"You're from the ship of the Blue Sea dwellers," Wyper acknowledges. "I told you to leave."

The other guy-- he was tall as well, but wore a cape of some sort, made of feathers. He eased up on the spear, and stood aside as Wyper scrutinized their little intruder.

In the distance, Anne could see more of these very evidently well-toned warriors, as well as women, all who have come out, their attention drawn to her. Anne could only spot one child in the midst, however-- and when their eyes met, the girl ducked behind the legs of a tall woman in mauve.

Huh. No one else was willing to meet her eye. She'll take it.

"We're pirates," Anne said, sitting down on her knees, not at all intimidated by these two. "You don't tell us what to do."

Wyper's brows furrowed. "Pirates?Does that mean something in the Blue Sea?"

The concept of piracy doesn't exist up here? But if there's a tax, there should be law enforcement. And if there's law enforcement-- there should be crime.

There's no possibility that the law enforcement only exists to deal with outsiders, right? Surely there exists crime in a city. It's human nature.

(But they're angels. They're epitomes of sinless living.)

(...but is that really possible?)

(This guy here did say that he thought they were a 'bad crowd' when he fired at them. He then backed off when he learned they were from the Blue Sea. So bad people do exist in the White Sea, right?)

(But pirates aren't black-and-white criminals.)

(They were more like…)

"I guess…" Anne was genuinely confused, "we're like the Blue Sea version of… whatever you guys are?"

(...outcasts?)

She doesn't notice the way they all froze at her words. She was still trying to decipher what a pirate was, in her own mind.

"Don't speak nonsense, child," Wyper hisses.

"I'm sixteen," she says.

"You're nothing like u-- wait what," Wyper does a double take, and so does Kamakiri, "are Blue Sea teenagers usually this tiny?"

"I'm a special case."

"Right," Wyper straightens. "Anyways. You don't know what you're talking about. And you need to stop snooping around where you shouldn't go. Stay away from this cloud island-- and don't go toward the holy land."

"I refuse," Anne responds immediately.

"Hey," Wyper immediately retorts, "we'll kill you, kid. That's not a joke."

"Why would it be a joke? It's not funny," Anne says, "But I'm not listening to you because I'm a pirate."

"Oh to hell with this pirate nonsense! All you Blue Sea dwellers are the same up here!"

"And what's the holy land?"

"It's the large island to the Eas-- what the hell I'm not answering you," Wyper stands up, grabbing her by the scruff and picking up his mask with his spear. "Enough. I'm tossing you back to the port. Kamakiri, stay on guard."

Anne sighs, knowing she wasn't going to be able to stay here. But that was fine, she did find this place and that was all Nami wanted her to do.

"The port?" she asks. "There's a port here?"

Wyper stilts again. "You're not telling me you swam all this way."

Anne stares at him. "There was another way here?"

Wyper is absolutely disgusted. With everything, seriously. Why are the Blue Sea dwellers just leaving their childre-- oh wait, she's a teenager-- unattended? But still. Fucking hell. Even the Shandians know better than to leave their children to wander this far out in unfamiliar seas.

"She swam all this way," Kamakiri says, nodding solemnly. "Reminds me of another girl that just doesn't think."

"Excuse you?!" came an offended squeak from Aisa.

Anne catches the eye of the little girl in the distance, and waves at her. Aisa yelps at that, hiding behind Laki's leg again.

"Escort her back properly, Wyper," someone says. "She might have just been lost."

"And don't kill her before you get there."

"What the-- I won't!" Wyper snaps.

Wyper lifts Anne over his back like an annoying piece of luggage, setting his spear aside in favour of the bazooka before marching away. Anne finds herself at least a feet from the ground, looking over her shoulder in confusion.

"If she swam straight here, she probably got here from the Eastern shore of Angel Beach," Wyper mutters. "Fucking hell where are my skates--"

"Hey, are these wings real? Can you fly with them?"

Wyper turns around to suddenly notice that Anne was casually perusing his wing within her hands.

"Do not touch!" he snaps. And then when Anne reaches for the bazooka instead, "and don't touch that either, you want to get a finger blown off?"

Anne decides to just fiddle with her fingers as they go.

Wyper's grumbling the whole way there.

"Hey, mister," Anne says, as they touch down on Angel Beach again. "That weapon-- it's steel," she points to the bazooka, then toward the skates, "and that." Seastone, but she doesn't say so since she isn't sure. "So does that mean you guys interact really often with the blue sea?"

"Don't ask pointless questions," Wyper retorts instead of answering.

Anne pouts at that. "Do you live on that Holy Land place?"

"Well we fucking wish," Wyper hisses, tossing Anne's brush in her direction and turning back toward the clouds. "Next time I see you, I'm blowing you up. That's my final warning."

"Oh you don't? But is your ammo gunpowder? But that's a blue sea material too, right? Maybe you mined it from that huge island?" Anne wonders, "I don't really understand the materials and such, but I've seen Usopp make it before."

"Hell if I fucking know," Wyper sets a foot on the clouds. "Stop asking questions! I'll drop you off at Cloud End if you don't shut up!"

Anne stays quiet for approximately two seconds.

Then, "why can't we go to that huge Holy Land place?"

For a dangerous minute, Wyper wondered if 'sheer fucking annoyance' was a valid reason to shoot an obnoxious-- no no, it's not, let's not go there.

"Anne?"

Wyper whirls around, reaching for the trigger-- but Anne speaks up immediately, tunging toward the new presence emerging from the corner of the palm trees.

"Are you there, Anne?"

Usopp taps a few inches forward, his walking stick finding the edge of a tree, scoping around, his other hand on the trunk as he meanders forward. Anne's things, including her easel and the painting she'd just finished, were strapped to his back.

"I'm here, Usopp," Anne makes her way forward, picking up her things, slotting her beret right over her head, "what happened?"

"That's what I should be asking you," Usopp says, "you went off without telling us, so Luffy was worried. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did," Anne says.

She turns back to Wyper-- and he's eyeing Usopp firmly, a single finger lifting up to his lips, a mild warning to be silent.

Anne nods.

(If she says nothing, Usopp won't even notice the man there.)

(Maybe.)

"So, I have good and bad news, which do you want to hear first?" Usopp offers, and Anne pauses, not so sure what to expect.

She highly doubts Gin would've willingly left Usopp to come find her. He's not exactly the most situationally aware of the bunch. So she carefully pulls her socks back over her legs, taking some time to be mindful of the line of screws on her calf that always get caught in the fabric-- before responding.

"Are we in trouble again?" she asks.

Usopp barks out a laugh at that. "No," he says, signing something out with his hand, "but I remembered something. Do you have Northern Folk Tales with you?"

Wyper didn't recognize the signs, but Anne did.

Immediately, she moved toward her canvas bag, "I do," and while taking out the anthology, she retrieved her sketchbook. "What about it?"

Anne quickly scribbled down a note, and showed it to Wyper. [Listen.]

Wyper had no obligation to.

But right at that moment, a young girl's yelp was heard, and Aisa runs out from behind a cloud, wailing as Kinoko pecks at her violently, chasing her toward the crowd in a fit.

"Ahhh! Stop chasing me! You stupid bird! Why are you so small? It makes no sense, who shrunk you? Why are you taking it out on me! Stop!"

Wyper gapes.

"Aisa!" he snaps, "why did you follow me?!"

Aisa immediately halts, paling. "Eek! I'm sorry!" and then she runs, ducking behind Anne, "I wasn't, Wyper! I'm sorry! I was just curious!"

Anne smiles when the girl hides behind her. It's not often she's the bigger girl in the equation. Kinoko lands on Anne's shoulder, looking behind Anne and scowling at the little girl who whimpers and shrinks under Anne's other side.

"Kinoko, play nice," Usopp warns.

Wyper grinds his teeth. "Aisa, get back here."

"Huh?' Aisa turns over, looking upwards from under Usopp just to get a good look under those sunglasses. She seems to understand what that means, and backaway immediately when Wyper reaches right over to tug her back to his side.

"What do you blue sea dwellers want," Wyper grumbles, irritated.

"Well, before I say anything…" Usopp chuckles, "...nice to meet you, mister guerilla. I'm sorry if Anne has caused you any trouble. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

Wyper clicks his tongue at that.

Anne hurriedly begins writing something down on her sketchbook, sitting down and hiking the book up to her lap, paints beside her as Aisa watches.

Usopp takes Northern Folk Tales and hands it to the Shandian.

"Please, there's a title in there you'll find interesting," Usopp says, "plus, with how the rest of the crew is, I'm betting they're getting arrested and then carted right off to Upper Yard, which will put us right in your line of fire. I'd like to prevent that."

Wyper raises a brow.

"Just stay off the fucking land," he says, "what the hell are you guys doing, antagonizing the White Berets?"

"Well, we're pirates," Usopp says.

Wyper felt an unimaginable sense of rage rise in him at the use of that accursed word again. But he takes the book anyway, if only to distract himself.

"You don't want us to fight you, is that it?" he says, "tough luck. You're going to die before we even get the chance, if you're going through the trials."

"Now, don't be so hasty," Usopp says, chuckling. "I just don't want us to fight-- because well, we're aiming for the same thing here."

Wyper pauses at that.

"What do you mean?" he asks, Anne questioning it at the same time while Aisa lifts her head in utter confusion.

Kinoko flies over to Wyper's side, landing on his hand, right beside the book. With a flap of her beak she flips it open, right into a bookmark.

Right into the page of the story of Noland and the Land of Gold.

Meanwhile on the other end of Angel Beach, things are taking an awful turn.

Gin rests against the Merry while Nami takes a joyride on Pagaya's waver. Gin looks through Nami's bag, observing the strenge, globe-looking objects she'd found.

"I'm not one to talk, Nami, but you did buy this, right? Not steal?"

Nami doesn't answer him.

"Nami, if this gets us in international trouble I'm going to empty your fountain pens and arrange them in neat disassembled pieces so I can watch you struggle."

"Nooo! Anything but that!"

"Oh so you are listening!"

After learning more about Dials and cooking up a fresh meal in Pagaya's house, the group had opted to come back to the beach for a small picnic instead, since Nami was reluctant to leave the shore and Gin wanted to watch the ship.

Luffy whines, seeing Nami sail so perfectly on the Waver. Chopper's mainly trying to get as much food into himself as he can before Luffy steals it all. Robin is still chatting cheerfully with Conis.

"I find it so fascinating," Conis says, looking toward Nami. "Her arm is made of a Blue Sea mineral, is it not? We do get some occasionally with the Knock-up Stream, but the Shandians usually seize it first."

"Yes, hers in particular is a special steel you can only find in the most dangerous parts of the Blue Sea," Robin says, "I suppose they wouldn't exist in the White Sea."

"Huh? Then how do Skypieans handle prosthetics?" Chopper turns around, very interested now.

"We carve wood and stone."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"But I think the Shandians are different," Conis says, "they know very well how to work with rather interesting materials, we've seen. We're all quite impressed, and terrified, all the same."

Robin hums. "The guerillas, you mean? How strange. They look primitive, but they definitely have better technology than the citizens of Angel Island."

Skypiea had a lot of palm trees for their greenery, but none grew on earth-- only on cloud. That meant they lacked a lot of biodiversity that were taken for granted on the Blue Sea. They don't have metal tools, so did that mean they took trees down with stone as well?

"It would seen that dials take up most of the technology up here, but what about silks and clothing and dyes?" Robin suggests, "I'm quite interested in how they've come to advance here."

"Oh, for that," Conis beams, very happy to keep indulging in their questions, "my father has told you of how the Island Clouds are produced, yes?"

"Yes, though this 'pyrobloin' substance is still quite beyond me," Robin affirms. "I suppose it has something to do with how seastone is the sea in solid form."

"But it's not having a lot of effect on Devil Fruit users, so…" Chopper says, "I saw people cutting it back there to make the really soft sofas."

"That, and there's a factory here that processes Island Clouds into threads!" Conis says, "how do people on the Blue Sea weave thread?"

"I see… we have different sorts of fabrics…"

It was a rather calming sight, to see two girls just chat wholesomely in the company of tea and food. It was the sort of peace they wouldn't get on the blue sea, what with being fugitives and all.

Gin opted to rest there. Sanji busied himself packing up enough food to save for the currently missing links, and Zoro kept watch around. Luffy was still fussing over Nami, because how dare she be good at the waver he's jealous.

Zoro blinks once. Then, he takes another count. One idiot, two idiot, three morons, four-- alright, seven. Anne is nowhere to be seen, that's eight. Where's nine and nine-point-five?

"Where'd Usopp go? And his stupid bird?"

"Huh?" Luffy turns around in the middle of yelling that he hopes Nami drowns, "what the-- Usopp's missing? Is he lost?"

"I thought Kinoko's entire point was to prevent that? Do we need that bird, seriously?"

"What happened to his 'can't-wander-anywhere-without-being-a-fucking-limpet' disease?" Zoro asks. "Did he bring his stick?"

"It's the can't-walk-anywhere-without-getting-stuck-lost-and-then-crying disease," Gin corrects him. "I thought you were keeping an eye on him? I can deal with one lost child, I can't deal with two."

"You're both wrong, it's the can't-go-on-uncharted-lands-without-someone-else disease," Chopper adds. "But I really do wonder where Anne went… maybe Usopp followed her?"

"I'm quite sure it was the will-die-if-left-alone-on-a-new-island disease, as I've heard when we were on Han'nabal," Robin says, sipping on her tea.

Conis looks between them, "uhm, is this another strange Blue-Sea condition?"

"I wonder every day," Gin mutters back.

Luffy snatches up a huge lobster on his way to look around the corner, "maybe he's hiding somewhere… HEY USOPP! KINOSUKE! I'm gonna steal all your food!"

"He's not going to come if you just call for food, you know," Sanji says, eating calmly, "he's not you, after all."

"Hey, honest question," Gin speaks up, "when did Ennosuke become Kinosuke?"

"Don't ask."

"Liar! No normal person is going to not come at the call for food-- what the," Luffy backs away from the corner he's looked into, quickly hustling over to everyone else with lobster still between his fingers. "Hey guys, there's weird people."

"Weird people?" Zoro lifts his head.

"Luffy, we're weird people," Gin helpfully adds.

"We're weird people?" Chopper asks, surprised.

"You're the weirdest of us all," Sanji tells him.

In the distance-- a whole troop of white berets were crawling over, stealthily in their colourful clothes, quietly in their noisy boots, and hurrying in their glacial pace.

At the sight, Conis and Pagaya lift their heads in slight worry, standing right up to prepare to address the White Berets. Even the Cloud Fox escapes from Robin's lap to greet them as they arrive.

"Should we tell them we can see them?" Luffy stage-whispers.

"No, you'll hurt their feelings, just keep staring," Sanji whispers back.

"Heso!"

"Heso, sir!"

Luffy looks like he's going to have an absolute mental breakdown over their choice of word for greetings.

"I have heard that there are nine illegal trespassers!" Captain White Beret declares, then pauses-- "huh? There only seems to be six of you?"

"Ah yes, one of them is lost, the other is also lost, and the last one is… also lost," Zoro offers, adding the last part when he notices Nami's gone off the horizon, "hopeless, all of them."

Sanji and Gin are both staring very intently at the hypocrite.

"Ah, I see," Captain White beret ("ahem, sorry sir, what's your name? Mckinley? Okay.") clears his throat. "I apologize for interrupting your pleasant picnic, however, this must cease so we may address the rulebreaking."

"Rulebreaking?" Conis gasps. "Oh my, there must be a mistake! They're such kind people!"

"Yes, Captain McKinley, I'm so sorry," Pagaya says, "they've been nothing but courteous."

"If this is about the entrance fee, yes we didn't pay it," Gin groans from the ground. "Alright, everyone, time to run."

"Again?" Luffy whines.

"Huh? But that old lady at the entrance said we could pass!" Chopper asks, very confused. "She didn't say anything about this."

"Unfortunately," Captain McKinley retrieves a picture, "there is photographic evidence, so denying crime is--"

The conversation escalates.

They don't have the money to pay the risen entrance fee, and when attention turns to the broken waver and apparent illegal possession of Sky Island articles, Luffy begins to grow annoyed.

"Plus, there's been a suspected case of Weather Ball theft in the city right now," Captain McKinley says, "it is unfortunate, but I must request to search your ship. It is a matter of national emergency."

"No!" Luffy says, "I don't want any of you freaks on the Merry, Usopp would get so mad at me if you moved anything!"

"What theft now?" Gin sits right up, "dude, none of us have been into the city, aside from dropping by these guys' house. It can't be us."

Immediately after he said that, everyone stopped.

Then, their jaws dropped in realization.

"Nami, that bitch," Gin hisses sharply, "does she want us to be in trouble?"

Zoro facepalms, and Sanji looks toward the food that's going to go cold. Luffy is still trying to antagonize the White berets, and Pagaya and Conis are desperately trying to get him to not do that. Gin stands up, going to stop him before he makes things worse.

Robin sighs, standing up and smiling at Conis. "It seems we've overstayed our welcome. Thanks for your hospitality. Shall we go, Mister Doctor?"

"Ah, yes, I think we should."

"Hey, stop there! Trying to escape would be a Class 5 crime as you're obstructing our work," Captain McKinley warns.

"I understand very well," Robin says, "however, I am not the authority of the ship, and thus I have no power in this conversation. Do direct your concerns toward the Captain."

Gin whistles at that. That's a good move, but it's only pissing off the White Berets more.

"And who is this captain?" he demands, after taking a breath to recompose himself.

"Me!" Luffy crosses his arms.

Captain McKinley whirls around in disbelief.

His crisis doesn't last long-- because in the next moment, the roar of a Waver bursts over the horizon, and Nami steps right on the engine, soaring through the waves with a loud sing of excitement.

This catches the attention of the figures on the shore. Even Robin and Chopper, and Zoro, who was lifting the anchor, looked over with interest. Nami was really having a joyride over there.

"Hey, Nami!" Luffy yells, "come back, there's some people here!"

"Yeah, they're the Marines of this place!" Nami hollers back, skidding over the waves, making a curve to come ashore, "don't go against them, alright?"

To which Luffy immediately yells back, "why?!"

"What do you mean, why? Luffy just be quiet a second," Sanji groans, "Gin, tell him off."

"Huh?" Gin looks up, "but Luffy's right."

Sanji does a very dramatic double take, because he did not expect Gin to just give in like that, "dude, we have a chance to get in this guy's good graces right now. We'd have the opportunity to enjoy some relaxing time with Angel-chan."

"Sounds nice."

"Exactly," Sanji pleads, "let me take Angel-chan on a date before we go cause trouble."

"I disagree, since it involves the authorities that I absolutely hate," Gin immediately says, pointing forward, "go for it, Luffy."

Sanji makes a despaired noise.

And immediately, Luffy's entire figure lights right up, brimming into an excited smile, raising a fist. The White Berets immediately realize they're in danger and brace themselves for battle, alarmed--

--and then the waver swings right through the air, heel smashing right into McKinley's face at full speed, sending him flying into the palm trees before the body of the waver crashes in after him.

Nami rolls onto the cloud, having gotten out before it crashed.

"Oh no!" she says, in the fakest voice ever, "I'm so sorry! I'm an amateur! So I lost control of the waver! Are you hurt? I'm so sorry."

"What the-- that doesn't count as attacking us, right?" a white beret asks.

"Captain McKinley?! Are you okay?!" another yells out, awfully concerned.

"I think we can classify that as an accident, since she looks genuinely distressed," another mutters, "but anyways, is the captain alright?"

Nami apologizes and then thanks Pagaya for lending her the waver, and then she joins Luffy in facing the White Berets, a hand on his shoulder.

"Anyways, Luffy-- I saw an amazing place West of here," she says, "it's a huge landmass, full of huge trees."

"Really?" Luffy says, "a forest?"

"That's right!"

"Huh-- wha, wait!" Conis interrupts them, flustered, "that land-- Upper Yard-- is somewhere visitors can't go, no matter what. I hope you hadn't stepped foot there?"

"I haven't, but--" Nami smiles, pointing toward Luffy.

Luffy eyes are twinkling, "we can't go there, no matter what?"

Zoro immediately looks away. "He's definitely going to go," he grumbles.

Chopper nods. Robin looks between them, sighing to herself that she's picked an eccentric ship to ride. Sanji sighs. Gin shakes his head, making his way back toward the ship. He's given up at this point, and he wanted nothing but to get back down to the Blue Sea.

"Look, you seven-- and the other two, whenever they return…" Captain McKinley begins, sounding very hard like he's holding back the urge to argue with all his might. "...there is little I can do for you if you refuse to listen. Your crimes thus far will need to be judged in court. Please allow yourselves to be arrested for further questioning."

At the same time, Nami, Sanji, and Luffy turn around, eyes firmly set and their voices cold.

"We refuse."

Zoro lifts the anchor, and Gin slowly climbs up the ship. They sigh in unison. Robin watches from the bow, and Chopper looks on in wonder.

On the shore, battle erupts.

Defeating them was easy.

Luffy could handle it, all on his own. The problem was being declared Class 2 Criminals and sentenced to Upper Yard, and everything that came after that.The Lobster Express carts the Merry right off toward the distance in a lane of skysharks, and Luffy, Sanji, and Nami are left stranded on Angel Beach and a very quiet Conis.

"Well, they'll be fine, Zoro's there," Luffy says.

"I'm worried about Robin-chan," Sanji adds. Then, "ah, Conis-chan," Sanji beams, "if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I pack the rest of our picnic to go?"

"The only one you need to worry about over there is the Merry herself," Nami says, "geez, could those lobsters be gentler on her cracked bow?"

"Sorry to trouble you so far, Conis-chan," Sanji swoons again, "you wouldn't happen to know a way for us to get to Upper Yard, would you?"

"Ah… I do," Conis says, evidently reluctant. She cradles Suu in her hands as she forces a smile. "I'll bring you to the port on the other side."

They head back to Pagaya's house to pack up the food well in proper packages, and there, they get changed. No way was Nami going into a forest in just her bikini, and no way was Sanji going into one in his damn suit.

"I guess I'll have to settle for just a wind jacket," Nami sighs, pulling the Doskoi Panda tricoloured waterproof jacket-- Gin gave her a whole lecture over not buying expensive things when he found it-- over herself.

"I thought you had Gin's jacket?"

"He made me give it back and brought down another."

"Well, I'm at least lucky I brought a shirt down," Sanji mutters, stripping off his dress shirt for a lighter vacation shirt. "Hey Luffy, get over here and put this on."

"Huh?" Luffy looks over from the fluffy pillow he was bullying Suu with, "whuzzat?"

"A bell," Sanji says.

"Why?"

"We lost two children already. I don't care about the Mosshead, but I don't want you to be the third."

"So you're putting a bell on me?"

"Don't pout, everyone's getting one. Nami said so."

"What, why?"

"Because all of you keep getting lost!"

"How is that supposed to help?!"

Through complaining, Luffy pulls on the little wristlet with a bell over the other wristband he got from Usopp.

"Fine I guess, it's kinda adventure-ish!"

"How so?"

"Just somehow!"

And then he went to show it off. Sanji stares, confused, and then he thinks back to all the jewellery everyone wears on this ship, and he thinks it kind of checks out. Maybe Luffy felt left out or something.

And as they made their way through the city, the citizens avoided them.

"Hey, Nami-san," Sanji whispers to Nami, "you sure it's all a good idea to just let things go like this?" he asks. "Nothing out of the ordinary, even with your--"

Nami lifts a finger to shush him.

Then, a single one-handed sign.

"Someone's listening."

Luffy catches it too, and he looks back, all movement between them pausing at once.

Sanji had been whispering-- and yet, Nami had warned against being heard. That meant any amount of sound was a no-go, in sensitive information.

"Anne will be fine, since Usopp's with her. Gin is still weak for now, and Chopper's scared-- but Zoro and Robin are with them, so they'll be fine, too," Nami assures, before snickering, "it's amazing! Our crew is so strong, huh?"

(Unlike last time around, where they had to constantly divide their attention between the three weaker links every once in a while.)

"Ah, that's right-- the truth is…" Nami brightens right up and leans into a stage whisper, "you know the guerilla we met in the White Sea? I just remembered something about a primitive tribe with wings. It was written in Noland's log book!"

And in perfect Lord Storyteller fashion, Nami draws them into a story.

A story about the land they were on-- and what it might have in store.

"We've been at war for four hundred years, just trying to get that land back to fulfill Calgara's promise," the Shandian Chieftain sighs, deep and heavy. "And for these same centuries…"

Anne works on a painting while the Shandians receive the news from Usopp. They were in the village now, gathered in a crowd.

"Mister Cricket is still waiting," Usopp says, "he even knows how to get up here. All we have to do is tell him that you're up here."

"You say that like it's so easy!"

"Woah-oh, hey, Wyper, do not--!!"

Usopp quickly lifts his walking stick in self defense, but the two little bells hanging by the straw hat jolly roger catch too much attention, and by the time he collapses it into a slingshot, Wyper has kicked it away. Luckily though, the other Shandians came up to him before he got mauled.

There's a whole array of loud yelling before there's a panic and a "someone get the bazooka away from Wyper!" along with a lot of "no, you do it!" and "you think I wanna die? YOU do it!" and Usopp was left hiding behind the Shandian Chieftain for his life.

Anne had Aisa beside him and Laki on the other side, watching her paint a portrait of Cricket while the boys behind them caused utter mayhem. Kinoko was there on Anne's beret, watching Usopp suffer while she stares, like it doesn't affect her.

"But that's so sad. They were never able to meet again," Aisa rubs a tear away from her eyes. "Damn those Skypieans!"

For four hundred years, all the Shandians ever wanted to do was to ring the bell. And yet, the predecessor of the Skypiean god only saw the generous Vearth. They didn't even know of the existence of Shandora, and the significance it held.

It was greed, and greed only, that possessed them.

Now that it was too late to fulfill that promise, the Skypieans are trying to make peace? It was devastating to everything they fought for. It was appalling to think anyone could forgive them now.

"I still can't believe that it's up here," Anne says. "Mister Cricket was looking under the sea for the signs. But it was in the opposite direction all along."

She was done with the drawing, and now there were a group of people looking over it with interest. Northern Folk Tales was on Wyper's side-- and a few were leaning over to read it better, frowning at the word choices in the Blue-to-White sea written language differences.

Anne ties the note she was writing to Kinoko's side, ready to be delivered to the rest of the crew to report on her findings and their whereabouts.

"They call Noland a Liar and put him to death, all because we couldn't ring the bell that day," Wyper spits out, giving up on the burn bazooka, "that fucking does it. I'm going to Upper Yard and I'm going to fucking murder Enel today."

"Hey hey, Wyper, no!"

"At least think of a plan!"

"If it was that easy, we'd have done it centuries ago!"

Usopp picks up his walking stick, mindful of the jolly roger hanging by the handle. There were two bells on it jingling slightly as he moved it, and he removed one, handing it to Anne.

"If the bell rang, four hundred years ago-- would Noland have found them?" Usopp says-- and attention is turned, right onto him. "That is something no one knows." And then he grins. "But hey, that only means you gotta do it now, more than ever!" Usopp tells them, "because now, you've got confirmation that Montblanc Noland's descendant is still waiting for you guys!"

The words struck.

It really was a four-hundred-year legend, that neither of these two idiots have given up on reclaiming that bond they shared-- it's only grown stronger in Wyper and Cricket, stronger than it has ever been in their lineage since. They were willing to die if it meant the promise was fulfilled.

And with the statue of Calgara watching upon them, they moved.

Wyper finally gets a hold of his bazooka.

"Yeah, we gotta go," he mutters. "But you Blue Sea morons have nothing to do with this. How about you leave?"

"No, Luffy wants the gold," Anne immediately answers.

At the same time, Usopp says, "they got arrested, so we kinda can't."

Usopp and Wyper stared at each other-- as well as Usopp can, anyway-- and Wyper just sighed, very deeply.

"What the fuck do you guys even want up here," he mutters. "Other than the stuff about telling us about Noland's descendant?"

Anne closes her sketchbook and steps over to Usopp's side.

Usopp chuckles, "well, we came here for gold and adventure, which is what pirates do. And then we got into trouble, as pirates do."

"I didn't know about this story, though," Anne says. "Even now, it's kinda in bits and pieces. Can we start from the beginning? Like, who is Calgara? Usopp talked like we already know, and Noland's logbook didn't mention him either."

"Hold up, hold up."

Wyper held his head in the crux of a headache.

"I'm tired of that fucking word," Wyper says, "what, in this everloving, god-forsaken world-- is a pirate?"