"Ahhhhhhhhh—!"
Amid Nami's and the Marines' screams, the Knock‑Up Stream erupted with a deafening roar, shooting straight up and hurling even the huge, iron‑clad Marine Headquarters warship into the heavens.
No words could capture the feeling. Even these battle‑hardened elite Marines were left slack‑jawed, eyes bulging, spirits nearly scared out of them.
Rear Admiral Hina was just as shocked, but when she saw Vice Admiral Chiyu standing calmly, she forced herself to keep her composure.
"Don't panic!"
She shouted the order and activated her Cage‑Cage Fruit—this time to protect, not restrain.
Iron bars burst out like flying cages, wrapping around Nami and many other Marines.
Paradoxically, the confinement made them feel safer.
Soaked in sweat, Nami yelled, "Thanks, Hina-neesan!"
"Thank you, Rear Admiral!" the Marines echoed.
Chiyu simply watched the distant scenery in cool silence.
As they climbed higher and higher, it felt as if the entire oceanic world of One Piece lay beneath their feet—an endless blue expanse, broken only here and there by lonely specks of islands.
They rose through billowing white clouds, leaving everyone awestruck.
Chiyu knew that Sky Islanders called the boundless sea and land below the "Blue Sea."
The cloud layer they were now piercing—about six thousand meters up—was the "White Sea."
True Sky Island lay above that, around ten thousand meters, in the "White‑White Sea."
They still had a long way to go.
The Knock‑Up Stream kept roaring upward, blasting the heavy mist of the White Sea into thin wisps.
With a little safety restored, Nami and the others dared to catch their breath and admire the once‑in‑a‑lifetime panorama.
"Wow… it's… beautiful…"
Hina nodded. "It truly is."
At last—after what felt like ages—they reached the realm beyond the sky, the country of dense, towering clouds.
The warship Uchiha burst through and settled gently on the cloud surface.
They had arrived at a world in the sky.
Hina retracted her iron cages. Nami and the others scanned the scene, gaping as though they had stepped into another universe.
"Who would've thought there's really another world ten thousand meters up?"
"Unbelievable…"
Chiyu, of course, knew this was not the only sky island: Enel's homeland Birka, Weatheria where Nami once studied climate, Monk Urouge's birthplace—several existed, though this might be the largest. There were even formal routes to climb sky islands; the Knock‑Up Stream was not the only way. But that was for another time.
The navigators confirmed that this "sea of clouds" could carry ships, so they steered ahead—until a massive "Gate of Heaven" appeared: the entrance to the true Sky Island.
Beyond it, following a waterslide‑like cloud river, they drew close to a bustling aerial metropolis.
Hina, Nami, and every Marine stared, dazzled.
"People really live here?"
"At ten thousand meters?"
"And they look… a bit different…"
Aside from the small antennae on their heads, Sky Islanders weren't so different.
The warship's arrival caused a stir—fear at first, then cautious hospitality.
Leading the greeters were a man named Pagaya and his daughter Conis, both fascinated by the huge vessel. Pagaya, a waver‑mechanic, couldn't help gawking at the ship's complexity.
Hina and Nami tested the cloud ground—finding it solid enough—then disembarked.
"Are you foreigners?" Conis asked, hugging a white fox.
"That's right," Nami smiled. "We came from the sea below. We never dreamed people lived this high. Incredible!"
Conis's face changed slightly. "The sea below… the Blue Sea? The legendary… Endless Land!"
"Is that what you call our world?" Nami mused. "Honestly, 'Endless Ocean' is closer—the sea's far vaster than the land."
"Land? You mean Vearth?" Conis asked.
"Vearth?" Nami tilted her head.
Chiyu stepped down the gangplank, glanced upward, and said off‑handedly, "Soil."
Nami clicked her tongue in realization. "Of course—living in the sky, you must long for soil—Vearth…"
"I'm curious about Sky Island too," she added. "Why don't we trade what we each lack?"
Conis's eyes sparkled. "Gladly—but our home can't host so many."
"Don't worry," Nami waved. "They can stay aboard—leave exploring the new world to me!"
Before long Nami and Conis were fast friends. Nami even tried piloting a waver—like a born navigator, drawing gasps from Conis and Pagaya alike.
Many other Sky Islanders watched with curiosity yet dared not approach. Some warned Pagaya:
"You'll anger the god by hosting outsiders!"
Nami overheard. "God's punishment? You really have a god?"
Pagaya sighed. "Our island is Skypiea—'God's Country.' The previous ruler, Gan Fall-sama, was called a god. But another god defeated him and now rules everything. Every word, even every thought, is laid bare to him. One careless moment and divine punishment falls."
Nami planted her fists on her hips. "That's outrageous—punished for thoughts? Who could live like that? Even a prison can't jail your mind!"
Pagaya blanched. "Miss, don't speak so loud, or—"
He glanced fearfully at the sky; others shrank away as though lightning might strike them.
Suddenly—
"Too late to regret it now…"
A chilling voice echoed.
A figure dropped from the sky. Sky Islanders scattered in terror. Pagaya and Conis went white.
"T‑That's… the Divine Army!"
Nami frowned at the brutish soldiers. "These are the god's men?"
Their commander sneered, "You… you… and you—every one of you has blasphemed! You will face divine punishment!"
He stabbed a finger at Nami, Pagaya, Conis, and Chiyu.
"What crime?" Nami snapped.
The Divine Captain—Yama—smirked. "Entering Sky Island without the god's leave is crime enough. Worse—you and these locals speak and think against him. Rebellion!"
Conis pleaded, "Captain Yama, we did nothing—"
"Silence! Speaking with outsiders is sin! And you two harbor ill thoughts toward the god—did you think to fool him?"
Chiyu knew Enel's "Mantra," an overpowering form of Observation Haki, blanketed the whole island and read minds—one of the strongest in the One Piece world.
Yama raised his spear to skewer Pagaya—
"Hyururu!"
From above, a knight with a white beard swooped in on a flying bird, spearing aside Yama's strike.
Clang!
The clash knocked Yama backward. When he saw his opponent he spat, "Gan Fall, you decrepit fool! Want another taste of god's wrath?"
Pagaya and Conis gasped. They dared not call him "god" now, fearing double punishment.
Gan Fall, astride his "Pegasus" (a sky bird that had eaten the Horse‑Horse Fruit), brandished his giant spear.
"I may be old," he roared, "but I won't stand by while you slaughter innocent Sky Islanders!"
Yama sneered, "Then die, old god!"
He lunged. Gan Fall, slowed by age, began to falter.
Pagaya, Conis, and the townsfolk watched in despair—until Chiyu finally moved.
With a blur he appeared between the spears, seized Yama's weapon, twisted—
Shuck!
The spear punched through Yama's throat.
In the blink of an eye, the terror of the Divine Army lay dead.
Chiyu casually whirled the huge spear and hurled it—skewering the remaining soldiers. In a heartbeat the Divine Army was annihilated.
The Sky Islanders stood stunned.
"W‑What power is that?! Who is that Blue Sea man?"
Gan Fall, breathing hard, studied Chiyu. "You… are you a Navy officer of the World Government?"
Rear Admiral Hina answered, "Yes. This is Vice Admiral Uchiha Chiyu."
Gan Fall bowed. "Thank you, Chiyu-sama. But by killing the Divine Army, you'll draw Enel here soon—"
"That's the idea," Chiyu said coolly.
He looked up. "Enel! Come out and die!"
At once the upper White‑White Sea split with a deafening crack. Thunder rippled outward in perfect circles. And descending in that pillar of lightning came a man howling with laughter—
The "God" Enel.
His mere landing blasted a cavernous crater hundreds of meters wide in the cloud ground. Hina, Nami, and every Marine broke into a cold sweat.
"Wh‑What kind of power is that? One casual descent and the lightning hits like a meteor!"
Hina trembled. "C‑Could that be the legendary mightiest Logia… the Rumble‑Rumble Fruit? Lost for ages—hidden up here all along?"
Enel cast her a glance. "A Marine from the Blue Sea? At least you have some knowledge. But you still know nothing of true power, of true divinity."
He eyed Chiyu, amused. "Outsider, you seem strong. Yet daring to defy a god seals your fate."
Chiyu answered evenly, "I've killed more self‑proclaimed gods than I can count. You're just the next."
Enel's face twitched; then he laughed wildly. "Besides me, who else dares call himself god? Uchiha Chiyu—see now the might of a deity!"
"BEHOLD THE POWER OF GOD!!"