(Bellamy POV)
"Impact!" BAMM "By Davy John's locker, that fucking hurts!"

"That's because you're weak. You obviously need more strength training, Ross. Here, let me show you how a real man does it. Impact-fuck!"

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of you being crybaby Hewitt."

Ahh, sweet sweet music.

"So, I'm supposed to press this?"

"Yes, the axe dial can release slashes of varying potency…wait wait wait wait! You're pointing it the wrong wa…"

"Gaaah! Muret, I'm bleeding!"

"Calm down you big sissy. It's only a scratch."

Can you hear it? The sound of weakness being hammered away.

"This breath dial could be used to store perfume, right?"

"What's perfume?"

"Oh, girl, have you missed out."

We spent the morning testing out the dials most commonly used in dial warfare. It hadn't taken much time to convince my crew of their usefulness, as the crew had been suitably impressed by the destructive potential of the impact and axe dials during the initial demonstrations. Once given the green light, they had scrambled to try them out for themselves and were currently paying the price.

"Rivers, you're on fire!"

"I know, right? I'm amazing."

"No, you're really on fire!"

But already there are glimpses of future possibilities.

"Look at me captain! This is great!"

Mani took to the scates near immediately and has been twirling and flipping around the training area all morning. "It feels like I'm flying! WheeeEEEEEEEH!?"
Of course, it's only glimpses at the moment.

My crew isn't going to be able to use these dials effectively any time soon, and it will take weeks if not months until my crew has fully integrated these dials into their personal fighting styles.

"You're telling me I could have a fire sword?"

"Well, more like covering your sword in a layer of heat and flames…but yes. A fire sword."

"You've got to teach me. Please please please pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease" CRACK "…ow!"

I haven't quite figured out how to use these for myself either. The most obvious idea is to use an impact dial or a reject dial if I can get my hands on one. Like Luffy, I can likely absorb the backlash by turning part of my arm into a spring, meaning there wouldn't really be a downside to using one. Perhaps I could stud a glove with them for some extra oomph when I'm brawling?

Or I could use a water dial to store seawater and spray a devil fruit user…I'm stupid, aren't I? Why didn't I bottle up some seawater before coming up here? Robin tried that against Crocodile so it was obviously a viable tactic.

Plus, Enel is arrogant as fuck so chances are that he would have let my "attack" hit him, just to mock me afterwards for its ineffectiveness. And as a sky island resident, he has likely never come into contact with sea water, so he wouldn't know that particular weakness of his either.

That would have been so much simpler than my plan to destroy the Maxim! Gods, that's so infuriating! Wait, seawater is just rain plus salt, right? And rain is just condensed cloud water…

"Why do you sound funny?" a high-pitched voice interrupts my thoughts.

Pardon?

"Hey, don't ignore me! I've got a weapon!" the voice speaks up again, making me look down to see a little girl brandishing a flame dial knife.

Aisa really is cute as a button. Almost like a little angel.

Must resist…the urge…

"Hello, I'm Bellamy. Who're are you?" I ask.

"I'm Aisa!" she answers brightly.

Must resist…can't…

I crouch, bringing my eyes to the same level as hers. "Nice to meet you Aisa. What was your question again?"

"You sound garbled, like two people talking over each other. Why is that?" she asks, tilting her head in confusion. Oh, my heart. Cuteness overload…wait, that's not really important right now.

"Like two people?" I repeat questioningly and she gives me an emphatic nod in response.

"Yeah, I can use mantra to hear the voices of everyone, but you almost sound like two people. And fuzzy. It's really odd."

That...that has to be a side effect of my reincarnation, but what does it mean? Is Bellamy still somehow alive inside of me? Is it something like an evil-me situation from Naruto? Or is it because Bellamy and I aren't fully integrated yet?

"I'm not sure, Aisa. You're the first person I've met who has mantra. You must be really special." I praise her. Children like compliments and this holds true even now. Aisa looks quite pleased with herself. "But can you please explain what you mean with fuzzy?"

"Yeah, so I can usually tell where people are, even when I close my eyes. However you're a bit different because it's like you are vibrating really quickly. I can still sense you but it's a lot harder."

That…is potentially very useful information when fighting against Enel and his priests. The implications for my soul are very damning but in the here and now? Potentially useful. Now, if they decide that I'm an abomination that needs culling under any circumstances, that would be a different matter entirely but as Aisa isn't looking at me in disgust and horror, this is likely not the case.

"Aisa, what does it feel like to you when you listen to me with your mantra?"

She scratches her head, deep in thought. It's not an easy question, especially if you're trying to put something as abstract as haki-sense into words. But eventually, she looks back up with a smirk on her face. "You sound like a badly tuned instrument, just like what Kamakiri plays when he thinks that no one is listening."

"HEY! I do not!"

"Yes, you do! Why do you think we told you to replace that old thing years ago!"

"Screw you! It still sounds like it did when my grandpa played it!"

Then again, while Enel's priests are strong, they are also simpletons who don't really have a personal stake in Enel's final plans. They are merely sadists who will prefer to stick to their little games and likely won't come looking for me just because I feel odd. But Enel is a wildcard, as depending on his mood he may disqualify me from his tournament entirely. And that tends to go badly for the disqualified.

"Thank you Aisa, you've helped me out a lot." I say, gently patting her head and smiling at her to try and hide my inner turmoil. Of course, it doesn't work.

"You…you don't always sound bad. Sometimes you sound really nice, like two people singing!" So my soul-state is dynamic? "Like when you were talking to Grandpa! You sounded nice!"

"Thank you Aisa, that makes me feel much better." Even if I don't really know what that implies. I pat her on the head again, much to her vocal protest, but at least that distracts her from how I'm feeling. Maybe it worked, maybe it didn't. But Aisa soon changes gears.

"Bellamy? What is it like living on the Blue Sea?"

I feel as if I'm forgetting something…

Breakfast? Check, had it at seven in the morning consisting of some grilled sky fish and an assortment of fresh vegetables and toast.

Lessons in dial warfare? Check. In fact, my crew is taking a well-deserved break after having spent the last two hours experimenting.

Regaled Aisa with tales from the world below? Check. She loved hearing about all the places we (that is OG Bellamy & crew) had visited and the many tourist hotspots dotted along the Grand Line. She also salivated whenever I described the wide variety of cuisines one could experience. For a girl who's diet was limited to fish and vegetables, the world below must sound like paradise. Paradise…heh.

I even subtly probed her for knowledge on haki but that more or less came to nothing, because she couldn't explain it beyond the words, "you just got to listen really carefully". This is a common problem with geniuses. Oh, she does recognise that not everyone has haki, but she isn't able to view the problem from a non-user's point of view. Worse still, she has no idea how one should go about unlocking it. Aisa has had haki ever since she was a baby and hence to her it's just been ever present. This is probably why no other Shandian has haki, though I'm certain they tried. They would have been stupid not to attempt it and from what I could glean through our interactions so far, they were far from stupid.

Maybe I should capture one of Enel's priests and interrogate him?

…Enel…priest…

…crap.

"Aisa, just out of curiosity, is there a possibility that perhaps there's a chance something out of the ordinary may have happened at the Upper Yard in the last two days?" Even to my own ears, my voice sounds really wooden. How could I forget? This was the whole point of us coming up here in the first place!

Aisa thinks it over and then goes absolutely still. Then, with a creaking sound, her head rotates my way to reveal her face, distorted in horror. "Oh no! I forgot to tell Wyper! What do I do?"

Being the adult here, I felt obligated to take charge. Which, for all practical intents and purposes meant delegating responsibility to the most capable and well-suited individuals.

"There's only one thing you can do." I start, my face solemn as I gently but firmly place my hands on Aisa's shoulders. "Go tell him right now and let him know I called for a meeting so we can make a plan on what to do next."

Aisa gives me a shaky nod before rushing off. I forgot to ask her exactly what had happened but it's probably going to be fine?

Anyway, worrying wasn't going to help right now and I had things to do. Such as getting my crew ready.

"Alright maggots! Break time is over! I want to be ready to set sail and I wanted it yesterday! Jump to it!"

(Sarquiss POV)
Sarquiss thought himself a very open-minded person. He didn't bat an eye when his best friend turned himself into a collection of springs. A noble turned pirate turned his girlfriend with a foul mouth? Yes, thank you very much. A geyser that can carry a ship into the sky? Been there, done that. People with wings and bazookas? Eh, sure why not.

But there had to be a limit. Rushing off to fight a god? Sarquiss was brave, not suicidal. You don't fight the gods. Just look at what happened to Fisher Tiger. Judgement will find you. You could run for a while or hide, but it never ended well. This was utter madness and he he didn't hesitate to tell his captain as much. His captain listened but tried to convince Sarquiss instead.

"We have no choice." That seemed to happen a lot these days. "From what I hear, we are invaders to his realm. If we don't fight him now, he's going to come after us later."

No choice but to ride the knock up stream. No choice but to fight a god. When did his life turn into a series of impossible decisions?

"Couldn't we run away?" Muret asks, voicing what Sarquiss had been thinking to which he could only say: Nicely done Muret, knew your brains were good for something. This wasn't cowardice. This was being smart.

"Where would we run? To another sky island? We would get lost with no way of finding this place again. The Shandians can't spare a guide, they're all joining the assault force."

"Maybe, we could go back…" Mani tries but is interrupted by Eddy.

"…back to the Blue Sea? The log pose hasn't reset yet, are you daft?"

"I was just making a suggestion... There's no need to get aggressive, Eddy."

"The way I see it, we have two choices." Bellamy slowly circles the table, stopping ever so briefly behind each member of the crew. "We can either join the Shandians in attacking the Upper Yard and fight together against this self-professed god. Or,"

Then he stops by his own seat to lean fully on the table with both hands. "Or, we can try to run and fight this self-professed god on our own without backup when he eventually comes looking for us. And make no mistake, we are in his backyard. He will find us."

Fuck.

"What do you mean by self-professed, captain?"

"This Enel is not a real deity. Up here, the title of god is less a description of the divine but rather a label of rank for the local leader," Bellamy explains while tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Though, that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous. From the reports, it is very likely that he has a devil fruit which is lightning based."

That certainly doesn't help their chances. Devil fruits are no joke.

"At least it's only that, right captain? You've got a devil fruit too."

Sarquiss palms his face in despair. That was just asking for bad news.

Ross…why? Just, why?

"I'm afraid not. Most of the rank and file are weaklings. But Enel and his four priests have something they call mantra, some mysterious ability which grants them very good reflexes, almost venturing into the realm of precognition."

And here, girls and boys, is exhibit A on why you do not challenge fate like this. Because she can and will screw you over.

The room falls silent while the crew lets the message sink in. Despite all of their bravado, they know that they aren't the strongest fighters around. To be honest, they've been coasting along on Bellamy's coattails for a fair bit. This kind of situation where each of them were required to actively participate in the fight against a foe objectively more powerful than they were, this is new and Sarquiss does not like it one little bit.

"It's not without hope though. We outnumber the priests by a significant margin and the Strawhats are likely already fighting them, including their hundred million belli captain and the pirate hunter." That statement is greeted by some nods of assent. While they had no first hand evidence, surely two men with such high bounties had to be powerful, right? "Plus, I'm no slouch either."

Of that there was no doubt. Bellamy's bounty did not reflect his true strength, this was known to all of them. The marines were just hesitant to increase Bellamy's bounty due to who his patron was.

"A week ago, did any of you imagine that we'd be here? That we'd ride the knock-up stream with no hands lost?" At the rhetorical question, Sarquiss reflexively shakes his head and clenches his fists. Even in such impossible situations, their captain had proven himself to be reliable. They had not doubted him then.

"I promised you then, and I'm promising you now. We're not going to die." Bellamy's smile turns vicious. "Boys and girls, let us go kill ourselves a god."

They would not doubt him now.

Just to make this clear to everybody, the SI is working with very faulty knowledge and grasping at straws when it comes to making plans to deal with Enel.

I promise that the end result is plausible and in accordance to the laws of the universe as set down by Oda.