"Wooooah! So this is Skypiea?!"
"Rayleigh! Gaban! Oden! Look! A sea of clouds!"
This was a pirate ship, and standing excitedly at the bow was none other than the captain himself, Gol D. Roger.
The ones who had ascended to Skypiea were the Roger Pirates, currently searching for the final island.
"Damn it, Roger! Can't you sit still for even a minute?!"
"Didn't you see the Oro Jackson covered in damage? Hurry up and help repair it!"
The vice-captain, Dark King Silvers Rayleigh, smashed a fist onto Roger's head with an angry expression.
To reach Skypiea, they too had used the Knock-Up Stream.
Even the Oro Jackson, a pirate ship built from the Treasure Tree Adam, couldn't emerge from such a miraculous current completely unharmed.;
After arriving at Skypiea, the ship was covered in scars.
The Roger Pirates were heartbroken seeing it in such a state.
"Exactly, Captain! Hurry up and help fix the ship!"
A young red-nosed boy looked at his captain in frustration.
"Ahahaha! Buggy, I'm coming to help right now!"
As he spoke, Roger also joined the repair crew.
"Gaban, can you determine our course?"
Scopper Gaban, shook his head.
"There's not even any wind in this cloud sea. How am I supposed to know which direction to go?"
"Roger, why don't you try using Observation Haki? See if you can sense any living creatures nearby?"
Gaban immediately kicked the responsibility over to his captain.
After all, wasn't that what captains were for?
And besides, his captain... tsk tsk tsk.
"Alright! Let me try using Observation Haki!"
True to form, Roger acted immediately without hesitation.
That was just who Gol D. Roger was.
A red glow instantly flashed in Roger's eyes.
It signified the activation of his Observation Haki.
As his Haki spread outward, the area it covered expanded further and further.
"Hahaha, Captain Roger! Gaban was just messing with you, and you actually fell for it!"
Kozuki Oden burst into laughter, and the surrounding crew members laughed along with him.
"Damn it, Gaban! You tricked me again!"
"Hurry up and find the route already!"
In the end, after much discussion among the Roger Pirates, they finally chose a direction.
And surprisingly enough, it was actually the correct course.
Straight toward Angel Island's coast.
When they approached Angel Island's harbor, the silver-white Warhammer appeared directly before them.
The seagull flag symbolizing justice was dazzlingly eye-catching.
"The Marines?"
"How is that possible? Marines actually made it here?"
Roger was dumbfounded.
The entire crew was dumbfounded.
"That's impossible! Even that bastard Garp couldn't chase me all the way here!"
"So why are there other Marines here?!"
"And why does that ship look so familiar???"
Roger completely lost it.
He couldn't understand why he still had to see Marines after running all the way to Skypiea!
The moment he saw the Marine flag, he immediately thought of that mad dog Garp.
Always chasing him around nonstop!
So damn annoying!
"Hmm... Roger, you're right. That ship does look familiar."
"If I remember correctly, that should be the warship of Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Hammer."
Rayleigh adjusted his glasses, a trace of seriousness flashing through his eyes.
"Hammer? I think I've heard that name before!"
"Isn't he that brat who summoned lightning?"
Rarely enough, Roger actually remembered who Hammer was.
The guy who had thrown the lightning-attracting trident onto their ship and nearly split them in half with lightning strikes.
"Not just that. The storms and lightning during the Edd War were probably his doing too."
"In other words, Roger, Buggy getting struck by lightning was also because of him."
Roger scratched his head and shivered instinctively.
Meanwhile, Buggy's face turned pale with fright, and his body instantly split apart into pieces.
It was the power of the Paramecia-type Chop-Chop Fruit.
Ever since being struck by lightning, Buggy had developed an extreme fear of thunder, terrified another bolt might descend and fry him again.
"I've heard that he also teamed up with Vice Admiral Borsalino and several Rear Admirals to defeat Golden Lion Shiki and throw him into Impel Down."
"Tsk tsk, his reputation has already spread throughout the seas. He's known as the strongest among the Marine super rookies."
As vice-captain, Dark King Rayleigh was exceptionally diligent.
He kept track of all kinds of intelligence across the seas, especially information regarding the Marines.
"So he's really that amazing? This Hammer guy?"
The still-young Shanks muttered to himself.
Rayleigh's expression grew even more serious as he continued:
"The most important thing is that this Marine named Hammer isn't just incredibly strong."
"He's also the world-famous blacksmith."
"You all know the name Ornn, right? That's actually Hammer."
"He forged the divine weapon Winterborne, comparable to one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades."
"He also forged the divine axe Rhitta, which lets Marine mad dog No.2 Sakazuki rampage through the New World."
"And Whitebeard, the one who got beaten terribly after provoking the Marines, the arm guards worn by former Admiral Zephyr during that beating, the Fist of Tekko , were also forged by this man."
If Hammer had been present, he definitely would've given Rayleigh a thumbs-up and happily said:
"Since the Dark King admires me this much, I'll make sure never to disturb your flirting in Sabaody in the future!"
"My god, this kid's a jack-of-all-trades."
"He can beat people up and forge weapons too. Why isn't someone like this a pirate?!"
"If he were, I'd definitely recruit him onto my ship!"
Roger became excited, and then immediately depressed.
Such an incredible talent wasn't a pirate.
That made him very unhappy!
.....
Meanwhile, while the Roger Pirates were discussing Hammer.
The Marines stationed at Angel Island had already discovered the Roger Pirates' movements.
"Damn it! That's the Roger Pirates!"
"How did they get to Skypiea?!"
"Hurry and contact Vice Admiral Hammer!"
"Form up!"
The Marine assembly signal instantly echoed through the air as hundreds of Marines gathered together.
"We need to return to the Warhammer before they do and use the ship's advantages to counterattack!"
"Exactly! So what if it's the Roger Pirates?! It's not like we've never encountered them before!"
The Marines aboard the Warhammer possessed their own pride.
That pride came from the hammer-blades and firearms in their hands.
These weapons were among the finest in the entire Marine force.
They made the Warhammer Marines far stronger than ordinary soldiers.
Several hundred Marines immediately advanced toward the Warhammer in perfect formation.
While running, the communications soldiers continuously attempted to contact Hammer and the others.
.....
At the same time Hammer had already led everyone to the ruins of Shandora.
Looking at the dazzling mountains of gold, everyone's eyes widened.
Especially Tokikake and the others, they swore they had never seen this much gold in their entire lives.
So much!
So shiny!
So badly wanted!
Meanwhile, the Shandians were overcome with emotion.
This was their homeland!
The City of Gold!
As long as they relit the Light of Shandora,
They could restore the glory of their ancestors!