Just as Crocus let out his cry of amazement, a massive creature as large as a Sea King suddenly burst out of the cloud sea.
But the moment it got a clear look at the colossal giant before it, Laboon, cold sweat broke out all over its body. It spun around and fled at top speed.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The sight left everyone speechless.
Dr. Kureha blinked in surprise, then laughed.
"I never expected there to be living creatures in the cloud sea. How fascinating."
The sea of clouds alone was already astonishing enough. No one had imagined that life could exist within it as well.
For Olvia, this was also the first time she had truly seen how wondrous the Sky Island described in books really was.
Her face lit up with delight.
"So many things recorded in books. I used to think they were exaggerated, or simply imagined. But reality is far more incredible than anything written on the page!"
The farther they traveled, the more she found herself falling in love with this feeling of adventure, exploration, and uncovering the truth.
In this world, images could not be preserved and passed down easily, so books and newspapers were among the most important ways information spread.
But because the general level of education in this world was low, and because the world itself was so dangerous, many records were difficult to preserve. As a result, people with little knowledge often dismissed such things as fabrications or tall tales.
Ares smiled faintly.
"Relax. I'll show you an even more extraordinary world. This world is far more wondrous than you can imagine."
Sky Islands ten thousand meters above the sky. Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters beneath the sea. The Mink Tribe of Zou, living on the back of Zunesha. The Tontatta Kingdom of tiny people.
And Wano, the land that produced samurai.
And these were only the tip of the iceberg.
Ares could not help but glance up at the sky. It was daytime, so the moon could not be seen, but he knew full well that up there, on the moon itself, there existed ancient ruins and a highly advanced civilization with mechanical little soldiers.
Crocus looked at Ares and asked, "Ares, where are we heading next?"
"Wait a moment. Let me scan with Observation Haki first."
Ares closed his eyes.
Thanks to the strength of his spirit, soul, and willpower, his Observation Haki had been steadily growing stronger.
Especially during the battle at Marine G-1, it had advanced by leaps and bounds. Though he had not yet reached the level of seeing the future, his range of perception was already quite formidable.
What Ares was searching for, naturally, was the place where the Shandian warriors lived.
But under the reach of his Observation Haki, he found no trace of any settlement.
He frowned.
"As expected. There's no way they'd be that easy to find. If they were, Enel would've wiped them out long ago with his Mantra and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit..."
That little surprise disrupted his plans somewhat.
Ares said, "My Observation Haki didn't find the people I was looking for. Let's head to Angel Island first."
"Angel Island?" Olvia instantly perked up. "Does that mean there are actual angels on it?"
Crocus and Dr. Kureha both looked equally interested.
Ares answered, "No. They aren't real angels. You'll understand once you see them."
"Laboon!"
"Head northwest. That way!"
Laboon was extremely fast, and his size was enormous. That made Ares think to himself again:
"If I had found the Human-Human Fruit for Laboon earlier, he'd probably be terrifyingly strong. What a pity..."
"But if I use Laboon as a ship..."
All he would need was to build a palace or structure that could be mounted onto Laboon's back like a saddle.
When not in use, Ares could simply lift that palace off again with his flame clouds and place it back in Wano.
It would effectively become a mobile war fortress.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
Soon enough, the supermassive giant that was Laboon appeared off the shores of Angel Island, and the gigantic whale immediately drew the attention of many islanders.
Their faces filled with shock as they shouted:
"What is that thing? It's enormous, like an island!"
"It looks like a whale, but how can there be a whale that big?"
"Hey, hey! That monster isn't coming here to destroy Angel Island, is it?!"
"Hurry! Hurry and notify God!"
"..."
The entire island fell into chaos.
Many people rushed out of their houses or stared from their windows at the giant beast in the distance.
A great number of them wore terrified expressions, afraid that if the monster rammed into the island, it would bring unprecedented disaster to Angel Island.
Because the distance was so great, and Laboon was so huge, no one noticed the several human figures standing atop his head.
"Laboon, wait here for us."
"Kyuu kyuu kyuu!"
Laboon let out a few cries. He was highly intelligent, even if he could not speak human language.
Ares created a flame cloud and brought the others directly down onto the beach of Angel Island.
The people gathered there took one look at the fierce, terrifying Ares, with his steel-like demonic musculature, and all of them went pale. No one even dared breathe too loudly.
Now Olvia and the others got a clear look at these so-called angels, and amazement filled her face.
"They... they all have wings on their backs. They really do look like angels!"
"Fake," Ares said at once, shattering her fantasy.
Those white feather-like wings were ornamental. They were not true wings growing from their bodies.
Very quickly, a squad of Angel Island soldiers in uniform, weapons in hand, rushed over.
But the moment they saw Ares, whose demonic muscles constantly radiated a terrifying aura, their hearts skipped violently, as if clenched by an invisible hand. It became hard to breathe.
Even without him actively releasing Conqueror's Haki or flexing his presence, the sheer pressure he exuded was enough to suffocate ordinary people with fear.
The captain of the soldiers forced himself to speak, though his voice trembled slightly.
"Are... are you people from the Blue Sea?"
"Yes. I want to meet your god," Ares said directly.
His voice boomed like a great bell, making everyone's ears ring.
"P-please... please wait a moment. God... God will be here soon. We've already sent someone to notify him."
Cold sweat poured down the captain's face. Just standing in front of Ares already took all the courage he had.
If Ares had shown even the slightest hostility, the man probably would have dropped to his knees on the spot.
"Then we'll wait."
Ares was in no hurry. In his heart, he had already decided that this island would become part of his territory.
Not because he expected its people to become elite soldiers. But Sky Island's unique products, textiles, clothing, and daily-use goods could all become valuable trade items with Wano.
They could be sold for great profit in the future.
Compared to the samurai of Wano, the people of Angel Island had only a handful of individuals who awakened Mantra that might catch Ares's eye. The rest...
He did not think much of them at all.
It was not long before a pink-spotted Pegasus carrying a man in silver armor appeared in the sky.
But while still far away, the Pegasus stopped cold, too terrified to come any closer.
Even Gan Fall, seated on its back, had a drastic change of expression.
A shock ran through him.
"From over a thousand meters away, just his aura makes me feel like I'm being stared down by a savage beast... Since when did the Blue Sea produce a monster this terrifying?"