「It's a blessing that the weather stays this clear,」 Krieg remarked, squinting at the endless blue.
「Well, we are above the clouds, Boss,」 Gin replied.
「Does it ever rain up here?」
「I mean... we're above the weather. Not much left to fall on us, is there?」
The trio (plus Cotton and Kafu) continued their conversation aboard a Dial Boat powered by a Breath Dial.
They were currently navigating toward the "Upper Yard"—the Forbidden Holy Land. Since the boat moved on its own via wind propulsion, Krieg only had to man the rudder while Tesoro kept watch and Gin inspected their haul of Dials.
「But Boss,」 Gin said, lifting a Lamp Dial to his eye. 「What are we actually going to do with all these shells?」
「The main goal is upgrading our equipment,」 Krieg explained. 「I haven't finalized the blueprints, but these things have endless tactical applications.」
The Tactical Inventory
Thanks to their successful trade on Lovely Street, the "Vanguard" had secured a wide variety of Dials:
Breath Dial: Ejects wind. Used for ship propulsion and high-speed movement.
Tone Dial: Records and plays back sound. Useful for reconnaissance or psychological tricks.
Lamp Dial: Stores light and releases it steadily. A reliable, flameless light source.
Flash Dial: Releases stored light all at once. Perfect for blinding enemies in an ambush.
Flame Dial: Stores and ejects fire. Typically used as a stove, but has obvious offensive potential.
Heat Dial: Radiates intense heat.
Flavor Dial: Stores and releases gases/scents.
Vision Dial: Records and projects images.
Water Dial: Stores and ejects water.
Unfortunately, Krieg couldn't find any Impact Dials for sale—likely deemed too dangerous for civilian trade—and the legendary Reject Dials and Jet Dials remained elusive, confirmed as extinct species in Skypiea.
Krieg also had his eye on the Axe Dial, which can store and release slashing attacks. However, these weren't native to Skypiea; they originated from Enel's homeland, Birka. Going there would be a massive detour, so he put that idea on the back burner for now.
Then there was the Milky Dial. It stores "Process Clouds" which can be shaped into anything. While it would offer incredible versatility in combat, the local laws of physics presented a problem:
Process Clouds only maintain their form in the low-pressure environment of the sky. In the Blue Sea, they would simply dissipate. Krieg bought a few for research, but he couldn't rely on them for his main arsenal.
Swords into Plowshares (and Back Again)
「You're going to turn cooking tools into weapons-less?」 Cotton asked, rolling a Heat Dial that was nearly as big as she was.
「Utility items are almost always repurposed for war, Cotton,」 Krieg said, reaching down to stop the rolling shell before it hit the side of the boat.
「A Flame Dial is a stove until you put it on the end of a tube—then it's a flamethrower. That Heat Dial you're playing with? Attach it to a spearhead, and you've got a Heat Javelin that melts through armor. Now stop rolling that, it's dangerous.」
「Hmph. Krieg, you think about scary things-less,」 Cotton pouted.
Tesoro chuckled from the bow. 「He's not the only one, little lady. In the outside world, if it can be used to gain an advantage, someone's already turned it into a weapon.
Dressrosa might be peaceful, but the rest of the sea is a different story.」
Cotton went quiet, thinking about the contrast between her home and the vast, "busy" world Krieg lived in.
Krieg steered the rudder as a dense, dark green canopy began to rise from the white clouds ahead. Unlike the fluffy cloud-islands of Skypiea, this was real soil. Solid earth. Vearth.
「Alright, eyes up,」 Krieg commanded. 「We're entering the island's airspace. Stay sharp.」
The Sacred Land of Vearth:
As the Dial Boat cruised along the Milky Road, Krieg summarized the situation in his head.
The warnings from Pagaya and the intel Gin gathered in town were unanimous: Do not enter the Upper Yard. Unlike the rest of Skypiea, which is made of Island Clouds, the Upper Yard is composed of real earth—"Vearth"—a holy substance the sky people worship.
This land was blasted into the sky hundreds of years ago by the Knock Up Stream. The ancestors of the Shandia were its original inhabitants, and they have fought for centuries to reclaim their stolen homeland from the Sky People.
While Gan Fall is currently attempting peace talks with the Shandia elders, the younger, more hot-blooded warriors of both sides often clash in the forests.
It was a powder keg, but Krieg had business there. Specifically, business involving shiny, yellow metal.
「Seriously, look at this place. Did this really come from the Blue Sea? The trees are growing at a ridiculous rate,」 Tesoro remarked, staring at the gargantuan forest canopy.
「Something about the unique particles in the sky air accelerates the growth of plants and animals,」 Krieg explained, repeating what he remembered from the source material.
Tactical Deployment: The Sneaking Mission
They reached the shoreline of the Upper Yard and moored the boat in a secluded thicket. Krieg looked at his team, weighing his options for the shore party.
「Should we leave someone with the boat?」
「I can stay behind, Boss,」 Gin offered. 「We've got all those Dials we just bought; it would be bad if someone stumbled upon them.」
「Right. The target is the ruins, roughly in the center of the island,」 Krieg said, spreading out a rough map. 「It's quite a hike.
Tesoro, I'll need your ability for the 'extraction' once we find the gold. Sigma will come with us for mobility and muscle.
Gin, you stay with the boat. Cotton, Kafu—stick with Gin. If anything happens, use the Tone Dials to signal us.」
「Understood-less! Be careful, Krieg-less!」 Cotton chirped, hopping onto Gin's shoulder.
With the boat secured, Krieg, Tesoro, and Sigma slipped into the dense, over-sized jungle.
The Path to the Golden Ruins
The mission was simple: Infiltration. Krieg wanted to avoid the Shandia scouts and Gan Fall's Divine Squad.
He had no desire to get bogged down in a territorial war while he was on leave. More importantly, he wanted to avoid the "Master of the Sky"—that mountain-sized Great Snake, Nola. Dealing with a giant venomous serpent was a headache he didn't need.
「This forest is insane... Krieg, look at this. These ruins are being swallowed whole by the roots,」 Tesoro said, riding on Sigma's broad back as the wolf-creature navigated the giant undergrowth.
Krieg looked at a crumbling stone pillar draped in moss and ancient vines. 「...I should have brought Robin.」
「Oh, right. That survivor from Ohara you protected years ago?」
「Yeah. She's an aspiring archaeologist. Seeing a 400-year-old city in the clouds would have made her year.」
「Why not just take some pictures? Did you bring a Kameko (Visual Den Den Mushi)?」
Good point, Krieg thought. He pulled out the small snail camera and began snapping photos of the ruins as they moved.
Not only would it be a great gift for Robin, but it served as excellent reconnaissance data for the Navy.
The air was humid, smelling of damp earth and ancient history. Suddenly, Sigma stopped, his ears twitching. He let out a low, vibrating growl.
「...We've got company,」 Krieg whispered, his hand going to his weapon.
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