As you already know, our ship can fly. If we really wanted to, we could just take the ultimate shortcut and head straight for the Sacrificial Altar.
But honestly?
They went out of their way to set up this smug little "trial" system and look down on us while doing it… so I decided I'd play along.
Also, if we act too far outside their expectations, we have no idea what kind of reaction they'll pull. It's better to keep some caution in the back pocket.
So, after entering Upper Yard alongside Luffy's group, we pushed forward—avoiding traps when it was easy, smashing them when it wasn't—until we finally arrived at the four gates leading to the Trials.
"Swamp," "Iron," "String," "Ball"…
Alright. Which one?
"Let's do 'Ball'!" Luffy said. "Sounds fun!"
"It's a trial, you idiot!" Nami snapped. "None of these are going to be fun! …But, honestly, I'm not against 'Ball.' It's the only one that doesn't sound violent."
"So it's decided then," Zoro muttered. "…Though Sue-chan, are you really splitting up? They said it's dangerous. Maybe you should stick with us—"
"We'll be fine," I said. "We can fight too."
"Right," Honey added. "And one of our people got taken as well. If we split up and finish faster, that's better. We don't even know what's waiting."
"If there are four Trials," Emerald said calmly, "and it's already past noon, we should resolve this as quickly as possible. If the forest is dangerous, then moving at night is something we should avoid."
"…Okay," Luffy said, accepting it surprisingly easily. "Then you guys be careful! So which one are you taking?"
I glanced at the gates.
"…Swamp."
"And why Swamp?" Usopp asked, uneasy.
"Just a whim," I said lightly. "You're taking the far right 'Ball,' so I'll take the far left."
"W-wait, you can't decide like that!" Usopp yelped. "We don't know what's waiting!"
"It's the same everywhere," I replied. "This kind of thing? Overthinking wastes time. Better to pick and move."
"…Fair point," Sanji sighed. "Then ladies… please return safely."
"See ya!" Luffy waved. "Let's meet up at the… whatever altar!"
And just like that, we stepped through the gate marked "Ordeal of Swamp" and split off from Luffy's group.
…By the way, the "whim" thing?
Sorry. That was a lie.
I picked Swamp on purpose.
This is where my original-story memory kicks in: if I'm remembering right, the priest here should be one of the four—Sky Warden Gedatsu.
And among the four priests, he was the only one who—combat equipment-wise—had an extinct-species Dial.
I think it was…
The Jet Dial.
A Dial that spits wind with absurd force.
And since our original reason for coming to Sky Island was to acquire new Dials…
Now that we're dragged into this mess as "criminals," I'm planning to take every rare Dial these people have.
So. Step one—
I'll be taking that Jet Dial, thanks.
――――NOOOO!! You've gotta be kidding meeeee!!
"...?"
Oh. Right.
"Ball" starts with that big drop, doesn't it?
Around the time we heard Luffy's group screaming their lungs out—probably thinking they were falling off the Sky Island—we finally emerged from a dark passage into open air too.
But we didn't fall.
Instead, the Milky Road widened drastically.
The "depth" of the cloud-path felt thicker too—like a river whose volume suddenly swelled.
We kept going, and the current steadily got faster… until we were basically being carried along like an amusement-park ride.
Then we hit a short, steep slope—
And burst out into a vast, lake-like region of cloud.
"What is this?" Honey murmured. "It suddenly opened up."
"A lake… no," Emerald said, dipping her hand off the side to test it. "This is a swamp. The texture is subtly different from earlier clouds."
So the entire field was swamp-cloud.
Looking closely, scattered "island clouds" floated across it, like little patches of land.
To check how it behaved, Ruby clipped on a safety line and dove in with a splash.
A moment later, she surfaced again and swam back, face serious.
"Well?" I asked.
"It's like a swamp version of Sea Cloud," Ruby reported. "Hard to swim in. Fish-Men and mermaids can manage, but ordinary humans would struggle and sink—even if they're not Devil Fruit users. Needless to say, Sister, Honey, and Lupus absolutely can't fall in."
"Got it," I said. "So this is the Swamp Trial… meaning the enemy should show up soon."
"Given the terrain," Emerald said, "their tactics likely involve knocking us into the swamp, capsizing the ship, sinking us… We'll need to protect the ship, and possibly make use of those island clouds."
"No," Honey cut in. "Don't trust them. Some of those island clouds are solid, but others will flip or sink with even a little weight—trap platforms. We shouldn't treat them as reliable footing."
"Then we just delete the enemy as soon as they appear," Lupus said, cracking her knuckles. "Honey, you protect the ship. Miss and I can fly. Ruby and Emerald too—we jump them instantly."
"Don't get cocky," I warned. "That's still speculation. We don't know what kind of enemy it is or how they'll attack."
…Though honestly, with this lineup, I can't imagine losing to Gedatsu.
Ruby's at home on water.
I can fly with my ability.
Lupus can Moonwalk.
We're trained for low-oxygen environments from Merveille.
We already understand the whole "sky warrior uses Dials to fight" concept.
And on top of that—
We're Haki users.
All of us have Observation.
Everyone but Honey has Armament.
These priests are arrogant, Dial-reliant, and probably can't use Haki at all.
If anything, we'd win too fast.
The only wrinkle is their high-level Observation—what they call Mantra.
But even if they can "see" an attack coming…
If they can't avoid it, it doesn't matter.
…Oh, right. Important.
I need to tell everyone to hold back enough not to destroy the Dials.
Would be pretty stupid if we "won" and shattered the loot.
Okay.
We were deep into the swamp field now—about halfway through.
They should appear any moment.
Come on, then.
Show me where you're hiding—and hand over that extinct-species Dial.
☆☆☆
"Welcome, criminals… heh, heh! I am Sky Warden Gedatsu! A priest who serves the Almighty 'God'… and the one who will deliver judgment upon you in this swamp!"
"…Hey."
"For what reason you split your forces—whether to avoid annihilation, or to seek a route—I care not! But even if you are few… even if you are women… do not expect mercy!"
"…Hey."
"Watch your footing! This is the Swamp Cloud! If you fall, or slip from your ship—once you're caught, escape becomes impossible!"
"…Hey."
"Survival rate fifty percent—whoops!—the Swamp of—"
"Hey, Gedatsu."
"Hm? Don't interrupt a man mid—…Ohm? Why are you here?"
"That's my line," the other one snapped. "This is my Iron territory. What happened to your own Trial?"
"...???"
Gedatsu blinked slowly.
(Wait… I thought I went to the restroom before the sinners arrived… then I came back… then… came back… and then…)
"...…."
―――Whoops!
☆☆☆
"…So nothing happened," Emerald said flatly.
"They made us enter this ominous area and then… nothing?" Honey frowned. "What is this?"
"Maybe they're trying to make us relax before attacking," Lupus said. "Either way, we keep our guard up."
"Agreed," I said. "We stay cautious until Sapphire is safely recovered."
…But inside, I was losing it.
Why did nothing happen?
Why was Gedatsu not here?
I was still trying to make sense of it when—
Purururururu… purururururu…
"Hm?" I blinked. "What now?"
"Miss's Den Den Mushi," Lupus said, leaning in. "It's ringing. But… who—?"
No one in Skypiea should know my number.
I never gave it to Luffy's group.
And I'm not even sure Skypiea uses Den Den Mushi culturally—though maybe they have an equivalent.
Either way—
Who's calling at a time like this?
I picked it up.
"Hello?"
『Mother?! Is that you?!』
"…Suzu?" I froze. "What's going on? Why are you calling like this?"
She was breathing hard.
『Sorry—this is an emergency! You know you called Grandpa and said you got dragged into trouble, right?! Right after that—』
"Suzu, slow down. What happened?"
She didn't slow down.
『We don't even fully understand the situation—like, we don't know the reason—but Leona suddenly ran out of the house and disappeared!』
"…What?"
My stomach dropped.
"Leona—disappeared?"
『Right after I told Leona and Alice what you said, her face went pale… and then she took Shizu from the Maid Squad and flew off somewhere! Nobody heard where she was going, we couldn't even ask—』
"…She took Shizu?"
That was bad.
If Shizu went with her, she wasn't just "running."
That meant speed. Air mobility. No easy pursuit.
『And… I didn't hear it clearly, but Alice says Leona muttered something like "I remember"…』
"I remember."
My blood went cold.
Her lost memories… returned?
And the trigger was… Skypiea?
Because Suzu said it happened right after hearing my report.
If Skypiea brought her memory back…
Then—
Leona's origin…
The way she "fell" from the sky, the crater, the altitude—
Was she actually from a Sky Island?
And if she remembered something urgent enough to snatch Shizu and fly—
Then where is she going?
…Don't tell me.
Could it be—
Her home is Skypiea?
And the place she's heading toward right now is—
To be continued...