Skypiea, Angel Beach.
As usual, Conis was playing her harp by Angel Beach, while the snow-white Cloud Fox, Xiu Xiu, lay quietly at her feet, dozing.
Suddenly, the sky darkened.
Skypiea was above the clouds. It never rained there.
"Why did the sky go dark? Th-that... what kind of monster is that?!"
Conis stared in terror at the enormous creature blotting out the clouds and sun. She dropped onto the ground, forgetting even the pain.
It was not just Conis. Every resident of Angel Island saw the gigantic unknown creature, and the town fell into endless panic.
"Looks like my arrival caused quite a bit of trouble here! Hahaha, everyone, come on down!"
Yake naturally saw the crowds running around town like ants on a hot pan, but it was fine. Once he conquered Skypiea, they would gradually get used to it.
Yake lay sprawled across the sprawling Angel Beach so Robin and the others could get down. Once everyone had landed on Angel Island, Yake continuously shrank, returned to human form, and landed beside Robin.
"So this is Skypiea! It's amazing! Everything's all soft, meow!" Anna happily rolled around on the soft clouds.
"The ground here really is made of clouds. How fascinating!" Robin studied the cloud formations beneath her feet.
Yake took a deep breath. It was still that familiar scent. After ten years apart, he had finally returned to this place.
"Skypiea, I'm back! Woohoo!!"
Yake let out a delighted howl. Returning to his homeland naturally left him excited. Right now, he especially wanted to look for the place where he had once obtained his Devil Fruit, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. He would wait until the important matters were settled.
"Reiju, Robin, everyone, come over and try this. It tastes great!" Yake picked several dark-green coconuts and handed them out, thoughtfully inserting straws into them.
"It tastes amazing!"
"It's really delicious! Pick more and store them, Captain!"
"Don't worry, there's plenty. This place will be our territory from now on." Yake opened a coconut for himself and began drinking. He had not had one in ten years, and he missed the taste.
"Will we be living here from now on?" Robin looked up at Yake.
"That's right. This will be our main base from now on. Once things settle down, we'll go search for the Poneglyphs." Yake had not forgotten his original goal. Hiding away in Skypiea forever was impossible.
"Y-you people, who are you?! Did you make that huge monster appear just now?!" Conis asked tremblingly. She had personally seen Yake transform from a giant dragon into a human.
"Hasso, miss. Don't be afraid. We're only here to find the god of this place." Yake greeted Conis according to Skypiean custom, hoping to ease her hostility. After all, he had lived in Birka as a child and was not very familiar with this place. Having a guide would be ideal.
Yet his crew stared at him with strange expressions, leaving Yake somewhat baffled.
"Hasso, sorry, I didn't know you were also a Skypiean. But I really did see you turn from a monster into a person..."
"Hahaha, that's my secret. By the way, who is Skypiea's god now?" Yake asked curiously. He had stolen Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Could Enel still rule Skypiea?
"Skypiea has always been ruled by God Gan Fall. You didn't know that?" Conis immediately became wary. Was this person really a Skypiean? How could he not know such basic common knowledge?
"I left Skypiea ten years ago. I came to replace Gan Fall. I will become Skypiea's new god. You may call me God Yake." Yake spoke with a serious face, even as Conis's expression worsened and worsened.
"Look how badly you scared her, Captain. Don't you think saying that is embarrassingly edgy?" Robin mercilessly tore down Yake's grandstanding.
"Ignore him, miss. Sorry for the trouble, but could you tell us about Skypiea's current situation? We came from the Blue Sea and don't know much about this place." Robin stepped in front of Yake and began chatting gently with Conis.
"Hey, Robin..."
Yake stood there, utterly disheveled in the wind.
"Oh? Someone's here."
A horse's neigh came from the sky. A man carrying a spear rode it; it had to be Gan Fall.
"Young man, have you seen a gigantic creature?" Gan Fall slowly descended and jumped off Pierre.
"I'm that dragon."
"Oh, never mind if you haven't... Wait, don't joke around, young man. Do you not know who I am?" Gan Fall began to wonder whether this young man had something wrong with his head.
"Gan Fall, the god of Skypiea. But I came to replace you. Do you understand?" Yake said calmly. He would not even need to act personally to deal with Gan Fall, but Gan Fall seemed somewhat capable at governance, so Yake intended to have him assist him.
"What an arrogant youngster. If you want to replace me, then defeat me. If I lose, you will become Skypiea's new god." Gan Fall leaped onto Pierre's back and prepared for battle.
"Reiju, you handle him. I'm afraid I might accidentally kill him. Remember to leave him alive." Yake stood with his arms folded. Fighting Gan Fall himself would be too much of a bully move; Reiju was more than enough to deal with him.
"As you command, Captain."
"You've gone too far! Pierre! Let's go!" Gan Fall seemed enraged as he raised his spear and charged at Yake.
Yake simply watched Gan Fall rush toward him, too lazy to even move. If he moved, he would lose all his cool.
"Sorry, but I'm your opponent~" Reiju smiled as she grabbed the spearhead, leaving Gan Fall unable to move. With a casual toss, she sent Gan Fall sprawling head over heels.
"How can this be? A woman is actually this powerful." Gan Fall was completely bewildered. That woman had blocked his attack with one hand, then easily thrown him aside. What was going on?
"Hahaha, sorry, but as a god, isn't your strength a little too pathetic?!" Reiju knew he might not be strong, or Yake would not have asked her to fight, but she had not expected him to be this weak. Compared to Yake, who called himself a god, this was...
"Damn it! It's not over yet! Pierre, get up!"
Like a cat toying with a mouse, Gan Fall had no ability to fight back against Reiju. Gan Fall was brought to his knees before Reiju even needed to use her strongest abilities. After all, he was still only an ordinary man.
The battle ended, and Yake leisurely walked over to Gan Fall. Looking down at him, he said:
"Can we talk now, Gan Fall?"
Gan Fall gasped for breath on the ground and struggled as though he wanted to stand again, but failed. Pierre had already been beaten black and blue by Reiju and could not rise again.
"I lost..."
"From now on, you are the new god. Kill me!"
Gan Fall sighed and lay despondently on the ground, worrying about Skypiea's fate from this point onward.