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[One Piece: The Legend of the Star Sea]
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The sunlight scattered down through the higher clouds, splashing over the pure white ocean, bringing a different and wonderful experience and visual impact from sailing on the great sea.
A gentle breeze blew, making it incredibly comfortable.
"Wow! Above the sky lies an ocean made up of white clouds. Could this be the realm of the gods in this world?"
"The Grand Line is really interesting. I wonder if there's good sake to drink?"
Aqua stood at the bow, her slender palm shielding her eyes from the light, her water-blue pupils blinking as she gazed at the distant checkpoint structures.
As for the trouble she had nearly caused earlier, it had already been completely forgotten...
"I didn't expect that above the sky would look like this! Meow!"
"Compared to that, why do I feel like my breathing is getting a bit rapid? Could it be due to the thin air?"
Returning to their senses, King and Meowth were just as amazed, carefully observing this magical sight.
In contrast, Zyhark, who had long known of the existence of Sky Islands, was much calmer.
Sky Island Birka, if I remember correctly, was the island that Enel had destroyed with his own hands before he took over the original Sky Island, right?
At this point in time, Enel should still be living here.
In other words, the countless dreams of the sea - the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit, could still be uneaten!
If we could get the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, this super powerful Devil Fruit, it would definitely take our team's overall combat ability to a whole new level!
King's luck with the Conqueror's Haki has really come into play...
Thinking this, Zyhark could not contain his excitement. He immediately set the sails and steered the helm, using the gentle breeze of the White Sea to propel the partially damaged Endless Dream towards the island checkpoint.
The wind was not strong, and since this area consisted of sea clouds formed from some sort of special keratin particles, Aqua couldn't use her ability to manipulate water currents, so the ship moved at a slower pace.
Taking advantage of this gap, Zyhark briefly explained the basics about Sky Islands and what they needed to be cautious about to Aqua and the others.
Bang!
Midway through their journey, the Endless Dream suddenly shook violently.
The white sea clouds in front of them stirred wildly, and eight huge tentacles twisted around as a giant octopus with a strange appearance slowly emerged.
Like it had been lying in wait for a long-awaited delicacy, the sky octopus, whose size dwarfed the Endless Dream several times over, glared with blood-red eyes, radiating an intense, ferocious aura.
"Living sea monsters in the White Sea, huh? They do look quite intimidating."
Zyhark placed his hands on the two swords strapped at his waist. As the sky octopus prepared to attack with its thick tentacles, his figure vanished from the spot.
In the next second, the much smaller Zyhark appeared in front of the sky octopus.
Two cold flashes passed, and before the poor sky octopus even realized what had happened, its massive body was sliced into several pieces and fell into the white sea! Compared to the Blue Sea below, these creatures living in the sky, although gigantic, had a lower body density, making the feedback from the sword cuts feel less solid.
I wonder what it tastes like if cooked? With this curiosity, Zyhark, standing on top of the giant octopus chunks, casually sliced off a small piece of tentacle and threw it onto the deck of the Endless Dream.
After this brief interlude, the Endless Dream continued sailing and soon arrived at the port-like area before the Sky Island checkpoint.
Behind the checkpoint, a winding river of white sea resembling a mountain path stretched upwards into the ten-thousand-meter-high upper layers of the White Sea.
Looking up, besides the description of "Sky Island Birka" on the buildings, there was also a small line at the bottom: "The Island of Thundering Resonance."
"Visitors from the Blue Sea, please halt. This is the territory of Sky Island Birka. To enter, you need to pay an entry fee of five billion Extol per person."
The one guarding the checkpoint was a frail old man dressed in simple clothes.
His bent, frail body seemed too weak to withstand any breeze, even his voice was feeble.
Perhaps having remotely sensed the formidable strength of this group from the Blue Sea, who had just effortlessly slain the octopus monster, the old man's tone was quite polite.
"What? Five billion? That could buy, buy, buy so many bird eggs. You might as well be robbing us!!!"
Hearing this staggering amount, Aqua, who treasured money as if it were her life, instantly became agitated.
She had spent all her savings on adorable bird eggs that cost only two million, yet entering this so-called rundown Sky Island was supposed to cost five billion?
While able to empathize with Aqua's shock and annoyance, Zyhark found her way of describing it with bird eggs rather speechless.
Even if it really cost five billion Berries to enter the island, it was still more worthwhile than what you'd spend on those broken bird eggs!
"This is Birka's rule. If you can't accept it, then please leave," the frail old man waved his hand dismissively.
This place was not the divine kingdom controlled by Enel ten years later; they naturally wouldn't allow entry first and then issue a wanted notice as a dark maneuver.
"Don't panic, Aqua. If I'm not mistaken, the exchange rate between the Berries we use and the Extol used by the residents of the Sky Island is ten thousand to one."
Zyhark explained to Aqua.
Five billion Extol converted to Berries would be fifty thousand, and together they only added up to one hundred fifty thousand—a sum easily exceeded by capturing a single pirate, making it quite affordable.
"What? Fifty trillion per person? Where would we even find that much money, Zyhark? Maybe it's best not to deal with this old man after all!" Aqua swung her fists in anger, a divine flame leaping as if ready to lash out physically.
Hearing her statement filled with holes from start to finish, Zyhark, who was long accustomed to the goddess's low intelligence, chose to ignore it.
He stepped forward and asked the old man at the checkpoint, "What happens if we don't pay in Extol and also don't want to go back the way we came?"
"Are you planning to force your way through then?"
The old man's cloudy eyes flickered with a hint of fierceness, and his hands, which had been behind his back the entire time, slowly opened.
Zzzap!
The simple shirt he was wearing burst open, revealing large blocks of muscle hidden underneath.
The frail old man's demeanor suddenly escalated, like a seasoned veteran exuding an imposing presence.
He stretched out his bulging arms, pulling out a mortar from behind him and resting it on his shoulder, aiming its grim barrel at the Endless Dream.
"First, ask my old cannon here if it agrees!"
Zyhark: "..."
No wonder this old guy was dressed so conservatively—he was prepared to show off!
"Old man, you've misunderstood. We are legitimate businessmen, unlike those unreasonable pirates who loot and pillage."
He maintained a harmless smile, speaking slowly, "What I meant was, instead of paying in Extol, can we pay in Blue Sea Berries?"
Although Sky Island is located ten thousand meters in the air, many Sky Islanders know of and have interacted with Blue Sea people, and plenty of Blue Sea pirates travel through Sky Islands using regular routes.
So, they should also accept Berries here.
"Ah, so you meant using Berries... You should have said that clearly from the start!"
This time, it was the old man's turn to be speechless.
Not only did his attempt to intimidate fail, but he also inexplicably lost a shirt, a total loss!
"Using Berries is also acceptable, but there will be an additional ten percent charge."
Since he was officially on duty, and the other party was willing to pay, the old man naturally couldn't justify starting a conflict.
Thus, after paying exactly 165,000 Berries, under the resentful gaze of the shirt-ripped old man, the Endless Dream slowly sailed into the cloud river leading to the upper White Sea.
Whoosh!
A giant lobster emerged from the bottom of the river, its large claws grasping the hull of the Endless Dream and pulling it upwards with tremendous force, speeding rapidly towards the sky.
This is one of the characteristic creatures and important transport means of Sky Island, the Express Lobster.
The scenery whizzed by, and the crisp high-altitude wind mercilessly slapped against their faces.
Standing on the deck, Zyhark and his companions enjoyed this thrill, comparable to a high-speed roller coaster ride.
After about ten minutes, they successfully arrived at the end of the river.
The Express Lobster waved its huge claws, forcefully launching the Endless Dream into the air.
After completing a beautiful parabola in the air, the Endless Dream heavily crashed onto the pure white sea of the upper White Sea, splashing a large swath of sea clouds.
Far in the distance, one could see a not-so-small island floating on the vast white sea.
The reason it was recognized as an "island" was because of the edges, which resembled coastlines, with lush giant vegetation growing, including coconut trees, sea mangoes, wild pineapples, and more.
In the further area, one could see various buildings constructed from processed clouds, nestled together high and low.
Against the backdrop of the white island clouds, it resembled a city suspended in the sky, emitting a strange and dreamy aura.
That place was the unexpected adventure destination for Zyhark and his crew—Sky Island Birka!
After docking the Endless Dream at the coast where the sea clouds met the island clouds, two people, one cat, and one fool stepped onto this island full of fantastical colors.
Walking on the clouds of Sky Island felt slightly different from the touch of soil and stone, somewhat like stepping on compressed cotton, soft and comfortable.
As they passed by a coconut tree, Zyhark suddenly had a whimsical idea and climbed up to pick a flat coconut to hand to Aqua.
"Here, Aqua, you must be thirsty after walking so long. Why don't you try this unique coconut from Sky Island? The taste is really sweet."
Aqua reached out to take the coconut, her water-blue pupils filled with suspicion.
Why has this guy suddenly become so nice?
Could he be thanking me for bringing everyone to such a scenic island?
Soon, the mysteriously confident Water Goddess dismissed her doubts.
"Although a Water Goddess doesn't need to hydrate, since this is your kind gesture, I'll reluctantly accept it! How do I eat this?"
"The skin is very thin; just bite through it to drink the coconut water inside," Zyhark said expressionlessly.
"Oh."
The naïve Aqua obediently bit into the dark green skin of the coconut.
Then...
"Crack," a sound echoed, nearly shattering her divine teeth against the hardness, comparable to steel, of the skin!
"Hahaha!"
Seeing this, Zyhark could no longer contain his laughter and burst out laughing.
That's for always causing trouble—a small punishment as a warning.
"Darn it! Zyhark, you jerk, how dare you deceive me, deceive a most noble and sacred goddess!"
"If I ever see you after death, I'll use all my connections to send you to a dark and terrifying hell!!"
Aqua angrily threw the coconut away, cursing loudly.
"Mr. Zyhark, sometimes you seem quite mischievous..."
Following behind, King couldn't help but utter a sigh.
"I feel the same way, Meow." Meowth raised its hand in agreement.
From now on, dealing with this cunning captain definitely required full alertness!
Watching Zyhark's back, its eyes flickered, silently making a decision.
Eventually, Zyhark informed Aqua of the correct way to eat the coconut.
After experiencing the cleansing passivity and tasting the sweet juice inside, the fool goddess's full rage dissipated without a trace, stupidly asking for another.
King and Meowth also held a coconut each, savoring this unique fruit from Sky Island.
The group continued walking and looking around, and after about fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the area where the town was situated.
The winding white streets extended in all directions, and all that met the eye were uniquely designed cloud buildings.
Strangely, the entire street was deserted, and as they walked for dozens of meters, they hardly saw any Sky Island residents.
"Make way! Make way for me in front!"
Just as Zyhark was puzzled, a rough rebuke suddenly came from behind.
Turning around, they saw a man with small wings attached to his back, speeding towards them on a wind-powered "Viper."
Just as they were about to collide, the Sky Island man urgently hit the brakes, narrowly avoiding a crash that would have shattered the Viper right on Zyhark.
"Blue Sea people? If it's nothing, don't walk in the middle of the road! If not for my good skills, you would have been sent flying by now!"
The man driving the Viper wore a gray cloth shirt, his eyes small, and his overall appearance was rather greasy.
"Friend, we just arrived at Birka, can we ask you something?" Zyhark spoke up, ignoring the man's words.
"What do I care if you just arrived at Birka, get out of the way and don't block the road!"
The man frowned, his face full of impatience, lightly pressing the pedal under his foot, and the wind conch equipped on the Viper started to whoosh as it began to emit air currents.
Hearing this, Zyhark, still smiling, reached towards his waist instead of moving away.
For this kind of hot-tempered fellow, he had a masterful way of handling things.
Whoosh.
A stack of bills was pulled out and thrown directly into the irritable man's Viper without a word.
To be safe, while passing through the checkpoint, he had exchanged for one billion Extol from the watchful old man.
"Blue Sea people, what, what does this mean?" the irritable man looked puzzled, slowly releasing the pedal.
Zyhark smiled and did not speak, pulling out another stack of bills and throwing them over.
"Stop, don't play these games with me, my time is very precious!"
Despite his words, the irritable man's furrowed brows relaxed, and his right foot quietly moved away from the pedal.
The wind conch prepared to start at the back of the Viper completely ceased.
Before Zyhark could repeat his action, Aqua, seeing the addicting effect, copied him and threw money into the Viper.
Although the fool goddess loved money, the feeling of trampling someone with money seemed pretty good too?
"What are you guys doing exactly? Don't think that just because you give some money, you can keep asking me questions!" the irritable man continued to resist.
The expressionless King followed suit, throwing out a billion Extol.
"My principles and bottom line are very strong, don't blame me if you keep this up..."
The irritable man hadn't finished speaking when Meowth threw out another stack of bills.
Irritable man: "..."
Until Zyhark once again took out bills and waved them in front of him, the irritable man rubbed his hands together, his face suddenly bursting into a radiant, enthusiastic smile.
"Gentlemen, just ask whatever you want, I absolutely won't hide anything, I know everything!"
Seeing how flexibly this fellow's principles and bottom line shifted, Zyhark chuckled and patted his shoulder.
"Brother, I still like your untamed appearance at first."
"So tell me, where have all the island's residents gone? Why haven't we seen anyone?"
(End of Chapter)