Chapters · Sky Island › Jaya

Chapter 236: The Ship Sails to the Sky

Arc: Jaya · Saga: Sky Island · Released: 2002

Summary

Picking up mid-whirlpool from Ch. 235, the Going Merry is sucked toward the dead center of the colossal maelstrom while Usopp screams that “no one said anything about a giant whirlpool” and the others panic. Luffy — grinning through the terror — declares the unbelievable “a dream in a dream” is exactly what makes it a great adventure, and refuses to turn back. Suddenly the whirlpool vanishes: the ship is spat into open, momentarily calm sea, and the crew is confused — until Bellamy’s crew from Mock Town catches up, jeering that they’ll claim Straw Hat Luffy’s “hundred-million-berry head.” Sanji corrects them by pulling out the new wanted posters: after the Alabasta incident, Luffy’s bounty has rocketed to 100,000,000 berries and Zoro’s to 60,000,000, to the crew’s own shock. Before Bellamy can act, the sea heaves up — the Knock-Up Stream finally erupts as a vertical column of seawater (KA-BLOOM). Cricket, on his island, feels the blast. The Merry is hurled skyward and ends up sailing vertically up the surface of the rising water current, a launched sea king (“Neptunian”) tumbling up the column beside it. As the ship threatens to tip off and fall, Nico Robin and Nami work out that they can navigate: by catching the wind and current and tilting to starboard, Nami steers the ship so it levels off and the Merry flies through the air. The crew, awestruck, cheers Nami as the ship rides the wind and current toward the clouds. Luffy, hanging off the prow, wonders what’s up there — “above the clouds” — and shouts to head straight for the Emperor Cloud. (Cover: Chapter Title Page Series #5, “I Wouldn’t Die Even If You Killed Me” — a standalone illustration, not a multi-chapter side-comic.)

New reveals

• Luffy’s bounty is now 100,000,000 berries and Zoro’s is now 60,000,000 — revealed on new wanted posters Sanji produces (pages 8–9). This is the first “second bounty” / bounty-raise in the series, and it crosses the symbolic 100-million threshold for the first time for a Straw Hat. The jump is explicitly attributed to “the Alabasta incident” (page 8).
• Bellamy’s crew followed the Straw Hats from Mock Town all the way to the launch point, still hunting the 100-million bounty, and catches up just after the whirlpool dissipates (pages 7–9) — but is left behind when the Stream erupts.
• The Knock-Up Stream erupts as a vertical explosion/geyser of seawater (the “KA-BLOOM” two-page blast, pages 10–11), not merely a whirlpool — the whirlpool was only the windup; the launch itself is an upward eruption of warm air, steam, and ocean (pages 10, 16).
• The Going Merry sails up the vertical surface of the rising water current (pages 14, 16) and then, by tilting with the wind, flies through open air toward the clouds (page 18, the “We’re flying!!” panel).
• A sea king (“Neptunian”) swallowed earlier by the whirlpool is flung up the column alongside the Merry (pages 15–16).
• Cricket is shown on his island reacting to the launch (page 12) — confirming the eruption is visible from Jaya as a towering pillar of water.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Luffy · Nami · Usopp · Zoro · Sanji · Nico Robin · Tony Tony Chopper · Bellamy (and his Mock Town crew — pursuing) · Mont Blanc Cricket (on Jaya, page 12) · Masira · Shoujou (referenced — the Saruyama Alliance left the crew “on their own from here,” page 3) · Going Merry · Jaya

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title splash + Chapter Title Page Series #5: “I Wouldn’t Die Even If You Killed Me” — a detailed B&W jungle/river illustration with a flying bird and a large lizard/iguana on a root in the foreground. Standalone title-page art (not a serialized cover-story B-plot).
• Page 4 — Luffy’s “A dream in a dream!! Now that’s a great adventure!!” close-up (THROB THROB) as the ship is swallowed.
• Pages 8–9 — The new wanted posters: Luffy 100,000,000 berries, Zoro 60,000,000 berries; “Your bounties skyrocketed after the Alabasta incident!!” The crew (Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper) react in shock.
• Page 12 — Cricket on his island (shaking his head, smoking/blowing) as the towering water pillar rises on the horizon — the launch seen from Jaya.
• Pages 10–11 — Two-page “KA-BLOOM” eruption of the Knock-Up Stream.
• Page 14 — The ship sailing vertically up the surface of the water current (NOOSH); “The ship’s sailing vertically up the surface of the water current!”
• Pages 15–16 — A swallowed sea king / “Neptunian” launched up the column beside the Merry.
• Page 18 — “We’re flying!!” — large panel of the Going Merry airborne, leveled off, riding the wind. Crew in awe; “Nami, you’re amazing!!”
• Page 19 — Final panel: Luffy on the prow, “I wonder what’s up there!”; Nami/Robin: “Above the clouds?!”; “Let’s head straight for the Emperor Cloud!!” — “To be continued in One Piece, Vol. 26!”

Open questions raised

• What is actually above the clouds — is the Emperor Cloud the threshold of Sky Island, and what gatekeeps it?
• Bellamy’s crew was left behind at the launch — is the Mock Town confrontation now permanently deferred, or will it resolve another way?
• Will the bounty escalation (100M) draw new, stronger hunters now that Luffy is a triple-digit-million pirate?