Ah—Tiffany! Why are you here? Where's the captain?
When Shanks arrived at the ruins, he only saw the Lord of the Sky lying sprawled on the ground, with Tiffany standing nearby.
"The captain's in its stomach." Tiffany pointed expressionlessly at the massive serpent and said flatly.
"Oh." Shanks nodded, but then suddenly froze, his face filled with shock and panic.
"Eh?! In its stomach? You mean the captain got eaten? What do we do? What do we do?! What should we do?!"
Tiffany's face darkened. "He went in there himself. Said something about finding gold in its belly."
"Eh? He went in on his own?" Shanks blinked, then let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, that's fine then. I thought he'd been eaten! Hahaha…"
Tiffany was speechless. She really couldn't understand her crewmates' logic. Voluntarily or not, ending up inside a monster's stomach should amount to the same thing, shouldn't it?
Just then—
Boom!
From the forest nearby came a sudden noise.
Shanks and Tiffany turned in surprise and saw a group of oddly dressed people with small wings on their backs running out from the trees. Their expressions were grim, as if they'd just been ambushed. These were the Shandians, warriors from Cloud-Hidden Village.
But soon, Shanks and Tiffany realized exactly who had attacked them.
"Brother Barrett?" Both of them looked in astonishment as Douglas Barrett slowly emerged from the forest.
"Who are you?" demanded Hewitt, the great warrior of the Shandians, staring warily at Barrett.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that? You were lurking in the forest, spying on my comrades… what's your aim?" Barrett chuckled coldly.
"Eh? These people… they should be the Shandians, right? I remember the captain mentioning them before. Besides the native Skypieans like Gan Fall's people, there are also the Shandians, who were lifted here centuries ago by the Knock-Up Stream." Shanks, walking over with Tiffany, looked at Hewitt and the others, thinking aloud.
"You… you're from the Blue Sea?" Hewitt blinked, then suddenly realized.
Shanks smiled. "Heh… We don't intend to meddle in the disputes between you and the Skypieans. Once our captain returns, we plan to leave anyway. So… can we avoid fighting?"
"It was your comrade who attacked us first!" Hewitt shot a glare at Barrett.
"Hmph." Barrett didn't bother to explain.
With his personality, there was no need for words—if you can use fists, why waste breath?
"Where's the captain?" Barrett glanced around but saw no sign of Fang Yi. He turned to Tiffany.
Tiffany pointed at the Lord of the Sky. "He said there's gold in that giant snake's stomach, so he went inside."
Barrett nodded and simply went to sit down and rest.
The Shandians, however, were stunned by Tiffany's words. Inside the Lord of the Sky's stomach? That's the same as being eaten! Why were these pirates not panicked at all?
When they had arrived, they'd already seen the serpent lying there. At first, they thought it had been killed. Now it looked more like it had simply eaten its fill and was resting!
"You're not going to save your comrade?" Hewitt asked, dumbfounded, as he watched Shanks and Tiffany stroll casually over to Barrett.
"Save? Save who?" Shanks asked, looking genuinely confused.
"Your captain! Wasn't he eaten by the Lord of the Sky?" Hewitt pointed at the massive snake in disbelief.
"Ah, not eaten. He went in himself. Don't worry, he'll be out soon." Shanks waved dismissively, smiling.
The Shandians glanced at each other, speechless. Go into the Lord's stomach and still come out alive? They had never seen such a thing.
And right then—
"Hey! You're all here—come give me a hand! I dragged out a ton of gold!"
Fang Yi appeared, lugging a huge sack of treasure over his shoulder, waving at Shanks and the others.
"He… he came out!" Hewitt's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he saw Fang Yi walk casually out of the serpent's mouth.
"Eh? Captain, you found gold?" Tiffany rushed over, peeking into the bag, and cried out in delight when she saw the glittering treasure inside.
"Didn't I tell you?" Fang Yi rolled his eyes. "Honestly… you never believe me. Anyway, who are those people?" He glanced at the Shandians.
"They're the Shandians. There was a bit of a misunderstanding, but it's been sorted," Shanks and Barrett said, both smiling as they walked over.
"Good. If there's no problem, let's head back." Fang Yi gave the Shandians a nod, then turned to the Lord of the Sky and waved.
"Thanks for the help. Until next time!"
Seeing Fang Yi wave at it, the serpent didn't dare make a sound. It whipped around and slithered off at full speed. It had already decided—next time it saw this human, no matter what, it would never come out again.
Bang!
"Ah!"
Suddenly, as Fang Yi and his crew were about to leave, a gunshot rang out. A Shandian warrior collapsed, crying out in pain.
"Hmph! You filthy rats dare trespass on sacred ground? Kill them all!"
A squad of God's Guards appeared in the distance, rifles raised—the shot had come from them.
"Great Warrior—it's the Skypieans!" one of the Shandians cried as he helped his wounded comrade up.
"Hmph! Take him and retreat! The rest of you, with me—kill them all!" Hewitt roared, fury blazing in his eyes.
In an instant, battle erupted. Shandians and God's Guards clashed head-on.
"This…" Tiffany was stunned at the sudden outbreak of violence.
"They're mortal enemies. Fighting whenever they meet is only natural," Fang Yi explained calmly.
"What do we do?" Shanks shielded Tiffany from stray attacks while asking Fang Yi.
"Stay back. This isn't our fight," Fang Yi said after a moment's thought.
After all, this land was originally the Shandians' homeland, taken from them by the Skypieans. But since Gan Fall had treated them well, they had no obligation to side with the Shandians either.
Yet what happened next surprised even them.
"These Shandians… they're strong!" Shanks muttered in surprise as the God's Guards were swiftly defeated and lay scattered across the ground.
Just as the Shandians were about to finish them off, Fang Yi stepped forward.
"Everyone, you've already won. There's no need to kill them."
"Hmph! Blue Sea man, don't meddle in our affairs!" a Shandian warrior snarled, eyes red with rage.
Barrett and Shanks silently stepped up, ready for a fight.
But Fang Yi raised his hand to stop them. His voice was calm.
"I understand the hatred between you. But if you kill them, and they kill you, your hatred will never end. The ones who suffer most will always be on both sides."
"You 'understand'? What do you know?!" the Shandian snapped, his voice shaking. "My brother… was killed by these bastards! Why didn't they stop back then?!"
"So what then? Your brother was killed. You kill them now. Then someday, their brothers or sons will kill your kin in return. Will you keep this cycle going forever?" Fang Yi smiled faintly. "Is that truly the outcome you want?"
His words stunned many of them. But the angry warrior still protested loudly.
"Why should we hold back? This was our home! The Skypieans stole it from us. They're the real thieves!"
"Exactly. When something can't be resolved, you can fight to change it. But don't wage endless war. Because war and hatred… once unleashed, they're nearly impossible to erase. And they only bring more suffering. Surely you, of all people, understand that." Fang Yi's voice was quiet but firm.
The Shandian warrior trembled, but in the end, his finger did not pull the trigger.
"Withdraw." Hewitt, the great warrior, made his decision after a moment's thought. He seized the angry youth by the arm.
"Great Warrior!" The Shandians were stunned. Were they just leaving like this?
"I said… withdraw!" Hewitt barked without looking back.
Reluctantly, the Shandians obeyed and departed with their leader.
"Truly, we owe you our lives. If not for you, we would all have perished here today." The captain of the God's Guards saluted Fang Yi gratefully once the Shandians were gone.
Fang Yi shook his head. "What I said wasn't only for them—it was for you too. Mercy on the battlefield may cost you your life. But once the fight is over, don't add more blood to the ground. Please… pass this message to Lord Gan Fall for me."
"…Very well. I'll deliver it." The squad captain, though unconvinced, nodded earnestly.
As they left the battlefield and headed back toward the Dragon Wolf, Barrett spoke up, thoughtful.
"Captain… do you think your words can end a war?"
"Of course not," Fang Yi said, shaking his head.
Barrett blinked, surprised. He had thought Fang Yi would say yes.
Barrett had lived through countless wars. He knew Fang Yi's reasoning was dangerous—bringing no real benefit.
"Wars… unless ended by the leaders themselves, are rarely stopped by outsiders," Fang Yi said with a soft laugh. "Certainly not by a few words from me."
Barrett fell silent, sinking into thought.
"But since we crossed paths, and since Gan Fall showed us kindness, why not lend him a hand?" Fang Yi explained, knowing what Barrett was thinking.
"And if the Shandians had lost instead? Would you have helped them too?" Tiffany asked curiously.
Of course. Fate brought us together. And besides… as the Shandians said—this was their home, to begin with. Fang Yi replied with a smile.