"I'm Karl," he said calmly. "And this is the Empress of Amazon Lily, Boa Hancock."
Gan Fall looked at Hancock in surprise.
Then he glanced at Karl's arm wrapped around her waist.
If she's the Empress… then you are…?
He cleared his throat.
"I am Gan Fall. State your purpose."
Karl smiled.
"Straightforward. I like that."
"Tomorrow, Enel and his priests and divine soldiers will leave Skypiea."
Gan Fall's expression changed dramatically.
"What did you say? Enel… is leaving?"
He had heard thunder earlier that day. He assumed Enel was executing someone again.
Never did he imagine—
The tyrant would depart.
"I have no reason to lie," Karl replied casually. "How do you think I found you?"
Gan Fall narrowed his eyes.
"Enel told you? His Mantra covers all of Skypiea…"
"He truly… lost?"
Karl didn't answer verbally.
Instead—
He drew Shusui.
Slash.
A black-purple flying slash shot upward.
The clouds split open in the sky.
Gan Fall stood frozen.
He hadn't even seen the swing.
Just the aftermath—
A divided sky.
"…You defeated Enel?"
"Yes," Karl said simply. "Details are unnecessary."
"What matters is this: Enel leaves tomorrow."
"Until we officially take over Skypiea, you will manage it."
"Can you do that?"
Gan Fall's heart sank.
Another "god" claiming the sky?
Before he could respond—
Hancock spoke coolly.
"We do not want Angel Island."
"You will continue governing it."
"We want only Jaya."
Gan Fall blinked.
"Jaya?"
Karl nodded.
"You call it Upper Yard. Apayado."
"And yes—we are from the Blue Sea."
The Blue Sea…
Gan Fall suddenly remembered.
Years ago.
A group had come.
Led by a man named Gol D. Roger.
"You are from the Blue Sea?"
"Do you know Roger?"
Hancock turned to Karl.
"Roger? The Pirate King?"
"He came here too?"
Karl nodded lightly.
"It's not surprising."
"He's dead."
Gan Fall froze.
Dead?
That man?
Such spirit… such presence…
Dead?
Karl waved dismissively.
"Let's return to the matter."
"Enel leaves."
"Will you temporarily govern Skypiea for us?"
Gan Fall didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Before Enel's reign, he had led Skypiea with compassion.
Even under Enel's oppression, he continued protecting the people in silence.
If peace could return—
He would not refuse.
"Good."
"Once her people relocate here, Skypiea will be renamed."
"Upper Yard will become part of Amazon Lily."
"Angel Island remains under your management."
Gan Fall simply smiled.
"Thank you for your trust."
Karl turned.
"Then we'll leave you to prepare."
Gan Fall called out.
"Wait."
He inhaled deeply.
"There is one more matter."
The Shandians
Four hundred years ago—
When Upper Yard was blasted into the sky, Skypieans claimed it as holy land.
They renamed it "God's Island."
The original inhabitants—
The Shandians—
Were expelled.
For four centuries, they fought to reclaim their homeland.
To ring the Golden Bell again.
To fulfill a promise to Noland.
Enel's strength suppressed them, but he never eradicated them.
He used them as training tools.
A constant conflict.
Karl narrowed his eyes.
Shandians.
Upper Yard would become Amazon Lily's new territory.
He could not ignore a militant tribe sleeping beside them.
Gan Fall spoke cautiously.
"If possible…"
"May I attempt negotiations?"
"Ending a 400-year war without bloodshed—would that not be best?"
Karl snorted lightly.
"Four hundred years."
"Have you ended it?"
Gan Fall fell silent.
"Handle your affairs," Karl said calmly.
"We'll handle ours."
He mounted Raven with Hancock and departed, leaving Gan Fall staring after them.
Mid-Air
Hancock looked uneasy.
"You're not planning to wipe out the Shandians… are you?"
Karl shook his head.
"Unlikely."
"Diplomacy first."
"Force if necessary."
"Worst case—we relocate them to Jaya below."
Hancock relaxed.
Then her eyes sparkled.
"They said Upper Yard has mountains of gold…"
Karl exaggerated dramatically.
"Of course."
"Shandora was called the City of Gold."
"They stacked gold like hills."
Hancock gasped.
"Then we're rich!"
Karl grinned teasingly.
"You'll be a wealthy Empress."
"Perhaps I'll have to rely on you."
She smiled slyly.
"Oh?"
"How much would it cost to keep you?"
"I'll book you for ten years in advance."
Karl laughed.
In the distance—
Upper Yard shimmered in sunlight.
Gold hidden beneath ancient roots.
A contested land.
A new era about to begin.
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