"Shut the hell up!"
Shanks was already irritated and distracted by that wall of lightning. Now, with these two arguing, his head felt twice as big, and he swung his one arm.
A wave of Conqueror's Haki was flung out, finally managing to force this farce down.
The two snorted unhappily and turned their faces away from each other. Though they no longer spoke, they still glared at each other.
"Charging through won't work. We already tried that just now."
Shanks rubbed his brow and said in a deep voice, "The power of that sea of lightning is bottomless. With our strength, we can't break through it. Breaking through separately would be asking for death. If someone really got trapped alone on the island, no one could save him."
There was no need to think about it to know that the appearance of such a terrifying thunderstorm must have something to do with Rosse.
But as for what that connection was, he wasn't very clear.
With Luffy in his current condition, nothing could be allowed to go wrong.
He didn't even want Luffy to go later when they went to rescue Juste.
The deck once again fell silent.
In this suffocating stalemate, Kuro pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Since a direct assault won't work, why don't we change our approach?"
Everyone's eyes were drawn to him again.
"That Angel Island on the other side."
Kuro raised his hand and pointed toward the town that wasn't far from Upper Yard but was full of the signs of human habitation.
"Isn't there someone living there? Since there are people, there should be information to find."
"What exactly happened to this Sky Island, who set up that wall of lightning, and how should it be broken, and even what kind of secret is hidden behind this Golden City..."
"Rather than staying here like headless flies and risking our lives to test that heavenly barrier, we might as well go to that island first and properly investigate for information."
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can win every battle."
Kuro pushed up his glasses, and a sharp glint flashed across the lenses, "Blindly charging into it is what's truly foolish."
As soon as these words came out, the deck fell completely silent.
Yasopp opened his mouth, only to find that he couldn't come up with even the slightest rebuttal.
Usopp, meanwhile, nodded repeatedly, looking as though this should have been obvious from the start.
"Not bad."
Crocodile pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, agreeing with the proposal.
Then, his tone changed, and he looked toward Shanks, "However, before that, I'd like to face that sea of lightning again."
He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the sky that had returned to calm. His voice carried a trace of unwillingness and inquiry, "Our exchange just now was too rushed. We didn't even figure out what it was like. Shanks, you and I—"
He lifted his chin, indicating Shanks, "Why don't we use the time while we're resting to test that lightning barrier carefully again? We have to figure out whether someone is controlling it from behind the scenes, or whether it's a dead thing that attacks indiscriminately. The more we figure out, the greater our chances of breaking the situation later."
"Just what I had in mind."
Shanks laughed loudly, fighting spirit rekindling in his eyes, "I was just thinking about facing that sea of lightning again too."
If Luffy weren't there, he wouldn't be afraid of that sea of lightning.
With his strength, even if he couldn't break through the sea of lightning, he would still have no problem retreating unscathed.
Thus, everyone reached a consensus.
First, the Going Merry had suffered severe damage in that lightning tribulation just now.
The main mast had broken, the steel armor had peeled off, and many parts of the hull were charred black and cracked. It was already under an unbearable burden and urgently needed a safe harbor to stop and repair.
Second, what Kuro said was exactly right.
The waters of this Sky Island were clearly much deeper than they had imagined.
Acting rashly would only repeat the same mistake.
Only after they first figured out the details of this country above the clouds could they find the key to breaking the situation.
Thus, the people on the Going Merry split into two groups.
The others worked together to push the ship, slowly turning the battered Going Merry around and heading toward Angel Island, breaking through the clouds.
Crocodile and Shanks, meanwhile, leaped over the side of the ship, one turning into sand and the other riding sword energy, quietly approaching that sea of lightning again.
———
The Going Merry spent half an hour before finally slowly entering Angel Island's harbor.
The white cloud pier lay quietly before them. In the distance, rows of white buildings like something out of a fairy tale stood one after another, which should have been a peaceful and tranquil scene.
However, before the anchor had even been dropped and before the ship had even come to a stop.
"Who goes there!"
A sharp shout suddenly came over.
In an instant, the clouds and mist around the pier suddenly churned. Squad after squad of Sky Island warriors clad in bright silver armor and carrying long spears seemed to appear out of nowhere from within the clouds, instantly surrounding the Going Merry.
Their armor was imposing, their spearheads stood like a forest, and pairs of eyes peered through the gaps in their helmets, coldly and warily locking onto every person aboard the ship.
"Intruders from the Lower Realm, surrender immediately!"
"Hey, hey, isn't this a little too unfriendly right off the bat?"
Yasopp frowned, instinctively raising his gun and retreating to one side of the ship.
He quickly swept his eyes around. Roughly counting, there were at least fifty or sixty warriors surrounding them, and more were continuously pouring out of the clouds and mist, faintly forming layer upon layer around them.
"Hey, we're just passing through..."
Luffy tried to negotiate, but before he could finish, several long spears uniformly moved a little closer, and the grim chill forced him to swallow the rest of his sentence.
"Intruders from the Lower Realm, surrender immediately! Those who disobey will be killed without mercy!"
The warrior at the front shouted harshly, with not the slightest room for negotiation in his tone.
"Looks like there's no talking our way out of this."
Snake lazily moved his wrist, his knuckles producing a series of crisp pops.
He narrowed his eyes and looked the group of warriors up and down. The casual smile at the corner of his mouth quietly faded somewhat.
Not one of those Sky Island warriors was easy to deal with.
They stood in formation, moving forward and back with their own order. Their footsteps were steady, and the hands gripping their spears did not tremble in the slightest. They were clearly seasoned elites.
Even without truly exchanging blows, an old hand like Snake had already sensed from that killing aura rushing toward him that every one of these people was highly skilled.
Judging by strength alone, even the weakest among them probably had B-level strength.
And a strong person of this level would already count as a strong fighter even on the Grand Line.
"What do we do? The captain isn't here..."
Lucky Roux muttered in a low voice, clenching his fists.
"Talking reason won't work." Snake glanced at him and assumed a stance. "Since that's Angel Island's rule, then we'll have a good talk with them using our fists."
"Good! Since you refuse to reason, don't blame us for being rude!"
Lucky Roux had long since been unable to hold himself back. With a loud shout, he charged forward first.
His body was as bulky as a pig, and his pair of iron fists carried the sound of rushing wind as they smashed fiercely toward the several warriors at the front.
Clang!
The warrior raised his spear to block and actually held back this powerful punch steadily, only being forced back two steps by the impact, his boot soles carving two deep marks into the surface of the island.
"Oh? You can take a hit."
Lucky Roux grinned, becoming even more interested. His punches suddenly sped up, blasting out in a continuous barrage like a fierce wind and sudden rain.
Snake followed close behind. His movements were strange and unpredictable, specifically targeting the gaps at the joints of the armor.
He held his fingers together like a blade, precisely striking toward the warriors' throats and other vital points.
Cries of pain rang out one after another, and several warriors clutched their vital areas and staggered to the ground.
Yasopp, meanwhile, moved to the rear, occupying the advantageous high ground around the mast. The gun in his hand fired in rapid succession.
Flaming stars exploded with a bang, burning the enemies charging forward into a panic.
"I'll help too! Gum-Gum Pistol!"
Luffy had long since been unable to hold himself back.
With a loud laugh, his rubber-like arm suddenly stretched back and tensed, then, accompanied by a sound of air being torn apart, it blasted toward the densest part of the crowd like an arrow released from a bow.
However...
Bang!
To everyone's surprise, the Sky Island warrior who was hit actually blocked the punch steadily.
He held his spear horizontally with one hand, the shaft firmly resisting Luffy's fist, while his entire body remained completely motionless.
"Huh?", Luffy froze for a moment.
Before he could react, the warrior countered with a strike, brutally smashing the end of the spear shaft into Luffy's chest.
"Uooh!"
Caught off guard, Luffy's rubber body had not yet had time to disperse the force, and his whole body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily onto the deck and knocking over a row of barrels of alcohol.
"Luffy!"
Seeing Luffy take a hit, Sanji and the others couldn't just stand by either, and they likewise chose to attack.
At this point, the situation couldn't have been clearer.
These Sky Island warriors had come aggressively and had plainly refused to negotiate.
Since there was nowhere left to retreat, they naturally had no reason to stand by and watch.
"This is such a pain. We actually have to fight!"
Sanji planted the tip of his foot hard against the deck and launched himself into the air. His legs carried a fierce gust of force as he delivered a spinning kick, sending the two warriors at the front flying away together with their armor.
Zoro had already drawn his swords. The white blades cut out streaks of fierce sword light in the sunlight. Wherever they passed, long spears broke and armor rang, forcibly tearing open a gap in the crowd.
Robin stood at the stern. With her arms crossed, as her power surged, dozens of long, slender arms suddenly sprouted out of nowhere throughout the harbor, tightly binding the warriors and twisting them to the ground.
For a time, sword flashes filled the deck, and shouts of battle shook the sky.
Only, when they attacked, Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp, the few people who knew what was going on, ultimately restrained their strength somewhat in secret.
When they kicked, swung their swords, and subdued their opponents, every move stopped at just the right point, seeking only to restrain them and absolutely not to take their lives.
After all, they knew very well.
These Sky Island people who had suddenly appeared were, in all likelihood, connected to Conis.
The current situation might even be a test that Conis had secretly set up.
If they happened to use too much force and killed someone, injuring or even killing one of Conis's people, then that debt would be impossible to explain later.
They didn't want to suddenly be controlled by her one day.
Precisely because of this, they fought with their hands tied, holding back their strength everywhere.
Even so, relying on the fierce combined strength of the Straw Hat crew and the Red Hair Pirates, those Sky Island warriors who had originally come aggressively were gradually unable to withstand them and fell into a disadvantage, being forced back step by step as their formation began to collapse.
Seeing that everyone was about to knock down all of these warriors blocking their path and fight their way through...
Buzz!
The sky suddenly gave off a sharp sound of air being torn apart.
A streak of silver light, carrying a destructive force, plunged down from the high clouds like a meteor.
It was a knight clad in heavy iron armor, riding a huge cloud bird beneath him. In his hand was a completely silver-bright lance, pointing toward the harbor from afar, its cold light fierce and its killing intent surging.
"He's not coming with good intentions!"
Yasopp had sharp eyes and made the decision immediately, raising his gun and firing.
He aimed the muzzle at the knight and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
But...
Fast. Too fast.
Just as Yasopp's fingertip had touched the trigger, at the instant before the bullet had even left the barrel...
Pfft!
That silver-bright lance had already turned into an afterimage almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, piercing straight through Yasopp's abdomen.
Cough!
Yasopp's eyes became wide. He looked down in disbelief at the spearhead that had pierced through his body, blood flowing down the shaft.
"Yasopp!"
Lucky Roux and Snake shouted at the same time, shocked and enraged, about to turn back and come to his aid.
But their movements had only just begun. They had merely assumed their stances.
Shk! Shk! Shk!
The iron-armored knight's figure had already disappeared from where he stood.
The next instant, the lance in his hand flashed repeatedly like a ghost, one thrust per person, so fast that it left no room for even the slightest reaction.
In the blink of an eye, he pierced through Lucky Roux, Snake, and the several elites of the Red Hair Pirates with a single thrust each, brutally pinning them to the deck, unable to move.
The entire process, from the moment he dove down to the moment he subdued everyone, had taken only a few short seconds.
The smell of blood instantly spread across the deck.
Everyone's expression changed in shock. No one had been able to see exactly how that knight had wielded his spear.
"Stop! This is a misunderstanding!"
Sanji frowned and hurriedly stepped forward to shout.
If they kept fighting, these people of theirs would probably get hurt too.
After all, they were enemies now. Who knew whether that sister of his would know when to stop.
"A misunderstanding?"
The iron-armored knight slowly landed back on the deck and looked down at him from above, his voice carrying authority, "Entering Angel Island without permission and causing trouble by fighting. This hardly looks like a misunderstanding."
As he spoke, he reached out and lifted the iron helmet covering his face.
An old face with completely white hair and beard, weathered by the passage of time, was revealed.
Though his eyes were already cloudy, they remained as sharp as an eagle's, deep and bottomless.
"This old geezer is actually this terrifying?"
Pinned to the ground, Lucky Roux endured the pain in his abdomen and muttered in disbelief.
His heart, however, sank.
The speed and force of those few spear thrusts just now had already proved the difference between the two sides.
This old man's strength was probably even slightly greater than Shanks's.
And now, Shanks wasn't here.
They had no chance of winning.
"Does your Sky Island recognize the World Government?", Sanji asked in a deep voice.
"I am the Sky Knight of Sky Island, Gan Fall."
The old man calmly gave his name, his gaze sweeping across Sanji's face, "With my God above, naturally there is no need to take that World Government seriously. However..."
He paused, "If you really are people of the World Government, then I can spare your lives."