"So, people of Shandia," Zino began calmly, his sharp eyes locking onto the trio before him, "why did you attack us?"
The three masked warriors flinched. Their surprise was clear.
"How... how do you know?" one of them stammered, clearly shaken. These intruders were from the Blue Sea—there was no way they should know who the Shandians were.
"You know them?" Robin asked, curious as she glanced toward Zino.
"I've heard about them," Zino replied with a faint smile. "The wind whispered it to me."
Everyone on the Silent Orca turned to look at him, blinking in confusion.
"The wind… whispered?" Hibari muttered, puzzled. "What does that even mean? Can the wind really talk now?"
Zino didn't elaborate. He simply turned to Chloris and said, "Heal them."
Usopp stepped forward, eyes wide. "Wait, hold on. Those guys literally attacked us just now! What if they—"
"They won't dare again," Zino cut him off coldly. His tone was flat but carried weight, and when he turned his gaze back on the Shandians, it was like a beast had locked eyes with its prey. An overwhelming pressure radiated from him.
The three Shandians froze. Their instincts screamed danger. Even though they were trained warriors, in that moment, they didn't move a muscle.
Chloris stepped forward with Moris and Kaya. All three reached out, and waves of green and blue light emanated from their palms, surrounding the injured warriors. Wounds closed. Bruises faded. Pain melted away. Within moments, their condition improved significantly—but they still didn't dare make another move.
Zino folded his arms and stared at them. "The wind tells me your people are at odds with the Skypieans. There's conflict, isn't there?"
The leader's eyes widened. "How could you possibly know that?!"
"I told you," Zino said simply. "The wind."
Silence fell again.
"Then let me ask you something else." Zino tilted his head. "If you're already fighting another enemy, why are you wasting time attacking strangers like us? Do you have nothing better to do?"
None of the Shandians could answer. Their mouths opened slightly, but no words came. The realization of their own recklessness slowly dawned on them.
Zino sighed. "You can go back now."
"…What?" one of them asked, stunned.
"You heard me." Zino waved a hand dismissively. "You can leave. Just don't bother us again. Tell your leader we're not here for war. We're here to explore. Sightseeing, that's all."
The three exchanged glances—still unsure whether this was a trick. But after a moment, they wordlessly nodded and leapt off the ship, gliding away into the sea of clouds.
The crew watched them vanish into the distance.
"Are you sure about letting them go so easily?" Creed asked from beside Zino.
Zino didn't even look back. "They're no threat to us."
Creed glanced at the rest of the crew, many of whom were still recovering from the brief clash. "Doesn't seem that way to me," he said quietly.
Zoro watched the three people leaving in the distance. "Tch. I was just caught off guard."
Gin wiped a trace of blood from his mouth. "I wasn't used to the thin air up here. Give me one more round, and I'll flatten them."
Sanji adjusted his jacket, expression dark. "They'll come back eventually. And when they do, I'm paying back that kick. Double."
"Alright. Let's keep moving," Zino said, stepping toward the bow of the Silent Orca.
The ship continued to sail smoothly along the white sea of clouds. The atmosphere was strangely calm, with only the occasional breeze brushing past. Before long, a towering spectacle came into view ahead—an enormous waterfall that seemed to defy gravity.
"That thing is massive…" Binko said, eyes wide as he tilted his head back. "It's like it reaches the heavens."
"It almost looks like a road," Stev pointed out, gesturing upwards.
The crew turned their gaze to the cascade. The waterfall wasn't just falling—it spiraled upward like a liquid spiral staircase, winding higher and higher into the clouds above. It was like a river that climbed the sky itself.
"It does seem like a path," Nami said, examining it closely. "Maybe this is how we reach the real Sky Island."
"Then let's follow it," Gin said.
As they sailed toward the base of the waterfall, a large gate came into view. Constructed from white cloudstone and pearl-like arches, it stood as a grand entryway. Mounted above it was an elegant sign carved with gold letters.
"Heaven's Gate," Robin read aloud.
"Heaven Gate?" Galdino repeated, raising an eyebrow. "So, what—are we going to heaven now?"
"That sounds like a bad omen," Usopp muttered, visibly uneasy. "Like… we're dead or something."
Zoro smirked. "What if we actually did die when we got launched by the Knock Up Stream?"
"Maybe we're already in the afterlife," Sanji added, grinning. "And we're about to be greeted by beautiful angels."
"Hey, hey, don't joke around like that!" Usopp said, clearly spooked. "I haven't lived a full life yet!"
Amid their banter, Nojiko pointed toward the gate. "Look. There's someone there."
Standing beside the entrance was an old woman with small, feathery wings on her back. She wore a simple robe and a large hat that shaded her eyes, though her face was calm and gentle. Strangely, she was holding a strange shell-shaped camera and snapping pictures of the ship.
"Are you tourists?" she asked, voice dry and straightforward. "Or are you here to cause trouble?"
The crew blinked, unsure how to answer.
"Either way, the entrance fee is one billion Extols per person," she added casually.
"One billion Extols? Per person?" Sanji repeated, frowning. "That sounds outrageously expensive."
"How much is that in Berries?" Usopp whispered, eyes darting nervously to Nami.
Nami raised a brow. "What if we… don't have the money?"
The old woman shrugged. "You may pass."
"…Wait, really?" Usopp blinked. "Then why mention the fee?"
"I'm merely required to inform you," she said with a polite nod. "Whether you pay or not is your choice."
"Then we'll pass, Granny," Usopp said, relaxing slightly. "Thanks for the hospitality."
As the crew prepared to sail past the gate, Binko raised a new concern. "Uh, how exactly are we supposed to go up that waterfall? We can't exactly sail up a current like that."
Suddenly, a loud clamping sound echoed through the air.
CLANK!
Two enormous pincers clamped onto the sides of the Silent Orca, jolting the ship. The crew staggered from the sudden shift.
"What in the—?!" Zoro grabbed the railing.
"It's the famous Sky Lobster Express," the old lady explained calmly, as if this was an everyday occurrence. "It'll carry you to the top."
The gigantic cloud lobster, its body glowing faintly, began swimming effortlessly upward along the spiraling waterfall, dragging the Silent Orca with it like a carriage on a rail.
Meanwhile, back at the Heaven's Gate, the old lady watched the Silent Orca disappear into the spiraling waterfall. Her calm, almost indifferent expression never changed, even as she reached into her robes and took out a small seashell-like device—a dial.
She pressed it gently.
"This is Amazon, inspector of Heaven's Gate," she reported in a clear but quiet tone. "Reporting to the Omnipotent God and his vessels. A total of nineteen individuals have illegally entered godland Skypiea. Render heavenly judgment accordingly."
Her words were simple, yet cold—carrying no emotion, only duty. After the message was sent, she gently tucked the dial away and turned toward the small wooden door behind her. Without another word, she stepped inside and closed it softly behind her.
…
The Lobster Express continued to carry the Silent Orca upward, gliding along the cloudstream path with astonishing speed. The higher they climbed, the thicker and brighter the clouds became, until finally—*whoosh!*—they emerged atop the grand cloudscape.
The massive lobster halted at the edge of a towering, fluffy platform and gently docked the ship. Then, just as mysteriously as it appeared, it submerged into the cloud below and vanished from sight.
Everyone aboard stared in awe.
Compared to the white sea below, this new place was truly surreal. The clouds here were vast, thick, and solid, like floating plains made of cotton. In the distance, structures could be seen—pillars, buildings, archways—and beyond that, trees, flowers, and other plant life that looked distinctly unlike anything from the Blue Sea.
"Woah... are those clouds hard?" Stev asked in wonder, eyeing the landscape like a child seeing snow for the first time.
Zino stepped forward and casually jumped off the ship. He landed with a light bounce on the cloud platform—and stood there firmly.
"It's solid," he said with a nod.
"Ooh! Amazing!" Ussop's eyes sparkled with excitement. Without hesitation, he leaped off the ship and landed beside Zino. "Yahoo! This is awesome! Like walking on pillows!"
One by one, the crew followed, some leaping, others descending more cautiously using ropes or ladders. Hibari made sure to lower the anchor before joining the others.
"This is unlike anything I've ever felt," Zino said, crouching down to scoop a bit of the cloud with his fingers. "Not like ground. Not even close. It's more like... dense, compressed cotton. But it supports weight like solid land."
Marianne knelt and studied the texture of the cloud beneath her. "It's... beautiful. It doesn't make sense, and yet here it is. This is a living painting."
"Amazing," Kaya whispered, her gaze drifting toward the distant towers. "So this is Skypiea."
"There are fruits!" Moris pointed toward a tree that looked similar to a coconut palm.
"Is it edible?" Mikita asked, walking toward it with curiosity.
"I can help you get them if you'd like," Moris offered, placing a hand on the tree trunk. A gentle green glow rippled from her palm into the bark.
"Obey."
The tree slowly began to creak and bend, its trunk moving gracefully like a bowing servant. The top dipped down until the fruits were within arm's reach.
"Wow, now that's convenient," Ussop said, grabbing one of the fruits. He pulled out a small dagger and tried to cut it open—but the blade barely left a scratch. "What the heck? This thing's tough!"
"It looks like a fruit, but it's harder than a rock," Sanji commented.
Marianne tapped one of the fruits lightly with the end of her paintbrush, tilting her head thoughtfully. "It's unusually firm... Maybe it's just not ripe yet. Or perhaps it's purely ornamental."
Before anyone could respond, a small rustle came from behind one of the fluffy bushes nearby.
Out strolled a fox—its fur snow white with streaks of silver, blending in almost too well with the cloud-covered ground. Its narrow, half-closed eyes gave it a lazy, almost sleepy look. It let out a soft noise as it sniffed the air curiously.
"Suu... suu."
"Huh? A fox?" Zoro muttered, raising an eyebrow as the creature walked a lazy circle around him, brushing against his leg like a cat.
"Where did this little guy come from?" Ussop crouched to get a better look. "There's no way he climbed all the way up here."
The fox stopped and looked over its shoulder—then trotted away slowly.
As everyone's eyes followed it, a soft, melodic sound began to drift through the air.
A harp.
They turned to the source and saw a figure in the distance—sitting gracefully on a raised platform made of smooth white cloudstone.
It was a young girl.
She strummed a harp made of golden wires and a cloudlike frame, her fingers moving with gentle elegance. Her long, blonde hair swayed in the breeze, and delicate white wings folded neatly behind her back. Two small antennae protruded from the top of her head, twitching faintly as if sensing the presence of strangers.
She glanced toward them, as though noticing their attention. Then, with a calm smile, she rose to her feet and bowed slightly in greeting.
"Heso," she said sweetly, her voice light and musical.
"Heso?" Zoro repeated, confused. "What kind of greeting is that?"
"Angel?!" Sanji gasped, his eyes turning into hearts. "A real angel! Am I dreaming? Is this heaven?!"
The girl walked forward, the fox rejoining her side as if they had always been together.
"I'm Conis," she introduced herself, stopping a few paces from the group. "Are you visitors from the Blue Sea?"
"Correct," Zino said with a friendly nod. "We just arrived."
"I see," Conis smiled warmly. "Then... welcome to Skypiea. This part is called Angel Beach. It's the first place most skyfarers see when they arrive from the sea below."
"Angel Beach?" Kaya repeated softly, gazing at the tranquil landscape. "It really suits the name."
"This place is beautiful," Marianne added, still holding the hard fruit. "It feels like something out of a storybook."
Conis looked at the fruit in her hands and chuckled lightly. She also saw Ussop was still trying to cut the fruit. "You are cutting it wrongly. To open it you can cut it on top of the fruit."
She approached Usopp and demonstrated how to cut the fruit. Using his dagger, she stabbed near the stalk and made a circular hole.
"Here you go. You can drink the water inside." She handed back the dagger, then the fruit.
"No wonder I couldn't cut it," Usopp muttered, reclaiming his dagger and taking the fruit.
He drank it down. His expression immediately changed to one of delight.
"Sweet! This is yummy!"