THE CHILDREN Set Sail!

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, so far, there has been no progress in securing the rights of both Zettai Karen Children and One Piece by any attempt Normama has been able to do in his power. But I shouldn't have to say that such success is important for our—no, the National Treasure of Japan! Okay, men!? The Treasures of Our Country, The Children, are taking part of this fabulous story! We will use all our resources to secure those rights!"

BABEL Soldiers: "Yes, Sir-!"

Minamoto: "Um…You can stop all that. The operation is cancelled~! All hands return to base~!"

Kiritsubo (Tied, bounded, and gagged): "What-!? You Bastard-!"

Kashiwagi (Tightening the rope around Kiritsubo): "Calm down!"

Kiritsubo: "WHY!? We were so close!"

Minamoto (angrily): "Why do think!? You mobilized enough here to start World War III!"

Kashiwagi: "Uh, readers~! Please ignore what just happen~! Continue reading knowing that all rights to both One Piece and Zettai Karen Children remains with their respectful creators…"

A dark dense forest in the middle of the night. It was quiet…almost too quiet. Even the crickets seem to not be in the mood to play their tune. And then, just beyond a set of thickets, a single silhouette being leap into the scene.

At first, it seem to have been a human judging from it silhouette impression. But it had landed like a four-legged predator and emitted a growl that could easily belong to a wolf of some sort. It then sniffed the ground before sniffing the air. It was looking for something, but it seems to have a hard time finding it. Suddenly, it froze in alert before dashing off with a growl.

A great setting for a sci-fi predator…or even for the start of a horror film.

However, the tense atmosphere soon disappeared as vehicle headlights illuminate the forest…followed by large tank-like vehicles, the source of the headlights, rolls onto the scene. They plowed through the thickets and any tree that were unfortunate enough to be in their path.

And then, as if to ruin the mood even more so, a woman voice boomed out from one of the vehicle.

"Hatsune-chan~~!" the woman voice boomed out, "Any luck~~~!?"

The scene switch back to the silhouette person, who due to the shine of the headlights now reveal to be a teenage girl with long brown messy hair and wild-like brown eyes.

"No scent still," Inugami Hatsune replied to the woman's voice, "Hatsune will keep searching!"

"…Wait a minute, Hatsune," a voice suddenly called from above.

Hatsune turn her attention skyward and spot a little bird fluttering down towards her.

"Let's call it quits for today…"

"But we haven't found Nee-sama yet!" Hatsune growled at the bird that hovered just a few centimeters above her.

"We didn't find them yesterday either. I don't think it's going to change even if we search for other hour…"

"If Akira is tired, Akira can go home!"

The bird, which is currently being possessed by her Esper partner Yadorigi Akira, sighed. "Alright, but I'll warn you now: it's almost dinner time…"

"Ugh-! A-Akira! That's mean!"

"I'm only telling you the truth though…"

"Okay, Akira-kun, Hatsune-chan~!" the woman voice called out, "Let's stop for now and get some dinner~!"

"… …Okay~!" Hatsune grumbled before bolting towards the vehicle that the woman's voice came from, as did the bird that Akira was controlling.

"This is Kojika Keiko, Supervisor of the Hound," the woman began her report over the speaker, "Operation is currently suspended. Thank you for your help. Everyone return to HQ!"

Upon the order, the other tank-like vehicle made a U-turn wherever they were and started to leave the forest.

"Nee-sama not here either~!" Hatsune, after climbing in, whimpered sadly like a depressed dog as a boy with spiky blue hair woke up from his daze like state from controlling the bird.

"Don't worry, Hatsune," Akira sighed, "We'll find them… …though I question if they'll be in a forest…"

"You never know, Akira-kun," Keiko giggled, "They could be out camping…"

"Uh, no offense, Kojika-san, but I don't think they'll be doing something like now of all times…"

Well, Akira, sorry to disappoint you. But the Children are indeed doing something quite similar.

We find the Children and the Straw Hats where we last left them: in the forest of Upper Yard only a little ways away from the lake that surrounds the Sacrificial Altar where the damaged Going Merry rest and awaited repairs. Everyone was doing their part to make the most out of the situation. Sanji was busy chopping up food ingredients to be used later on currently cutting up carrot pieces into heart shapes.

Zoro, Chopper and Robin had set off to find more ingredients. Chopper, by the way is with Zoro in order to make sure he will comes back to the camping site.

Usopp and Aoi worked on gather supplies to eventually fix the Going Merry. Using this chance to also practice her swordsmanship, Aoi took advantages of the large trees of Upper Yard to craft up some lumber.

Nami and Shiho collaborate to formulate a rewarding result from everything they had just learned. Shiho also took the chance to learn a bit more about map making, knowing that sooner or later this useless skill when it comes to fighting might come in handy another way.

Pierre continues to keep a watchful eye over his master Gan Fall. And what were Luffy and Kaoru doing in the meantime, you ask?

…

… …

… … …

"… …Ah~~~!" Kaoru moaned as she threw a comical tantrum on the ground, "No more~~!"

"This job is so~ boring~~!" Luffy cried out in the same manner.

"You don't have to keep staring at it," Shiho noted from where she sat with Nami, "All you have to do is, when you see it accumulated enough in the container, pour the water into the canteens. That's all you need to do…"

"But it's so boring~~~!" Kaoru and Luffy comically moaned together.

"But it's an important job," Sanji called out from his cooking station, "we have to make sure everyone has clean water tomorrow…"

Yep, the two are in charge of converting undrinkable water into distilled water and filling the canteens for the adventure they be on tomorrow.

In the meantime it took Sanji and Shiho to lecture the two about their assigned task, Chopper and Zoro return to the campsite.

"Sanji~!" Chopper called out, "We found a lot of stuff~!"

"Ah, good~!" Sanji smiled at the news, "Let's see the hull!"

With a nod, Zoro and Chopper presented their catch for the day.

"We found walnuts, aloe, bananas, garlic," Chopper began.

"Rats and frogs," Zoro concluded.

"Great," Sanji nodded from where he was worked and pointed behind towards where the he was cooking stew, "Throw them all into the stew-…"

"Hold it!" Nami suddenly screeched comically from where she worked with Shiho, "There's some weird ones mixed in there!"

"I know, disgusting!" Kaoru exclaimed in the same manner, "You don't expect us to eat that mess, do you!?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Nami-san, Kaoru," Sanji bashfully scratched his head in shame, "I was careless; silly me~! You two don't like garlic? I promise I'll take them out-!"

"NO, NO, NO!" Nami comically backhand the comment, "Not THAT~~!"

"The garlic is only good thing that could be added to a pot!" Kaoru voiced comically in agreement.

"Is our Navigator having another meltdown?" Robin asked in an amusing tone as she returns from the shoreline of the lake carrying a large rock crystal in her arms.

"Wow, Robin~!" Nami eyes the rock crystal immediately, "Now that's what I call a gem~! It's huge~!"

Robin giggled. "Big? Yes. But it's not a gemstone…"

"Eh!? It isn't!?"

"Nope," Shiho cued in, "If I guessing correctly, it's one of the most important ingredients a chef must be able to have when cooking almost any tasty meals: salt crystal! A big bunch of it too…"

"Nice find, Robin-chan~!" Sanji complimented enthusiastically.

"I found on the shore," Robin noted, "And I figure we'll find some use for it…"

"Of course~~! In the game of survival, salt is very important~~~! Without it, my food will taste awful~~~!"

"…True," Shiho sweat dropped as her cooking master goes into lovey-dovey mode, "But not in the same sense as you're currently implying, Sanji…"

"I'll take some aloe and some garlic," Chopper noted.

"Why do you only need those?" Aoi, who had just return with Usopp, questioned.

"Aloes are for burn wounds and garlics are for disinfectant…"

"Ah~!"

"What about the frogs?" Zoro suddenly noted.

"Frogs!?"

"Don't need the frogs," Chopper answered automatically.

"Damn," Zoro sighed with a dissatisfy grumble.

"Why do you sound so depress!?" Aoi dope slapped her sword master.

"Hey, Zoro!" Sanji suddenly called, "Get over here and help!"

"Help?" Zoro noted interest, "Help with what?"

"You see that large stone in the fire?" Sanji pointed out, "Use your swords to pick it up and drop it into the pot…"

"What-!? My swords were not made for this type of thing!"

"Shut up," Sanji demanded as he removes the lid of the pot, "Obey the chef or starve!"

"Is that a threat-!?"

"I-I'll do it," Aoi hurryingly interjected as pulled out her twin katanas, Solar Hero and Lunar Wing, "I'll do it! So don't fight over it!"

Aoi immediately work her swords under the large stone and carefully raised it out of the fire.

"… …Ouch~! …"

Aoi stopped herself and glanced around in confusion.

"…? What's wrong, Aoi?" Zoro inquired upon seeing Aoi's flustered behavior.

"… …Did one of girls cried out in pain just now?" Aoi inquired her female comrades.

"…? Not me," Kaoru shook her head.

"Got no reason to," Shiho denied her involvement.

"Don't look at me," Nami claimed.

"I didn't make a noise either," Robin admitted.

"… …Well, maybe I'm just hearing things," Aoi shrugged it off before promptly dropping the still red-hot stone into the pot, "There we go!"

"… …Couldn't you just teleport the stone into the pot?" Kaoru suddenly noted as Sanji hurryingly closed the lid.

"I could," Aoi admitted, "But where's the fun in that?"

"…You did it for fun? …"

"…!? Did you just question me, Zoro-han?"

"Say what?" Zoro gave a perplex expression.

"… …I must be getting tired," Aoi scratched her head in confusion.

"Either that," Kaoru chuckled nervously, "or that Sky Priest hit you harder than we thought…"

"Maybe," Aoi turn to Chopper, "Can you give my head another check later, Chopper-han?"

"Sure," Chopper nodded as he mixed the last of the ingredients into his medicine.

"So, were eating the rock too?" Luffy noted as he stared at the pot that Aoi dropped the heated stone into, "Does it taste good?"

"Of course not," Sanji rolled his eye, "This is Scorched-Stone Stew, a stew created by using the heat of the rock to cook the food in the pot, from the inside out, so that all the nutrients are retained in the broth…"

"Heh~!"

"Yep, it's an interesting cooking technique," Sanji nodded before glaring over to where Shiho was sitting, "Take note of that!"

"Way~ ahead of you," Shiho proclaimed as she put the final touch to her cooking tip notebook.

"Smells like we got a winner~!" Luffy trotter over and open the lid to get a sample

"Keep your hands off!" Sanji exclaimed.

…only to receive a kick from the Pirate Chef to the head in retaliation.

"Sanji~!" Luffy moaned, "I'm hungry~!"

"Well, it's NOT ready yet!" Sanji roared comically in defiant, "Weren't you just cramming a Sky Shark down your gullet not ten minutes ago!?"

"…Yeah. But that was just an appetizer; I figure you knew that!"

"…He must have a rubber stomach too," Nami sighed as she and others watch from the sidelines.

"Yeah," Robin noted, "Tell me about…"

"Gee," Shiho rolled her eyes, "You think!?"

"What was your first guess?" Aoi sighed.

"…So anyway," Usopp cleared his voice and direct his words to Kaoru, "If you got nothing better to do, could you help me get the repair supplies over to the altar?"

"…? Sure," Kaoru nodded.

"Truthfully, I was going to do it myself. But when I thought about how you got stuck with such a boring task, I thought you would prefer this more active job…"

"Yeah, right~!" Aoi gave a knowingly glance, "If I didn't pointed out the Sky Sharks that was still swimming about, you would have jumped and offer yourself willingly to them~!"

"… … …I-I was just…testing you to see if you were really paying attention! That's all! I certainly didn't forget about the Sky Sharks! Not one bit!"

"Okay, finished!" Nami nodded in satisfaction at the map both she and Shiho worked on.

"It's a bit makeshift," Shiho shrugged, "But it'll do for the time being…"

"Well, considering what we got to work with, you did a pretty good job Shiho~!"

"… …Well, whatever," Shiho bashfully replied before clearing her throat to gain everyone else's attention, "Alright, everyone! Let's do a mission-briefing and a battle plan for tomorrow~!"

"Okay~!" Everyone voiced as Sanji begin serving everyone the stew he's been cooking.

"Aoi~!" Sanji called, "Use your power to distribute the bowls of stew, would you?"

"Sure, no problem~!" Aoi nodded before her hand began to glow bright green.

"Oh, one last thing," Sanji began to note as the bowls of stew glowed faintly green before disappearing, "Be sure to send the two bowls closest to me to Nami-san and Robin-chan~!"

"Eh?" Aoi managed before all the bowls reappeared next to someone.

"I have a special treat in those two bowls for them~!"

"… …You should have told me that before I teleported them, Sanji-han…"

"…Huh?"

"Wow~! This soup is delicious~!" Usopp awed as he dined into his bowl, "And these carrots are cut into heart shapes too! You really outdid yourself, Sanji!"

Pierre also chirped in acknowledgement as he ate from his bowl, admiring the heart-shape carrots in it as well.

"… … …Yes, Usopp~! Pierre~!" Sanji growled in angry frustration, "I worked so hard to satisfy the two of you~~!"

"…Uh, okay?" Usopp sweat dropped nervously, as did Pierre.

"…Uh, sorry?" Aoi apologized with a sweat drop.

Sanji, in turn, sighed in depression. "Oh, woe is me~~!"

"…So~! While you guys are settling down," Nami called, "Let's review the content of Noland's Picture Book!"

"According to book," Shiho carried on, "Noland first discovered the golden city 400 years ago…"

"Then a few years later, he revisited Jaya but the Golden City had already vanished without a trace…"

"Due to Nami, Zoro and Robin's discovery a little while ago, we now know that Upper Yard was part of Jaya. And in those few years between Noland's visits, it came up into the sky. Based on what we know thus far, we can only think of one phenomenon capable of making this impossible scenario possible…"

"The Knock-Up Stream?" Chopper guessed.

"Yes," Nami nodded, "That's the best guess. Since Cricket said that the location of the explosion varies every time…"

"Given the size of it," Usopp nervously frowned, "I wouldn't be surprise…"

"Still," Zoro intervened, "We went to the forest of Jaya before, and the difference between that one and this forest is too great, though. Are they once the same?"

"We are talking about four centuries, Zoro-han," Aoi offered, "what, with how different land down there is compare to the sky, it could have cause this change…"

"Miss Teleporter is on the right track," Robin informed, "It's likely due to the strange substances inside the Sea Cloud and Island Clouds, which seem to abnormally enhance the plant and animal's growth rates. In such cases, it can justify the ruins of civilization that were swallowed by the forest…"

"There's no denying the South Birds either," Shiho added, "After all, South Birds are unique to the island of Jaya. If Upper Yard was once part of Jaya, that'll explain why they're here too…"

"Yeah," Chopper nodded, "the South Birds that saved us was huge~!"

"About that," Sanji intervened, "Why did those South Birds save you?"

"Well, I'm not sure. But those birds were calling the Sky Knight 'God'…"

"GOD!?" Kaoru and Luffy exclaimed in comical shock.

"Why is God, the one rules over Sky Island and is the one behind the whole reason we had to take those Ordeals, the Sky Knight that nearly got himself killed to save you two!?" Kaoru exclaimed in confusion.

"Obviously," Shiho rolled her eyes, "Because he's not the God that those Sky Priest are working for~! Plus, his name is Gan Fall…not Enel which Conis identify as the current 'God', remember~?"

"Oh…"

"So then," Luffy pointed to the sleeping Gan Fall, "I just have to beat up this Old Guy and everything will be over!?"

"Of course not!" Usopp comically exclaimed as Pierre, having heard Luffy, shielded his master with his wings, "You Idiotic Bastard~!"

"Weren't you listening!?" Shiho added as Pierre breathed a sigh of relief, "I just said he's the one that we're after!"

"Anyway," Nami cleared her voice, a sign to return to the main topic, "Let's think back on the information of the Golden City that we read in Noland's ship log. Does anyone remember what he wrote?"

"Oh, me!" Luffy raised his hand, "He saw gold!"

"DUH, MORON!" Usopp comically retorted.

"Care state more of the unnecessary obvious!?" Aoi added while rolling her eyes.

"There was something about some huge 'Golden Bell'," Sanji reminisced, "then something about the South Bird…"

"Warmer," Shiho ushered, "Getting warmer…"

"On the last page of the Ship Log, there is something very unclear…the thing he wrote before he died. It was 'In the Skull's right eye, Gold was seen'…"

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Kaoru inquired in confusion.

"That's the apparently the key to treasure we'll be searching for tomorrow!"

"…?"

"Take a look at this," Nami pulled out two maps as everyone else gather around, "Shiho and I combined the map that Robin found concerning Jaya with the ancient map of Skypiea that Luffy found on the sunken wreckage. And when you combine them at the point of Cricket's home…"

With the map of Jaya fold along the side of the shore where Cricket's house should be on, it lay on top of the Skypiea Map narrowly touching the side of the nearly crescent moon shape island on it.

"Look! This is Jaya…Four Hundred years ago!"

"Oh~~!" Kaoru and Aoi awed, "It looks just like a skull!"

"And here's my hand drawn version," Shiho pulled out her own map, "Made based on what we see when merge the two maps together~!"

"Not bad," Sanji hummed in approval at Shiho's map, which looks nearly identical to when Nami merged the two maps earlier.

"So then," Usopp eyed the map carefully, "the Skull's 'right eye' is…?"

"Most likely, this place," Shiho pointed to the temple on her map she had duplicated, which by personification would be the area of the skull's right eye socket.

"Noland had meant the whole of the Island's body," Nami finalized, "But since the island was split in half four hundred years ago, it was impossible to solve the riddle Noland left on his death bed…until now~!"

"So that's it!" Aoi thumped her palm in acknowledgement.

"I see," Zoro nodded in the same manner.

"Treasure~~~!" Luffy, Usopp and Kaoru cheered in excitement.

"So tomorrow," Nami finalized, "We'll just go straight to the temple structure located on the map. But we can't leave the ship here, so we'll split into two groups…"

"Because there's no doubt about it," Shiho smirked, "If all goes well, there's some huge amount of gold waiting for us to take it~!"

Everyone cheered in acknowledgement.

Sometime later, everyone finally finish eating all of Sanji's cooking. The Children, for one, had a rough day in their own way so they ate nearly as much as Luffy did. They figure they were going to need it for the next day, so they ate without a care in the world.

"Man, I'm stuffed!" Kaoru sighed in content.

"There's going to be gold to tomorrow…" Chopper spoke in anticipation.

Nami snickered. "That's right~!"

"You think tomorrow will be sunny again?" Luffy inquired.

"Sure," Usopp replied with confidence, "We're on top of the clouds…"

"Yeah," Shiho chuckled, "It's going to hard to get any other types of weather phenomenon up here…"

"It's getting late," Robin suddenly addressed, "There's no need for the fire, so we should put it out. We'll give away our location to our enemies…"

"What a stupid idea~," Luffy sighed. "You hear that, Usopp~? Kaoru~? Can you believe what she just said~?"

"Put out the fire, she says~," Kaoru shook her head in disappointment, "What a rookie idea~! Even if it's from Robin…"

Robin blinked in confusion.

"It can't be helped~," Usopp defended the confused Archaeologist, "Don't be so hard on her~! Robin's a woman who has lived her entire life in darkness~; she doesn't know~!"

"…I guess you got a point," Kaoru nodded after thinking about, "How sad~!"

"Huh?" Robin tilted her head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

The three of them suddenly collapse to their knees in front Robin (in other words an Orz posture), occasionally pounding the ground or crying emotionally.

"We're supposed to have a campfire~!" Luffy cried out in agony.

"It's a camp for crying out loud~!" Kaoru cried out in the same manner, "How are we camping without a campfire~!?"

"It's human nature to have a campfire when camping," Usopp wailed, "even if it costs us our lives~!"

"It's never ending with those idiots!" Nami grumbled with a comical vein displaying her anger, "Hey, that's enough fooling around! You know how dangerous this forest is, right!? Let's not give it any more help in killing us!"

"Don't care!" Luffy and Kaoru pouted.

"There are Priests our there!" Aoi exclaimed as she return with Sanji and Zoro with a number of large logs.

"And guerillas too!" Shiho added.

"And even without them, forests like this are still dangerous at night!" Nami continued to lecture, "There're probably fierce beasts or monsters lurking out there!"

"Monsters!?" Chopper exclaimed in fright.

"Sky Island is scary," Usopp nervously backed off, his hand up in defense, "Sky Island is scary…"

"Oi, Luffy!" Zoro called over next to the pile of logs that he and Sanji constructed, "Is this enough for your campfire~?"

"Wait, that's why we got those logs!?" Aoi exclaimed in shock.

"Of course," Zoro acknowledged, "What else are they use for?"

"…Oh, I don't know~, Zoro-han! Maybe for building fences to keep the area we're sleeping safe!"

"You guys are in on this too!?" Nami comically exclaimed at the two, "Can you idiots think for one second!?"

Sanji laughed as he lit a torch. "Don't worry, Nami-san! Wild animals are naturally afraid of fire…"

"Most animals are," Shiho sighed as she palmed her face, "but studies show that certain dangerous mammals are attracted to fire due to curiosity!"

"Oh, really?"

"Behind you!" Nami screeched in horror when she spotted glowing yellow glaring eyes, "Behind you! There's something there!"

One of the glowing eyes came forward, revealing itself to be a growling white wolf with a scar over its right eyes.

"EEK~!" Chopper and Usopp shrieked in terror.

"…?" Sanji blinked when the wolf began to make some growling noise, "Oi, he's saying something. Translate, Chopper!"

"A-Ah! Y-Yeah!" Chopper came over next to the Coyote and began to translate, "…You puny pests have been keeping us awake! Go to sleep, you dumbass humans!"

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" Luffy, Sanji, Shiho and Kaoru exclaimed angrily.

"He's not the one saying it!" Aoi screeched in the frightened Chopper's defense.

"Hey, you'd better not be trying to move in on our territory," Chopper continued translating for the Wolf.

"No, we were forced to come here…"

"This is our land! You think you can just barge in and start a fire?"

"…uh, sorry…"

"Everything in this forest, from the tree to weeds, is ours-!"

BONK! That was the sound of Nami punching hard on the wolf's head.

"I'm not giving up my treasure!" Nami declared unapologetically.

The rest of the glowing eyes, which are the rest of the pack, growled threateningly.

"Uh-oh," Shiho sweat dropped nervously, "Nami got them mad…"

"W-What do we do now!?" Usopp shivered.

"…Well, think of something!" Nami passed the thought back to Usopp.

"ME!?"

The lead wolf, with the swell on its head it receives from Nami earlier, suddenly snared.

"…!" Kaoru ready herself to help counter, but the attack never came.

"Huh?" Shiho blinked. Why didn't they attack? In fact, they look like they were lectured.

"Shut Up!' Chopper began to translate the lead wolf, "The whole lot of you couldn't take her on!"

The Lead Wolf sudden gave a smug-like expression towards Nami.

"Babe, didn't know you had such a nice punch…I like you!"

A spark of friendship twinkled between Nami and the Wolf Leader.

"…So things are under control?" Usopp managed in a daze

"Looks like it," Aoi sweat dropped.

"Then, let's have our campfire!" Luffy cheered.

"AYE~~!" Everyone cheered.

Straw Hats: 知り合いじゃなくて [We may not be related]

友達じゃなくて [But the bonds we've created]

オレたちは Family! [Are strong enough to call family!]

(海に出る限り!) [When we're sailing the sea]

The Children now found themselves dancing with their comrades and the coyotes in a bonfire-like celebration.

"Come aboard! Come aboard!" Usopp cheered as he beat a drum he hastily made that hangs around his neck, "It's the Eve of Gold Festival!"

Luffy and Kaoru, in the midst of the party, playfully howled like the coyotes.

"What is this?" Nami wondered after drinking a bizarre drink offered to her by a coyote, "It's good~! Did you guys make this juice?"

Coyote nodded proudly in responds.

"It's delicious! I'll have some more~!"

The Children: 親戚じゃなくて 兄弟じゃない [When other tides have faded we will still be here~~]

オレたちは [More than friends we are family!]

Zoro was drinking some sake when he notices a Coyote was also drinking sake nearby. The two glared at each other until Aoi appeared between the two and raised her left hand in the air before bringing it down.

"Showdown!" Aoi declared.

"…Yeah~," Zoro and the Coyote smirked at the proposal before beginning their drinking contest.

Luffy: だだっぴろい海図見渡してみても [You can go and explore every wave and island in the ocean]

これだけのヤツら見つかんないぜ [But even then you won't find a crew that holds a candle to ours~]

"Kya~!" Nami laughed arm in arm with the Coyote that gave her the drink, as if she was drunk, "What is this wonderful drink~!?"

"We're getting that treasure tomorrow~~~!" Luffy declared.

"GOLD~!" Chopper, Sanji and the Children cheered.

Nami: 一流の困り者 [The crew on our ship is all misfits]

乗り込んだ Mother ship [But we're the best misfits around!]

"…Everyone sure is enjoying themselves," Robin giggled as she watches the party go on.

"That is something happens quite often," Shiho acknowledge as she sat herself a bit away from where Robin sat.

"Do they now?"

"I've been part of this crew long enough to know that much…"

"…Even the Cloud Wolves have been tamed," voice acknowledge from behind Shiho and Robin, "There is probably nobody else that would dare cause so much noise in Enel's home…"

The two aforementioned people turn to see Gan Fall walking up to them from his resting area.

Sanji: それまでの常識 [Abandon logic, we don't use it~~]

捨ててから来いよ [Let go and you're ocean bound!]

"You're awake," Robin stated the obvious, "Are you allowed to move around?"

"Sorry to cause you trouble," Gan Fall apologized, "I intended to be helpful, but…"

"What do you mean?" Shiho huffed, "You've helped plenty enough. So thanks…"

"There is some food left," Robin motioned, "Want some?"

Usopp: エブリディサバイバル [Every day, danger is here]

スゲーもん勝ち! [But somehow we all survive!]

"Thank you, but no," Gan Fall respectfully declined as he seated himself in the area relatively between the two, "I really don't have an appetite…"

"Well, if you say so," Shiho huffed, "Just tell me if you change your mind…"

The Children: 一番のお宝を 捕まえる Mother Ship! [We risk our lives on a daily basis, with treasure on our minds—the ultimate find!]

"Oh~~~! Weird Old Man," Luffy call to Gan Fall as he dance among the Cloud Wolves, "You're awake! Thanks for earlier! Come dance with us!"

"Yeah," Chopper call to Gan Fall to join to, "Come dance, Sky Knight!"

"Aren't you a doctor?" Shiho criticize Chopper with a sweat drop, "Why are you telling an injured patient to dance?"

"Yeah~!" Zoro laughed from over where he drank with the Coyote, "Don't tell me you're already drunk!"

"Like you're one to talk, Zoro-han," Aoi rolled her eyes, "If I recalled, you wouldn't stay in bed despite being heavily injured in Arabasta…"

"Shut up! This and that are two completely different matters…"

Luffy: 最高のヤツらって [We're the best in all the sea,]

最高に笑うんだ [We'll never back down~~ because together we'll succeed!]

"Oh, Old Man, how is Conis!?" Sanji question Gan Fall as he piled himself on the Coyote that had piled itself on Luffy in joy, "Is she safe!?"

"She and her Father are in my Home," Gan Fall replied, "You need to worry not…"

Straw Hats: 知り合いじゃなくて [We may not be related]

友達じゃなくて [But the bonds we've created]

オレたちは Family! [Are strong enough to call family!]

(海に出る限り!) [When we're sailing the sea]

"Really!? Great!" Sanji responded enthusiastically, "I had been worrying about them!"

"You mean you were worried about Conis~," Kaoru sneered, "Pagaya didn't even register in your head as a memory~!

"T-That's not true!" Sanji managed before being piled on by another Coyote and Usopp.

"I'm so happy that the both of them are safe~!"Usopp cheered before glaring deviously at Chopper and the Children, "Now! Let's celebrate by tossing Chopper, Shiho, Aoi and Kaoru into the air~!"

"Wait, what—!?" Aoi managed as she was suddenly swept up by some of the coyotes.

"Huh—!?" Shiho managed as she too got dragged away by the coyotes.

"Wah~!" Chopper exclaimed in shock as the coyotes and Usopp grabbed hold of him.

"Cheer for Pagaya and Conis' safety~~!" Kaoru cheered as willingly allow the coyotes to sweep her up

The Children and Chopper laughed in surprise joy as they were thrown up and down in the air.

The Children: 親戚じゃなくて 兄弟じゃない [When other tides have faded we will still be here~~]

オレたちは [More than friends we are family!]

Gan Fall warmly smiled as he continues to watch everyone celebrate. Sanji was now swinging Chopper round-and-round; The Children were dancing in the sky above the Bon Fire; the Coyotes continue to dance on their two feet around the Bon Fire.

"… …I overheard your conversations earlier," Gan Fall suddenly informed, "So this island was originally call Jaya. However…do you know why it is now called the Holy Land?"

Robin and Zoro gave Gan Fall a questioning look, silently informing him that they did not.

"…For your people, having ground like is quite common, I suppose?"

"…Well, yeah," Zoro acknowledged.

"However, in the Sky, this thing was unheard of. Island Cloud can nurture plants, but cannot give birth to them. Greenery and Soil are not things of the sky. Hence we call this…Vearth. For us, it will forever be…admiration itself…"

Well, eventually the party has to die down. And died down it did. With the party over, the coyotes, or Cloud Wolves, return deep into the forest of Upper Yard. The majority of the Straw Hats, perhaps because they enjoyed themselves a bit too much, are now sleeping haphazardly all over the place. With Robin's help, the Children moved them to proper sleeping areas and corrected their sleeping posture.

"…Are we supposed to the one down for the count and being baby?" Aoi wondered quietly so as to not wake her sleeping comrades (which more than likely still not possible).

"This crew certainly can make it seem like we're the true adults," Shiho shrugged as she began settling down in their makeshift bed.

"But they got the right idea, I think," Kaoru glee as she took position in the middle of the bed so as to have Shiho and Aoi in either of her arms, "We got to all rest well for the big day tomorrow~!"

"So long as we're resting," Shiho sternly warned the redhead, "So let's just obediently go to sleep!"

"Boo~! Okay~!"

Aoi rolled her eyes as she removed her glasses and place them off to the side before settling down next to Kaoru. "Come to think of it, this would be first proper sleep since Arabasta…"

"Ah~! Now that you mention it," Shiho nodded.

"A whole lot of things did happen to keep us awake," Kaoru giggled, "Ships falling from the sky; meeting a bunch of friendly but violent monkeys; hunting for birds at nights; being blown up into the sky; Undergoing an Ordeal…"

"If the party didn't die down, this would have ended with other all-nighter…"

"Well," Aoi yawned, "High pass time we make up for it; we're plenty tired…"

The other two nodded with a yawn.

"Good night~!" Shiho closed her eyes.

"Sleep tight~!" Aoi closed her eyes.

"Don't let the Bed Bugs bite~!" Kaoru closed her eyes.

In a matter of moments, the Children drifted off into dream world.

But although Shiho and Kaoru would be having a nice pleasant sleep, the same cannot be said for Aoi.

Aoi, now in her dreams, suddenly open her eyes find her surroundings black with her the only thing visible.

"… …I was hoping for a more…colorful dream," Aoi frowned.

She knew she was dreaming, though as to how she knew she was dreaming she had no explanation.

"Great~! Now what should I do?"

"You can start by apologizing~!" A voice boom from behind her.

"Eh!?" Aoi quickly turned around to find to flame silhouette. One was red and had the outline of a man standing tall. The other was blue stood with the appearance of a properly lady greeting her. "W-Who are you two!?"

"Who are we~!?" Red "Man" inquired with the same booming voice from before, "I am the spirit of the sword of TAIYŌ NO HĪRŌ~ (Solar Hero)!"

"And I am the spirit of the TSUKI NO TSUBASA~ (Lunar Wing)," Blue "Woman" greeted with a slight bow to accompany her soothing voice.

"… … …Eh!?" Aoi exclaimed after the name registered in her head, "You mean you guys are my Katanas!?"

"That's right~," Solar Hero Spirit confirmed, "Normally, we would not be able to talk with you~, but seem awfully sensitive to us~…"

"That's right~," Lunar Wing Spirit nodded, "After all, you did manage to hear our voices earlier~…"

"Your voices?" Aoi tilted her head in confusion before the memory of such a thing flashed into her mind, "Oh~! That's was your voices~!"

"Damn straight~!" Solar Hero Spirit hollered, "So why don't you apologize to Lunar Wing for burning her unnecessarily when you pick up that heated stone~!"

"Eh!? Did it really hurt!? I didn't think you can get hurt by something like that considering you're katanas!"

"Perhaps when use in combat~! But when you something stupid like that~!"

"… …O-Oh~!" Aoi managed with a sweat dropped at the logic before bowing apologetically to the Lunar Wing Spirit, "S-Sorry for the inconvenience I caused you! I'll be more mindful next time!"

"I-It's quite alright~, Master~," Lunar Wing Spirit ushered Aoi to lift her gaze before turning to the Solar Hero Spirit, "We're not here for that~, I keep telling you~, silly~!"

"And have our Master become conceit~!?" Solar Hero Spirit countered, "Not a chance~!"

"Really~, silly you~!"

"…Wait!' Aoi narrowed her eyes, "When you say 'Master', you mean me, right?"

"That is correct~. Because you decided to take both of us to be used at once~, not only did we deem you worthy to wield so that you can draw them~, but also we will respect you as our Master~…"

"… …I'm~ not quite sure how that's all related," Aoi sighed, "But, if you guys aren't here to just receives an apology, then what are you here for?"

The Two Spirits gaze at each other before turning back to Aoi.

"Well~, you may not be aware of it~, Master~," Solar Hero Spirit began, "But we have been watching your progress while using us~…"

"And since we can communicate like this~," Lunar Wing Spirit took over, "We decided to entrust you with some sword techniques~…"

"The techniques that our creators develop specifically for usage when wielding us together~, but never got the chance to do so~…"

"Techniques?" Aoi questioned, now a bit interested, "Well if think I'm worthy enough for it, sure I guess. So are you going to teach them all to me right now?"

"Not all right now~, Master~," Lunar Wing Spirit informed, "Only one at a time~…"

"And we know the perfect one to start with~!" Solar Hero Spirit laughed.

"… …And that would be?" Aoi managed in curiosity.

What Aoi would witness next would cause her to nearly wake up in shock. Fortunately, she didn't, so she spent the rest of the time in her dream learning the first technique unique when using Solar Hero and Lunar Wing.

It was morning of the next day…well the early morning of the next day.

Despite expecting to sleep until the afternoon, the Children woke up rather early; they woke earlier then everyone else for that matter. And since they felt too refresh to return to sleep, they decided to do everyone a favor by preparing breakfast, with Shiho in charge of course.

"…Young ones certainly wake up early these days," It was an hour into their preparation when Gan Fall and Pierre woke up and came forth.

"Hey, Sky Knight~!" Kaoru greeted cheerfully, "Breakfast is almost ready~!"

"And don't say you don't have an appetite," Shiho added as she diced up some of the leftover vegetable from yesterday, "You didn't exactly eat anything yesterday, so eat now! It's not only because breakfast is the most important meal of the day but you might want the energy it'll give today of all days…"

Gan Fall nodded solemnly. "In that case, I'll take up your offer then…"

"We're not forgetting you either, Pierre," Aoi noted to the Gan Fall's bird, who was staring eagerly at the cooking pot.

"It will take another thirty minutes before food would be ready though," Shiho informed.

"But I'm so hungry~!" Kaoru moaned after using her powers to stir up the cooking pot's content, "Can't I have just a taste~?"

"Who are you? Luffy!? Just wait! The food isn't just for us, you know!"

"Well can it hurry up~!? Once Luffy wakes, there be hardly any left!"

"… …True, very true…"

"…Please allow me to tell you…a little bit of the history of this country in the sky while we wait then, one of which I will relay to the rest of your friends at a much later date," Gan Fall began, gaining the Children's attention, "…I was—until six years ago—the 'God' of this island…"

"Did you fall on your head, Old Man—?" Kaoru noted before Pierre transformed into his 'Pegasus Mode' and comically chomp down onto her head, silencing her as she did her best to escape Pierre's mouth.

"…The first appearance of this Upper Yard in Skypiea was, like you said before, roughly Four Hundred years ago. It was said that before the appearance of this island, Skypiea was a very peaceful Sky Island. They treasured the items from the Blue Sea that occasionally arrived in the Sky via the Knock-Up Stream. All the Vearth in Sky Island appeared in that manner. However, for a piece of land as big as Upper Yard to appear in the Sky was truly…a miracle…"

"I'm sure anyone will agree with that," Shiho chuckled nervously. After all, an entire portion of land being lifted Ten Thousand Meters into the sky and then staying there wouldn't be call anything less than a miracle.

"The people of the Sky automatically assumed that this land was a divine gift, a Holy Land from the Heaven. We were very happy…but this island already had residents, so thus started the war for the land. Those residents were called the Shandia…"

"They're the Raiders?" Aoi guessed.

"That is correct…"

"So then those guys are part of the Ancient Civilization of Jaya?"

"Yes. They came to the Sky along with the island…"

"And they were forced out of this place!?" Kaoru exclaimed in bewilderment.

"That is so. The people of the Sky robbed them of their home out of selfish intentions. For Four Hundred years, the Shandia have been at war with the citizens of the Sky. The Shandia are only trying to retake their homeland…"

"…I see," Aoi hummed in thought, "That would explain the warning we received the other day…"

"So then it's your fault, is what you're saying," Shiho offered.

"It IS his fault—!" Kaoru exclaimed angrily before Pierre, in his 'Pegasus Mode' comically chomp down on both Shiho and Kaoru's head.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

"Why are you biting me~~~!?" Shiho exclaimed comically.

"… …That is correct," Gan Fall suddenly declared, "It is as you have said…"

Hearing this, Pierre released the two to gaze sadly at his master.

"What about Enel?" Aoi motioned, "Who's 'God Enel'?"

"…Six years ago," Gan Fall replied, "when I was still the God, he appeared out of nowhere, leading a powerful army. He gave the God's Militia and the Shandia a devastating defeat. Since then, has been in control of Upper Yard. I heard that the God's Militia is held captive somewhere, doing intense labor, but I do not know the details. But for the Shandia, it matters not who the God is. They simply continue ferociously try to reclaim their home…"

"If all they want is to retake their homeland, why attack us?" Kaoru wondered, "You know, back when we first arrived in the Sky?"

"That is because the aforementioned God's Militia in captivity sometimes attempt to escape on ships. They're the enemies of Shandia, so the Raiders attack them without mercy…they probably mistook you as some of the escapees…"

"What? They tried to kill us just because of that?"

"…One of the reasons why I became the Sky Knight…was to help those escapees reach other Sky Islands safely. They are considered criminals so they cannot stay in their homes within Enel's sphere of influence…"

"If what you said is true," Shiho sighed, "Then God Enel is nothing but a tyrant…"

"…Tyrannizing?" Gan Fall gave a small sigh, "No. it is worse than that…"

"W-Worse?" Aoi managed; she didn't how this was going.

"Enel uses various excuses to turn travelers like yourselves into criminals and push the citizens of Skypiea to take part in capturing the travelers. Through this process, the citizens have developed 'An awareness of sin". When one feels that one has sinned by one's action, one becomes the most vulnerable. Enel knows this. He creates these 'Lost Lambs and controls them…as if he really is an almighty god. He is a powerful man, indeed…"

The Children remained silent as they allow the information to sink in.

"When we first went to Angel Beach," Shiho nervously grumbled, "I actually thought this was paradise…"

"I know," Aoi nodded, "but now? This absurd…"

"The Ancient Golden City ended up in a really nasty place," Kaoru nervously laughed.

"Now that you mention it," Gan Fall suddenly noted, "the things that you were screaming about last night…That 'gold' thing. What is that?"

"….Uh…" the Children glance nervously at each other until Aoi spoke up, "A-Actually, there's something else I want to inquire with you, Gan Fall-han…"

"…? And that would be?"

"A-According to Shiho's report from the other day, you did something quite similar to the Sky Priest Kaoru and I fought. Something he called "Impact'. Can you explain it to us?"

Gan Fall went into deep thought before glancing over at a chair-size rock and took out a small shell.

"…? A Dial?" Kaoru blinked upon recognizing the shell.

"Please place this on that rock with the bottom facing upward…"

Though confused, Kaoru use her psychic power to do just that.

"Now, use all of your power to smash that shell…preferably try to make some physical contact…"

"…Okay~?" Kaoru shrugged as she charge her right fist with her brightly glowing red power, launched herself into the air above the shell and rocket down aiming her fist at the shell, "Psychic~~~~ SHELL SMASH~~~!"

But despite the impressive execution of the attack, as soon as she came in contact with the shell's underbelly, she lost all of her momentum. In fact, not even a shockwave or a sound was heard; the rock underneath the shell didn't even move.

"… … … …Huh!?"

"Kaoru," Shiho sweat dropped, "What was that?"

"You didn't have to go easy, Kaoru," Aoi noted in the same manner.

"Impossible!" Kaoru scratched her head in confusion, "I attacked that thing with enough to create a crater!"

"…Seriously?"

"That's because," Gan Fall noted, "The dial absorb all the energy of your attack just now…"

"…Huh?"

"Now then, young one," Gan Fall addressed Kaoru again, "Aim the dial's opening—that is to say, it's bottom—and press the top of the dial…"

"Uh, sure," Kaoru nodded before picking up the dial, aiming it at the rock and press the apex of the shell.

Almost immediately afterward, a stream of energy burst out from the dial's opening and…

BOOM!

…blew up the rock. Unprepared for it, Kaoru was sent tumbling back. Regardless, the three girls could only comically gawk at what had just happen.

"S-Sweet Minamoto's Wrath!" Aoi glasses nearly slipped off her face comically.

"What the hell!?" Shiho managed in a daze.

"This is definitely what that Dumpling Man used!" Kaoru exclaimed excitedly.

"That is called an Impact Dial," Gan Fall explained, "As the name suggests, it absorbs and stores impacts to release them later. Normally they are attached to the hand with gloves. A direct hit is enough to kill an average person…"

"Seriously!?" Aoi comically exclaimed in horror.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!?" Kaoru comically dope slap Gan Fall on the head multiple times, "It scared the heck out of me!"

"How interesting," Shiho meanwhile picked up the dial and return it to Gan Fall, "It certainly has its uses in battle…"

"According to legends," Gan Fall noted, ignoring Kaoru's comical dope slaps on his head, "there exist an even more powerful type of dial in Sky Island. It was called 'Reject Dial'; it's now extinct but its power is said to be Ten times stronger than an Impact Dial. It is also said, however, that the dial was so strong that it could kill the user himself. It is a double-edged sword. For that reason, the Reject Dial was rarely used…"

"W-What a dangerous dial," Aoi readjusted her glasses nervously as she stared incredulity at the Impact Dial, "It might as well be called a weapon!"

"I thought that the dials were just like every-day accessories," Kaoru managed, having finish venting.

"That is true," Gan Fall nodded sadly, "However, any tool that benefit man can also harm man. It is up to the users' intentions. Dials are very beneficial…however during a war the power they provide can be devastating. For example, the Flame Dial use for heating food by storing fire when equipped on a lance, a super-heated 'Flame Lance' is created…"

"Just as read from Shura," Shiho thought back to the Sky Priest she fought the other day.

"This is part of what we call Sky Combat…"

"…In other words, a Battle of Dials!"

"Correct. That is why the citizens of the Blue Seas, who know not the Dials' existence, have problem fighting. The warriors of the Sky have been trained to use them so efficiently, that those who know nothing will be in a severe disadvantage…"

"That'll definitely explain those Sky Priests' confidence in believing themselves invincible compare to us," Aoi grimaced as she recalled her battle yesterday with Satori.

"Advantage or not, it doesn't we can't beat them," Kaoru noted determinedly, "If I didn't get knocked out from the first attack, that Dumpling Man wouldn't stand a chance~!"

"Well, they probably never expected to face psychic powers," Shiho nervously laughed before pulling out the Jet Skis, "Nor do they expect that we'll get our hands on their own tools to use against them from now on~!"

"True," Aoi nodded before hearing over where the boys were sleeping a huge morning yawn…accompany by the shout of being hungry, "…looks like everyone's going to wake up pretty soon…"

"Just in time too," Shiho noted as she took a whiffed of the food in the cooking pot, "Food's just about done~!"

"Great~!" Kaoru cheered, "Let's eat~!"

"Look!" Usopp exclaimed, "I told you! Somebody was here last night! It wasn't a dream after all!"

The Children, while registering Usopp's outcry, stared gawking at what they've been looking at. After waking up, Usopp called for an immediate attention to the ship which was still on the Sacrificial Altar. Since he was being hysterical in addition to Zoro commenting on how he fell asleep when he went off last night to relieve his nature calling, at first the Children had presumed that Usopp was overreacting or being delusional when he claimed that some came and had tamper with the ship last night. But now that they are seeing it with their own eyes, they mentally gave Usopp their apology.

"Someone fixed the Going Merry!"

They are now on their aforementioned pirate…which has in the span of one night has been patched up from top to bottom. Metal Plates are all over the damaged areas that had done during Shiho's fight with Shura the other day.

"Even the broken mast was reattached," Nami awed as she inspects the now recommission main mast.

"Sorry to say this," Sanji managed with a sweat drop, "But they weren't very good at it…"

"Yeah~," Aoi sweat dropped, "Not saying I'm any better or that I don't appreciate whoever did this…but the patchwork is all over the place. The Main Mast, for example, might have only needed three metal plates at most to do the job…"

"Four actually," Shiho managed in bewilderment, "But at the very least, whoever did it had the Going Merry functionality in mind…"

"…I thought it was some kind of ghost," Usopp commented, "…Now I'm starting to believe-…"

"…!? O-Oh, you're such a joker, Usopp~!" Shiho nervously laughed as she roughly slapped the Pirate Sniper's back, halting him from saying anything more, "Ghost~? Such things don't exist~! Why do you keep trying to fooling yourself with such nonsense~!?"

"Ouch! Shiho!? W-What's wrong with you today? You're acting weird; are you alright?"

"Alright~? Of course I'm alright~! I'm always alright~! I'm the definition of alright~!"

"Shiho can handle horror theme monsters well," Aoi informed to everyone, since everyone was giving Shiho's reaction a worrying look.

"AH—Hey!"

"They'll find out eventually…"

"…I am going to turn every single one of your portion of food brown from now on!"

"EH~~!? That's unreasonable!"

"…Well, putting Shiho's phobia aside," Zoro shrugged, "considering where we are, who could have fix the ship?"

"Yeah," Kaoru nodded in wonder, "In this place, there shouldn't be anyone who's this friendly…"

"The ship's not in flying mode anymore, too," Luffy commented.

Indeed, every new appearance accessories that the Mountain Monkey Alliance did on the Going Merry was no longer seen. In fact, it has relatively returns to how it usually looks.

"I've been thinking about that, too," Usopp admitted, "How could the guy who fixed our ship know what the Going Merry originally looked like? That it didn't have Chicken Crown or wings…"

"Couldn't you find out with your power, Shiho?" Kaoru wondered.

"You don't think I've tried?" Shiho sighed, "But I'll admit, it's strange. No matter how many times I scan, I can only see the metal plates being nailed on and the rest of the ship being rebuilt; I can't 'see' who did it…"

"…Could it have been an esper?" Aoi guessed.

"If it was, they're likely to be both a Psychokinetic and a Psychometrist. But then again, why would there be an esper here, fixing our ship for that matter?"

"True…"

"Hey, Going Merry," Usopp addressed the head figure of the ship, "Just who fixed you last night?"

"…Well, time enough for that later," Nami shrugged as she addressed everyone, "Time to move out, you lazy bums~! Escape Team: finish up what we were doing last night! Explore Team: get ready for adventure~!"

"So she says," Shiho chuckled knowingly, "But what she really means is: Explore Team: Get ready to set out and find the treasure or don't come back~!"

"…!? O-Of course not~!"

"I'll distribute the food~~!" Luffy proclaimed.

"Luffy," Sanji sweat dropped, "That's the one task that I'll never assign to you…"

"I'll do that," Aoi proclaimed, "My powers are practically meant for fair distribution…"

"You'll do that then…"

"AW~~~!" Luffy comically moaned.

"Hey," Zoro motioned, "We need to move the ship down…"

"Is it seaworthy now?" Kaoru wondered as she worryingly glanced at the Going Merry.

"Despite the questionable repairs, yes," Shiho noted.

"Then I got it~!"

With full confidence, Kaoru slowly and steadily moved the ship down the altar's stairs and into the White Sea.

"Alright, gather up everyone!" Nami called for attention once the Going Merry was guided to the shore and everyone had finished repairing.

She once again pulled out the map of Skypiea, where the Upper Yard now has an 'X' mark on its northeastern to mark their current location.

"Look at the map!" Nami first pointed to the X before moving her finger southward of the map until she came to the temple icon depicted on the map, "This is the Explore Team's route: a straight line to the south. In this 'Right Eye' there should be a ruin of some sort. Go bring back the gold while keeping an eye out for enemies…"

"You're making it sound easier than it really is," Usopp commented with a sweat drop.

"You keep saying 'Gold this' and 'Gold that'," Luffy suddenly noted, "But in the end, you're not going to get the gold yourself?"

"Duh, it's scary," Nami admitted with no shame.

"Huh!?" Aoi sweat dropped.

"You want to get the gold so badly," Shiho sighed in amazement, "But as always, never while risking your life for it…"

"So strange," Kaoru sweat dropped.

Nami cleared her throat a bit with her cheeks beet red. "A-Anyway, at the same time, the Escape Team will navigate the Going Merry through the island—which is very dangerous too—and make our way to the shore that is as close as possible to the ruins…"

"Say what you want, Nami," Shiho sneered playfully after Nami pointed at the 'X' mark again before guiding her finger southwest through the island before moving northeast again around the island's perimeter and coming to a stop near the east-most shore of the island, "It doesn't change the fact you're taking the safest of the path to get you the gold~!"

"… …Leave me alone," Nami grumbled before clearing her throat again, "Uh, anyway, it is then the teams will meet at the shore and leave Sky Island! Thereafter, we'll be known as 'The Rich Pirates' and we can buy anything we want~!"

"It'll do," Shiho shrugged before joining up with Kaoru and Aoi to form one more Explore Team, "Let's all meet again safely on the Eastern Shore of Upper Yard then…"

"Yeah~~!" Everyone cheered as Luffy, Robin, Zoro and Chopper formed another Explore Team, leaving Nami, Sanji and Usopp as the Escape Team with Gan Fall and Pierre tagging along, "Let's go~~~!"

Normama: "Phew~! Barely got this done~!"

Kaoru: "You're surprisingly slow, Normama!"

Normama: "Can't be help! I got my own life to live and I have to ensure you girls fit into the story without making awkward niches…"

Shiho: "Seems like Aoi experience something… …Without us~!"

Aoi (sweat dropping): "W-Well, maybe you two will get something on your own next time!"

Kaoru: "I hope so~! So stay tune, readers~! R&R and tell us wht you think~!"