Sky Knight: Battle Trap

Above a boundless sea of clouds.

"So, we've reached the sea of clouds? Why is the pointer still pointing to the sky—?"

In response to Nami's question, Luffy grinned and looked at Roman was steering the ship.

"Roman, what's going on?"

·······

Luffy has mastered the essence of being a captain: when in doubt about internal matters, ask Nami; when in doubt about external matters, ask Roman.

"This is the White Sea, 7,000 meters above the sky, while the Sky Island is in the 'White White Sea', 10,000 meters above that. So—"

"Understood, let's keep going up!"

Luffy stood at the bow of the ship and raised his arms in a shout.

"Keep flying, Golden Merry!"

Golden Merry: Come on, if you can do it, then you do it.

"Oh, right," Roman said, rubbing his forehead. He decided it would be best to explain first.

"Because there are other 'normal' ways to reach the Sky Island, it is not truly isolated from the world."

"If we encounter an attack, that would be quite normal. After all—our colleagues are all here for the legendary Golden City."

"What? Stealing other people's gold? —Are those guys really that poor?"

·········

Faced with Luffy, Roman was at a loss for words! If it weren't for him and Nami, the Straw Hat crew would have been starving long ago! The whole crew are gluttons, and they even have a captain who's a food-devouring black hole...

The most ridiculous thing is that since the Straw Hat crew was formed, they have never done a proper 'pirate' business! They are simply a prime example of living off their savings. Now that they have entered a treasure mountain, are they going to leave empty-handed?

"Very well, since you Luffy." Sure enough, Nami and Roman had the same idea.

"Starting today, your food allowance will be halved!"

"Aaaaaaahh..."

"Watch out, someone's coming."

Roman was distracted by controlling the paper crane to fly out for reconnaissance, creating a new 'White Knight' to sail the ship, and writing and drawing on the paper in his hand.

"Really! Someone's coming!"

He's running on the clouds~~

"Stop right there! What are you doing?"

Facing a guy wielding a curved tower shield, wearing a totem-carved face mask, with a well-proportioned muscular physique and a fur coat around his waist, hurtling towards him at high speed—if it weren't for the rocket launcher in his other hand, he would have looked every bit the part of a typical jungle warrior.

"I will annihilate you!"

?

Without saying a word, the newcomer jumped onto the deck of the Golden Merry and started fighting. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji immediately went to meet him, but the result was completely unexpected!

It turns out that three members of the Straw Hat crew Pirates were at a disadvantage!

·······

Hmm, this 'War Oni' Wyper is actually quite skilled; he's at least a 60 million power level fighter! Add to that his insane health and unique weapon, and he could even hold his own against Luffy in his current Luffy...

That's it!

Just then, a shout rang out from the sky! A knight riding a bird swooped down and slashed the jungle warrior wielding a rocket launcher with a single shot. The jungle warrior clearly recognized his opponent, and without hesitation, jumped off the Going Golden Merry and sped away above the sea of clouds.

It has a feeling of 'aggression as fierce as fire, retreat as swift as the wind'.

"We're saved!"

Nami first wiped the cold sweat from her forehead before realizing what was happening and looking in the direction of the ship's rudder.

"Roman, what are you doing? Why aren't you helping?"

"That's not the enemy... cough cough," Roman, who almost misspoke, waved the notebook in his hand to change the subject.

"I'm setting up our 'Sky Island Training Intensive Schedule'."

??

In an instant, the entire Straw Hat crew felt their limbs go weak.

"I can't do it anymore, I have a disease that will kill me if I exercise..."

"Why do we still have to train after arriving on the Sky Island?!"

"I can't breathe—"

········

"Ahem, fellow Blue Ocean people."

Clad in knight's armor, a red cloak, and wielding a lance, the knight's helmet concealed an aged face, the man who had just driven away the jungle warriors. He had to cough to warn the oblivious Straw Hat crew before him.

"My name is Sky Knight - Gan Fall".

"You feel weak right now because of 'altitude hypoxia.' This is the 'White Sea' at an altitude of 7,000 meters. People from the Blue Sea would feel completely weak and unable to move here—"

Pfft, pfft,

Luffy, who had done dozens of push-ups with his two index fingers, got up. "Great, I'm finally getting used to it."

"Indeed, much better than before." Zoro, who had also squatted down in one go, leaving a trail of afterimages, stretched his neck.

???

Are you even human?

"Ahem, anyway, I am a freelance mercenary."

The old knight had no choice but to forcefully steer the conversation back on track.

"If you're not good at 'air combat,' you'll be at a disadvantage in this area and will get taken out by those 'guerrillas.'"

"Five million Extol 'sentinels,' I will come to rescue you."

... The four of them were completely bewildered.

"It can't be any less; we also need to live."

"So... never mind, Roman."

Nami turned to look at Roman was still deep in thought, writing and drawing.

"Hmm? Oh—"

"Extol is the currency of Sky Island, and its exchange rate with the Beli we use is 10,000:1. That means the cost of dispatching this Sky Knight is 500 Beli per trip."

"So cheap... cough cough, expensive?"

Even Nami thought it was a 'bargain,' which shows that this old knight is truly an honest man. He's at least a master with a 50 million bounty, yet he only gets 500 Beli per attack. If the people below knew, they'd probably be laughing their heads off.

Is this some kind of beggar holding a golden bowl? They could just rob anyone... they'd have money delivered to their door even if they were just sitting there...

"Wait, didn't you come all the way from the High West?"

The old knight named Gan Fall finally noticed the ship's 'abnormality'.

"You should have visited at least one or two islands and have some understanding of the local culture. Unless—"

"We came up here on the 'Sky-Piercing Current'."

Faced with Luffy's answer, the old knight looked at him with 'admiration': "You actually came up using such an ancient method. I never thought there would still be such a reckless and brave person nowadays."

?

"I knew there had to be a normal route." Nami was already in tears, feeling that ever since she boarded this ship, everything had become incredibly difficult!

Bite,

The old knight placed a whistle on the deck, then turned and jumped onto the large bird beside him.

"The so-called 'one whistle' means that if I blow this whistle once, I will descend from the sky to help you. Consider it a greeting gift for all you warriors."

After saying this, the old knight rode his large bird... no, it should be a spotted Pegasus that had eaten the 'Horse-Horse Fruit' and soared into the sky, onto the Golden Merry.

"Very good. The 'high-altitude hypoxia' environment, along with its unique 'Mantra'... it's time to strengthen it..."

"Please, Roman."

Nami spread her hands. "It's rare that we've accomplished the feat of flying over the Sky Island, so let's stop thinking about improving our strength and all that. Can't we just relax and have some fun?"

"Yeah, I guess I've gotten used to it."

Roman shrugged. "There's no way around it. If I don't improve my strength quickly, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with the speed at which powerful enemies appear!"

What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener.

Usopp's expression stiffened. If we're talking about strength...

"By the way, we still don't know where to drive!"

Faced with this awkward silence, Luffy immediately put his 'cleverness' to use.

"Use this whistle to call that old man back and ask him—"

Snap! A merciless iron hand!

Nami and Usopp, who were holding Luffy tightly from the front and back, were furious and pulled Luffy, who was trying to blow the whistle, into the shape of Usopp!

"This is a life-saving tool in an emergency!"

"Yeah, what if that masked savage attacks again..."

Just as chaos erupted on the deck, the Golden Merry slowly began to move.

??

"Roman, what's this?"

"Oh, I've found the entrance to the upper level."

"Roman is more reliable," Nami said, rubbing her forehead as she snatched the whistle from Luffy's hand. "This thing absolutely cannot stay with you, or it will be used up immediately."

The paper cranes flying far away in the sky had already taken in the entire sea of clouds, and Roman had also found his target.

As the Golden Merry sailed forward above the sea of clouds, after passing a 'cloud mountain', a huge archway appeared before them.

"It says 'Gate of Heaven' on it."

"Are we already dead?"

"Hahaha, heaven is so much fun—"

"Don't say such unlucky things~~~"

There are people over there!

Click, click, click~~

Amid a series of flashes, the elderly woman holding a camera below the giant gate looked towards the Golden Merry.

Are you here for sightseeing or to fight?

"One hundred million Extol tolls per person, no matter what, if you don't pay..."

Brush,

A stack of Beli was casually tossed by Roman and flew to the old woman holding the camera.

"Eighty thousand Beli, that's eight hundred million Extol. Is that alright?"

"Without········"

"Then please have 'Express Shrimp' take us up there."

"·····good,"

As a giant shrimp suddenly appeared from below the sea of clouds, it pinned the Golden Merry to its head, securing the ship with its two pincers, and then sped up along the giant cloud tunnel that spiraled upwards behind the door! The old woman guarding the door clicked her tongue in displeasure.

Damn it, I actually ran into someone who knows Sky Island so well!

"Roman, what was that just now...?"

"I told you, Sky Island may be 'legendary' in the in the Grand Line, but it is a real and documented place for many factions. If we hadn't paid the fee just now, it would have been considered a violation of Sky Island 'laws,' and what awaited us after we got there would have been huge fines and battles."

"Oh, oh, oh," everyone nodded in unison.

I've learned it all, I've learned it all.

Well, given Luffy's temper and the 'rules' of Sky Island, a conflict with them is only a matter of time, but—

"Once you get up there, exercise for an hour to get used to the environment!"

Ah~~~

P. S.: Just my usual request for votes~~