A New Era Begins

In the Sky God Kingdom, two years had passed since Yake became the new god.

"Hasso! Teacher Conis, are you going to school? I'll take you there!" A passerby spotted Conis walking down the road with a harp in her arms and warmly invited her to join him.

"Hasso, no need, thank you. I can walk there myself. Sorry for the trouble," Conis politely declined the parent's invitation.

After Sky Academy was completed, Conis volunteered to become a music teacher responsible for teaching music classes. All the children in the Sky God Kingdom loved their gentle Teacher Conis.

Conis slowly walked to the entrance of Sky Academy, where two fully armed guards stood watch over the school gates.

"Hasso, Mr. Jerry, Mr. Kerry." Conis greeted them with a smile. Only silence answered her, but she did not mind. They were emotionless clones, after all. Still, it was her daily habit. She handed her citizen ID to Jerry.

Jerry inserted the gold citizen ID into the machine, opened the academy gates, and gestured for Conis to enter.

"A new day has begun! Goodbye, Jerry, Kerry!" Conis walked through the academy gates with her harp in her arms.

Pagaya was Conis's father, and he now ran a Sky Shell breeding farm.

As usual, he inspected the Sky Shells in the rocky area along the coast. Ever since the research institute's staff figured out the habits of Sky Shells, Sky Shell farming had become a large-scale industry. Pagaya alone had contracted five kilometers of coastline for Sky Shell cultivation.

"Mm, looks like today's harvest will be pretty good." Pagaya happily smiled at the various shells clinging to the rocks. There were now two new varieties of Sky Shells: Thunder Shells and Ice Shells. Thunder Shells in particular had become a daily necessity for the Sky God Kingdom's residents. Not only did all kinds of agricultural equipment rely on Thunder Shells for power, but transportation also used them as its core power source.

After carefully inspecting his shell fields, Pagaya boarded a civilian miniature airship and returned home.

Upper Yard.

Wyper was drilling soldiers. Reiju had promoted him to captain of the God's Kingdom Special Forces, and he was also one of the instructors at the military academy, responsible for training recruits and turning them into qualified soldiers.

The military was divided into three forces: the city defense force, special forces, and combat force. In the Sky God Kingdom's military structure, clone soldiers formed the basic military strength. They were assigned to various posts to stand guard, while the surplus followed human officers into action and obeyed their commands.

The Sky God Kingdom had now undergone a complete transformation, the result of the combined efforts of all Sky Island residents.

Life had become more convenient for the residents. Everyone could live and work in peace and enjoy peaceful lives.

The Sky God Kingdom had everything: cafes, bars, schools, factories, breeding bases, and more. It had even been troubled by a shortage of manpower, but that problem would soon disappear.

Because the Sky God Kingdom would officially open tomorrow.

Ever since the Ark Pirates had all received bounties two years ago, they had vanished without a trace. Everyone found the Ark Pirates' disappearance strange. The pirate crew seemed to have flashed into existence only briefly before disappearing after all its members were wanted.

Now, the most famous figure in the New World was undoubtedly the Whitebeard Pirates' new Second Division Commander, Fire Fist Ace. After Yake's group disappeared, Ace rapidly rose to fame in the New World. After repeatedly failing to challenge Whitebeard, he chose to join the Whitebeard Pirates.

The Whitebeard Pirates were now known as the most terrifyingly powerful pirate crew in the world.

"Gurararara, Ace, what happened? You look to be in a good mood!" Whitebeard asked as he looked at the smiling Ace.

"Haha, Pops, my idiot little brother just turned seventeen today. I bet he couldn't wait to set sail!" Ace looked into the distance, recalling his promise with Luffy. That idiot Luffy must have started making his way across the seas by now!

"He's an interesting guy too, Pops. When the time comes, let him join our big family as well!" Ace laughed heartily. He had fully integrated into Whitebeard's fleet and sincerely regarded Whitebeard as his father. Within the Whitebeard Pirates, apart from Marco, who had followed Whitebeard from the beginning, perhaps no one respected Whitebeard more than Ace did.

"Gurararara, then let him come. Speaking of which, I thought of another brat too. I wonder what he ran off to do..." Whitebeard recalled God Yake, who had challenged him two years ago. He had thought Yake would keep causing major incidents after challenging him, but there had not been any news of him for a full two years.

"God Yake? I heard Marco mention him. He's very strong, right?" Ace remembered the man he had met briefly at the Sabaody Archipelago.

"Ace, he's the most talented young man I've ever seen. His strength two years ago was greater than yours is now." Whitebeard wanted to provoke Ace a little. He had already regarded Roger's son as his successor.

"Heh, Pops, if I meet him, I'll definitely defeat him." Ace's competitive spirit was indeed ignited. It would not matter if others said it, but he had to prove to Pops who was truly the strongest.

"Gurararara, keep that spirit, Ace. One day, we'll see him again."

Over the past two years, Yake had periodically brought Germa's snails to the Blue Sea to purchase supplies, though he never showed himself. Most of the gold found in Upper Yard had been used to buy various materials for building the Sky God Kingdom. Yake only had gold worth over ten billion Beli left. The Sky God Kingdom could be called a city built from gold.

Cloud End.

This was the entrance and exit of the Sky God Kingdom. Beside it stood the enormous Heaven's Ladder. It was a crucial facility for reaching the Sky Islands. Leaving was much simpler: one could take Heaven's Ladder down, or ride the Sky Islands' special miniature octopus balloons and experience the thrill of bungee jumping.

This was also the only project Yake needed to personally oversee. Heaven's Ladder had originally been intended to use compressed Island Clouds to create a route, but they later discovered that Island Clouds quickly dissipated in the Blue Sea and could not be put into use. On Judge's advice, they built this enormous elevator from Seastone alloy. After several rounds of testing, it had officially been confirmed ready for use. The black box was the main body of Heaven's Ladder. Its operating principle was similar to an elevator, and it could hold up to 1,000 people and 60 tons of cargo at the same time, provided the passengers were normally sized humans.

Now Yake only needed to move the artificial island holding Heaven's Ladder to the Blue Sea. The artificial island was a supporting facility for Heaven's Ladder, used to receive tourists and dock ships. It was equivalent to the Sky God Kingdom's ticket booth.

"You can begin, Lord Yake." After conducting the final inspection, Judge spoke with certainty.

Yake did not waste words. He transformed into his Dragon form, lifted an artificial island beside Cloud End, and carried it to the waters near Long Ring Long Land.

An enormous black box slowly descended from the sky. It was Heaven's Ladder. Yake aligned it with Heaven's Ladder's landing position and placed the island onto the sea, precisely within the target waters measured by Judge's research team.

An island called Skyward Island had appeared in the sea. The massive project that had taken two years had finally been completed. Over the past two years, the technique Yake had used most was Thunder Metallurgy...

Only after seeing Heaven's Ladder operating steadily did Yake relax. He took Heaven's Ladder back to the Sky Islands, which took about an hour. Though slow, that was the only option for now. After all, Cloud End stood over 7,000 meters above the Blue Sea's surface, and this speed would greatly extend its service life.

"Not bad. We can start moving the Sky God Kingdom's residents and soldiers down," Yake told Judge after stepping out of the elevator.

"Oh, and Morgans's people can be told to come over first."

To let the world know about the Sky God Kingdom as soon as possible, newspaper publicity was naturally indispensable. To that end, Yake had also made a deal with Morgans, the content of which was naturally to create an explosive news story.

After arranging the tasks, Yake headed to Amazon Lily.

Bare-chested and wearing beach shorts, that was Yake's usual attire. His appearance had also changed greatly compared to two years ago. Yake no longer had a dragonman form. Rather than saying he no longer had one, it would be more accurate to say that his dragonman form had become his normal state.

The scales, claws, and other features that appeared on Yake's body when he transformed into his Dragonman form had originally been solidified lightning. He had not been idle for two years, focusing entirely on merging his Dragonman form with his human form. Now, even in Dragonman form, he retained a normal human appearance, though all kinds of patterns appeared on his body. Yake called them Thunder Dragon Mark.

The traits of his dragonman form had become light blue tattoo-like markings branded onto Yake's body. Whenever he unleashed his power, the patterns on his body erupted with dazzling lightning, just as their name suggested, instantly granting him all the power of his dragonman form.

At the training grounds on Nine-Colored Island, two curvaceous women were engaged in an intense battle.

Hancock gently kneaded Yake's shoulders as they watched the duel between Robin and Reiju.

"Thousand Fleur: Gigantesco Mano."

Robin manifested a giant hand and slammed it toward Reiju with terrifying force.

Reiju smiled, and a powerful blast of air erupted instantly.

"PICK: Storm!" Reiju used Geppo and the combat boots on her feet at the same time, generating a powerful shockwave as she dodged Robin's attack.

"Cherry Blossom Dance!"

In the blink of an eye, Reiju broke through to Robin's side and launched a series of fierce strikes.

"Hundred Fleur: Flower Shield!"

All of Reiju's attacks landed on a shield formed from Robin's manifested arms.

"Hehe, Sister Robin, don't forget that some poisons are colorless and odorless too. Erupt!" As soon as Reiju finished speaking, the poison Robin had been contaminated with during their earlier exchanges erupted. All her manifested arms dispersed, and her face twisted in pain as her body swayed unsteadily.

Reiju promptly caught Robin. Her sexy lips pressed against Robin's cherry lips as she sucked the poison out for her. She could have done it without using her mouth, but this was faster, though rather embarrassing.

Yake immediately became excited when he saw the scene. He puckered his lips and whistled, prompting Hancock to repeatedly pinch his waist. But Yake's skin was too thick for him to feel anything.

Reiju was very smart. She knew Robin had been guarding against her poison, so she deliberately concealed it within every attack. Though the amount was small each time, the poison accumulated and eroded Robin's body. Once it erupted, it instantly robbed Robin of her combat ability. Robin had not lost unfairly.

"Cough, cough. Reiju, you still won." Robin felt much better after the poison was sucked out. Though they had trained for two years, everyone had improved greatly and understood one another very well. Reiju's poison truly countered her, since even her manifested arms could be harmed by poison.

"You let me win, Sister Robin. Your arms really gave me a lot of trouble." Reiju affectionately hugged Robin as they walked toward Yake. If she did not know Armament Haki, her neck would probably have been twisted long ago.

Anna had also fought Perona, but unfortunately, Anna was simply a complete weakling. Perona ended the battle with a single Negative Hollow, making Anna kneel on the ground and cry as she wailed that she did not deserve to eat fish and such.

"After two years of training, everyone has made visible progress. But the enemies we face from now on will only be stronger than you. Do not get complacent. I'm talking about you, Perona."

"Tomorrow, I'll go to the New World and challenge the Four Emperors, make our name known, and announce to the world that the Sky God Kingdom is my territory. The Sky God Kingdom will officially reveal itself to the world. Are you ready?" Yake's expression was stern.

"Don't worry, Captain. I've waited a long time for this day."

"Don't worry, Yake-sama. With Anna here, nothing will go wrong. Sister Hancock will protect us too, right?" Anna said sweetly. Two years had passed, and she was already an adult. Her figure was gradually developing as she worked hard to catch up to Robin.

"That's right, Anna. I will protect this country while Yake is away." Hancock smiled and stroked Anna's head. This was the task Yake had assigned her long ago. For this reason, Yake had also put her through ruthless special training. Compared to two years ago, her strength had advanced by leaps and bounds as well.

When Yake was not in the Sky God Kingdom, she was the god of the Sky Islands.

The Sky Islands' location was actually quite good. They were in the first half of the Grand Line rather than the pirate battlefield of the New World, and they were not far from Water 7. Yake had already reached an agreement with Mayor Iceburg of Water 7. Before long, the sea train would build a new route to Skyward Island, making it more convenient to reach Skyward Island in the future.

Without being tempered by the New World, pirates would not be too strong. After all, powerful monsters would eventually head to the New World. Hancock's strength was enough to guard the Sky God Kingdom.

"Alright, everyone. Once I finish challenging the Four Emperors, we'll continue our journey. Sorry for the trouble during this time!"

Meanwhile, in the East Blue.

Luffy was rowing a small boat, preparing to search for his crew.

Zoro had already been tied to the execution rack for several days, exposed to the wind and sun.

Nami carefully searched a pirate ship for gold, silver, and treasure.

Usopp sat on a tall tree branch and told Miss Kaya about his adventures.

Sanji held a plate of exquisite food as he tried to please a beautiful female customer.

A new era had begun...