Escaping

Yet at that moment, the Sky Island Ruler's massive tail suddenly began twisting strangely. Its head made an utterly comical motion, as if it were coughing, while smoke billowed from its mouth, as though it were trying to shake something out of its throat.

"Such..."

The Sky Island Ruler let out a pained groan, then began coughing incessantly. Under Enel's somewhat delighted gaze, a burning, crimson figure flew out of the Sky Island Ruler's mouth and fell toward the ground.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey..."

Ye Mu, spat out by the Sky Island Ruler, fell from the sky and crashed into a ruin, smashing through countless walls. If he had not used partial elementalization to offset some of the impact, Ye Mu probably would not have been able to stand up by now.

"Thank goodness, Ye Mu. You're still alive."

Enel's voice came from the distance. Ye Mu looked toward it and saw Enel standing nearby, his entire body crackling with electricity.

"Looks like Enel has already eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."

Seeing this, Ye Mu felt immensely relieved. Everything was developing in the direction he had anticipated. Although they had encountered quite a few setbacks along the way, the result seemed perfect.

"Such..."

The Sky Island Ruler glared furiously at the two foul-smelling little insects before it who had repeatedly offended it, as if it could not wait to swallow them both.

The Sky Island Ruler pulled back the tail it had originally lashed at Enel and swung it toward Ye Mu, who was panting on the ground.

Ye Mu's pupils instantly contracted.

Fortunately, Ye Mu's body had already begun recovering with the help of his Devil Fruit ability. He had regained enough strength to flee. Ye Mu reacted swiftly, dodged the attack, and shouted at Enel.

"Enel, run! Run toward where we came from!"

They had no chance of defeating the Sky Island Ruler in a fight now.

Not only had the two of them yet to master their Devil Fruit abilities, but their bodies were also extremely weak. They could not bring out the fruits' power at all.

When Enel saw that Ye Mu had survived, the delight on his face was impossible to conceal. After hearing Ye Mu's words, he did not hesitate for even a moment and ran back in the direction they had come from.

Although the Sky Island Ruler was incredibly fast, the ancient buildings made it difficult for it to catch the two undersized men. It had to destroy countless structures blocking its path, so Ye Mu, Enel, and the Sky Island Ruler became locked in a strange pursuit.

The Sky Island Ruler seemed capable of biting off their backs at any moment. Yet just when it was about to do so, the two would duck into a narrow alley or slip inside a building, forcing the Sky Island Ruler to veer away and allowing them to escape by the skin of their teeth.

The pursuit continued until the two reached the place where they had fallen. Enel and Ye Mu looked up at the tiny opening in the sky.

"We won't make it up in time."

Enel spoke nervously as the Sky Island Ruler's enormous jaws snapped toward them.

Ye Mu was just as tense. Feeling the little strength he had left, he gritted his teeth and steeled himself.

"Get ready. I'll hold off the Sky Island Ruler. You climb up first."

"What?"

Enel stared at Ye Mu with wide eyes.

But Ye Mu had no time to worry about him. After estimating the situation, he recalled Ace's moves from the anime and drew upon the little energy remaining in his body.

"Fire Fist!"

In an instant, Ye Mu's arm blazed with scorching flames, transforming into a gigantic fist several times thicker than his body. The searing fireball flew toward the Sky Island Ruler's head.

"ROAR!!!"

With a howl that shook the heavens, the Sky Island Ruler's entire head burst into flames. It thrashed about wildly, smashing into everything around it as it tried to extinguish the fire on its head.

Seeing that his attack had actually worked, Ye Mu breathed a sigh of relief and shouted at Enel.

"Quick, run!"

Just as the two escaped through the opening, Ye Mu suddenly felt as though he were suffocating. The sensation shot into his mind, and then he knew nothing more.

Time passed in a flash...

At Yoru, inside the temple of Upper Yard on God's Island.

Gan Fall lay contentedly in his palace, with two beautiful winged maids attending him.

Gan Fall was already over fifty. Although he was a god, he was still merely an ordinary human. The years had left many traces of age on his face, and his body could no longer endure the strain of day-and-Yoru toil as it had in his younger years. Before long, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

But just as Gan Fall seemed about to drift fully to sleep, a clap of thunder suddenly streaked across the sky. His relaxed nerves instantly tensed, and he sat up in bed, clutching his head.

A trace of anger flashed across Gan Fall's face. Anyone would be unhappy at having their good sleep disturbed.

Beside him, the chubby captain of God's Army walked over, bowed, and said,

"Lord God, are you all right?"

"Do you think I could be all right?"

A hint of fury crossed Gan Fall's face as he questioned the captain.

"Have you found out what happened?"

"I'm very sorry, Lord God!"

The captain's helpless reply only made Gan Fall angrier. He roared,

"What is going on? Why have so many strange things been happening in Upper Yard for no reason ever since five years ago? First there was thunder and lightning, then large areas of forest burned for no reason, and finally, many creatures began vanishing strangely. What in the world is happening?"

Gan Fall angrily questioned the captain.

The captain also felt somewhat aggrieved.

"Th-this... I'm truly sorry, Lord God. I've already sent guards to investigate for a long time, but we haven't found a single trace!"

"Ah..."

Gan Fall let out a helpless sigh.

"What a headache!"

Gan Fall felt that being the god of his generation was truly exhausting. He had devoted himself to resolving the conflict between the Skypieans and the Shandia, but how could a feud that had accumulated over hundreds of years be so easy to resolve? He had struggled for half his life, only to end up in this state. The Shandia still hated them, while he himself could not bring himself to abandon Upper Yard, the island granted by God.

"Forget it. Resolve it as soon as possible. Oh, and I won't attend tomorrow's ceremony for the Knock Up Stream. Make the arrangements and ensure nothing goes wrong. Understood?"

Gan Fall was old, after all. If this had been a few years earlier, he certainly would have attended the annual celebration of the colossal Knock Up Stream. But now, it was better to forget it.

"Yes, Lord God!"

After the captain left, Gan Fall lay back down. Fortunately, nothing major happened afterward, and he peacefully fell into a deep sleep.

At the very bottom of the temple, at the roots of the vines, lay the ruins of the legendary Golden Land of Shandora.

A huge bonfire blazed. Above it was a giant Dragon carcass that had already been prepared and roasted until its entire body was golden-brown and crisp, resembling a small mountain.

High in the Yoru sky above the Dragon meat, a flame and a bolt of lightning repeatedly collided, filling the heavens with booming thunder. The air visibly trembled violently with every collision...