Cricket didn't want to experience that rapid, upside-down ascent again...
"This is the White Sea, the lower level of the sky islands. The City of Gold—Shandora—is on the White-White Sea, ten thousand meters up. Didn't you want to see it with your own eyes?"
Rowan spoke calmly, but Cricket swallowed hard. Having come this far, he couldn't force himself to doubt Rowan anymore. He looked up, following Rowan's gaze... but he could see nothing but endless white.
Is the City of Gold really up there? He could believe an island sinking to the bottom of the sea, but rising to the heavens... it was simply too bizarre. Even with the Knock Up Stream, how much force would it take to launch an entire island that high?
"Mr. Rowan, are you sure? It's up there?"
"Yes. Let's go, there's no time."
What do you mean 'no time'?
Before Cricket could ask, his ankle was snatched once more!
"Mr. Rowan! Can we pick a different place to hold me?!"
The sensation of blood rushing to his head returned. Amidst a dizzying blur, Cricket followed Rowan up to the White-White Sea.
Ten thousand meters high... the scenery here was different from the lower White Sea. In the distance, he could see islands made of white sand, white beaches, and even some architecture.
"There are actually people living here..." Cricket was stunned.
"Since it's a sky island, naturally there are residents," Rowan explained. His gaze then locked onto a sudden, jarring protrusion in the sea of clouds—a patch of land that didn't belong.
Upper Yard.
He knew that was where the City of Gold lay, and it was the location of the man he had come to find.
Whinny—!
Suddenly, a sharp neighing sound echoed from above. Rowan sensed a hostile presence rapidly approaching. He turned to see a red-spotted horse with wings, carrying a white-bearded old man in armor and wielding a lance.
Rowan smiled faintly. So it's them.
The armored old man thrust his weapon toward Rowan without hesitation. Rowan tilted his head slightly, letting the tip whistle past his ear.
"Gan Fall, don't waste your energy. I am not your enemy. I'm here to help you."
Gan Fall looked at Rowan with deep suspicion. "You are a Blue Sea dweller. How did you get up here? You are not welcome. Leave at once!"
He issued the expulsion order immediately, but Rowan naturally had no intention of listening.
"You can't stop me, just as you couldn't stop... Enel."
The name acted like a curse, leaving Gan Fall momentarily speechless with shock. Enel had ruled Skypiea for eight years, and in all that time, no one from the Blue Sea had ascended. How did this man know Enel's name?
Questions hammered at Gan Fall's heart.
At the same time... Enel's Mantra (Observation Haki) had already sensed Rowan's arrival and had estimated his strength.
"An old man of such age actually made it up from the Blue Sea... interesting. To dare speak my name aloud—it seems I should show him the might of a God. Yahahahaha!"
Enel gave a wicked laugh. With a casual flick of his wrist, he discharged a bolt of lightning that surged into the upper atmosphere.
Above Rowan and Gan Fall, the sky suddenly darkened. A crackling, static sound filled the air, making Gan Fall break into a cold sweat!
"El Thor! God's Judgment is coming! Run!" Gan Fall shouted, mounting his bird-horse. "Quickly, Pierre!"
The horse galloped through the air, fleeing the darkened zone. Rowan, however, didn't move. To him, "God's Judgment" was about as threatening as a tickle.
"R-Rowan-san, aren't we leaving? 'God's Judgment' sounds pretty terrifying!" Cricket watched Gan Fall's reaction, his nerves fraying. Even though he knew Rowan was strong, the name alone was daunting.
"No need to run. When a so-called 'God' wants to strike you, the judgment will follow you to the ends of the earth," Rowan explained calmly.
Cricket felt a headache coming on, but he didn't have time to worry about it. A bolt of lightning flashed above, followed by a massive mass of black clouds and a deafening thunderclap. The lightning lunged downward toward the two of them!
"Cheap tricks."
Rowan looked up with disdain. He reached out a hand and closed it into a fist; the air immediately rushed toward his palm, condensing with a whistle.
A pressurized air-fist collided violently with the black lightning!
KABOOM!
The deafening impact sounded like ten thousand cannons firing at once. The darkness pressing down from above stopped dead before Rowan's fist. In that split second, Rowan's fist turned a polished, metallic black!
"Break!"
As Rowan uttered the word, the entire mass of black clouds was shattered by the force of his punch, dissipating into nothingness in an instant.
"Mr. Rowan... your strength really is just as legendary as the newspapers say!" Cricket gasped, bug-eyed. If defeating Bellamy on Jaya was a show of dominance, this was... simply beyond comprehension.
"You... you actually pushed back God's Judgment... Who are you? What is your purpose in the White-White Sea?" Gan Fall flew back to Rowan, his face pale with shock.
Rowan smiled, dusting off his clothes nonchalantly. "This old man is just here to take someone away. The person you want to disappear most. I'm heading to Upper Yard now. Do you want to come along? To witness it with your own eyes?"
"U-Upper Yard?!"
Gan Fall hadn't expected Rowan to be so blunt. The residents of the sky lived in constant terror of the man who called himself "God." His Mantra covered the entire island; any "sin" against his divine law invited immediate destruction. Rowan knew this better than anyone.
" Blue Sea dwellers are always so reckless! Leave this place! This is not where you belong!" Gan Fall maintained his stance, trying to drive them away.
Cricket climbed up from the ground and stood by Rowan, silently watching the white-bearded old man on the flying horse.
This guy looks like he's over a hundred, too...
Best let the old men talk to each other, Cricket thought. What is my luck lately? Why do I keep running into these troublesome old geezers...