Lightning shot into the sky and kept climbing. Seven had never experienced the thrill of hanging high above the world and looking down on all of creation.
Flying really was said to be humanity's dream for a reason.
It was exhilarating.
In just a few seconds, Seven had reached the White Sea, ten thousand meters above the ocean.
Floating above the sea of clouds, Seven took out the Eternal Pose pointing to Shandora. After confirming his direction, he once again became lightning and tore through the clouds.
The thought of that Golden Pillar on Shandora filled Seven with motivation. He could hardly wait to tear through space itself.
Strictly speaking, Shandora was part of Jaya Island. Four hundred years ago, a massive Upward Sea Current had split it into a part on the ground and a part high in the sky.
The part on the ground was now called Demon Valley Town.
The part in the sky included areas such as God Island Apaya and Golden City Shandora.
The Shandia people, the inhabitants of Shandora, had guarded the Poneglyph that recorded the Ancient Weapon Poseidon for generations.
Last time, when Seven arrived with the Roger Pirates, he hadn't been able to take that Golden Pillar with him. It had haunted him ever since.
But this time, no one could stop him!
Since Mihawk was still on the ship, Seven had come to Shandora only to buy Dream One Heart. He would wait until Mihawk came up before taking over Skypiea.
After all, if Seven went alone and couldn't beat the local gang...
That would be mortifying.
Thanks to the system, Seven had stolen the opportunity that should have belonged to Enel and eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. So there was no harm in becoming Skypiea's Thunder God, too.
Stealing one opportunity was stealing. Stealing two was no different.
When the Golden Pillar he had long yearned for appeared in his sight once more, every pore on Seven's body seemed to cry out:
You damn turtle's grandson, still showing off?!
The Golden Pillar before him was the one Luffy and the others had missed during the Skypiea arc: a cylindrical pillar of gold, ten meters in diameter and sixty meters tall.
It weighed about ninety thousand tons, enough to buy the Dream One Heart that Seven had been longing for.
Even after taking several deep breaths, Seven still felt his scalp tingle and his breathing grow ragged. His heart pounded wildly.
That was the Divine Artifact Dream One Heart!!!
With trembling hands, Seven found Dream One Heart listed on the Trading Platform and reached out to touch the Golden Pillar.
"Spend 88,888 tons of gold to purchase the Divine Artifact Dream One Heart?"
Seven didn't hesitate. "Yes~ Purchase."
"Ding! Purchase successful."
"Dream One Heart exceeds the limits of the current dimension. Its grade will be restricted to Supreme Grade Blade. As compensation, you will receive training experience for Thoughtless Sword."
The transaction went through. A huge section of the Golden Pillar vanished, leaving only a small piece of its base.
At the same time, an unsharpened katana wreathed in purple lightning appeared in Seven's hand.
[Dream One Heart: Supreme Grade Blade, bound, automatically adjusts to wielder's height, increases Haki by 100%]
"Good grief, it increases Haki by 100%!"
He casually swung the blade and successfully unleashed a Flying Slash. A purple sword flash pierced through the clouds. Seven felt incredible, like gulping down a glass of ice-cold soda on a scorching summer day.
He threw his head back and laughed wildly.
"Hey, pal, still showing off now?"
You damn show-off. I bought Dream One Heart. Let's see how you explain that to your wife.
"Heh heh heh..."
Halfway through his laughter, Seven suddenly remembered: at least that guy still had Raiden Makoto, with her fair skin, stunning looks, and long legs...
"You really deserve to die!!"
That fool who had crossed over to Teyvat had truly lived Seven's dream—
A beautiful, fair-skinned goddess wife with long legs.
And a cold, gorgeous, big-haired goddess sister-in-law.
But thinking about it another way, if not for that fool, how could Seven have bought Dream One Heart?
Seven lovingly caressed the blade. His youthful face and those peach-blossom eyes brimmed with affection. He wished he could sleep with Dream One Heart in his arms from now on.
Holding his beloved sword in his left hand, Seven silently thought: Use [Thoughtless Sword training experience].
"Ding! Friendly reminder: the training experience for Thoughtless Sword is too vast. It may cause the host to lose consciousness. Please choose an appropriate time to use it."
"Tch." Seven snorted.
"What a joke."
"You think a mere Thoughtless Sword can make me pass out? Use it!"
As a vast torrent of obscure knowledge was forcibly poured into his mind in an almost violent manner, Seven blacked out on the spot.
His body convulsed uncontrollably on the ground.
Blood streamed from his eyes and nostrils and trickled from his mouth. His body sent frantic signals to his brain: Go to sleep. Just sleep. I'm begging you.
Everything before his eyes began to twist and distort, as though he were trapped in a bizarre, surreal dream—
Amid countless lightning storms, a blurry silhouette held Dream One Heart. Only the figure's profile and chin were visible.
"Without thought, without attachment, without desire..."
"Thoughtless Sword is the ultimate technique, a strike that is both thoughtless and peerless."
The voice lingered in his ears, yet also seemed like an echo from another world.
At the same time, the pressure radiating from the blurry silhouette was as deep as an abyss and as heavy as a mountain. It forced Seven's back to bend, leaving him unable to raise his head.
One must not gaze upon a god.
Crack! The sound of bones breaking rang out again and again.
Blood poured from Seven's eyes, nose, and mouth. Struggling with all his strength, he forced his spine straight.
"I'm called Baal too—Beelzebul!"
Just as Seven's consciousness was about to collapse and his brain was about to shut down, a surge of red-and-black Haki far more powerful than ever before erupted around him.
His Conqueror's Haki tore through the sea of clouds and instantly spread across the whole island, knocking out every living creature there.
Then the red-and-black Haki quickly contracted, enveloping Seven from head to toe and finally restoring his consciousness.
Huff... huff...
Drenched in sweat, Seven lay on the ground, gasping for breath. He looked utterly wretched, yet his left hand still clutched Dream One Heart tightly.
As a famous saying from Teyvat went: "There will always be those who dwell upon the earth, daring to face the glory of lightning."
"Heh heh heh~ Hahahaha!"
"Even a god can't make me submit!"
Centered on Seven, the red-and-black Conqueror's Haki tore through the sea of clouds once more.
Conqueror's Haki was a manifestation of one's spirit.
It could not be learned through training. It grew stronger only when its wielder's spirit grew stronger.
While Thoughtless Sword was being imparted to him, Seven had faced a god's pressure head-on, and his spirit had grown stronger once again.
Unlike before, when he had used Conqueror's Haki to clear out the weak, this time the red-and-black Haki wrapped around Seven's entire body and extended along Dream One Heart's blade.
A high-level application of Conqueror's Haki: Haki Coating.
Something truly outrageous had happened. Seven had yet to master Armament Haki or Observation Haki, yet he had mastered an advanced application of Conqueror's Haki.
It was downright ridiculous.
He was like a swordsman who had maxed out his attack skills but hadn't put a single point into defense or perception.
Gurgle~ His stomach growled.
The cool night breeze drifted past. Seven quickly took food and water from his system space and began to eat.
Chomp, chomp, chomp.
After eating enough food and water for twenty people, Seven rubbed his slightly swollen belly and let out a thoroughly satisfied burp.
At last, he had Dream One Heart. Though it had been downgraded from a Divine Artifact to a Supreme Grade Blade, at least he'd received Thoughtless Sword as compensation.
It had also set the direction for Seven's future training: Great Swordsman, Three Types of Haki, and Devil Fruit abilities.
After eating his fill and recovering his strength, Seven put the remaining base of the Golden Pillar into his system space, then continued gathering gold in Shandora until his system space was full.
"I'm out of room. I'll check whether anyone on the Trading Platform is willing to trade items for gold."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were another fool like that?
[Flying Cape (Black): 1,000 points, unlimited flight time, never wears out. Seller's note: Magical item, first come, first served.]
[Fruit Tablet (Silver): 20 points, 2 hours to charge, 2 hours of battery life. Seller's note: None.]
[Skate Shoes that Never Wear Out: 100 points, any size, any color.]
Glancing at the oversized slippers on his feet, Seven reluctantly bought a pair of plain white shoes. If they were good quality, he'd buy more in a few years, once he'd finished growing.
After a quick look through the listings, Seven realized that the Trading Platform had only one fool like the one from Teyvat. There was no one else.
"Brother Fool, if you've got the guts, put Swordsman's Return and Wave Moon White Mirror up for sale too. I've got so much gold, I don't even know how to spend it."
During the Skypiea arc, Luffy and his crew had acted like proper pirates for the only time in their lives, each carrying off a bag of gold from Shandora.
They exchanged it for 300 million Berry in Water 7.
"By the looks of it, all this gold in my system space must be worth several billion Berry."
Seven immediately thought of a way to farm points: exchange gold for Berry, use the Berry to buy Devil Fruits, then sell the Devil Fruits to the system.
After confirming there was nothing left behind, Seven stepped forward and leaped straight off the edge of Skypiea.
He plunged toward the vast ocean from an altitude of ten thousand meters.
As he fell faster and faster, the clouds tore apart and the wind sliced across his cheeks like blades. A thrill of near-uncontrollable excitement surged from deep within his chest.
"Ah—!!!"
Seven let out a long, piercing shout. His cry was high and free, filled with the shiver and joy of falling. It pierced through layer upon layer of clouds and rang out across the night sky.
This was freedom.
Before you continue