(Not joining the crew. Two million words, with fewer than fifty thousand related to Luffy. Most of the opening "explanations" were added later because I was forced to. The "author" has trouble posting paragraph comments, and nobody reads status posts either. Nothing I can do. I stated the genre beforehand; I didn't force anyone to read. It's a free book. Normal negative reviews are fine, but is it reasonable to swear at people or make up rumors off the top of your head?)
(For those impatient to "set sail," start at chapter nine. The earlier content in one sentence: an electrical engineering major reincarnates on Sky Island, obtains the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, develops its powers scientifically, has two original characters handle logistics and administration, unifies three Sky Islands, completes infrastructure projects, acquires the legacy of Lunar Technology, and then advances toward the Blue Sea.)
Amid an endless expanse of island cloud, a castle seemed to float in the air. Medieval European-style buildings dotted its surroundings, like a heavenly realm from a Western fantasy. This was Sky Island-Birka.
High walls built from clouds marked the castle's boundaries, separating it from the surrounding buildings. A medieval gate equipped with a drawbridge and movable iron portcullis connected it to the outside. Within lay shrubs trimmed into various shapes and gardens arranged in geometric patterns. Directly opposite the castle gate stood a mansion resembling a Christian church on Blue Star.
"Your Highness, Holy Son."
A girl's soft, questioning voice came from outside a lounge in the castle. Inside, a blond boy sitting in a chair with his eyes closed opened them. The room resembled a church lounge on Blue Star.
Stained-glass windows, simple furnishings, and a small prayer altar filled the room. Instead of a painting of a deity, however, the altar displayed a circular Three Tomoe design. Whenever the boy saw this supposed "divine emblem," he sometimes found himself thinking of Naruto, despite the difference in its structure.
As a Holy Son with no backing, no real authority, and no pedigree, the boy was once again diligently playing his part.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a blue-haired nun with white wings entered carrying a tray. Her wings were not particularly broad, extending only about two fists beyond the width of her shoulders. Paired with her somewhat conservative black habit, however, they looked quite fitting.
The nun seemed a little reserved. Even before a child, she approached him with the reverence of a pilgrim. After all, he was the Holy Son.
His youthful face, which nevertheless held a hint of maturity, bore a striking pair of red eyes.
Their eyes met briefly before she looked away. The nun pressed her lips together nervously and set the tray on the table.
"Here are today's Holy Fruit and lunch, along with the Blue Sea newspaper you requested."
With her head lowered, the nun stole a glance at the Holy Son's wings, which were remarkably large in proportion to his body. They extended from the sides and back of his white toga, half encircling him. Dappled sunlight streamed through the stained glass and fell across him.
Wings aside, judging by his appearance, the boy could have cosplayed Fate/Grand Order's "Kid Gil" back on Blue Star and made a crowd of young women squeal.
Such a beautiful boy left the nun a little dazzled.
"Thank you, Sister."
Only after the nun bowed and withdrew did the boy pick up the newspaper from the tray and unfold it. The headline that greeted him concerned Fisher Tiger's rampage through Mary Geoise and his bounty of 230 million Beli.
He checked the date-November 16, Sea Circle Calendar year 1507.
His wine-red eyes lingered on Fisher Tiger's bounty photograph. The problem was that it was already January 8, Sea Circle Calendar year 1508. Tapping a finger against the paper, he lamented how isolated Birka was. Even a newspaper procured through the church could be this badly out of date.
Twelve years had passed since the Almighty Truck had sent the boy into this world. During the first two and a half years, perhaps because he had been too young and his brain was still developing, his memories of his previous life had returned only gradually.
Before turning three, he had not realized he had transmigrated into the world of One Piece. He had assumed the people around him with their little wings belonged to some race in a Western fantasy world.
Only when he discovered his parents using various "shells" did he realize something was wrong. Later, learning that the Sky Island where he had been born was named "Birka" made his heart clench. In the foreseeable future, things would probably end very badly unless he did something.
He had followed the original One Piece manga through the Dressrosa arc. Even without reading the later sections, he had learned a fair amount about them through various sources.
But the pressing threat was Enel from the Sky Island arc. As a classic early boss, he had left a fairly strong impression. He had destroyed Birka six years before the protagonist, Luffy, set sail-in Sea Circle Calendar year 1514.
In other words, seven years from now. (If you think Skypieans' wings are all "decorations," click to take a look. I'll try to post an image.)
He did not know whether it counted as good luck, but his wings were large, and he had been able to fly since childhood-if flapping a few meters into the air counted.
Of course, now that his body had grown, he could genuinely fly in the usual sense. Perhaps there was a slight element of atavism involved.
Birka was a religious nation, with a faith similar to Christianity on Blue Star. The vast majority of its people were believers. One tenet held that the larger one's wings were in proportion to one's body, the holier one was.
For that reason alone, the boy had been severed from his family at three and offered to the church by his parents as the Holy Son. His parents had also received special approval to enter the church as deacons, rising from commoners to privileged status overnight, but they were forbidden to mention their relationship with him. The entire approval process had been exceptionally smooth. In religious terms, the boy was practically a heaven-sent Holy Son.
From what he had learned over the years, no one in Birka's history had ever undergone such a mutation, let alone gained the ability to fly.
As he grew older, every time the blond boy looked in a mirror, he could not help marveling at what a perfect young Sanguinius he was.
Unfortunately, that was merely his own wishful thinking. After he joined the church as its Holy Son, the Pontiff had given him the baptismal name—Sephiroth.
Hmm... it means "an emanation of divinity," which does fit. But is it really all right for the Pontiff to do this? The boy, or rather Sephiroth, felt that it was terribly inauspicious, both for the church and for himself...
He ate an apple while reading the newspaper. Yes, an apple. In Birka, apples were "Holy Fruit," mainly because Sky Island lacked soil.
The bread served at lunch was likewise reserved for the church's upper ranks: white bread made from crops grown in soil. The rest consisted of native Sky Island foods.
Most ordinary Skypieans subsisted on native crops grown on island cloud. Crops grown in soil were luxuries, with church members receiving corresponding allotments according to their rank. Ordinary believers rarely had a chance to eat them.
One perk of being the Holy Son was an apple with lunch every day.
After his midday break, Sephiroth went to the study on the church's third floor. Every cleric he encountered bowed to him. Although the Holy Son held no actual power, his religious standing was second only to the Pontiff's. Besides, the sheer size of the current Holy Son's wings inevitably inspired their reverence.
The temple's communal study was not a conventional social space. It was mainly used for scholarly research; calling it a grand library would have been more appropriate.
Almost every bookcase reached the ceiling, its shelves filled with books. Their bindings and ages varied greatly. The only thing they had in common was that they all concerned religion or scholarship.
"Umu, Your Highness Sephi. Will you be continuing your revisions to the sacred texts today?"
A voice with a slightly peculiar cadence sounded directly above Sephiroth as he walked among the bookshelves, near the ceiling. A girl poked her head over the top of a shelf. At the sight of the Holy Son, her face immediately lit up with delight, and her white wings, three or four times broader than an ordinary Skypiean's, fluttered spiritedly.
"Good day, Sister Bella. Indeed I will."
The girl slid down the ladder at the side of the enormous bookcase and planted her feet on the floor. Her attire was rather unusual. Petite and looking only twelve or thirteen, she nevertheless wore a fitted white cloth armor dress with a long skirt-the so-called knight-princess look. Her straight, long blond hair was left loose, falling to her waist, and thick combat boots covered her ankles. She hardly looked like a nun.
Her name was Isabella. The two had known each other for seven years, so they used shortened names in informal settings.
"Umu, you have my admiration. Yet in my humble opinion, Your Highness would be better served devoting some effort to refining your martial skills."
Isabella's admiration was sincere. Despite being a bishop's granddaughter, her study of the sacred texts lagged far behind that of this common-born Holy Son. She had no idea how a boy his age had managed to match, or even surpass, adult priests in scholarship.
"Sister Bella, thank you for your concern. But everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps I simply have a greater aptitude for the way of the scroll."
The church did distinguish between scholarly and martial roles, but a position was only a position. Plenty of clerics pursued both disciplines. There were iron-fisted priests and plate-armored pastors, as well as knights who spent all day studying sacred texts. Isabella's position was that of a nun rather than a knight's squire, but she had some talent for martial arts.
By comparison, Sephiroth's martial skills were slightly below those of his peers within the church. If he pursued a martial career, there was no telling how far he could ultimately go. (Haki comes later. There has to be some reason behind it, right? Can he just know it out of nowhere at the start?)
(I was forced into all these later additions and revisions. What else can I do? I can't even post "comments"; the system swallows them. By chapter nine, he can destroy surface civilization. A detection range of 2,500 kilometers, an attack range of 1,000 kilometers, a mind-reading range of 100 kilometers, half the speed of light, and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's attack power. He can magnetize Sky Island and move his base around like Golden Lion. That's still weak? Does he have to fight in close quarters? Is being a reckless brute the only thing that counts as strong!? His physical talent is about the same as Enel's, so don't bring up stamina. During the Wano Country arc, Oda himself said Nami with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit would be the strongest. Surely that puts her in tier zero? What's her stamina like?)
After all, he had been an ordinary person in his previous life, not some elite soldier. Even after entering this dangerous world of Pirates, even with the threat of "Enel" waiting a few years down the road, it was not as though he had failed to try. But it was like a math problem: if he could not solve it, he could not solve it.
Could an ordinary transmigrator who had accomplished little in his original world truly become strong through "effort" alone, without a cheat?
In a world governed by bloodlines, someone with average physical talent gained little from simply training their body unless they mutated or obtained a Zoan Devil Fruit. Their ceiling would be that of a nameless trainee at a Marine training camp-or a CP training camp. Did those trainees not work hard? Did they lack resources? His only hope of handling the crisis was to use his position as Holy Son to see whether he could keep Enel under surveillance, then acquire the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
His thoughts were one thing, but Sephiroth did not stop working. Carrying some reference materials on the sacred texts, he approached a desk and began his scriptural work like a devout believer.
Isabella quietly sat on the steps beside a nearby bookcase and picked up a book, likewise appearing to study scripture. Her eyes could not help drifting toward Sephiroth. She wanted to focus on the sacred text, but her heart had already flown elsewhere.
Her grandfather was a bishop, her father a holy knight, and she herself had once been the Holy Maiden.
At least, that was what the people around her had taught her, raising her for that purpose.
She, however, had continually pondered what it meant and what value there was in doing so.
Thus, her thoughts were not as simple as her cheerful exterior suggested. She did not want to become a "statue."
In the Birka Religion, the church hierarchy comprised the seven sacred ranks.
The two ranks at the summit were the Pontiff and the Holy Son or Holy Maiden.
The child with the largest wings in proportion to their body became the "sacred child."
At seventeen, they stepped down and automatically became a priest or Mother Superior.
If a child with larger wings appeared before then, they stepped down early to make way for the newcomer.
The two administrative ranks were bishops and holy knights, followed by priests, Mother Superiors, and Grand Knights.
The two lower clerical ranks were deacons, deaconesses, and knights, followed by pastors, nuns, and squires.
At the very bottom were believers, maids, and servants, who were not considered clergy.
When the title of "sacred child" had been taken from Isabella, she had not felt nearly as disappointed as she had expected.
In private, she loved knightly romances. But rather than imagining herself as a princess, she always pictured herself becoming a Ranger knight, roaming the outside world as she pleased and displaying her prowess.
Every such daydream filled the girl with longing.
Until Sephiroth appeared-the true Holy Son, who seemed to have stepped out of an ancient myth.
"..."
Sephiroth noticed Isabella's occasional glances. If he still had the ordinary looks of his previous life, he could have comfortably told himself he was imagining things.
After being stared at several times, he turned toward the girl, keeping his expression calm.
She sat at the top of a four-legged stepladder tucked between the bookcases, swinging her feet as she read by the sunlight pouring through a skylight.
Her childish movements and innocent expression as she read made her look no different from any other child. Yet the book in her hands was neither a picture book nor a novel, but a sacred text written in the ancient language of Sky Island-the Electrical Scripture Collection.
It was not the sort of book a girl of her appearance would seem likely to read. Yet she did not find it particularly obscure or difficult, calmly savoring the text and digesting its knowledge. Occasionally, she picked up the notebook beside her and recorded key points or annotations in flowing handwriting, looking quite professional. Reading while taking notes was hardly an activity befitting her age.
The girl stopped writing, raised her head, and stole another glance at Sephiroth...
"...U-um, u-umu↘↗."
The instant their eyes met, Isabella's face turned bright red. She lifted her book and curled up on the steps, hiding her face behind the broad volume as though that could conceal everything. Her wings reached forward, forming another "protective shield" around her.
"...Calm down, Sister."
-You're far too cute!
What a waste if this umu girl never cosplayed Nero Bride.
Sephiroth was not some Japanese light-novel protagonist, dense to that extent. But his most important task right now was to preserve his position as Holy Son, gain as much actual authority as possible, and then attempt to monitor Enel around the clock. Otherwise, he was in for a world of suffering.
"What I meant to ask was, Bella, do you have any questions?"
"U-umu, yes. I-I do indeed have a question to ask!"
The girl snapped the scripture collection shut, placed it atop the stepladder, and leaped down gracefully. Partly to cover her embarrassment, and partly because she genuinely had something she did not understand, she simply sat beside Sephiroth.
Sephiroth set aside the sacred text on mechanical automation before him and answered her questions.
Yes, mechanical automation...
According to Birka's legends, God could wield the power of lightning and lead the faithful back to their homeland-Endless Vearth.
When Sephiroth first studied the core religious texts, his mind had practically short-circuited. They actually contained knowledge of mechanics and electrical engineering.
But it was crude, unlike modern science, with many passages explaining what happened without understanding why. It belonged to the early, exploratory stages of empirical science, yet some of its practical applications were remarkably advanced. It seemed more like something restored through archaeology after a break in civilization. On top of that, it had actually survived to the present in the form of scripture.
This feels oddly familiar... toll the great bell once...
By the Ohm-nissiah...
As chance would have it, he had been young and foolish in his previous life. To get into a good university, he had agreed to accept reassignment. He had originally applied for Chinese language and literature, only to be reassigned to religious studies.
Too few people had applied for that major, and the university feared the program would be cut.
Under the pressures of making a living, he had been forced to go from a bachelor's degree to a vocational diploma.
Employers looked at his résumé:
First qualification: bachelor's degree in religious studies.
Second qualification: vocational diploma in electrical automation.
And fell into contemplation.
Did you graduate from Mars?
He had never imagined that after transmigrating, he would finally find work matching his studies. The Pontiff praised him effusively.
Over the past few years, Sephiroth's study of scriptural doctrine had already come to rival that of a Scroll Priest. Reaching a bishop's level was only a matter of time. Some of his theoretical knowledge even surpassed theirs, because he could propose "unprecedented" "theories."
And so a prodigious Holy Son who could fly with his wings and compile sacred texts had appeared before Birka's church like a falling meteor, leaving the Pontiff and bishops proclaiming that the true God had manifested.
Clang-!
A deep, resonant bell rang out, seemingly powerful enough to shake the entire mansion. Sephiroth had always treated it as the afternoon clock-out bell. Its ringing meant that most of the clergy could prepare to go to the dining hall.
"...Heave-ho! Mmm-!"
The girl stretched her entire body, shaking off all the stiffness accumulated while concentrating on her reading. Relaxed, pleasantly tired, and feeling refreshed, she gathered her courage and invited Sephiroth.
"Umu. Thank you for your instruction, Your Highness Sephi. Might I have the honor of inviting you to dine with me?"
"Of course. I was planning on doing just that."
The two passed through the bright corridor lined with books, descended the steps of the entrance hall lightly, and headed straight down the corridor running through the center of the mansion.
Most of the people they encountered inclined their heads slightly in greeting, then smiled at the boy and girl's retreating backs with polite propriety.
Though... naturally, some gazes concealed other thoughts.
After a pleasant dinner, Sephiroth and Isabella said goodbye. In the setting sun, he strolled through the church courtyard, gently beating his wings. His bearing, like that of a true angel from legend, drew envious looks from the other believers.
Sephiroth landed high on a tree trunk in the courtyard. Surrounded by greenery, he enjoyed the warm sunlight filtering through the leaves.
This was part of the "Sanctuary." In Birka, that term referred to the castle's central area, which was "covered in Vearth"-soil. The precious plantations were also located here. Looking skyward from inside the Sanctuary, one could see a hollow, bubble-like sphere covering it.
This was a product of Bubble Coral, with properties somewhat similar to the bubbles of the Sabaody Archipelago. It had been carefully arranged over such a vast area to cover the soil and create a greenhouse, keeping the precious land springlike all year round.
"Mm... ah!?"
As Sephiroth dozed, he suddenly heard a girl cry out on the path beneath the tree.
The girl wore a long black dress with a white headdress and apron, making it immediately obvious that she was a maid. Within Birka's church, she belonged to the lowest, seventh rank. People of that rank were not considered clergy, merely "servants."
The maid had toppled over and landed on her backside, with an overturned bucket beside her. She froze for a moment, then turned her face, filled with shock and resentment, toward the person standing before her who had tripped her.
"Lilith, fetching water this late is already disrespectful to the sacred tree, and now you've clumsily overturned the bucket!?"
The harsh-looking old matron sneered, as though she had not been the one to deliberately stick out her foot and trip the maid. She did not even look down at the girl on the ground. Instead, she stood composed and rigid as an upright pair of compasses, as though the girl did not deserve to enter her sight.
"Just as I thought. Those innately evil black wings can't manage even the most basic work."
The girl named Lilith had beautiful features and wings every bit as large as Isabella's. Unfortunately, her wings were pitch-black.
Shortly after the new year, the thirteen-year-old had been sent from a church-run orphanage to serve at the church. As for her parents... she had been abandoned at the orphanage's entrance at birth. From that perspective, she really ought to have been grateful that the church had allowed someone as ill-omened as her to live this long.
Life at the orphanage had likewise consisted mostly of people surrounding her and taking turns hurling abuse. As expected, wherever she went, she would be humiliated and ostracized...
Lilith lowered her head and let the matron scold her. Her long, silvery-white hair fell forward, and her once ruby-like eyes seemed to have lost their light, hidden behind disheveled strands.
"Matron, silence."
A gentle wash of air descended from above, followed by a clear voice from a short distance behind her. Turning, she saw a boy who had appeared without her noticing, like an angel from a story. His entire bearing radiated an imposing dignity that brooked no offense. For that moment, his broad white wings seemed to blot out the sky.
(Regarding the "explanations.")
(Some people say it's too wordy. Others ask why I don't explain things clearly. Those demands directly contradict each other. Who am I supposed to listen to?)
(There are only two original characters, both introduced at the start. The only person on Sky Island with "administrative ability" is Gan Fall. Surely I can't make every interaction concerning affairs at the home base involve that old man. As for recruiting people from elsewhere, he has to go find them first. Where would they come from at the start?)
(Regarding the verbal tic, her characterization is based on Nero. Plenty of characters in the original One Piece have verbal tics. "Umu" is much more normal by comparison. And her manner of speaking, including archaic forms of "you" and "I," is no different from Empress Hancock's, is it?)
(These were all reluctant revisions made under pressure. Originally, these 4,500 characters had none of these explanations.)
(Two stints in the penalty box. Some content was revised afterward.)
Before you continue