"So? Did Fire Fist Ace agree to become one of the Seven Warlords?"
"No."
"Then you captured him?"
"…He ran."
Sengoku's tone immediately became strange.
"He ran? From you? Don't tell me you let him go on purpose."
Busted?
Karl remained calm.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku… well, he's a Logia user, so…"
"Enough, enough. I understand," Sengoku interrupted with a sigh. "That brat hasn't committed any unforgivable crimes anyway. If he escaped, so be it. We weren't counting on him joining the Warlords in the first place."
"Anything else? I'm hanging up. By the way—what are you doing right now?"
"I'm just traveling around the Grand Line. No urgent missions, right?"
"None for now. I'll have someone notify you if anything comes up."
…
After ending the call, Karl looked down at the sea below. A peculiar island shaped like the Chinese character "皿" came into view.
He turned to Hancock.
"This is Jaya Island. There's a town here called Mock Town."
Hancock rested her chin in her hand.
"You're saying that ten thousand meters above this island… is Skypiea?"
Karl smiled faintly.
"Yes—and no. Look carefully. From above, doesn't it feel like this island is missing something?"
Hancock puffed her cheeks and shook his arm impatiently.
"Stop being mysterious! Just tell me!"
"Alright, alright—stop shaking me."
"Raven, prepare to descend. Over there."
"Caw!"
As Raven descended, Karl began explaining.
"Four hundred years ago, Jaya wasn't this small. Half of it was blasted into the sky by an unprecedented Knock-Up Stream. That half included the original inhabitants, animals… and ancient ruins."
"Today's Jaya is just the barren remainder."
Hancock listened quietly.
"Do you know Montblanc Noland?"
She shook her head.
She had grown up on Amazon Lily. Her knowledge of the outside world came only from occasional voyages and newspapers. A figure from 400 years ago was beyond her scope.
Karl's expression turned nostalgic.
"Montblanc Noland was an explorer and botanist from the Kingdom of Lvneel in the North Blue. Over 400 years ago, he led an expedition."
"I was born in Lvneel. I grew up hearing stories about him."
"But his reputation… wasn't good."
"They called him 'Noland the Liar.'"
Hancock blinked.
"Why?"
"Because there was once a magnificent city on Jaya—Shandora. A city overflowing with gold."
"But when Noland returned with the king's fleet to retrieve the gold… half the island was gone."
"The Knock-Up Stream had already sent Shandora into the sky."
"So the king accused Noland of deceiving him and had him executed for lying."
"Even at the gallows, he insisted the City of Gold truly existed."
"And so, 'Noland the Liar' became a famous fairy tale in the North Blue."
By the time Karl finished, Raven landed smoothly.
Karl jumped down with Hancock, gazing at a half-collapsed house in the distance and smiling faintly.
"So… he was wrongfully accused?" Hancock asked softly.
Karl shrugged.
"Who cares? It was centuries ago."
"But the existence of that story proves one thing."
"Skypiea very likely exists."
"Then why don't we just fly straight up?" Hancock asked.
Karl pointed at Raven helplessly.
"Look at him. He's exhausted. Let him rest and eat first. Then we'll go up."
Raven immediately flapped his wings and pointed at his beak eagerly.
Food.
Hancock glanced around.
Dense forest.
No sign of civilization.
"But darling… I remember the town being on the other side of the island. Did we land in the wrong place?"
"Doesn't matter," Karl replied calmly. "Let's rest near that house. Someone will show up eventually."
They walked toward the half-standing house.
No one was present, but it was clearly inhabited. The door was locked.
Karl laid out a blanket and pulled out food from his system space—turning it into an impromptu picnic.
Hancock was already used to this.
After all, even her clothes were stored in Karl's system space.
That afternoon, two uniquely shaped pirate ships docked nearby.
A man with a chestnut-shaped head leapt down.
"See you tomorrow, boss! We'll pick you up in the morning!"
Montblanc Cricket lit a cigarette and waved to the Saruyama Alliance brothers.
Another fruitless day.
They had recovered some treasure—but not what he truly sought.
Then—
His expression hardened.
"There's someone here."
His diamond-shaped face grew stern as he cautiously approached his house.
A man.
A woman.
And a black raven.
The man was outrageously handsome. The woman was breathtakingly beautiful.
They looked harmless. Like a couple who wandered here by accident.
Cricket relaxed slightly—but still spoke coldly.
"You two are pretty rude. Don't you know this is my house?"
Karl had sensed him long ago.
He glanced back lazily and smiled.
"Commander of the Saruyama Alliance. Bounty: 25 million Berries. Montblanc Cricket. Correct?"
Cricket's pupils shrank.
He took several steps back.
"Who are you? A bounty hunter? Or… Marine?"
Karl chuckled.
"Do I look like someone who needs to be a bounty hunter?"
Hancock giggled beside him, eyes crescent-shaped with amusement.
She clearly understood the implication.
Karl stood up calmly.
"No need to overthink it. I'm Marine Vice Admiral Karl. Codename: White Crow."
Cricket's body stiffened.
"White Crow?!"
A Marine Vice Admiral… here?
To arrest him?
He was only worth 25 million Berries!
"That's overkill…" Cricket muttered internally.
Karl waved dismissively.
"Relax. I'm not here to arrest you."
"I just have a question."
Cricket swallowed nervously.
"What question?"
Karl's gaze sharpened slightly.
"Do you believe Skypiea… truly exists?"
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