Sky Country

"Something seemed to be coming!"

Hina also heard a strange sound coming from nearby.

A man wearing a horned monster mask, with small wings on his back, raced across the clouds with a spear in hand.

"Get rid of them!"

He leaped into the air, thrusting his spear straight at Cifer.

"The Sky Knight is here!"

Just as another voice rang out, Cifer had already grabbed the spearhead and hurled the masked man straight into the Sea of Clouds, where he vanished.

"Huh? Th-this isn't right, is it?"

The fully armed old man who had flown over on a bird froze in midair. Weren't people from the Blue Sea supposed to lose their strength upon reaching the White Sea?

Still, they landed on the ship.

"You're people from the Blue Sea, aren't you?"

"The Blue Sea?"

As the old man spoke, the curious Hina kept asking him about Sky Island.

The old man was named Gan Fall. He was a part-time mercenary who usually wandered the White Sea, making a living by rescuing people from the Blue Sea who ended up here and charging them a fee.

The bird he rode was a Pegasus Bird that had eaten the Heavenly Horse Fruit!

The Blue Sea was the collective name for the Grand Line and the other seas below. This was the White Sea, located 7,000 meters above the seas below!

And even higher up was the Upper Yard, where the "Sky Island" they were seeking truly lay!

After giving Hina a basic introduction to the White Sea and the Upper Yard, Gan Fall said his goodbyes and prepared to wander elsewhere.

After all, Cifer did not look like someone who needed his help, so Gan Fall did not even take out his whistle.

"Look, little Hina! It's the legendary Sky Fish!"

Wright climbed onto the ship, holding two flat creatures whose scales resembled feathers.

"I'm going to cook them and see if they taste good!"

"Uncle Wright! We don't even know if these fish are poisonous!"

Wright completely ignored her and walked into the kitchen, beginning to prepare this new dish.

"I heard they're delicious. You can try them."

Cifer suddenly said.

"Who did you hear that from?" Hina could not suppress her curiosity. "You were the one who wanted to come to Sky Island, but ever since we got here, you've looked completely uninterested."

"Have you been to Sky Island before? You seem to know a lot about this place, yet you also seem totally indifferent to it."

"I heard it from a friend I've never met. Besides, I told you, I came here to find a companion."

Cifer pointed upward, indicating that the person he sought was on the Sky Island in the Upper Yard.

Cifer had little interest in Sky Island. The Golden City? Killing pirates in the Blue Sea for Bounty was much more satisfying. Sky Island? In his eyes, it was nothing special aside from floating in the sky.

"Honestly, Hina is unhappy!"

What friend he had never met? He clearly just did not want to tell her. Hina plopped down in a chair and sulked.

"Ta-da~"

Wright came out carrying a plate of fried fish and a plate of grilled fish, inviting Hina and Cifer to taste them.

"So delicious!"

Hina's taste buds were conquered in an instant! It was an entirely new experience unlike anything on the Grand Line!

"That's true."

Such a tiny amount was not even enough to fill the gaps between Cifer's teeth. In the blink of an eye, nothing was left.

"This is incredible! Sky Fish don't even have fish bones. They're practically the perfect cooking ingredient—I almost want to stay here!"

For a chef like Wright, ingredients that were easy to prepare were simply wonderful.

"Run! Something huge is coming!"

KureKke suddenly burst out of the White Sea and jumped onto the ship, shouting in panic.

A gigantic monster followed behind him. It resembled an octopus, but its tentacles had things like mouths growing on them as they stretched toward everyone aboard the ship.

Cifer merely glared at it, and the monster hastily recoiled.

"Since you're already aboard, let's go. To the Upper Yard."

"Alright!"

At Cifer's direction, the ship quickly arrived before a massive gate-like structure. Written on it were the words "Gate of Heaven."

Behind the structure were a waterfall made of clouds and a ribbon-like Cloud River.

From a side door in the structure, an old woman holding a camera came out while taking pictures of Cifer and the others.

"Are you here for sightseeing, or are you here to fight?"

"To fight? What does that mean?"

Hina asked the question from the depths of her soul, but unfortunately, the old woman did not answer.

"Whatever you came here for, if you want to enter the upper level, each person must pay one billion Extol. That is the law here."

"One billion?!"

Though they had no idea what Extol was, KureKke and Wright were already so shocked that they collapsed to the ground.

Hina looked at Cifer. After Gan Fall's explanation earlier, she naturally knew what Extol was, but this ship belonged to Cifer, so whether they paid was naturally up to him.

"We're here to fight. And I don't intend to pay."

Cifer answered with a cocky expression.

"You can enter even without paying... I'm neither a gatekeeper nor a guard. I'm only responsible for asking your intentions."

"Then how do we get up?"

While Hina was still wondering, two enormous pincers suddenly emerged from the Sea of Clouds and clamped onto both sides of the ship.

"What is that?!"

Wright and KureKke cried out in panic.

"That's a unique creature of the White Sea, an 'Express Shrimp'..."

Before the old woman could finish, the pincers had already carried the Little Ul away at high speed, racing upstream along the cloud waterfall.

"Ah~ Ah!!!"

Wright and KureKke clung to the mast, screaming bloody murder.

In mere seconds, they saw the end of the Cloud River. At the entrance to Sky Island was the sign: God's Land SKYPEIA.

The Little Ul passed smoothly through the entrance and stopped upon the Sea of Clouds in the Upper Yard.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a vast expanse of white, along with an island covered in all kinds of buildings.

"So this is Sky Island!"

Unlike the astonished Hina and Wright, KureKke's eyes had filled with tears. The existence of Sky Island had been confirmed—he had seen it with his own eyes!

Now, all that remained was the Golden City!

As long as he found the Golden City, he could prove that it was the other half of Jaya, the place his ancestor Noland had once visited!

"You're crying too soon. Jaya isn't here."

The ship docked, and Cifer and the others stepped onto the soft, cloud-made ground.

"This is amazing! Is the ground really made of clouds?!"

Wright, already well into middle age, rolled around on the ground like a child. KureKke also looked and touched everywhere, like someone who had never seen the world.

"Hina can hardly believe it."

She had even forgotten to light the cigarette in her mouth. As she looked at everything on the island and stepped upon the cotton-candy-like ground, her gaze could not help drifting toward Cifer.

Cifer, meanwhile, looked toward the higher and farther reaches of the island. His gaze seemed to pierce through countless buildings and obstructions.

At that moment, on God's Island within God's Land, a bare-chested man opened his eyes. Golden ornaments hung from his ears down to his chest, a white scarf was wrapped around his head, and four three-tomoe Thunder Drums were mounted upon his back.

"Seems a few uninvited guests have arrived~"

"Yehahahaha~"