So, angels were real.
Not some devil fruit trick. Not an illusion. Not one of Usopp's wild stories that somehow kept turning out true. Actual people with wings growing from their backs, moving naturally with every shift of posture like they'd had them since birth, because they had, they also had weird antennae as well.
Varin was still trying to sort that last part out when everything immediately got worse. Because the first one they met was a woman. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn't have meant much if literally anything. New person, ask questions, figure out where they were, maybe avoid getting scammed or scam them. Standard business for this crew.
Unfortunately, Sanji existed. The cook froze the instant he saw her. tongue hanging from his mouth like a stray dog, eyes gone wide, body locking up so completely it looked like his spirit had left first, and the rest of him was trying to catch up. Then he dropped to his knees so fast that Varin actually thought it cracked the cloud beneath him. "An angel…" he breathed, voice trembling with raw emotion. "A real angel…"
Varin knew that tone. It was the tone of a problem. "Ah, no," he muttered, already moving. Sanji launched himself forward a heartbeat later, tears in his eyes and arms spread wide like he was about to swear eternal devotion on the spot. Varin caught him around the waist mid-charge and yanked him backward hard enough to stop the rush, and give the man whiplash. Sanji kicked wildly in protest, twisting like a man being dragged from paradise.
"LET ME GO, YOU BASTARD!" Sanji shouted. "SHE DESCENDED FROM THE HEAVENS FOR ME!"
"She descended from bloody over there," Varin grunted, hauling him back another few steps. "Get ahold of yerself."
The winged woman had taken half a startled step back, though to her credit, she didn't scream or panic. She just blinked at the scene in front of her, expression shifting from surprise to polite confusion.
Nami pinched the bridge of her nose like this was physically painful.
The woman recovered first. She bowed slightly, graceful and calm despite the idiot still being wrestled in the background.
"Hesso," she said warmly. "Welcome to Angel Beach. My name is Conis." Her voice was soft, friendly, and carried none of the caution Varin expected from someone meeting a group of armed strangers who had arrived on a pirate ship from nowhere.
At her feet sat a small fox-like creature with tiny eyes and a long tail, staring up at them with bright, curious eyes.
Varin still had Sanji tucked under one arm like cargo. "…Right," he said, breathing a little harder from the struggle than he cared to admit. "Sorry about the cook. He's defective."
Conis giggled softly, taking the whole scene far better than most people would have. "You Blue Sea people are funny," she said with a warm smile. "If you'd like, I can show you around our village."
Nami answered before anyone else had the chance. "That would be amazing," she said, voice suddenly bright and pleasant as she stepped closer. "And while we walk, could you show me how those shell things work? They're amazing."
Varin glanced at her and snorted under his breath. He knew that voice. Nami only sounded that friendly when she wanted something, and right now, those shell gadgets had her full attention.
Conis, completely unsuspecting, nodded happily. "Of course. They're very common here."
Nami's smile sharpened just a touch. Usopp leaned toward Chopper. "She's already planning something," he whispered.
Chopper nodded quickly. "Yep."
Varin finally let go of Sanji, which turned out to be a mistake. The cook instantly dropped to his knees again and clasped his hands dramatically toward Conis. "Lady Conis," he said, full of emotion. "Please allow me to devote my life to protecting your smile."
Varin caught him by the back of the collar before he could slide any closer. "No."
Sanji flailed in outrage. "You brute!"
Conis laughed again, somehow finding all of this amusing instead of concerning. "Your crew is very lively."
"Aye," Varin said dryly. "That's one way to say it."
They followed her into Angel Village, the village opening up around them as they walked. Houses built from pale wood and polished shell-like materials rested on firm white cloud paths. Palm trees swayed in the breeze, and narrow streams of cloud-water wound between buildings like canals. It felt peaceful, bright, almost too easy compared to the world below.
Luffy was gone ahead within seconds, sprinting toward anything unfamiliar. Robin walked at an easy pace, eyes moving over every detail. Zoro looked awake for once and aware of everything.
Nami stayed right beside Conis, gaze constantly drifting to every shell device mounted on walls, carts, and boats. "So these dials," Nami asked casually, "are they expensive?"
Varin laughed. "There she is."
Nami shot him a glare. "Shut up."
Conis only smiled and reached into her bag, pulling out a small shell with a patterned face. "This one is a Breath Dial," she explained. "It stores wind." She pressed the top. A sudden burst of air blasted outward hard enough to send Usopp stumbling backward with a startled yell, arms pinwheeling before he landed flat on his back.
Nami looked at the dial like she'd just fallen in love.
They kept moving deeper into Angel Beach, the quieter shoreline giving way to the outskirts of the village proper. More homes appeared along the paths, some raised slightly on shaped cloud foundations, others built beside narrow waterways where small boats drifted lazily. People with wings went about their day with little concern for the strangers passing through. A few glanced at the crew with curiosity, but none with fear. Children ran through the streets laughing, hopping over cloud ridges like it was ordinary ground.
Varin found that part stranger than the wings. No one here looked hardened. No one moved like they expected trouble around every corner. It was the sort of ease people only had when they'd either never seen real violence or thought themselves too safe for it to matter.
Luffy was already talking to anyone who would answer him, asking if they had meat, treasure, or anything fun to do. Chopper kept spinning in circles, trying to look at everything at once. Usopp had recovered enough dignity to start pretending he had not been blown over by a shell the size of his hand.
Conis stayed patient through all of it. She showed them another shell, this one broader and smoother. "This is a Tone Dial," she explained. "It stores sound." She spoke a short greeting into it, then pressed the top. A moment later, her own voice came back clear as day from the shell.
Usopp's jaw dropped. "It copied you!"
"It stored me," Conis corrected with a smile. Then she brought out another. "This is a Flash Dial." The burst of light that followed had half the crew squinting and Sanji declaring that even the dials of heaven were dazzling.
Varin rubbed at one eye. "That one's annoyin'."
Nami disagreed completely. She was already asking how many kinds existed, how common they were, whether they could be traded, repaired, exported, and if people here understood what market demand was. Conis answered politely, though by the third question, she looked slightly overwhelmed.
They passed a larger canal where several sleek machines skimmed over the cloud-water with a soft hiss. They looked like a cross between boats and boards, each guided by a standing rider leaning with practiced ease.
Conis brightened. "Those are Wavers."
Luffy pointed instantly. "I want one."
"You are not touching one," Nami said without looking at him.
Varin tilted his head, watching them cut across the surface. "Those are just boats without sails?"
"They're powered by Jet Dials," Conis said. "They're difficult for beginners."
Nami stopped walking. That alone made Varin suspicious.\ She turned slowly toward the canal, eyes fixed on a nearby unattended Waver tied to a post. "Difficult," she repeated.
Conis nodded. "Most people need years to master them."
Varin sighed immediately. "Ah, no."
Nami was already kicking off into a run. "Wait!" Conis called. "Please be careful!"
Nami leapt onto the Waver in one smooth motion, hands finding the controls like she'd been born to it. There was half a second where everyone expected disaster. Then the machine shot forward across the cloud-water like it had been waiting for her.
She whooped once, hair flying behind her as she carved a clean turn and skimmed past the docks with perfect balance. The whole group stared. Conis blinked several times. "That's… impossible."
Usopp pointed wildly. "She stole it!"
"I borrowed it!" Nami shouted back from halfway down the canal.
"She stole it!" Usopp repeated, more confidently.
Varin folded his arms, watching her weave around another rider who nearly fell off in shock. "Navigator found a vehicle," he said. "We ain't seein' her for a while."
Sanji dropped to his knees again, tears in his eyes. "Nami-swan looks radiant against the heavenly waters…"
Varin nudged him with a foot. "Get up."
Nearby, Chopper was staring at a small shell Conis had handed him, pressing it repeatedly just to make tiny puffs of air hit his face. Each time he laughed like it was new.
The others had moved farther in after it was clear Nami wasn't coming back, following Conis along the winding paths while Nami became a distant orange blur, tearing across every waterway she could find. Villagers had started stopping just to watch her pass.
Varin sat down at the edge of the beach, one leg bent, the other stretched out over the damp cloud shore. Behind him, the village moved on in its easy, peaceful way, but his eyes stayed on the open water canals where Nami had long since become a distant speck, still tearing around on that Waver like she'd built the thing herself.
He snorted quietly. They'd be lucky to ever get her off it now.
Closer by, Luffy and Usopp were sprinting in circles around the beach, playing some version of tag that looked less like a game and more like a public health concern. Luffy kept stretching his arms to grab at Usopp from impossible angles, while Usopp screamed accusations about cheating every few seconds. Chopper had joined in once, got bowled over immediately, then decided he was the referee despite no one listening. Normal crew behavior.
Varin should have been relaxed. Instead, he felt wrong. It had started a little before they reached the beach, subtle enough to ignore at first. A prickling under the skin, like every hair on his body had noticed something before the rest of him had. tension, like the air itself had tightened, or amalgamated into something thicker than it should be.
Now it hadn't gone away. Everything felt faintly charged. Like standing outside right before lightning splits the sky. That heavy waiting sensation where nature holds its breath for a second too long. He drew in a slow breath through his nose, and there it was again, A faint smell, Sharp, clean, and almost metallic. Ozone, if he had to guess.
Varin rubbed at the side of his jaw and looked up at the sky. Endless white clouds above, bright sun, no storm in sight. "…that's annoyin'," he muttered.
Robin, who had somehow appeared nearby without him noticing, settled onto the cloud a short distance away. "Talking to yourself again?"
"Thinkin' out loud."
"That usually means something's bothering you."
Varin glanced sideways at her, then back to the sky. "Jus' bein' paranoid, the usual with me."
"You know," Robin said after a while, "we haven't had a proper conversation since the first time I appeared as Miss All Sunday. Excluding just after I joined, and I don't think a sentence or two really counts." Her eyes shifted toward him, thoughtful but unreadable. "I've noticed you keep to yourself quite a lot. You and the swordsman both. I hope you don't mind me asking, but even after everything I've heard happened to you, and getting to know who you are, it doesn't seem like it would suit you."
Varin looked at her for a second, then back at himself, then out across the cloud sea again. After a moment, he laughed quietly. "It's not some dark, mysterious reason if that's what you're askin', lass." A small grin touched his mouth, softer than most people ever saw from him. "You know where I was before this lot found me. Truth is, I hardly remember how to actually socialize." He rubbed the back of his neck once, almost embarrassed by admitting it. "Honestly, it's a miracle I could speak at all when they dragged me aboard."
Robin listened without interrupting. Varin drew a slow breath before continuing. "Besides, it's not like I avoid any of you. I'm around. I just spend most my time trainin', sleepin', or gettin' dragged into some disaster by Luffy." He jerked a thumb vaguely toward the captain, who was now trying to ride Chopper like a horse while Usopp screamed tactical advice. "Same as Zoro, really. Difference is he looks stoic doin' it. I just look grumpy."
Robin smiled at that. "You do look grumpy."
"Aye, tragic burden."
Robin was quiet for a moment. "What has you paranoid?"
He grunted. "Air smells wrong. Feels wrong. Like someone rubbed my wolf form and Chopper together to shock somebody."
Robin didn't dismiss it. She rarely dismissed instincts, warnings, or odd little observations, likely because a life spent hunted taught a person that the smallest details were often the ones that kept you alive, or well. That was what Varin assumed anyway; he knew she had a 70 million bounty since she was eight. "Your senses are sharper than ours," she said calmly.
"Seems to be the answer for everything with me," Varin huffed, sniffing the air once more before leaning back. "Nami was right, my fruit's kinda bullshit."
Robin laughed softly, covering it with one hand out of habit more than modesty. "Well, they say life is unfair, so it's not out of range to spread that to Devil Fruits." Her gaze drifted briefly to her own hands, flexing her fingers as if weighing the thought.
"You know, you may not be the best fighter, but with some training, your fruit could be pretty scary as well," Varin said. "Honestly, I'd even say it could be scarier than mine, at least in theory."
Robin laughed again, not bothering to hide it this time. The sound was warmer now, easier. "There's no need to lie to me. I'm not exactly upset about my fruit's limitations. You showed me that if someone's strong enough, there's not much I can do."
"That's shite. If someone's strong enough, then there's nothing anyone can do. It ain't just your fruit. But you can replicate stuff you're holding, yea? When you do your flower thing?" He shifted, sitting up straighter now, his expression sharpening. The lazy humor drained just enough to show the man beneath it, someone who looked at fighting the way craftsmen looked at steel. When Robin gave a small nod, he continued.
"Ask Usopp to make you some metal nail covers, or whatever you want to call them, claws in any case. Get 'em sharp and long enough, and you can kill someone from their blind spot on the back, y'know that one spot that you just can't itch."
Robin's brows lifted slightly, then a smile curved at the edge of her lips. "That's certainly a way to describe it. But I see your point."
"War, an' combat are the two things I'm actually good at, aside from pissin' people off, but that last one's an art." Varin continued. "But once I actually remember to try and start teaching you lot Haki, you can be a menace. Less fighting and more killing, but it doesn't matter much if you win in the end."
Robin regarded him quietly after that, her eyes thoughtful in the dim light of the room. "You speak about battle the way scholars speak about books."
"That's because both are full of dead men," Varin said without missing a beat.
She laughed again, softer this time, then rested her chin lightly against one hand. "You know, most people would be disturbed hearing advice like that."
"Aye, but most people don't travel with Luffy."
"That is true."
For a moment, silence settled between them, comfortable and unforced. Outside, the ship creaked with the rhythm of the sea, voices of the crew drifting in and out through the walls. Robin looked at him again, more curious than amused now.
"You really mean to teach everyone Haki?"
"When I remember," Varin said. "Or when one of you gets punched hard enough that I feel motivated."
"How inspiring."
"It's honest."
Robin smiled at that. "Then perhaps I'll ask Usopp about those claws."
Varin pointed at her approvingly. "See? That's initiative. Soon enough, you'll be terrifying."
"I'm told I already am."
He snorted. "Aye, but this'd make it official."
"Should we help them, by the way?" Robin asked, glancing over the edge of the cloudbank they'd settled on.
Below them, the rest of the crew was in the middle of what looked like the world's strangest argument. Nami was still away, having fully disappeared from sight ten minutes ago, leaving Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and the others to deal with a squad of men in white uniforms riding little cloud scooters. White berets, whistles, stern faces, too much confidence. They were shouting something about violations, tolls, entry procedures, and criminals.
Varin assumed they were the local equivalent of police. "Nah," he said, stretching back into the soft cloud beneath him like it was a tavern bed instead of condensed sky. "They aren't threats. Maybe stronger than the billions from Baroque Works, but that ain't a hard bar to pass."
Robin folded her hands neatly in her lap, still watching. "You're very dismissive of an organization that nearly killed us."
"I'm dismissive of anyone who loses to candle tricks and bad teamwork. Present company excluded. Besides, that was like 3 people that actually gave us trouble, one of your best lost to Nami of all people, I like the lass, but she ain't exactly what I would call a fighter." Varin replied.
She smiled faintly at that.
Behind, one of the soldiers blew a whistle so hard it sounded like he was trying to summon weather itself. Another pointed accusingly at Luffy, who seemed delighted by the attention and was shouting back with no idea what was being said.
Varin watched it all with one eye half open. "See? Standard first contact."
"They do seem rather serious," Robin said.
"They always do. Folk in uniforms love two things. Rules and hearin' themselves talk. Trust me, coming from a marine family. One of my uncles could talk one of the emperors into suicide, I think his devil fruit removes his need to breathe, thank Thor too, or he'd take all the air."
One of the soldiers produced a large board covered in writing and began reading charges dramatically. Illegal docking. Failure to pay the entrance tax. Unauthorized descent. Criminal association. Suspicious behavior.
"That last one's vague," Robin noted.
"Aye," Varin said. "Means they had space left on the list."
The situation escalated when Luffy laughed in the man's face. Well, escalated was the wrong word. It actually de-escalated very quickly, because the others decided they'd had enough of being shouted at and talked down to by men on cloud scooters with whistles. One second, the White Berets were posturing, yelling about fines, crimes, penalties, and whatever else men with too much authority and not enough sense tended to yell about. The next second, Sanji moved, Zoro swung, Luffy stretched, and Usopp somehow contributed mostly through panic and noise.
It was over embarrassingly fast. Just like Varin expected. The White Berets, as they called themselves, were dealt with in moments. Knocked sprawling into the clouds, weapons scattered, hats flying, dignity gone. A few groaned. One was stuck upside down in a drift.
Varin watched from above with a lazy sort of satisfaction. Truth be told, he was glad none of the idiots died. Not because he was opposed to death. He'd seen much of it, dealt more of it, and knew better than to act squeamish now. But there was a difference between a man actively trying to take your life and some local officers trying to do their jobs.
There wasn't much honor in killing the weak, either. And though Varin's sense of honor would probably horrify most decent folk, he still had one.
Robin glanced at him. "You seem relieved."
"Just means I don't have to listen to Nami complain about murder charges on top of toll fees," he said.
Below them, the leader of the White Berets had been knocked flat, eyes rolling, jaw slack. But consciousness was a stubborn thing, "…Class two criminals…" the officer slurred through busted pride. "…the priests… the priests will deal with them…" and as Varin's sharper hearing caught the fading mutter from the man, his expression shifted.
"I called it!" Varin barked out a laugh the second the words hit his ears.
He slapped a hand against his knee, nearly toppling himself off the cloudbank from how hard he was laughing. The White Berets below looked too dazed to be offended, though one of them did weakly glare upward before passing out again.
"You hear that, Vi?" Varin yelled across the open space, craning his head toward Vivi, who had wisely spent the entire so-called fight beside Conis instead of wasting energy on men who folded in one punch. "Told ya this place was weird."
Vivi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please stop shouting."
"No chance."
He cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned over the edge of the cloud like a drunk man heckling a parade. "Oi! White Berets, or whatever the hell you call yourselves," he shouted down. "Who rules this place? Please tell me it's 'God.'"
There was a pause. One of the officers, still face down in the cloud, slowly raised a shaking hand and pointed upward. "…God… Eneru…"
Varin froze for half a beat. Then he doubled over laughing. "Oh, this place is magnificent," he wheezed. "It's everything I wanted it to be."
Robin stepped beside him, amused despite herself. "You seem delighted."
"Robin, they've got police called White Berets, priests handling criminal promotions, and a ruler named God. If someone tells me next there's a holy death beam or divine tax collectors, I'm never leaving."
Usopp paled instantly. "Why would you even say death beam?! Don't give the sky ideas!"
Luffy's eyes lit up. "There's a God here?! I wanna meet him!"
"No, you don't," Nami said from behind them, finally returned and already regretting everything. "That sentence alone means trouble."
Varin pointed at her triumphantly. "See? She gets it. This whole island's built like a trap."
Sanji lit a cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Can we focus on the part where the local military just declared us high-class criminals?"
"We've been lower-class criminals before," Varin said. "Nice to see upward mobility." One of the White Berets groaned and tried to sit up. Varin crouched near him with a grin that was all bad intentions and curiosity. "So tell me, mate. These priests of yours. Strong? Strange? Useless?"
The officer swallowed hard. "They… they serve God…"
"Avoided every question there. Respectable."
Robin's gaze lifted toward the distant upper island where clouds curled around ancient ruins and looming structures. "Whatever title he uses, if they revere him enough to speak that way, then he holds power. At least up here, which so far doesn't mean much."
"Aye," Varin said, grin fading into something sharper. "And men who call themselves gods are usually one of two things."
"What's that?" Vivi asked.
"Frauds," Varin said, standing. "Or dangerous enough that no one dares say otherwise. Trust me, I've met both." The breeze shifted then, carrying a faint crackle through the clouds. Varin's eyes narrowed as he looked up. "…And I've got a feelin' we're about to find out which."
"Varin, please try not to punch this god. Because I can't believe I have to say this, you somehow have a history of doing that." Nami said, face-palming and sighing in the same motion.
"Fun police," Varin muttered in return.