The order to steer toward the monstrous water column left the sailors stunned.
But the one giving the command was none other than Renn Hawk, the commodore who had already established absolute authority in their hearts.
"Yes, sir!"
The crew snapped back to focus, scattering to their posts.
"Check the hull!"
"Secure the mooring lines!"
"Adjust the sails!"
The massive warship pulled away from the ruins of Mock Town and began advancing toward that terrifying column of water that seemed to defy the laws of nature.
The moment the ship touched the rising current, everyone felt as if a colossal, invisible hand had grabbed them and hurled them upward with brutal force.
Weightlessness. The world spun around them.
The battleship shuddered violently as it was tossed about by the raging stream.
"Hold on tight. I'm here."
Hawk's voice rang out clear, steady, and commanding, carrying a strange calming power. It cut through the chaos, anchoring every trembling heart.
If Hawk was here… If their commodore was with them… then what was there to fear?
Time blurred.
Then came his words. "We're here."
The instant the words left his lips, the ship jolted as though it had broken through an invisible membrane.
The violent turbulence ceased.
Blinding sunlight pierced the mist, sweeping away the gloom.
And before them stretched a dreamlike world no words could capture.
Below the ship was not the endless blue ocean… but an infinite sea of white clouds. Soft, boundless, glimmering like snow.
They were sailing upon a sea made of clouds.
The Sky Island.
"This… this is…"
"Heaven?"
The crew stood frozen in awe, their faces bathed in light. The divine beauty of it left them utterly speechless.
At the bow, Renn Hawk stood tall, his coat of justice fluttering in the wind as he gazed upon the white sea beneath him.
From this day on, the skies themselves would belong to the Navy.
With a flick of his hand, Hawk brought the crew back to reality. The ship scraped gently against the cloud shore, producing a soft rustling sound. They had landed.
"Smoker, Tashigi, Hina," Hawk ordered without turning. "You three will remain on the ship with a squad. No one boards or disembarks without my command."
"Understood," Smoker grunted, cigar clenched tight between his teeth.
Hina smoothed her pink hair and nodded briskly. "Hina understands."
Peacock snapped a crisp salute. "Yes, sir!"
"The rest of you, with me."
The order was obeyed instantly. Hawk was the first to step onto the strange, springy ground of Skypiea.
Behind him followed Lark, her small satchel bouncing against her back as she trailed close, wide-eyed and curious. Zoro, Sanji, and a company of marines came next.
Hawk's gaze swept over them, finally lingering on Zoro's determined face.
He had brought both Zoro and Sanji ashore for a reason: Enel's priests would serve as their whetstones, trials by combat to sharpen them further.
But there was a problem. Zoro's sense of direction.
Hawk turned his eyes to Sanji. "I have an important task for you. From this moment, do not let Zoro out of your sight."
Sanji straightened instantly. "Yes, Commodore!"
The very next moment, he launched himself onto Zoro's back, his legs wrapping around the swordsman's waist and his arms locking around his neck.
"Perfect."
"Oi! You curly-browed bastard! Get off me!" Zoro roared, thrashing violently.
Sanji smirked with smug satisfaction. "Give it up, moss-head. This is an order from the commodore himself!"
Hawk watched their scuffle, lips twitching. Perhaps Sanji's ridiculous "iron grip of loyalty" wasn't such a bad idea. At least Zoro couldn't get lost now.
As he considered this, an old woman with deep wrinkles stepped out from behind a nearby cloud-tree, blocking their path.
"Welcome to Skypiea, outsiders," she croaked. "By law, each of you must pay an entrance fee of ten billion extols equivalent to one hundred thousand berries—"
She never finished. Hawk slowly turned his head, his eyes narrowing. He made no gesture, spoke no words only released a quiet, upward sound through his nose.
You dare demand tolls from me? From Renn Hawk?
In unison, the hundreds of marines at his back slid their blades a half-inch free of their scabbards.
The cold, razor-sharp scrape of steel merged into a single chilling note that stabbed straight into the old woman's ears.
She gulped.
In the space of a heartbeat, her expression shifted from smug officiousness to fawning reverence.
"Welcome, welcome, most honored guests!" she said hastily, bowing low. "What a blessing it is for us that you grace Angel Island with your presence! Please, this way."
Hawk brushed past her without a glance. He had no time for opportunists who bent whichever way the wind blew. His boots pressed into the cloud ground with calm authority, his soldiers marching behind.
The moment his foot touched the land of Skypiea, a presence swept across him.
A consciousness. A probing awareness that reached into every corner of the island.
It was as if unseen eyes watched their every move from the heavens above.
Hawk narrowed his gaze. "So. Enel's Mantra, is it?"
Enel was using his Observation Haki like a surveillance net, keeping watch over the entire island.
Clever. But insufficient.
Hawk's own Haki flared, expanding outward in an oppressive wave, shoving that invasive awareness back with raw force.
Then he raised his voice, thundering across the sky like divine judgment itself.
"Enel! Bring your men… and get out here!"
The words rolled like thunder through every cloud, echoing to the farthest reaches of the island.
…
Inside the golden shrine of Skypiea, a pale, lean man lounged lazily on an ornate throne of gold.
His earlobes stretched down to his chest, absurdly long. His bare torso gleamed under the light, and on his back rested four massive taiko drums, each carved with the triple-tomoe symbol.
The ruler of this island. The self-proclaimed god.
Enel, wielder of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"Yehahaha…"
He toyed with his ear idly, smirk playing across his face as he listened through his "Mantra," his Haki net woven across the island to pluck at every thought, every whisper.
He was deciding who would be struck by divine punishment today.
Then it happened. His all-seeing net was severed shoved aside by a power as blunt as it was overwhelming.
"Hm?"
Enel's smirk faded. For the first time in years, something had disrupted his godhood.
And then he heard it.
That voice. That audacious, domineering voice that rolled across all of Skypiea.
"Enel! Bring your men, and get out here!"
Enel froze, his expression hardening. Slowly, he sat upright, his languid arrogance burning away as cold fury filled his eyes.
This mortal… this insect… had dared to call him by name.
And worse had dared to command him.
The four priests at his side were equally stunned, their faces pale with disbelief.
"Who… who dares?!"
"To address God in such a way!"
"Yehahahaha!"
Enel's laughter tore through the temple, but this time it was laced with murderous intent. The taiko drums on his back rumbled, arcs of blue lightning snapping violently across his body.
"It seems a swarm of pitiful flies has found its way into the realm of God," he sneered.
"To call my name with such disrespect…"
"To challenge me, here, in my domain…"
He stood, lightning crackling, his priests trembling before his rage.
"Come. Let us show these mortals…"
His eyes glowed like stormlight.
"…what it truly means to face a god."
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