Hera gave her den den mushi to the two of them. "This is my den den mushi. Since I've defeated Eneru, this territory is now under my protection."
Seeing the somewhat worried Gan Fall and Wapol, Hera added, "Of course, I won't rule over you like Eneru did. However, you must give me priority when selling your Sky Island Shellss, which I will purchase at market price. You will still lead yourselves as usual, but I will supervise you; no oppression of civilians will be allowed in my territory."
Gan Fall and Wapol were relieved. They had been worried that Hera would become the next Eneru. Since she had no such intention and only requested priority purchasing rights for the Dials, it was acceptable to both of them.
Hera continued, "You can fly my flag on Sky Island. If any pirates coming from below cause trouble that you can't handle, contact me. I want to see who would dare to disrespect me."
With that, Hera took out a flag. The Marine flag was printed with Zafkiel and ability. This flag was specially made by Hera when she left Marine Headquarters to signify her territory.
Although this move was slightly against the rules, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, the Marines would just turn a blind eye.
After arriving on Sky Island, Hera had been busy fighting and traveling. Now that she had finally finished everything, she and the others returned to Angel Island. Conis had been waiting for a long time, and upon seeing Hera return, she couldn't help but rush forward to embrace her.
"I heard the sound of the golden bell. At that moment, I guessed you had defeated Eneru, but I wasn't sure. I was really worried about you." Conis knelt on the ground and hugged Hera, weeping piteously.
Hera could only hold Conis and comfort her, "Don't cry. Haven't I returned safe and sound? From now on, Sky Island will welcome peace. You should be happy and show us around more. Seeing you like this is so heartbreaking."
Conis wiped her tears with her hand, "I'm not sad; I'm just so happy! Don't worry, I will definitely show you all the beauty of Sky Island."
Nami, Kuina, and Ain also gathered around. Kuina said with a smile, "Stop hugging Hera. If you keep this up, we're going to get jealous."
Conis blushed and quickly stood up to lead Hera's group around the island.
Along the way, Ain and Nami were very curious about the various Sky Island Shellss. "Old man Gan Fall only told us about the different Dials used for combat. It turns out there are so many types of Dials for daily life too."
They bought a large number of Lamp Dials in particular, intending to place them on the argo. There was also furniture made of clouds, which was incredibly soft and comfortable to sit on.
Night soon fell, and Hera's group sat by the sea of clouds to fish in preparation for the evening banquet.
Hera was full of praise for the taste of Sky Island's specialty fish. She opened the City of Devouring Time, brought out the argo, and then packed it with a large amount of fish. When Hera tried to throw away the gold, Nami finally couldn't take it anymore and gave her a sharp knock on the head to calm her down.
"Sigh, the space in the City of Devouring Time is running out," Hera couldn't help but complain. Hearing this, Kuina rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't it be fine if you didn't pack so much miscellaneous junk inside? Such a large space has been completely stuffed by you."
Hera shook her head vigorously. "What junk? It's just that the time to use them hasn't come yet. Everything I've packed is useful."
Kuina watched as the fiftieth mattress was spat out from the shadow and silently shook her head. She said nothing, only letting out a sigh.
Happy times are always fleeting. Hera and the others stayed on Sky Island for a whole week, visiting various places and even racing several rounds on Wavers. Finally, the day of departure arrived.
Hera still felt like she hadn't had enough, but she wanted to do many more things, and she couldn't stop her footsteps now.
Gan Fall had already gathered the first batch of Sky Island Shellss. Hera planned to transport them to the East Blue and hand them over to the Revolutionary Army. She didn't know how Smoker was doing in the Four Seas either. If the vacancies in the Marines increased, Hera planned to cooperate with the Revolutionary Army and have some of them secretly join the Marines to prepare for the next phase of her plan.
Conis came to the side of the ship to bid farewell to Hera and the others. Hera also felt a bit sentimental. "Conis, are you really not coming on our ship? We're still missing a Musician companion."
Conis shook her head. Sky Island was her home, and she didn't desire to join the argo.
Hera could only say helplessly, "Alright, make sure to take care. We'll come back to see you."
They had arrived by following the ocean currents, but when leaving, they took the relatively safer route through the Summit of High West. Nami asked Hera curiously, "Where are we going next? Back to Marine Headquarters?"
Hera shook her head and said to Nami, "Our next destination is Thriller Bark. I have a hypothesis I want to test with Moriah." Her shadow flickered slightly, as if the City of Devouring Time was also looking forward to the encounter with Moriah.
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