Chapter 243: Ralph's Desire for His "Son" to Succeed!
Ralph kept his promise and remained silent.
He leaned against the ship's railing, watching his companions bombard the two unlucky souls with questions, a faint smile playing on his lips.
The handsome old knight Gan Fall now wore a helpless expression, surrounded in the middle.
He wanted to escape, but couldn't.
The Pirates' questions came like rapid-fire:
"What do Skypieans usually eat?"
"Is the cloud stable to walk on?"
"Do gods really live up there?"
"Do you have gold?"
Gan Fall patiently answered each one.
These common-sense questions were manageable, but when they asked about the Shandians and his own identity, the old knight's expression visibly darkened.
Those were memories he preferred not to revisit.
To change the subject, Gan Fall whistled.
"Pierre!"
A screech echoed from the sky as a large bird swooped down.
Everyone looked up, expecting to see the legendary Pegasus—
According to Gan Fall's earlier introduction, his mount was a bird that had eaten the Uma Uma no Mi and could transform into a Pegasus.
And then they saw it.
A pink bird covered in black circular spots flapped its wings and landed beside Gan Fall.
Then, right before their eyes, it transformed into a horse.
A pink horse covered in black spots, with wings.
The Straw Hat crew froze in place.
Could you imagine a majestic Pegasus that looked like it was wearing thermal underwear?
"Pfft—"
Usopp was the first to lose it.
Chopper blinked:
"That's... really strange..."
Lufia stared at Pierre for three seconds before posing the ultimate question:
"Is it sick?"
Gan Fall's face flushed red, and he cleared his throat:
"P-Pierre is a very reliable partner! Though the color is a bit..."
Before he could finish, Lufia's arm stretched over.
"Don't go yet, old man! Let's chat a bit more!"
She grabbed Pierre's tail, her rubber arm stretching far out.
Pierre flapped its wings desperately but couldn't take off.
Usopp and Chopper rushed over too, one hugging Gan Fall's leg, the other tugging at his cape.
"Yeah, yeah! Stay a while longer!"
"Where are you going, old man?"
Gan Fall, tangled up by the three youngsters, sighed helplessly:
"As the Sky Knight Gan Fall, I have important duties to attend to.
Whenever I hear a call for help, I must answer and provide aid."
"So cool!"
The trio exclaimed in unison, their eyes sparkling.
Just then, a disdainful snort came from beside them.
The Shandian warrior, bound tightly, wore a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth.
Nami keenly noticed this detail.
She looked at Gan Fall, then at the warrior, deep in thought.
This old man Gan Fall had made an excellent first impression—
warm-hearted, kind, and eager to help.
Yet this native warrior regarded him with disdain.
What conflict existed between them?
Nami's eyes lit up, and she exchanged a glance with Robin.
See, this is the kind of exciting plot development to look forward to!
Ralph was amazing, as if he knew everything.
But if he explained it all, they would miss out on this kind of fun.
Ralph, of course, noticed his companions' enthusiasm.
He shrugged and turned to walk off the ship.
They were his crewmates, after all. Might as well indulge them.
At that moment, the Going Merry was docked in a white bay.
Although both are white clouds, the one carrying the Going Merry is called Sea Cloud, while the solid one that serves as a coastline is called Island Cloud.
Ralph, who had been left behind, stepped onto the Island Cloud, feeling a soft, springy texture under his feet, as if he were stepping on cotton candy.
"Come here, Munch-Munch."
He called out.
The Little Dinosaur trotted over eagerly, curiously pawing at the Island Cloud.
"Try it, see what it tastes like."
Munch-Munch lowered its head and took a big bite, chewing noisily.
Ralph crouched down, using his beast-taming abilities and Observation Haki to carefully sense Munch-Munch's emotions.
Soft, cool, and much tastier than dirt or sand.
Munch-Munch took another bite, then looked up at Ralph with a hint of confusion in its eyes.
Hard to get full?
Ralph nodded, offering a fair assessment:
"Got it, good texture but too low density."
He poked the Island Cloud, then lay down on it, enjoying the cloud-like softness.
Like cotton, so comfortable!
The only challenge was figuring out how to make use of it.
Back in the Blue Sea, whether it was sand, dirt, wood, or steel, Munch-Munch could eat it and transform it into various forms according to his ideas.
But this Island Cloud stuff was too soft—what could it be used for?
"Once we reach the real Skypiea, let's see how the locals make use of it."
Ralph muttered to himself, "...After all, the main targets are the various shells."
Wind-blowing, fire-breathing, smoke-emitting, glowing, heating, stinking, and even those capable of releasing powerful impacts and slashes—
The shells of Skypiea were treasures among treasures.
Such precious things, yet in the original story, they weren't farmed on a large scale. Instead, the rare varieties were driven to extinction.
What a waste!
Watching Munch-Munch nibble away at the Island Cloud like cotton candy, Ralph was already imagining what it would be like to digest and install all those shells onto its body.
By then, Munch-Munch wouldn't just be able to grow or shrink, blow wind, or breathe fire—it could even swallow clouds and spew mist.
With a bit of meteorological knowledge applied to its design, summoning wind and rain or creating thunder might not be impossible.
This was truly hoping for one's child to become a dragon!
When Ralph returned to the Going Merry with Munch-Munch, he found that old man Gan Fall had already left at some point.
Lufia, Usopp, and Chopper were gathered in a circle, studying some strange and unusual gadgets.
All of them had been taken from that Shandian warrior.
"These shoes are amazing!"
Usopp held up a pair of shoes, "Press this mechanism, and the soles will blow wind!"
Chopper leaned in to look:
"Really! So you can walk quickly on clouds with these?"
Lufia, meanwhile, was holding a strangely shaped cannon barrel:
"This one can shoot fire!"
The three of them were having a great time.
The disarmed native warrior had been tossed aside, his face pale with anger.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and exploded:
"Enough!"
Everyone paused and looked at him.
The warrior straightened his back. Though bound tightly, his eyes burned with unyielding fire:
"As a guardian of Shandora and the strongest warrior of the Shandian people, I fear not even the gods, let alone you plunderers from the Blue Sea!"
"Wyper the Berserker—I would rather die in battle than suffer your insults!"
At these words, the eyes of the entire Straw Hat Crew lit up.
Shandora!
The legendary Golden Land that Noland once visited!
The Shandian people were the tribe that guarded Shandora!