"Rear Admiral! Something is approaching the hull!"
The sea of clouds suddenly began to churn violently beneath the warship.
Massive ripples spread across the White Sea as though some enormous creature was swimming directly below them.
Saint Roselith Seraphina stood quietly at the bow of the vessel, her silver hair fluttering softly in the wind.
Her Kenbunshoku Haki had already detected the approaching lifeform long ago.
"Remain calm."
"We'll observe first."
Unlike Sea Kings or hostile beasts from the Blue Sea, this creature carried no killing intent whatsoever.
For now, there was no reason to attack.
A moment later
SPLASH!!
A gigantic crimson creature burst out from the sea of clouds.
"It's a giant lobster?!"
Kuina widened her eyes in disbelief.
The enormous red lobster possessed a shell harder than steel, while its massive claws firmly clamped onto the sides of the warship.
Yet strangely
It did not damage the vessel.
Instead, it began dragging the ship forward across the White Sea.
"It fixed the ship in place!"
"Where exactly is it taking us?!"
The Marines quickly gripped the rails tightly as the warship accelerated through the cloud ocean.
Cricket stared at the giant creature in amazement.
"The world truly is vast…"
"There's always something even stranger waiting beyond the horizon."
He had spent years sailing the Grand Line, yet even he had never imagined transportation methods like this.
The lobster steadily pulled the Marine warship toward a higher region of Skypiea.
As the voyage continued, Seraphina finally began obtaining a clearer perception of the legendary White Sea.
Earlier, the density of the clouds had interfered heavily with her Kenbunshoku Haki.
But now
The image of Skypiea gradually formed within her senses.
The clouds drifting through the sky looked soft enough to melt in one's mouth.
White.
Fluffy.
Like endless oceans of cotton candy.
Farmland appeared atop island clouds.
Buildings constructed from cloud-based materials lined the shores.
Bridges connected floating islands together.
And most importantly
People lived here.
The legendary Sky Island truly possessed civilization.
However, these inhabitants differed slightly from ordinary humans.
Each possessed small wings growing from their backs.
"Teacher…"
"Are those angels?"
Kuina's eyes sparkled brightly with excitement.
People with wings.
An island in the heavens.
It was almost identical to the fairy tales she had heard as a child.
Seraphina smiled faintly.
"They do resemble angels."
Although
From her perception, these winged inhabitants were physically no different from ordinary humans.
Most of them were actually quite weak.
Cricket nodded repeatedly beside her.
"They really do…"
"Could these people be descendants of the ones Noland once met four hundred years ago?"
The possibility caused his heartbeat to accelerate.
If that were true
Then the City of Gold truly existed here.
Meanwhile, the enormous warship being dragged across the White Sea naturally attracted the attention of Skypiea's residents.
"Look over there!"
"It's a ship!"
"Blue Sea people came up again!"
Many younger Sky Islanders looked shocked and excited.
However, some elderly citizens merely watched calmly.
Every few decades, ships from the Blue Sea occasionally reached Skypiea through the Knock-Up Stream.
To the people of the White Sea, outsiders from below were known collectively as "Blue Sea people."
Still
Since such events were incredibly rare, countless civilians gathered along the shore to watch.
They pointed excitedly toward the Marine warship while whispering among themselves.
Then
Several figures wearing white berets quickly arrived.
"Move aside!"
"Don't gather here!"
The newcomers forcibly dispersed the crowd while shouting loudly.
Their physiques were sturdier than average Sky Islanders.
These men were members of Skypiea's newly established White Berets.
"Tch."
"The White Berets showed up…"
Some civilians immediately revealed expressions of disgust.
"They're just dogs serving the Priests."
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Only two days had passed since Eneru overthrew Gan Fall.
After seizing power, the Four Priests had rapidly recruited followers and reorganized Skypiea's security forces into the White Berets.
In the eyes of many citizens
They were traitors.
"What did you just say?!"
One White Beret member immediately grabbed a civilian by the collar angrily.
The man glared fiercely.
"You dare insult us?!"
The civilian sneered fearlessly.
"Insult you?"
"You're servants of the usurper."
"That's exactly what you are."
The White Beret officer's face twisted violently with rage.
"You're asking for death!"
BANG!!
His fist smashed directly into the civilian's face.
Blood splattered across the cloud street instantly.
That single punch became the spark that ignited everything.
"You bastard!"
"They attacked civilians!"
"Fight back!!"
Chaos erupted immediately.
Citizens and White Berets began clashing throughout the streets of Angel Island.
The conflict spread rapidly.
"It started!"
"The White Berets are attacking people!"
"The false god finally revealed his true colors!"
"Everyone!"
"Lord Gan Fall protected Skypiea for years!"
"We must reclaim Skypiea from Eneru!"
"Long live Lord Gan Fall!!"
The cries echoed throughout the island.
It became immediately obvious
This resistance had long been prepared beforehand.
Even without the arrival of the Marine warship, conflict would have erupted eventually.
Gan Fall's influence among the people remained enormous.
During his reign, he had genuinely protected Skypiea and cared deeply for its citizens.
The people would never willingly accept a tyrant who seized power through violence.
High above the island
Within the shrine of Upper Yard
"Lord Eneru."
"The civilians below have begun rioting again."
Satori, one of the Four Priests, bowed respectfully while reporting the situation.
His round body trembled slightly.
Even now, the priests still struggled to understand Eneru's thoughts completely.
Suppressing the civilians would have been easy for the priests alone.
Yet Eneru specifically ordered them not to interfere.
Instead
He wanted to handle everything personally.
Eneru sat lazily upon the throne while crackling lightning danced around his fingers.
"Then let them experience God's Judgment."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
He had anticipated resistance from the very beginning.
In fact
He welcomed it.
Only by crushing rebellion publicly could he establish absolute authority over Skypiea.
Eneru's Mantra continuously spread outward like invisible waves.
Combined with the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, his perception range far surpassed ordinary Kenbunshoku Haki users.
At this stage
He could already monitor enormous portions of Skypiea simultaneously.
"Yahahahaha!"
"Let these fools become the foundation beneath God's throne!"
Back aboard the Marine warship
Kuina stared toward the distant chaos in confusion.
"They started fighting all of a sudden…"
"This has nothing to do with us, right?"
Seraphina quietly listened to the distant voices carried through the wind.
Her hearing far surpassed ordinary people.
From the civilians' cries
She had already pieced together the situation.
"A coup d'état…"
"Or perhaps…"
"The restoration of a fallen ruler."
The repeated mention of "God" made the political structure of Skypiea rather obvious.
Whether symbolic or literal
The title clearly represented the supreme ruler of this nation.
And based on the civilians' reaction
The previous God possessed immense popularity among the people.
That alone made the situation interesting.
Riva stepped forward beside her.
"Rear Admiral."
"Should the Marines intervene?"
"Strictly speaking…"
"The Marines are not permitted to interfere with another nation's internal affairs."
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