With the confidence of no longer fearing anything, the four of them finally slowed down and began to truly enjoy the joy of adventure.
Before becoming a wanted man, El had treated the journey as a gradual process—taking risks while steadily improving his strength.
But after receiving a bounty, his actions had clearly grown hasty.
Originally, El had planned to rely on the Knock Up Stream to reach Sky Island.Instead, he abruptly changed plans—returning to their first stop on the Grand Line, Little Garden, to obtain Bubbly Coral and capture a pterosaur, even choosing to abandon their ship in order to reach the sky.
After arriving at Angel Island, El became even more impatient.
He didn't want to stay and observe Sky Island life at all. He immediately brought the three girls to Birka, and that very night—without waiting a single second—he went alone to find Enel and knocked him down with one decisive blow.
This entire month, El's life had been tense and exhausting.
He was constantly rushing, constantly pushing plans forward.
The reason for that pressure was simple—
The 80 million Belly bounty issued by Mary Geoise.
The closer they sailed toward the end of the first half of the Grand Line, the less secure El felt.
No one could guarantee that they wouldn't suddenly encounter a top-tier Marine officer from Marine Headquarters—on an island, or even at sea.
And there was no guarantee that such a person wouldn't act on a whim and arrest them all.
Although El was a monster by nature, he had not yet fully converted his talent into absolute strength.
At only nine years old, he was still no match for those veterans who had survived countless life-and-death battles.
Without either the strength to fight back—or the ability to reliably escape from a first-tier powerhouse—El could never truly feel safe.
After all, if he were captured and sent to Impel Down at this stage, it would take at least nine years to escape.
How could he possibly allow that to happen?
This was the double-edged sword of being familiar with the plot.
For a transmigrator, knowing the future was both a blessing and a curse.
The good side was obvious—El understood the truth of this world and could plan, calculate, and strategize from a very young age.
But the bad side was just as real.
Because he knew too much, before he gained the strength to handle every possible crisis, that invisible pressure weighed heavily on his heart.
And only now—
That pressure had finally disappeared.
The reason was simple.
The three girls had already laid down a perfect foundation.
As long as they didn't die prematurely, they would unquestionably grow into super-powerhouses, at a level comparable to—or even surpassing—the Fleet Admiral in the future.
Even though El still hadn't obtained the Devil Fruit he desired most, in the face of any unsolvable crisis, he could now fuse with Carina and Kuina, use the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, and either fight back—
Or escape cleanly with all three girls.
Now, El no longer needed to fear facing an invincible enemy.
Not only had the pressure lifted—
He had become noticeably more cheerful and lively.
The three girls quickly noticed the change.
Because their Nii-san suddenly seemed more energetic than ever.
In fact, El no longer bothered hiding the traces of his LSP tendencies from his previous life, almost as if he were responding to the confessions they had made that day.
Using the excuse of a "physical examination," he shamelessly checked their physical development—And noticed a subtle change on Kuina's once-flat chest.
Kuina, whose body had begun to develop, didn't stop him.
She even allowed him to do "bad things," and the relationship between the two of them grew rapidly closer.
Meanwhile, Carina and Nami—whose own figures hadn't changed yet—often puffed out their cheeks in dissatisfaction.
Three days later, after spending several days on Birka, the four returned to Angel Island.
Next, they finally began investigating the truth behind the City of Gold.
When El brought the three girls to the Upper Yard, their beautiful eyes instantly widened.
"Hey… is there something wrong with my eyes?""There's actually land… ten thousand meters above sea level?!""This is unbelievable. How did it end up here?"
The three girls were completely stunned.
"Come on," El said, smiling."Let's find the City of Gold."
Placing his hand on Carina's shoulder, El looked toward the forest ahead and continued,
"According to the information I gathered, this island—called Upper Yard—originally existed on the sea hundreds of years ago."
"It was once part of Jaya, the homeland of the Shandians."
"Four hundred years ago, the Shandians were driven away by the God of Sky Island."
"Since then, this land has become the territory of the Sky Island's God."
"In order to reclaim their homeland, the Shandians have fought Angel Island generation after generation—and the conflict has never truly ended."
Hearing this, the three girls nodded in realization.
"This island is so big," Nami said curiously."Is there really a City of Gold here?"
"Yes," El replied calmly."Most of the rumors can already be confirmed as true."
"I've seen vast amounts of gold in the memories of the Sky Islanders."
"And more importantly—those Sky Islanders aren't interested in gold at all."
"The legendary City of Gold is located somewhere on this island."
"Perfect!"
This time, it wasn't just Nami—Carina was just as excited.
"We're really going to get rich this time!"
With Baku Baku Space, neither Carina nor Nami worried about transporting gold.
As long as the gold was spit out within twenty-four hours, it wouldn't be digested.
Their enthusiasm instantly ignited.
El even imagined the scene—
The two of them jumping around like dogs seeing bones.
It was an oddly specific metaphor, but one that fit Carina and Nami—who loved money—perfectly.
Before Enel ruled Sky Island and used enormous amounts of gold to construct the Ark Maxim, gold had truly been scattered everywhere across the Upper Yard.
At this time, the massive python known as the "Master of the Sky" had only eaten a small portion of it.
Soon enough—
El found a ruined city, steeped in ancient history.
Every structure was made of gold.
Golden statues.Golden walls.Even the streets themselves were paved with gold.
The image El had imagined never appeared.
Instead of jumping around, all three girls stood frozen in place—
Mouths wide open.
They were completely stunned, rendered speechless by the sight before them.
Sky Islanders, who had no sense of gold's value, could never understand—
What this scene meant to the three girls from the Blue Sea.
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