"Can you only achieve low-altitude flight? That's still not enough." Roy frowned slightly. Below 1,000 meters is considered low altitude, and above 7,000 meters is high altitude. Although with his current development of his Devil Fruit Ability, he can completely offset some of the gravity, it's still difficult to encompass the entire fleet.
"Captain, developing flight propulsion systems is incredibly expensive; the budget is almost exhausted." Robin smiled wryly. She now understood why only behemoths like the Marine Headquarters and the World Government could afford to maintain Science Unit —it was a bottomless pit.
"Don't be stingy with money. The more you give, the more you receive." Roy didn't care about the financial burden at all. Not to mention the advantage of using the Sky Island as a rear base, the huge amount of gold on the Sky Island alone was enough to make his investment worthwhile.
In fact, in Roy's initial plan, if the Shichibukai plan failed, Sky Island would be his last refuge.
Robin turned to relay the order, while Roy looked up at the sky, his gaze deep. "Is it because of dreams... that [romance] can be achieved? Unfortunately, what I want is not romance, but the secret you have buried deep inside."
"Is this the strange sea that was often shrouded in darkness?" Roy looked up at the sky.
"Yes, Captain, the area above this sea is where the Cumulonimbus you mentioned is located, and there are often ocean currents that surge into the sky."
Moving just a few ships to the Sky Island wouldn't be a difficult task for Roy, but moving his entire massive fleet there would require leveraging external resources.
"Judge, are you sure there won't be any problems?"
"Lord Roy, rest assured, I would never risk my life. After numerous calculations, I can guarantee that the distance will reach 3,000 meters," Judge said, patting his chest.
For someone as dedicated to scientific research as him, encountering a generous boss who's willing to spend money is undoubtedly the luckiest thing. He hasn't enjoyed such a comfortable lifestyle in a long time.
Don't assume he was wealthy just because he was once the king of Germa 66. After all, scientific research is extremely expensive, and just maintaining such a large kingdom would have been a huge burden for him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so furious when he learned that Roy had destroyed the Flavie Arena, his main source of income.
Roy nodded slightly; it was already quite remarkable that he had managed to do this in such a short time.
"After I use my Devil Fruit Ability to counteract most of the gravity, I should be able to increase the propulsion distance of the aircraft to over 8,000 meters. I'll leave this final leg of the journey to you." Roy looked at the Crocodile the Sand standing next to him. With his Logia-type Fruit ability to transform into a sandstorm, lifting the final distance should be a piece of cake.
"No problem, Captain." Crocodile now had complete faith in Roy, and even though it was a vague rumor like Sky Island, he chose to believe it unconditionally.
After confirming the situation, a large amount of white mist spewed out from beneath the fleet, rising shakily into the air, creating a spectacular scene.
Under the control of Roy's Devil Fruit Ability, the fleet quickly stabilized and gradually increased the distance.
The massive island shrank to a black dot in everyone's eyes, until it disappeared completely. Clouds swirled around the ship, and it looked as if you could reach out and pluck a piece of cloud—it was like a fairyland. This scene left many people wide-eyed, experiencing something entirely new.
It is important to know that since the emergence of humankind, the instinct to conquer the skies has been ingrained in our blood.
Even those who possess the ability to fly or control Geppo can only fly up to a hundred meters in the sky at most. Very few people would deliberately come to a height of several thousand meters to experience this different world.
The girls on the ship were already excitedly shouting and laughing, completely lost in their own world. Even the composed Robin was spreading her arms wide to embrace the sky, revealing her stunning figure.
When the air became thin enough, Old Sand took over, transforming into a golden storm that swept the entire fleet into the sky.
Creak!
The fleet landed steadily, pressing down on the Cloud Layer, making a sound similar to stepping on snow.
"This, this is the legendary Sky Island."
"We have arrived at a miraculous place that has existed only in imagination for hundreds of years."
"Hahaha, this dream island belongs to our Phantom Sword Pirates from today onwards."
Standing on the soft Cloud Layer, everyone was filled with excitement and cheered.
Roy didn't stop them; if they didn't make a commotion, how would they lure the little Nezumi out?
"What a huge force! Damn, how can there be so many people? Could it be that CD is from the Blue Sea?" War Demon Wiper couldn't help but say during the raid.
It should be noted that the entire Shandia Tribe, along with the residents of Angel Island, probably couldn't match the crowd in front of them.
They had encountered visitors from the Blue Sea before, but the largest group had only numbered in the dozens. This fleet before them, however, was likely to number in the tens of thousands.
Sky Island already has scarce land resources, which led the Shandia People to wage a four-hundred-year-long war against the inhabitants of Angel Island. Now, with the addition of this new variable, they can't help but be wary.
"That's... that's the land! Those Blue Sea People brought the sacred earth!" The Mantis, who had originally planned to retreat, couldn't move its feet after accidentally catching a glimpse of the boatloads of soil.
"What? Is that the land we've been dreaming of?" Upon hearing this, Wyper stopped in his tracks.
"Should we go and seize their land? Maybe they're all show and no substance." Another Shandian warrior, Braham, licked his lips, unable to contain his greed.
"Wait a minute, we're just a few dozen people, while the enemy has a powerful fleet of tens of thousands of soldiers." The shapely female warrior, Laki, couldn't help but pour cold water on their hopes.
"No, the air on the Sky Island is thin. The people from Qinghai will be too weak to fight back. Even if there are many of them, they will be at our mercy." Mantis looked at Webber. As a descendant of the great warrior Kargra, Webber had always been the leader in their small group.
"Even a tiny piece of land requires us to pay a heavy price with blood and tears. The land before us is even enough for us to rebuild our homes. It's worth the risk." Wyper's eyes were resolute. Only the Shandia could understand how much they longed for land.
Putting aside the unique geographical location of the Sky Island, the abundance of various shellfish on the island alone was enough to tempt Roy.
Therefore, Roy intends to rule and develop this dream island for a long time.
As for winning people's hearts, what could be cheaper and more precious than the land for the people of the Sky Island?