"SWOOSH—!!!"
The Express Shrimp sped across the White Sea at an almost insane velocity, dragging the Going Merry behind it and carving a straight, dazzling white trail across the surface.
"So fast!!" Luffy grabbed onto the figurehead, his body nearly blown backward by the intense wind pressure.
"Is… is this a slope?!" Sanji stared ahead.
At the end of the White Sea, a winding path made entirely of flowing clouds spiraled upward into the sky, like a road leading straight to the heavens.
The Express Shrimp didn't slow down at all. Its eight massive limbs churned violently through the clouds, hauling the tens-of-tons-heavy Merry straight toward the true domain of the gods, thousands of meters above.
"Everyone, hold on tight—!!" Nami shouted.
The Merry raced along the twisting cloud road, with cascading white cloudfalls rushing past on both sides and radiant sunlight drawing closer above.
This was the White-White Sea.
As far as the eye could see, there was no trace of blue ocean—only endless layers of soft, glowing white clouds rolling like waves.
Sunlight filtered through the thin atmosphere, refracting into rainbow halos across the cloudscape. The entire island seemed like a divine garden suspended in the sky.
As the Merry finally slowed near shore, Zoro leapt down and hurled the heavy anchor into the soft, cloud-like beach.
"Wahoo—!! What kind of place is this?!" Luffy shouted as he jumped off the figurehead like a monkey.
The moment his feet touched the ground, instead of firmness, he felt something soft and springy—like stepping on freshly fluffed cotton, cool and elastic.
Luffy immediately started rolling around on the cloud shore, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Ronan followed, planting his long spear lightly into the ground.
The Seastone tip sank a few inches into the cloud layer, offering only minimal resistance.
"The entire island… is really made of this kind of dense cloud?"
He could feel the "ground" beneath his feet subtly pulsing, like it was breathing. It was a complete mockery of physics.
"Landing! We've landed on the Island of God!" Chopper shouted as he jumped down.
"Wait for me! I'm changing clothes and coming too!" Nami called from inside the cabin.
"Zoro, come look! The sand is soft!" Usopp was already trying to shape the clouds into sculptures, his face full of disbelief.
Zoro looked around and couldn't help but admit, "The scenery really is unbelievable… it's like a dream."
Sanji tried to maintain his usual composed gentlemanly demeanor, but the moment his shoe sank into the soft cloud sand, he couldn't hold back anymore. He took off his shoes and rushed in to join Luffy and Usopp's chaotic play.
But the paradise-like peace didn't last long.
The brilliant sunlight dimmed abruptly.
A suffocating gray-black mass spread rapidly across the horizon, like ink being smeared across the sky, swallowing the white world whole.
"This… something's wrong."
Nami, now in a light summer outfit, froze the moment she stepped onto the deck and looked up.
As a top-tier navigator, she was extremely sensitive to atmospheric changes.
"These clouds are forming way too fast. This isn't natural!"
Robin stepped beside her, her sharp eyes narrowing. "You're saying… someone is controlling the weather?"
"I don't know… but those clouds are filled with terrifying lightning."
Nami pointed upward.
Within the churning black clouds, arcs of blue-purple lightning slithered like dragons.
Ronan stood at the edge of the cloud shore, gripping his spear tightly.
His mind churned.
"In the original timeline, Enel shouldn't be destroying Skypiea yet…"
"Did something accelerate his completion of the Ark Maxim?"
"If that's the case… then Skypiea is already standing at the edge of destruction."
"Hey! Look up there! What is that?!" Usopp pointed toward the depths of the thunderclouds in terror.
Everyone looked.
"A ship…? It's flying?" Zoro's eyes sharpened.
"No… look closer," Sanji said, exhaling smoke, his expression serious. "Those black clouds… they're coming from that ship."
"The storm… is being created by it."
Ronan focused his gaze, his sharp vision catching the reflection of dazzling light.
"That ship… it's almost entirely golden. If I'm not mistaken, it's made of gold."
"Gold?!" Nami's eyes instantly turned into symbols of money.
"You mean… that entire ship is made of gold?! Ronan, are you serious?!"
"That's impossible!" Usopp gasped. "That much gold could buy several countries!"
"Did you forget the legend of the City of Gold?" Ronan reminded them calmly. "Skypiea is part of the ancient Jaya… the true land of gold."
"So it's real…"
Nami completely lost it.
She grabbed Luffy and Zoro by the collars and shook them violently.
"Luffy! Ronan! Zoro! Sanji! Hurry! Go steal it for me! I want that golden ship! It's my life!!!"
At that exact moment—
A grand, domineering voice echoed across the entire sky.
Cold.
Indifferent.
As if all life were beneath it.
"I am God."
"I will destroy Skypiea… and ascend to the endless land beyond."
"All who dwell here… shall be reduced to ashes under divine judgment."
The sky darkened completely.
The clouds turned pitch black.
Static electricity crackled through the air, making everyone's hair stand on end.
Then—
The sea of clouds boiled.
"BOOOOOM—!!!"
A massive pillar of lightning, several meters wide, crashed down from the heavens, instantly vaporizing a distant forest.
Then—
Countless bolts of lightning rained down like a net cast by a god, ravaging the entire sky island.
People fell in droves.
The land trembled.
Ronan stood in front of the Merry, spear in hand, feeling the scorching heat and overwhelming electrical force.
"Luffy… looks like a 'god' is trying to destroy the world."
Luffy adjusted his straw hat and looked up at the golden ark sailing through the lightning.
In the face of apocalyptic destruction—
A fierce grin appeared on his face.
"A god, huh?"
"Hurting innocent people…"
"I'll be the one to knock him off his throne."
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