"Wow! Ei, you are amazing!" Janice clapped her hands, her face beaming with a happy smile.
She stared intently at Raiden Ei, saying to her somewhat shyly, "Since you can fly over there yourself, I won't tag along and cause trouble."
"Mhm, thank you anyway for being willing to guide me." Raiden Ei was also in a good mood.
Janice waved her hand and said, "No need, no need, I didn't do much. It's getting late, would you like to come to my house as a guest?"
Facing Janice's invitation, Raiden Ei still declined, but she didn't refuse directly, leaving herself a bit of room to maneuver:
"No, I still have matters to attend to in Birka. Once I have everything sorted out, I will come to visit your home then!"
"I hope you won't mind when that time comes."
Janice looked a bit disappointed, but upon hearing that Raiden Ei would visit after finishing her business, her face broke into the same smile as before.
"Not at all. Just come over then, I will treat you well. I'll make you my specialty dish, Stir-fried Cloud Crab with Coconut."
Raiden Ei also laughed happily, "Great! If you need any help then, I can assist you in the kitchen too, my cook—"
Raiden Ei's words suddenly got stuck, and the upward curve of her lips froze.
Her cooking skills, right now, seemed... not that great.
Janice noticed Raiden Ei suddenly freeze after only saying half a sentence, but she didn't pay it much mind, just smilingly said to her, "Then it's settled. You absolutely cannot fail to come then."
"It's already evening now, I should head back."
Seeing that the words spoken could not be taken back, Raiden Ei could only plan to improvise when the time came: "Mhm, I need to go take care of my own business too. We shall part ways here."
Janice nodded, smiling at Raiden Ei, "Ei, you might be even more formidable than the people of Birka, but you still need to be careful."
"Mhm, I will. You too, take care!" Raiden Ei said goodbye to Janice and prepared to head to Birka.
Janice patted the coconut placed on the ground. Seeing that Raiden Ei was empty-handed and couldn't possibly carry such a large coconut, she said:
"Can you take this coconut with you? Or perhaps you should leave it at my place for now! You can come pick it up when you visit later."
"No need. I actually possess some special abilities; I can take it." Raiden Ei told Janice, and as she spoke, she conveniently stored the coconut on the ground into her system backpack right before Janice's eyes.
Janice stared at the ground where only one coconut remained, and couldn't help but say, "How magical. This is even more amazing than the shellfish from our Sky Island. How did you do that? Can you tell me?" Her gaze fixed intensely on Raiden Ei.
Raiden Ei met her gaze and felt that it wasn't impossible to explain. It was just a space, after all, but she still needed to adjust the wording a bit.
Raiden Ei immediately explained the concept of a Devil Fruit to Janice, summarizing her own ability as simply being able to store items at will.
"That's how it is. Did you understand clearly?" After finishing, Raiden Ei asked Janice for confirmation.
Janice seemed to still be immersed in the new knowledge she had just acquired. Hearing Raiden Ei's question, she snapped back to attention and quickly said, "I know! It's the ability granted by those fruits with strange patterns, right!"
"Mhm, exactly!" Raiden Ei nodded, but she felt something was slightly off, though she couldn't pinpoint it right now. "Can this coconut carry itself back?"
Janice quickly replied, "Yes, it can. You go ahead first! I won't delay you any longer."
Seeing this, Raiden Ei lingered no more, saying to Janice, "Goodbye!"
"Whoosh."
Her figure shot off in the direction of Birka. In just a few breaths, she vanished from Janice's sight.
Janice waved toward the direction Raiden Ei had left, saying, "Goodbye!"
...
Raiden Ei used Geppo to advance rapidly in the direction Janice had pointed. In less than ten minutes, she saw an island larger than Angel Island.
It was also floating above the white ocean, but it wasn't composed of clouds like the Sky Island; instead, it was made of soil and rock, like a small island in the sea.
There were vast forests on it, stretching as far as the eye could see. Trees dozens of meters tall were visible everywhere; in fact, the entire forest seemed to be on this scale.
Raiden Ei also observed the Sky Island people surviving here. Their residences were not randomly built anywhere on the island like those on Angel Island.
Instead, they were clustered together like a small town, with all the houses gathered in one place.
The entire island was divided into two parts: one section occupied by the Sky Island people, and the other side featuring a large, undeveloped forest.
Raiden Ei pondered for a moment and decided to head to the town where the Sky Island people resided first. It was almost night now, and she planned to search the entire town under the cover of darkness.
If she searched during the day, there might be many complications. There would be too many people during the day, and the locals would surely be wary of her, making her actions very difficult.
Nighttime was different. At night, people slept. Sky Island people were also people and needed sleep. Even if there were some who didn't sleep, they would only be a minority. With her strength, did she need to fear them discovering her?
She herself was unaffected by darkness. With Observation Haki sweeping over, she could clearly see where every secret room was. This way, she could search more thoroughly. What place in this town could she not access?
Night had just begun to fall. Raiden Ei walked toward the town where lights were shining, intending to see if there was an inn. It wasn't time for action yet, so staying here for a while wouldn't be bad; it could also serve as preliminary reconnaissance.
"These lights must all be powered by lamp shells. They are quite convenient. Maybe I should buy a few more next time!"
As Raiden Ei spoke, she arrived at the town. The streets were brightly lit all around, reflecting the area as if it were daytime, and the mixed sounds of the street reached her ears.
The people coming and going on the street were all wearing white robes and had a pair of small wings on their backs—Sky Island people. However, unlike the people of Angel Island who wore antennae-like decorations on their heads, these people all wore headscarves.
Raiden Ei walked down the main street, observing the situation here.
Her appearance didn't cause much commotion. The Sky Island people who first saw her were somewhat curious about her.
But as soon as they saw that she had no wings on her back, their eyes immediately showed expressions of contempt and disdain. Then they stopped looking at her, as if she were some disgusting thing.
Walking down an entire street without any obstruction, Raiden Ei also discovered a peculiar aspect of this place.
The Sky Island people here must be Buddhists, as Buddhist artifacts were everywhere. Several Buddha statues stood upright in temples, with a group of people kneeling below, chanting something.
Raiden Ei looked at the pedestrians on the street and said with some confusion, "Praying to Buddha, what are these people praying for?"
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