"Pierre." Gan Fall reached down and stroked the Pegasus beneath him, trying to calm its fear. "Fly a little closer."
The Pegasus named Pierre twisted its body, its long horse face full of obvious reluctance.
An animal's instincts never lied. From far away, it could already sense that terrifying monster in the distance. That thing was more frightening than the king of the forest, even more terrifying than the lord of the sky, Nola, by hundreds or even thousands of times.
"..."
Gan Fall was both anxious and afraid, but as the God of Skypiea, if he did not step forward now, the dignity of a god would vanish completely.
He felt as if he were being roasted over a fire.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth and force Pierre to descend.
Just as Gan Fall started walking forward, he suddenly felt something tugging at him.
When he turned around, he saw that Pierre had clamped its mouth around his leg and was trying to drag him back. The anxious and worried look in its eyes seemed to say:
It is too dangerous. Do not go.
"I am the god of this sky island. At a time like this, I must show myself!"
Gan Fall pried Pierre's mouth open, gripped his lance, and hurried toward the beach.
The moment the silver-armored Gan Fall appeared, the people of Angel Island seemed to find their pillar of support. They quickly calmed down.
Compared to the future ruler of Skypiea, Enel, Gan Fall's reign over Angel Island was relatively peaceful and stable.
The only real problem was the occasional raids by the Shandian warriors. Every time, Gan Fall had repelled them, preventing the Shandians from reclaiming Upper Yard and returning to their homeland.
Gan Fall's steps grew heavier and heavier.
With every step forward, he felt as though he were pushing against an invisible mountain of pressure. Sweat was already beading at his temples beneath his helmet.
His heart trembled.
How can there be such a huge, broad-shouldered monster whose aura is even more violent and savage than a beast's? Those muscles look like forged steel. Just what kind of person is this?
His heart was filled with doubt, but even more than that, he was on guard. The muscles in the arm gripping his lance were taut, ready to strike back at any moment.
When he finally stood before Tengetsu Ares, he had to tilt his head back to look up at the towering figure and ask in a deep voice,
"Who are you people, and what is your purpose in coming to the sky island?"
As for the three people beside Tengetsu Ares, Gan Fall instinctively judged them as much less dangerous.
Crocus at least had some muscle from taking care of Laboon and diving underwater for long periods, and with that harpoon-like spear on his back, he looked like a fighter.
But Olvia and Dr. Kureha looked to have no fighting ability at all. They posed no threat.
Still, none of that mattered.
The pressure radiating from Tengetsu Ares alone was enough to make Gan Fall's scalp go numb. He had never seen such a monster, one whose mere presence was enough to fill others with dread.
Seeing Gan Fall, Ares noted that the man's features were still coarse and vigorous. He had not yet become the old man Luffy would one day meet.
Right now, he was still a muscular, broad-built man in his prime.
From his face and outfit alone, Ares knew this was indeed the future old man.
He said flatly, "Upper Yard is the homeland of the Shandians. That land never should have been occupied by your people."
"If the strong have the right to claim land by force, then from this moment on, Upper Yard belongs to me."
Most of Gan Fall's people lived on Angel Island. Compared to the vast landmass of Upper Yard, Angel Island was practically just a small island.
And Upper Yard contained something extremely scarce in the sky: soil. It also had trees and all kinds of creatures. To the people of Angel Island, all of those things were immensely precious.
That was one of the reasons the so-called gods had occupied Upper Yard in the first place. The conflict dated all the way back hundreds of years, to the era of Mont Blanc Noland.
Ares's words instantly put Gan Fall on full alert.
His throat tightened as he swallowed.
"You... you are reinforcements the Shandians brought in? Where are they?"
At that moment, he could only complain bitterly in his heart.
Where in the world did the Shandians find a monster like this? Or did they just happen to run into these Blue Sea people?
"Them?" Ares's expression shifted slightly, turning cold and proud. "The Shandians are not important enough to hire me."
"I came here for one reason only. To completely conquer Angel Island, conquer the Shandians, and make all of you my subjects!"
Not only Gan Fall was shocked. Even Olvia, Crocus, and Dr. Kureha stared in surprise.
None of them had expected Ares to be so direct, so bluntly declaring that he intended to subjugate the entire island and make everyone bow to him.
"How big is his ambition, exactly?" Olvia could not help reevaluating Tengetsu Ares, reevaluating the man who claimed he would forge his body beyond the level of a Supreme Grade Blade.
Now that she thought about all his actions more calmly, from recruiting Crocus and Dr. Kureha to everything else, she realized something.
At first, she had thought he merely wanted to build a superpowerful nation.
But now...
His ambition clearly went far beyond that. He was nothing like the pirates she had read about.
As for Dr. Kureha, she looked completely entertained, even leisurely lifting her bottle and taking a swig.
"Pirates these days really are different from the old ones. I've heard that the stronger the pirate, the more territory he controls. There are even places the Marines don't dare interfere with."
What had once only been hearsay now seemed like undeniable fact.
Combined with Ares's status as the shogun of Wano, if he truly managed to subdue Angel Island, his power would grow even further.
What she did not know was that in the New World, all of Angel Island put together probably would not stand a chance against even some nameless pirate crews.
The gap in strength between the New World and the Grand Line, or the Four Seas, was just that overwhelming.
Ares's open declaration of intent made Gan Fall both furious and shaken.
He tightened his grip on his weapon and shouted, "No matter who you are, as god, I will never stand by and watch Upper Yard be taken from us!"
"Is that so?"
Ares's lips curled upward. A terrifying light flashed in his tiger-like eyes, a gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce the soul.
That gleam vanished in an instant.
Then Ares continued, "Then open your eyes wide and watch carefully as I take back with my own hands what never belonged to you in the first place."
The moment that domineering, razor-sharp gaze swept over him, Gan Fall felt as though the blood in his body had frozen solid.
He watched helplessly as Tengetsu Ares walked right up to him, yet his body would not obey him at all.
Gan Fall was horrified. Cold sweat poured down his face, and terror unlike anything he had ever known rose in his heart.
What is happening?!
My body... my body won't move?!
What did he do to me? Why is this happening?!
It was eerily similar to the shock Monet had suffered years later under Zoro's overwhelming killing intent.
Ares looked down at him from above, his expression lofty and disdainful, but his tone was calm and serious.
"Gan Fall."
"You are too weak. I have no interest in you. You had better learn your place."
"The gap between us is the same as the gap between a human and an ant."
"Do you understand?"