An hour later, they reached the Upper Yard. Finn explained the rules of the sky island and the forces that ruled the place.
He also told them the story of Mont Blanc Noland and Kalgara, how the Upper Yard was thrown into Skypiea, and so on…
"So, basically, we could take this place if we get rid of the so-called god here. But those Shandia will be a problem later on, to think Shandora is in the sky island…" Regent said, nodding after Finn's explanation.
"We could ring the bell like Finn suggested and play the good guys. The Upper Yard is huge anyway, so we'll need people to handle things for us," Estrid added.
She planned to stay here for a few years. Time was not a problem for her since she could live a long life. Of course, she wouldn't put any burden on Finn. She wanted to conquer this place with her own hands, to show her worth to him.
"Finn, you rest in the ship. In a day this island will be ours. I have decided to replace that god and become the goddess of Skypiea," Estrid said with a confident smile, already starting to give instructions to Regent and the others.
Regent could only sigh helplessly at how his sister was showing off, but he could do nothing about it.
A day later, Skypiea changed hands. The former god stepped down, and Estrid became the new goddess of Skypiea.
Construction of a giant palace began, and the special giant seeds the giants had brought were planted across the Upper Yard.
The sheep and cow pairs that were brought from Elbaph were put on ranches.
A month later, the Shandians were convinced, through a mix of soft and hard methods, to acknowledge the new goddess.
Inside Estrid's chambers in the yet-to-be-finished palace, Estrid sat on her bed wearing sleeping clothes, with Finn sitting comfortably in her lap.
"Finn, why not stay in Skypiea with me for a few years?" she asked, pouring out her emotions as usual. "Sabaody Archipelago and Mock Town are dangerous places for a handsome man like you. What if some powerful vixen sets her eyes on you?"
Finn sighed. "I'll stay a few months with you, though I have to hire a few workers to run the bar," he said, not expecting Estrid to be this clingy.
In fact, he only came at night to visit Estrid during this time and would always return to his bar in Jaya the next morning. Their relationship was developing fast, though they had yet to take the next step.
By the way, Estrid surprisingly shared half of Shandora's treasures with him, though he kept it with her since there was nowhere safe to store it.
And that poor brother could only cry secretly. His sister didn't even give him a few kilos of gold. Instead, she started giving him a salary…
"Hehe, that's good!" Estrid beamed. "I designed many blueprints for the Upper Yard I want to show you, and…" She kept talking excitedly about her plans.
-x-X-x-
Two months later
Age of the Sea Circle, January 1st, 1479
63 years before the Egghead Incident
Grand Line, Paradise
Skypiea, Upper Yard
Goddess Palace
Two months had passed since Finn started staying in the Upper Yard. The palace was completed, the seeds were planted, and many royal guards had been hired.
Of course, the biggest news was Estrid's pregnancy last month with Finn's child…
Even Finn felt it was fast. Shouldn't they have developed their relationship for a few decades before thinking about pregnancy?
Still, the guy who had always been quietly jealous of Gaban could now smugly say he had surpassed him. The Skypiea doctors had confirmed it: Estrid was expecting twins.
Double the trouble, double the bragging rights.
Finn promised himself he would never speak of his private moments with Estrid to anyone. That part of his life remained more mysterious than the One Piece itself.
Now settled in Skypiea, he occasionally offered Estrid advice on how to govern her territory.
Still, because of her pregnancy, apart from a few guiding words, she had effectively become a hands-off ruler.
The unfortunate Regent carried the burden of administration, while the people continued to praise their goddess…
Finn himself was no different.
His three bars had been entrusted to capable managers he had recruited from Alabasta.
Yes, three bars. Finn's Rip-off Bar 3 had opened in Alubarna, funded by a fraction of his gold.
Sitting on the balcony of Estrid's chamber, Finn leaned back in his rocking chair, which was placed on top of a round table beside Estrid's own rocking chair.
The ten giant soldiers had turned from warriors into craftsmen. The giant palace and everything giant-sized inside it had been built by them, with the help of thousands of Skypieans.
There was no helping it. Estrid had offered gold as rewards for the giants and land rent in the Upper Yard for the Skypieans.
Finn opened his eyes, glanced at Estrid, and saw she was in deep sleep. He closed his eyes again.
Suddenly, a transparent window appeared before him, accompanied by a robotic voice.
[An important event is about to start.]
[Event title: Big Mom's Debut]
[Event Script details:
City Lord Louis, living on an island in the New World near G5 and not far from the Red Line, in Carolina city, was visited by his friend Mr. Charlotte. Though he was angry at the Charlotte family, he still received him with respect.
Louis' anger came from the "monstrosity" living with Mr. Charlotte, his daughter, Charlotte Linlin!
That creature, when hungry, didn't just destroy her home. She wrecked city roads, neighbors' houses, and trees. She even beat up the strongest fighters on the island!
The city treasury couldn't keep patching up everything she destroyed.
Carolina city had been built by a few merchants as a shelter from pirates, but Charlotte Linlin was more dangerous than any pirate.
Louis had had enough of this girl, so he asked his friends on other islands and finally got good news. Mother Carmel, who was in Elbaph, would accept troublesome children!
He told Charlotte about Carmel and her location. He was surprised when the other party accepted his advice and decided to take Linlin to her.
The next week, Charlotte departed for Elbaph, taking that girl with him. The city was finally going to be peaceful.
Though unknown to Louis, his simple advice let Charlotte Linlin meet Mother Carmel, who in just a year became Linlin's dearest person. Because of his advice, all giants, whether in Elbaph or other giant kingdoms, started hating Linlin to the core.
Because of him, Mother Carmel would die ahead of time.
Though Mother Carmel sold those children to the World Government, they would become agents like Kaku and Rob Lucci in the future if they trained well!
Because of him, Charlotte Linlin would meet Streusen and eventually turn into Big Mom.]
[Do you want to enter the script?]
[Yes / No]
-x-X-x-
The next chapter is gonna take ages, honestly. I'm only writing whenever I actually have a bit of free time.
Damn, I had no clue writing could be this tiring. Even just 200 words a day is mentally draining me.
Now I'm over here wondering how those authors who pump out 4,000 words daily even pull it off!
One more thing I gotta say, and yeah, consider this a spoiler: the MC is gonna end up joining the Navy.
That identity's gonna help him a ton. He's a total hypocrite anyway, you know? Imagine him looking all gentle and innocent on the outside, but really he's the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes... 😂
Second thing: even though Imu is a guy in the original show, in my novel she's a woman. She was born a girl, actually. I know a lot of people are gonna be happy about that...