"Whoosh!"
A golden streak shot straight into the sky from a hundred meters up, like a rocket. Gaia Chaos stood atop the giant sword as it soared toward the heavens.
One thousand meters, three thousand meters, five thousand meters.
The air grew thin, and fierce, cutting winds whipped around him.
He pierced layer after layer of clouds, and suddenly an endless sea of clouds appeared before Chaos. But this wasn't the White Sea of Sky Island, only a vast expanse of ordinary clouds.
Chaos stopped because a small, dreamlike island floated above the clouds, a rainbow shining behind it. It was made mostly of clouds, with a little land.
It looked like a fairyland suspended in the sky, far more beautiful and lifelike than any movie special effect.
It was nothing short of a miracle.
"Weatheria?"
Chaos shot toward the island. If he remembered correctly, this was the island where Nami would train in the future.
It was home to a group of elderly weather researchers, who hadn't yet left Sky Island to drift through the world on the wind.
When Chaos appeared, some of the old men on the island spotted him.
After all, it was hard not to notice such a huge golden sword.
Chaos descended slowly onto the lush, fragrant grass. The golden sword behind him hung upright, following along as he moved!
It made quite an impression.
Anyone could tell he was a powerful man.
"Did you come from the Blue Sea, sir?"
Hareda and more than a dozen old men emerged from the weather station, looking at Chaos on the grass with some unease.
They were all old men. Though younger than they'd be twenty years later, they were still in their sixties or seventies—and they were weather scientists, not fighters.
For the past year, they hadn't known what was going on. In the decade or two before that, no one from the Blue Sea had come up, but recently a pirate crew had arrived. They were called the Roger Pirates, he thought.
They'd even shared a drink, and the pirates had been a cheerful bunch.
But it hadn't been long since then. How had someone else come up already?
Chaos looked at the old man before him, whose snowy-white beard reached past his waist and split into two fish-tail-like strands. He wore a robe and pointed hat like a Western wizard's. Though Hareda was still relatively young, Chaos recognized him.
He was the old scientist who would save Nami and teach her about weather.
What was his name again?
"That's right."
Chaos gave him a sunny, friendly smile.
He planned to learn some navigation. He didn't need to master it—just learn enough to judge the weather and find his direction. It might come in handy someday.
The most terrifying thing in the pirate world was the weather, especially on the Grand Line and in the New World.
Getting lost at sea was even more dangerous!
Even if Chaos could fly.
If he ever got badly hurt in a fight, fled in the wrong direction, and ran out of stamina, wouldn't he be done for?
So it couldn't hurt to learn a little about navigation.
He might have overlooked it if he hadn't come here.
"My name is Gaia Chaos. I heard that Weatheria is home to the world's greatest weather scientists, so I came to pay a visit and learn about weather, navigation, and things like that."
Chaos didn't so much as blink as he spun the story as if it were true.
"I'm Hareda. I see!"
The old men relaxed. As long as Chaos meant them no harm, that was all that mattered.
Chaos stayed on Weatheria for ten days, and quickly picked up some basic knowledge of the weather. He had never been this clever before.
He had no foundation in meteorology, yet he learned quickly!
Chaos confirmed it once more.
He was a genius.
In his previous life, he'd been a loser. If he'd had the talent he did now, getting the highest score in the country on the college entrance exam would have been a breeze.
Those memories were best left buried!
Once he had a grasp of some basic weather knowledge, Chaos bid farewell to Hareda and the others, then shot skyward toward the higher heavens.
A permanent pointer now rested on his right wrist.
It was exactly like the one Nami would wear after her training.
He pierced layer after layer of clouds. The wind grew more violent, and the air thinner!
Following the route Hareda had given him, Chaos didn't fly straight into the White Sea. Instead, he went up along its edge.
There were two seas of clouds above Sky Island, one higher than the other.
The first was at an altitude of seven thousand meters and was called the White Sea.
The other was at ten thousand meters. This was the White-White Sea, where Sky Island itself was located.
"This really is a miracle!"
Standing beneath the sky, Chaos arrived directly above the White-White Sea. He couldn't help marveling at the breathtaking scene before him!
A lush green island was just visible above the unusual sea of clouds.
It was like something from a dream, a masterpiece of nature!
Vast yet beautiful, it was beyond words.
By his reckoning, Gan Fall should be Sky Island's god at this time.
He looked up at an island full of greenery and rich soil, floating above the White-White Sea.
God Island Apis, known as the Sacred Land—the place where the god lived.
Part of Jaya Island!
Chaos continued flying upward, and a hint of discomfort crossed his face. The environment here put some strain on him.
But once he got used to it, his physique would surely grow much stronger.
"Talk about extravagant."
Bathed in sunlight, a huge palace gleamed with gold. It had been built entirely out of the precious metal!
Even the plaza tiles were gold.
Chaos landed and crouched down, placing his right palm on the ground. He activated the Gold-Gold Fruit's power, and the entire complex came under his control.
A place like this was practically made for Chaos.
The Gold-Gold Fruit didn't just let him turn his body into gold; it also let him control gold, as long as he'd touched it before.
Just as Chaos stood up, a squad of armored guards carrying spears emerged from the palace. A short, thin old man led them.
He wore armor as well, with a giant sword hanging at his waist.
Gan Fall was a god who loved his people. He had made sure that Sky Island's residents lived happy, peaceful lives, and they loved him in turn.
He looked much younger than he would in the future.
"A man from the Blue Sea!"
Gan Fall frowned. He could tell at a glance where Chaos came from.
He looked a lot like Roger and the others.
After all, it was easy to tell Sky Islanders and people from the Blue Sea apart.
"Who dares trespass on the Sacred Land?"
One of the priests wasn't nearly as good-natured as Gan Fall. The pirates who'd come by recently had shown no manners at all. If their leader hadn't stopped him, he would have taught them a lesson.
Now this man stood before their god without even paying his respects.
"Schneizel!"
Gan Fall stopped the priest and turned to Chaos with a peaceful expression. "Are you from the Blue Sea, sir?"
"You wouldn't mind if I took all the gold on Sky Island, would you?"
Chaos shrugged. The golden longsword stood upright behind him, drawing sidelong glances from the priests and soldiers. The giant sword was floating in midair, right behind the man.
It was quite a sight.
"Greedy people from the Blue Sea. So he really did come for the gold."
Schneizel looked vindicated and immediately gave an order. "Seize him!"
You'd think he was the god himself.
"Couldn't we have a pleasant conversation? Why resort to force?"
Chaos watched the soldiers charge toward him. Were they stupid—or just plain stupid?
He raised his right hand and gave a light wave. The entire golden floor shook, and several streams of gold shot up like octopus tentacles, binding everyone in midair.
"How can the ground—!"
"Damn it!"
With a casual wave, Chaos had defeated them all with ease.
Simple, effortless, and hardly any trouble at all!
"Please, don't hurt them."
Gan Fall panicked. He was the only one left unharmed. This man was clearly a strong fighter, just like Roger and his crew.
"Can we have a proper talk now?"
With a thought from Chaos, the writhing golden branches settled down. The plaza returned to how it had been before...
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