"No need." Tengetsu Ares rejected Gan Fall's offer outright. Then he added, "Upper Yard has long stood abandoned. I intend to bring the Shandians under my rule, then have them develop Upper Yard together with the people of Angel Island."
Upper Yard was the legendary City of Gold.
Even after hundreds of years, vast amounts of gold still remained on that island, some buried deep underground, some swallowed into the belly of Nola, the lord of the sky.
There was also that enormous golden bell.
Those treasures...
There was no way Ares would leave them for the Roger Pirates or the Straw Hat Pirates.
Not a chance.
He would swoop in first and take everything before they ever reached the sky.
"Develop Upper Yard?" Gan Fall's expression shifted, but the moment he remembered that he had neither the strength nor the right to refuse, all he could do was swallow his reaction.
Ares continued, "Upper Yard never belonged to the sky islanders in the first place. It was originally an island from the Blue Sea, carried up into the heavens by the Knock Up Stream and turned into part of the sky. Surely you can see the difference between yourselves and the Shandians."
After that brief explanation, he turned to Crocus, Olvia, and the others.
"You stay here. If they try anything foolish, then have Laboon smash this island to pieces."
That cold statement made Gan Fall's heart lurch.
Ares did not need to explain what he meant. Gan Fall already understood.
The creature called Laboon was that gigantic dark-blue whale floating in the White Sea before them.
It was larger than any creature he had ever seen, so enormous that humans looked like ants before it.
Even Sea Kings, whether large or small, would be little brothers in front of Laboon.
And this was with Laboon not yet fully grown.
If that colossal monster rammed Angel Island, the island would probably cease to exist after only a few hits.
Having said that, Ares rode off on a Flame Cloud like one of the heavenly kings guarding the gates of heaven, flying toward Upper Yard.
The wind howled around him high in the sky as he muttered to himself, "Since it is this early in the timeline, who knows whether I can actually find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
"But one thing is certain. In the future, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit will definitely appear on this sky island."
To him, the value of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit surpassed the value of all Upper Yard combined.
Upper Yard was not far from Angel Island. He arrived after only a short flight.
Before him stood a landmass thick with towering trees, every trunk unbelievably massive, each with several centuries of growth behind it.
This was an island that had gone undeveloped for hundreds of years.
Even the timber here alone was worth a fortune. It could be used for shipbuilding, housing, furniture, and countless other purposes.
"Upper Yard really is a treasure trove..." Ares was in a good mood as he landed on the island and inhaled the fresh air.
He closed his eyes, quieted his thoughts, and sent his awareness outward, using Observation Haki to sense everything across the island.
As his Observation Haki spread, the island's general layout soon formed in his mind.
He muttered, "This island is huge. Finding the Rumble-Rumble Fruit will not be easy. Looks like I can only search it bit by bit. Hopefully I get lucky."
He pulled back most of his Observation Haki and narrowed his focus, searching the surrounding area more carefully to avoid exhausting himself.
He only paid attention to things shaped like fruit.
At the same time, he did not stop training. He continued hammering his body like a machine, splitting his focus as he searched for any trace of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
By nightfall, Ares had only finished checking one small section of the island, and still he had found no sign of the fruit.
What he did find, however, was gold.
A lot of it.
Carrying back a scattered pile of gold, he returned to Angel Island.
The moment Dr. Kureha saw it, her eyes lit up. "Well, well. One trip out and you came back with that much gold. No wonder you wanted to take Upper Yard. There is no shortage of treasure on that island!"
Then she grinned at Ares. "Hey, boy, how about you bring us along tomorrow? Anything we find, we split fifty-fifty."
Ares shot her a cold look.
Dr. Kureha instantly gave him an awkward smile. "I was joking. Do not take it seriously."
Fifty-fifty?
Everything on Upper Yard belonged to him now.
Ares set the gold down on the table and said to Olvia, "You hold on to this for now. The islanders have not caused any trouble, have they?"
"No." Olvia looked a little flustered. She could feel how much Ares trusted her. Not only had he handed her the gold and, earlier, even entrusted her with the Devil Fruit, he had also placed her beside Gan Fall from the start, in a position of real responsibility.
Speaking seriously, she said, "At first the residents were still afraid, but after Gan Fall calmed them down and explained that they would not be dragged into war, everyone gradually relaxed."
"It is just that they probably still will not trust you anytime soon."
Ares nodded. That was not something he could fix overnight.
An outsider had suddenly taken control of the island, and he happened to look exactly like the kind of terrifying brute anyone would instinctively distrust.
Their unease was understandable.
But as time passed, as Angel Island developed and their lives improved, he believed they would gradually come to trust him.
After that, Ares spoke with Olvia at length, outlining some of his plans and expectations for Angel Island's development.
He told her to investigate the island's specialty goods, especially items like Dials. Those would surely have a market in the Blue Sea.
As for the sky island's cloud-making techniques, they could not be used in the Blue Sea, otherwise that too would have been an excellent source of profit.
Later in the discussion, Ares added, "There is one more thing. Remember to let Gan Fall know in advance. At the same time, think of a way to help the people of Angel Island accept the news as quickly as possible."
"What is it?" Olvia blinked her large, curious eyes.
Ares said plainly, "I plan to move Angel Island to the New World, and place it above Wano. That way it will be easier to protect, and there are many other advantages besides..."
Olvia's pupils widened. She swallowed hard. "Ares... you are going to move a sky island all the way to the New World?"
The sheer scale of that plan nearly blew her mind.
She had already learned from Gan Fall a fair amount about Upper Yard. Upper Yard was dozens of times larger than Angel Island. The size and weight of the two were not even in the same category.
A little uncertain, she asked, "Ares, can something that huge really be moved to the New World?"
"Would it not... work you to death? Or maybe it cannot be moved at all?"
"How is that?" Ares gave her a confident grin. "Do you not trust my strength? Though to be fair, I have never tried moving an island that large before."
"But do not worry. If I cannot do it alone, then I will just go find reinforcements."