Ten thousand meters high, Sky Island
Kai successfully brought Rayquaza to the island's edge. The moment the ship docked, the already-impatient crowd cheered as they rushed down the deck, stepping onto this dreamlike land.
"Wow! The clouds here are really like water!"
Bonney happily ran around, stepping on the sea of clouds. Each time her little feet landed, ripples spread across the white "ground," like stepping in shallow puddles.
"The clouds here are so soft and comfortable!"
Chopper threw himself directly onto the cloud ground, happily rolling around with a blissful smile on his fluffy face.
Sky Island's characteristic Island Clouds were indeed fascinating. Walking on them wasn't as hard as the earth in the Blue Sea below but rather like treading on soft, elastic sand—very comfortable underfoot. However, walking for extended periods created a subtle floating sensation.
This was perhaps one reason Sky Island residents longed for real earth.
Yamato was like a dog finally let out to play after being cooped up at home, rushing toward broader areas to explore the moment she disembarked.
Then she got caught.
"So interesting—the clouds here feel like water when you step on—glub glub—"
Kai turned at the sound, his mouth twitching. Yamato had carelessly stepped into a deep pit that looked identical to Island Clouds but was actually "Sea Clouds." She immediately weakened and rapidly sank, leaving only a string of urgent bubbles and two arms flailing in the air.
Fortunately, she had her dugong disciples. Seeing their master in danger, several dugongs dove into the White White Sea without hesitation, struggling to lift her up.
"Puha—!"
Breathing fresh air again, Yamato's face showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she turned with a goofy smile toward Kai. "Kai, that was wild! These clouds are really just like seawater—they make you lose strength!"
"I already told you, they're called 'Sea Clouds.'"
Kai helplessly held his forehead, emphasizing again. Sky Island's Sea Clouds had similar composition to the ocean below—both rich in Seastone particles, natural enemies of Devil Fruit users.
Whether Yamato heard him or not, she was quickly distracted by scenery at the shore. There, rare greenery decorated this white space.
"Hey, there's fruit!"
Her eyes brightened as she nimbly leaped onto a coconut-tree-like plant bearing several pumpkin-shaped green fruits. Yamato casually plucked one, holding it and tilting her head to examine it before opening her mouth for a bite.
"Don't! That's very—"
A clear, pleasant female voice rang out urgently. But what happened next made her swallow the "hard" already at her lips.
"Hmm? Wha' you shay?"
Yamato mumbled incoherently, her mouth stuffed with the fruit's hard outer shell, chewing with crunching sounds.
Kai watched Yamato chewing away and shook his head with amusement. Worthy of Kaido's daughter, who could smile while eating Devil Fruits.
Fortunately, after chewing a few times and finding no taste, Yamato spat out the residue. Mm, this girl hadn't completely lost her mind yet. Kai nodded with relief.
"Um—that fruit—you drink the juice inside—"
A refined young woman holding a harp emerged from the forest. She wore a pink dress with smooth goose-yellow long hair, but most eye-catching were the small white wings on her back.
The girl's appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention. Being watched by so many strangers, her fair cheeks flushed with shyness.
"Big sister, are you an angel?" Bonney looked up, asking curiously. Seeing someone with wings, it was hard not to think of legendary angels.
"An-angel? No, no, no, I'm not."
The girl hurriedly waved her hands in denial, then explained, "Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I come to this Angel Beach daily to practice my harp."
Yamato looked at the fruit in her hand. Without proper tools, she simply lowered her head again and used her teeth to gnaw a small hole in the shell. Sure enough, it was filled with clear juice inside.
"Really! So delicious—it's so sweet!"
Her eyes brightened as she tilted her head back, draining the juice in one gulp and licking her lips with satisfaction. Yamato took a step toward the girl, her large frame bringing slight pressure, but the brilliant smile on her face diluted this tension.
"Thanks for telling me! I'm Yamato. What's your name?"
The girl was startled by this sudden enthusiasm, instinctively patting her chest before softly answering, "I-I'm Conis."
Yamato grinned, patting her shoulder. "Then we're friends from now on."
Huh? Conis froze. Was making friends this casual?
However, sensing no malice from those clear eyes, she gently nodded without refuting this sudden friendship. She hesitated before gathering courage to ask, "You—you're from the Blue Sea, right?"
"Blue Sea? What place is that?" Yamato looked confused.
Kai walked forward, answering for her. "Yes, we just came from the Blue Sea. This is our first time on Sky Island."
He then explained to everyone, "The Blue Sea is what Sky Island calls that vast ocean below us."
Conis bit her lip as if making some decision, her voice urgent. "You—you should leave here quickly. If God discovers you, you'll be in trouble."
"God?"
Kai raised an eyebrow. "Is he called Enel?"
"You know him?"
Conis first sighed with relief, then urged even more anxiously, "Since you know, you should understand—he's really powerful and has a terrible temper! Please leave quickly. I'm not lying!"
Yet despite her sincere, even fearful demeanor, these visitors from the Blue Sea seemed completely relaxed. Only that little raccoon clearly panicked momentarily but was quickly calmed by his companions.
(Chopper's internal scream: I'm a reindeer, a reindeer!!!)
Kai didn't directly respond to her warning but instead asked, "When did Enel become your God?"
Too much time had passed—he couldn't clearly remember when Enel destroyed Birka and came to this Holy Land, defeating the previous God Gan Fall.
Conis didn't understand Kai's intent but honestly answered, "Last year."
Her tone lowered. "Since becoming Sky Island's God, he constantly makes us guide outsiders from the Blue Sea to the Holy Land for judgment. If we don't obey, we're the ones judged."
"So this so-called 'God' is that evil?!"
Yamato's fury instantly ignited upon hearing this. "Tell me where he is—I'll knock him flying!"
"Don't—he's very strong."
Just as Conis was about to continue persuading this new friend, she heard a wary shout from nearby.
"Conis, who are they?!"
Following this, a sound like a motorcycle engine approached from far to near. Kai looked toward the sound and saw a middle-aged Sky Islander riding a vehicle with motorcycle handlebars but a boat-shaped bottom rapidly approaching.
"Papa! Why did you come?" Conis waved.
The man named Pagaya stopped his Waver beside his daughter, his gaze cautiously sweeping over Kai's group. "Your mother saw you hadn't returned and got worried—sent me to check. These people are—?"
Conis hesitated two seconds before softly saying, "They're—friends I just met."
"I see."
Pagaya nodded, then spoke nearly identical words to his daughter's, his tone heavy. "If you'd come last year, I might have warmly welcomed you. But now—for your safety, please leave Sky Island as soon as possible."
Facing this kind father-daughter pair's warnings, Kai slowly shook his head. "No, please take us to find Enel."
He showed a gentle smile. "Since Conis considers us friends, then as friends, helping you solve this problem is naturally the right thing to do, isn't it?"
"That won't work. You don't understand—Enel is truly powerful, practically like an omniscient, omnipotent god."
Recalling Enel's abilities, Pagaya nervously swallowed. "He can release lightning, yet our attacks have absolutely no effect on him. Most terrifying is that as long as you're in God's Country, whatever you say or do, he knows everything."
After thoroughly describing Enel's terrifying aspects, Pagaya froze in place. He discovered these visitors from the Blue Sea still looked completely normal, as if hearing a story unrelated to themselves.
Why no reaction at all? This makes me look stupid.
Pagaya awkwardly asked, "Did you understand what I said?"
"Don't worry. I understand perfectly."
Kai's mouth curved upward. "In summary, Enel is a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user who also possesses extremely wide-range Observation Haki."
Speaking of which, Enel's Observation Haki range was ridiculously vast. An entire island was within his monitoring scope. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's enhancement of Observation Haki was too powerful.
Nearby, Robin instinctively glanced at Kai. Here it comes, Kai's strange intelligence ability. From Pagaya's description, she couldn't discern so many details. Kai acted like he'd personally witnessed Enel fight—practically revealing all the opponent's secrets.
"Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
Kuma's brows furrowed slightly. "That's one of the Logia-type's most powerful fruits. Never expected it would appear on Sky Island."
"Is that really powerful, Papa?" Bonney asked.
"Same level fruit as the Marine Admirals."
Kuma used a simple comparison that made everyone understand this fruit's weight.
Pagaya thought they finally grasped the situation's severity and hurriedly urged again, "You understand now, right? While the White Berets haven't discovered you yet, leave quickly!"
"Don't worry." Kai calmly stated, "Enel isn't our match."
Saying this, he actually looked up and greeted the sky with a smile. "Hello there."
Though Enel wasn't like some dark lord—unable to sense when someone mentioned his name—with Kai's group appearing at Angel Beach for so long, if Enel still hadn't reacted, he didn't deserve to call himself God.
Several seconds ago
God's Island, deep within the palace throne
The self-proclaimed God lazily reclined, suddenly opening his half-closed eyes.
"Oh? New toys arrived?"
Enel's mouth curved into a playful smile, but immediately his eyes narrowed with dangerous light. "As God's subjects, daring to defy God's will? Then turn to dust."
"Divine Judgment!"
His right hand transformed into piercing lightning, instantly disappearing into the clouds above.
Back to the present
The originally clear sky suddenly darkened. A thick lightning bolt tore through cloud layers, striking precisely toward Pagaya and Conis.
"Truly remarkable ability."
Kai examined this lightning with interest. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was worthy of being a supreme Logia—across such distance, still able to use electromagnetic waves to amplify Observation Haki and achieve such precise strikes.
If a top-tier powerhouse like Kaido did this, naturally no surprise. But Enel's background—he knew all too well. Purely self-taught, didn't even know what Haki was, calling Observation Haki "Mantra." Achieving this degree truly deserved praise.
If properly trained, Admiral-level at minimum.
However, even if Enel were already Admiral-level, he couldn't threaten Kai with such techniques.
Pagaya and Conis watched the descending lightning, feeling weak all over. They closed their eyes, silently awaiting the end.
Just then, Kai's unhurried voice sounded:
"Kuma."
Boom!
Before the father-daughter pair could react, a deafening explosion rang in their ears.
It's over. Both hearts sank.
But after waiting a while, they still felt nothing. Did we die so fast we couldn't even feel pain?
They tremblingly opened their eyes—only seeing a distant forest in disarray with flames still burning. Where they stood remained perfectly intact.
"This is?" Pagaya swallowed hard.
"Please rest assured." Kuma methodically re-gloved his right hand. "I've deflected the lightning away."
That lightning appeared frightening but couldn't trouble experts at his level.
"What?!"
Simultaneously, in the palace depths, Enel's eyes shot open, abandoning his previous lazy demeanor. His "Divine Judgment" actually missed? No—not just missed, but was casually deflected by that tall, silent man's palm.
This was the first time since he'd obtained his ability.
After a brief silence, Enel suddenly raised his hand, covering half his face. Through his fingers came suppressed, then increasingly wild laughter. "Yahahaha! Interesting—more and more interesting!"
"Finally some durable toys arrived!"
The laughter ceased abruptly. He lowered his hand, shouting toward the guards outside:
"Come! Summon the Four Priests!"
The show was about to begin!