"What happened? Why are there screams coming from Ship Seven? Hey, hey, hey, Ship Seven, respond! Respond!" The pirates on the other ships heard the screams from the vessel destroyed by the octopus Sky Beast over the Den Den Mushi. The lack of response sent a wave of panic through the pirates on the remaining four ships.
"Everyone, stay alert! Check your surroundings, now!" the scar-faced man barked into the Den Den Mushi, instructing the other three pirate ships.
No sooner had his words faded than his expression changed dramatically. He instantly drew the longsword from his waist, leaped onto the ship's railing, and with a single slash, cleaved through the clouds, splitting a ten-meter-long, flat Sky Fish in two.
"There are monsters in these clouds! Everyone, be careful!" the scar-faced man shouted, his face grim.
But his warning came too late. Screams erupted from two more Den Den Mushis; two more pirate ships had been attacked and destroyed by Sky Beasts.
"Full speed! Ascend at full speed!" the scar-faced man yelled at the hot air balloon operators. The operators immediately opened the flame jet valves. Tall flames shot skywards, and the hot air balloon instantly swelled to its maximum capacity. The astonishing lift carried the pirate ship upwards even faster.
The scar-faced man's brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes fixed on the vast, white sea of clouds around them. The cloud sea suddenly rippled, and one Sky Fish after another burst through the clouds, attacking.
These Sky Fish were incredibly fast, their mouths full of sharp fangs. They swarmed onto the pirate ship, tearing at the pirates. For a moment, the pirates were screaming for their mothers and fathers.
The scar-faced man was quite skilled. His longsword danced rapidly, blasting one Sky Fish after another apart.
"Protect the hot air balloon!" The scar-faced man quickly moved to the balloon control area, guarding it.
Fortunately, the Sky Fish didn't damage the hot air balloon. Under the scar-faced man's leadership, they repelled the Sky Fish, and the pirate ship rapidly ascended into the White-White Sea.
The pirate ship flew several tens of meters above the White-White Sea. The scar-faced man surveyed the vast, endless White-White Sea, his expression ugly.
"Damn it! None of the others made it up! We're the only ones left!"
"Captain, what do we do next?" a pirate asked, his voice trembling with nervousness.
"What else can we do? Of course, we continue to scout Sky Island! Can we even go back?" The scar-faced man's face was dark. He looked at the terrified pirates on board and bellowed, "All of you, pull yourselves together! We are the advance force! If we return without accomplishing anything, Lord Demon King will definitely not spare us! Just imagine the consequences!"
The pirates on board immediately looked even more terrified. Compared to the monsters in the White-White Sea, they feared the Demon Lord of Fear far more.
"Captain, the air here is too thin… I… I can barely breathe," a crewman said, his face extremely pale as he collapsed onto the deck. Other pirates showed similar distress.
The scar-faced man also realized this. He took out his Den Den Mushi, preparing to report to the pirate fleet's headquarters.
However, the Den Den Mushi also looked weak and couldn't connect.
"Damn it! Damn it all!" The scar-faced man's mood soured further.
Suddenly, a pirate observing the White-White Sea cried out in alarm.
"Captain! Something's happening! Something's happening! Look down there, quickly!"
The scar-faced man rushed to the ship's railing and leaned over to look. The previously calm White-White Sea was suddenly churning violently. A white wave rolled in from the distance. Then, his pupils rapidly dilated. The white wave swelled upwards, and a colossal Sky Beast burst out from the White-White Sea.
This Sky Beast resembled an octopus, with dozens of tentacles, an extremely flat body, somewhat like a ray.
The part of it floating above the White-White Sea was already tens of meters long and wide.
Even more bizarrely, it had a flat, snake-like head, upon which the number "43" was engraved. Its tentacles rose from the sea, each one easily several hundred meters long and five to ten meters wide.
"What is this monster?!" Everyone was stunned speechless by this astonishing creature.
Suddenly, its tentacles flapped like wings, allowing it to fly.
The bizarre, several-hundred-meter-long Sky Beast floated in the air, its massive snake head looking at the pirate ship, its eyes glinting with savage light.
"Damn it all! What in the world is this monster?!" The scar-faced man's heart was about to leap out of his throat, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
The strange Sky Beast attacked. A huge, flat tentacle smashed towards them. The scar-faced man quickly moved, his longsword striking with all his might, colliding with the flat tentacle. Sparks flew, and the immense force sent the scar-faced man flying, smashing through the deck.
"How is this possible?!" The scar-faced man was aghast.
The other pirates opened fire, but the strange Sky Beast's tentacles were as hard as iron; bullets couldn't even penetrate them. With a single swipe, it smashed all the pirates.
The strange Sky Beast's tentacle slammed into the pirate ship, which instantly shattered. The creature roared in excitement, and its mouth—fully open, it was easily dozens of meters wide—swallowed the entire broken pirate ship.
The massive, bizarre body floated in the air before descending towards the White-White Sea. Just then, a small ship came riding the waves across the White-White Sea, rapidly approaching the strange Sky Beast.
The creature glanced at the ship, a flash of violent light in its eyes, but it didn't attack, slowly landing on the White-White Sea.
The ship docked beside the strange Sky Beast. Standing on board was a group of uniformed soldiers wearing sunglasses, their faces expressionless. They were all clones, responsible for patrolling the White-White Sea.
"Sky Patrol Beast No. 43, please spit out the pirate ship you just swallowed," the clone captain said, standing at the bow and addressing the strange Sky Beast.
Sky Patrol Beast: one of the military formations under Bege's command. They were giant Sky Beasts created by Ben Kosa through the fusion of Sky Beasts from the White-White Sea and the White Sea. Brook had solved their "soul problem," and with the addition of control methods like fusion bombs, a sizable Sky Patrol Beast Division had been formed, responsible for patrolling and guarding the White-White Sea and the White Sea.
Sky Patrol Beast No. 43 looked somewhat reluctant. It let out two squawks, then opened its mouth and spat out the crushed pirate ship along with some pirates who were severely corroded by its gastric juices.
"Someone used a hot air balloon to land on the White-White Sea. This matter is very serious. Take everything back to Sky Island," the clone captain said, his expression grave. His subordinate clones immediately began to collect the wrecked pirate ship and the pirates. The ship departed at high speed.
Sky Patrol Beast No. 43 submerged into the White-White Sea and quickly disappeared.
The incident with the Fear Pirates' advance force was immediately reported to Bege. He returned from Wild Beast Island and looked at the wrecked pirate ship and hot air balloon, his expression grave.
"Godfather, according to the information extracted from the surviving pirates, this was an advance force from the Fear Pirates, responsible for scouting the situation on Sky Island. The Fear Pirates have already mastered a method for landing on Sky Island," Sam reported in a low voice.
"Strengthen the patrols of the White-White Sea and the White Sea. Have Kosa fuse more, and stronger, Sky Patrol Beasts to guard both sea regions. At the same time, have the Clone Army patrol both sea regions around the clock. Report any situation immediately. The island's forces are to enter a state of combat readiness and act immediately if anything happens," Bege issued a series of commands.
Bege gazed out at the vast White Sea, a sudden smile appearing on his lips.
"This is my home ground, after all. It won't be so easy to approach Sky Island."