~Third~

"I can't believe our luck, seriously that orangutan almost sunk us and now it's up to me to fix it and keep this thing a float"Usopp muttered complaining as he was fixing the Going Merry once again "Seems to me this busted up old ship is on her last leg we need a new one"Zoro said helping with the repairs "Yeah, she's carried us faithfully so far but everything and everyone has their limits"Nicole said also helping.

"How dare you even consider replacing this boat?!"Usopp yelled at them making a face "Yeah how dare you?!"Chopper copied "You are aware of the origins of this ship are you? You do know what she's capable of don't you?"Usopp asked them "Yeah don't you?!"Chopper asked, Nicole rolled her eyes at them.

"We all know the story Usopp and try not to be so defensive the Going Merry is an important part of our crew and we all know we have to take care of her, you shouldn't take everything so personally"Luffy said "You're right i'm sorry"Usopp said crying "Oops"Luffy said destroying a part of the ship he was supposed to be fixing.

"What are you doing?! We're trying to save the ship not sink it!"Usopp yelled at him "Sure thing here i'll fix it"Luffy said only to destroy more of the ship "Oops that didn't work"he said "Luffy!" Usopp and Chopper yelled at him.

"We left Mock Town and headed east by circling the shore of the island our destination is here, we're supposed to meet that man there what's his name?"Nami asked as she pointed out the x on the map "His name is Monk Blanc Cricket"Robin said "And you're sure that he'll be able to help us out right?"Nami asked.

"Whoa amazing!"Usopp and Luffy said as they came up on a giant castle "That's where he lives? It's a freaking palace!"Luffy said "I've never seen a house that big before this Cricket guy must be really loaded"Usopp said "Look closer"Zoro said "It's really unattractive, the guy has to have some guts to build a house that ugly"Sanji said "I think it looks rather cozy"Nicole said referring to the actual house behind the facade of the castle.

"Why exactly did Cricket decide to leave his home and come live here?"Nami asked "I don't know all the details but i think it has something to do with his belief that a large amount of gold rest somewhere in the hills of Jaya"Robin said "Gold?"Usopp asked "Do you think he's here to search for some buried treasure?"Nami asked.

"Well i just don't know"Robin said "Gold!"Nami yelled with beri sign eyes and told Chopper to dig basically at random "Must be hard to live alone in such a remote area"Sanji said walking over to some stumps "Some people prefer solitude"Nicole said looking around the area "Hello!"Luffy called opening the door to the house and just barging in.

"Huh? Looks like no bodies home"Luffy said looking around the house "Anybody here?!"he called "I guess he's gone"he said "Get out of there you idiot this guy could be dangerous"Usopp told Luffy "Hey you guys nobodies home"Luffy called walking back out.

"What's this?"Nami questioned noticing a book "A book and it looks pretty old, it's called Noland the liar"she said reading the title "Sounds like it could be good i sure like the title"Usopp said "Noland the liar?"Sanji asked "Yeah have you heard of it? It says here it was originally published in the North Blue"Nami said "It was i was born in the North Blue i'm certain i've told you guys that"Sanji said.

"No that's news to me i always thought you were born in the east"Usopp said "I grew up there" Sanji said "Born in North Blue you say?"Nicole asked humming as she leaned in closer to Sanji, "Ah Nicole your intense stare up so close is making me blush!"Sanji said with heart eyes but ignoring him Nicole lifted the hair covering his other eye "Ah ha! I knew it! Something had been bugging me ever since we first met, now i know for sure"she smirked.

Sanji panicked and covered her mouth before dragging her a bit further from the others "Sorry" he said uncovering her mouth once they were away "Well whatever that was about, as i was saying you're a Vinsmoke right?"Nicole asked "Yes but please please don't tell the others, that name doesn't exactly bring me pleasant memories"Sanji said "Ah i've got ya, not to worry i'll keep my mouth shut"Nicole smiled at him "Thanks Nicole"Sanji smiled at her.

"So how did you know anyway?"Sanji asked "I believe i've told so many times but i traveled a lot with my dad when i was younger, on one trip to the North Blue we had a run in with a Vinsmoke one of your brothers maybe"Nicole shrugged as she walked back to join the others listening to Nami as she read the book.

"Alas the liar died before he could prove himself to the people"Nami sighed as she finished reading the book "All he wanted to do was live the life of an adventurer"she said looking over to Usopp "That last part is not in the book don't tack on your own sentimental none sense!"Usopp yelled at her when they heard a scream as Luffy fell into the water.

"What's going on?!"Usopp asked running over when someone jumped out of the water "Who the hell are you? You've got nerve relaxing at someone's house without permission this is my land and i suggest you leave"the person said "Hurry Usopp move it go and fish Luffy out of the sea!" Sanji yelled at him as he ran past the sniper and took on the mystery person.

Just as Zoro went into handle it the guy collapsed and Usopp came up to the surface with Luffy, the crew stuffed themselves into the house as Chopper took care of the guy "What's caisson's disease?"Zoro asked after Chopper was done with his examination "So this guy is really sick huh?"Luffy asked "Yeah caisson's disease is an illness that affects divers"Chopper said.

"Though it's called a disease it's not actually a chronic condition, it's cause by a lack of decompression when surfacing from the sea bed, the nitrogen from the blood releases too quickly and causes gas bubbles to form in the circulatory system and when those bubbles expand they can cause considerable damage to muscles and joints and seriously decries blood flow"Chopper said Nicole snapped her fingers "Decompression sickness, right?"she asked "Yeah, that's what it's more commonly known as"Chopper said.

"So it's a mystery disease think you can help him?"Luffy asked getting confused by all the science talk "I'm not sure my guess is he kept diving every day without allowing his body to recover and it finally caught up with him that's why he passed out during the fight"Chopper said "But why in the world did he do that?"Nami asked.

"I don't know but he was taking a big risk, in some cases caisson's disease can cause death so he's lucky to be alive"Chopper said just then"Hey old timer are you alright?!"two voices asked as a couple of monkeys squeezed into the home, Usopp gasped recognizing the monkeys "They've come to kill us!"he screamed running around freaking out whit Chopper.

"What in the world are you people doing here?"one monkey asked "And just what are you doing to our friend?!"the other asked "We're trying to help so ii suggest you lend a hand or find someone else to bother"Luffy said "Don't antagonize them Luffy you know what they're capable of and now there's two of those savages to deal with"Usopp said.

"They're savages!"Chopper yelled also freaking out "Everyone jump out the windows and run away!"Usopp said as the two monkeys started crying "Thank you guys"they said, they moved the conversation outside to give the old man some rest.

Luffy and the monkeys were chatting about something or other while at the side of the house Zoro, Nicole and Usopp were just sitting around "Those three sure are getting along now aren't they?"Usopp grumbled "Yeah seems like they have a lot in common"Zoro said "Like how their all monkeys"Nicole said.

"Hey Luffy he's waking up!"Chopper called coming out of the house "Hey chestnut head i've got a question for ya"Luffy said going in "I'm sorry i attacked you i thought you were nothing but another band of pirates coming to steal my gold"the old man said "Did someone say something about gold?!"Nami asked with beri sign eyes "Just calm down Nami"Usopp told her.

"But exactly what is it you wanna ask me?"the old man asked "We're searching for sky island and we were hoping you might tell us how to get there"Luffy said "Are you serious?"the old man asked before he started laughing "Don't tell me you really believe that place exist?!"he laughed.

"You mean there's no sky island? Are you sure?"Luffy asked "I don't know, see nobody knows if the sky island really exist or not i know of only one man who claims to have seen the island for himself but he's considered a liar of epic proportions"the old man said, Luffy looked at Usopp "What are you looking at?!"he asked.

"There's an old fairy tale that the people of the North Blue know very well it's called Noland the liar"the old man said, Luffy looked at Usopp again "Stop looking at me Luffy my name's not Noland!"Usopp yelled at him "Hmm now that i think about it Noland's family name was also Mont Blanc does that mean you two are related somehow?"Sanji asked.

"Is he right? And is this island the one mentioned in the fairy tale?"Nami asked "Yeah Noland's a distant ancestor of mine, i am his descendant but we're so far removed i doubt there's even a single drop of his blood in my veins, the Mont Blanc family was driven out of the North Blue a long time ago and we've managed to keep a low profile ever since, people still denounce the family name but we've never despised them for this"the old man said.

"But why?"Chopper asked "Because Noland contrary to popular belief was a very honest person"the old man said "That's not what the fairy tale said"Nami said "As the story goes Noland's last words were as follows "I can only assume the city of gold sunk into the sea" this line is accompanied by an idiotic face in the illustration but Noland was no idiot he knew what he saw and i believe he wasn't lying about it, Noland was certain the island where he stumbled upon a city of gold was the island of Jaya but when he returned with the king there was no gold"the old man said.

"Unsuccessful he insisted the ancient city had submerged due to shifts in the earths crust but everyone dismissed this as the last ditch excuse of a doomed man, Noland was given a public execution and when he died so did his discoveries only the legend of a liar remained"the old man said.

"I get it you're trying to find the ancient city of gold at the bottom of the sea to clear the family name and proof Noland right"Usopp said "Don't be ridiculous!"the old man yelled shooting at the long nose "I don't really care if the ancient city of gold exists or not the actions of my ancestor have nothing to do with me and my life, you can possibly imagine what it's like as a kid for everyone to laugh at you and ridicule you because you're a descendant of that idiot Noland that's what i've dealt with my whole life!"the old man said.

"Anyway over the past four hundred years a great many of my family have set sail to find the city of gold proof Noland was right and restore the Mont Blanc name and each and every one of them went missing, i was ashamed to be a member of such a pathetic family so i decided to leave home and become a pirate"the old man said.

"Wow so you're a pirate just like us?"Luffy asked "I didn't even really wanna become a pirate i just wanted out of Noland's shadow to be my own man and over time i came to assemble my own pirate crew, finally i was seen as a leader not a laughing stock and i sailed the world looking for adventures then ten years ago as my crew and i sailed the calm sea we discovered this island purely by chance and ironically of all my family members who searched for this place, who lost their lives doing so it was i who found it, i who despise the Mont Blanc name"the old man said.

"We came ashore and found no trace of the city of gold i stood on the cape of the island and felt i was destined to be there, i declared a challenge to Noland and my crew left me the bastards, i don't care if i find the city or not i'm not here to prove Noland right or wrong i have no interest in rewriting history all i'm doing is following what i believe is my destiny, this is between me and Noland, i'm facing what i fear and whatever the out come the act is all that matter"the old man said.

"Wow what a sad story"Usopp cried "But what about the monkey how did they come to be on this island with you anyway?"Luffy asked "I'm sure that's another story of bravery in the face of incredible odds, your life reads like a great book you know Cricket?"Usopp cried "They were just fans of the fairy tale"Cricket said "They're fans?!"Usopp asked.

"How did they find you?"Nami asked "I think it was five or six years ago they heard a rumor and set out to find me, those two truly believe the city of gold exists somewhere and they're helping me find it, the sea surrounding this island is very deep and in those dark cold depths you're surrounded by a profound sense of solitude when i first arrived here i spent my time searching the sea bed alone they entered my life without permission and assigned themselves as my crew without asking and they do nothing but fight all the time"Cricket said.

"But having these idiots around puts me at ease and truthfully i enjoy their company, you understand?"Cricket asked "I understand completely, true friends lift each other up and give each other strength in times of need"Usopp said crying again "Are you just about finished telling us your life story?"Luffy asked "Shut your mouth you ungrateful brat!"Usopp yelled punching the rubber boy to no effect.

"Stop it!"Luffy said tossing the sniper away "Look all i really wanna know about is sky island!"he yelled at Cricket "You're a pushy guy aren't ya? But i like i told you earlier the only person who's seen sky island is Noland and nobody knows if he was telling the truth or if it was just another tall tale"Cricket said flipping through a book "Is there any record of his trip to the island?"Luffy asked.

"Officially no but he does mention it in here"Cricket said still flipping through the book "What do you have there? That isn't Noland's log book is it?"Nami asked "Yeah it is read from the bottom of that page"Cricket said handing the book to her "Amazing this log book is over four hundred years old"Nami said and started reading from the book.

"June 21st year 1120 a sunny day on the sea of effemris upon departing from the Jolly Villa we left the harbor and sailed in to the rising sun at a heading of east by north east with the wind in our back, at mid day we happened across a bumboat carrying a rare item a single person contraption called a sky waver, this small mysterious vessel can generate it's own wind and sail at great speeds even on a still day, the ski like ship was not easily manoeuvred, i couldn't control it although my crew has taken quite a liking to it"Nami said.

"I gotta get one of those things!"she said "Keep going don't stop reading!"Usopp, Luffy and Chopper yelled at her "We had been told that the waver was manufactured on sky island and that many more interesting devises could be found there it brought to mind an explorer friend of mine who once showed me the most unusual specimen a living sky fish i had never seen a fish with such a bizarre appearance in all my years, this island remains as the only unexplored domain and as a sailor and adventurer i feel it is my destiny to one day reach the sea in the sky, Mont Blanc Noland"Nami said finishing reading.

"Do you know what this means?"she asked the others "Sky island must really exist!"Luffy said getting all excited "Just like Robin said it did!No we just gotta figure out how to get there!"Usopp said also getting excited "The sky island does exist!"Chopper said and they all cheered.

~somewhere far way in the middle of the ocean~

The man known as Hawkeye was looking at three new bounties in particular, the first in the pile of Monkey D. Luffy his bounty raised to one hundred million, the second made him smirk Roronoa Zoro worth sixty million and the third turned that smirk into a wide grin filled with pride, he let out a bellowing laugh before looking at the wanted poster again.

(A/N: thanks for this awesome fanart @ICEOFFIRE336 :3 )