High-Altitude Situation

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No description for this page.

The title page for Chapter 296, "High-Altitude Situation". The cover story panel, "Ace's Great Search for Blackbeard Vol. 21", is titled "The Marine who saved both the man and the intelligence is on fire". It shows Portgas D. Ace walking away from a burning Marine ship. He is carrying an unconscious Marine officer over his shoulder and holding a briefcase marked "Top Secret" in his other hand. Flames are licking at Ace's back and the Marine's uniform. In the foreground, a shocked Marine with a large mustache and glasses watches them.

Roronoa Zoro is shown mid-swing, his swords drawn, as he shouts, "MAKE THE GIANT JACK STALK, FALL OVER WESTWARDS." Below him, a massive section of the Giant Jack beanstalk is sliced through, debris flying as the huge plant structure shifts with a loud "DOOOM!!" sound. Someone cries out "AGHH!" in the background. At the bottom of the page, Usopp, Nico Robin, Wiper, Gan Fall, and Aisa watch in shock. Usopp, sweating and wide-eyed, yells, "WE'RE COUNTING ON YOU! YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO CAN CUT DOWN SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY HUGE THING!" He stammers, "I-I-IS HE... IS HE ALRIGHT!?"

High above, Enel stands on the deck of the Ark Maxim, looking down with a confident smirk. He says, "My goals here are complete. The only remaining things to do now, is watch raigou destroy the entire sky island, and then depart for Faerie vearth." The massive, dark spherical thundercloud known as Raigou looms ominously in the sky, crackling with electricity and emitting a deep rumbling sound. Enel continues, "No matter how much they thrash about or how fast they run, it's already too late... That pitiful rabble just doesn't know when to give up..." He chuckles, "Yahaha... I even feel a little reluctant to deliver the finishing blow now that the moment is almost upon me."

Back on the ground, Zoro continues his assault on the Giant Jack. He lands from a jump with a "BAM!!" and immediately launches into another attack, shouting "DAMN IT!" He slashes furiously, creating massive gashes in the thick stalk. A voice notes, "HE'S MAKING HOLES EVERYWHERE!" Zoro delivers a powerful cross-slash, the impact echoing with a loud "BAAAM!!" as huge chunks of the plant are carved out. He lands again, swords crossed, panting slightly from the exertion.

Zoro finishes his flurry of strikes, looking up at his handiwork. Usopp cheers enthusiastically, throwing his arms up, "BOOYAH! WAY TO GO! IT'S A CLEAN CUT!" The massive stalk of the Giant Jack begins to shift, a loud "DOOOM!!" resounding as the cut section slides. However, instead of falling completely, the upper section of the stalk crashes down onto the lower section, getting wedged in place with a heavy "CRASH!!" Debris rains down around them. Usopp, shocked, yells, "AGHHH! ZORO!" as Zoro is seen leaping away from the falling debris.

Nico Robin looks on in disbelief, saying, "...No, it can't be! LOOK!" Usopp is in a panic, crying out, "OH NOOOOO! B... B... But at least he cut it!" The Giant Jack is shown leaning precariously, but it remains standing, the cut sections jammed together. Usopp stammers, "WHA!? W... WHY WON'T IT FALL OVER!?" Wiper glares intensely at the leaning stalk. The massive structure groans and rumbles, but refuses to topple. In the ruins below, the giant snake Nola is seen slithering among the rubble.

The giant snake Nola slithers through the ancient ruins, its massive form dwarfing the stone structures. A voice calls out, "NOLA! NOLA..." A flashback begins, showing a younger Nola. Mont Blanc Noland, smiling warmly, reaches out a hand and says, "COME! LET'S GO RING THE BELL!" Kalgara, laughing heartily, adds, "HAHA! WERE YOU SLEEPING?" Noland continues, "WE'LL RING THE BELL YOU LOVE SO MUCH TO REACH ALL THE WAY TO NOLAND!" Kalgara corrects him, "YES, LET'S RING THE BELL TO REACH EVEN THE ENDS OF THE SEAS!" The young snake Nola happily follows them, making a "CHULALA!" sound.

In the present, the giant snake Nola stops amidst the ruins, its eyes wide. The memory of the "CHULALA!" sound echoes in its mind. Tears begin to stream down the snake's face as it remembers the past. It lets out a loud, mournful cry, "CHULALALALALALALALALA!" The sound reverberates through the ruins. Nola rears its head back, crying out in sorrow and longing, "CHULA LALA LALA LALA!"

Driven by its emotions, Nola lunges forward with incredible speed and slams its massive head directly into the leaning Giant Jack stalk. The impact is tremendous, shaking the entire area with a deafening "BAAAM!!" Usopp is thrown off balance, yelling, "WHAT WAS THAT HUGE IMPACT JUST NOW!?" The stalk shudders violently, groaning under the force. Usopp looks up, shocked, "WHA!? THE STALK IS-" Robin observes calmly, "...It's still no good! It leaned over a little... but it still won't fall! Even that huge impact couldn't knock it over..." The stalk leans further, creaking loudly, but remains stubbornly upright.

Conis is shown with her hands clasped in prayer, tears in her eyes. She thinks, "If I... Had the courage myself to confront God from the beginning, I would have never gotten them involved in all this...!...It may be that now no one will able to survive." In the distance, the leaning Giant Jack and the dark Raigou cloud dominate the skyline. Down on the White Sea, the Skypieans and Shandians are fleeing on ships. One person cries out, "IF THIS ISN'T THE VERY DEFINITION OF DESPAIR, THEN WHAT IS!?" Another says, "IS THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS WAIT FOR OUR DEATHS!?" A man tries to comfort them, "We're only human... It's natural to do so... Only to now find ourselves stuck with no place to go or return to. Only the judgment of death awaits us now..." Someone yells at the White Beret captain, "CAPTAIN MCKINLEY! PLEASE STOP DOING THAT! It's a natural response... We've abandoned our homeland and run as far as we physically could, BUT-"

Back at the ruins, Nico Robin questions, "Just what connection does Straw Hat have with it!? Ringing that bell... Only carries meaning for those who've inherited Kalgara's will!" Wiper, heavily injured, struggles to his feet and snaps, "You stay quiet!" Aisa pleads, "NO, STOP! WIPER, PLEASE!" Usopp, panicking as the stalk groans, yells, "AND NOW THE WHOLE STALK IS BEGINNING TO LEAN OVER! IT'S TIME FOR MY 'DANCE OF THE GUNPOWDER STAR!' WITH A GREAT HOWL, THE STALK WILL BE BROUGHT TO ITS KNEES BEFORE ME! ZORO'S ALREADY CUT HALF OF IT! WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH FOR OUR PIRATE CREW... USOPP'S OUR LAST LINE OF DEFENSE!" Robin ignores him, telling Wiper, "More importantly, we've gotta focus on bringing that stalk down! Luffy and Nami are waiting up there! Leave him be, Robin. A guy that injured isn't gonna be able to stop us." Robin continues her thought, "The whole world mocked him, but his descendants continued to believe him. Even today, they still search for the city of gold down in the blue seas. Down in the blue seas, there was a certain explorer who lied about finding a city of gold. 400 years ago..." Usopp prepares his slingshot, shouting, "WAIT- AND AWAAAY I GOOOO!"

Robin continues her explanation, her expression serious. "Even in this desperate situation... He throws away his chance to escape for this instead.... What a strange man... Such romance......Or so that's what Straw Hat believes. Ringing the golden bell will tell the descendant down below that the lost city of gold was up here in the sky all along. Isn't it a lovely reason?" Wiper listens, stunned by her words. He asks quietly, "What... What's the name of that descendant..." Robin replies, "!? Then is the name... Montblanc Cricket..." The realization hits Wiper like a physical blow.

Tears stream down Wiper's face as he processes the name. He whispers, "NOLAND...? OF HIS ANCESTOR 400 YEARS AGO," He remembers Kalgara's words, "GREAT WARRIOR KALGARA?" Wiper thinks, "IS THIS WHAT A MIRACLE IS," Aisa looks at him with concern, "Wiper?" He replies softly, "Yes... Agh-" Meanwhile, Usopp is frantically firing his slingshot at the Giant Jack stalk, shouting a barrage of attack names: "ROLLING GUNPOWDER STAR! GUNPOWDER STAR! GAHHHH! Usopp rubber band! GUNPOWDER STARS! Certain kill, GUNPOWDER STAR! Whoa whoa whoa whoaaa!" Small explosions pepper the base of the stalk, but it remains standing.

Wiper, his face contorted in pain and determination, pushes past his limits. He pants heavily, "Huff... Huff... Man, it won't even budge! Is this thing really a plant!? Guess I'll have to try my three sh- Agh-" He leaps towards the massive stalk, shouting, "MOVE IT! LEAP!" He presses his hand, equipped with the Reject Dial, directly against the thickest part of the stalk. With a roar, he activates it: "REJECT!" A massive shockwave erupts from the dial, blasting into the plant tissue with devastating force.

The sheer power of the Reject Dial sends a shockwave through the area. Usopp screams in absolute shock, his eyes bulging, "W... WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!? EEEEEEE!!?" Robin watches in awe, "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! A REJECT DIAL! WIPER!" The massive Giant Jack stalk, finally pushed past its breaking point, begins to topple. A voice commands, "FALL! GIANT JACK!" The colossal beanstalk slowly leans further and further, crashing down towards the ruins below. Wiper, his energy completely spent, collapses face-first into the dirt.

The Giant Jack stalk tears away from its base with loud ripping sounds, "RIP! RIP! RIP! RIP!" It begins its massive descent, the sheer scale of the falling plant creating a terrifying spectacle. Robin, Gan Fall, and the others watch as the shadow of the falling stalk covers them. Usopp screams at the top of his lungs, his mouth wide open in terror, "IT'S FAAAAA-LLLLIIIIINNNG!" The stalk crashes down, crushing the ancient ruins beneath its immense weight with a deafening "DOOOM!!"

As the Giant Jack falls, Luffy and Nami are positioned on a waver at the base of the stalk. Luffy, grinning fiercely, shouts, "RIGHT! I'M COUNTING ON YOU! LET'S DO THIS!" Nami, gripping the handlebars of the waver tightly, revs the engine. "LUFFY! IT'S TIME TO GO! It's starting to lean over...! VROOM! VROOM!" She accelerates, "The speed's too much for me to even try to control it! Certainly never tried this before. Jet dial set on max speed!" The waver shoots forward with incredible velocity. Nami yells, "OKAY!" as they launch themselves up the surface of the falling beanstalk.

High above, Enel notices the falling Giant Jack. He remarks casually, "Oh well... To prevent their approach, I suppose I'll destroy the Upper Yard a little bit... My, what an impatient bunch... Can they not even wait for raigou to be complete?" Down below, Usopp cheers them on, "GOOOOOO! IT'S ALL UP TO YOU TWO NOW!" The Skypieans watching from afar notice the event, "Look! Giant Jack is falling over! What's going on in Upper Yard...!?" Enel unleashes a massive lightning attack, "MAMA-RAGAN!" Huge bolts of black lightning strike the falling stalk, causing massive explosions and destroying sections of it. Despite the destruction, Nami steers the waver up the crumbling stalk. Luffy shouts, "RIGHT! IT'S TIME TO FLY!"

A small, single panel shows a close-up portrait of Wiper. He is heavily bandaged, with a cigarette in his mouth, looking forward with a serious, determined expression. The rest of the page is blank.

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