Sea Stone - This special stone has the power of the sea. It can make Devil Fruit users who touch it feel like they've fallen into the sea, losing all ability to fight back.
It is famous for being rare and hard to work with.
In this day and age, the only group on the sea that can use Sea Stone on a large scale is the World Government!
Most Sea Stone is made into simple cuffs to arrest and hold Devil Fruit using criminals.
Some Marines add small pieces of Sea Stone to their favorite weapons to fight tricky ability-using enemies.
But the workers who made these weapons probably never dreamed that, high in the sky, thousands of feet away, there was a secret path made of Sea Stone!
No, more than that...
If there was a space at the end of the path, and that space was also made of Sea Stone, then the amount of Sea Stone buried under Shandora would be shocking!
...
Black steps went down, leading to who knows where.
"What do we do now?"
Crocodile squinted, looking at Rowan beside him.
"Should we go down and see?"
The full version of that sentence was, "Should we send someone down to see?"
After all, for Devil Fruit users, a path made of Sea Stone, with an unknown road ahead, is a dead end!
Even if they dared, users couldn't even walk in the path using their powers.
And for those without powers, although it seemed like just a normal secret path, they still wouldn't go in without thinking.
After all, no one knew if there were deadly traps in the path.
To go deep inside and explore, it would have to be a non-power user who was very sure of their own strength.
Of the people there, the only ones who fit that description were the Fish-Man Hocka, or "Sky Knight" Gan Fall.
But Gan Fall had just talked with the Four Seas Alliance. Even though he was honest and kind, he still couldn't be fully trusted. So, that left Hocka.
"I'll go."
Hocka rolled up his sleeves, ready to go forward, but Rowan stopped him.
"No rush here."
Rowan moved his finger, and the sand around them picked up the bricks that had fallen, and used them to block the entrance to the path again.
"Let's get ready, then go."
After all, the situation on Skypiea was very complicated.
To fight Enel, Gan Fall had gathered a group of Shandians. After Enel and his priests were beaten, Birka was also unguarded. Not to mention the issue of settling the many refugees after the war.
Now, without being ready, choosing to explore an eight-hundred-year-old ruin was not a smart idea.
Anyway, Gan Fall had agreed to think about joining the Four Seas Alliance. Once a sea route was built, coming to Skypiea again wouldn't be so hard.
As a member of Skypiea, Gan Fall agreed with Rowan's idea.
...
Both sides rested for a day.
On the third day after the big battle at Upper Yard, Gan Fall signed the agreement. Skypiea officially joined the Four Seas Alliance!
The next thing to do was build a safe, regular sea route.
But unlike Drum Island, Skypiea was thousands of feet in the sky. You couldn't get there by normal sea routes.
Knock-Up Stream?
Unless you were a crazy person who didn't care about their life, or someone like Rowan who had a special way to deal with it, going to Skypiea by Knock-Up Stream was almost certain death!
Rowan couldn't go with every ship that sailed there.
Not to mention that Skypiea's weather was very strange. Because there wasn't much air, many people from the Blue Sea felt very sick when they first came to Skypiea.
Things like that.
These were the problems the Four Seas Alliance had to solve.
And when it came to the important issue of transportation, Habu from Skypiea had the best idea for now.
Habu and his teacher had gone to the Blue Sea many times to see the weather. The way they traveled was by a special animal called a "Balloon Octopus."
It lives in the White Sea and has "balloon" powers. It lets out air to go down and fills up with air to go up. It's a fun animal.
If you hang a basket under it, it becomes a "Octopus Hot Air Balloon," unique to the White Sea.
Adult Balloon Octopuses are fierce, but the young ones are cute and can be caught.
The only problem is that young Balloon Octopuses can't carry much weight. Two people can barely ride in it. It was hard to use it for transportation.
This problem was easy to solve - for Rowan.
He went on a ship to the Balloon Octopus's habitat in the White Sea and used his Conqueror's Haki.
From then on, Balloon Octopuses became much gentler.
But just having a way to travel wasn't enough. The weather in the high sky changes a lot. You have to be a skilled navigator to know how to control a Balloon Octopus.
That's hundreds of times harder than learning to ride a Waver.
So, until others learn to control the Balloon Octopus, Habu will be the only driver.
...
Two more days went by.
The equipment for the Balloon Octopus was finished.
Rowan and the others, as the first passengers on the Balloon Octopus airship, got into the cabin, ready to go back to Alabasta.
Gan Fall was also sitting inside, planning to go see the desert country for himself.
He went near Rowan and said quietly:
"I've told people to guard around Shandora. No one usually goes to Upper Yard, so it is safe there. Don't worry."
"There" meant the Sea Stone path.
Gan Fall had learned from the records what Sea Stone meant in the Blue Sea. That black stone was even more valuable than gold. It could be used as a resource for war!
If the Blue Sea knew that such a large amount of Sea Stone was on Skypiea, the whole Blue Sea would be in an uproar.
Then, Skypiea would never have peace.
Gan Fall didn't want that to happen.
Skypiea had gone through six years of war, on and off. It really needed to "rest."
Both actually and emotionally.
Joining the Four Seas Alliance was for that!
...
A week later.
Marineford, Marine Headquarters, Fleet Admiral's office.
Sengoku had been sitting at his desk for a long time, holding the information in his hands.
Knock knock knock!
A knock on the door.
"Come in."
Two familiar figures walked in.
Garp and Tsuru.
"Oh, Sengoku, what did you call us here for so early in the morning?"
Garp was holding a bag of rice crackers, eating happily.
Hearing that, Sengoku rubbed his temples, helpless. "Actually... I didn't call you. I only called Tsuru-chan."
"Ah ha ha ha ha, I came because I thought you might need help!"
Garp sat down on the couch with a thud and laughed. "Tell me, tell me! I'm sure I can help!"
Sengoku paused. "I need you to use your brains and help me think of something."
Garp stood up from the couch with a thud. "I'm leaving. Goodbye!"
Sengoku: "..."
Finally, Tsuru's light cough stopped the nonsense. She turned to Sengoku and said, "Is it about Alabasta?"
Sengoku nodded, then shook his head. "It's not just Alabasta. It's about the 'Four Seas Alliance' that they're leading."
Tsuru nodded and said, "I've heard of it. Isn't it a business alliance? Those are common. What's the problem?"
Sengoku frowned. "Normal business alliances aren't a problem. For example, the alliance between Alabasta and Drum Island is a good thing for the people of both countries. But Skypiea's position is too special."
"Plus, they have a hand in all three areas - the sea, land, and sky - with the Fish-Man village before. Even though it's just a normal business alliance right now, I'm worried something will go wrong sooner or later."
Sengoku looked at Granny Tsuru. "So, I want to ask you, Tsuru-chan, to think of something."
In those words, Garp had been automatically excluded.
But when Granny Tsuru heard Sengoku's question, she wasn't surprised. It was like she had expected him to ask.
"I see. Actually, this problem is easy to solve."
Granny Tsuru smiled. "How about we join, too?"
"That makes sense. If we join, we can keep track of their actions at all times..."
As he said that, Sengoku suddenly froze.
He blinked, looked at Tsuru, looked at Garp, then looked at Tsuru again.
Garp did the same thing.
Tsuru shook her head, helpless, and repeated, "How about we join, too?"
Sengoku: "..."
Garp: "..."
The two looked at each other again.
"Huh?"
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