The Going Merry burst through the cloud layer as the Knock-Up Stream sent it flying into the clouds, and right on top of a new ocean sitting on the clouds. Everyone was breathing heavily from the experience.
"We still have Grahambel?" Ariala asked.
"Hilda kept me in herpocket. Everyone else is still here." Grahambel affirmed.
"But let's NEVER do that again." Lara gasped out. "I like thrills as much as the next person, but that was something else!
"At least the wings are still intact after all that. Masira and Shojo did great work." Usopp said.
Livesey chuckled. "Of course, they are quite good at what they do!"
"Hey, guys! Check this out!" Luffy said.
The crew gazed out in amazement at the white sea they were floating on.
"We're actually sailing on clouds. Even for the Grand Line this is amazing." Vivi said.
Boss dropped down a line and brought it up to check the thermometer.
"Water! These clouds are made of water! It's an entire ocean on the clouds!"
"And we haven't even hit the top yet. The Log Pose is still pointing upward." Nami said.
"Which means we're right in the middle of the cumuloregalis clouds," Robin noted.
Kuishi and Romaz surfaced from a quick swim.
"The sea acts like clouds but feels like water!" Kuishi noted. "It's like I was swimming on air!"
"We didn't go down too far," but I bet swimming down enough we'd fall right back into the sea below." Romaz said.
"Let's take a look," Robin said. "Luffy, stretch your arm through the sea as far as it can go."
As Luffy did, Robin closed her eyes.
"OJORS FLUER!"
Using her Flower-Flower Fruit, she sprouted a couple eyes on Luffy's arm. Eventually it reached down through the clouds, showing Jaya just below them. But it looked like a small pebble from how high up they were.
"We must be up higher than most birds can fly," Johnny said.
As Luffy pulled his hand in, several monsters rose through the clouds. Zoro, Sanji, and Noctis easily took them out, but found themselves breathing hard afterward.
"It's so hard to breathe here," Zoro said.
"The oxygen level must be lower than normal," Carue realized.
"Hey, take a look at this!" Yosaku said.
He was holding a flat fish with orbs on its fins and feather-like scales. Its mouth was round and carnivore-like.
"Something like this was described in Noland's logbook. It's a sky fish." Robin said.
"Some of these creatures seem rather balloon-like. Probably an evolutionary trait to survive in a sky ocean." Sanji noted.
"Yes, they'd have to be. The buoyancy here is weaker than in the oceans we're used to." Luna said.
Sanji started cooking up the creatures to investigate their flavor. As it turned out, they were amazingly delicious.
"So good!" Hilda moaned in joy.
"Ship ahoy!" Usopp suddenly called out. "We're not the only ones out here!"
The crew looked out, and were stunned as the other ship suddenly exploded. It turned out to be someone rushing through the clouds, having smashed through the other ship. He was wearing a bull mask, carrying a large bazooka and shield, and had wings on his back.
"And he's coming for us next!" Sanji exclaimed.
"Ahoy, out there! What do you want?!" Ferros called out.
"To destroy you!"
The figure leaped forward, but was blocked by a water barrier from Merone. Unphased, he jumped up to aim his bazooka.
"DOC FIREWORK!"
Lassoo launched his firework attack, blasting the bazooka out of the winged man's hands. Just as the figure wondered what he should do next, an armored warrior flew down on a pink bird and struck with his lance. The masked man had just enough time to put up his shield to defend himself, but was still knocked right into the cloud sea. Meanwhile the armored figure landed on the railing of the Merry, allowing the crew to see his long white beard.
"Well met, travelers. You may call me the Sky Knight." He greeted. "Hmm, from your ragged breaths I assume you're from the Blue Sea."
"What do you mean by that?" Hsiao asked. "And just who are you?"
"The Blue Sea is our term for the lands beneath the clouds," the Sky Knight explained. "You've traveled quite a height to the White Sea, 7,000 meters in the sky. Even further up you'll find the White-White Sea, which is 10,000 meters up. Most Blue Sea people can't endure the environment. You must be exceptionally strong. It won't be long before your bodies start to acclimate to the thinner atmosphere."
"So who was that guy speeding on top of the clouds just now?" Chopper asked.
"That was a warrior of Shandia," the Sky Knight explained. "Normally I charge for fending off such mercenaries, but you clearly have a handle on dealing with them."
"And how big is the charge?" Vivi asked.
"It's a 5 million Extol charge for a One Whistle," the Sky Knight said.
"The heck's an Extol?" Eddy asked.
The Sky Knight looked surprised. "Did you not come here via the summit of High-West? You must have passed an island or two."
"Are you saying there are other ways of reaching the sky ocean?" Sonson asked. "And that there are other sky islands?"
The Sky Knight was shocked. "Don't tell me you risked the Knock-Up Stream to get here? Your ship is so intact I didn't realize it at first. No wonder your strength is greater than most from the Blue Sea. I didn't think there was anyone left with the guts for such a dangerous method."
"It was the only option available to us at the time. We were passing by the island of Jaya when our Log Pose pointed us up here." Lithos clarified.
"I see. Did you lose any crew?"
"No, we're all here! Not a single officer lost!" Luffy said.
"I'm not surprised. The Knock-Up Stream is an all or nothing route. Either you all make it up safely, or you all crash into the Blue Sea and die." The Sky Knight said. "Any other route you most certainly would have lost at least a few crew members. It takes careful planning to make that bet, and even then not many can survive. It seems you truly are skilled and courageous warriors."
"Just throwing this out there, but would the last time a crew made it up the Knock-Up Stream be just over twenty years ago?" Bella asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes. I take it you know of them?"
"Know of them? They went on to be the most legendary pirate crew of all time!" Ferros said with a laugh.
The Sky Knight chuckled, then tossed a whistle to Nami.
"Take this One Whistle. I normally charge for it, but for this one time I'll offer it freely. Blow it once whenever you are in dire need and I shall come to your aid."
"Before you go, could you be so kind as to tell us your name?" Double-D asked.
"My name is Gan Fall," the Sky Knight said as the large bird landed near him. "And this is my partner Pierre. I noticed some of you have Devil Fruit powers. They are rare here in the clouds, but they do exist. For example..."
Pierre suddenly shifted from a bird to a horse.
"Pierre has eaten the Horse-Horse Fruit. And since he can keep his wings, he becomes a mighty pegasus!"
Unfortunately, the dopey bird just made a dopey pegasus, which did not fit the normal image associated with the myth. Gan Fall simply flew off, wishing the Straw Hats well.
"Worst user for a Devil Fruit ever," Haruo quipped.
"Not to mention he didn't tell us anything. How are we supposed to keep going up?" Zoro wondered.
"There's what looks like a waterfall just over there. Let's try investigating." Robin said.
As the Merry got close, it looked like the clouds were floating like icebergs. Luffy tried to punch one, only to find his fists bounced off it like rubber. Grinning, he jumped on top to bounce on the cloud, with Usopp, the Eds, Bella, Sonson, Hsiao, Chopper, and Lara soon joining him. Ariala came over to give the cloud a feel.
"It's soft like cotton but solid like foam. It's almost like a giant pillow!" She said before noticing something near the clouds "Hey! There's a big gate under the waterfall!"
"So this place has man-made objects," Robin noted.
"I guess we shouldn't be too surprised." Tawna shrugged.
Everyone got back on the Merry and started sailing it through the rubber clouds. The gate was marked as Heaven's Gate, and was wide enough for a galleon to sail through.
"Is this Heaven?" Ed asked in awe.
"Are we sure we're all still alive?" Zoro asked when he saw the sign on the gate.
"We all still have heartbeats," Chopper pointed out. "And we're all still breathing."
Livesey laughed. "If anyone was dead, I would know!"
"Looks like someone's coming out," Hunter noted.
An old woman stepped out of a door on the side of the gate's interior, snapping pictures with a camera. The flash bulb looked like a sea shell.
"She has wings like the woman in the picture!" Delphia noticed.
"Ahoy there! Who are you?" Grahambel called out.
"I am Amazon, the Heaven's Gate inspector. Please state your business. Sightseeing, warmongering, or other?"
"Well, we are explorers. So I guess that would fall under sightseeing?" Nami noted.
"Definitely not warmongering. We didn't even know there was a war going on." Boss added.
"Regardless, the entrance fee is one billion Extol per person. That's the law." Amazon said.
"Okay, seriously! What the heck is an Extol?!" Choi complained.
"My guess is that's the currency up here," Robin suggested.
"So what's the conversion rate between Extols and Berris?" Johnny wondered.
"Whatever it is, I hope we have enough to cover it. Counting us all up, that's a total of 39 billion." Yosaku said.
"Something about this smells of a scam," Usopp said.
"And I should know!" Eddy added. "I'm the king of scams!"
"Let me handle this, guys" Vivi said as she stepped forward. "Excuse me, Madam Amazon. We're actually from a country that uses Berris instead of Extols, and we're not sure what the proper conversion rate is."
"If you only have Berris on hand, I can exchange them," Amazon assured her. "It's 10,000 Extols to 1 Berri, but know that I cannot haggle the toll."
"So a Berri is worth more up here. That actually makes things easier for us." Sanji noted.
Katsu nodded. "It'll barely put a dent in our budget."
"And here I thought we'd be cleaned out. That's way more reasonable." Nami said.
Vivi handed over the funds and Amazon calculated them.
"That's 39 people in total. The toll is considered paid by Almighty God. You may pass freely."
"So how do we get to the sky island from here?" Luffy asked.
As if in answer, a giant lobster emerged from the clouds just below them, grabbing the wings on the Merry.
"Easy on the ship, we just got those modifications!" Usopp called out.
"This Express Lobster will take you to the sky islands above," Amazon explained. "Please enjoy your stay. And mind your manners in the face of Almighty God."
"What does she mean by that?" Merone pondered.
Before anyone else could ponder this, the Express Lobster started to swim up the waterfall at high speed.
Meanwhile, a man with drums growing out of his back noted the toll that had just been paid.
"They only had Berris from the Blue Seas. By my own laws I can't punish them for illegal entry. But the fact that they don't have the currency of the White Sea tells me they are ignorant of the culture up here. It might be prudent to keep an eye on them."
The Express Lobster swam up the winding waterfall, almost making it like a roller coaster.
"We're about to reach the top! Look, there's a sign over there!" Chopper called out.
The crew noticed the huge sign.
"Godland Skypiea?" Luna asked. "What kind of pretentious name is that?"
"Skypiea was the name on the chart we found. But why call it Godland?" Robin pondered.
Just past the sign was a break in the clouds with the sun shining through. After breaking through it, the Express Lobster dropped the Going Merry onto the sky ocean and swam off.
"Hey, check it out!" Luffy called out.
Right ahead of them was an island made of clouds, complete with buildings and even plant life.
"We made it. We really did find a sky island." Nami said.
"A shame I cannot see, otherwise I'm not sure it'd be a thing of beauty." N'Doul hummed.
"And to think we're not even the first ones to find this place! I wonder what the other ship crews that came thought when they saw this." Yosaku said.
"We've made history, people!" Hunter grinned.
The Merry was brought to shore at the island and the crew stepped off. Lithos noticed something as he stepped in the water.
"Careful. These water-like clouds have the same effect on Devil Fruit users as standing water."
"Indeed, I can sense it," N'Doul added, dipping his hand in for emphasis.
"Seriously? Even though it's actually clouds?" Sonson asked incredulously.
"What are we going to do about the anchor?" Zoro asked. "There's no proper sea floor to drop it into."
"I'll drop it onto the beach. That should anchor us." Boss offered.
As he went to drop the anchor, he noticed that it hit a heavier cloud just under the water, solving the issue. Carue shook himself off as he got out of the cloud ocean.
"Ugh... And I couldn't even swim to begin with."
"Even though you're a duck?" Haruo asked.
"I'm a desert duck! We're meant for running on land!"
Robin, for her part, was feeling like she was truly seeing a new location for the first time.
"You've never really traveled before, have you?" Noctis asked.
"I mean, obviously you've moved from place to place. But you've never actually taken the time to truly visit anywhere you've been." Vivi added.
"I never really had the luxury before," Robin admitted. "But I gotta say... I like being able to feel like I'm truly visiting a new place."
She joined the others as they checked out all the new experiences the sky island had to offer. There were beautiful flowers, tropical trees and fruits, and even a pavilion. And most of it was made from clouds.
"What sort of crazy technology allows them to make chairs from clouds?" Kuishi wondered.
"I don't know about you, Kuishi, but this is all so fascinating!" Double-D said as he examined everything he could find while taking notes.
"Vegapunk's got nothin' on this!" Eddy smirked as he inspected some cloud trees."
"Cotton gravy!" Ed said as he took some clouds to put in his mouth.
"Careful, my boy! You don't know where that's been!" Livesey warned.
"Oh, it's right here, Doctor!"
"Man, what a time to pick joining the Straw Hats, huh?" Hilda asked Lara and Luna as they looked around.
"You said it." Luna chuckled. "Wish I had something to take a picture with."
Lara was about to say something, only to stumble upon a small white fox sleeping on the beach.
"Awww, it's so cute~!" She cooed as she knelt down to pet it.
Suddenly, a beautiful harp was heard, catching everyone's attention. They looked to see a person standing on a large cloud dune. It was a young woman with wings and blonde hair.
"It's an angel..." Sanji muttered.
"We truly are in Heaven..." Choi swooned.
"Pretty sure it's just a native," Ferros said.
"You gotta admit, she's pretty!" Ariala pointed out.
Lithos hummed, feeling transfixed on this woman. She didn't look that much older than him and his siblings, though he did note that she was a dead ringer for the winged woman in the photo of Roger's crew. The woman then noticed the crew.
"Heso."
"Uh, not our language?" Kuishi said awkwardly. "Grahm, translation?"
"She was saying hello. You shouldn't need me to translate that, lass." Grahambel said.
The woman giggled. "Here, Suu."
The fox, having been enjoying getting pet by Lara, hopped over to her.
"So, did you come here from the Blue Seas?"
"Yeah, we flew up here from below!" Luffy said cheerfully. "So you're a native of this island?"
"Yes, this is my home. Welcome to Skypiea's Angel Beach."
"Gotta say, this is a nice place. Someone could vacation here." Bella noted as she looked around.
The woman noticed the large gourd Luffy was carrying and offered to help him crack it open.
"A konashu has skin like steel, so it's impossible to crack. You have to cut through the bottom like this."
She used a small knife to cut a hole in the bottom of the konashu before inserting a straw into it. She then heard a splash. It turned out Zoro had taken her words as a challenge and tried to cut one of the hard gourds. He succeeded, but got the juice all over himself in the process, causing Sanji to laugh while rolling on the ground.
"Shut it, you shitty cook!"
The woman was surprised by what she saw.
"I didn't know people of the Blue Sea were so strong."
"Oh this isn't typical, Zoro's just a monster in human form," Nami said.
"Anyway, I don't think we caught your name." Noctis said.
"I'm Conis, and this is Suu, a cloud fox."
She petted the tiny fox in her arms. Suu then jumped out of her hold and sniffed around Lassoo.
"Ease off the butt, lady."
"Aww, she likes you!" Ed smiled.
"So, do animals normally talk down in the Blue Sea?" Conis asked.
"Well, Grahambel and Chopper can do so naturally because they ate Devil Fruits. Grahambel can give voices to other animals, which he did for Carue, Boss, and Lassoo." Double-D explained.
"Wow, talk about lucky. Devil Fruits are so rare." Conis said.
"Not where we're from. There's actually plenty of Devil Fruits down below." Haruo clarified. "A good chunk of our crew here uses them."
"I have one as well!" Hilda chimed in. "But I haven't gotten a chance to show it off yet..."
"This is actually a new experience for us, so we have a ton of questions." Delphia said.
"I'd love to learn everything!" Double-D added excitedly.
"I'll be happy to answer," Conis said before noticing something. "Ah, here comes my father."
The middle-aged man was surfing on a boat with an engine and handlebars attached.
"Hey, that must be the sky waver device mentioned in Noland's logbook!" Johnny realized.
The man wound up crashing, skidding across the beach and flying off the sky waver, slamming into a nearby tree.
"Watch out for that tree, George!" Eddy laughed, only to get a dirty look from the others.
"Sorry about that...Everyone alright?" The man asked.
"You completely missed us! And you're the one who crashed!" Zoro said.
The man got up and picked up his sky waver.
"Ah, heso, Conis. I see you made some new friends."
"Yes, Father. These people came here from the Blue Sea."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry for not introducing myself, my name's Pagaya. I was just coming in from a fishing trip." The man introduced himself. "Since you've come all this way, why not join us for a meal. We can answer any questions you might have about the White-White Sea."
"Maybe you could start with this device," Nami said as she examined the sky waver, "How does it function without a sail or paddles?"
"So you're not familiar with Dials?" Conis asked.
"Actually we have a few. We found them on a shipwreck that fell off the sky islands. It was 200 years old." Merone said.
"How do you control this thing?" Luffy wondered.
"Careful, if that old man could crash it must be pretty finicky," Zoro warned.
"Yes, controlling a sky waver is very hard. The body is incredibly light so the rudder can easily get taken over even by small waves." Conis said. "I've only recently been able to ride one, and even that took ten years."
"And yet Nami's taken to it like a duck to water," Usopp noted.
Sure enough, Nami was calling out in excitement as she rode the sky waver like she'd been doing it her whole life.
"We really shouldn't be too surprised. She is our navigator, after all." N'Doul said.
"Something like that could be useful on a regular sea," Noctis noted. "Think you and Double-D can get it modified later, Usopp?"
"I'll need a second one first. I'd rather not break Pagaya's only waver."
Double-D nodded. "Indeed, it would be very impolite."
They then noticed several more people walking up a series of steps to a scaffolding.
"Is that some sort of construction site?" Choi asked.
"It's a quarry where clouds are mined out for manufacturing," Pagaya explained. I assume you took the Milky Road up here, yes?"
"If you mean that winding waterfall, then yes," Zoro replied.
Pagaya nodded. "That's the one. It's actually a man-made canal. It was made out of island clouds that are quarried here. Here in the White-White Sea there are two kinds of natural clouds. Sea clouds and island clouds."
"Down below we call them cumuloregalis clouds. But given the density I'm not surprised they can become land or water masses up here." Robin said.
"Yes, thanks to their condensation nucleus. Down in the Blue Seas there's a mineral called Seastone, which contains corneous particles called pyrobloin." Pagaya said. "During volcanic eruptions, they gain moisture and ascend into the sky. That causes sea clouds and island clouds to form, depending on the density of the moisture."
"That's something I never knew about Seastone," Ariala admitted.
Ferros nodded. "Down in the Blue Sea where we're from, it's mostly known for being a weakness of Devil Fruit users."
As the crew settled into Conis and Pagaya's house, Sanji checked out the kitchen, and soon saw something rotten in the fridge. He quickly berated Pagaya for not checking on his food. Meanwhile, Conis was helping the Children of Whitebeard and an ever-curious Double-D to understand how Dials worked.
"So the Dials can store and hold anything inside them," Robin noted. "Where do such creatures live in these waters?"
"In the shallow reefs around the cloud sea. Each shell holds a different thing." Conis explained. "Like how we record voices using Tone Dials. Wavers are powered using Breath Dials. The bigger the size of the shell, the greater its holding capacity."
"Nami's still out riding the sky waver. She's really loving that thing." Vivi noted.
Conis continued to explain about Lamp Dials for lighting rooms, or Flame Dials that helped with cooking.
"We also have Flavor Dials to record tastes, and Vision Dials that can store everything the user sees."
"This is all so very intriguing!" Double-D excitedly said, jotting down note after note.
Lithos then remembered the photo, pulling it out and showing it to Conis.
"I think this might have been made with a Vision Dial."
"Yes, this looks like it was taken with a-Oh my!" She gasped when she noticed the winged woman in the photo. "This is a photo of my mother. Father said she traveled down to the Blue Seas before I was born. This must have been the crew she traveled with."
"That's your mom?!" Ariala gawked.
"What's that about Artemis?" Pagaya asked as he walked in, only to notice the photo. "Oh, I remember that rowdy bunch. Must have been more than twenty years ago when a man named Gol D. Roger came up here with his crew using the Knock-Up Stream. Said he was a pirate on a journey to find the treasure to end all treasures. Artemis was curious about the world below, so she traveled with them to become their gunner. But one day she came back. She said they had found the treasure, but that Roger had died some time after."
"That must have been around the time Roger was executed. His crew disbanded shortly before he was captured." Robin realized.
"He wasn't captured, he surrendered to the Marines. Only his crew knows why." Merone clarified.
"Dinner is served!" Sanji said as he came out with the dishes. "We have sky lobster in special sauce, and a side of island fruits that I have no idea how to pronounce."
The crew started to dig in. While the familiar taste of the food was there, it was almost like the environment gave it a unique quality. Sanji checked out the patio to call Nami in, but he couldn't see her anymore.
"Hey, guys, I lost track of Nami."
"Oh dear, I hope she's alright." Conis said. "Wait... Did you make sure to pay the toll coming in?"
"Yeah, it wasn't that expensive. Though I'm surprised the currency we use down in the Blue Sea is worth so much up here." Vivi said.
"Then let's hope your friend hasn't wandered too far. In Skypiea, there are places where we're forbidden from setting foot on no matter what." Pagaya said.
"One such place is not too far from here by sky waver. If Nami's curiosity gets the better of her, she might wander into it without thinking." Conis said.
"What's so bad about it?" Sonson asked.
"It's sacred ground. It's called the Upper Yard, the island where God lives." Conis explained.
The crew looked at each other.
"Grahm?" Tawna asked.
Grahambel took a listen and his eyes widened as he nervously looked back at everyone.
"She's... Just off shore from it."
"So an actual god lives in this place?" Lithos asked.
"Yes, his name is Enel, the Almighty God. He knows everything in this world. And he is always watching us and listening to everything, even our thoughts." Conis said.
"Holy Hesat," Vivi muttered.
That got Pagaya and Conis freaking out.
"You should never say the names of any deities from the Blue Sea! Enel takes it as an insult!" Pagaya said.
"So hold on; not to discredit your beliefs, but have you actually laid eyes on Enel before?" Sanji asked.
"Of course not. As I said, it's forbidden to set foot on Upper Yard." Conis replied.
"Well, if he really is God, shouldn't he forgive you, no matter what you do?" Luffy asked.
Hilda nodded. "It's not like it's such a big deal to accidentally wander into a forbidden sacred ground or say the name of another deity that's part of an entirely different culture."
"It's considered sacrilege to break any laws set forth by our Almighty," Pagaya said.
"Then personally I'm going to assume this Enel is a living being," Carue said.
Noctis nodded. "In Alabasta, we have a saying. To err is human, to forgive divine. If he's so uptight about calling any law-breaking sacrilege, he can't really be a true deity."
"I'm with the duck and the pretty boy on this one," Ariala said, giggling briefly at Noctis' incredulous reaction. "Especially since from what Daddy says, this Enel guy wasn't even part of the culture here during Roger's trip."
"Well, to be fair, Enel only appeared recently," Pagaya admitted. "But he's given no reason for us to doubt his divine power."
"Out of curiosity, what happens to anyone who sets foot in the Upper Yard?" Robin asked.
"Those who do so are said to never come back alive," Conis said sadly.
"We're heading out to retrieve Nami," Luffy said at that moment, freaking out the duo. "Conis, can you take us there?"
Conis looked nervous. "Well... There's no reason to think Nami might even be there. And we'll be in big trouble if we incur god Enel's wrath."
"Pretty sure that ship already sailed when we discussed why we don't believe in his divinity," Zoro pointed out.
Meanwhile, Nami had approached the Upper Yard, but was only sailing around it.
"So there's still soil here. And these trees... They look to be a hundred years old." She then noticed an abandoned sky waver near the shore. "Who did this belong to? It looks like something tried to attack it."
She then noticed a nearby Dial and activated it.
"There's no doubt about it. An extraordinary treasure should definitely be here! If we keep a record like this, it may be useful later."
"I can't! I'm too scared. Can't you feel it? God's anger closing in on us."
Then there came a noise like plasma hitting something.
"Was that a lightning strike?" Nami wondered. "Judging by the screams, it killed the duo who used this waver. But was it really God that killed them? I think I need to get out of here."
She then heard strange noises coming from the forest above, like someone was attacking someone else. Luckily, the next thing she heard was the Merry coming about, Ariala using her wind powers to act as a makeshift engine.
"Thank goodness. I was just about freaking out."
"Oh good. You haven't set foot on the sacred ground yet." Conis said in relief.
"Sacred Ground?" Nami asked.
"Apparently this place is called the Upper Yard. Supposedly an area where God lives." Sonson explained.
"There is nothing godly about what I'm hearing coming from this place!" Nami argued.
Grahambel took a listen. "I thought no one ever came here cuz it's forbidden. Why am I hearing people in that forest?"
"That's impossible! Anyone who goes in there would surely incur God's wrath." Conis said.
Grahambel activated his powers to amplify the voices, which consisted of an argument over who would kill an apparent intruder in the forest.
"So it looks like God's wrath is just enforced by the locals," Zoro noted.
Suddenly, they saw the masked man from the lower clouds shoot by, using his bazooka to blast a few figures visible in the trees. One man, who looked like he came from the Blue Seas, collapsed right on the edge.
"Quick! Reel him in here!" Tawna called out.
Lara summoned her gauntlets to grab the man and pull him onto the Merry.
"T-Thank you... I came here looking for treasure... Now I just wan tot get out of here..."
A sudden bright flash suddenly appeared above. Scared out of his mind, the man dove for the cloud sea, only for the flash to change course and blast him, vaporizing him on the spot.
"GOOD LORD, MAN!" Double-D gasped in horror.
"Ah, a tragic waste of human life..." Livesey commented, not losing his signature smile.
"Well, I don't know if this place actually has a god. But at the very least there's someone with enough power to mimic a god." Ferros said.
The masked warrior let out a sigh of relief. "None of the vearth was harmed. How fortunate he drew Enel's attention away from it."
He then found himself having to dodge another flash beam, while the crew directed Merry away from the attack. Back on the island, two of the other figures noted what happened.
"It looked like someone was helping that man."
"Well, they didn't trespass regardless of what happened. Otherwise Almighty Enel would have focused on them with his Divine Punishment. Technically they broke no laws."
Two more figures showed up.
"Regardless, it seems we ran out of time to deal with the intruder. Which is why Enel decided to deal with the situation personally. The fool must have thought he'd sacrifice the ship out there, not knowing the extent of the Almighty's powers."
"Who were those people. More illegal trespassers?"
"Not according to Amazon. They paid the toll in full. We were only given their pictures by God Enel just in case they broke any other laws, but so far they have done nothing to incur his Divine Punishment."
Conis looked surprised when she heard this through Harvey.
"How in the White-White Sea...? I thought God could hear everything."
"The second you mentioned that I put my Devil Fruit to work. You see, after using it for so many years it underwent an Awakening. Now I can use it on any kind of sound. Even the sounds you only hear in your head." Grahambel said. "If Enel were truly omniscient it wouldn't matter, but apparently it's just long-range mind-reading, because he's only hearing white noise going through our heads right now."
Before long the Merry had returned to Angel Beach, only to see an unusual site. A group of military officials in blue and white, all saluting with their left hands behind their heads like horns.
"Heso! Greetings, newcomers." The commander greeted. "I am Captain McKinley of the White Berets."
"Heso, McKinley," Conis said. "Is there a problem?"
"Technically no, which is causing some confusion. It seems God Enel is tasking the crew of the ship with a sheep figurehead to take the trials of the Upper Yard." McKinley said. "Normally a sentence reserved for Class-2 or higher criminals... Except no crimes have been committed by the crew in question."
"So why make us go through with it?" Hsiao asked.
"There is one thing I can think of; every once in a while God Enel will task visitors that seem exceptionally strong to take the trials. It's not meant as a death sentence, you see, but rather a test to show whether or not the accused has Heaven's divine blessing." McKinley explained. "It's just that no one up until now who has received the sentence has survived."
"Question; what if we decide to refuse?" Harou asked.
"That would constitute a Class-5 criminal act for refusing Enel's decree. The penalty of which would be cloud drifting."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Luffy said.
"It's actually a death penalty. The offenders and their ship are placed on a lone cloud and sent to drift until they become bones and fall off into the sea below." Conis clarified.
"Ohhh...not so good." Bella winced.
"That must be what happened to the Saint Briss," Robin realized.
"I'm not so sure about this. People from the Blue Sea tend to have their athletic ability decreased by the thinner atmosphere." Conis said.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that." Lithos said.
"Now... What can we do for a demonstration?" N'Doul asked.
Just then, a massive sky fish leapt out, its maw aimed at Conis. As she gasped in fright, Hilda leapt into action.
"MORE-MORE HUNDREDFOLD BARRIER!"
Picking up a nearby cloud, Hilda expanded it to massive sizes, causing the sky fish to get stuck as she threw it back into the sea, shocking everyone.
"That power..." Ferros said in recognition. "Hilda, was that Devil Fruit you ate the More-More Fruit?"
Hilda nodded. "Yeah, I got it from Brynndi World. I know what the World Government says, but when I met him, he was a sickly, dying man who just wanted to do one good thing and apologize to his brother."
"He and Dad fought a couple of times, was kind of a dull sword." Merone recalled. "But he was strong and he valued his comrades, especially his brother…I'm guessing you're at least looking for him?"
Hilda nodded. "World told me he understood why his crew let him down and honestly doesn't care for most of them. But his brother? He actually saved me and my village from a beast. Said that someone as young and strong as me deserved to see the world and had the best chance of doing what he couldn't…"
"And he knew how Devil Fruits reappear and willed his to you." Ussopp realized.
Hilda, Luna, and Lara all nodded as Luffy turned to the White Berets.
"We were able to adjust to the atmosphere up here pretty quickly, so we're actually very strong."
McKinley nodded. "I see. This wasn't mentioned at any point. Strange... You'd think God Enel would have told us your capabilities or why he wants you to take the trials."
Conis also starting to realize something was wrong.
"Captain, I believe it's part of our tradition for a White Beret recruit to look after those taking the trials."
"That has been a part of our culture for several hundred years," McKinley agreed but looked worried. "Are you saying you wish to volunteer, Conis?"
The crew looked at her in surprise. Conis smiled sheepishly.
"I... Might have had some significant gunnery training... But more than that, there are some questions I really want answered now."
The crew got on the Merry and set out. Conis looked saddened as they traveled.
"My mother always used to tell me these wonderful stories of when she was traveling the Blue Seas. I always dreamed of finding a way to bridge the White Sea and the Blue Sea together. Then six years ago, Enel arrived and overthrew our previous ruler. You see, God is actually a title we give to the one who rules our kingdom. But Enel took the title literally, and his power made it seem like he deserved to. Mother saw the situation for what it was and tried to leave with me and Father. But Enel's priests intercepted us. Mother escaped safely, but Father and I were captured. Our only chance for survival was to send any trespassers to Upper Yard as a sacrifice. I've been forced to send off plenty of Blue Sea sailors to their deaths with a smile, when all I've ever wanted was to show them the amazing world we have up here."
Lithos tried to comfort her as tears fell from her eyes. Suddenly, the ship shook violently.
"Something's got us! Looks like it's starting." Grahambel said.
Conis nodded grimly. "It's the Super-Express Lobster, a messenger of God."
The Super-Express Lobster swam off with the Merry down a winding Milky Road leading to Upper Yard.
"Crazy way to reach our destination," Ariala noted.
"And I doubt this is even the craziest we've seen yet." Delphia added.
"I'm afraid it's the only way. You can only reach the Upper Yard by boat or waver. The shore is too high to reach on foot, and the canals are filled with man-eating fish." Conis explained. "Once we reach the front gate, we'll have to go through one of four priests with unimaginable power."
"Sounds like fun! We've been needing a decent challenge!" Luffy grinned. "The last real fight we got was Crocodile, so I was worried we'd start to stagnate."
Back at Pagaya's house, the old man was speaking with McKinley.
"These ones aren't like the other Blue Sea people. They refuse to back down from their dreams even if the face of overwhelming odds." Pagaya noted.
"We still have no choice in the matter. We have our task from Enel. Any deviation invokes his judgment." McKinley said. "That said... I wonder why it didn't strike the entire time those pirates were at your house?"
"Curious that. I was certain that the tiny snail couldn't possibly intercept God's omniscience. It makes me wonder..." Pagaya hummed.
Indeed, Enel was leaning on his throne in confusion.
"It's strange. I can sense where the newcomers are from the void in the thought space. But I can't tell what they're thinking. If they dare blaspheme or not. How could beings from the Blue Sea be stronger than a god's omniscience? I must find out for myself. My priests stand ready to present the ordeals. Let us see if they are the ones of prophecy."
I really want to get to the Sabaody Archipelago Arc so that mtnetsurfer can continue Ash & Rubber, I'm excited to see how he handles the other arcs he hasn't covered yet.