Skypiea — Sanctuary.
"Interesting bunch… what a shame," Enel murmured from atop the golden throne he'd built for himself, cracking his eyes open.
Through Mantra—his Heart Net—he'd already sensed Arton and the others.
He was arrogant to the bone, sure, but even he could tell they weren't ordinary. Of course, Enel's definition of not ordinary was simply that they seemed a little more entertaining than the people who'd washed up on Skypiea before.
"Among them… there might be a few worth taking with me to the Fairy Vearth."
Enel tilted his head, staring up at the sky—toward the place he believed to be the Endless Earth, the land he'd set his heart on.
His expression turned almost regretful.
If Arton's group hadn't paid the entry fee, the soldiers who maintained order on Skypiea would've already moved to arrest them. And that would've naturally funneled them into his Sanctuary—straight into God's Trial.
Then he could've tested them, decided whether they were worthy to follow him to the Endless Earth.
"…Whatever. I'll just force them into the trial," Enel said lazily, shutting his eyes again as if Arton's group wasn't even worth getting worked up over.
To him, whether they'd paid the fee didn't matter.
What mattered was what he wanted.
If he decided they'd participate in his trial, then they would—end of story.
He planned to rest a bit, then contact his subordinates and announce the trial to all of Skypiea.
The Skypieans and the Shandians still didn't know it yet…
A storm was already closing in.
…
Meanwhile, where Arton, Conis, Nami, and the others were—
[Carina: Welcome to the Flameblade Pirates girls' chat group.]
[Nojiko: Welcome, Conis.]
[Uta: Welcome welcome—hehe. Now we've got another music girl in the group. That's awesome.]
[Ain: Welcome, Conis.]
[Robin: Welcome. So, Conis… you're joining the Flameblade Pirates, right?]
[Conis: Hi, everyone… Um… if you'll have me, I want to join the Flameblade Pirates.]
[Robin: Even if that means Captain might cop a feel… or you might end up eating Captain's hot dog?]
[Conis: Wh—?!]
[Uta: Robin, you really can just say the wildest stuff with a straight face.]
[Nami: Seriously… where are you even learning these words, Robin?]
[Robin: From Captain's artwork, obviously. Nami—don't tell me your collection doesn't include the words hot dog.]
[Nami: Uh… it does, okay?!]
[Carina: Alright, alright—don't turn the group into some kind of contraband chat. Look at Conis, you're freaking her out so bad she can't even talk.]
[Conis: I-I'm fine… I just… why isn't Raki in this group?]
Conis had already steeled herself for all the things joining the Flameblade Pirates might involve… but she'd still underestimated the girls.
She'd thought she only needed to prepare herself for Arton.
Instead, Arton hadn't even done anything yet—and his crew was already teasing her like it was a sport.
What Conis didn't know was that as the Flameblade Pirates grew, and as the girls got closer, they'd long since developed a habit of casually chatting about forbidden stuff in the group.
Faced with that, Conis could only change the subject.
…And, honestly, she really was curious why she couldn't find Raki's name in the girls' chat.
[Uta: Can't be helped. Captain looks interested in Raki, sure, but he doesn't have a template that fits her right now.]
[Nami: And until we know for sure Raki actually wants to become our crewmate and leave Skypiea with us, we can't invite her into the group.]
[Carina: Exactly. If, in the end, you couldn't become one of us, Conis… you'd have to leave the group too.]
Chapter 534: Conis — "I Genuinely Want to Join"
To Carina and the other Flameblade Pirates, the girls' chat group was a big deal.
In there, it was partners only.
That's why Nami, Nojiko, and the rest could talk freely—without worrying they might accidentally leak something that could hurt Arton, themselves, or the Flameblade Pirates.
So outsiders were absolutely not allowed in.
The only reason Conis was permitted to join was because Carina had already confirmed two things: Conis truly wanted to join, and Arton very clearly wanted to recruit her. Only then did she get added.
[Conis: P-please don't worry. I really do want to join the Flameblade Pirates.]
[Conis: Honestly… I just don't know how to bring it up to Captain.]
[Carina: Hehe. If you really want to join, you'll find a way.]
[Ain: Captain already wants to take you in, too. You're way luckier than I was.]
[Uta: Compared to Ain, yeah—Conis, you've got it way easier.]
[Robin: True. She had to work her butt off before she finally got Captain to acknowledge her… and so did I.]
Robin slowly licked her lips, then turned her head toward Ain.
Ain was looking right back at her.
Both of them had the same memory flash through their minds—back when they'd been crouched in front of Arton, shamelessly fighting over a template like their lives depended on it.
[Conis: A-anyway… I'll do my best.]
Conis closed the chat for the moment and stole a glance at Arton, pumping herself up in her head.
Then a familiar voice called out.
"Whoa—Conis, are these guests?"
It was her father, Pagaya. Seeing Conis walking over with Arton, Nami, Carina, and the others, he looked at them with open curiosity.
"Yes, Dad. They're guests from the Blue Sea."
Conis smiled and nodded.
After everyone had introduced themselves earlier, she'd already gotten comfortable around Arton and the others, so she could introduce them to her father without stumbling over her words.
"Well now, this is rare!" Pagaya laughed warmly. "We haven't had guests from the Blue Sea in ages. Come on in!"
Arton smiled and nodded back.
Pagaya was exactly like Arton remembered—friendly to a fault.
That kind of big-hearted, easygoing personality honestly made Arton worry he'd get taken advantage of.
But what Arton worried about even more… was that Pagaya might refuse to let him take Conis with them.
Yeah… if I want Conis to leave with us, I'll probably have to make it happen through Conis herself.
Do I seriously have to wait until Enel starts targeting the people here before I can invite her? And when's that bastard finally going to make a move?
Arton kept his thoughts to himself.
He'd had a reason for paying the entry fee.
Sure, it wasn't much money. But he still didn't like the idea of handing even a single coin over to Enel, the man ruling Skypiea.
He'd paid up for two reasons.
First: he wanted to actually enjoy Skypiea's scenery for a bit.
Second: he didn't want to draw all the hostility onto himself right from the start.
Arton knew it—at this point in the timeline, Enel had probably already finished his golden ark, and he'd be right around the stage where he started "selecting companions" to take to the Endless Earth.
And once that happened, Enel would launch his so-called God's Trial against the people of Skypiea.
Sure, the trial would probably rope Arton's crew into it too—but that part didn't matter.
What mattered was this:
As long as Enel targeted everyone on the sky island, not just the Flameblade Pirates… that opened a door.
Because then Arton could make it a deal.
He'd provide a plan to survive this trial, and in exchange, Conis would join the Flameblade Pirates.
Arton was confident that even Conis's father wouldn't refuse a trade like that.
So when are you going to move, you piece of crap? Don't make me wait too long.
What Arton didn't realize was that if he simply invited Conis right now…
She'd probably say yes on the spot.