The sightseeing tour of Shandora quickly came to an end. After all, besides gold and the Poneglyph, this lost city truly had nothing more worth exploring.
With typical pirate honor, Kai let each of his companions choose some favorite golden ornaments or small golden crafts as souvenirs before the group departed from the City of Gold.
The vast amounts of gold left behind? Kai had no need for more wealth, so he'd let this city of history and promises continue to rest at ten thousand meters altitude.
"So your dream is to reach the so-called Infinite Land—what we call the moon?"
Kai examined the unfinished vessel before him with interest. Actually, calling it unfinished was generous. The Ark Maxim hadn't even completed its frame. Only part of the keel was done.
Enel stared at his life's work with complex emotions. No one expected that the self-proclaimed god's dream would be so humble.
"Hmph! You mortals could never understand this god's grand ambitions!"
Enel spread his arms wide, his face twisted in fanatical devotion. "Only the Infinite Land is this god's true promised land! My divine kingdom!"
Kai looked at Enel, who was eager to reach the moon, and smiled. "Alright, I'll go along with your dream. I'm curious about space too, so let's check it out."
If he was right, the moon was probably where this world's technology began. Exploring it sounded pretty interesting.
"Going to the moon? Awesome! I want to go! I want to go!"
Yamato was the first to excitedly raise her hand, eyes sparkling with longing for adventure.
"Me too, me too!"
Bonney also raised her small hand, jumping in place, trying to attract Kai's attention.
"Don't worry, no limit on spots. Anyone who wants to go can go." Kai chuckled, readily agreeing.
Kozuki Hiyori looked at the crude ark. "So do we need to take this ark with us and continue building?"
Kai shook his head decisively, eyeing the ark with undisguised disdain. "No need. We'll redesign and build a better one. This design is complete garbage."
Such a massive ark, yet the power source is Enel himself. If he runs out of stamina halfway or something unexpected happens, everyone aboard would drift forever in space with no way home.
With Enel's selfish personality, he'd probably never considered passenger safety when designing it.
"What did you say?!"
After hearing his carefully modified blueprints and countless hours of work disparaged as worthless, Enel shot up, even forgetting his chest pain. A full year of his efforts!
"This is a crystallization of divine wisdom! A masterpiece! Do you have any idea how complex this is?"
"If I'm not mistaken, after obtaining the original blueprints, you did considerable 'simplification' and substitution yourself, right?"
That one sentence stopped Enel. Though Kai had never seen Ark Maxim's original blueprints, it was obvious the current version was a heavily simplified "Enel Special Edition."
The reason was simple. The ancestors of the Birka people were lunar people who migrated from the moon. Given the lunar people's technological level at the time, how could they possibly use Jet Dials for propulsion?
Moreover, Jet Dials were Sky Island specialties. Lunar people on the moon couldn't find them even if they wanted to.
Obviously, Sky Island's current technology and materials couldn't support Enel in fully recreating the blueprints. He could only make do with what he had, jury-rigging various "modifications."
"What do you know?!"
Enel's face reddened as he launched into a defense. "Using Jet Dials doesn't count as cutting corners! Modification and substitution demonstrate this god's brilliant wisdom!"
He rambled on with incomprehensible words about "clean energy" and "reducing construction difficulty," making everyone laugh. The mood lightened.
"Enough."
Kai cut him off. "Don't worry, I'll build a better Ark."
Actually, I don't even need an Ark to reach the moon. Like Dr. Tsukimi's little robots—they flew to the moon just by grabbing balloons. In this world, reaching the moon isn't that difficult.
Building an Ark is more about comfort and the ability to carry personnel and supplies. Besides, the moon in this world has oxygen. Even the universe does. No spacesuits needed.
The Space Pirates prove it. Their so-called "spacesuits" mainly regulate air pressure and provide protection, not oxygen.
Seeing Enel's indignant expression, Kai chuckled. "How about we make a wager?"
He held up five fingers, his voice calm. "Five years. Follow my orders for five years. After five years, I'll personally take you to the Infinite Land."
Kai knew that though Enel followed him now, he was only bound by his defeat. Deep down, he remained that unruly "god" who refused to submit. If Kai forced him on missions and Enel played along on the surface while resisting underneath, that would be a nightmare. Better to make him cooperate willingly.
"And after five years?" Enel's eyes flickered.
"You can choose to challenge me. Win, and you're free. Go wherever you want. Lose, and we set another five-year agreement. How about it?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I won't issue meaningless orders like making you cannon fodder."
"Hmph! This god doesn't care about that!"
Enel sneered. Even with such orders, can't I just run? I'm not an idiot. As a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, I can escape most dangerous situations.
"Of course, you can also choose to refuse."
Kai's smile remained, but his tone turned icy. "But in that case, I can't keep a ticking time bomb by my side."
Killing intent sharp as needles pierced straight into Enel's heart. If I can live, I don't want to die.
Enel barely hesitated before agreeing. "You'd better keep your word."
"Excellent." Kai smiled. "Welcome aboard, Enel. From now on, you're an intern crew member of Rayquaza."
"Intern?" Enel's expression froze, his voice rising an octave. "With this god's strength, I can't even be a regular crew member?!"
Even as a Sky Island native, he understood what "intern" meant.
"Depends on your performance. Starting from the bottom helps you learn the ropes and integrate into the team." Kai shrugged. "Consider this your first lesson."
Ace and Sanji burst out laughing.
So what if your strength exceeds ours? Kai-aniki treats everyone equally. Time to learn what seniority means.
Ignoring Enel's inability to mask his emotions, Kai demanded Ark Maxim's original design blueprints from him.
Soon, a large wooden chest was brought before Kai, filled with old, yellowed blueprints that smelled ancient.
Kai picked up several pages and flipped through them. Complex lines, marked with unfamiliar symbols and text. Can't understand a single word.
Seeing Kai struggle, Enel's smirk widened. This guy dared criticize me for modifying blueprints? At least I studied engineering in Birka as a child. I actually have some education.
Kai wasn't concerned, carefully placing the blueprints back in the chest. Specialization exists for a reason. The Beast Pirates have plenty of capable people. Even if Queen and Judge can't handle it, there's Vegapunk—that genius who's 500 years ahead of the world. I'll recruit him eventually. These lunar blueprints will make an excellent greeting gift.
With business concluded, Kai's group headed back to Angel Island with the chest.
Conis, her father Pagaya, and many anxious Sky Island residents had already gathered there, waiting. Kai even spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
A knight riding a pink-spotted flying horse, standing before the residents and watching Kai's group warily.
When the Sky Island residents saw the typically tyrannical god Enel now walking obediently beside Kai like a subordinate, everyone was stunned speechless, their jaws dropping.
"Kai, this this this..."
Pagaya was so nervous that he couldn't speak properly.
"Rest assured, Enel has decided to follow me to the Blue Sea. You can elect a new 'god' yourselves." Kai pointed at the knight. "I think he's quite good."
The knight froze, raising his visor to reveal an aged face marked by hardship but with determined eyes. "You know me?"
This was the previous Sky Island ruler before Enel, Gan Fall. After being defeated by Enel, he became the "Sky Knight," secretly protecting Sky Island's people.
Incidentally, his pink-spotted flying horse was actually Sky Island's unique Sky Dot Bird, transformed after eating the Zoan Horse-Horse Fruit.
The Blackbeard Pirates' member Stronger, Doc Q's mount, had eaten the Zoan Horse-Horse Fruit Mythical Beast Type Pegasus form.
"Maybe." Kai shrugged. "Anyway, after you retake control of Sky Island, remember to return Shandora to the Shandians, especially that Golden Bell. This is a 400-year debt your Sky Island owes. Time to repay it."
Gan Fall was silent for several seconds, complex emotions crossing his face before he finally nodded solemnly. "I understand. I'll do my best to accomplish this. The war between us and the Shandians should never have happened in the first place."
During his previous rule, he'd already considered peace talks with the Shandians. But four centuries of accumulated hatred, blood debts, and barriers between both sides were too deep. Opposition came from all directions.
Even within the Shandians, powerful pro-war voices existed. Now, with this powerful outsider's intervention, this might be the opportunity to break the deadlock and achieve reconciliation.
Enel let out a disdainful snort. "Boring kindness."
Kai turned toward him, his voice pitying. "Seems your childhood wasn't very pleasant."
Enel's pupils contracted, his body stiffening. He turned his head away, avoiding Kai's gaze. He neither confirmed nor denied it.
Normally, anyone daring to probe god's past would face death by thunder strike. But he couldn't beat Kai, so he chose silence instead.
Kai understood and didn't push further. Probably just bullying. Unfortunate childhoods often require a lifetime to heal.
Violet approached Kai, lowering her voice so only he could hear. "I just used my ability to read his heart. As a child, he was bullied terribly by his peers for having no wings."
No wonder he erased his hometown from the map after gaining power. That land probably held only darkness and painful memories. Destroying it was the only way he could sever ties with the past.
Kai sighed, his expression turning serious. "Don't mention this to others. And remember, don't use mind-reading abilities on crewmates without permission."
Violet nodded. "Yes, I understand. I won't do it again. I was just worried he'd harm us."
"Once someone's aboard, they're crew. I'll protect you all."
Kai's tone softened. Violet's worry came from concern for the team's safety. Given that Enel was not yet trusted by everyone, her caution was understandable.
During their conversation, Enel's body paused imperceptibly. He glanced briefly toward Kai, his expression complex, before masking it with cold indifference.
After bidding farewell to Conis, Kai's group returned to Rayquaza. Unfortunately, Sky Island's special Dials could only be reproduced there. Otherwise, Kai would've wanted to collect some for the Tontatta Tribe to cultivate. Some Dials were quite useful.
As Kai prepared to take Rayquaza from the White White Sea down to the ocean below, a phone call came through.
"Kai-aniki, I have news you'll definitely be interested in."