Phew~ finally, we've made it back to Skypiea!"
Fang Yi slowly rose from the deck, taking in the strange scenery around them.
Shanks and Barrett had already adapted to the thin air of Skypiea far better than he, but Tiffany didn't seem affected at all—she looked at them curiously, not understanding why they were struggling.
"Don't look at me like that," Fang Yi shrugged. "Tiffany either has a special constitution… or her strength is too low to even notice the lack of oxygen. The stronger you are, the more oxygen your body demands—especially when fighting. Our bodies are used to sea-level air. Suddenly coming up here makes us sluggish, and in battle it's a huge disadvantage."
"Tch~" Tiffany pouted. Of course, she wasn't going to admit she was too weak.
From her perspective, being able to handle ordinary marines at her age—and as a girl—was already impressive. But compared to monsters like Barrett, Shanks, and Fang Yi… she was indeed just a "chicken." Not that it was her fault. Those three were abnormal.
"Alright, since we've arrived in Skypiea… let's go find Gan Fall first! I hope he still remembers us," Fang Yi stretched and said.
"Gan Fall? Is he your friend up here?" Tiffany asked curiously.
"No… he's the 'God' of Skypiea." Fang Yi shook his head.
"God?" Tiffany froze. "There is a god here? This place is the home of gods?"
"What nonsense," Fang Yi tapped her lightly on the head with a grin. "The ruler of Skypiea is called 'God.' It's just a title, their special name for a leader."
"Stop knocking on my head—you'll make me dumb!" Tiffany wrinkled her nose, puffing up angrily.
Because she was the youngest—and a girl—everyone enjoyed teasing her.
"Come on, let's head to the ruins first. We can collect some gold while we're at it. That way, certain people will stop calling us paupers!" Fang Yi chuckled.
"Gold? There's treasure here?" Tiffany's eyes immediately lit up.
"Yeah. But it's not a treasure. Skypieans don't care about gold—their currency is Dials. Gold has no value to them, so the ruins are practically covered in it." Fang Yi explained.
"Incredible… A place like this exists…" Tiffany stared wide-eyed, stunned.
"Heh. Skypiea is different from the Blue Sea. They've got all sorts of interesting things. If you like, you can trade our stuff for their Dials—they're very useful." Fang Yi smiled.
Tiffany nodded furiously, already impatient to try.
"But first, business. The rest can wait." Fang Yi's expression grew serious.
"You've got another purpose here, don't you?" Barrett asked, frowning.
He could tell Fang Yi wasn't here just for gold.
"You're right. I do have a goal, though I'm not sure if we'll find it." Fang Yi nodded. "According to some old records, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit might be in Skypiea—not here, but on another sky island called Birka."
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?" All three turned in surprise.
"Yes. It's a Logia Devil Fruit that grants control over lightning. With elemental intangibility, if someone with strong Observation Haki ate it, their strength would skyrocket." Fang Yi explained.
"You're planning to eat it yourself?" Barrett asked.
He had already eaten a fruit, and Shanks was suited for Conqueror's Haki. That left Fang Yi as the most likely candidate. Fang Yi's Observation was already sharp, fitting for an archer. Tiffany… didn't even enter Barrett's mind.
But Fang Yi shook his head. "I don't plan on eating a Devil Fruit."
"Hm?" Barrett frowned deeper.
"If we find it, why rush? I can keep it until we meet the right person. For example, Yasopp's sniping talent is perfect—once he awakens Observation, giving him the Rumble-Rumble Fruit would be ideal." Fang Yi said with a smile.
"That… makes sense," Shanks nodded in agreement.
"Hey, Captain—are there Devil Fruits that control fire?" Tiffany suddenly asked.
"Of course. The Flame-Flame Fruit, the Magma-Magma Fruit, even the Heat-Heat Fruit. But the purest flames come from the Flame-Flame Fruit, another Logia." Fang Yi answered seriously, though unsure why she was asking.
"You want one of those fruits?" Shanks asked, curious.
"Yeah! If I could control fire, I'd be even better at cooking! And with Logia intangibility, I'd finally have some self-protection instead of making you all guard me." Tiffany grinned.
"Haha… Flame-Flame Fruit, I honestly don't know where it is. But the Magma-Magma Fruit? That one I do." Fang Yi laughed.
That fruit, of course, would one day belong to Sakazuki—"Akainu."
"Magma-Magma Fruit?" Shanks frowned, realizing.
"Yeah. The Marine up-and-comer, Akainu, is the one with that power." Fang Yi confirmed.
"Eh? Akainu? You mean… Sakazuki-san?" Tiffany's eyes went wide.
"Oh, right—you're ex-Marine. You'd know him." Fang Yi chuckled.
"He's Big Brother Jonathan's friend. They exchange letters all the time! Jonathan always said Sakazuki is a monster stationed at HQ." Tiffany nodded quickly.
That surprised Fang Yi. He hadn't expected the mild Jonathan to be close to Sakazuki—the hawkish enforcer of the Marines.
"Akainu's no joke. Along with Kizaru and Aokiji, he's one of the Marine 'rising stars.'" Fang Yi said seriously.
"Oh? They're that strong?" Barrett asked with interest.
"Let's just say… if I fought any of them alone, I'd lose." Fang Yi admitted.
"What?" Tiffany and Barrett stared at him in shock. Only Shanks smiled knowingly.
"They're that powerful?" Barrett pressed.
"Yeah. In raw combat, swordsmanship, and fruit powers—they're all monsters. I've fought Kizaru and Aokiji briefly. I made them sweat, but I couldn't truly hurt them." Fang Yi shrugged.
"Hmph. Then I want to test them myself next time!" Barrett smirked eagerly.
"No worries. Once we reach the New World, we'll run into them plenty." Fang Yi chuckled. He was confident their Dragon Wolf Pirates would inevitably clash with such powers.
"Captain—we've arrived!" Shanks suddenly called.
They had used the Knock-Up Stream to reach the White Sea, 7,000 meters above sea level. But true Skypiea lay further above, at 10,000 meters in the White-White Sea. Sailing onward, they finally entered its domain.
Skypiea consisted of Angel Island and Upper Yard, once part of Jaya Island from the Blue Sea. Centuries ago, the Knock-Up Stream had blasted half of Jaya skyward, embedding it in the clouds.
Upper Yard was the only sky island with real soil, and thus considered sacred. But the native Shandians—descendants of Jaya—had fought the Skypieans for 400 years to reclaim it and ring their golden bell.
Back when Fang Yi had visited with Roger, Gan Fall had been "God," residing in Upper Yard. So once again, Fang Yi led his crew straight there.
"So this is the real Skypiea?" Tiffany gawked at the cloud-built houses and roads.
"Yep. But our destination is Upper Yard." Fang Yi smiled.
"The sacred land? That's where their so-called 'God' lives?" Tiffany asked.
"Exactly. I also want to ask Gan Fall how to get to Birka." Fang Yi nodded. "And of course, Upper Yard has plenty of gold. I doubt they'll mind if we take some."
At the mention of gold, Tiffany's eyes sparkled again. Their pirate crew was perpetually broke—their main income being bounties, and those weren't reliable. Gold sounded much better.