked straight over to the bed and sat down on it. It was pleasantly soft.
"So it really is made of clouds. How strange."
"Now that you've looked around, can you leave?"
"That won't do. I really like the environment here. I want to settle down on this island. Hmm, I'll just live next door to you."
"No."
"Relax. I'll build the house myself."
Shirakawa was already planning to build a little nest of his own here. A flying Sky Island, after all. How secretive was that? Just thinking about it felt incredibly cool.
"That won't work. This isn't something I can decide," Haredas said.
"That's fine. Just call over whoever can make the decision. I'll make sure they agree."
"Then if you settle down here, does that mean you don't plan to leave?"
"Of course not. I still have to go back to the Blue Sea."
"Phew."
Hearing that, Haredas let out a sigh of relief. As long as Shirakawa returned to the Blue Sea, the chances of him ever encountering this island again were practically zero. After all, Weatheria wandered all over the world.
Seeing Haredas's expression, Shirakawa naturally knew exactly what he was thinking.
What Haredas did not know was that there was something called a Vivre Card.
As long as Shirakawa got someone to make him a Vivre Card tied to Haredas, he could find this place anytime he wanted.
/-\
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