Dawn broke as the sun rose!
The scenery ten thousand meters above the ground was breathtaking. Above the endless white clouds, rainbows stretched like starry rivers in the night, dazzling and brilliant.
Suddenly, a sound split the air. A vast shadow blotted out the sun. As the view drew closer, a Goddess of the Heavens came into sight!
A golden, divine, dignified goddess, untouched by a speck of dust.
With arched brows and pearly teeth, delicate features, and graceful lines, she possessed an otherworldly beauty. Her waist-length golden hair danced in the gale, while her ethereal, layered skirt seemed to have been painstakingly stitched together, accentuating her enormous curves and slender waist.
A delicate golden ribbon looped around her wrists. Though made of glittering gold, it fluttered in the gale as if it were real.
Her exquisite, dainty bare feet were perfectly formed.
At the same time, a gigantic golden halo floated upright behind her!
But most astonishing of all was that this slender goddess, so filled with sacred nobility, stood a full fifty meters tall—higher than most buildings.
"Keep looking for another hour. If we still haven't found it, we'll give up!"
On the delicate palm of the Goddess of the Heavens stood Chaos, wearing an open-chested shirt that revealed his eight-pack. The lock of hair over his forehead and his tiny golden knife earring swayed in the wind as he stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out at the endless white sky.
This spectacle couldn't be described as merely arrogant or ostentatious.
It was visually stunning, revolutionary, mysterious, and fantastical!
From a distance, Chaos looked like a god!
The Goddess of the Heavens behind him could also be called the Golden Goddess, since she had been sculpted from a vast amount of gold.
But the name Golden Goddess didn't sound imposing enough, so Chaos had named her the Goddess of the Heavens.
Chaos was quite satisfied with his work of the past seven months.
He had complete control over all fifty meters of gold. The more gold he had, the stronger his Gold-Gold Fruit became. At present, he could manipulate this much gold at will. He could control even more, but that would place a heavy burden on him. Just keeping this much gold flying in the sky drained his stamina every moment.
It was a shame he hadn't awakened his Fruit. If he had, he wouldn't need to carry around so much gold.
Compared with the drain on his stamina, the strain on Chaos's mind was even greater.
Ever since he awakened Observation Haki, Chaos had been releasing it around the clock, except when resting or sleeping. His range of perception had continued to expand, but he still hadn't awakened any of the advanced abilities: Future Prediction, Emotion Manipulation, Voice of All Things, or Mind Reading and Memory.
Chaos had come here to search for Bika, where Enel lived, and see if he could find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. At this point, Enel was probably only eleven or twelve years old. Perhaps he hadn't eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit yet.
Even if he had, Chaos could still try to recruit him.
Unfortunately, after saying goodbye to Gan Fall and the others that morning, Chaos had spent the whole morning searching without success.
He was following the directions Hareda had given him, but no matter how many times he flew around, he couldn't find a trace of the place.
So Chaos decided to keep looking for one more hour and then give up. He could always return to Sky Island around the time Enel went there to become its god.
Sky Island was his territory now. He wouldn't let anyone else lay claim to it.
Marineford, located on the Grand Line, was an enormous island.
The Navy maintained order across the world in the name of Absolute Justice. Its iconic flag depicted a seagull carrying a pair of scales, symbolizing the defense of world peace and order.
It was the base of the Navy, which answered directly to the World Government. In the future, it would be regarded as a symbol of peace in the Great Pirate Era.
Majestic and imposing, it inspired awe just by standing at the shore. "Magnificent" was the perfect word to describe it.
Warships were docked everywhere, and Navy squads stood in solemn formation.
The cannons mounted on the defensive fortifications were terrifying even to look at.
At the very center stood the Headquarters Building, even more imposing and imposing. Anyone who went in and out of it was no ordinary person, whether a staff officer or a combatant.
At the eastern harbor, supplies were being loaded onto a gigantic battleship that looked like a fortress!
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Vice Admiral Garp, are you setting out to pursue the Roger Pirates again?"
Just then, several figures emerged from the Headquarters Building. At their head was none other than the Marine Hero, Garp.
Garp was in his prime, and his hair hadn't even turned white.
Even the way he walked gave off an inexplicable air of strength.
A laid-back young man walked beside him. He was none other than the future Admiral, Aokiji—Kuzan.
Several other officers followed as well, including Garp's vice admirals and rear admirals.
Navy personnel greeted him along the way, and Garp responded with a loud, hearty laugh.
"You damn Garp! You've dumped your assignment on me again!"
A furious roar rang out from the top floors of the Headquarters Building, shaking the plaza before quickly sweeping toward Garp and the others.
The Navy personnel who heard it weren't surprised. They knew from that angry voice alone that it was the Admiral, Buddha Sengoku. Everyone was used to it by now.
"Haha! Let's hurry!"
Garp hadn't been in much of a rush, but when he heard the roar, he looked back at the Headquarters Building and quickly picked up his pace.
He'd received the latest intelligence: that guy Roger had appeared at Sabaody Archipelago and seemed to be heading for Fish-Man Island.
So Garp planned to catch Roger right there at Sabaody Archipelago. As for his original assignment, he could leave it to Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, and the others. They were all capable of handling it.
It was worth mentioning that Zephyr's family had already been killed by pirates. He had kept his admiral rank but become an instructor, and was now training outstanding sailors for the Navy.
Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, Onigumo, and Momonga had all come up through his training.
Although Zephyr was practically retired, he would still put to sea whenever the Navy needed him!
At this point, he hated pirates, but still had faith in the Navy.
Most importantly, his arm was still intact, which meant Zephyr's combat strength hadn't weakened in the slightest. He could still contend with formidable fighters like Whitebeard, Golden Lion, and Lone Red.
The title Black Arm Admiral wasn't just for show.
Even Kaido and Big Mom wouldn't dare act too brazenly in front of Zephyr.
Looking across the past and the present, the only legends who had made their names through physical combat alone were Garp, Zephyr, and Lone Red in his early years. Nearly all the other legends relied heavily on their Devil Fruits.
Now that was a real tough guy!
"Vice Admiral Garp is as reckless as ever."
"Admiral Sengoku sounds furious."
"It's fine. Admiral Sengoku will calm down in half a day or so."
As the giant battleship left the harbor, many Navy officers could only laugh helplessly.
Inside the Headquarters Building, Sengoku was cursing up a storm in his office. He looked absolutely furious.
Tsuru sighed, her face full of helplessness. Garp's assignment had been to keep an eye on Golden Lion in the New World. Golden Lion's forces had been growing ever stronger, and his pirate crew was arguably the most powerful on the seas right now.
But now Garp had abandoned his post, so someone else would have to take over.
Sengoku also needed to head to the New World. He'd heard that Kaido was stirring up trouble again.
There were also Big Mom, Whitebeard, and other Great Pirates, such as World Destroyer. None of them were staying quiet.
"I can only send Zephyr."
After cursing for a few moments, Sengoku calmed down. He rubbed his forehead and sighed.
If he could help it, he really didn't want to trouble Zephyr. The pain of losing his family had been far too heavy a burden.
Even though Zephyr had recovered, he was no longer the sharp-edged Black Arm he had once been.
They felt the pain of it, too.
"I'll go to the academy."
In the end, Tsuru volunteered.
"Damn Garp!"
Sengoku couldn't help cursing again...
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