Two hours earlier—
The Black Whale had arrived at Jaya, but they didn't dock where Buggy and the others were. Chrollo and his crew landed on the complete opposite side of the island... right at the stone castle of Mont Blanc Cricket.
The stone castle and Mock Town were on opposite ends of the island, separated by miles of wilderness.
Using the sea charts provided by the Revolutionary Army and Robin's deductive skills, Nami navigated the Black Whale with pinpoint accuracy to the northernmost tip of Jaya. There, they met the key NPC required to trigger the Sky Island questline: the descendant of Mont Blanc Noland, the "King of Liars"—Mont Blanc Cricket.
After a brief conversation, Chrollo and the others learned the legend of the City of Gold.
They heard the story of Noland, who was executed for lying to his King about a city of gold that supposedly didn't exist, bearing the shame of a liar for centuries.
Cricket explained that he refused to leave this coastline because he had to prove his ancestor innocent... to prove the City of Gold was real.
But years had passed. Cricket had scoured the seabed in every direction and found nothing.
At this point, he was running on pure obsession. He wasn't even sure if the City of Gold existed anymore.
But Chrollo—being a transmigrator—knew the truth. The City of Gold was Jaya.
Or rather, half of it.
Centuries ago, a massive "Knock Up Stream" had blasted half the island into the sky, where it became part of Skypiea. The other half remained below.
That was why the King's soldiers found nothing 400 years ago. They were looking on the ground for a city that was floating in the clouds.
Chrollo knew that the City of Gold, and the Poneglyph Robin was searching for, were sitting directly above their heads.
So, they only had to do one thing: Go up.
Traditionally, there are two ways to get to a Sky Island:
1. The Knock Up Stream: A massive, violent geyser. Extremely dangerous with a low survival rate. If your timing or positioning is off by an inch, your ship is smashed to pieces or dropped back into the ocean.
2. The High West Road: The official entrance. Safe, but guarded by the authorities and likely to alert the Marines.
But with the arrival of Chrollo and the Spiders... a third option was born.
Ascension.
Chrollo smiled and promised Cricket he would let him see the City of Gold with his own eyes, fulfilling his lifelong wish.
Then, as Cricket watched in stunned silence...
Under Nobunaga's control, the entire island of Jaya tore itself free from the ocean floor and shot straight up toward the clouds.
Chrollo had chosen the most violent, yet most convenient method of travel:
A direct elevator.
---
30,000 feet in the air. The White Sea.
The White Sea is a natural wonder formed by Imperial Cumulus clouds. It consists of "Sea Clouds" dense enough to sail on, and "Island Clouds" solid enough to walk on.
The surface of the White Sea began to boil. A massive vortex opened up, cutting a deep abyss into the cloud ocean.
Then, as a group of primitive warriors watched in sheer terror, a colossal island punched through the cloud floor and breached the Sky Island!
The half of the stone castle belonging to Cricket slowly rose until it met the ruins of the other half on the Sky Island.
Click.
It was a perfect fit.
The two halves of the island, separated for 400 years, were finally reunited.
"Haa... Haa..."
Cricket gasped violently. The sudden change in air pressure at this altitude was making it nearly impossible to breathe, but he refused to close his eyes.
All around him was an endless sea of white clouds.
In the distance, a dense, ancient forest stood tall—exactly as Noland had described it in his logbook.
Jaya and the Sky Island had merged. This was the true City of Gold!
He stared at the scene with a mix of shock and greedy validation. "So... the City of Gold... it really exists!"
Nearby, the primitive locals—Shandians, dressed in animal skins and holding spears—stared at the sudden appearance of this landmass with jaws on the floor.
Cricket looked at the warriors, his voice trembling. "Those... those are the Shandians mentioned in the ancestor's diary!"
He looked down at the clouds drifting beneath his feet, tears streaming down his face. "Maybe... maybe I died? Is this heaven?"
THWACK!
Nami's "Fist of Love" came down hard, raising a massive lump on Cricket's chestnut-shaped head.
"Ouch!"
"Did that hurt?" Nami asked sweetly.
"Yes..." Cricket teared up.
"Then you're not dead." Nami clapped her hands, her eyes instantly turning into beri symbols as she stared at the jungle. "Where is the gold located on this island? Hurry up, lead the way! We need to find it!"
She made a move to dash straight into the woods—
Chrollo placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. He smiled and pointed at the clouds beneath their feet. "Don't move until you know which clouds are ocean and which are land."
"You might fall right through to the Blue Sea."
Nami shrank back, pulling her foot to safety as the gold-fever cleared from her brain. She frowned. "So what do we do?"
Chrollo pointed toward the Shandians who were slowly, warily approaching them. The corner of his mouth curled up.
In the original story, these Shandians were the true natives of the City of Gold. They had guarded the Poneglyph for generations.
400 years ago, when their half of the island was blasted into the sky, the Skypieans—the "Angels"—found them. Outgunned, the Shandians were driven out of their homeland by the "God" of that era and forced to live on the clouds.
The Skypieans stole their ancestral land.
The Shandians' sole purpose in life was to retake their home and drive out the current "God"—Enel.
Chrollo looked at the primitive warriors and smiled. "It doesn't matter."
"They will give us everything we want. They'll be our guides."
Chrollo's gaze shifted, looking deep into the forest, as if locking eyes with someone miles away.
"Besides..."
"I suspect our presence has already been noticed by him."
"The one who calls himself 'God'."
---
Meanwhile, on the Mock Town side of the island.
The island had stabilized, but the people were still reeling from the shock.
Unlike Chrollo's group, who were facing the open cloud sea, the people in Mock Town were staring directly into a dense, primitive rainforest.
The duel between Ace and Teach had been cut short. Neither man wanted to fight to the death in a completely unknown environment. On the Grand Line, the unknown meant death.
Hina scanned the surroundings. She noticed the lack of a blue ocean and the strange composition of the clouds. "Did we... did we just arrive at a Sky Island?!"
The pirates looked at her. "Sky Island?"
"Just what it sounds like. An island floating in the air."
There were other Sky Islands in the Grand Line besides Skypiea, so high-ranking Marines had some knowledge of them. The Navy even guarded the entrance to the High West Road.
"How is that possible?"
"You mean we're 30,000 feet in the air right now?"
Blackbeard, having heard the legends, was the first to react. A greedy light exploded in his eyes. "Zehahaha! This is the island where the ground is made of gold, isn't it?!"
"Boys! Follow me! We're going to steal some gold!"
Van Augur, Doc Q, and Hisoka slowly gathered behind him.
Teach turned back to look at Ace one last time, his expression a mix of amusement and malice. "As for you... I'll give you one last chance to think it over while I collect my gold, Ace."
"The next time we meet... one of us dies."
"ZEHAHAHAHA!"
After Teach's crew disappeared into the treeline, Buffalo and Giolla of the Donquixote Family exchanged a look. Whoosh, whoosh. They engaged their abilities and vanished into the jungle as well.
Ace watched Teach leave. He propped himself up against a tree, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He wiped his mouth, his eyes burning with stubborn resolve.
He pushed off the tree and limped into the forest, following Teach's trail.
Hina and her Marines watched the monsters leave. A subordinate asked, "Captain Hina, what are your orders?"
Hina looked around. She spotted a young girl with small wings on her back hiding behind a tree, watching them terrified. Hina's eyes narrowed.
"Hina thinks... we need to gather intel before we make a move."
Finally, only Buggy and his crew were left sitting in the ruins, looking blankly at the jungle.
"Boss... what do we do?"
"How the hell should I know?! We're toast!"
Buggy sat on the ground, completely giving up. He only knew one thing for certain.
He absolutely could not go into that jungle.
He had to stay as far away from that man as humanly possible!