[Number 9: Skypiea Showdown! God's Decisive Battle]
On the screen in the sky, Skypiea Islands came into view!
As this proclamation resonated across the world...
It sparked an uproar once more!
"Skypiea Island?"
"God!?"
As people reacted with astonishment, profound skepticism gripped their hearts.
For most ordinary folks, Skypiea Island was merely a legend, as no one had ever set foot there.
But for many sea pirates and even the Navy...
Well, they were well acquainted with it!
Skypiea Islands were situated along the Grand Line and were not easily accessible to common people.
They stood thousands of meters above the Blue Sea!
Precisely because of this considerable altitude, many ordinary folks believed they were nothing more than a myth.
Even several pirate crews shared this belief.
Only those who had attained a certain level of power were granted entry...
Yet, even among the mighty, few had ventured there.
Only a select few had ever visited...
...
"Skypiea Island?"
"Garp, your grandson sure knows how to aim high. I've never set foot there!" exclaimed Sengoku.
Garp: "..."
"Indeed, I've never been there myself ," added Akainu, Kizaru, Aokiji, Mihawk, and the other Seven Warlords of the Sea, their surprise evident.
Even they had rarely visited the place, given the challenging conditions.
To reach Skypiea Island, one needed to ride the perilous currents known as the "Knock Up Stream," with slim chances of survival.
Due to this perilous journey, even those with a curiosity about Skypiea Island were deterred from making the trip.
But the Straw Hat Pirates...
For a moment, everyone was left in awe.
Causing a ruckus in the Blue Sea was one thing, but venturing so high up, weren't they afraid of falling to their doom?
The Whitebeard Pirates!
All aboard the ship were astonished, including their captain, Whitebeard himself.
They were acutely aware of the dangers and difficulties of reaching Skypiea Island.
Ace was equally amazed, his face reflecting sheer disbelief.
Goodness, his brother sure aimed high, didn't he?
They had all gone to Skypiea Island!
Even though I have never set foot there...
No, he thought, I must ask Luffy about his experiences on Skypiea Island when I meet him one day.
The Red-Haired Pirates!
Shanks, Beckman, and the others couldn't help but react.
"Wow, Luffy sure knows how to stir things up!"
"Skypiea Island, seriously, how did they manage to reach it?"
"Luffy was mischievous as a kid, but it seems he've grown even more unruly as an adult, hahaha..."
Laughter erupted among Shanks and his crew.
They admired Luffy's audacity.
...
At this moment, countless factions and pirate groups were left stunned by Luffy and his crew's latest adventure.
They hadn't even begun to digest the information, and it was already this incredible...
Everyone understood that the path to Skypiea Island was treacherous.
Reaching it was a remarkable feat.
However, what puzzled them even more was... gods?
What gods?
The gods of Skypiea Island?
None of them had ever heard of such beings...
Meanwhile, on Skypiea Island, at Gaya Island!
A man with a white scarf, oversized earlobes, a bare upper body, and three jade thunder drums strapped to his back sat on a throne.
He was none other than the god of Skypiea Island... Enel!
Just three seconds ago, he had been reclining lazily, watching the masses on the live broadcast devouring their melons.
But now, he was utterly dumbfounded!
He never expected that the special event featuring the top ten peak battles would...
Involve him!
Despite Skypiea Island being situated 10,000 meters above the Blue Sea, the live broadcast was still accessible.
Thus, Enel and everyone on Skypiea Island could see everything clearly.
Naturally, they witnessed Luffy's victory over Moria...
Intrigued, Enel watched with keen interest.
After all, he was born on Skypiea Island and, upon consuming the Thunder-Thunder Fruit, had gained godlike powers, becoming Skypiea Island's God.
Nonetheless, he had never set foot on the Blue Sea.
Thus, everything about the Blue Sea remained strange and intriguing to him...
So he observed with great seriousness.
When he saw Moria and the Tyrant Bear consecutively appearing between the Two Seven Warlords, even Moria piqued his curiosity.
To be honest, Enel wasn't particularly worried about Moria's combat prowess.
However, the second opponent, the Tyrant Bear... It posed a significant challenge.
As the true strongest on Skypiea Island, he seldom felt such pressure.
This deepened Enel's curiosity about the Blue Sea, and he watched with even greater interest, eager to discover which formidable individuals from the Blue Sea would appear in the next battle.
But what he never anticipated...
The Blue Sea's powerful figures didn't fight amongst themselves; instead, they came to him!
In this ninth ranked peak battle, Luffy was pitted against him?
Watching silently from afar had led to him becoming entangled in this.
No matter how he tried to make sense of it, Enel couldn't fathom how the Straw Hat Pirates had made their way to Skypiea Island.
Although he didn't yet know the outcome of the battle, witnessing their previous skirmish had given him a clear idea of the Straw Hats' combat capabilities.
Regardless of the outcome, their presence on Skypiea Island was far from ideal.
Indeed!
Enel sat up abruptly, the shock lingering on his face for an extended period...
At the same time, the entire Skypiea Island's populace was equally astounded by the unfolding spectacle.
Much like Enel, they hadn't expected Skypiea Island to be the venue for the ninth battle.
And they certainly hadn't foreseen Luffy facing off against their own god... Enel!
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