The ship burst through the clouds.
Molly stood excitedly on the deck, gazing at the White-White Sea. No matter how many times she saw it, the White-White Sea still seemed like a dreamlike place to her. They were all clouds, yet some clouds were so thin, while others could support a person's weight like soil.
However, the clouds of Skypiea felt somewhat soft underfoot, making her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"This time, we may have to fight. Molly, be prepared," Ren said. The fighting power of the Skypieans couldn't be considered very strong—after all, they were just people from the first half of the Grand Line who hadn't mastered Haki yet. Even Gan Fall's strength wasn't particularly impressive.
Facing such enemies, Ren naturally didn't need to take action personally.
If these Skypieans came to stop them, he would let Molly and those female pirates handle it.
Among those female pirates, Shiyado was quite a capable fighter. In terms of strength, after transforming, her power was roughly on par with Yukiko's. This level of combat ability in Paradise was something only a few Supernovas could surpass.
Her bounty was a full 30 million berries. Even decades later, a pirate with this bounty in Paradise would still be considered a great pirate.
Although the other female pirates weren't as strong, they had all emerged victorious through numerous battles. Once on a pirate ship, there was no such thing as protecting ladies—most pirates only cared about their own lives.
Soon, the ship found Upper Yard during its voyage.
Ren used the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to emit electromagnetic wave signals into the air, achieving a radar-like effect, and easily located Upper Yard.
However, although Upper Yard was now in the hands of the Skypieans, not many of them actually lived there. The terrifying creatures living on Upper Yard were not something they could resist.
The powerful Master of the Sky—this was a massive blue serpent named Nola.
This giant snake was descended from the serpent god "Kashigami" of Jaya from 400 years ago. Its massive size exceeded many Sea Kings, and it possessed extremely powerful venom.
With such a guardian deity, the Skypieans found it difficult to survive there.
Even though Nola was rarely active, even if it only came to destroy once every few years, it would still give people headaches. Even the current God of Skypiea didn't live on Upper Yard.
However, Upper Yard still had some troops guarding it. These people were specifically there to prevent the Shandians, whom they had driven away, from counterattacking.
Four hundred years ago, after being driven out of Upper Yard, the Shandians didn't perish. Instead, they settled in a hidden place and established the Hidden Cloud Village. Over these four hundred years, they sometimes rested and recuperated, sometimes launched attacks, but none had succeeded.
"I see it! There's actually an island in the clouds!" Molly leaned over the railing at the bow, shouting excitedly. Although she had already witnessed cloud islands, she never expected to see a real island made of soil in the sky.
In this world without soil, it was no wonder this island had become the object of centuries-long struggle between the Shandians and Skypieans.
"This is part of Jaya Island that was sent into the sky by the Giant Knock Up Stream four hundred years ago. It's one eye of the skull," Ren explained. Looking at a sea chart, it would be the right eye and the upper portion, but from the island's own perspective, that would be the left side.
"So amazing! Is there really such an amazing sea current in this world?" Molly marveled. A current that could shatter an island into pieces and send part of it ten thousand meters into the sky—just how terrifying was the power of such a current?
In the face of such natural power, humans were indeed far too small.
Ren hadn't understood before how someone like the Golden Lion could be defeated by a storm. But after coming to this world, he finally understood just how terrifying the power of nature could be.
Human power was ultimately very small in the face of nature.
"Prepare for battle," Ren said.
The soldiers guarding Upper Yard had already spotted Ren's ship. These people were dressed like medieval knights, wearing heavy silver armor that made them look somewhat impressive.
However, their combat ability was quite ordinary. Even Gan Fall himself couldn't defeat the priests who would later serve under Enel, let alone these small fry.
"Who are you people? Stop immediately!" Upon discovering Ren's ship, these people immediately rushed to the shore and shouted, "This is the sacred ground of Skypiea! Turn back immediately, or you will be killed on sight!"
"Skypiea's sacred ground..." Ren said softly. This so-called sacred ground was nothing more than stolen property. Of course, he didn't have the right to criticize the Skypieans either. What he was about to do was no different from what their ancestors had done.
But that was how this world worked—the strong possessed everything, while the weak could only speak of so-called justice. But if such things truly existed, Upper Yard wouldn't belong to the Skypieans but to the Shandians now.
At the very least, after both sides merged, it would become a sacred ground for everyone.
But that wasn't the reality.
Ren ignored their warning and brought the ship to shore. During the docking process, these guardians had already launched their attack. Skypiea's traditional weapons were various types of shells, but that didn't mean they didn't have guns and cannons.
Shells that released sword energy were used as long-range attack methods, and in addition, shells that could spray flames were also one of their offensive methods.
Shiyado was a Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit user in owl form. She had rushed out before the ship docked, transforming into a giant owl in midair and charging toward those enemies.
Although owls sometimes looked a bit cute, these creatures were genuine birds of prey!
Her sharp talons were harder than steel. The heavy armor worn by those knights was like it didn't exist under her feet.
Shiyado's Haki training was not even at a beginner's level—she relied mostly on her natural strength.
But even so, she was still a pirate with a bounty of 30 million berries. This bounty would multiply several times decades later, and her strength was considerably higher than Bellamy's.
"I'm going too!" Molly drew her sword, psyching herself up.
The sword in her hand was a Meito (graded sword) in quality. After Kuri became prosperous, their military strength had improved considerably. Treasured swords like Supreme Grade blades were hard to come by, but Grade swords (Meito) were plentiful in Wano Country.
Unlock 30 chapters instantly (for the price of the old 20-chapter tier) and get 50–55 new chapters every month.
If you're enjoying the story, consider supporting me here:
patreon.com/anish_44