Partners

"Crack..."

With the sound of something shattering, dazzling light burst out, followed by surging flames.

"Boom..."

In just an instant, the exploding fire swept across the entire sky like rolling waves of cloud, blasting out in every direction and swallowing the golden light within it. Its range was so vast that it engulfed the entire sea surface.

Above the sky, fiery clouds rolled, and the scorching heat steamed the sea. The clash of temperatures summoned gusts of wild wind.

On the deck, Enel pressed a hand to the hat on his head, feeling the storm of wind and rain rushing toward him.

In that instant, the warship could no longer withstand the massive impact. It completely broke apart, snapping in two, the entire vessel tilting as if it were about to sink at any moment.

The unconscious marines slid one after another down the deck and fell into the sea.

At that moment, fire landed beside Enel and turned into Ye Mu's figure.

Enel looked up at the sky and asked, "Are we leaving?"

"Yeah. This guy is strong, and his fruit ability is slippery as hell. If the two of us teamed up, we might have a chance to take him down, but there's no need. It's not time to risk our lives yet. We've already achieved our goal. Let's go."

"Mm."

Enel was still very obedient to Ye Mu's words. And so, one of them turned into lightning, the other into flame, and they flew away from the place.

About five or six seconds after the two disappeared, the fiery clouds in the air gradually dispersed. Golden light gathered once more, descended from the sky, and landed on the deck, gazing into the distance.

"What a terrifying move..."

The visibly present Kizaru no longer had the calm appearance he had when he arrived. His gaze was grave, and his clothes were stained with the smoke of the explosion.

The elementalization of Logia fruits was not truly invincible. Like that explosive move, if the area it covered was large and wide enough, it could still injure the ability user's real body.

At the moment of the explosion, Kizaru had instantly shifted his body to the edge of the blast, and only then had he dodged the attack.

However, although his body had not taken much damage, it had been a very long time since Kizaru had looked so disheveled.

"Looks like those guys are going to have a headache... But then, what does that have to do with me..."

Kizaru did not pursue the two who had left. Instead, he turned around to rescue the marines who had fallen into the sea...

When Ye Mu and Enel appeared again, they were already on the sea nearly a hundred nautical miles away.

Before the two began their operation, they had parked the Twin Goddesses here as a precaution, a retreat route in case anything went wrong.

"Let's go down."

As the two figures descended, they returned to the ship.

On the deck, Fisher Tiger let out a breath of relief when he saw the two figures land.

"Cap... Captain... Are you all right...?"

Tiger seemed a little unused to calling two boys ten years younger than him captain.

Seeing this, Ye Mu also smiled faintly and said, "From now on, we're companions and friends. Just call me Ye Mu. He's Enel..."

"Mm. Thank you, Captain Ye Mu, Vice Captain Enel..."

Tiger finally came up with a form of address that sounded both friendly and respectful, but no matter what, he was still somewhat restrained.

Ye Mu was not in a hurry either. They could take it slowly.

"Enel, take these four guys to the training room and find a way to get what we want."

"I understand. It's that thing called the Six Powers, right?"

Ye Mu had long since told Enel about the purpose of these four people.

However, there was one more thing he had not said.

"Yeah. Remember to keep those two Devil Fruit users alive for now. Do whatever you want with the other two."

"Understood."

After watching Enel drag the four unconscious CP9 members away, Ye Mu looked at Fisher Tiger and said, "Tiger, you know navigation, right?"

"Mm."

As a famous explorer and traveler on Fish-Man Island, Tiger's knowledge of navigation was extremely rich.

"In that case, if there are no problems, from now on, you're the navigator of our Sky Pirates. I'm handing the Twin Goddesses over to you now. Hurry and familiarize yourself with our ship, then take us somewhere a little safer. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if the marines catch up later. Oh, right, there's an awkward problem. We don't have a Log Pose right now. Is there any other way...?"

Tiger did not refuse Ye Mu's arrangement. As for the issue of the Log Pose, he thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine. I can communicate with sea beasts and learn about some of the nearby islands."

"Then there's no problem. Let's find a safe island to land on first. Then, tonight, we'll hold a banquet for you..."

The starry sky over the sea was incomparably beautiful, the vast galaxy fully visible at a glance.

Beneath the starlight, on a small island about the same size as the Twin Goddesses, the Twin Goddesses was moored there. By the shore, a bonfire burned bright, and along with the sound of raised cups, the delicious aroma of roasted meat filled the air.

Though there were only three people here at the moment, making it seem a little lonely, Tiger looked at the warm and enthusiastic Ye Mu and Enel and still felt a sense of ease, as if he were in his own home.

He could deeply feel that, when he was with the two of them, there was a sense of equality.

It was equality that came from the heart, not a deliberate act put on to take care of his feelings.

"Hey... Tiger, don't just sit there in a daze. Aren't you eating anymore...? If you're not, then I won't hold back..."

"You've got to eat your fill... Only then will you have strength... Mmph, mmph..."

Watching the two of them wolfing down food as if they were in a competition, Tiger also opened up and started desperately stuffing food into his mouth. It had been a long time since he had felt this carefree.

Just like that, after a little over an hour, all three of them lay comfortably on the beach, burping, picking their teeth, and looking up at the starry sky overhead.

"Though it's the same night sky, somehow the stars over the Blue Sea feel different from those on Sky Island. What do you think, Ye Mu...?"

Enel asked.

"Yeah."

Ye Mu answered, then thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's because the Blue Sea is at a lower altitude than Sky Island, and there are fewer clouds in the Blue Sea's night sky, so the stars look broader, brighter, more mysterious, and more beautiful..."

Sky Island was more than ten thousand meters above the Blue Sea, wrapped in clouds all year round.

Although one could also see the night sky by looking up, it was like looking at deep space from outer space—most of what you saw was pitch-black darkness.

At this moment, Tiger, who was beside them, heard their conversation and said in surprise, "Captain Ye Mu, Vice Captain Enel, you're from Sky Island...? Sky Island actually exists...? Are you residents of Sky Island...?"

Tiger was a very famous explorer and traveler, filled with curiosity toward the unknown world.

Sky Island was a legendary existence.

"That's right... That's also why our pirate crew is called the Sky Pirates."

As Ye Mu spoke, he seemed to think of something and sat up.

"Speaking of which, since we've become companions, we should properly introduce ourselves to each other."

Hearing Ye Mu's words, Enel and Tiger also sat up.

The three of them sat in a row on the beach, and Ye Mu began explaining.

"My name is Ye Mu. I'm a Flame-Flame Fruit user, and this year, I just turned sixteen. I am indeed from Sky Island, but I'm not a native resident of Sky Island. When I was six, I came to Sky Island along with an upward ocean current. There, I met Enel, and then we became brothers... As for the Sky Island we lived on... Tiger, have you heard the story of Noland the Liar?"