A Den Den Mushi call reached the Revolutionary Army's Commander, Belo Betty.
Five minutes later,an order was relayed from the Revolutionary Army's headquarters to one of their regional units.
Ten minutes after that, rumors about Demon Ren's possible whereabouts began spreading across the sea.
True or false—there were over a dozen versions of the story. Even the ones closest to the truth carried distortions and inaccuracies.
But that was precisely what Ren intended. Under the Revolutionary Army's discreet manipulation, there was a ninety-percent chance that the information would be intercepted by the underground black market—and eventually fall into Donquixote Doflamingo's hands.
As for the Marines, they rarely obtained intelligence through those black-market channels. After all, the Navy had its own extensive intelligence network—but in terms of efficiency, it still couldn't compare to the speed of the underworld.
This, in truth,was a calculated move on Ren's part—a probe. The location attached to the leaked rumor was Mock Town.
In reality, he would be conducting Land Card Capture Operations several days' sailing away from there. That alone would delay him a few days—a perfect observation window for him to gauge the world's reaction.
After all, the World Government had already set its sights on him. Ren wanted to see what kind of "big fish" would bite at the bait he'd cast into Mock Town.
Whatever swam up—to him, all were merely prey.
Unless…the fish turned out to be a shark.
Like Red-Haired Shanks, Doflamingo, or even… an Admiral.
In that case, even the most seasoned fisherman would never dare reel in his line. That wouldn't be fishing—it would be feeding the sharks.
During the quiet interval while the rumors spread, Ren made preparations to descend from the Sky Island and return to the Blue Sea.
But not everyone would go—not even the Enlightenment itself would depart.
Haredas and the other Weather Scholars of Weatheria, after fully understanding the needs of Ren, Nami, and their companions,produced an extraordinary project proposal—and an equally staggering timeline.
Six months. That was how long it would take to build their new ship—Judgment.
Ren had asked why it would take so long,especially since in the original timeline, the Thousand Sunny had been built in only a few days.
But this new ship required half a year—and would even need to dismantle the Enlightenment!
Haredas's reply was sharp as lightning.
"Ren, have you no idea what you're asking for?
What you want to build isn't a ship—it's a flying, mobile fortress!
A monstrous war vessel deadlier than ninety-nine percent of all ships on the sea!
One capable of generating a thundercloud field spanning hundreds of kilometers—and focusing that energy into a main cannon strong enough to sink an island!
Do you have any idea how much power it takes just to make such a ship float?
Without dismantling the Enlightenment and studying your bonfire generators, we'd never have enough electrical output.
What, do you expect Nami to live in the reactor room and power it by hand?
Maybe you can afford that, but we sure can't!"
At the time, Haredas had slammed the table, his mustache quivering furiously.
"And that's not even mentioning the railguns you wanted added! Integrating their energy systems into Judgment's power corerequires absurd amounts of gold and high-density steel!
If Nami hadn't vouched for your mysterious Devil Fruit ability, we'd never have accepted this so-called 'modification project.'
Modification? Don't make me laugh—this is building a new weapon from scratch!"
Ren hadn't dared to listen any further.
From what Haredas said, even the core furnace material alone required long deliberation. The construction of Judgment would demand Ren to use his Dimensional Roulette to draw rare items that could directly solve critical engineering problems.
So, in the few days before departure, Ren—using Weatheria's loaned funds—began spinning his roulette again and again. He even pushed his Golden Roulette draws to eighty times.
Yet there was no joy in it, because all that money would eventually have to be paid back.
After the Enlightenment entered its dismantling phase, Ren still needed a way to travel between sky and sea.
Weatheria provided a Weather Ship and taught him how to operate it. It could freely ascend and descend between the clouds—and maintain real-time communication with Weatheria. Any malfunctions could be reported for remote assistance.
They even assigned a young Weather Scholar as pilot.
Thus, Ren, Nojiko, and Vivi boarded the Weather Ship.
Yes—only the three of them. Not even Nami came along.
Zoro was entrusted to oversee Judgment's construction—the most reliable man for the job.
Meanwhile, Nami was surrounded by Weather Scholars, fascinated not only by her Rumble-Rumble Fruit powersbut also by her control over Weather Clouds themselves. They hoped to conduct research combining both phenomena.
After much hesitation, and with Ren's persuasion, Nami agreed—seeing it as a chance to learn something beneficial.
As for Urouge, he served as liaison between Angel Island and Ren's crew—an essential role he couldn't abandon.
And so, only the three descended.
"My name is Sas, once a student of Professor Haredas—from a small island on the Grand Line.
It's an honor to meet you all, and I'll be serving as your pilot."
After politely introducing himself, the young scholar smiled and pulled the lever.
"Hold tight—descent sequence commencing."
The Weather Ship began to descend, falling through the sea of clouds from ten thousand meters above.
Not only Weatheria but all Weather Ships were capable of vertical traversal. However, descending from that altitude required exceptional skill—which was precisely why Sas had been assigned.
No matter what, the journey had begun.
The ship's size comfortably accommodated living quarters and storage. After taking in the surroundings, Ren retired to rest, leaving Nojiko and Vivi to gaze wide-eyed at the breathtaking scenery.
After a few rounds of sunrise and sunset, though, even that grew dull.
Fortunately, the Weather Ship soon reached its destination.
Ren had provided approximate coordinates—somewhere near Mock Town, a few days' sail from the target.
Using their meteorological instruments, the scholars pinpointed the exact region—an island named Ruluka.
"We scoured the old Weatheria archives," Sas explained. "This is the only island matching your description."
The ship hovered above the small town, its towers stabbing upward like blades into the sky—and faint silhouettes moved along their spires.
Ren narrowed his eyes, the green gleam fading from his gaze. This was the place.
Now, he needed to find one very specific man.
"Alright, drop us off here," Ren said."If a fight breaks out, we can't risk you or the ship getting caught in it."
"Of course," Sas nodded. "Weather Ships are fragile—though thankfully easy to repair."
With that, light flared before their eyes.
A golden-winged angel—six wings unfurled—soared into the open sky, armor gleaming.
Ren carried Nojiko in a princess hold, while behind him, Vivi descended gracefully—her lower body turning to sand, wind swirling around her as she held their baggage.
Descending from above made it easy to avoid the notice of local guards—but it also made them painfully conspicuousto anyone already observing the area.
One such man—Henzo—stared at them in disbelief, as though seeing ghosts fall from heaven.
"Wh-What the hell is this?!"
"Yo. Long time no see."
Ren's boots touched the ground,his radiant armor flashing under the sunlight.
He looked at the worn, middle-aged man before him—and the massive contraption strapped to his back.
There was no mistaking it. This was the very scientist from the Rainbow Mist story—the one who had built the machine capable of locating that strange phenomenon.
Of course, Ren hadn't found him by accident.It had taken the combined effort of Clairvoyance and Keen Hearing to track him down.
"See me…?"
Henzo's wary eyes flicked up and down the stranger before him. A man with six golden wings, glowing armor, and a floating halo—surely not an ordinary human.
The two women beside him were beautiful and dressed like normal travelers—though if he hadn't just seen one of them turn her legs into sand, he might have believed they were simply noblewomen from afar.
"I'm just an old man on Ruluka Island," Henzo stammered quickly. "No treasure, nothing worth stealing. You must have the wrong person, so if you'll excuse me—"
He turned to leave,but a spear of pure lightning struck the ground beside him,crackling arcs paralyzing his body instantly.
"No need to rush. We might share a common interest."
Ren stepped forward, Thunder Spear in hand.
In the nearby buildings, shadowy figures could be seen scrambling about—likely townsfolk rushing to alert the local guards.
It wouldn't be long before Ruluka's defense force arrived.
Ren ignored it all, calmly dissipating the paralysis with a wave of his hand.
"As you can see," he said with an easy smile, "I'm not an ordinary man—and I bear you no hostility.
I'm searching for the Rainbow Mist, the same legend you've pursued.
If I'm not mistaken, you're looking for it… because of your friends, right?
That means we have the same goal—and therefore, grounds for cooperation."
"You… who are you, exactly?"
Henzo's face shifted through confusion and fear. A stranger from another island, descending like a celestial being, now speaking his deepest secret aloud—Who was this man? What should he do—deny it? Admit it?
Either choice seemed perilous.
After a tense pause, Henzo finally exhaled and forced a smile.
"I understand. I don't know how this happened, but if you're also searching for the Rainbow Mist,then we stand on the same side."
"I apologize for the abrupt intrusion," Ren replied lightly. "But now isn't the time for small talk.
We should deal with the… approaching problem first."
"Problem?" Henzo echoed.
"They're almost here."
(End of Chapter)