Gion: "Huh? Arton turned on the Diary's video-recording mode again?"
Kujaku: "That's weird—didn't he already finish today's system task?"
Makino: "He's probably recording Skypiea's scenery. He did the same thing at Reverse Mountain."
Whitey Bay: "True! A place like Skypiea is absolutely worth filming."
Smoothie: "Speaking of which—if he's recording video on Skypiea… does that mean we might be able to capture the Poneglyph on video too?"
Stussy: "Knowing Arton, he might. He doesn't realize we can see everything through the Diary Copies. But the people around him will definitely try to prevent that."
Kalifa: "Like every time he's about to reveal his destination—his crew always finds some way to distract him."
Galette: "His crew really does feel absurdly reliable."
Carrot: "Ugh, I'm jealous… I wanna go to Skypiea too. When is Arton gonna come pick me up already? I don't even need a template! And—like—if I just join his crew, I don't have to offer myself up, right? …Though he drew me like that, so it's seriously embarrassing…"
Doll: "Hm? There's a woman I've never seen walking in front of Arton—don't tell me that's Conis, the one he mentioned in his diary? Did she already get Serval's template?"
Kujaku: "No way—are we not gonna get a Serval demo? Wait… something's off. From what they're saying, her name is Raki!"
Domino: "So Arton already invited this 'Raki' to join the Flameblade Pirates?"
[The Shandian girl, Raki… running into her the moment we reach Skypiea—guess that's fate.]
[Is she just meant to end up in my crew? Hehe. If that's true, I'm not complaining.]
[And damn—real-life Raki is way prettier than the anime version.]
[That chest. That ass. Yeah… no notes.]
[If I ask her to join the crew and leave Skypiea with me… wonder if she'll say yes.]
"Mr. Arton, this way please," Raki said as she led Arton and the others along, explaining as she walked. "The view over there is really nice."
Her cheeks were still flushed—because yeah, any woman would get flustered reading a review like that about her in someone's diary.
And even though Raki was Shandian, she'd made a point of fixing herself up before entering the Sky People's residential area. So the passersby didn't recognize her as Shandian at all.
If anything, Arton—and Nami and the other Blue Sea people—were the ones drawing attention.
"Not bad," Arton said, nodding while he adjusted the recording angle so he could properly capture the scenery. "Skypiea really does have its own vibe."
"The view's great, sure," Nami grumbled, blatantly cupping her full breasts as she remembered the old lady who'd demanded an entrance fee earlier, "but the fact we had to pay a toll just to enter? That pisses me off."
"Let it go," Nojiko laughed, looping her arms around Nami's neck from behind. "Converted to Beli, it's basically nothing."
"Yeah, but that's not the point," Nami pouted, eyeing Arton's back. "We're probably gonna end up enemies with Enel anyway, so why are we handing him money?"
"Because we're sightseeing," Nojiko said with a smile. "If we charge in and take Enel out immediately, it'll shake the whole island. We wouldn't get to see Skypiea like this—plus we still need to meet Conis and invite her to join us."
"I know, I know." Nami sighed. "Fine. Arton's having fun, so I'll shut up."
"This way, Mr. Arton. There's another spot—" Raki started, then stopped when she noticed Arton suddenly freeze. "Mr. Arton?"
"Raki… do you hear music?" Arton asked.
"Music?" Raki perked up, listening hard. "…No. I don't hear anything."
"I definitely hear it," Uta said, tilting her head. "It's coming from over there."
"Then let's check it out," Arton said, already moving first toward the source of the sound.
Chapter 532: Seeing Arton Up Close, Conis Gets Nervous
[No mistake—the one playing the harp by the shore is Conis.]
[Proof? That long-snouted fox at her side—Su.]
[And Conis is wearing the exact same outfit as in the anime. Man… real-life Conis is even prettier than anime Conis.]
[That face, that body—straight-up golden ratio.]
[Hell, if a Conis like this started strumming a guitar like Serval, she'd have a whole different kind of lethal charm.]
[And if Conis really gets Serval's template, she should be able to use her harp to call down lightning too.]
[Serval's guitar is just a tool—a way to channel it.]
[What actually makes her lightning happen is her Path… and that Imaginary lightning energy inside her.]
Gion: "So that woman is Conis… and she really is a musician."
Kujaku: "Female, beautiful, plus music—Conis already meets the three traits needed to use Serval's template."
Doll: "She doesn't look like a fighter at all. If she gets Serval's template… won't she become way too strong?"
Smoothie: "Whether she gets stronger depends on her own talent—and whether she can earn more points through Arton's diary."
Cinnamon: "And if the points are high enough, they can beat talent, too."
Stussy: "She kind of reminds me of Kaya. Arton loves taking photos of Kaya—if Conis joins the Flameblade Pirates, he'll probably want to take a ton of pictures of Conis too."
Domino: "Looks like there's no stopping Arton from meeting Conis. At least let us see what Serval's template can actually do."
Sadi: "Yeah—and Arton's women better not ruin it this time. Don't you dare block the Serval demo."
"Everyone—pick up the pace. We're heading over there," Arton said with a bright smile as he sped up toward Conis.
The others hurried after him too, terrified of getting left behind and missing their chance to see Serval's abilities in action.
But the sound of footsteps closing in finally made Conis notice.
She stopped playing, turned around, and the moment she saw Arton's face, her expression flickered with shock.
Arton… and the Flameblade Pirates.
Conis snapped a hand over her mouth, barely stopping herself from blurting out what she was thinking. Normally, she shouldn't know who Arton is. If she called him by name right now, there'd be no way to explain it.
So Conis drew a slow breath, forced her nerves down, and smiled the way she'd practiced.
"Hello. You don't look like Sky People," she said gently, holding her harp at her waist with both hands. "You're from the Blue Sea, right?"
"Yep. That smile—exactly that one," Arton said, nodding with obvious satisfaction.
"Huh?" Conis blinked, startled—just for a second.
Arton took it as simple confusion and didn't think any deeper.
"That's right. I'm from the Blue Sea," he said, stepping closer. "Hello, beautiful."
He offered his hand.
Conis immediately reached out her pale hand and shook his, almost too fast—like she was afraid that hesitating for even a heartbeat would count as disrespect.
Behind Arton, Nami, Uta, Kaya, and the others studied Conis with open curiosity.
Because with Arton having just pulled a template that fit her perfectly… this gentle, blonde girl had a very real chance of becoming the Flameblade Pirates' newest crew member.