Aeridar hung up the Den Den Mushi, laughter booming from his chest.
He stepped up to the railing, facing the deck crowded with crewmen. With a wide, triumphant grin, he declared:
"Listen up, boys! As of today, I've officially joined the Seven Warlords of the Sea! That's right, recognized by the World Government, my crimes are wiped clean, and from now on, we can plunder legally! And that means you too, every last one of you as part of the Chris Pirates now shares those privileges!"
"And in ten days, the Marines have invited me to a meeting at Marineford. So get ready, we're going to pay a little visit to Navy HQ!"
"Long live the Captain!"
"Oooh! Our Captain's one of the Seven Warlords now!"
"Legal plundering, baby!"
"Let's go mess around at Marineford!"
The crew erupted in cheers, tossing whatever they had into the air, roaring with excitement and pride.
"Captain, you don't think the Marines are pulling a fast one?" Gorbo asked, frowning.
"Yeah," Arlan chimed in. "What if they're luring you there to arrest you?"
Hearing this, Millie and Mina immediately clung to Aeridar's arms, concern written all over their faces.
"It's fine," Aeridar replied with a casual shake of his head. "Once we're down there, we'll know. Besides, the Marines know exactly what I'm capable of. They wouldn't risk the Navy HQ fortress getting wrecked just to trap one man."
He wasn't a Yonko-level threat, no one would risk Marineford's credibility and structural safety over a pirate with a 300-million bounty. That'd be a joke.
And anyway, if the Marines tried anything shady, they'd surely have reported this in the news already. No way they'd slap themselves in the face like that.
"True," Oliver agreed. "We'll keep the ship anchored outside just in case. If it turns into a fight, even if I have to die, I'll make damn sure Marineford doesn't walk away unscathed."
With his ever-deepening mastery of the sword, Oliver might not yet rival the world's top swordsmen, but he was far from weak. The fact that he was prepared to bet his life on it made the threat real.
"If the Marines... dare double-cross... you... I'll break you... out, even if it... costs me... my life!" Backan growled, his fists clenched like stone slabs.
"The World Government and Marines would be thrilled to have someone like Captain on their side," Dimitri said calmly. "The Warlords are short one, and finding a suitable replacement isn't easy. With Captain stepping forward? It's a win for them."
"Bwahahaha!" Aeridar laughed, tilting his head toward the sky. "Even if they turn on me... I may not be able to sink Marineford, but I'll leave scars they'll never patch over!"
That thunderous declaration sent waves of confidence through the crew. Following this man? That was the right choice. This, was a captain with swagger.
Still, the crew was the same as it had been before. Back on Jaya Island, Aeridar had spotted CP9 agents lurking. Recruiting new members now could mean letting spies aboard. That would ruin everything. One slip, and the World Government might slit your throat in your sleep. Even the unluckiest isekai protagonist wouldn't deserve that.
No, he'd wait. Once they reached the Sabaody Archipelago, he'd crush a few Supernova crews and absorb their elite fighters. Once they hit the New World and set up base, then he'd start expanding with more peripheral hires.
"Captain, what now? Still trying to find a way up?" Dimitri asked, glancing around at the sea of fluffy white clouds.
"Of course," Aeridar scoffed. "That conference's ten days away. We've got time to explore up top."
"Captain! Waterfall to the east!" the lookout called down from the crow's nest.
"Let's head that way!"
With a wave of Aeridar's arm, the Chris pivoted sharply and surged toward the eastern waterfall.
They sailed for over ten minutes, weaving through soft, puffy cloud banks—until at last, they came upon a six-pointed gate. Behind it, a massive waterfall surged skyward. At the gate's apex hung a sign: "Heaven's Gate."
"That... doesn't sound good. Is there really a heaven up there?"
"Are we going to die going through that?"
"Hey! Don't say weird crap like that, you moron!"
The gate sparked a wave of murmurs from the crew, some nervous, some skeptical.
"Pfft... these guys." Aeridar scratched his head, then shouted:
"Heaven's Gate, hell's gate, what do I care? We're pirates! Free men of the sea! Even if it is heaven, we're going in to take a look!"
That speech fired everyone up. Faces flushed with excitement, the crew felt ready to charge the heavens just to prove their defiance.
The Chris glided into Heaven's Gate. Along the inner walls, they spotted rows of small doors, clearly inhabited.
Just then, one of the doors creaked open, and out stepped a tiny old woman.
"Look! She's got wings!"
"An angel? Is that an angel?"
"The legendary skyfolk... looks like a dried plum."
"My dreams... shattered..."
Seeing the wrinkled elder with fluttering wings on her back, many of the crew practically felt their hearts crack. So much for divine beauty.
"I'm Heaven's Gate's gatekeeper, Amazon," she said plainly. "Are you here to sightsee... or start a war?"
"Well... sightseeing, more or less," Aeridar replied after a moment's thought.
"We want to reach Skypiea. Is this gate the entrance?" Arlan asked loudly.
"Doesn't really matter which," Amazon answered dryly. "If you want to ascend, pay the entrance fee. One million extols per person."
[Note: During Enel's reign, the toll was 1 billion extols, but that was a scare tactic to suppress Blue Sea visitors. Enel hasn't arrived yet, so the fee's much lower.]
"W-What?! A million per person?!"
"What the hell's an extol?!"
"We've got nearly three hundred people!"
The crew buzzed with complaints.
"Oi, granny," Aeridar called from the bow, voice laced with disdain. "We're pirates. Be grateful we're not robbing you, and you still want us to pay? Dream on."
Aeridar knew the situation well: Enel wasn't on Skypiea yet, and there weren't any true powerhouses up there. At best, that old coot Gan Fall, "God" of Skypiea, might put up a decent fight, but the rest? Hardly worth worrying about.
"All right, granny. Just tell us how to get up there!" Oliver barked impatiently.
Suddenly, three massive creatures burst out of the White Sea, red-speckled behemoths with monstrous pincers, flanking the Chris from three sides.
"What the hell is that?!"
"Wait, no, that's a crab? Or a shrimp?!"
Shocked, the crew stared at the enormous crustaceans encircling their ship. Oliver nearly drew his blade on instinct.
"They're Express Lobsters, famous in the White Sea," Amazon explained. "They'll carry you upward. Your ship's too big to ride any standard current, so you'll need three of them to haul it."
Sure enough, the moment she finished speaking, the Express Lobsters beneath the ship began to stir.
With a sharp whoosh, all three surged forward in perfect unison, dragging the massive Chris skyward like arrows loosed from a bow, racing against the current along a narrow, winding river.
"Whoa, this speed's insane!"
"Yep, they're shrimp alright. Huge shrimp!"
"They're going upstream?!"
"Hold on tight! Don't get flung overboard!" someone yelled.
On deck, the crew grabbed onto whatever they could—rails, masts, barrels—but many were tossed about like ragdolls by the sheer velocity.
"There's more river above us!?"
When everyone looked up, they froze.
Towering overhead was a spiraling river that twisted like a serpent into the sky. It ascended far beyond the clouds, seemingly endless—thousands of meters high, a breathtaking and almost surreal sight.
"Let's go, boys! We're heading to Skypiea to take the gold!"
"Yeah! We're taking the gold!"
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