The Hell Pirates soared thousands of meters through the atmosphere.
Soon, they spotted a vast expanse of white clouds stretching endlessly overhead.
Unlike the ordinary rain clouds they had passed through moments before, this dense formation showed no signs of dissipating, it flowed like a viscous liquid suspended impossibly in the sky.
This was the White Sea, located seven thousand meters above the Blue Sea below.
These clouds were composed of special pyrobloin particles, possessing extremely high density and buoyancy comparable to seawater... The primary difference from Blue Sea waters lay in their ethereal form and composition.
With a powerful burst of air pressure,
Oboro harnessed his mastery over atmospheric currents and, without hesitation, launched himself into the sea of clouds like a human cannonball.
Upon entering the White Sea's "waters," Dom and his companions experienced an extraordinary sensation. It felt remarkably similar to being submerged in the ocean, except the currents moved with supernatural calm, and the environment bore no resemblance to any true seabed. There was no soil or solid ground beneath them, no marine vegetation swaying in the depths. Instead, strange creatures glided gracefully through the cloud formations.
Each crew member remained encased in a protective layer of air, ensuring their safety within this alien environment.
A moment later, after traversing a considerable distance through the sea of clouds, the group "surfaced" and found themselves hovering high above an impossible vista.
Oboro carried them at incredible velocity as they passed through the White Sea below, completely unhindered by conventional physics.
...
Warm sunlight streamed down from the crystalline sky above.
Dom and the others gazed around in wonder, their expressions shifting to amazement.
Without Oboro's extraordinary abilities, they would never have witnessed such a breathtaking sight in their entire lives. They couldn't have imagined that an entire "kingdom" existed suspended in the heavens.
This was a completely different realm from the world below.
Although they had previously visited Golden Lion Shiki's floating territory, which also featured airborne islands, that artificial construct paled in comparison to the natural ecology before them.
This place transcended comprehension in every conceivable way.
Everywhere they looked, sea clouds stretched toward infinity, providing a habitat for the aquatic creatures of the White Sea. Any normal human would likely fall through the White Sea's bottom and plummet back to the Blue Sea below, just like the countless shipwrecks that had been salvaged by crews like Cricket's alliance.
Even with their impressive buoyancy, the sea clouds had physical limitations.
Several dozen meters away, a crimson shrimp as massive as a small mountain poked its head above the cloud surface, studying the visiting "strangers" with obvious intelligence.
The creature gestured with its enormous claws, clearly attempting to communicate some kind of message.
Though it possessed no voice, Dom and the others understood its intent, it wanted them to follow its guidance.
Seeing their captain ignore the Express Shrimp's invitation, Dom and the others likewise paid it no attention.
Furthermore, these clouds seemed to possess remarkable physical properties, capable of being shaped and constructed into various architectural structures.
They had already observed, high above them, several enormous spiraling "rainbow" passages that led toward what appeared to be a "gateway to heaven."
These rainbow formations were actually created by sunlight refracting through water vapor, though their main composition remained solidified cloud matter.
Before they could fully appreciate the majesty of the White Sea, Oboro and his crew soared through the air once more,
heading directly toward the heavenly gates.
...
Beneath the vast architectural "gateway" of Heaven's Gate stood a miniature toll booth structure.
Generally speaking, any Blue Sea resident traveling to Skypiea via the conventional route would arrive at this checkpoint, which served as the official entrance to Sky Island.
The so-called conventional route utilized the White Sea creatures known as Express Shrimp, which possessed the characteristics of living transportation and would escort guests to this location.
At this moment, an elderly Amazon woman emerged from the toll booth, wearing decorative angel wing ornaments on her back and displaying a deeply wrinkled face beneath a purple dress. She looked up at the pirates flying through the air, completely bypassing her checkpoint, with an expressionless countenance.
From a considerable distance, she had heard the sound of Express Shrimp tapping their claws against cloud formations, a universal signal.
It meant these Blue Sea visitors intended to enter illegally.
As expected.
After watching the Blue Sea pirates fly directly toward Angel Island, the Amazon supervisor walked back into her booth and reached for her communication device.
She needed to inform the White Beret troops on the island that several Blue Sea residents had committed criminal entry.
...
"Are these... the inhabitants of Sky Island?"
Several minutes later, six members of the Hell Pirates materialized above Angel Beach. On the pristine shoreline below, island residents, mostly women and children, were enjoying recreational activities.
They too noticed the Blue Sea people hovering impossibly in the sky above them.
The children gazed upward with innocent curiosity, while the adults displayed expressions of obvious horror.
"Are their wings decorative?"
Dorans observed the islanders for several seconds before chuckling with amusement.
Besides the distinctive feathered wings protruding from their backs, these people's hair was also braided into unique tentacle-like formations.
Oboro's keen gaze immediately focused on the towering mountain range visible behind Angel Island in the distance... There lay dense forests and flowing rivers across genuine landmass.
This territory didn't originally belong to the sky, having once been part of Jaya Island. When the knock up stream launched it into the White Sea four hundred years ago, it appeared miraculous to the Sky Island natives, who had never seen solid earth before, and they revered it as the 'Upper Yard', the current domain of the self-proclaimed god, Enel.
"Remain here,"
Oboro commanded, then used his atmospheric manipulation to gently place all five crew members on Angel Beach.
He departed alone, flying toward the Upper Yard.
While Enel wasn't as overwhelmingly dangerous as Golden Lion Shiki, the unique properties of his Logia-type Devil Fruit ability made him capable of easily killing pirates like Kaka or Dorans. Most critically, it was the lightning attribute of his Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
His speed was absolutely incredible, approaching the velocity of lightning itself...
The reason Enel remained far inferior to Shiki lay in his current fatal weakness: he couldn't use proper Haki techniques. Although he had awakened a portion of Observation Haki, which he called "Mantra," his mastery remained relatively crude.
"Fascinating... Look, those single-person watercraft sailing across the sea clouds appear to be powered by Dial shells mounted on their side panels." As soon as his feet touched the soft cloud-sand, Dorans exclaimed with genuine interest, staring at a Waver parked beside a nearby resident.
It represented technology he had never encountered during their travels across the Blue Sea.
"Their houses, utilities... everything seems to be constructed from cloud matter... What remarkable engineering,"
Kaka echoed, completely ignoring the islanders fleeing in panic around them.
However, their observations failed to elicit any response from Dom and the other two crew members.
Turning their heads, they saw that Dom, Yurivitch, and Rob Lucci were all staring intently at the distant mountain silhouette of Upper Yard.
"The captain mentioned... there's someone here who calls himself a god,"
Yurivitch stated coldly.
"Calling himself a god in the captain's presence?"
"Hehe... our captain is a true godslayer,"
Dom sneered with dark amusement.
"So, the captain most likely came to Sky Island specifically for this pretender." Rob Lucci's assessment was purely speculative. He genuinely wanted to accompany Oboro, but their orders had been explicit. "Are you certain there's no need to provide assistance?" He looked questioningly at Dom.
"Do you honestly believe anything will happen to our captain?"
Dom asked rhetorically.
Lucci fell silent, acknowledging the obvious answer.
"Compared to dealing with that false god... let's handle these approaching nuisances first," Dom observed. Everyone's attention shifted to a specific location. Not far away along the beach, a formation of figures moved in coordinated fashion, crawling forward across the sand as they gradually approached the pirates' position.
Based on their distinctive uniforms, they appeared to be Angel Island's security forces, the White Berets who served as Skypiea's primary law enforcement.
However, their tactical approach seemed rather unconventional.
"I'll leave them to you,"
Dom stated casually, looking toward Lucci and the others.
With that declaration, he and Yurivitch settled comfortably onto the soft cloud-sand, calmly awaiting Oboro's eventual return.
Seeing this arrangement, Rob Lucci maintained his expressionless demeanor as he took the lead, walking purposefully toward the advancing White Beret squadron.