Skypiea — Shandian settlement.
"Wiper—are you okay?!"
Kamakiri spotted Wiper's eyes fluttering open and practically dove onto him.
"…What happened?"
Wiper squinted, still disoriented.
"You seriously don't remember? You went to attack the people who came up from the Blue Sea. But you passed out halfway, so everyone carried you back," Kamakiri explained.
"…Right."
Wiper's head felt foggy. He lifted a hand to rub his forehead—then froze.
His brow furrowed as he stared at the tiny hand in front of his face.
"My hand…! What the hell—why does it look like this? And my voice—my whole body, too! What happened to me?!"
He shot up, patting himself down in a panic, spinning like he was trying to confirm it wasn't some nightmare.
"You really forgot? A Blue Sea woman—someone who could walk through the air—hit you with some weird ability. It wasn't just you, either. Everyone who got touched by that strange flame… they all shrank," Kamakiri said.
"A woman who can walk through the air…!"
Wiper's eyes lit up as the missing piece finally snapped back into place.
Yeah—how could he forget that? Someone moving through the sky without using dials was insane. In his mind, only Enel should've been able to pull that off.
"Raki—where is she? Did she shrink too?"
He didn't even have the energy to worry about how to get his body back yet. The only thing he could think about was Raki—the one who'd tried to stop him.
And now, with everything he'd seen, Wiper couldn't deny it anymore: those Blue Sea intruders were dangerous. He didn't know what the others were like, but that woman who'd turned them into kids was the real deal.
"Raki…" Kamakiri hesitated, his face tightening.
Wiper's stomach dropped. "What? What happened? Don't tell me she got captured!"
Raki was a warrior, sure—but she was also undeniably beautiful, and Wiper couldn't stop the ugly thought from flashing through his mind: if the enemy got their hands on her, they might hurt her.
"I heard from the others… she didn't get turned into a kid. But she chose to stay behind—for you guys. Someone saw her follow those attackers back to their ship," Kamakiri said with a heavy sigh.
"What?! No—then I'm going to get her back!"
Wiper lurched to his feet and charged forward—and immediately face-planted.
"Damn it—what is this body?!" he snapped, slapping his legs in pure frustration.
"That's normal. Anyone would feel weird after suddenly turning into this," a girl's voice said from behind. "It's not just you."
Wiper spun around. "Aisa? What are you doing here?"
His frown deepened the second he saw her.
Not because she was there—because she was taller than him now.
Like she was stronger than him.
And that, for someone who'd always believed he was the strongest Shandian warrior, hit him right in the pride.
"I heard you," Aisa said, tapping near her ear. "So I came to check. And relax—Raki's fine."
"Really?" Wiper blurted.
"You know what I can do," Aisa said calmly. "Not only is she fine… she's actually getting along with those Blue Sea people really well."
Chapter 536: Raki Must Have Her Reasons
"Getting along well?" Wiper frowned hard, clearly not buying it. "Aisa, are you messing with me? Those Blue Sea people are the enemy."
They'd been gearing up to attack the intruders from the Blue Sea, after all. Sure, they'd been stopped midway by that bizarre woman—but that didn't change the fact that they'd shown up with hostile intent.
"If those Blue Sea people really weren't holding our attack against us, then how the hell did I end up like this?" Wiper snapped, glancing down at himself again.
This tiny body felt completely wrong, and the unfamiliarity was making him panicky.
He'd been counting on his battle-hardened physique to challenge Enel.
But like this? How was he supposed to fight Enel?
Just running up to Enel with this body would drain him dry. And even with Seastone in hand, Wiper had zero confidence he could actually stand against him.
"Maybe this is their punishment for you," Aisa said flatly. "As for Raki, I'm not lying. And I think they're treating her better because she tried to stop you all from attacking them."
She paused, then added, "And I'm warning you—don't even think about attacking them again."
Wiper's expression tightened.
"Even if it's only a vague feeling… I don't think the woman who beat you was the strongest on that ship. If anything, she might've been one of the weaker ones," Aisa said, voice steady. "There are definitely people on that ship who are way stronger than her."
Wiper's eyes went wide. "You're serious?! Someone like that is considered one of the weaker ones? She wasn't even affected by Skypiea's thin air, and she could move through the sky without using dials. Aisa… what if you're sensing it wrong?"
Aisa took a slow breath and shook her head. "I'm not. I'll tell you straight: when I used Mantra to feel out what was happening over there, the woman you fought didn't notice me at all."
Her gaze sharpened.
"But the others… it was like they could tell I was watching them. I even started to suspect some of them could sense what's going on here—maybe even see what we're saying right now."
"They… have Mantra too?" Wiper's jaw dropped.
With how serious Aisa was, even if he didn't want to believe it, his thoughts began to shift.
Back then, he rarely talked with Aisa—his temper made sure of that. And Aisa didn't exactly enjoy talking with him either.
So the fact that she was standing here now, taking the time to explain all this… could only mean one thing.
She wasn't joking.
"So these Blue Sea people are really that nasty to deal with…" Wiper clenched his fists, worry flooding in. "Raki—she's really okay over there?"
"At least right now, she's safe. And she's already gotten familiar with some of the people on that ship," Aisa said, resting her cheek on one hand. "Honestly… I think she's realized just how strong they are. She's probably trying to stay on good terms with them—maybe even convince them to help take down Enel."