As she got closer and closer to the island floating on the White Sea, the island continuously grew larger in her sight, gradually occupying her entire field of vision.
Raiden Ei was long accustomed to this illusion of the mountain running away as she approached; she just kept flying forward and finally arrived in front of the island after about ten minutes.
A rainbow appeared above the island, spanning half of it. Beneath it was an island covered in white clouds, or rather, an island composed of clouds.
Countless houses built from clouds stood upon it. In the center of the island were two huge intertwined vines stretching toward the sky.
Tall coconut trees lined the shore, encircling the entire island. On the island, besides the white clouds, there were only green trees.
Raiden Ei landed directly on the cloud beach of the White Sea. She smoothed the hair blown across her eyes, and seeing such a beautiful and magnificent view, her mood couldn't help but improve.
She stepped back and forth on the white clouds, finding them soft yet unable to fall through, which she found very interesting. She grabbed a handful of cloud, but couldn't grasp it.
Her hand passed right through the cloud; she couldn't hold it at all. The corners of her mouth lifted, and the coldness on her face softened considerably: "How novel! This is the first time I've seen a scene like this!"
Raiden Ei put aside her desire to keep playing and looked up at the sky, which seemed endlessly high, murmuring to herself, "That place should be what the Skypieans call the 'Land of God,' Apaya!"
"This should be Angel Island. The White Sea just now was the White Sea at an altitude of 7000 meters."
"This must be the time when Gan Fall, this Sky Knight, was God on Sky Island. It seems the Skypieans and Shandians were still fighting back then."
She retracted her gaze from the sky and looked around. She suddenly remembered something: one had to pay a fee to enter Sky Island. "Uh... I don't seem to see the entrance to the Gate of Heaven. Do you think I'm trespassing?"
Raiden Ei had ascended to Sky Island entirely on her own, without using the Rising Current. She didn't even know which corner of the island she was on, and she hadn't seen a single person around.
Raiden Ei felt there was no need to worry about these things: "Forget it, I'll worry about trespassing later if they come looking for me!"
"What's important now is finding a Skypiean who can give me directions. In this unfamiliar place, it's inconvenient to go anywhere."
Her Observation Haki spread outwards, and instantly her perception covered the entire island. She immediately located the streets of Angel Island.
"It's over there, huh?"
After confirming the location, Raiden Ei stepped onto the seemingly solid clouds and walked toward the center of the island. Finding directions in a place that was entirely white was quite difficult; the resolution was too low.
Everything was the same color. If one had poor eyesight, they might even walk into a wall.
Raiden Ei was certainly not that foolish! She weaved left and right across the island and directly reached the street where Angel Island was located, where she also saw the local Skypieans.
They all had small wings on their backs and wore accessories on their heads resembling antennae, which made Raiden Ei look quite out of place walking down this street.
However, when they saw her, they only looked at her curiously a few times and didn't pay much attention to her, as if they were long used to such sights.
Raiden Ei walked down the short street, searching for someone who knew the direction to Birka. There weren't many people here, nor many shops.
She didn't have many options, so she found a shop. Seeing that the owner inside was an old man, she thought he should know where Birka was.
She had been paying attention to the conversations of the people on the street but hadn't gathered any useful information, so she could only try her luck.
Raiden Ei walked into the shop run by the old man and found that he was selling shells unique to Sky Island. She had never seen them before!
She carefully looked at the shells of different types, sizes, and shapes, and curiously asked the owner, "May I take a look at these shells?"
The owner chuckled: "Hehe, certainly you can. Looking at your attire, you must be someone from the Blue Sea!"
Raiden Ei, seeing the owner agreed, picked one up to examine it, only to realize she had no idea how to use it. So, while answering the owner, she asked for guidance:
"Yes, I just arrived here. Could you explain the uses of these shells to me?"
The owner also picked up a shell of the same type as Raiden Ei's: "Hehe, the adventurous spirit of you Blue Sea people is truly something, daring to venture into the sky ten thousand meters high."
Raiden Ei explained, "I only came here because I was confident."
The owner just smiled and began explaining the various shells of Sky Island to Raiden Ei.
"This is a Sound Dial, it can..."
Following the owner's explanation, Raiden Ei gained a slight understanding of the shells on Sky Island. Most importantly, she also learned how to use these shells.
She was now holding a glowing lamp shell in her hand and found it quite magical. Support-type shells were very practical.
She bought two of every kind in one go, spending a total of 10 billion eck, which was 1 million Berries. However, there were no attack-type shells here.
Raiden Ei felt that time was running short, so she asked the owner about the main purpose of her visit: "Owner, may I ask you something?"
The owner had just received 10 billion eck and was in a very good mood. Facing Raiden Ei's question, he replied with a chuckle: "Hehe, of course! But I can only tell you what I know. If I don't know it, asking me is useless."
Raiden Ei shrugged indifferently, indicating it was fine, and directly said, "Owner, do you know where a place called Birka is?"
The owner's smile didn't change upon hearing Raiden Ei's words:
"Hehe, you asked the right person about this. I really do know. Birka is an island south of Sky Island. Just head south, it's not far, you can get there in half a day."
Raiden Ei looked left and right. Since the owner hadn't pointed out which way was south, she couldn't discern the direction: "Owner, which direction is the south you mentioned?"
The owner paused for a moment, then said doubtfully, "You don't know directions? South is this way, in the direction where that vine is located." He pointed his finger toward the huge vine ahead.
Raiden Ei looked over and silently noted the direction in her heart. She also remembered that she hadn't caught a Compass Bird, but now it was too late to say anything.
Raiden Ei thanked the owner: "Owner, thank you for your help."
"Hehe, no need, no need. You bought so many shells from me; it's the least I can do. I hope my answer is helpful to you."
"Then I won't disturb your business anymore. Goodbye."
Raiden Ei felt it was time to leave; she still had many things to do!
Just finding the Goro Goro no Mi alone would take an unknown amount of time!
The owner maintained his smile and said to Raiden Ei, "Go on! Go on! I know you people from the Blue Sea can't sit still. Go and experience the wonders of Sky Island!"
Raiden Ei nodded to him and then left the place.
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