The Usurped Godhood

The airship climbed higher, and the air grew thinner. On the deck, Kuma was following Annus's instructions and showing the newly arrived Dragon around.

On the deck, the Angel Legion was carrying out its routine training.

When it came to training, Dragon was more familiar with it than anyone. He had once been a marine, and training had been part of his daily life.

But the training of these angel soldiers was not physical exercise. They stood on one leg atop soft Processed Clouds, eyes closed and hands clasped, remaining motionless.

"What are they doing?" Dragon asked curiously.

"They're meditating!" Kuma explained to Dragon. "Mr. Yale said it's a way to tame the beast in one's heart. It helps a lot with comprehending Observation Haki."

Unlike Blue Sea people, Skypieans were more gifted in Observation Haki than Armament Haki due to their physiques and living environments.

Therefore, Annus had developed a training method suited to Skypieans. Education had to be tailored to the individual; a uniform teaching method could not produce good students.

If it did, it only proved that the student was exceptionally talented and had little to do with the person teaching them. Gold would shine wherever it was—that was the principle.

"Meditation" was a crucial part of the training system Annus had built for Skypieans. It could even be called its foundation. For every newcomer joining the Angel Legion, the first mandatory lesson was learning how to meditate.

"First calm your mind, understand how you should act, then put in the effort." Those were Annus's exact words. They were also the training creed of the entire Angel Legion.

As he explained, Kuma led Dragon away. The two continued wandering around the airship, and when they returned after making a full circuit, Dragon found that the Angel Legion members who had been meditating not long ago were now sparring with one another, each moving as nimbly as a leopard.

At that moment, Yale found them.

"Rorororo, trainees, interested in joining the trials?"

He flexed his well-developed muscles. The wild lines of his physique and his completely naked body made Dragon and Kuma unable to bear looking directly at him.

"Clothes only hinder the body's movement! Come on, children! Show off your muscles to your hearts' content!"

Is this guy really normal?

Dragon broke into a cold sweat, though he only dared to criticize him in private.

While he was still dazed, Kuma had already followed Yale away. Dragon hesitated for a moment before following as well.

"Children! Hold on!"

Yale stood on high ground and clapped his hands. Below, the angel soldiers who had been sparring stopped one after another. Everyone's eyes gathered on Yale, then fell on Dragon and Kuma as well.

"Lord Yale, what are your orders?"

One of the angel soldiers stepped forward and asked.

"Rorororo, these two are the 'trainee heavenly soldiers' taken in by Lord Annus. Both are promising newcomers! From now on, these two will train alongside you..." Yale said with a grin.

Upon hearing that, the angel soldiers' gazes once again fell upon Kuma and Dragon.

Both sides silently sized each other up, though it was mainly Dragon and the angel soldiers staring at one another.

As for Kuma, the soldiers were already familiar with him.

"All right! You've stared long enough, haven't you? There's no need to introduce Kuma. Let me introduce this young man! Seventeen years old, and formerly a marine!"

Yale patted Dragon on the shoulder, and Dragon immediately felt like his body was about to fall apart...

"Now then, who wants to test this guy's skills?" Yale shouted.

Quiet discussion rose among the angel soldiers. A moment later, an utterly ordinary-looking angel soldier was pushed forward.

"Henry, you want to give it a try?"

Yale smiled at the soldier.

The angel soldier named Henry nodded.

Dragon took the opportunity to study his opponent. The man was tall and thin, with a high nose bridge and hollow cheeks. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary skinny man, around twenty-four years old.

"Then, the battle... begins!"

Yale suddenly gave the order, and Henry sprang forward in an instant! His body was so light that it seemed weightless!

Dragon was startled. He instinctively leapt backward and reached behind him. A fraction of a second later, his hand found the flintlock pistol Garp had given him.

After resigning from the Marines, his original weapons should have been confiscated by headquarters. But he was Garp's son, so he received special treatment. To look after his son who was about to leave, Garp had left Dragon this flintlock pistol.

Holding the flintlock, Dragon aimed its barrel at the opponent before him. His finger rested on the trigger. All he needed was a light pull, and the bullet would fire instantly. At such close range, it would almost certainly hit!

But Dragon hesitated for an instant. In the end, he did not pull the trigger. Instead, he used the flintlock as a club, attempting to block.

Yet that instant of hesitation was already a massive opening in his opponent's eyes. By the time Dragon raised the gun to block, Henry had already circled behind him. Dragon only felt someone clamp tightly around his neck, and then his entire body was thrown away.

Thud!

The airship's railing shook. Dragon's mind went blank, leaving him dazed from the throw. By then, his opponent had already walked up to him. He looked up and saw the hand extended toward him.

"You let me win," Henry said quietly.

Only then did Dragon realize that he had lost.

So strong... This guy is even stronger than my captain!

That brief exchange had made Dragon recognize the gap between them. He grabbed Henry's hand and stood up, then suddenly lowered his voice and asked a question.

"Your strength should put you among the strongest in the Angel Legion, right?"

Henry froze for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "You're just too weak. I haven't even comprehended Observation Haki. Within the legion, my strength is only lower-middle tier."

Hearing Henry's answer, Dragon suddenly felt indescribably miserable, as though his chest had been blocked.

This level... is only lower-middle tier?

"Rorororo, looks like you still have plenty of room to improve!" Yale said as he walked over at some point. "Switch opponents! Kuma, show this young man how it's done! Remember, don't use your ability!"

Dragon stepped aside, and Kuma walked forward with a simple smile, taking Dragon's place.

Seeing the change in opponent, Henry's expression became more serious... Though Kuma was only nine years old, he was already enormous, standing a full head taller than Henry.

The two bowed to each other, and the battle began. It was completely different from the one-sided fight just now.

Over several minutes of combat, Kuma held the upper hand throughout. Henry, who had taken down Dragon in an instant, could only dodge around against Kuma.

His only attack did not hurt Kuma at all. Instead, it got him caught.

When Kuma punched Henry in the face, Henry fell cleanly to the ground. The battle was over.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry..."

Realizing that he had hit too hard, Kuma hurriedly bowed to his opponent again and again.

"Damn it..."

Henry wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood back up. For that instant, it had felt as though he had been struck by a heavy hammer.

"It's fine. I lost. That just now was Armament Haki, wasn't it?"

"Huh? I don't know either. I just used it instinctively..." Kuma scratched his head and chuckled foolishly.

Because he had trained with Yale in Water 7 for a long time, Kuma's talent had begun to emerge. Buccaneers were a branch of the Giants, so Kuma's gifts were primarily reflected in his strength.

Henry could evade repeatedly with his nimble body, but as long as Kuma caught one opening, the outcome would be decided immediately. In a sense, Henry had lost to "race."

"Rorororo! Well done, Kuma!" Yale was delighted.

Dragon was left speechless. That little brat was only nine years old, yet he was so much stronger than him!

Annus was right. I'm still too weak! I have to become stronger as soon as possible!

I'll set myself a goal. Within one year, I'll stand at the top of the Angel Legion!

Feeling defeated, Dragon quickly set a new goal for himself, then threw himself wholeheartedly into the Angel Legion's intense training.

The moon set and the sun rose. The sun rose and the moon set.

Five airships flew side by side through the sea of clouds, finally passing an altitude of seven thousand meters and entering the "White Sea."

The oxygen content in the air plummeted off a cliff. The angel soldiers who had not been born on Sky Island nearly all felt discomfort at the same time, their bodies beginning to weaken.

"How frail! You lot! We've only reached the White Sea!" Yale helplessly called a halt to the training.

As they ventured deeper into the White Sea, the angel soldiers born on Sky Island all wore delighted expressions, brimming with energy.

"We're back!"

"The White Sea! This smell is so familiar!"

"Before we knew it, seven years have already passed!"

Time slowly passed, and more and more people appeared on the deck. Lilith also came to the railing, holding Shanks and Shamrock in her arms.

"Seven years..." Even Annus came onto the deck and sighed.

Seven years ago, he had abandoned his foundation on Sky Island and taken the risk of descending to the Blue Sea. At the time, only his most loyal subordinates had chosen to trust him unconditionally.

But the facts proved that his choice had been right. If he had remained on Sky Island, perhaps the heavenly kingdom he wanted to build would already have taken shape, but its military strength would never have reached its current level.

"Diumil, is the direction correct?"

When he left Sky Island, Annus had not brought many things. Apart from gold, most of what remained were Dials and miscellaneous items.

Among those miscellaneous items, the most important was the Eternal Pose pointing toward Birka. It had been left behind by a group of Blue Sea people.

Annus had entrusted it to Diumil, the person he trusted most, for safekeeping. Now, the time had finally come to use it.

"The direction is correct, Lord Annus! At our current speed, we will reach Birka in thirty minutes!" Even the usually calm Diumil was somewhat excited.

Though Sky Island Birka was not his hometown, it was where he had met Annus. It held special meaning for him.

The five airships rose side by side to an altitude of ten thousand meters, reaching the "White-White Sea." Nearby skyfish exposed their backs, appearing and disappearing amid the sea of clouds.

Thirty minutes later, a pure white city appeared ahead of them!

It was a city built atop a stretch of island clouds. Apart from the roots of enormous vines, there was almost no trace of greenery to be seen.

So-called island clouds were soft, walkable clouds floating above sea clouds. Like land in the Blue Sea, they were the clouds Skypieans depended on for survival.

"Wow!"

"Why can a city be built on clouds?!"

Quite a few people were curious about it, Dragon among them. But Skypieans quickly answered their questions.

"You know Seastone, right? Seastone contains a component we call 'PYROBROIN.' It's a kind of keratin particle. It gets blasted into the sky by volcanic eruptions, then comes into contact with moisture and forms sea clouds and island clouds because of differing densities..."

"Then what are those cities made from? There shouldn't be stones or soil in the sky, right?"

"Processed Clouds! They are made by compressing cut island clouds to increase their density. Cloud Arrows are weapons developed using this technology!"

"Then where do the shells used to make Dials come from?"

"They're collected from fish reefs in the shallows."

After hearing the Skypieans' explanations, those country bumpkins finally understood... Whether they truly understood or not, they had at least realized that such a dreamlike place really existed in this world.

With the joy of returning home, the five airships landed on the "White-White Sea."

However, when they entered the "checkpoint," someone stopped them.

"Please pay the entry fee! One billion Extol per person! Thank you for your cooperation!"

"O-One billion?!"

The angel soldiers visiting Sky Island for the first time were collectively stunned. Was Sky Island really this rich?! The entry fee alone was a full one billion!

Dragon nearly bit his tongue as well. One billion?

"That's way too expensive!"

The angel soldiers who had never been to Sky Island were shocked, but those born there frowned and looked displeasedly toward the checkpoint.

"Old Mike! Are you mistaken? It's us!"

Entry fees had always only been charged to Blue Sea people, and they had never been as high as one billion. Even at the exchange rate of ten thousand Extol to one Berry, that was still a massive sum of one hundred thousand Berry per person.

Stared at by so many pairs of eyes, the old man blocking their path became nervous too. His voice came out haltingly. "Uh... sorry, it's a law set by the 'new God'! The old regulations were changed six years ago!"

"New regulations? A new God?" Diumil froze, then instinctively turned around to observe Annus's expression.

But Annus showed no expression. Instead, he even seemed to be smiling. His figure flashed, and he appeared before the old man blocking the way.

"Old Mike, I've only been gone for seven years, haven't I? Birka has changed this much?"

Since Annus had been born, the guard at the checkpoint had always been this old man. He had never changed. Yet after seven years apart, the old man looked far more haggard.

Seeing Annus suddenly appear, the old man first froze. Then he rubbed his presbyopic eyes, and his entire body suddenly began to tremble.

"G-God! You've finally returned!"

The old man excitedly threw himself at Annus's feet, tears streaming down his face.

"Get up first." Annus smiled as he helped the old man up. "Tell me first, what exactly happened while I was away?"

At the same time as he asked, Annus swept the entire island with Mantra and roughly understood Birka's current situation.

I see... Someone has usurped my godhood?