Top of Giant Jack – Island Cloud.
Gan Fall stared at the book in his hands. "Noland the Liar?" he murmured, puzzled. His eyes lifted to Zino, confusion etched on his face.
Zino said, "It's the story of a man named Mont Blanc Noland. He lived about 400 years ago and sailed across the Blue Sea. In his journey, he encountered a powerful warrior tribe—the Shandians on a certain island."
"The Shandians came from the Blue Sea?" Gan Fall's eyes widened.
Even Wiper and the Shandian warriors behind him looked stunned.
Zino continued. "Yes. According to this book, the Shandians lived down below, guarding a golden city called Shandora. At the city's heart stood the Golden Belfry. The bell's toll rang across the jungle, a powerful symbol of hope and protection."
He pointed toward the gleaming bell behind them. "That very bell."
Wiper, hearing that, spoke up, unconvinced. "Impossible. How come our ancestors were people from down below, while we are living here in Skypiea?"
Zino said, "It might sound unbelievable, but it's true. Ask yourselves this: why does Vearth, a ground full of soil, even exist up here in the sky?"
Gan Fall answered instinctively. "It's always been here. The gods—"
"Wrong," Zino cut him off gently. "The sky is made of clouds—Island Clouds, Sea Clouds, and Sky Clouds. Soil—Vearth—doesn't belong here naturally."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"Four hundred years ago, a massive natural event called the Knock Up Stream erupted from the sea below. The explosive burst launched a part of an island from the Blue Sea, along with the golden city of Shandora and its Belfry, high into the sky. This land mass was lifted overnight, forming what is now known as the Upper Yard."
Raki furrowed her brow. "But… how could something that huge just fly into the sky?"
"It was rare, but not impossible." Zino replied. "Let me show you guys a proof."
With that, he stepped back and summoned a cloud platform, forming a small table using his cloud element. From his system storage, he took out two folded maps and laid them down for all to see.
"Here. This one," he pointed, "is the current map of Upper Yard, where the Vearth sits—what you now call the sacred land."
The crowd leaned in. The map was one that Zino got from the warship that fell down some days ago.
"This is a map of an island from the Blue Sea; its name is Jaya," he said, pointing to the second map. "If you look closely, both maps have an identical side that actually fit together as one whole island."
The crowd leaned in, their skepticism palpable. Wiper, his curiosity piqued despite his disbelief, stepped forward. He took the second map and carefully placed it in parallel with the first.
Then he saw it.
The two map can actually fit perfectly.
The jagged coastlines, the flow of the rivers, the general layout of the land—they aligned seamlessly. The two separate landmasses, one the Upper Yard they stood upon and the other the Blue Sea island far below, combined to form a single, unmistakable shape: the shape of a skull.
"They are... one whole island," Wiper and Gan Fall said in unison, their voices filled with stunned realization.
"Exactly." Zino nodded. "It confirms that the Vearth, the Shandians, and the Golden Belfry all once came from the Blue Sea below. It also confirms that the Vearth rightfully belongs to the Shandians."
Gan Fall fell silent, the realization hitting him hard. This meant that the Shandian people, who had been fighting so fiercely to reclaim the Vearth, were completely justified in their claim. Meanwhile, his people, the Skypieans, were the ones who had unknowingly stolen it from them.
A wave of shame washed over Gan Fall.
On the other hand, Wiper and the others were still in disbelief. The truth that they were once Blue Sea dwellers hit them hard.
This was especially true for Wiper, who hated those Blue Sea dwellers and had attacked and killed many of them so many times before.
All of them fell into a silent disbelief.
Zino then spoke up, breaking the silence. "Although I agree that the Vearth belongs to the Shandians, I still don't think it's appropriate for you all to monopolize it. Both Shandians and Skypieans are now living on it and benefiting from it."
Zino paused, his gaze sweeping across the two silent groups—the Shandians and Skypieans. The tension in the air was thick, unspoken grievances weighing down on both sides. Then, he broke the silence.
"I have a suggestion," he said calmly. "Why don't you both put away the hatred and share the land?"
Wiper's jaw tightened. He took a slow breath before answering, voice resolute. "I cannot agree. This land belongs to us."
"Tch. You really are stubborn," Zino sighed. His tone sharpened as he turned to face Wiper fully, his expression unreadable.
"You Shandians were once dwellers of the Blue Sea. You don't even belong here in Skypiea." His next words dropped like thunder. "Do you want me to send you all back down?"
As he spoke, something shifted in the air. A heavy pressure radiated from Zino—subtle, but suffocating. His presence intensified. It wasn't just words anymore—it was willpower, sharp and undeniable.
Wiper's eyes widened slightly. He felt the weight bearing down on him—like standing before an unseen storm. His fists clenched, knuckles white.
"Wiper..." Raki stepped closer, her voice laced with concern. Her instinct warned her—Zino was not bluffing.
The standoff grew tense. Everyone stood frozen, unsure if a fight would break out again. Then—
Zino's eyes flickered. His brows furrowed.
"…Enel is back?" he muttered.
The name hit like a lightning strike. Instantly, every face stiffened.
"Damn it." Zino's voice dropped, full of urgency. "He's up to something."
He floated slightly off the ground, preparing to leave, but paused. His eyes turned to Wiper one last time.
"You are a descendant of Calgara—the great chief of the Shandians 400 years ago," he said, voice cutting through the air like a blade. "If you keep being this stubborn, you'll destroy your own people. And if that happens… you're not worthy of his legacy."
Wiper froze, eyes flickering with conflict.
Zino on the other hand raised his hand, and with a flash of light, the Silent Orca appeared—summoned from his storage system. The large ship floated, and landed near the incomplete palace.
Turning back to the Orcas, Zino said, "I'm heading out to deal with Enel. I'll leave things here to you for now."
He glanced at Sanji. "Prepare something for everyone. We've all earned a break."
Sanji raised a brow. "With what ingredients?"
Zino smiled faintly. "The Silent Orca's stocked. You'll find everything you need inside."
With that, he stepped off the edge of the cloud island. Then—BOOM!
He kicked the air with force, creating a powerful shockwave behind him. In an instant, he vanished—shooting downward from the top of Giant Jack like a bolt of lightning, disappearing into the sky below.
...
Above the Upper Yard, storm clouds swirled in the sky—dense, black, and crackling with raw energy. Enel hovered in the air, arms crossed, watching his thundercloud churn. Within it, a dark sphere of condensed lightning expanded ominously, radiating immense power.
He grinned, satisfied. "It's nearly ready... the Raigo."
Suddenly, his mantra flared—an approaching presence pierced his senses like a spear.
"He's coming?" Enel's eyes narrowed. "Did he notice what I'm doing already?"
A flash of irritation passed across his face, but it quickly morphed into a cold, confident smirk.
"Too late. My thundercloud's already saturated. Not even he can stop it now."
He raised his hand slowly, the black lightning sphere responding to his will. He prepared to unleash it.
Far in the distance, a speck appeared—moving fast, cutting across the sky.
"Blue sea monster," Enel muttered, eyes locking onto the figure.
The speck rapidly grew into full form. Zino approached with terrifying speed… but just as Enel readied himself to strike, something unexpected happened.
Zino veered off course.
Instead of engaging directly—he dove straight into the black lightning sphere.
"What?" Enel blinked. "He… entered it?"
He stared in disbelief. "Is he suicidal?"
But inside the black Raigo sphere, Zino wasn't panicked. He floated steadily within the core of the storm, his body wrapped in arcs of lightning that coiled around him like serpents. A grin tugged at the corner of his lips.
He had no reason to fear lightning—he had already mastered it. This wasn't suicide. It was strategy.
It was harvest.
Zino steadied himself, centering his breathing as golden sparks danced across his body. The storm around him howled, crackling like a thousand drums—but he was calm. Ready.
He opened his mouth and took a deep inhale.
The sphere trembled.
Then—like a vacuum opening—lightning surged toward him, sucked inward like rushing water. Gigantic bolts of raw electricity curved in toward his body, spiraling into him in torrents.
The Raigo's energy, once wild and uncontrolled, was now being devoured.
Level 44… Level 45… Level 46…
Enel watched from outside, stunned. The black sphere was shrinking. The air buzzed with collapsing energy.
"What… is he doing?"
Inside, Zino's body surged with power. The condensed lightning was far beyond anything Enel had used in the past—so dense that it pooled like liquid energy. And Zino drank it all in.
His body glowed—brighter with each surge.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
Still, Zino remained in the heart of the sphere, consuming every arc, every pulse, every bolt of thundercloud fury. His aura shimmered with lightning so dense, it bent the air around him.
Level 49… Level 50…
A sudden rush of energy burst from his hands.
[Lightning has reached Level 50.
New Ability Unlocked: Dual-Palm Vortex – You can now generate vortexes in both palms to accelerate lightning absorption.]
Zino's eyes gleamed. He held out both hands, forming swirling vortexes in each palm. The lightning around him began pulling faster—twice as fast.
Level 52... Level 54... Level 56...
The Raigo orb began collapsing—faster and faster—its once-massive form shrinking as if being devoured from within.
Below, standing on the deck of the Ark Maxim, Enel's expression twisted in disbelief. His eyes widened as the truth struck him like his own lightning bolt.
"He… he's swallowing the lightning?" he muttered, voice cracking. "That's… impossible!"
A wave of panic surged through him.
"No! This can't be happening!" he snapped, trying to convince himself as much as the world around him.
Enraged, Enel slammed his palm against the ship's command panel, urging the Ark Maxim to release more thunderclouds. At the same time, he raised one hand toward the shrinking Raigo, pouring more of his own lightning into it.
"Let's see how long you can last! No one can survive inside the Raigo… You must be frying in there! You'll be charred to ash any second now!"
But even as he shouted, his voice cracked with desperation.
Above him, the dark sphere, which had begun to wither, suddenly regained mass as the thunderclouds thickened and Enel's own power reinforced it. Slowly, the orb stabilized—then began expanding again.
Inside the sphere, however, Zino showed no signs of strain.
He simply smirked.
Let it come, he thought.
The more power you feed me… the stronger I become.
He resumed his focus, calmly continuing the lightning consumption. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned into an hour. Then two.
And still, Zino remained inside—unshaken.
Outside, Enel was drenched in sweat, disbelief painted across his face.
"This… this is absurd. How can one man take that much lightning?!"
He stared up, jaw clenched, pouring more energy into the sphere—but no matter how much he gave, it was never enough.
Inside the Raigo, Zino's lightning level ticked upward.
Level 69… Level 70…
[You have reached Level 70. New Ability Unlocked: Partial Lightning Form.]
A sudden shift washed over Zino. He could feel it. His body no longer needed to forcefully pull the energy—it naturally drew it in, like a magnet to lightning. The energy raced into him with ease.
He wasn't just swallowing the lightning anymore.
He was becoming it.
Level 71…
As his power climbed, the change became even more apparent. Sparks crackled from his skin, dancing like wild flames. His arms shimmered with pure electricity. The swirling energy around him now rushed into him of its own accord, like rivers funneling into a bottomless sea.
The vortexes on both of his palms spun faster.
The sphere began to shrink once again—but this time, faster than ever before.
Enel's lightning couldn't keep up. Even the thunderclouds forming from Ark Maxim were being drained before they could grow.
"No… no no no—!" Enel's voice broke.
He tried to push more energy in. It didn't matter.
The sphere was collapsing. Its edges trembled, folding inward like a dying star.
In the sky, a burst of wind scattered the outer clouds as the black orb finally caved. The lightning sphere rippled one last time—then vanished completely, absorbed into Zino's body.
All was silent.
Zino floated alone in the open sky, cloaked in lightning, his aura burning like a storm incarnate.
Below, Enel stared upward—stunned and speechless. The weapon he had relied on, the power he considered absolute… was gone.
Consumed. Eclipsed.
And now, Zino looked down at him with eyes that crackled like thunderclouds.