Meanwhile, on Jaya Island.
At the edge of Mock Town, behind a large house that had somehow escaped the surrounding destruction, a deafening explosion shattered the rear wall. Bricks flew, dust surged skyward, and two masked figures in suits burst out through the opening in a blur. One was slender, with two long, wispy mustaches and a snarling wolf mask. The other was broad and muscular, sporting bull-like horns atop his head and a matching bull mask.
The moment they hit open ground, both men dashed toward the coast with impressive speed.
"Damn it! Don't let them get away!"
"Bastards, if we don't finish them, we're screwed!"
"Break their arms and legs, miserable scum!"
A mob of furious pirates surged through the demolished wall behind them, brandishing guns and blades, their roars of rage echoing through the smoky air. Despite the chaos, one detail stood out among them: every pirate had long, flowing hair.
There was no mistaking it, they were members of the Longhair Pirates.
"How's it looking?" the wolf-masked man asked coldly, his twin mustaches fluttering as he ran.
"Mission complete. Target eliminated," growled the bull-masked man with a deep, metallic rasp.
Suddenly, a flamboyant figure in a blood-red sakura-patterned suit leapt onto the roof of the building. His long hair writhed like furious tentacles in the wind, more like an octopus than a man, and he was in hot pursuit.
"Open the gate, I'll cover you!" he barked.
Sensing the deadly pressure from behind, the wolf-masked man suddenly spun on his heel. With a powerful swing of his right leg, he unleashed a bladed shockwave.
"Rankyaku: Lone Wolf!!"
A blue-white crescent slash flew through the air, leaping forward like a predator.
"You're not getting away," Owen growled, his voice laced with killing intent. Twisting his body mid-air, he slipped past the attack, and in the same instant, his long hair stretched out violently, dozens of strands turning into piercing black javelins.
The wolf-masked man didn't flinch. Instead, he rushed forward, narrowly weaving through the deadly strands, then threw a punch straight at Owen.
The hair-blades stabbed into his body, but only rang out with clang-clang-clang, as if striking steel.
"Rokushiki...!" Owen's eyes widened, he'd realized who these men were.
The wolf-masked man's punch landed. Owen raised his arms in defense, but the sheer force behind the blow sent him flying.
"Tekkai: Heavy-step Wolf!!"
At the same time, the bull-masked man waved a hand through the air, then pushed it forward.
A door appeared out of thin air.
He grabbed his partner, and both men charged into the gateway. In the blink of an eye, the door slammed shut, vanishing into thin air as if it had never existed.
"Damn it! A Devil Fruit user!" Owen rushed up, frantically feeling the space where the door had been. But there was nothing.
His face twisted in fury. "You sons of bitches... damn those two damn agents!!"
Grand Line, Paradise, Somewhere at Sea.
A massive three-masted warship, its prow shaped like a snarling wolf's head, cut through the waves with thunderous momentum. Over 120 meters long and towering more than twenty meters high, it exuded overwhelming presence.
🎶 Yo-ho-ho-ho! Yo-ho-ho-ho!
🎶 Yo-ho-ho-ho! Yo-ho-ho-ho!
🎶 Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Binks' Brew!
🎶 The wind it blows, to where who knows? The waves will be our guide!
🎶 O'er across the ocean's tide, rays of sunshine far and wide!
🎶 The birds, they sing, of cheerful things in circles passing by!
🎶 Bid farewell to weaver's town! Say so long to port renowned!
🎶 Sing a song, it won't be long before we're casting off!
🎶 Cross the gold and silver waves, Changin' into water sprays!
🎶 Sailing out on our journey to the ends of the sea!
🎶 Yo-ho-ho-ho! Yo-ho-ho-ho!
From the deck of the mighty ship rang out the cheerful notes of "Binks' Sake", the most iconic song of the sea. Combined with the pirate flag bearing a skull flying high atop the mainmast, there was no doubt, this was a pirate vessel.
On deck, mountains of glittering gold were piled high. The crew partied without restraint, feasting, drinking, singing, and boasting, their spirits riding as high as their sails.
"Hahaha! Captain, with all this gold, we must've hauled away tens of billions, maybe more!" Dimitri laughed uproariously, twirling a twenty-centimeter golden cloud fox statue in his hand. "Too bad we had to leave some behind, the ship's already full!"
This raid on Skypiea had been no fluke. The Chris Pirates, led by Aeridar, had stormed the Sky Island with a single goal: loot its legendary gold. They'd crushed both the Skypieans and the Shandians, seized the golden city, and spent three full days loading treasure. If they'd had more room, they'd have stripped it clean to the clouds.
"Never... seen... so much... gold... in my life..." muttered Backan, who normally had little interest in wealth, now dizzy from the sheer volume of riches.
"Shandora sure was loaded! I mean, houses built entirely out of gold?" said Arlan, marveling at a miniature golden house in his hand.
"Captain, we have to keep that golden bell," Millie chimed in, her eyes practically spinning with beri signs. She was already decked out in gold, bracelets, necklaces, rings.
"Of course. Once we secure a base in the New World, I'll mount the golden bell on the highest tower of our capital!" Aeridar declared, laughing as he held up a two-meter-long golden trident. "Been jealous of Doflamingo for a while now, king of a whole damn country? That kind of power makes everything easier."
"Taking over a country... now that's thrilling!" Oliver grinned wickedly.
"Hahahaha! If Mont Blanc Cricket ever finds out what we did up there, he'll probably want to kill you, Captain," Arlan cackled, slapping the table. "His ancestors were tight with the Shandians, remember?"
Then, Arlan pointed to the white cloth filled with strange symbols in Aeridar's hands. "Hey, Captain... what's with that rubbing of the Poneglyph? Isn't researching those illegal? Can you even read it?"
"Tch. No idea what it says, doesn't mean I can't collect it," Aeridar said, rolling his eyes.
Still, even if he couldn't understand it, he knew exactly what that text represented.
A record of one of the Ancient Weapons...
And Poseidon was none other than the mermaid princess of Fish-Man Island—Shirahoshi herself.
Of course, this was just one of Aeridar's little indulgences. He had a habit of collecting oddities from around the world.
There's not much to write about the Skypiea arc. Enel hasn't shown up yet, and the main thing was nabbing some gold, it was a breeze. So I won't pad this section with filler. That said, this won't be the last time we return to it. Enel, Luffy, they'll show up down the line. Just planting the seeds for now.
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