While the entire sea was in an uproar because of that single proclamation, with endless discussions and speculation spreading everywhere,
The Starry Sky Pirates had completely entered a period of comfortable, leisurely idleness.
Riding the rising sea current and breaking through ten thousand meters of altitude, the Going Merry finally arrived above a vast, snow-white ocean of clouds.
Koby, Chopper, and Wutian—one human and two beasts—who had originally been inside the cabin, also came out onto the deck.
Below them was a sea of white.
Around them was also a sea of white.
Even in front of Luffy and the others, their vision was filled with a thick white mist that blocked their sight.
Staring down at the dreamlike white ocean beneath them, even the intense altitude sickness was quickly forgotten.
After all, this kind of scene that only existed in fairy tales was far too rare!
On the White Sea, the unmanned Merry drifted freely along the current.
Usopp, who had just been shouting "I'm dying, I'm dying," was now full of life again, running around with Chopper and Merry.
At this moment, they were standing on the ship's railing, doing stretching exercises, clearly eager to jump into the cloud sea and show off their swimming skills.
Usopp even started competing with Wutian, neither willing to admit defeat, swearing to decide the winner in this sea of clouds!
Just then!
A powerful mental force suddenly swept across the hull of the Merry!
"Hm?"
On board the Merry, everyone except Chopper and Wutian froze in place.
Luffy instantly turned his gaze toward the distance, as if he could see scenes thousands of miles away.
"Ah!"
Far away, in front of the palace of the Land of Gods, Enel—being attended by two beautiful, winged angels while enjoying the rare apples of Skypiea—suddenly paused!
Just moments ago, as usual, he had activated his Mantra—Skypiea's Observation Haki—to survey his territory.
But when his electrically enhanced Observation Haki reached a small ship, it was actually blocked.
This was something he had never encountered in all these years!
Just as Enel was about to activate his Mantra with full force to investigate…
Something abnormal happened!
Within his mental domain that could cover the entire island, a pair of enormous, Soru-sharp eyes suddenly appeared!
An overwhelming pressure, like that of a god or demon, swept toward the tiny Enel from those terrifying eyes.
It was as if he were being warned not to disturb a god's entertainment.
Cold sweat continuously seeped from Enel's skin.
…
On board the Merry.
Brook, holding his bone sword, looked at Luffy standing at the bow and said with emotion:
"Luffy-sama's Haki… has become even stronger!"
These veteran crewmates had already trained their Haki to the top level of the world.
Yet they still couldn't do what Luffy just did—directly intimidating an enemy thousands of miles away.
Besides Luffy's special Conqueror's Haki, it was mainly due to the expanded range of his Observation Haki!
All of this was brought about by Luffy's powerful mental strength.
Zoro, standing nearby, spoke calmly and asked slowly:
"Should we go teach that ignorant brat a lesson?"
"No need!"
Luffy suddenly withdrew his deep gaze and smiled at everyone.
"We finally came to such an interesting place—let's just enjoy ourselves."
After that brief intimidation, that inexperienced fellow Enel probably wouldn't dare come disturb their fun for at least three days.
From time to time, groups of strangely shaped fish leapt out of the white ocean, most of them flat and elongated.
In order to adapt to the environment of Skypiea, these creatures—originally from the Blue Sea—were also doing their best to change.
However!
Heaven rarely goes according to people's wishes!
Just as Luffy and the others were planning to spend a peaceful and pleasant journey on this tranquil sky island, some people lacking self-awareness began to stir.
…
"Did you see clearly? Are they Blue Sea people?"
"That's right, Wyper!"
"They're the Blue Sea people who barely survived the rising sea current!"
At a location far from Luffy and the others, a group of tall, muscular men wearing simple attire gathered together and whispered among themselves.
They were the Shandia—the people who had waged a four-hundred-year war against the Skypieans to reclaim their homeland and ring the Golden Bell once more!
They were also the original inhabitants of the land of Jaya Island that had been blasted skyward by the rising sea current four hundred years ago.
These descendants of once-great warriors, forced by Enel's overwhelming power, now lived like rats—hiding here and there, occasionally robbing passing Blue Sea pirates who wandered into their territory.
More often than not, they relied on the severe discomfort Blue Sea pirates experienced upon first arriving at Skypiea to ambush and kill them.
They were a people in whom honor and disgrace coexisted.
However…
What no one knew was that, in the distant ancient past, both the Shandia and the Skypieans were originally Moon People who had migrated from the moon.
They once possessed advanced technology.
But it was precisely because of that technological advancement that their homeland—the moon—suffered catastrophic destruction.
In the end, with no other choice, the Moon People used their final resources to migrate their entire race to the Blue Planet, the very world where Luffy now lived.
Luffy's purpose in coming here was also to see whether the Poneglyph on Skypiea recorded anything related to outer space.
After all, they were about to reach the Sabaody Archipelago.
Luffy's extraordinary intuition had been telling him that the days ahead would no longer be as leisurely and relaxed as now.
So Skypiea was very likely his last period of true vacation.
After entering the New World, Luffy also planned to speed things up—find Moria, upgrade the Merry, and enhance his companions' strength.
And then…
Prepare to face the challenges that are about to arrive!!!
…
Luffy's intuition was not wrong at all.
On Jaya Island, inside the small tavern where Luffy and the others had first gathered.
Blackbeard's crew was now seated around the same round table that Luffy and his crew had once used.
If the pirate world ever developed a tourism industry, this tavern and this table would definitely become protected cultural relics!
After all, two legendary pirates had both stayed here!
It held extraordinary commemorative value!
"Captain, what should we do? Are we still going to continue chasing Monkey D. Luffy's crew?"
At one side of the round table, a massive, muscular fighter wearing a mask—wrestling champion Jesus Burgessess—asked the man sitting at the center, who was nonstop stuffing himself with cherry pie.
Missing a few teeth but completely unbothered while eating, Blackbeard stuffed another cherry pie into his mouth.
Behind his rough exterior was an unmatched cunning, and his arrogant, confident eyes flickered with sharp intelligence.
Marshall D. Teach glanced at the three bounty posters of the Starry Sky Pirates pinned to the table by an ornate dagger and said without hesitation:
"No! We give up!"
Don't be fooled by Blackbeard's constant loud, goofy laughter—there were very few in the pirate world who could match his strategic mind.
Their original plan was to defeat one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, then apply to the World Government to become a new Warlord, and after that proceed with a series of further plans.
But plans never keep up with changes!
Originally targeting the Starry Sky Pirates, the Blackbeard Pirates hadn't even begun to act when their plans were forcibly halted by a single newspaper issued by the World Government.
1.8 billion berries!
That bounty wasn't something just anyone could get.
In Blackbeard's view, the reason the captain of the Starry Sky Pirates received such a high bounty could only be one of two things:
First, they were truly powerful—so powerful that even before entering the New World, they had already become a terrifying threat to the World Government!
Second, the Starry Sky Pirates might be hiding some secret that the World Government feared, so they had to issue an enormous bounty to eliminate this danger as quickly as possible!
Either way, for Blackbeard, this was trouble he didn't want to provoke!
After all, their current situation wasn't as perfect as it seemed.
And judging from today's newspaper, the Starry Sky Pirates very likely satisfied both conditions!
So their plans needed a small adjustment.
Fortunately…
Blackbeard always liked to keep backup plans!
Things hadn't gone completely out of his control!
But!
This cherry pie really was ridiculously good!
"Boss! Another hundred servings of cherry pie!"
…
Deep within Mary Geoise, in the Room of Flowers of the Holy Land of the Celestial Dragons.
Upon the Empty Throne, a man with a solemn, expressionless face sat there, his hollow gaze looking down at the Five Elders kneeling below.
The bounty posters of the three pirates—Luffy and the others—were spread out on the floor.