"Wyper! A strange ship is approaching us!"
"Raki, you're making a fuss over nothing."
Wyper stood on top of a tree, listening to his childhood friend and subordinate Raki's report.
He waved his hand and then leapt down from the tree.
"All these years, those arrogant guys from Angel Island would come around from time to time." Wyper shook his head. "And now that so-called God of Skypiea actually wants peace? Talking such nonsense at this stage?"
"Actually, I think... the other side seems pretty sincere," Raki muttered. "At the very least, every time he's met us, he hasn't even brought weapons or armor, right?"
"Raki... you've grown rather bold lately, haven't you?"
Wyper's gaze sharpened instantly. Looking at Raki, he felt the impulse to kill her if she spoke another word out of line.
Raki forced a crooked smile.
Even though they were childhood friends, she was still a little afraid of this guy...
But she understood very well.
The grudge between the Shandians and the Skypieans wasn't something that could be ended with a few words of reconciliation.
This was a blood feud that had lasted four hundred years.
Ever since four hundred years ago, when the Shandian warriors were driven out of the so-called Land of God, they had built a hidden village in secret...
Hidden Cloud Village.
Though unlike the "Nii-chan" rapper or the current popular manga protagonist, this Hidden Cloud Village had none of that.
Still, though Wyper spoke that way to Raki, his body was far more honest.
Kicking off the ground, he sprinted back into the village.
This was not something four- or five-year-old brats like them could resolve.
"What are you still standing here for? We need to report this to the chieftain immediately."
"So you do understand priorities! Then why did you put on that dismissive face earlier?"
"As the descendant of the great warrior Kalgara, remaining calm before powerful enemies is an essential quality."
Raki's mouth twitched.
What the hell does that have to do with bloodlines, you idiot!
Still, she only complained inwardly.
...
Hidden Cloud Village was located deep within a vast Skypiea forest. Ships could only reach the outskirts.
That was one of the reasons the Shandians were able to live hidden away.
Even though the Seraph was a specially designed military vessel—smaller compared to war-beast–class battleships for the Skypieans, it was still an enormous ship.
Naturally, it couldn't sail into the forest of Skypiea.
"The Shandian village... is inside there," Gan Fall pointed ahead. "So, have you decided what to do?"
"Is that even difficult?" Michael curled his lip. "Enter the village, find the leader, persuade them with force if necessary, and then bring all the Shandians to the legendary Shandora."
"Shandora, huh..."
Even Gan Fall couldn't help but feel longing stir in his heart.
Not because he cared about the so-called "gold," but because he had long heard of the fabled "Light of Shandora."
"After all, Shandora came from the Blue Sea. In essence, they are Blue Sea people. Returning to their true homeland must be what they desire, no?"
Michael spread his hands.
For the Shandians, Michael's method was absolutely the most suitable.
At the very least, once they returned to the Blue Sea, they wouldn't have to cower in hiding within a forest, barely scraping by.
The Shandians were certainly proficient in the use of all kinds of Dials and cloud materials—meaning the Marines would essentially gain a batch of specialized instructors.
What's more, compared to ordinary people, Shandians had a much higher probability of awakening Mantra—that is, Observation Haki.
In fact, even in the original history, there had been Aisa, that little girl born already possessing Mantra.
It was only that the Shandians were too few in number, now barely managing to form a village.
If their population were multiplied several dozen times over, they might even become, like Amazon Lily, an excellent source of warriors.
But that was only wishful thinking for now.
Gan Fall saw that Michael had already made up his mind, and there was little he could add.
After all, it was only because he himself had no other choice that he sought outside help to end this four-hundred-year-old racial enmity.
"Everyone disembark, we proceed on foot..." After giving the order, Michael glanced at Enel. "Hey, you there! Yeah, you! The one who plays with lightning!"
"What do you want from me?" Enel still carried that faint aura of death, but curiosity gradually appeared in his eyes.
"Lead the way. Your Mantra—oh, I mean Observation Haki—can combine with your lightning, right? Find where the Shandian village is."
Enel's mouth twitched. So it turned out they just wanted him as a pack mule...
Closing his eyes, he activated his Mantra and his Devil Fruit powers together.
In almost an instant, his Mantra enveloped the entire forest.
Issho tilted his head, surprised, "looking" in Enel's direction.
Unlike Michael's pure white radiance, in Issho's perception, Enel was composed of unstable masses of lightning.
Brilliant... but violent.
Yet when standing near Michael, that violent aura seemed to be gradually suppressed by the holy presence emanating from him.
"So this is what they call the balance of nature..."
Issho chuckled softly. No one heard his whispered soliloquy.
"Found it. It's... in that direction."
Enel stretched out his hand, pointing to the dense woods to the left, then strode forward without hesitation.
Michael didn't doubt him. He waved for the SWORD Secret Special Force operatives to follow Enel's lead.
The group pushed deeper into the forest...
"This is such a pain. Why are there even clouds here that turn into swamps?"
T Bone grumbled as he yanked his leg out of the mire.
Beside him, Gan Fall explained, "That's a Swamp Cloud, a relatively rare type among Skypiea clouds."
Hearing this, Stella's eyes lit up. She immediately took out a Cloud Dial and absorbed the whole patch of Swamp Cloud into it.
Even before the Seraph had reached the edge of the forest, Stella had already asked Gan Fall about the classifications of Dials and their uses.
Other than Island Clouds, this was her first discovery of another unique cloud.
"Wow, Stella, you're really working hard," young Hancock said as she watched Stella. "But swamps and stuff... they just feel gross."
Amazon Lily had swamps too, and the sticky, slimy sensation made Hancock shudder.
She was a bit of a clean freak, after all.
"As long as it makes me stronger, nothing else matters."
Stella smiled, putting away the Dial.
Her anxiety was something only she herself understood.
If she wanted to keep up with Michael's pace, she couldn't let slip a single chance to grow stronger.
Meanwhile, not far away, many pairs of eyes were watching their every move.
"Chief, they don't seem... like people from the Land of God."
"They're so curious about Swamp Clouds—must be bumpkins from who knows where, right?"
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