Partners

"Crack..."

As the sound of something shattering rang out, dazzling light burst forth, accompanied by surging flames.

"Boom..."

In an instant, the erupting flames swept across the entire sky. Like rolling waves of clouds, they blasted in every direction, engulfing the golden light and covering such a vast area that they swept across the entire surface of the sea.

Above the sky, clouds of fire surged, and the scorching heat steamed the ocean. The convection of hot air summoned wave after wave of violent winds.

On the deck, Enel held down the hat on his head with one hand, feeling the gale and torrential rain bearing down on him.

At that moment, the warship finally could not withstand the tremendous impact. It completely broke apart, splitting down the middle, and the entire vessel tilted as if it were about to sink.

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

At that moment, flames landed beside Enel and transformed into Ye Mu's figure.

Enel looked up at the sky and asked,

"Are we leaving?"

"Yeah. This guy is very strong, and his Devil Fruit ability is slippery as hell. The two of us might have a chance of taking him down together, but there's no need. It's not time to risk our lives yet. We've already achieved our goal. Let's go."

"Yeah."

Enel was still very obedient to Ye Mu, so one of them transformed into lightning and the other into flames as they flew away.

About five or six seconds after the two disappeared, the clouds of fire in the air gradually dispersed. The golden light gathered once more, descended from the sky, and landed on the deck as it looked into the distance.

"What a terrifying technique..."

Kizaru, who was visible to the naked eye, no longer looked as calm as he had when he arrived. His gaze was solemn, and his clothes were covered in the smoke of the explosion.

The elementalization of a Logia Devil Fruit was not truly invincible. Against an explosion like that, if the area covered was large and wide enough, it could still injure the ability user's physical body.

At the moment of the explosion, Kizaru had instantly transferred his body to the edge of the blast, allowing him to evade the attack.

Although he had not suffered much physical harm, Kizaru had not experienced such a disheveled state in a long time.

"Looks like those guys are going to have a headache... But 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 nearly a hundred nautical miles away, above the surface of the sea.

Before carrying out their operation, the two had left the Twin Goddess moored here as a precaution and a means of escape.

"Let's go down."

As the two descended, they returned to the ship.

On the deck, Fisher Tiger let out a sigh of relief when he saw the two descend.

"C-Captain... Are you two all right..."

Tiger seemed somewhat unaccustomed to calling two youths ten years younger than him captain.

Seeing this, Ye Mu smiled faintly.

"From now on, we're partners and friends. Just call me Ye Mu. He's Enel..."

"Yeah, thank you, Captain Ye Mu, Vice Captain Enel..."

Tiger had finally come up with a form of address that sounded both friendly and respectful, but he still seemed somewhat restrained.

Ye Mu was in no hurry. They could take things slowly.

"Enel, take these four to the training room and find a way to get what we need from them."

"I understand. You mean the thing called the Six Powers, right?"

Ye Mu had already told Enel what these four were for.

However, there was one thing he had not mentioned.

"Yeah. Remember to keep the lives of these two Devil Fruit users intact. You can deal with the other two however you want."

"Understood."

Only after watching Enel carry away the four unconscious CP9 members did Ye Mu turn to Fisher Tiger.

"Tiger, you should understand navigation, right?"

"Yeah."

As a renowned explorer and traveler from Fish-Man Island, Tiger possessed extremely rich knowledge of navigation.

"Then if there's no problem, from now on, you're the navigator of our Sky Pirate Crew. I'm handing the Twin Goddess over to you now. Familiarize yourself with our ship, then take us somewhere relatively safe. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if the marines catch up with us. Oh, right, there's an awkward problem. We don't have a Log Pose right now. Is there any other way?"

Tiger did not reject Ye Mu's arrangement. As for the Log Pose, he thought for a moment before speaking.

"It shouldn't be a problem. I can communicate with sea beasts and learn about the islands in the surrounding area."

"Then there's no problem. Let's first find a safe island and go ashore. Then, tonight, we'll hold a banquet for you..."

The starry sky over the sea was unbelievably beautiful, with the vast river of stars spread out before them.

Under the starlight, the Twin Goddess was moored beside a small island about the same size as the ship. On the shore, a bonfire burned brightly. The sound of toasts rang out, accompanied by the enticing aroma of roasting meat.

Although there were only three people here, making the scene seem somewhat lonely, Tiger still felt a sense of comfort, as if he were at home, while looking at the enthusiastic Ye Mu and Enel.

He could clearly feel the sense of equality when he was with the two of them.

It was an equality that came from the heart, not a deliberate disguise meant to accommodate him.

"Hey... Tiger, don't space out. Aren't you eating anymore? If you're not eating, I'll help myself..."

"You need to eat your fill... to have the strength... Munch, munch..."

Watching the two wolfing down food as if they were competing, Tiger also threw himself into the meal and began stuffing food into his mouth with all his might. He had not enjoyed himself this much in a long time.

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

"Although it's the same night sky, the starry sky over the Blue Sea feels different from the one over Sky Island. What do you think, Ye Mu..."

Enel opened his mouth and asked.

"Yeah."

Ye Mu responded, then thought for a moment before speaking.

"It might be because the Blue Sea is at a lower altitude than Sky Island. Also, there are fewer clouds in the Blue Sea's night sky, so the stars look more vast, dazzling, mysterious, and beautiful..."

Sky Island was tens of thousands of meters above the Blue Sea, and clouds surrounded it all year round.

Although they could still see the night sky when they looked up, it was like looking into deep space from outer space. Most of what they saw was simply an expanse of darkness.

At that moment, Tiger, who was beside them, heard their conversation and asked in surprise,

"Captain Ye Mu, Vice Captain Enel, are you from Sky Island... Does Sky Island really exist... Are you residents of Sky Island..."

Tiger was a famous explorer and traveler, and he was filled with curiosity about the unknown world.

Sky Island was a legendary existence, after all.

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

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

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

After hearing Ye Mu, Enel and Tiger also sat up.

The three of them sat in a row on the beach as Ye Mu began to explain.

"My name is Ye Mu, and I'm a Flame-Flame Fruit user. I just turned sixteen this year. I'm indeed from Sky Island, but I'm not a native of Sky Island. When I was six, I came to Sky Island along with the Knock Up Stream. That was where I met Enel, and then we became brothers... As for the Sky Island we came from... Tiger, have you heard the story of Big Talker Noland?"