Let's move back three hours...
The central palace of the Sifa Island, ruled by the God Jess.
At Kaya's kind words and peaceful suggestion, Jess stepped out from behind the curtain, revealing a graceful and exquisite face. She looked at Kaya, who was listening quietly below the steps, and Cabaji, whose face was gloomy, and recounted everything in detail.
"Four years ago, on a certain day, I went out of the shrine to inspect the people under my jurisdiction according to the annual ritual. The day was sunny and clear, a rare sunny day on Sifa Island..."
As someone in power, seeing the laughter and joy of the people under the patrol of the security team is the greatest affirmation for me. I originally thought that the festival that year would not be any different, until on my way back... I saw him, Bag, and when I looked at him, he also turned around and saw me.
The moment I saw that man, my brows started twitching uncontrollably, and an unprecedented sense of panic began to sprout in my heart.
Upon returning to the palace, I immediately entered the astrologer's chamber. Driven by intense curiosity and unease, I used my divination skills, capable of Future Sight, to investigate. In the image of destruction depicted in the crystal ball, I saw Bag, dressed in white...
Although the scene was not very clear, I saw him standing amidst an endless pile of corpses, and confronting him was what appeared to be a pirate from the Blue Sea.
From that day on, I couldn't sleep at night, but I dared not alert him and arrest him on trumped-up charges. Until one day later, I saw Bag sneaking into the temple...
Jess paused here, then continued casually, "He told me he fell in love with me the moment he saw me... Unfortunately, his little tricks won't fool me. He's only using me to gain supreme power on Sifa Island, to carry out tyranny and slaughter. Once he succeeds, the destruction shown on the crystal ball will inevitably come true..."
Of course, I didn't confront him directly. For the sake of the future of the people under my rule, I chose to keep him by my side so that I could better observe him and wait for the right opportunity to act.
In our subsequent interactions, he gradually revealed his wolfish ambitions and began to interfere with and guide my actions. Although he was arrogant and conceited, he was incredibly powerful. It could be said that no one on the entire Sifa Island was his match. Moreover, he was proficient in ' Mantra ' and never left any flaws. I was not confident in killing him, so I never dared to make any rash moves.
However, during this process, I gradually figured out his background. He came from a Sky Island called Loka, and he was the owner of Devil Fruit Logia Cloud-Cloud Fruit. Knowing this, I instructed my attendant to prepare a dagger that could counter the power of Devil Fruit. This dagger contained a substance called Seastone in your Blue Sea. With everything falling into place, I accepted his marriage proposal...
On our wedding night, I carried that Seastone dagger with me, and in that moment of his arrogance, I plunged it deep into his body...
Jess's words were always so plain and unremarkable, as if she were describing a trivial matter. But once you put yourself in her shoes, you can imagine how dangerous the situation must have been!
After all, she was facing a Devil Fruit User, and the most powerful Logia at that. One wrong move and the outcome could be ruthlessly rewritten.
"In the end... he still managed to escape with Bag?" Kaya asked softly after hearing Jess's words.
"Yes... his vitality is incredibly strong. Even with the Seastone dagger embedded in his body, he still had the strength to struggle..." Jess's tone finally revealed a hint of self-reproach. "If I had been more decisive then, and hadn't been misled by his words, perhaps I could have cooperated with the ambush of the divine servants to subdue him on the spot, instead of letting him escape..."
As she spoke, Jess let out a soft sigh.
"Wait a minute." Cabaji frowned and interrupted, "This happened four years ago, right? Since no one on this island is his match, what has he been doing for the past four years? If I were betrayed by someone close to me, I would never let it go, much less lie low for four years. Since the man you're describing is so arrogant and conceited... how could he have let this matter drag on until now without taking any action?"
Jess glanced at Cabaji. " Bag is more ruthless and vicious than you imagine. Revenge is far from satisfying his hatred. After that night, he learned everything. It's because of his immense strength that he's so emboldened. That's why he's not in a hurry to attack me. Instead, he wants to follow my prophecy and crush the pirates from the Blue Sea one by one, completely shattering my beliefs. For him, only when I'm in deep despair will he derive the greatest pleasure..."
He slowly erodes others' hopes, devouring them completely and plunging them into endless darkness and suffering. That's why he used his Devil Fruit ability, ' Cloud Concealment,' to send you to Sifa Island. He's telling me that the Destiny Pirates I've been waiting for has arrived, and at this moment... he will unleash his entire plan!
"Oh?" Kaya asked, quite surprised. "What will he do?"
Jess's expression remained calm, but a deep sorrow lingered in her eyes. "I think he's already preparing to head to the battlefield where the three gods clash..."
Kaya continued, "What was he doing there?"
" The Three Gods Island are arranged in a triangular shape. At the center of the triangle, there are two points where the Island Cloud of the Three Gods Island converge. The first convergence point is the Dawn Village, where the Three Gods were born, and the second is the place where the Three Gods fought, known as ' Divine Forgiveness '. Under the base of that Island Cloud, there is a naturally formed cloud base support. This cloud base support has the power to fix the three islands together and use the force of the three islands pulling each other to tend towards balance."
If an ordinary person suddenly loses an arm, he will lose his balance and fall to the ground, making even walking extremely difficult. The consequences of destroying that cloud-based support structure would be even more terrifying. In fact, the Three Gods Island is an island connected by that cloud-based support structure. Once it is destroyed, the Three Gods Island will be exiled in three different directions, eventually flowing out of the White-White Sea and falling into the Blue Sea, resulting in total destruction... This is what Bag did."
"I hope you can go to ' Divine Forgiveness ' and stop Bag. This is all fate's arrangement, fate has driven you here..." Jess interrupted as soon as she saw Cabaji about to speak, "As the Destiny Pirates who will crush Bag's ambitions, your companions may be fighting Bag alone on the other two islands. Bag will not let anyone go, and he will not let you go either. You are not helping me, but helping each other!"
Let's rewind to three hours later.
On the cloud path leading from Sifa Island to ' Divine Forgiveness ', two people were riding a chicken and a lion, galloping towards Divine Forgiveness.
Cabaji borrowed a Skyfoot Chicken from Jess as a means of transportation, while Kaya rode Richie directly. After more than two hours of running, the two were less than a quarter of the way to the land of the gods.
Cabaji, whose face was always gloomy, still kept a straight expression and said, " Kaya... we've been used, haven't we?"
"Hmm... we were used, but I don't think we can turn back. Even if this god is using us, we still have things to do and reasons to fight. Shuma, Kitty, and Uncle Buggy might really be fighting that guy named Bag, or maybe this god is deceiving us. In that case, we don't necessarily have to fight. But if we let our guard down and Uncle Buggy and the others get into a desperate situation, nothing we do will be able to salvage the situation! Hmm... although I don't believe in what she calls fate!" Kaya emphasized at the end.
"What?! Her awareness has grown so high... and she even stole my cool lines. She was just a timid little girl when she boarded the ship, and now she's grown up to this extent..." Cabaji muttered, then continued, "That's what I think too... better safe than sorry. Once we get to that land of divine war, we'll know the truth."
"Awooo, awooo, awooo... Awooo!!" Although Richie was panting heavily as he ran at full speed, he still managed to let out a shout in response.
On Bailie Island, the battle between Urouge and Shuma on the cloud platform has entered a fierce stage. Urouge has gradually turned the tide and is no longer struggling as much as at the beginning under Shuma's high-frequency attacks. On several occasions, he even came close to and suppressed Shuma. His burly figure and the huge pencil he held high looked dark and oppressive, like dark clouds pressing down on the city.
Shuma had originally occupied the air superiority point, was moved to an even higher position by Urouge, who grinned broadly and then mercilessly slammed down a giant, upright pencil.
With nowhere to dodge, Shuma raised the Raptor Boomerang in his hand to his head to block the weapon that was almost as thick as his body.
Bang!!
All the injuries Urouge had just sustained suddenly erupted and converged on the black pencil. This strike was swift and heavy, and with a soft metallic clang, Shuma's body crashed into the platform like a falling meteor, instantly creating a deep crater in it, with himself trapped inside.
"Wow~~ As expected of Urouge!!"
"You've been the champion of the Sky Fighting Arena for many years! Let's cheer for you!!"
"It's happened! The Mad Monk's powerful strike really is capable of killing in one hit, turning the tide of the battle!!"
There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by a deafening roar of cheers. It was even more enthusiastic than the bustling city center at eight or nine o'clock.
Urouge landed on the cloud platform, his smile still on his face, "What a pity, you are the strongest Blue Sea pirate I have ever seen. But in the Blue Sea, there should be quite a few people stronger than you. I'm already looking forward to this trip to the Blue Sea!"