Charging Straight into the Sky! The Local God Wasn't Very Friendly

The Santora River.

The Golden Flying Dragon sailed downstream.

Ian and the others have returned and are now preparing to leave the country.

This was much easier than going upstream, since the river wasn't yet experiencing the drastic drop in water level that would occur during the future drought; the water flow was still very large, and the mighty current propelled the large ship rapidly toward the estuary.

"Crackling sounds! Did you guys run into that guy too?"

Brogy couldn't help but laugh when Ian recounted his encounter with Crocodile. "He's a bit of a coward. After Dorry and I made our move, he immediately chose to run away."

"I've been away from the sea for too long,"

Ian casually remarked of Crocodile, "It seems he's forgotten what the laws of the sea are."

Ultimately, what good would it do for Crocodile to get Pluton?

Can he hold out?

"But,"

Ian looked at the Masira standing to the side. "Well done, Babanuki. After all, that guy is a Shichibukai."

"All this power is bestowed upon me by Lord Ian!"

Babanuki was very astute and quickly pledged his loyalty, saying, "Otherwise, how could I possibly have the strength to fight against someone of that level?"

"So how does it feel?"

Ian asked, "Having been Polymerization for so long, have you had any bad feelings?"

Babanuki said, "At first it was fine, but the longer it went on, the more I felt that I was being interfered with by the will of the Masira."

Ian nodded slightly.

This is not surprising, after all, it is a complete fusion of two individuals. Although it is said that Babanuki's will is in charge, it is impossible to say that it is completely unaffected.

It seems we can't combine for too long at once, otherwise our willpower might be eroded.

In the end, they might end up like those failed- Awakening Jailer Beasts in Impel Down, their humanity devoured by their bestial nature.

That would be pointless.

"So Ian, where are we going next?"

Yamato asked impatiently, "Enies Lobby?"

"Don't rush,"

Ian smiled and shook his head. "There are two more places to visit before we go to Enies Lobby."

"Two places?"

Yamato blinked. "Where is this place?"

"The first place,"

Ian held up his right index finger. "How about we take a spin in the sky?"

"In the sky?"

It's definitely worth a visit to the Sky Island.

Ian didn't care about the Golden Land or anything like that; he already had enough money, and there was no need to read the Poneglyph that recorded the location of the Sea King.

But there's one place Ian thinks is definitely worth visiting.

Birka.

Enel's hometown Birka Sky Island, was destroyed by Enel six years before Luffy landed on Sky Island.

As for why this place was chosen, it's because Ian knew that in the original work, after Enel flew to the moon, he found an underground ruin, and coincidentally, the city's name was also Birka.

Isn't that interesting?

The Golden Flying Dragon sailed down the Santora River and soon approached its estuary.

but.

"Ian, there are Marine warship blocking our way."

"Lookout Violet said, turning around."

Ahead, at the mouth of the great river, rows of naval warships stood ready, seemingly awaiting their arrival.

"Should we sink them, Brother Ian?"

Jack asked for his opinion.

"Ignore them,"

Ian waved his hand, "Just run it over."

Without stopping, the Golden Flying Dragon charged headlong into the naval warships.

It should be said that these naval warships are no different from chicks in front of the Golden Flying Dragon. A length of a few dozen meters is indeed quite impressive, but the Golden Flying Dragon is a true sea fortress with a length of hundreds of meters!

As the Golden Flying Dragon charged straight at them, the naval captain, who had been stationed nearby and rushed over upon hearing of Ian's arrival, panicked and shouted in disarray.

"Scatter! Scatter now!"

They're not even in the same league. Forget about a collision, even a slight scrape would have smashed all the warships to pieces!

As a result, the naval warships that had been blocking the way dispersed, allowing the Golden Flying Dragon to break through the cleared channel.

As the giant ship passed by the warships, the entire navy was on high alert.

The sheer size of the ship exerted immense psychological pressure on them, not to mention the numerous gun emplacements on its sides.

"Colonel! Shall we open fire?"

One of the naval officers couldn't help but ask for instructions.

"No! No! We must not fire!"

The colonel jumped up as if he'd been electrocuted, almost gritting his teeth, "Let them go!"

"Without orders from above, you are not allowed to take action against the forces belonging to the Pirate Emperor!"

He knew very well that if they went to war, their only fate would be total annihilation.

Let them go?

The navy was bewildered.

So what are we here for?

Are they here to see them off?

And so, as the navy watched them go, the Golden Flying Dragon sailed further and further away.

Later.

Alabasta, the capital of Alabarna.

Inside the royal mausoleum underground palace behind the royal palace.

Cobra arrived here with the navy.

"They stole the treasures left by our ancestors,"

Cobra pointed to an area where a stone had once stood, but which was now empty. "Besides the vast amount of ancient relics stored here, there was also a huge gem dug out from the depths of the desert. Our ancestors called it the Star of the Desert. It's said that the gem alone is worth enough to buy an entire sea area. I don't know how they found out about it."

The navy personnel nodded. "We're very sorry, Your Cobra, this time we've really caused you trouble. We were too incompetent to stop them."

Cobra shook his head. "The enemy is the Beasts Pirates. This time, things are much better; at least they didn't go on a killing spree."

The navy personnel also sighed.

They were powerless against Ian of the Scorched Sky.

After seeing the navy off, Cobra breathed a sigh of relief.

That should be considered a way to get away with it, right?

Little did he know that after he led the navy out of the underground palace...

Others have gone there.

Crocodile stood in the empty dungeon, carefully examining the area that had originally been placed in the Poneglyph.

The Poneglyph has indeed vanished without a trace, but there are still slight depressions in the ground, indicating that a very heavy object was once placed here.

"Desert Star?"

Crocodile sneered, then vanished into the sand.

He didn't believe a single word Cobra said.

What he wanted has definitely already been taken by Ian!

Then there's no point in staying in that country any longer.

It's time to go back!

No, it's time to come back!

The Golden Flying Dragon.

After leaving Alabasta, the large ship headed straight towards the Sky Island.

Because there is no Eternal Pose, leaving Alabasta too quickly, and the magnetic force of the Log Pose is not fully stored, the only way to find the way is to rely entirely on Violet.

Fortunately, the features of the Sky Island are too obvious: the White Sea, which floats 7,000 meters above the sea, and the White White Sea, which floats 10,000 meters above the sea, make it hard for Violet to miss even if she wanted to.

"So, there really is a sea of clouds in the sky?"

Hancock's second sister, Sondra, still finds it hard to believe.

"There are two pieces!"

Violet held up two fingers to remind her best friend, "They're all quite vast, and there are many islands on them!"

"Oh! An island in the sky?"

Black Maria smiled and said, "That sounds really good."

Are there people living in the sky?

"Hancock is the third sister, "Marigold pressed.

"There are quite a lot."

Violet said, "Many of the islands are inhabited, and they have wing-like decorations on their backs."

The girls' eyes shone with anticipation.

That's a world above the sky!

Not to mention them, even Ian was somewhat looking forward to it.

A kingdom in the clouds—a place that only exists in fairy tales.

Fortunately, this anticipation didn't take too long; a few days later...

"This is it!"

Violet suddenly looked up, "Right above us is the edge of that sea of clouds below!"

"Oh! Have we finally arrived?"

Yamato instantly perked up.

"Hehehehe! The legendary Sky Island?"

Dorry, who was arm wrestling with Brogy, turned around with a grin. "But how do we get up there?"

"Of course,"

Ian cracked his neck. "Fly up."

The next instant, golden light burst forth, and a gigantic Golden Flying Dragon spread its wings in mid-air.

"Hold on tight!"

Then, Ian grabbed the Golden Flying Dragon, strengthened the ship with his Haki, and then took off.

Because of the rapid acceleration, a large number of pirates were slammed onto the deck, and even the two giants couldn't help but stumble.

The massive warship had already soared into the sky alongside Ian, shooting off like an arrow into the depths of the heavens.

"Hahaha! Off to the Sky Island!"

Yamato cheered and, like a nimble monkey, climbed onto Ian's head, gazing up at the sky with boundless anticipation.

Hancock was furious.

"Crackling and popping! What exaggerated power!"

Brogy, however, was marveling at something else. "How could such a massive ship be moved so effortlessly?"

Even the mutated individuals among the Giant tribe are far inferior to the Ancient Giant Tribe, aren't they?

Ian simply flapped his wings and flew upwards.

The straight-line distance between the White Sea Blue Sea is only seven thousand meters. Even with the Golden Flying Dragon in tow, this distance would be nothing more than a blink of an eye for Ian.

It's already clearly visible—that vast white ocean!

Then, in the next moment, Ian soared up from the edge of the ocean, finally able to overlook the vast sea.

Wow! So beautiful!

Yamato, standing atop Ian's head, couldn't help but cheer.

The boundless white sea of clouds drifted slowly in the strong winds high in the sky, making it feel like a real paradise.

Hmm, is this description a bit inappropriate?

Ian thought.

"The sea in the sky?"

Luo stood at the ship's railing, also somewhat surprised. He looked up and saw a layer of clouds swirling in the wind. "There's actually another one up there!"

"This world is always more insane than we imagine."

Drake, who was by his side, had many feelings.

The more you engage with the world, the more you marvel at its wonders and diversity.

"Violet,"

Looking down at the sea of clouds, Ian couldn't immediately spot any islands. "Where is the nearest inhabited island?"

"About thirty nautical miles in the direction of two o'clock."

Violet answered immediately.

Without hesitation, Ian flapped his wings and flew forward, determined to ask for directions and find out where Birka was.

At his speed, thirty nautical miles would only take him a few minutes.

Soon, a white island appeared before Ian's eyes.

This is a not-so-large island, probably only two or three kilometers in diameter, and it is entirely white, with only a few areas showing a touch of green.

There is a small village on the island, and all the buildings are white, as if they were made of clouds.

When Ian landed on the shore of the island with his enormous Golden Flying Dragon, the entire island erupted in excitement.

The island's inhabitants weren't blind; they could naturally see the Golden Flying Dragon, which was as large as a mountain.

However, the island's residents did not feel fear; instead, they gathered around as if they were watching a spectacle.

And that's what they saw.

"It really is a cloud!"

They jumped around on the beach of the lively island of Yamato, as if they were playing on a trampoline.

The others were also looking around in surprise.

Especially the two giants, Dorry and Brogy, who rolled around on the beach like two little devils.

Yes, giants and cloud kingdoms do indeed go well together.

"Of course it's clouds; these are the Island Cloud that are unique to Sky Island."

As Ian answered her, he glanced at the residents approaching from the direction of the village.

Have you never seen Blue Sea People before?

Not only were they not afraid, but they seemed quite interested.

The Skypieans ' attire was pretty much what Ian had imagined.

"This really is the sea, glug glug..."

Ian turned his head and couldn't help but twitch his lips, only to find that Yamato had already fallen face down in the shallow water of the beach.

Sea Cloud is both cloud and sea.

Ian scooped the woman out of the Sea Cloud, Ian her, and headed towards the villagers.

All the villagers were watching him with curiosity.

"Can someone tell me which direction Birka is in?"

Ian said, "I can trade with you for goods from the Blue Sea."

Whispers immediately arose.

"Blue Sea?"

"Is Blue Sea People? That's impressive."

People were sizing up Ian.

"The boats from Blue Sea People are huge! Amazing!"

People were looking at the Golden Flying Dragon.

"People from the Blue Sea are so big! So amazing!"

People stared at the giants still rolling around on the beach.

Finally, a frail old man stepped forward and asked somewhat cautiously, "Are you going to Birka?"

"That's right."

Ian nodded.

The old man kindly warned, "Enel, the god who rules Birka, is a cruel man with godlike power; it's very dangerous there."

"God?"

Yamato, who was being held in Ian's arms, looked up instantly. "That sounds really interesting!"

Ian laughed, "All you need to do is tell me the directions."

A little while later, Ian once again took to the skies with the Golden Flying Dragon, heading towards a certain direction in this sea area.

Only on this small island remained, the villagers' eyes gleaming with wonder as they looked at the pile of things from the Blue Sea.

"Wow! Food from the Blue Sea! It's amazing!"

"The clothes from the Blue Sea are amazing too!"

"Blue Sea's weapons are truly remarkable!"

Birka.

This is a Sky Island located near the center of the White Sea.

According to the old man, Birka is the largest country in the entire White Sea, comparable only to Angel Island and God's Island in the upper White White Sea.

The distance isn't that far, only about a hundred nautical miles.

Ian flew with his head down, and in no time, the island came into view.

It is indeed quite large, with a diameter of over ten kilometers. It is still entirely white, but you can clearly see a large number of closely packed buildings.

So, should we say hello first?

Um?

Ian looked up.

A few seconds ago.

Deep within Birka, in a luxurious palace.

The man, revered as a god, opened his eyes.

"Hahaha! How dare you trespass into my kingdom! Then turn to dust, you ant!"

He casually flicked his right hand towards the sky, and in the next instant, that arm transformed into Inazuma and shot into the sky.

"Divine Sanction".

Let's go back to the present.

Ian looked up.

A bolt of lightning suddenly appeared in the sky and crashed down upon him.

"Oh?"

Ian chuckled softly.

The local gods don't seem very friendly.

I was originally planning to say hello first.

However, the range and attack range of this Observation Haki are no joke.