"What's going on?!", Luffy shouted as the shrimp carried us higher and higher up the winding river, "the cloud is shaped like a belt, or a river!"
"I doubt this is something that formed naturally!", Nami shouted, clinging onto the rails.
As we climbed higher, we could see a hole above our heads, with light shining down through it. The bright light combined with the spiraling pathway and high speeds created a dizzying effect that made my head spin. A normal person would likely have thrown up or passed out. As we neared the top of the path, I could just barely make out a sign on the rim of the hole.
"There's something written up there", Usopp shouted, pointing at the sign covered in bold lettering, "I think it's the exit!"
As we neared the sign, I could pick out the words, 'God Land Skypeia' written on it.
"It's not an exit! It's an entrance!", Nami shouted excitedly.
Right before reaching the hole in the clouds, the shrimp suddenly sped up, launching high into the sky upon passing the entryway. It then launched our ship off its back, sending us soaring through the air. As we hovered for a moment, I looked around and smiled widely upon seeing an actual island floating atop the clouds. It was dotted with bright green palm trees, and I could see there was a sort of village scattered across the tiers of cloudy platforms. To the east sat a large bridge of clouds with curvy rails, and a shorter, but much wider bridge connected two islands to the west. At the very top of the village sat what looked like a temple of sorts, perhaps dedicated to some deity that lived amongst the clouds.
"There's an island!" Luffy exclaimed, mouth wide open and grinning as his eyes sparkled with glee, "IT'S SKY ISLAND!"
The ship landed with a loud splash a few seconds after going airborne, sending a spray of watery clouds up into the air, before raining down onto the ship and getting us soaking wet. Ratha let out an indignant squawk and fluttered his wings rapidly to shake off the water, further soaking Navirou, Zoro and I.
"This place is incredible!", I exclaimed, staring starry eyed as we approached the shoreline. Once we reached the shallows, Usopp, Luffy, Chopper and I hurriedly leapt off the ship and ran to the beach. Ratha did a sort of seagull hop through the water, wings constantly flapping to avoid getting drenched again.
"Ooooh, the island is made of a fluffy cloud too!", Usopp exclaimed, digging his toes into the soft, cool cloud.
I knelt down and scooped up a piece of the fluffy clouds, removing my one of my gloves to fully feel the soft texture. I then looked back at Zoro and smirked deviously, before scooping up a few more tufts and setting them aside in a discreet little pile.
"Hey! What about the anchor?! There's probably no bottom here, right?!", Zoro shouted over to Luffy, hoisting the anchor with ease.
"Don't worry about it!", Luffy shouted back, jumping around and playing in the clouds with Chopper and Ratha, "Hurry, look! This beach is so fluffy!"
Ratha then tackled him, shoving him into the cloudy beach. Luffy giggled and threw a clump of clouds at the wyvern, making him squawk as one hit him in the face. He then started chasing Luffy and Chopper around, all while avoiding clumps of soggy clouds being thrown at him.
"Come on you guys!", I called out to them.
Sanji was quick to jump off, diving into the water like a dolphin. Nami disembarked soon after, followed after by Zoro, then Robin. As soon as Zoro walked onto the beach, I snuck up behind him, cloud tufts in hand, and shoved a couple down the back of his shirt. He jumped at this, clawing at his back to get them out, and I threw one right in his face.
I was laughing so hard I nearly fell over, watching in amusement as the swordsman wiped the cloud and water from his face. When his eyes landed on me, he grinned evilly.
"Alright, now you've done it", he growled, stalking over to me. I tried to run away, but he easily threw me over his shoulder and started carrying me over to the water.
"Don't you dare, Zoro!", I shouted at him, trying and failing to control my laughter.
He smirked before tossing me into the shallow, cloudy water, getting me completely soaked. I shrieked as the cool water soaked into my armor and clothes.
"Doesn't feel so great when it's done to you, does it Saurus?", Zoro teased, chuckling as I walked out of the cloudy sea completely drenched. I removed the mask covering the lower half of my face, and spit out a mouthful of water. The water clung to the Deviljho scales comprising my Vangis armor, and I knew it would take a while to dry.
"Zoro 3, Saurus 0", Zoro taunted smugly.
I glared at him, which just made him laugh harder. I stalked back over to the beach, and spotted Luffy climbing a tree that was growing large, dark green fruits resembling pumpkins. I chucked my waterlogged mask at Zoro as I passed by, which he caught with ease with a smug grin, and watched as Luffy attempted to bite into one of the strange fruits. Needless to say, it didn't go well for him, as the fruit turned out to be harder than a rock, and he wound up chipping a tooth. He then chucked the fruit at Usopp, clocking him right in the head with a comical bonk. Meanwhile, Nami and Chopper were lounging in a nearby gazebo, sprawled across two fluffy chairs made of condensed clouds.
As I knelt down to study a cluster of pink and yellow flowers, the soft sound of a harp caught my attention. As I raised my head, I saw a white fox with a long snout by Zoro's feet, its nose twitching as it curiously studied him. Ratha spotted the fox and trotted over, which made the mammal freeze up in fear. Ratha studied the little mammal inquisitively, sniffing it as his one good eye looked it over. His head cocked to the side, and his tail swayed lazily behind him.
"Hey! There's someone over there!", Sanji shouted, pointing over to a cloudy hill. We all looked over to see a young woman standing atop the hill, eyes closed as she gently strummed the green harp in her hands. From afar she resembled a butterfly or fairy, wearing a pink sleeveless dress ending halfway down her thighs, with dark purple flower print going down the left side. Her blond hair was braided into twin braids, and two thin antennae sat atop her head, just like the old woman from before.
She stopped strumming the harp and opened her eyes, staring over at us with a warm smile.
"Heso!", she called out, her voice rather quiet, almost timid. She strapped her harp to her back and walked over, not even slightly fazed that we were strangers to her land. She certainly seemed friendlier than the masked man and the old woman.
"Are you guys from the Blue Sea?", she inquired, arms outstretched, "Suu, come here."
The little white fox ran over and hopped into her arms.
"We flew up here from the bottom", Luffy replied, "do you live here?"
I noticed she paused for a moment as her eyes flickered to Ratha.
"Yes, I live here", she confirmed, now focusing on Luffy again, "This is Skypeia's Angel Beach."
She then took notice of the two fruits stashed under Luffy's arms, which he had been unable to crack open.
"Hehe, that's Konasshu", she explained, gesturing to the fruits, "do you want to drink them?"
Luffy and Usopp seemed confused, and we watched as she gently took one of the fruits and flipped it over. The woman then pulled out a large knife and began cutting a hole in the bottom of the fruit, the blade slicing through as though it was merely coconut husk.
"The tops are like steel, so biting them won't do you any good", she explained, popping out the circle she had cut out, "you have to go in through the bottom."
As she handed the fruit back to Luffy, I felt my mouth start to water at the sweet aroma. It was like a cross between a coconut and a mango. The actual fruit itself was hollow, with hardened pulp lining the inside, and sugary, green juice filling in the empty space within. Luffy took a sip from the straw she gave him, and immediately his eyes widened at the delectable flavor.
"IT TASTES SO GOOD!", Luffy exclaimed, greedily guzzling down more of the fragrant juice.
"I'm Conis", the woman introduced, gently stroking Suu's head, "If you have any problems, please let me help you."
Luffy, Chopper, Usopp and Navirou quickly handed her several more fruits, which she graciously opened for them.
"Yes, I have a problem. Your gaze burns a hole in my heart", Sanji murmured, once again lovestruck by the sight of a beautiful woman. Nami huffed irately and tugged him back by his ear.
"There's so many things we want to know", Nami explained, "everything here is so strange and different."
"Of course, asked me anything", Conis said kindly, bowing her head slightly.
"Hey! Something's coming from the sea!", Zoro shouted, staring out across the White Sea. As we followed his gaze, I could hear what sounded like loud rumbling mixed with buzzing, and I saw something approaching us at a rapid pace. At first I tensed up, fearing it may be the masked man from earlier. I was sure he wasn't pleased with Ratha damaging his mask. As it got closer though, I could see it wasn't the masked warrior, and sighed in relief.
"Ah, it's my dad", Conis said.
"CONIS-SAN! HESO!", the man called out to her.
"YES! HESO, FATHER!", she called back, waving at him.
"What is he riding on? It looks really cool!", Luffy exclaimed, eyes sparkling as the man sped towards the shore on a strange object. From here it looked like a small canoe with a handle at the front.
"Ah, you mean the waver", Conis replied.
"Waver? Didn't Noland mention that in his book?", I remembered.
As the man got closer, I could see he was wearing a mustard yellow robe with brown markings down the left side, making him look like a bumblebee. He had a brown mustache and beard that covered the lower half of his face entirely, and although his head was bald, he still bore two brown antennae. Like Conis, he too had a small pair of white wings sprouting from his back. He also wore goggles and gloves, and had a basket strapped to his back. As he attempted to bring the waver to a stop, the remaining momentum made it fly past us and into a nearby palm tree. I winced upon seeing his face smash hard into the tree, making it rustle.
He slowly pulled himself up, antennae bent slightly and goggles askew.
"Is anyone hurt?", he asked, he voice a bit raspy in his old age.
"Ask yourself that first!", Zoro snapped, bewildered by the man's priorities.
"Didn't you guys recover something like that from under the sea?", Nami asked Luffy, who was leisurely downing his third round of juice.
"Are they your friends, Conis-san?", her fathered asked, dusting himself off as he stood, leaning against the handlebars of the waver.
"Yes, I just met them father", she explained to him, "they came here from the Blue Sea."
"Really? They must be quite confused about things here then", he commented, eyebrow raised, "this is the White-White Sea, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Pagaya, I'm sorry."
"Sure likes to apologize", I thought, sweat-dropping.
"Good timing. I just finished fishing", Pagaya said, reaching into his basket and pulling out a lobster, "I caught the most delicious food in the White-White Sea. These are called sky lobsters. Please accompany us to our home. I'll treat you to some of the Sky's Happiness."
The boys seemed thrilled by the prospect of gettin to try more sky food, while Nami seemed more interested in the waver, looking it over to see how it functioned. It was definitely strange, and I'd never seen anything like it back home. My best guess was that it ran on a coal powered engine, similar to large airships like the Soaratorium. However, there was a distinct lack of coal smell, and I couldn't see any visible spot anywhere on the waver.
"Before we go, may I ask a question first? How does this work?", Nami inquired, gesturing to the waver, "there's no sail, or paddles. How can it sail on the sea?"
"I can't smell any burning coal either", I added, "and there's no soot."
Conis seemed puzzled by her question.
"Ah, you don't know what a dial is?", she inquired.
"Dial?!", Nami and I questioned, equally confused.
I watched intrigued as they showed us the ins and outs of the waver. Having Luffy and Chopper volunteer, Pagaya asked them to board the waver and press down on one of the foot pedals. As Luffy did, the waver shot off, earning a scream of both surprise and joy from them as they sped across the clouds. However, their fun was cut short when Luffy lost control of the waver, making it flip and sending them falling into the sea. Much to our concern, the sea functioned just like the Blue Sea, and they were unable to swim in it. Usopp, Zoro and Sanji were forced to drag the boys back to shore, with Zoro and Sanji bickering the whole time.
"It's my fault for lending the waver to a beginner, I'm sorry", Pagaya apologized, "In order to fully utilize its power, the hull is made very lightweight. This means even the smallest waves can make it turn. Thus, one must understand the sea very well and be able to predict the waves! I'm sorry!"
"Is it really that hard? I really wanted to try it", Chopper whined, downtrodden.
"I've been practicing since I was a child, and I only just recently mastered it", Conis explained, trying to lift the reindeer's spirits.
"With training, it takes about 10 years to learn", Pagaya explained.
"That's a lot of time!", Usopp yelped, eyes practically bulging from his head, "You'd need a lot of patience!"
"HEYY!", we heard Nami's voice call out.
When we turned to see where she was, my jaw hit the floor upon seeing her riding the waver almost flawlessly.
"SHE'S RIDING IT!", Usopp shouted, staring jealously as the navigator maneuvered the waver with ease.
"Even my first ride on Ratha wasn't that smooth!", I exclaimed.
"Unbelievable!", Pagaya gasped, no doubt shocked that a Blue Sea dweller had already mastered the waver.
"You're the best, Nami-san!", Sanji cheered, hearts in his eyes.
"Why?! How is she able to do it?!", Luffy shouted, gaping like a fish.
"Controlling this requires a certain level of skill!", Nami shouted as she passed by, "It's too delicate for someone like you, Luffy!"
"She's got a point", I murmured, looking over at the less-than-coordinated Luffy.
"Hey! We're going back to the Mister's house!", Luffy called out to Nami, "Come back now!"
"You guys go ahead!", she shouted back, "hey mister! Can I play with this a little longer?!"
"Yes, but please be careful!", Pagaya warned her.
As she zoomed away, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. I was concerned that that masked man might show up again, and Nami would be unable to defend herself if he did.
"Alright, go after her Skyforce!", I shouted, my kinship stone glowing. Pagaya and Conis seemed slightly fearful as a blue light shone, and an Azure Rathalos emerged from it. He stood a head taller than Ratha, and while he bore the same cream colored underside and dark blue markings and spines, his body was dyed a gorgeous sky blue. His wing membranes were a lustrous, peacock green, and his golden eyes shone like jewels in the sun. Ratha squawks happily and trotted over, nuzzling snouts with the larger wyvern. The two hopped happily like a pair of crows, wings flapping excitedly.
I approached Skyforce and gently scratched under his chin with both hands. He crooned contently, head raised to expose his neck and wings spread wide.
"Think you can keep an eye on Nami for me?" I asked, meeting his golden gaze, "Don't let anything happen to her, okay?"
He nodded twice, and I gently kissed his snout before sending him on his way. With one flap of his emerald wings he was airborne, and he flew off across the sea after Nami. Ratha bid him goodbye with a roar, which Skyforce returned before disappearing over the horizon.
"You've got two Rathas!?", Luffy exclaimed.
"Well, they're both Rathalos, just different subspecies", I explained, gently rubbing Ratha's chin after he shoved his head under my arm demanding pets, "Skyforce is an Azure Rathalos. They're larger than standard Rathalos and more maneuverable in the air, albeit more hot tempered."
"I wasn't aware there were dragons in the Blue Sea", Conis said, "I thought they were just a myth."
"Well technically, there aren't", I replied sheepishly, giving Ratha his cherished chin scritches, "It's really just Ratha and my other monsters. They're certainly not normal down below."
"Saurus can control monsters!", Luffy shouted, taking the winged duo by surprise.
"They're not dangerous... are they?", Conis asked, watching Ratha fearfully.
"This one?", I asked, referring to the spoiled child of a wyvern next to me, "not really."
Conis carefully extended her hand for Ratha to sniff, which he did before happily licking her. She seemed pleasantly surprised, and giggled softly as he licked her hand. Even Suu seemed less tense around Ratha now.
...
After Nami left with the waver, Pagaya led us up the giant cloudy staircase. The stairs were soft, but firm, made of dense cloud just like the island. The softer material made taking each step much easier, as it allowed our legs to better absorb the shock of each step we took. As we hiked up the colossal stairway, I spotted several winged people standing on the clouds to the right of us. They appeared to be building something, as they were stacking what looked like bricks made of clouds. There was scaffolding in multiple places to support the walls. On the other side was what appears to be a large building, though I couldn't see it completely.
"Hey, there's some sort of construction site on the other side!", Usopp shouted, having climbed over to see the rest of the building.
"Are you talking about the cloud-cutting factory?", Pagaya mused.
"Cloud-cutting factory?", Usopp asked, puzzled, "so...they aren't cutting rock?"
"Doesn't look like it", I murmured.
"The factory cuts the cloud into blocks for different purposes", Pagaya explained, "To get to the White-White Sea, didn't you pass through the Milky Road?"
"Do you mean where that shrimp hauled us through? That route that looked like a flat noodle?", Zoro questioned, brow raised.
"That is an artificial cloud canal. There are two types of natural clouds in this place. The kind you ship sails on is called Sea Cloud, and the fluffy kind you can walk on is called Island Cloud", Pagaya explained.
"But they're not normal clouds, right? You can walk and swim on them", Luffy commented, casually walking on his hands like a circus monkey. In front of him, Chopper and Usopp happily bounded across the fluffy clouds, the bouncy clouds making them jump several feet into the air with each step.
"That's right. This is because the molecular makeup of each cloud is different", Pagaya continued, "On the Blue Sea, I heard there is a mineral called Seastone."
"Seastone?! It's because of that?", Robin inquired.
"Yes. Seastone contains a special substance we call Pyrobloin", Pagaya explained, "It's a molecular substance that gets ejected into the air by volcanic eruptions. When it comes in contact with the water in the air, Sea Clouds and Island Clouds are created."
"So all these clouds are loaded with Seastone? This place must be a hell for devil fruit users then", I mused. I leaned down and carefully scooped up a handful of Island Cloud, watching it lazily sway in the breeze. My mind immediately drifted back to our fight against Crocodile, and how useful this stuff could've been back then. Trying to forget it, I shook my head and crushed the cloud in my hand.
"Nonetheless, the Milky Road I mentioned before, as well as those chairs made of clouds on the beach, those were originally produced by cutting the Island Cloud at the Cloud Factory", Pagaya continued, "And then, after some density manipulations, these artificial cloud products were produced."
By the time Pagaya had finished his explanation, we reached the top of the cloudy stairs. His house sat atop a large apartment building of sorts, and had a set of large windows that opened onto a balcony. A small wind chime hung over the balcony, jingling faintly in the breeze. Once inside the house, Conis opened the windows leading to the balcony, giving us gorgeous view of the White-White Sea. We could even sea Nami riding the waver off in the distance, with Skyforce flying about 20 meters above to keep an eye on her. The Wyvern's impressive wingspan, a full 1/3rd larger than a standard Monstie Rathalos, allowed him to easily glide on even the weakest on air currents with only minimal flapping required.
Conis then handed Luffy and Usopp a strange, beige-colored coiled shell that formed a ridged cone shape. I watched curiously as she instructed Luffy to speak into the mouth of the shell.
"Usopp is stupid", Luffy spoke into the shell, making me snicker as Usopp shouted indignantly and flailed his arms like a mad Gypceros.
"Huhu, now please press the button on the shell's apex", Conis instructed, giggling softly.
"What's an apex?", Luffy asked confused as he poked various spots around the shell.
"That's the top of the shell", Usopp informed him, rubbing his chin as he studied the shell, "But pressing it won't do anything."
Just as he said that, the point at the top of the shell was pushed inwards like a button.
"Wah! It caved in. It's soft on this spot!", Luffy gasped, fascinated.
"Usopp is stupid!"
We all jumped a few feet upon hearing Luffy's voice coming from the shell.
"Wow! Even the shell called you stupid!", Luffy exclaimed, head jerked back in surprise by the talking shell. Even Ratha fell back, scrambling to hide behind me.
"NO! THAT'S YOUR VOICE!", Usopp snapped, staring gobsmacked at the shell.
"Eh? It can record sound? Is that shell a dial?", Zoro questioned, seemingly very interested in the little shell.
"Maybe we should get one for you as an alarm", I remarked smugly.
"Like you're one to talk!", Zoro retorted, making me giggle at his disgruntled expression.
"Yes, that's a tone dial", Conis confirmed, "It records sound and then replays it later. It's a special shell found only in the White-White Sea. It's mainly used to record music."
"I see. That's really something", Zoro remarked, "But, there's no seafloor here, how do these things survive?"
"We get them from the shallows around the beach", Conis responded.
"If that's what a dial is, then I don't understand how it can make the waver move", Robin commented.
"That's not it. This is the waver's power source", Conis interjected, pulling a periwinkle nautilus shell with silver ovals out of her pouch, "even though it's smaller, this is called a breath dial. If you have I'd face the wind for 30 minutes, it'll be able to release 30 minutes worth of wind."
She handed Luffy the breath dial, and he began swinging it in a circle with one arm to build up the wind faster than normal. After a few moments, Luffy held the shell up the his face, and a powerful blast of wind shot out of the opening. The wind was so strong, Luffy was forced to close his eyes as his short hair whipped around.
"The amount of storage is dependent on the size of the dial", Conis continued, "But by placing it at the stern, it can easily power a light ship."
"So that's a waver!", Luffy exclaimed.
"I see, so it moves using the wind from this dial", Robin mused.
"Although the waver is the only one I can handle, there are actually many different types of dials", Conis said bashfully, scratching the back of her head, "There are skate and board types as well."
"That's nice. I want to ride one too. She's so lucky", Luffy pouted, leaning over the railing as he jealously watched Nami speeding across the sea on the waver, "We have one too."
"But it's broken Luffy", Usopp reminded him, "Plus, it's over 200 years old, there's no way it can still move."
"Not necessarily. The dial is the remains of a shellfish", Conis said hopefully, "As long as the shell isn't broken, it will retain its power."
"REALLY!? HEAR THAT!?", Luffy cheered, perking up at the thought of getting to ride a waver.
"But you still can't ride it", Usopp reminded him.
As we sat around waiting for Sanji to finish cooking, Conis explained several other types of dials to us, including the lamp dial, which actually sat in the table before us. It was rather large, shaped like a hornet's nest, and had two visible openings on one side. She also described the heat dial, which could produce fire, the flavor dial, which could hold different smells, and the vision dial, which acted like a camera. According to her, the Skypeian civilization evolved to coexist with the energy produced by the dials.
"So amazing! To think that these simple creature's helped build an entire civilization", I thought, "If only the Ancient Civilization could have valued living creatures as much as these people do."
As I was staring off into space, I shifted my gaze to the open windows, and noticed that Nami and Skyforce had vanished. Immediately I stood up and ran to the balcony, scanning the cloudy sea for them.
"Ok, finished. This is my Sky Island Full Course Special, with fruit and sky seafood!", Sanji announced proudly, setting the food down on the table. He then noticed me standing by the balcony, and walked over to check on me.
"You okay, Saurus-Chan?", he asked, resting a hand on my armored shoulder.
"Nami and Skyforce are gone", I informed him, concerned for the duo's safety.
"Where did they go?", Sanji inquired, looking back and forth across the white expanse of clouds.
"She should be on the sea", Zoro grumble, stuffing his face with lobster meat.
Navirou hopped onto my shoulder, hoping to have better luck with his superior Lynian eyesight. Still, even he could not spot the pair, it was just empty ocean as far as the eye could see.
"I can't see her anywhere", Navirou said, worriedly, "where could those two have gone? You don't think a sea monster got them, do you?"
"I doubt it. We would've heard the struggle, as I'm assuming dragons are pretty loud when they fight, right?", Sanji questioned.
I nodded.
"Yeah, especially Rathalos", I confirmed.
"Then she probably went out to explore", Luffy dismissed, cheeks packed full of fruit and fish, "Just forget about her."
Upon hearing this, Conis's face went pale, and I could see her tense up considerably.
"F-Father! Will they be alright?!", Conis stammered fearfully.
"Oh Conis-San, I have a bad feeling about this", Pagaya rumbled, stroking his beard.
"What? What are you talking about?", Luffy asked cluelessly, having paused halfway through a lobster claw.
"In Skypeia, there is one place where no one should ever go", Conis warned, trembling as a cold sweat broke out all over her body, "That place is very close to this island, and can easily be reached with a waver."
"A place no one should enter... what's that?", Chopper asked, ear twitching as he cocked his head slightly.
"It's the Holy Land, where God lives", Conis gulped, "Upper Yard."
...with Nami and Skyforce...
"It's...so huge", Nami gasped, bringing the waver to a halt as she stared up at the massive chunk of jungle-covered land. Skyforce flew down to her, stopping to hover just above the clouds.
"There's real land here", Nami murmured, breath lost upon seeing the massive island floating before her.
Skyforce let out a snarl, hissing and growling at the landmass. Nami stared at him confused, before turning back to the island.
...with the Strawhats...
"GOD IS THERE?! IN THE PLACE NO ONE SHOULD EVER GO?!", Luffy shouted, ditching his food and quickly standing up.
"Don't even think about it Luffy!", I warned, already seeing that twinkle in his eye that meant 'time for a dangerous adventure'.
"Yes! This is God Land, ruled by the almighty god Enel!", Conis warned, no doubt terrified of this God.
Upon hearing this, a massive grin split Luffy's face, and I knew he was gonna try to go there.
"Hey Luffy! What are you thinking about right now!?", Usopp questioned, suspicious of the sudden grin that warned of incoming mischief and potentially lethal shenanigans, "You just heard what she said, RIGHT!? No one should set foot means NO ONE MAY ENTER!"
"Oh really? There's a place where no one may enter?", Luffy asked, and I knew we were doomed. There was no fighting it now, might as well accept our fate.
"I see...", Luffy mused, picking up a fried lobster tail and casually munching away, "A place that nobody may enter."
He then turned to us, and we already knew there was no stopping him now.
"But even though it's forbidden, God will forgive us right? He's really nice, right?", Luffy insisted.
"Yeah, Gods are really nice until they start burning down cities when they're pissed", I remarked, having seen it happen too often with Elder Dragons like Teostra and Lunastra.
"But... breaking the rules set by God is disrespecting God!", Conis warned, trying to talk Luffy out of going to Upper Yard.
"Really? Oh well, it doesn't matter", Luffy said dismissively, shrugging it off, "Alright! Let's go find Nami and Skyforce! But first, let me finish eating."
"What if something happens to Nami while you're wasting time here?!", Sanji protested, "Put the food down, we'll be back soon enough!"
"Actually, we don't know for sure if they really went there", Conis intervenes, trying to talk us down, "So please, don't act so recklessly. If we anger God Enel, things will become very problematic."
"Don't waste you're breath Conis", I said, "Once the captain's made up his mind, there's no stopping him."
I stood up and stretched, feeling the satisfying pop of my vertebrae as I arched my back.
"We'll be back before you know it", I assured her, "Besides, we'll only be there for a few minutes tops, it's not like this Enel is going to know we're there."
I strapped my Jupiter's Sphere hammer to my back, the extra weight helping me feel more grounded.
"Hey Zoro, you still got my mask?", I asked the swordsman, hand outstretched. He chucked the mask at me and I caught it, tying it back over the lower half of my face. My breathing sounded much heavier through the Deviljho scale mask.
"Ah, by the way... you folks said you have a broken waver", Pagaya interrupted, "If it's not too much trouble, let me have a look at it. I will repair it if I can."
"Yes, my father is a dial boat engineer", Conis assured us.
"Really!? Thank you!", Luffy thanked them excitedly.
...with Nami...
"These trees are gigantic! I wonder how old they are?", Nami mused, gazing up at the colossal trees in awe.
"I can't even see the top", she mused, before hearing Skyforce growling again. For a moment, she thought she could hear someone's voice. Then, Skyforce started growling louder, lips curled to reveal a row of flesh ripping, serrated teeth. Nami turned and froze upon seeing the masked guerrilla from before, bazooka pointed straight at her. Skyforce snapped his jaws and flared his wings, while noxious blue venom dripped from his talons like molten tar. The venom hit the clouds below and fizzled, tinting the water a sickly shade of blue and purple, like a fresh bruise.
Then, the trio's attention turned back to the island, and a man's voice was clearly heard calling out. Whoever it was, they were obviously distressed, and they got closer, the sound of several other voices grew closer, followed by several explosions.
Nami's eyes widened as she saw four winged men, along with a giant bird and dog, coming straight towards them. Their target was a rather thin and ragged looking man, who looked as though he had been lost at sea for days on end. As the newcomers approached the edge of the island, the guerrilla leapt up and fired his bazooka. Skyforce quickly pulled Nami and the waver out of the blast zone just before the round hit, striking the island and causing a massive explosion. Dirt and smoke were kicked up in a thick cloud, and Nami could hear the surprised yells of the injured man and his pursuers. The guerrilla landed on the clouds behind her, and her eyes widened upon seeing the injured man collapse on the edge of the island. The dust cloud concealed his attackers, and also concealed her from them. The man spotted Nami and called out, wide eyed and panicking.
"H-Hey, please help me!", the man pleaded, blood-covered hand outstretched towards the navigator, "Please, let me ride...hah... on your boat. Let me get on... I beg of you! I'll do anything to repay you!"
"But there's only one seat", Nami said nervously, staring at the injured man, "would he fit? I don't know!"
Then, the man froze and let out a terrified screech. Nami turned and saw that he must have spotted the masked man behind her.
"A guerrilla?!", the man gasped, panting heavily.
A glow from above caught their attention, but before either party could make a move, a massive bolt of of lightning crashed down onto the helpless man. The light was so intense, it forced Nami and the guerrilla to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded. Skyforce let out a terrified roar, flapping his wings wildly upon seeing his kind's natural weakness. The man's screaming was drowned out by the thunderous blast of lightning, and the impact caused a chunk of land to collapse and fall beneath the clouds. Nearby plants were scorched by the lightning, causing any trees within several meters of the blast to burst into flames. One of the larger trees was split in half by the blast.
The masked guerrilla, knowing he was outmatched, turned tail and fled. Before the smoke cleared, Nami and Skyforce hid behind a raised section of the shoreline, the overhanging network of tree roots hiding them from those looking over the edge. The duo remained quiet and still, and Nami could hear voices coming from right next to them.
"Get a water dial! Extinguish the fire!"
"I think that guy was talking to somebody."
"Woof woof!"
"Tell that damn dog to shut up!"
"It was with that guerrilla that got away just now."
"That guy was begging for his life, right?! Huhuhu!"
"But what was Enel-sama thinking? Why did he do it himself?!"
"Time was probably up."
"Time was up?"
Whoever the voices belonged to, they didn't sound friendly at all. As she continued to eavesdrop on them, the next part of their conversation made Nami's blood run ice cold.
"The next group of illegal trespassers has already entered this country."
"Again?"
"We've received a message from Amazon. It seems 9 citizens of the Blue Sea came up on a ship."
"9 citizens of the Blue Sea?!", Nami thought, realizing they were talking about her group, "They mean us? Illegal trespassers? Is it because we didn't pay the entry fee?! No way! Does that mean we'll end up like that guy from earlier?!"
"Only 9? That doesn't sound very exciting."
"9 heads? It's not divisible by 4!"
"Come to think of it, what was that earlier? Who are they? What is this place?!", Nami pondered. Next to her, Skyforce snarled silently, no doubt feeling threatened by the strangers talking nearby. As soon as they were gone, Nami started up the waver and sped off, with Skyforce close behind.
"This is bad!", she shouted to the wyvern, "We've gotta hurry up and warn everyone!"
...with the Strawhats...
"This is really old", Pagaya remarked, looking over the waver we found. He gently rocked it once or twice to check the stability.
"Can you fix it?", Luffy asked, watching the old man test the handlebars.
"I don't know", Pagaya answered, "I cannot give you an answer until I open it up."
"Hey Luffy, Saurus! Let's go! Get aboard!", Usopp called out to us.
Before we went to board, I heard a commotion coming from the direction of Pagaya's house. I looked up to see a group of strangely dressed men coming down the steps towards us. They wore light purple muscle shirts, light blue baggy pants with clouds printed on them, combat boots that came halfway of their shins, and white berets on their heads. The man in front of them also had a light blue captain's coat draped over his shoulders.
"Oh, who are they Mister?", Luffy asked Pagaya, staring at the men marching down the stairs.
"They're sure dressed funny", Navirou remarked, "Not exactly fashionable."
"I don't like the looks of this", I grumbled, eyeing them warily. My fingers itched to wrap around the handle of my hammer, but I restrained myself.
"Eh?", Pagaya said, looking up at the approaching group of men.
"THAT SUSPICIOUS LOOKING SHIP! STOP RIGHT THERE!", the leader of the strange group ordered.
"Who are those guys?", Luffy asked, puzzled by the strangely dressed men.
I shifted uneasily as they stalked down the stairs, gripping the handlebar of Ratha's saddle with my left hand. As soon as the men hit the beach, they immediately dropped to their stomachs and began belly crawling towards us. I sweat-dropped at this, not seeing the point in their attempted stealthy behavior.
"Squad, halt!", the leader commanded, stopping the group just a few meters in front of us. They then all stood up and did a sort of weird salute, placing their right hands behind their head and raising their pinky and index fingers like antennae.
"Heso!", they greeted together, which Pagaya and Conis returned.
"Geez, what's up with all the crackpots up here?", I thought, grimacing as I leaned my head slightly, eyebrow raised.
"Hey you guys! Just ignore the, and get on already!", Sanji called out to us, "Let's go get Nami-san!"
"YOU! YOU ARE THOSE CITIZENS OF THE BLUE SEA! THE 9 ILLEGAL TRESPASSERS!", the leader yelled accusingly.
Pagaya and Conis gasped and whirled around to stare and Luffy and I.
"Illegal trespassers!?", they gasped.
"Huh? What's that?", Luffy asked cocking his head.
"There's no point in denying it! We've already received this from the watcher of Heaven's Gate, Amazon!", the leader shouted, holding up a photo of us from when we were still in the White Sea, "This is a picture taken with a vision dial!"
"This can't be! It's not possible! There must be a mistake, Captain McKinley!", Pagaya urged, trying to reason with the captain, "They're not bad people!"
I could hear frantic shouting coming from the ship, though I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying.
"Please stop making excuses and just admit your guilt", McKinley ordered sternly, "There's no need to panic though. According to heaven's judgement, illegal trespassing is only a class-11 crime. After serving the punishment, you will immediately become regular tourists."
"You should have said that earlier!", Sanji shouted at him, "I don't like it, but what's the punishment?"
"It's very simple. Just pay a fine that is 10 times the entree fee", McKinley stated.
"This guy's outta his mind!", I thought.
"Each person is now 10 billion extol, which means 90 billion extol for all of you", McKinley explained, "Pay now and your criminal status will be erased immediately."
"Wh-what!? 90 billion extol?! How much is that in beli?!", Usopp shrieked, flabbergasted by the steep price.
"Beli, that's the currency of the Blue Sea, isn't it? In beli... 10,000 extol is equivalent to 1 beli", McKinley explained.
Doing the math in my head, that translated to 9 million beli. Upon realizing this, the rest of the crew were equally displeased.
"THAT'S STILL TOO MUCH! WITH THAT MUCH I COULD BUY TONS OF BAGS OF RICE!", Sanji shouted defiantly, "WE RISKED OUR LIVES TO GET UP HERE! WHY DO WE HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH?!"
"He's right, this is bullshit!", I thought, displeased, eyes narrowing into a glare as I gritted my teeth.
"If you had paid the entree fee in the beginning, it would've been only 700,000!", McKinley shouted back at him.
"THAT'S STILL A LOT!", Usopp argued.
"This is only a warning, but we are the White Berets. We are the direct servants of the High Priests", McKinley warned, "If you continue to deny your guilt, your criminal status will become worse."
He then jabbed a finger at the broken waver, towering over old Pagaya.
"Also, this waver appears to be broken! If you broke it, that a class-10 crime!", McKinley warned accusingly, "The one about citizens of the Blue Sea breaking Sky Island property!"
"No, no, no, I'm sorry! This was theirs to begin with!", Pagaya frantically explained, wavin his hands in front of him.
"Yeah, it's mine!", Luffy yelled, getting angry.
"Theirs? That's strange, there shouldn't be any wavers on the Blue Sea", McKinley said, staring suspiciously at the broken waver, "If this was stolen from Sky Island, then it's a class-9 crime."
"Shut up! I'm gonna kick your ass!", Luffy snapped, fist clenched and readied to smash the man's face in.
Before he could do anything, I heard Nami' s voice call out to us.
"PLEASE WAIT!", she shouted, and I turned to see her headed straight for us, Skyforce following from above.
"AHH, NAMI-SAN YOU'RE SAFE!", Sanji cried out, waving happily at the navigator.
"LUFFY, DON'T FIGHT THOSE GUYS!", Nami pleaded with him.
"BUT THESE GUYS...", Luffy began to argue, before trailing off.
"Don't oppose them? Hey Nami! Can we afford to pay an entry fee of 9 million beli?!", Usopp asked her.
"That's good! So we can still pay the entry fee! 9 million beli...", Nami trailed off, face shadowed as she suddenly revved the waver and shot towards the shore. And the last second she pulled up, sending the waver flying right into McKinley's face. I heard a loud crack, no doubt his jaw and several teeth breaking, and he was sent flying into the side of the gazebo on the beach. As she skidded to a halt, she snapped out of her enraged state, and the gravity of her actions slowly caught up with her. Skyforce has reached the beach by now, and landed next to me, on the side opposite Ratha. The other berets finally took notice of the dragons, and took a few steps back.
"Oh, thanks for letting me use the waver Mister!", Nami thanked Pagaya, quickly hopping off the waver.
"No, no, don't mention it! However, you are in big trouble", Pagaya warned her, concerned.
Nami then quickly grabbed Luffy and I by the wrist, and started pulling us towards the Going Merry.
"Let's hurry you guys!", she urged, dragging us behind her.
"What?! Why?! Didn't you already attack them?!", Luffy argued, trying not to be knocked over from how hard Nami was pulling him.
"If we mess with their God, it'll be a real pain!", she warned frantically, "Besides, it was just an accident!"
"HOLD IT!", McKinley roared, standing up and rubbing his bruised and bloody jaw, wincing slightly upon putting pressure on it.
Nami kept running, but Luffy and I skidded to a halt. Luffy's arm stretched as Nami held onto it. The wyverns also stopped, turning to snarl and roar at the White Berets. Nami was forced to stop when Luffy pulled on his arm.
"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!", McKinley snarled, "Not only we're you impolite to us, her actions hindered a public official, a class-5 crime!"
I glared and gripped my hammer tightly.
"WITH THE POWER INVESTED IN ME BY GOD ENEL, I SENTENCE YOU TO CLOUD DRIFTING!", McKinley ordered furiously.
"Cloud drifting! Th-this can't be!", Conis cried.
"What's that?", Luffy asked Conis, completely unaware of the danger, "Cloud drifting sounds comfortable."
"It's not good at all! It means putting you and your ship on a piece of island cloud and leaving you to drift until you die!", Conis explained, tearing up, "It's a death penalty!"
"I'd like to see them try!", I snarled, drawing my hammer. Ratha and Skyforce stood in front of me and snarled at our opponents, drool dripping from their maw and venom oozing from their talons. The clouds around their feet were painted a dark blue from the poison, making the clouds bubble and hiss like a boiling cauldron. Zoro and Sanji hopped off the ship to join the fight.
"GET THEM!", McKinley roared at his men. The soldiers drew bows and knocked their arrows, which instead of arrowheads, were tipped with sharpened auger shells.
"RUN! YOU GUYS CAN'T BEAT THEM!", Conis cried, begging us to flee.
"Don't say that Miss. you sound like you're trying to help those criminals", McKinley said accusingly.
The men then fired their arrows, which, as they flew, created spiraling streams of clouds behind them. Seeing the arrows coming, Luffy shoved Nami back, ordering her to run back to the ship. Luffy and I quickly dodged the arrows, with Ratha and Skyforce flying out of their range. The White Berets jumped onto the clouds, skating along their surface using breath dials attached to their boots. They stashed their bows on their backs and each drew two, double-sided daggers, twirling them in an attempt to intimidate us.
I whistled for Ratha, who flew down towards me. I then jumped up, using his back as a trampoline to propel my self up higher. This brought me face to face with one of the Berets, who seemed quite surprised by my mobility.
"You wanna fight in the air? Fine by me!", I said, smirking deviously behind my mask as I drew my hammer back. The rounded orb of Duramboros tailbone in the center started spinning rapidly, and water swirled violently around it like a typhoon.
"LEG CRUSH!", I shouted, swinging the hammer into the soldier. The hammer, boosted by a jet of water, smashed into the Beret's legs, taking them right out from under him. The force of the blow sent him crashing into one of his comrades headfirst, knocking them both out and sending them plummeting to the ground. Another White Beret came at me with his daggers, which I blocked with my hammer. The thin blades shattered upon striking the hardened Duramboros bone comprising the hammer. I then spun the hammer and brought it down onto his head, created a loud cracking sound and slamming him into the cloud below.
"Ratha! Skyforce! Thousand Blades!", I commanded.
The wyverns' claws and spikes glowed white and sharpened, before they flew at the attacking soldiers. They lashed out with their feet, tails and wings, each attack slashing the soldiers 10 times. The soldiers cried out in pain from the barrage of slashes, before being knocked out.
The remaining soldiers were still attacking Luffy, who was easily evading their strikes. Two of them attempted to trap him, and swung their daggers in an x-pattern. Luffy saw this coming, and launched himself up over their heads, stretching his arm to grab a nearby palm tree.
"Wow! You guys have some cool stuff!", Luffy commented, using his momentum combined with the palm tree to slingshot himself high into the air. The soldiers' eyes practically popped out of their sockets upon seeing the boy stretch like that. Obviously they weren't very familiar with devil fruits. Conis and Pagaya were equally shocked by this.
Luffy then began spinning around wildly above them, building up momentum as his arms and legs whipped around. It reminded me of a feather star almost.
"GOMU GOMU NO FIREWORK!", Luffy shouted, before unleashing a near endless storm of punches and kicks all around him. All nearby soldiers, including McKinley, were bombarded by powerful strikes to almost every part of their bodies. There was no doubt in my mind that many of them would have some pretty nasty breaks and fractures when the onslaught was finished. They were slammed into the ground and pummeled into submission, the speed boost from the breath dials unable to save them.
By the time Luffy's attack had ceased, most of the soldiers were unconscious or nearly so, with the remaining soldiers being finished off by Zoro and Sanji.
"By the way Nami, how much money do we have left on board?", Zoro asked, casually sheathing Wado.
"50,000 beli", she responded after doing a quick assessment of our finances.
"50,000, that's it?!", Zoro questioned, shocked and annoyed by our lack of cash.
"Yeah, normally it would only last us 1 or 2 days", Nami said.
"Why are we so poor?! As the captain, I say you guys need to think more about how we spend our money!", Luffy ordered, pointing a finger accusingly at us.
"You eat more than a Deviljho! What the hell are we supposed to do?!", I snapped.
"Haha... you fools".
We all spun around to see McKinley was somehow still conscious. His jaw was swollen up pretty bad, and starting to turn purple. He was bleeding from his mouth and his nose, and his breathing was hoarse and ragged.
"It would have been fine if you'd just done as I said", he growled, a triumphant smirk on his face, "We, the White Berets, are the nicest law enforcers in God Land. They, on the other hand, won't be so forgiving. With this, you've become class-2 criminals. Hahahahaha, no matter how much you cry or scream, the priests of the Upper Yard will personally judge you! HESO!"
...
Arzuros Ecology...
Next to a rushing river, a monstrous snout pokes through the long cattails. The owner of this snout, a male Arzuros, pokes his head through the brush and sniffs the air a few times, letting the smell of the river flood his nostrils. Arzuros are fanged beasts, belonging to family Pelagus. They are among the smallest fanged beasts, rarely passing 20 feet from nose to tail, and as such, individuals like this male are fairly low on the food chain. Still, despite his small stature, he is no less an intimidating foe. Like his cousin the Volvidon, he possesses armor on certain parts of his body, although his is studded with vicious spikes. They are omnivores, and will feed on almost any food source in their environment, from grasses and honey, to fish and carrion.
This Arzuros has been stalking this patch of riverside land for many weeks now, having driven off a resident Bulldrome and claimed this territory for himself. Normally, he comes to this riverbank to feed on fish and grubs, but today, he has something other than food on his mind. The male sniffs the air again, and stands on his hind legs to better view his environment. He catches the smell of a nearby female on the wind, and immediately starts tracking her down. His sense of smell is among the strongest in the monster kingdom, surpassed only by giants like the Deviljho. He can smell a rotting carcass from over 5 miles away.
To better track the scent, the Arzuros moves in a zig-zagging pattern, allowing him to narrow down the scent trail. If he misses the scent trail, he can easily shift his direction and locate it again with little effort. As he zigzags along, he realizes that this female is, in fact, in heat, and there are no other males near her.
After following the scent for half an hour, the male Arzuros locates the female in question. She is an older female, easily over 30, and her body is marred with numerous battle scars. This makes the male more wary, as this female is a full 5 feet longer than him, and could easily kill him if given the chance. The male let out a series of low-pitched growls to get the female's attention, letting her know he is not a threat. The female watches as he approaches, sizing up her potential suitor. Despite their size difference, the male is still quite strong, something the female approves of. Turning around slowly, she dashes off, beckoning the male to chase her. She does this to test his strength, which will determine his worth as a potential mate.
The male Arzuros eagerly pursues the female, chasing after her on thick, muscular legs. The two run through the wetlands for a solid 10 minutes, the female always looking behind her to see if the male is still chasing her. Once she is satisfied, she stops to allow herself and her partner to catch their breath. Once they've rested for a moment, the two saunter off into the tall grass to consummate their new bond. By next spring, there will be a new line of azure prowlers roaming these lands.
...
Next time...
After their fight with the White Berets, the Strawhats find themselves separated by the rulers of the White-White Sea...
With no choice but to fight, our heroes must make their way to Upper Yard, where their friends have been taken hostage...
Will they survive Upper Yard and reunite with their nakama?
Next time on Monster Hunter: Open Ocean...
Skypeia's Dark Truth! Attack on Upper Yard!