A Bag of Rice Has to Carry How Many Floors?! [Please Keep Reading!]

Angel Island.

The former residence of the god, now the chief's estate.

After handling the matters at hand, Xia Luo had someone summon Bullet and Gan Fall.

"Chief, you wanted to see me?"

"Boss Xia Luo, I'm here!"

Gan Fall had barely arrived when Bullet showed up right after him. The moment they heard Xia Luo had summoned them, they dropped what they were doing and hurried over.

Looking at the rushed pair, Xia Luo said with concern, "You've both worked hard lately, especially you, Gan Fall. You've been carrying the heaviest burden. Luckily, you helped share it with me, or I really wouldn't have been able to manage everything alone."

Gan Fall bowed and said, "You're too kind, Chief. I should be the one thanking you. Without you, Sky Island would never have reached its current state. I am not your equal."

"Hahaha, you may be sucking up to me, but I like hearing it." Xia Luo laughed heartily before turning to Bullet.

"And you too, Bullet. You've worked hard as well. Every day, you're either guarding High West or drilling the troops. Must be exhausting, right?"

Bullet scratched his head. "It's not really tiring. It's just a little boring. Sometimes I don't run into a single pirate for more than ten days straight. I can't even get a satisfying fight in, hehe."

Xia Luo teased, "Then how about I fight you one day?"

"Uh, no, no, I wouldn't dare trouble you, Boss. I'm not bored. Not bored at all." Bullet hurriedly refused. What a joke. He was merely bored, not looking to get beaten up.

The gap between his strength and Xia Luo's was far too great right now. When the chance came in the future, he would naturally challenge Xia Luo.

Bullet firmly believed that one day, his strength would catch up to Boss Xia Luo's.

Xia Luo could not help smiling. Then he said, "Fortunately, everything is on track now. You two can take a proper break for the next few days. Leave the rest to me."

"How could we do that? I—"

Xia Luo raised a hand to interrupt Gan Fall. "Listen to me first. I'll be leaving in a few days. After that, Sky Island can only be entrusted to you and Bullet. I probably won't be back anytime soon."

"Sorry, Bullet. I can't bring you into the Marines for now. Stay here and assist Gan Fall. Help me hold down Sky Island. Once I've made the arrangements, I'll come back for you."

Hearing this, Bullet and Gan Fall silently nodded. Xia Luo had already given them advance notice a few days ago, so they had long known he would be leaving and were mentally prepared.

Partings between men were always so decisive. There was no tearful reluctance, no sorrowful melancholy—only a faint sense of wistfulness.

A few days later,

Angel Beach.

Under the watchful eyes of Bullet and Gan Fall, Xia Luo smiled and nodded. Then he transformed into lightning and vanished into the clouds.

"Let's go back. Although the Chief has left, Sky Island remains. Until he returns, our duty is to ensure Sky Island's safety, stability, and prosperity."

"Brother Fall, leave the safety to me. But don't count on me for the rest, haha. I can't even read a single word. As Boss Xia Luo puts it, I'm just an illiterate brute."

Gan Fall grinned. "That's why the Chief specifically instructed me before leaving to supervise your reading and studying every day, so you can shed that illiterate-brute status as soon as possible."

"Ah! No way?!"

Bullet looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

Gan Fall teased, "Don't believe me? Why not call the Chief and ask? Don't you have his Den Den Mushi?"

"Forget it. Boss Xia Luo said not to disturb him unless it's necessary."

"Then do you believe what I just said?"

"I do..."

Bullet looked utterly lifeless.

There was no need to ask. It sounded exactly like something Boss Xia Luo would do. He was downright inhuman!

After leaving Angel Island, Xia Luo deliberately avoided the White-White Sea and the White Sea, descending elsewhere instead.

After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he discovered that he was afraid of seawater again. The moment he came into contact with it, his entire body went weak.

Of course, as a Fish-Fish Fruit user, Xia Luo could still breathe normally underwater. Seawater would not drown him, but he could not swim back up either. Someone had to fish him out.

If nobody rescued him, he could only keep sinking to the seafloor and drift with the current. How was that any different from being sealed away?

Back in the Blue Sea.

Xia Luo could not tell which direction was which for a moment, so he took out the Log Pose pointing to Jaya Island.

The affairs of Sky Island had been settled. It was time to accomplish the goal he had set back on Jaya Island.

A chaotic pirate paradise, huh? A gathering place for scum and trash, huh? Perfect. Grandpa's here to collect you all!

Crackle!

In a flash of lightning, Xia Luo vanished.

Just a few minutes later,

Xia Luo descended upon Jaya Island once more.

Above Mock Town, Xia Luo looked down at the scene below with indifferent eyes.

Then he raised a finger. Wind and thunder gathered, and in an instant, dark clouds filled the sky, blotting out the heavens as daylight abruptly dimmed.

Rumble!

In an instant,

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and fierce winds surged.

It was a scene straight out of the apocalypse.

The sudden shift in the weather drew the attention of the pirates in Mock Town. They all looked up, grumbling and cursing.

"Oh, damn weather. It changes whenever it wants, just like that old hag at home!"

"Relax. That's just how the Grand Line is. You'll get used to it."

"Don't worry. Storms come fast and go fast. Keep the music playing, keep dancing!"

"Wait, doesn't there seem to be someone in the sky? Look!"

"Hahaha, kid, you must've had too much bad booze. How could there possibly be someone in the sky... Pfft, holy shit, there really is someone!"

"Who is he? What does he want? Going up there to get struck by lightning? What kind of suicidal stunt is that?"

"No, he's too high up. We can't see what he looks like at all."

As time passed, more and more pirates noticed Xia Luo standing high in the sky.

Ignoring the pirates' chatter,

Xia Luo looked up at the thunderclouds above him and muttered, "Looks like it's about enough. Next..."

He took a deep breath, spread his arms as if embracing the world, and curled his lips into a cold smile.

Then, a wild, thunderous voice echoed across the entire island and entered every pirate's ears.

"Pirates, a bag of rice has to carry how many floors?!"

"Raigo!!!"

Without giving the pirates on the island any time to react, a colossal black sphere of lightning descended in the blink of an eye, carrying an unmatched sense of pressure and destruction.

The lightning sphere exploded over Mock Town!

At that moment,

A blinding radiance engulfed the entire island like a curtain of light.

The heavens and earth instantly lost all color, and all things seemed to lose their sound. The pirates had no power to resist. In utter silence, their bodies were vaporized on the spot, leaving not even bones behind!

A world-destroying shockwave swept through the surroundings, leaving nothing in its wake. The violent blast churned up towering waves across the sea.

When the blinding light faded, only a small portion of the vast Jaya Island remained. Everything else had been sunk beneath the sea, leaving behind only a bottomless ocean whirlpool!

Looking down from above, two-thirds of the island had completely sunk. Jaya Island, once shaped roughly like a disk, had now become a crescent moon!

PS:

Big shots, throw those tickets in your hands at me! I want to carry a bag of rice up how many floors too!