The Skypieans would never willingly allow an outside pirate to become the God of Skypiea. There would inevitably be resistance. If that happened, Bege would be forced to resort to bloody suppression.
Bloody suppression, ruling Skypiea through force – this was the absolute worst-case scenario. It directly contradicted Bege's vision and hopes for Skypiea's future. That's why recruiting Gan Fall as the acting ruler was the most crucial step in Bege's plan.
Gan Fall, truly the good God loved by the Skypieans, had been successfully blackmailed by Bege, using the lives of the Skypieans as leverage.
With Gan Fall executing Bege's plans and policies, ruling Skypiea would be much smoother.
"He's been watching for a while now. Bring him over," Bege said to Riki.
"Understood." Riki suddenly ejected high-pressure air from his feet, propelling himself into the sky. He changed direction mid-air, shooting towards a large boulder in the distance.
From behind that boulder, a figure suddenly burst out – Calsedon.
Calsedon, his face a mask of shock, leaped away, quickly putting over ten meters between himself and the boulder. However, his speed was no match for Riki's. Within three breaths, his path was blocked.
"Since you're here, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Our captain wants to see you."
Riki looked disdainfully at Calsedon, who was preparing to attack.
Calsedon's face darkened. He lowered his spear and, expressionless, turned and walked towards Bege.
He approached Bege, his mind reeling like a storm-tossed sea, overwhelmed by shock and awe at Bege's immense power.
Bege chuckled lightly. "Calsedon, you've been following us for quite a while. I appreciate the effort."
"Go back and tell the Shandian Chieftain that if he's willing to submit to me, the Shandians can return to Upper Yard. I guarantee they will be treated equally with the Skypieans. From now on, Skypieans and Shandians will live together in peace," Bege declared.
"I'll give the Shandians two days to consider. Two days from now, if I haven't received word, or if you refuse to submit, I will raze the Shandian tribe to the ground. I'll keep killing until the Shandians are willing to surrender. I'm not like the Skypieans. My methods and my strength are capable of wiping the Shandians off Skypiea completely." The calmness in Bege's voice sent shivers down Calsedon's spine.
"I will relay your message to the Chieftain," Calsedon replied with a solemn nod. Bege waved his hand, dismissing him.
Calsedon swiftly darted into the forest and disappeared.
"Gan Fall, I'm giving you your first order. Close Heaven's Gate, and simultaneously seal off all entrances to Skypiea. Skypiea is now under lockdown. No one is allowed to enter or leave," Bege instructed Gan Fall.
"There are already several pirate crews on Skypiea. What about them?" Gan Fall asked, frowning.
"Capture all those pirate crews. Throw them into the dungeon. Anyone who resists, kill them without mercy," Bege said with a cold snort.
Gan Fall took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. Bege ordered Modi, Moria, Riki, and Gilon to lead their disciples, along with the Skypiean forces, to enforce the lockdown.
He didn't want outsiders to know about his presence on Skypiea. He intended to turn this place into his secret base, and no one could be allowed to leak information about him.
Bege went alone to the Giant Jack, gazing up at the massive vine that pierced through the clouds. He was both awestruck and curious. The origin of this Giant Jack was baffling. It was said that it didn't originate from Skypiea, but rather grew up from the Blue Sea.
Skypiea existed at an altitude of ten thousand meters. It was almost inconceivable that such an enormous vine could grow from the ground to a height of ten thousand meters.
However, considering the Yarukiman Mangrove, the world's largest mangrove that grew up from the seabed in the Sabaody Archipelago, and Zunesha, the giant elephant that walked on the sea, the Giant Jack reaching ten thousand meters didn't seem so incomprehensible after all.
Bege nimbly leaped onto the vine and sped towards the clouds above. He broke through the cloud layer and stood on top of it.
Before him lay a landscape filled with ancient ruins and dilapidated buildings. This was the lost city of Shandora, which had disappeared eight hundred years ago.
Four hundred years ago, when a part of Jaya Island was thrust into the sky, it split apart. The section containing the ruins of Shandora collided with the Giant Jack, shattering into pieces. Supported by the island clouds on the Giant Jack, it formed several layers of ruins.
In the original story, Shandora's inner city was located within the upper island cloud layer, but due to erosion from the island cloud, it had sunk into the cloud itself. The Golden Bell of Shandora had fallen to an even higher island cloud, and to this day, no one had found it.
Bege wandered around the first layer of ruins for a while, but found nothing of value. He then continued his ascent, leaping onto the second layer of island cloud via the Giant Jack.
As he explored the ruins, a commotion echoed from afar. An enormous serpent was slithering through the ruins towards him.
This serpent was at least two hundred meters long, its body incredibly massive. Strangely, it had dense, fine hairs growing along the sides of its body, resembling curtains.
"The Lord of the Sky, Nola."
Bege immediately recognized the serpent's identity. It was the pet of the great Shandian warrior Kalgara from four hundred years ago, named Nola. It was a monster that had lived for four hundred years.
On Skypiea, without Enel, no one could defeat it.
The Lord of the Sky seemed to regard Bege as an intruder. Its eyes, larger than lanterns, glared at Bege with fury. Then, it opened its massive jaws and lunged, aiming to swallow Bege whole.
With a resounding boom, the Lord of the Sky's head slammed into the ground, shattering the remnants of the ruins. It raised its head and roared, unleashing a fierce gale.
Bege leaped and dodged, landing near its belly, a smile spreading across his lips.
"This guy's eaten a lot of gold. It's the perfect time to knock the gold out of him."
Bege's arms instantly swelled to three times their size. He grabbed the serpent's belly and slammed it forcefully onto the ground, nearly knocking it unconscious.
Bege then delivered three consecutive punches to several points on its abdomen. The terrifying force of the blows caused its belly to cave inwards.
Bege leaped into the air using Geppo, grabbing the serpent's belly and shaking it violently. A few stones fell from the serpent's massive maw, but the rate was slow. Bege delivered several more kicks to the serpent's stomach. The serpent opened its bloody maw in a pained shriek, and a large quantity of stones came tumbling out.
"Just how many stones did this thing eat?" Bege muttered, gazing at the mountain of stones that had piled up below. He delivered a few more irritated kicks, shattering the larger stones inside its body.
Amidst the dense pile of broken stones, a golden gleam appeared. One by one, golden artifacts fell out along with the rubble.
After half a day, when nothing more fell out, Bege tossed the giant serpent aside. The serpent crashed into a pile of ruins, its eyes rolling back, tears streaming down its face from the pain. It gazed at Bege's retreating figure with utter terror, and, dragging its wounded body, fled in panic.
He opened the Castle Gate, allowing his disciples to emerge and sort through the mountain of rubble to retrieve the gold.
Before long, a small mountain of gold appeared before Bege, its golden light so brilliant it almost dazzled him.
"Good heavens, there's really quite a bit of gold."
Bege instructed his disciples to pack the gold into chests. He himself leaped to the even higher levels of the ruins, continuing his exploration of Shandora.
_______
+50 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls