After a moment of confusion, Luffy decided to brush off those unfamiliar words and replied enthusiastically:
"Yep, that's right! I'm Luffy!"
"And I'm Usopp!"
The girl smiled warmly at their introductions. "Nice to meet you! My name is Conis!"
Sanji immediately swooned, his eyes turning into hearts as he looked at her. "Oh, you have wings too... Are you an angel?"
Conis covered her mouth, chuckling softly. "The people of Sky Island all have wings like this!"
"No, you're different. You're the most special one of all!" Sanji gushed.
Hearing this, Kai and the others couldn't help but shudder, goosebumps rising as they listened to Sanji's over-the-top flattery.
After chatting for a while, Conis offered, "Are you all heading to Angel Island? Why don't you visit my home first?"
"It would be an honor, Miss Conis!" Sanji declared, rushing to her side like a gentleman.
. . . .
No one objected to the idea. It made sense to have a local show them around, especially since they were new to the island. Though Kai knew quite a bit about Sky Island, there was still much about the daily life of the locals he hadn't experienced.
With curiosity driving them, the crew followed Conis at a leisurely pace.
——
"Wow, Conis, your home is so beautiful!" Nami exclaimed as soon as they entered the house, marveling at how different it was from the Blue Sea.
"Haha, thank you! Most of our furniture and items are made using shell technology, so it might seem a bit unusual to you."
While Nami and Conis chatted, Luffy and the others began exploring the house. Even though Kai had already explained the different types of Sky Island shells, they had never seen them in person before, so the crew was excited to finally get a closer look.
As they played around, the door suddenly opened, and an older man with a beard walked in.
Conis smiled and greeted him, "Father, you're back! How was the catch today?"
"Pretty good!" the man replied, then noticed the crew. "Conis, are these your friends?"
"Yes! They're friends I just met. They've come all the way from the Blue Sea!"
"Visitors from the Blue Sea, huh? That's rare. Hello! I'm Pagaya, Conis' father."
"Hello, Uncle Pagaya!" the crew greeted him warmly.
"Please make yourselves comfortable. I'll go prepare some food." With that, Pagaya headed to the kitchen.
"I'll help too!" Sanji chimed in, eager to assist.
Before long, Sanji and Pagaya emerged with dishes of delicious food. The crew's eyes lit up, and they dug in with enthusiasm.
"This is amazing!" Luffy exclaimed between mouthfuls.
Kai sampled a bite of the Sky Island fish and nodded approvingly. It had a unique flavor, different from anything he'd tasted in the Blue Sea.
After they had their fill, the crew sprawled out on the soft cloud sofas, rubbing their full bellies with satisfied smiles.
Once they had rested for a bit, Luffy suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Let's go to Angel Island!"
"You want to visit Angel Island? I can show you around if you'd like," Conis offered with a smile.
"Thank you so much, Conis!" Luffy said, excited for the tour.
The crew followed Conis as she led them through the streets, which were bustling with activity.
"This is the busiest street on Angel Island—Lovely Avenue!" Conis explained. "If you want to buy anything, this is the place to do it!"
"Really? I want to buy some shells!" Usopp said excitedly, remembering the variety of shells he'd seen at Conis' house. He quickly turned to Kai and asked, "Kai, can you lend me some Berries?"
. . . .
"Huh? Wait... where's Kai?" Usopp suddenly shouted in surprise, realizing Kai was no longer with them.
"Miss Robin is gone too!" Sanji added, scanning the area.
Everyone looked around, realizing that Kai and Robin had disappeared at some point.
"Hahaha, what's the big deal?" Luffy laughed. "They probably saw something interesting and went to check it out. Kai's super strong—there's nothing to worry about!"
Even though Luffy was carefree about it, Usopp looked worried. It wasn't Kai's safety that concerned him, though—it was his Berries!
During their time together, the crew had come to understand that there were two wealthy people on the ship: Nami and Kai. Kai was especially generous and often paid for things when they went out. If anyone was short on cash, they'd "borrow" from Kai... and usually didn't have to pay it back.
Borrowing from Nami, on the other hand, was a different story. Not only would she demand repayment, but she'd charge double!
Usopp was in a bind. He could wait for Kai to come back and then ask for the money, but he really wanted those shells now!
After some thought, Usopp reluctantly decided to borrow from Nami first and repay her later with Kai's help.
Meanwhile, high in the sky...
Robin sat on a cloud, looking curiously at Kai, who was standing in front of her. "Kai, where are you taking me?" she asked.
Kai smiled mysteriously. "Somewhere I think you'll be very interested in."
Within moments, they landed on a cloud.
"This should be the place. We'll need to search a bit to find it exactly," Kai said calmly.
"What are we looking for?" Robin asked, intrigued.
"The Golden Bell Tower."
Robin's eyes widened in shock. "The Golden Bell Tower? How do you know it's here?"
Kai grinned. "That's a secret!"
"Hey, I found it!" Kai suddenly called out, his gaze locking onto the object of their search.
Both Robin and Kai were momentarily stunned by what they saw.
The Golden Bell Tower stood tall, massive and gleaming with gold. Kai turned to Robin with a mischievous smile. "So... how much gold do you think is here?"
Robin shook her head slowly, still in awe. "I don't know... but it's definitely a lot."
"Hahaha... I didn't bring you here to show you the gold, though. I brought you to see something even more valuable—the Poneglyph."
Robin froze, staring at Kai in shock.
"How do you know about the Poneglyph? And how do you know I can read the ancient text?" Robin asked, her voice serious.
Kai raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
Robin crossed her arms and gave him a steady look. "How do you know I'm searching for Poneglyphs? I never told anyone that I can read the ancient language."
Kai simply smiled. "Like I said... that's a secret."
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you liked the story.