On Caesar's ship, rope ladders were practically useless. Even weaklings like Nami disdained using them—only the elderly Dr. Wolf bothered.
As the ship docked at the harbor, the crew leaped off one by one.
The pier was lined with pirate ships of all kinds, their black pirate flags fluttering boldly in the wind, a sight never seen on islands under Navy control.
"Your mission is to purge the pirates on this island. Yamato, Kuma, and Issho will back you up, so go all out," Caesar instructed. "Jaya is the hub connecting Sky Island and the Blue Sea—it must fall under our control. But if you encounter those purely here for adventure, you can let them pass."
"Are there really pirates who don't do evil?" Nami scoffed.
"Hey, don't lump everyone together," Ace quickly interjected. "My little brother's savior, Shanks, is a pretty decent guy."
"Shanks? One of the Four Emperors?" Robin wasn't hearing about him for the first time. "I read in the papers that he once destroyed a country."
"Nani?!" Ace was shocked.
"Fake news," Caesar said offhandedly. "The Music Kingdom, Elegia, was destroyed by the Song Demon King. For some reason, Shanks chose to shoulder the blame, though he was partly involved."
"Whew—" Ace sighed in relief. "I was planning to visit him someday, since he saved my brother's life."
"Anyway, handle it as you see fit. If it's too much trouble, wiping them all out is fine too." Caesar waved dismissively. "Minimum two per group. Go!"
"Ooh!"
Ace and Bonney charged off like wild dogs, clearly pairing up as the simple-minded duo they were.
"I'll keep an eye on them," Kuma said, naturally following his daughter.
"These two… Bepo, let's go!"
Law raised a hand, activating Room, and took Bepo with him. He and Ace were in the same squad—Caesar's orders. It wasn't hard to see why: Ace was too reckless, needing a strategist like Law to back him up.
Law's abilities drained stamina quickly, leaving him vulnerable in prolonged fights. Ace, on the other hand, had monstrous endurance to match his combat prowess, easing Law's burden.
"Heh-haha, let's go too!" Barto turned to Deuce. "The Toxic Turtle Squad! Move out!"
"..."
Deuce covered his face, looking pained. "That name's so embarrassing."
Still, he didn't refuse Barto's offer.
Deuce wasn't cut out for direct combat—his fighting skills were even worse than Nami's. Compared to the rest of the crew, aside from his sharp mind, he wasn't much stronger than an average person. By Caesar's assessment, his peak strength would cap at Vice Admiral level.
But the Sick-Sick Fruit had a high floor and immense potential.
According to Caesar, for those whose Haki isn't strong enough, once they're hit by this ability, there's basically no way out—it's a large-scale destructive power.
To break free from its control, one must at least be able to instantly gather an excessive amount of Haki.
Truth be told, very few on the high seas can actually pull this off. Even Law, who had just leveled up significantly after fighting Kaidou, found it somewhat challenging.
In other words, using Law at that time as the benchmark, anyone below his level would essentially fall under Deuce's dominion.
"Take me with you!"
"And me too~!"
Galdino quickly raised his hand, while Bon Clay promptly followed suit.
"My wax is as hard as steel!"
"My Okama Kenpo is quite strong, you know~"
"Then I have an idea..."
Barto's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Later, you can create a giant suit of armor and gauntlets. Deuce can coat the outside with the virus, and we'll control it from the inside..."
Galdino chuckled darkly. "Heh, so devious... I like it..."
The group murmured among themselves as they headed toward the town, with Issho silently trailing behind.
He had to keep an eye on these troublemakers—especially Deuce—lest they get carried away and unleash some horrific, large-scale plague in the town...
"Let's go too."
Robin chuckled lightly, addressing Baby 5 and Nami, while Yamato acted as their chaperone.
As Caesar's women, they naturally stuck together.
As for Nami—well, it was only a matter of time. There was no harm in her tagging along.
Though Nami felt a bit awkward, she didn't say much.
Before they could leave, a furious roar erupted from the direction of the town.
"FIRE FIST!!!"
A deafening explosion followed, flames surging violently as several small buildings collapsed in the blast.
"They're moving fast..."
Blood Mist swirled around Caesar, coalescing into a figure identical to him.
A Blood Clone.
This was an ability Caesar developed by combining the life force within his blood with Observation Haki.
Doflamingo could create clones with his String-String Fruit, and even Kizaru could do so with his Glint-Glint Fruit—so it wasn't strange for him to develop a Blood Clone.
Thanks to the life force, these Blood Clones resembled flesh-and-blood bodies and were indistinguishable from real people under Observation Haki perception.
Unfortunately, the clones lacked independent consciousness and could only follow relatively simple commands.
The upside, however, was that Caesar could remotely control them via Observation Haki linkage. Moreover, because they contained life force, Caesar could even manipulate them to use Haki during his control—with the total amount of Haki dependent on the stored life force.
As for the range of control, it depended on Caesar's Haki coverage. Of course, there were other ways to extend this range.
For instance, focusing Observation Haki in a single direction to greatly enhance perception distance.
Or using blood constructs infused with Observation Haki—such as Blood Bats or other Blood Clones—as signal relays.
"I'll head to the island too and take a look around."
Caesar turned to Dr. Wolf. "Please keep an eye on the ship, Doctor. If anything happens, just let this clone know."
Dr. Wolf, lounging in a chair while flipping through the latest issue of a science journal, raised a hand and gave an OK sign in response.
With a flap of his black wings, Caesar shot into the sky with a whoosh, flying toward the other side of the island.
Soon, Caesar arrived in a lush, expansive forest.
The forest was home to all sorts of strange birds and beasts. Caesar even spotted the giant mantis that had been famously beaten silly by Zoro in the original storyline—it looked as foolish as ever.
A sweep of his Observation Haki later, Caesar's attention settled on a group of large-headed birds that resembled ancient totems.
South Birds, also known as Nananji Birds.
Of course, this was just one category of such birds.
In reality, due to their unique cranial structure, these birds were highly sensitive to magnetic fields. Their heads permanently pointed in a fixed direction—not necessarily south. Some pointed east, west, or north, and their habitats weren't limited to Jaya either. (Manga Chapter 644 cover story.)
Caesar glanced over them and noticed their directions were fairly evenly distributed—some faced east, others west, north, or south.
After checking the sun's position overhead, Caesar flashed forward and snatched one of the South Birds.
Though he wasn't a navigator, years of maritime trade had given him some basic seafaring skills.
Navigating at sea was tricky, but pinpointing directions on an island wasn't too difficult.
A pulse of Conqueror's Haki silenced the squawking bird, knocking it unconscious. Holding the South Bird by the scruff, Caesar continued flying forward.
Soon, a small house—no, half a house—came into view by the shore.
The structure looked as though something had cleanly split it down the middle, with the other half patched up by wooden planks arranged like castle walls.
At the entrance, a tall, burly man with a chestnut-shaped head was flipping through a newspaper, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The makeshift table—a thick tree stump—held an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts.
Whoosh—
A gust of wind surged as Caesar's wings beat once.
The man looked up at the sound, and upon recognizing Caesar's face, his entire body stiffened.
"Jin Caesar!"
"Correct."
Caesar tilted his chin up, descending with effortless grace.
"Montblanc Cricket, descendant of the liar Norland…"
"A man like you—what business could you possibly have with someone like me?"
Seeing that Caesar knew his identity, Cricket stubbed out his cigarette and slowly rose to his feet.
Calmly, Caesar stated, "I need to reach Sky Island. You're going to help me calculate the timing of the strongest Knock-Up Stream in the near future."
"Sky Island?"
Cricket was visibly stunned, clearly not expecting that answer.
"You… you believe Sky Island actually exists?"
"I can fly up there myself. What do you think?"
Caesar chuckled. "Speaking of which, after all these years of salvaging, have you found any traces of the City of Gold?"
"You know about it?"
If it were anyone else, Cricket would have assumed they were mocking him.
But the man before him had a 2.8 billion berry bounty—no ordinary figure. If he was asking, he must know something.
"Over the years, I've only found some golden artifacts that prove the City of Gold existed… but nothing conclusive."
"Then why not consider another possibility?"
Caesar raised a finger and pointed upward. "Why not take a wild guess?"
"You mean…"
A spark of excitement flashed in Cricket's eyes. "The City of Gold… is in the sky?"
"If Sky Island can exist in the heavens, why can't the City of Gold? Moreover, this place already meets the conditions for an island to ascend. If you ask me, you're being too conservative. If it were me, I'd look to the skies when I couldn't find it beneath the sea."
Caesar casually tossed the South Bird aside and reclined on a lounge chair.
"I have some dealings with Morgans. As payment, I can publish the truth about the City of Gold in the newspapers to clear the name of your Montblanc family. The price is negotiable, but I have one condition."
"Go ahead."
Cricket's expression turned serious.
If this were true...
He would spare no effort to help Caesar reach Sky Island!
For so many years, because of Montblanc Noland, he had endured the stigma of being a descendant of a liar.
Not just him—his father, his grandfather, generation after generation had suffered the same fate.
By the time it reached his generation, Cricket had gone mad.
He wanted to duel that liar, to put an end to centuries of family disgrace, to sever ties with this damned fate.
But deep down, he had always been trying to prove that his ancestor wasn't a liar, that the City of Gold truly existed.
Until this man arrived and, without hesitation, told him the location of the City of Gold.
Cricket was instantly dazed by this sudden revelation.
"I need you to teach my subordinates how to calculate the Knock-Up Stream."
"Agreed!"
Caesar's request wasn't unreasonable, so Cricket agreed without hesitation.
He could go to Sky Island. He could find the City of Gold.
But what he truly wanted most was to clear his ancestor's name.
Though he didn't care about the world's opinion—or rather, he once did—the moment Caesar gave him the answer, the world's judgment no longer mattered. He had finally found the answer he had sought for so many years.
"Then let's wait here for a while."
Caesar took out a small table, laid out some fine food and wine, opened a bottle, and poured Cricket a glass.
"My men are currently clearing out all of Jaya. From now on, this place will be my territory—or rather, the outpost of my headquarters."
"You plan to claim the City of Gold as your own?"
Cricket immediately understood Caesar's meaning.
"Of course. There's no place more suitable for a headquarters."
Caesar nodded. Though Sky Island was inconvenient for travel, he had no shortage of capable subordinates.
Both Kuma and Issho had the ability to travel between Sky Island and the Blue Sea on their own.
Kuma could use his Paw-Paw Fruit to "slap" his way up, while Issho could use his Devil Fruit ability to lift an entire ship into the sky. However, Caesar wouldn't let him do that—his subordinates still needed training.
Devil Fruit abilities were convenient, but navigation skills were equally important!
Though anime often downplayed the importance of navigation, in this vast and boundless sea, a hundred-meter ship was no different from a mosquito in a swimming pool. Navigation was the greatest confidence sailors could have on these waters!
In the future, they could avoid such dangerous voyages when possible, but the skills couldn't be neglected!
Theoretically, Baby 5 could also attempt to transform into a missile and fly up if she had enough stamina, but Caesar wouldn't let her take such risks lightly.
Later, once he seized high-mobility or space-related Fruits like the Float-Float Fruit, Door-Door Fruit, Teleport Fruit, and Mirror-Mirror Fruit, he would no longer lack means to travel between Sky Island and the Blue Sea.
As for now, Caesar felt somewhat embarrassed to have an elderly man like Issho constantly running back and forth.
Boom—
Another commotion echoed from the other side of the forest.
Caesar swept his Observation Haki over the area and found Galdino had transformed into a gigantic Candle Giant in the town, with a few sneaky fellows hiding inside the giant's armor, having the time of their lives...
Soon after, Ace and Bonney joined in.
Yamato was itching to participate, but considering the cramped space inside the giant and her status as a married woman, she reluctantly gave up on the idea.
Caesar could only say thank heavens for that. Though he had repeatedly taught her about boundaries between men and women to avoid being taken advantage of, he honestly never expected her to remember.
It actually moved him a little...
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