The Black Pearl continued along the Milky Way after defeating the priests. If this had been a legitimate Trial of God, at this point they would only have needed to reach the Altar of Sacrifice and pick up their companions before leaving. But everyone knew that the moment they stepped outside Enel's script, an all-out war would begin.
"By the way, who was God before Enel?" Tashigi asked curiously.
Conis had been staring at the trees of Upper Yard. To her, setting foot on the Holy Land was like a dream. When she heard the question, she turned to Tashigi.
"Yes, that person is known as Gan Fall."
"He's still alive?" Vivi asked in surprise.
After witnessing how mercilessly Enel killed at the slightest provocation, everyone had assumed he had murdered the previous God.
"Yes..." Conis said. "God Enel is someone who follows his own commandments and rules to a certain extent, and Gan Fall had never accumulated enough sins to be sentenced to death."
Gan Fall was actually a kind man who chose dialogue before the sword. He had always been that way.
According to Conis, even before Enel arrived, he had tried to end the war with the Shandians peacefully.
"Shandians?" Uta asked with an amused smile.
"Yes, they're also called guerrillas," Conis replied with a blink.
"And why were they at war with the Sky People?" Robin asked with interest.
Conis sighed.
For the Sky People, who had lived largely isolated from the Blue Sea, everything that arrived through the Knock Up Stream—or through the few survivors who reached Skypiea—was considered treasure.
To them, the day an island of solid earth reached the sky was a miracle.
The Sky People believed they had been blessed with this gift. However, the island was already inhabited by the Shandians.
The Shandians had no intention of sharing it, but the Sky People also refused to ignore the island. As expected, the Sky People and the Shandians went to war over Upper Yard, and that conflict continued for four hundred years.
"Four hundred years of war?!" Vivi exclaimed.
Her own country had only been on the brink of civil war for a few years, and that alone had been devastating. How could a war last four centuries?!
"This all happened long before I was born, so I don't know all the details. But what I did witness was Gan Fall trying to resolve the conflict peacefully," Conis said.
"For the Shandians, that would've meant giving up their homeland. How exactly was that supposed to be resolved peacefully?" Allen mocked.
Conis scratched her cheek. "Maybe coexistence. Maybe sharing Upper Yard, or as they call it, Shandora. But the Shandians refused, and of course Gan Fall, as Skypiea's representative, couldn't simply give up the Holy Land either."
"Politics is a pain... even in heaven," Nojiko sighed with her arms crossed.
"A dead end... huh," Hina said as she smoked.
"I figured they'd be that aggressive, haha," Nami laughed.
Conis blinked in surprise. "You... met the Shandians?!"
"Not all of them, but we did meet a guy wearing tribal clothes and a tribal mask. He carried a bazooka. Pretty aggressive guy~" Allen laughed.
"That description matches someone... the leader of the Shandians, Wyper," Conis said awkwardly. "I hope he didn't cause you any trouble."
"Well, if by trouble you mean trying to attack our ship the moment we arrived and getting defeated instantly, then I'd say it was more disappointing for that warrior than troublesome~" Mikita mocked.
Allen and Uta exchanged glances.
"Well, he brought it on himself," they both shrugged.
Conis widened her eyes but quickly shook her head. These people had defeated two priests without any trouble. It wasn't surprising that they had beaten Wyper so easily.
"Are we getting involved with those people?" Kaya asked.
"Huh? Nah, sounds like way too much trouble. My goal is to crush Enel. If after that Gan Fall becomes God again and decides to keep fighting the Shandians, that's his problem."
Allen shrugged. The girls exchanged glances. It was obvious that, as pirates, they had no obligation to involve themselves in political issues tied to a four-hundred-year war.
"Unless..." Allen smiled at Conis. "Tell me, do you want all of Upper Yard? I could give it to you as a welcome gift for joining my crew, Conis."
"Huh?" Conis widened her eyes before blushing. Honestly, it was difficult for a girl like her to endure Allen's "seduction." To begin with, this handsome young man was already about to defeat God just for her, and now he was offering to give her the Holy Land as a welcome gift.
"Hey, why haven't I ever gotten anything like that?" Kaya puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
Mikita also complained. "That's not fair! I've been working so hard to be accepted, and Conis not only gets accepted, but she gets presents too. I demand equal treatment!"
Cornered by both girls, Allen had no choice but to give in.
"Fine, I get it." Allen sighed. "Kaya, if you ever have a request that's within my power, I'll grant it. And Mikita, once we're back in the Blue Sea, I'll give you a test. If you pass it, you'll officially become part of my crew."
Both girls remained silent for a moment before happily jumping onto Allen to hug him.
"Thank you, Captain! You're the greatest ever~"
"I love you, Captain! You're the best!~"
Allen felt completely satisfied as his ego swelled from all the praise and admiration. The other girls exchanged glances before silently reaching the same conclusion. They had all realized that if they praised Allen enough, he'd be much more willing to grant their requests. That information was priceless.
A few minutes later, after freeing himself from the girls, Allen walked toward the railing. Feeling something with his haki, he narrowed his eyes and spotted a little girl gathering dirt beneath a tree.
"Oh..." Allen smiled.
....
Elsewhere in Upper Yard, a bald man wearing sunglasses, with half his body covered in tattoos and carrying a katana, frowned.
He stood surrounded by dozens of iron stakes driven into the ground, each topped with a skull belonging to those who had lost their lives in the Trial of Iron.
The man was one of Enel's priests, the Sky Breeder, Ohm.
"How could this happen?!"
Grrr!
Beside him, a white dog the size of a rhinoceros growled, sensing the threat posed by Allen and his crew, but Ohm calmed it by patting its head.
"Easy, Holy."
Despite maintaining a calm expression, Ohm was also irritated. Two priests had already fallen, and Enel certainly wouldn't like that.
Even now, Ohm didn't see Allen as a danger. Instead, he was worried about disappointing Enel.
Elsewhere in Upper Yard, specifically in an area covered by thick fog where the Trial of the Swamp took place, a similar situation unfolded.
The last priest had learned what happened through his Mantra. He was known as:
The Sky Boss, Gedatsu.
The man had a bizarre hairstyle resembling a ceremonial candelabrum. He wore a purple outfit with black gloves and shoes.
Gedatsu looked furious—or at least it seemed that way—as he unsuccessfully tried to cross his arms while biting his lower lip in frustration.
"Hh... nhhh..."
This wasn't some strange ritual. He had simply forgotten how to cross his arms, and that to speak, he first had to open his mouth.
Gedatsu was an idiot...
No, calling him an idiot wasn't enough. He was a man whose stupidity went far beyond Luffy's. It was practically a miracle that he'd survived to adulthood, since he sometimes forgot things as basic as talking, walking, and even how to eat.
"I must inform Enel-sama," Gedatsu said as he stood up, but remained standing in place. "Ah! Silly me, I have to move my legs to walk!"
If Allen thought Satori was a ridiculous priest, he'd end up smacking his own forehead when he met Gedatsu.
....
The Black Pearl crossed the entire forest and reached a lake, at the center of which stood a stone altar.
"I guess we've arrived," Robin said.
She examined the ancient carvings on the altar with great interest. As an archaeologist, she had a fondness for relics from ancient civilizations.
Noticing this, Allen smiled.
"Nami, bring us closer to the altar."
Nami turned the helm, and the Black Pearl came to a stop beside the altar.
Allen picked Robin up in his arms and jumped onto the altar. Once there, he gently set her down.
"Thank you~" the woman said, kissing him on the cheek.
"If that's the reward, then I'll find every Poneglyph for you," Allen grinned mischievously.
Robin laughed, then stepped closer. Resting her hand against Allen's chest while subtly revealing part of her cleavage, she whispered, "If you do that, I'll give you more than just a kiss~."
"..."
Allen was speechless. Had Robin just flirted with him?
Embarrassed by her own actions, Robin quickly shifted her attention to the altar.
Hina watched in silence. No matter how she looked at it, all she saw was a young archaeologist who loved history. That was the only sin Robin had ever committed, and yet for that alone she had been branded a demon.
"Hina is tired..."
The woman sighed, then quietly removed the Marine coat bearing the word "Justice" across the back.
Half an hour later, Allen carried Robin back in his arms while she happily held a notebook filled with sketches and notes.
Allen had promised that as long as he lived, Robin would be free to enjoy archaeology for what it truly was to her—her passion, not merely a means of uncovering the world's forbidden truth.
....
Enel lived in a place called the Temple of God. It was located in Upper Yard, though not directly on the surface, but rather atop a floating cloud island.
The temple itself consisted of several oriental-style buildings with red roofs and white walls, decorated with Enel's lightning symbol and surrounded by walls matching the buildings' colors.
Both Ohm and Gedatsu arrived at the temple and stopped before the massive gate. Both were nervous that they had angered Enel.
"What are you doing just standing there? Get inside already!" a man shouted.
Behind them appeared an enormous, obese man with curly hair and an arrogant expression. He wore a white robe, sandals, and most notably, a black belt strapped across his shoulder, embedded with numerous Dials.
This man was the commander of Enel's Divine Soldiers, Commander Yama.
"Tsk, quit making so much noise," Ohm said.
"Hmmm hmm!" Gedatsu grunted.
"Idiot, stop biting your lip when you're trying to talk!" Ohm scolded.
"Ah, my mistake!" Gedatsu exclaimed.
"No wonder two priests fell. How pathetic," Yama muttered.
Naturally, both priests heard him with their Mantra, but before they could lash out and vent their frustration, the gates opened.
Crackle
The sky rumbled, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground before them, followed by a voice.
"Stop wasting time and come in."
Ohm and Gedatsu knew that Enel was generally understanding toward his subordinates, but when he was in a bad mood, he could become a tyrant.
Both apologized and entered the temple.
The cloud courtyard was a vast, empty area whose only purpose was to provide a clear path to Enel's throne, which wasn't a conventional throne at all, but rather something designed to serve as both a bed and a place to relax.
"Enel-sama."
Ohm stepped forward and knelt. Gedatsu immediately did the same.
Enel opened his eyes.
He was a fair-skinned man with short blond hair and blue eyes with tiny pupils. His most distinctive feature was his incredibly long earlobes, which hung all the way down to his chest.
Enel wore nothing on his upper body, exposing his muscular physique. He also favored baggy pants, along with gold earrings, bracelets, and rings.
"Do you know why I summoned you?" Enel asked, resting his head against one hand.
Ohm began to sweat.
"We're sorry..."
The sky roared, and a bolt of lightning struck beside Ohm.
"I don't want excuses. I'm simply disappointed. I never thought my priests would be so weak."
Ohm clenched his teeth. Thanks to Satori and Shura's incompetence, the remaining priests now looked like fools in Enel's eyes.
Enel sighed.
"It doesn't matter. Right now, what matters is finishing Maxim."
Both priests looked up in astonishment.
"Enel-sama, is it almost complete?!" Ohm exclaimed.
"Almost. Once it's finished, we'll finally be able to leave this island behind and search for the land of dreams!" Enel smiled.
The people of Skypiea and the Shandians had viewed Enel as their ultimate enemy, never realizing that he had never intended to remain there.
Everything had been part of a meticulous plan, one that allowed him to create a miracle—the world's first flying ship.
"Huh..."
Enel's face suddenly froze. It was quickly replaced by disbelief before his eyes bulged comically out of their sockets and his jaw dropped to the floor.
"Enel-sama?!" Yama exclaimed.
Never in his life had he seen Enel react like that, but his words never reached him because his attention had been completely stolen by something he simply couldn't believe.
"Something's coming!" Gedatsu shouted as he spun around.
Ohm sensed it as well through his Mantra and immediately gripped his katana, taking a defensive stance.
"Well, well, well. Honestly, I could've taken a little more time, but after seeing your priests run over here, I didn't see the point anymore," a mocking voice said.
In the middle of the Temple of God courtyard, a dome of clouds began to rise from the ground. Moments later, it shattered, revealing a jet-black ship emerging from below.
Everyone's gaze shifted to the figurehead at the bow, where a white-haired young man dressed in a black shirt smiled at them with mockery and amusement.
"Hello, God. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the future King of the World, and I've decided I don't want any gods in my world."
....
Not far from Upper Yard, hidden within the clouds, there was a village made up of simple tribal huts.
Its inhabitants were none other than the Shandians. They had hidden beneath Upper Yard, and thanks to the dense Sea of Clouds, Enel's Mantra couldn't reach that place.
"Aisa, are you serious?!" Wyper shouted. Without his mask, the man wore a permanently fierce expression and a mohawk hairstyle.
"Calm down, Wyper," said a burly Shandian whose eyes were hidden beneath his cap.
"How am I supposed to calm down, Braham?! We have to seize this opportunity! Two priests have fallen! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!" Wyper exclaimed.
"You mustn't!" shouted a little girl with short brown hair. She was Aisa, born with the ability to use Observation Haki, giving her extraordinary perception.
She had witnessed Allen's crew defeat both Satori and Shura. She was afraid—afraid of them, and even more than them, she feared their captain, because he had somehow interfered with her perception, something not even Enel himself had been able to do.
"Aisa..." Wyper growled coldly.
"Leave her alone, Wyper. She's just worried about you," said a black-haired woman.
"Stay out of this, Laki. I'm a descendant of the great warrior Kalgara. It would be shameful to let this opportunity pass just because I'm afraid of losing my life!"
Wyper stepped out of the tent, drawing the attention of all his warriors.
"Shandians! Today we'll reclaim our homeland and kill anyone who stands in our way!"
A deafening roar erupted from every Shandian present, but both Aisa and Laki looked worried. Knowing Wyper's personality, he would most likely attack not only Enel's forces, but also provoke the people from the Blue Sea.
Aisa remembered how, when she had tried to spy on Allen with her Mantra, he had turned toward her and winked.
'He mustn't... Wyper must never provoke that big brother, no matter what!'
Ignoring the danger, Wyper began preparing his attack on the Temple of God to overthrow Enel.