The next day dawned.
As morning broke, we—the Merveille Group—and Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates split up and began exploring the island separately.
Just like in the Original Work, Luffy's crew divided into two teams: the Gold Search Team and the Merry Escape Team. Their plan seemed to be to slip off God's Island while stripping the Golden City clean on the way out.
The members were the same, too. Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, and Robin headed for the Golden City, while Nami, Usopp, and Sanji aimed to escape aboard the Going Merry.
The Sky Knight, Gan Fall, was on the ship as well.
Apparently his injuries from yesterday's fight with a Priest had been relatively light thanks to Sapphire's intervention, but he still wasn't unscathed. Better to be careful.
Meanwhile, our Merveille Group…
"M-Merveille…!!"
Right in front of us, a bizarre-looking human(?) that had suddenly ambushed us was promptly countered and sent tumbling to the ground.
It had come swooping in from behind—maybe it thought it had us with a surprise attack—but it was obvious from a mile away.
Shizu spun around and fired a missile. It hit dead-on and exploded, and the creature dropped like a stone.
As for what it looked like… no hair, two horns, and floppy dog-like ears—mildly grotesque, all things considered. What was it again?
"Leona, do you know this thing?"
"Uh… I think that's a Divine Soldier. Enel's troops—his soldiers. He's had them since he invaded Skypiea. Usually the Priests handle the island's defense directly, so these guys don't show up much… Oh, and I've heard they use rare 'Dials,' too."
"—Lupus. Confirm!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lupus walked over to the Divine Soldier, charred and sprawled out after the crash, and yanked off its glove.
Sure enough, a Dial was hidden inside… and it didn't look like anything I recognized.
Shizu stared at the Dial in Lupus's hand for a moment. Then a string of electronic beeps—pipipipipi—rang out as she scanned it.
"No matching Dial found in the database. Unidentified species."
"Hell yeah! Jackpot right off the bat! …Okay, so what kind of Dial is this? Let's see… click."
Lupus aimed it at a nearby tree and triggered it.
With a sharp whoosh that sounded like something slicing through the air, a deep gash opened across the trunk.
"So it… shoots slashes?"
"What a violent type of Dial," Honey murmured. "That's not even pretending to be anything but a weapon. Feels like 'peaceful uses' were ignored from the beginning."
"Technically," Sapphire added, "if we could adjust output and range, it may be usable as a peeler or a food processor."
"I see… so it's a matter of ingenuity," Emerald said lightly. "But if a rank-and-file soldier was carrying it, it likely isn't some kind of 'Extinct Species' Dial, yes?"
"Maybe it's something that exists on other Sky Islands but not here on Skypiea," Leona said. "Enel and his subordinates are originally from a different Sky Island, after all."
"Right… which means they probably still have plenty of Dials that exist there but not here," I said. "And the fact that even a grunt had one we can just peel off his hand is a very good sign…"
I clapped sharply to gather everyone's attention.
"All right. From here, we're splitting into four groups. From what I'm picking up with Observation Haki, the battlefield has spread across all of God's Island. If we want to hunt efficiently, we need to spread out."
When I cast a wide net with Observation Haki, I could sense faint traces of people scattered across the island—and the feeling of fighting erupting in multiple places.
If things were playing out like the Original Work, the Shandia were attacking again today. Instead of advancing as a single mass, they would have split into smaller groups, each aiming for Enel's God's Shrine.
The Divine Soldiers had spread across the island to intercept them.
And Luffy's group—inevitably—would have gotten separated too, scattered across the island while fighting their way toward the Golden City.
"Our primary targets are the Divine Soldiers and any other forces loyal to God Enel," I said. "If the Shandia attack us, we're free to hunt them down too, but… try to go easy on them, for Leona's sake. Knock them out and take a few Dials as 'compensation' for the trouble. That's all."
Leona's shoulders loosened in visible relief.
…If they'd just stop picking fights, we could all avoid this mess. Seriously.
"Okay. Team assignments," I continued. "Lupus with Ruby. Honey with Sapphire. Leona with Emerald. And Shizu with me. Fight however you want, basically, but—"
As I spoke, I pulled out the map of Skypiea I'd had Nami copy for me yesterday.
…For a fee, of course.
I ran my pen lightly across the paper, dividing the island into four quadrants centered around the ruins—what we suspected was the Golden City, the place Luffy's group was heading for.
"So each of these four areas goes to one group?" Lupus asked.
"Pretty much. We're here in the northeast quadrant. Now, the assignments…"
I wrote directly on the map.
North: Lupus and Ruby. East: Leona and Emerald. West: Honey and Sapphire. South: Shizu and me.
"The south is the farthest from here, so Shizu and I will take it—we can fly and move fast. The rest of you, hunt as you see fit. We're intruders on this island; if we're spotted, they'll probably come looking for us."
Then I looked straight at Leona and Emerald, voice tightening.
"And Leona. One more thing."
Leona blinked up at me.
"You said you want to fight Enel's forces as Shandia. Does that mean… you want to defeat Enel with your own hands?"
"…That's…"
She hesitated, lips pressed together, like the words were stuck somewhere in her throat. After a long pause, she finally forced them out.
"If I could, I would. But I know it'll be incredibly difficult… and if I see the Shandia in danger, I want to help them. The Divine Soldiers aren't weak. At least… not from the Shandia's perspective."
"So you'll move to help them."
"That's my plan. But if I get the chance… I might try to take down the Priests. And Enel himself."
I met her eyes head-on and answered without flinching.
"I'm going to be blunt, Leona. As your mother… I can't allow that."
"Hmph!?"
"I have no problem with you helping the Shandia," I said, steady and firm. "With your strength, you won't lose to opponents at this level. Depending on the matchup, I think you could even beat a Priest if you don't let your guard down. You've grown that strong through Merveille's training."
Then I let the rest of it land.
"But my Observation Haki is picking up an unusually large presence on this island. I'm almost certain it's Enel. And he's too much for you right now. If you run into him, you run. No fighting. Emerald—if Leona tries to force it, you stop her."
"I understand, Sister."
"Mama, but—!"
"Leona." My voice softened, but it didn't weaken. "This might sound harsh, but you're still inexperienced. Your physical ability is impressive for your age, but you can't use Haki yet. That means you have limits you can't cross by willpower alone. Throwing yourself into danger without knowledge or caution—risking serious injury—is not what a smart child does. And there's no shame in running from an opponent you can't defeat."
As I spoke, I handed her several sheets of paper.
"Use these if you're in danger."
Each sheet had been meticulously cut into an intricate, monster-like silhouette—like a paper cutout. The shapes stood out sharply against their black backing.
Needless to say, they were Kirigami. The divine paper cuttings I'd prepared in advance.
All she had to do was toss one into the air to activate it, and a paper soldier reinforced with Haki would be born in an instant.
They could serve as shields, or buy time if things turned ugly. They were packed with Haki, so their offense and defense were no joke—and they could even hit Logia users.
What scared me most about running into Enel was simple.
Lightning.
There was no way I could outrun him.
If I tried to flee on foot, he'd catch me easily and blast me before I could get anywhere. The only person who could probably win a race against him would be some Light Human Marine Admiral.
So if we needed to escape…
We needed something to slow him down.
I couldn't ask Emerald to do that. So I made these instead.
And I'd set it up so I could sense the moment Kirigami was used.
If that ever happened, I would know instantly that something had gone wrong—something bad enough that Leona had been forced to use it—and I'd rush to her side immediately.
After I explained everything properly, Leona looked reluctant… but she nodded, as if she'd accepted it.
…Honestly, though.
What worried me about Leona wasn't only her safety—though that was first, always.
There was something else, almost as concerning.
"Leona," I said again, voice low. "I'm saying this one more time. Do not push yourself. Otherwise—"
"Otherwise what?"
"…If—just if, okay? If someone… I won't name names… if someone hurts you. If they put you through hell and wound you…"
My fingers curled.
"I swear I'll snap."
"Huh?"
"And then I'll probably throw caution to the wind and go on a rampage. Yeah. There won't be any stopping me. You said you don't plan to go back… but if you don't want the terrain of Shandia's homeland to end up completely devastated…"
I leaned in, dead serious.
"Take care of yourself."
"...…"
"Answer me if you understand."
"Ah—yes. I understand."
She's probably thinking, 'Oh. She's serious.'
Because I am.
Blood doesn't matter. Don't underestimate how much I dote on my daughter.
Also—only Lupus and Honey have ever seen even a fraction of that side of me before.
…Yeah. They're remembering it now. Their faces have gone a little pale.
I don't want to destroy Leona's ancestors' homeland.
So I truly, sincerely hope it never comes to that.
…Even so.
If it does happen, I won't hold back.
☆☆☆
After that, we split up across God's Island as planned… and moved around more or less casually.
And guess what? Even without hiding, they came for us anyway—Divine Soldiers and Shandia.
Sometimes we even stumbled on both groups at the same time, turning it into a three-way brawl.
So what happened?
Obviously, we disciplined everyone equally.
We knocked the Shandia out with a few well-placed hits, and we beat down the Divine Soldiers just enough to keep them alive.
The Shandia only had ordinary Dials, so we left them alone—but we collected Axe Dials from the Divine Soldiers. They were biting hard.
"Okay, let's see… that makes nineteen Axe Dials total. Breaking one was a waste."
"I apologize, Lady Sue. My aim was off."
"Don't worry about it," I said. "You're still getting used to real combat. Besides, the Divine Soldiers carry three or four spares each. It's actually pretty efficient. With this many… they're perfect research materials for Dr. Indigo. Honestly, that man could probably even figure out how to farm them."
Truthfully, I would have preferred Shizu master all of this before I let her roam outside.
That was why she hadn't been given 'outdoor permission' yet.
But saying that now would only make her feel worse. I already scolded her properly yesterday. No need to drag it up again.
"Still," I muttered, "Emerald said the same thing… if even the grunts have these, then I really want to target the higher-ranking officers and get their Dials too…"
"According to Lady Leona," Lupus added, "the enemy admiral, Enel, is stationed at the God's Shrine in the center of the island. If that area is effectively their main base, then it is highly likely they have stockpiled rare Dials and other valuable supplies there."
"…Let's leave that for last." I narrowed my eyes. "There are still several lingering presences scattered around. Better to take them out one by one. And if we're lucky—?!"
In that instant—
The Cloud River flowing before us seemed to flicker, just for a heartbeat. A faint, fleeting glimmer.
At the same time, the scattered presences across the island vanished, and the 'voices' thinned sharply.
…Enel.
That lightning-human has finally moved.
In the Original Work, when he struck down one of the Shandia with his lightning, the collateral damage sank several others too. He really is terrifying.
Looks like the Sky Island Arc has entered its climax.
Before I knew it, the voices had dwindled to less than half.
To be continued...