"Hm?" Arton suddenly frowned and looked up at the sky.
"Captain, what's wrong?" Uta asked, confused. "Aren't you about to show Conis that special thing?"
"There's something up there," Arton said.
Tashigi narrowed her eyes and answered for him. "Looks like something's overhead."
Hearing Tashigi say that, everyone on deck immediately followed their gaze and looked up. Those with Observation Haki spread it outward, sweeping the sky.
Very quickly, they all sensed movement above.
"A… flying horse?" Carina said, resting her cheek on her hand. "And there's an old man sitting on it?"
"An enemy? Should we just shoot him down?" Nami gathered a bolt of lightning in her hand, like she could hurl it upward at any moment.
Tashigi drew her sword as well. Robin crossed her arms before her chest, clearly ready to use her Flower-Flower Fruit at a moment's notice.
They'd all read Arton's diary about Skypiea. They knew the "god" Enel and the four priests were enemies. Whoever this was could easily be Enel—or one of his priests—coming to investigate the disturbance.
"Riding a horse? Wait—don't!"
The moment Conis heard them, she hurriedly reached out and grabbed Nami's arm.
The lightning Nami threw veered off its original path, slicing past the flying horse instead. The mount jolted in panic, stumbled midair, and lost its balance. No matter how hard the rider tried to steady it, both of them ended up crashing down onto the pirate ship's deck.
Fortunately, the old knight's body was still sturdy—he didn't suffer any fatal injuries.
"Conis, why did you stop me?"
Nami flicked a glance at the old man sprawled on the deck, then looked at Conis with a puzzled frown.
"Nami, he's not an enemy—he's a good person," Conis said quickly.
"A good person?" Nami echoed, doubtful.
"At least he's a lot better than that guy," Raki said, looking toward Skypiea's holy land—clearly referring to Enel.
When the old knight fell onto the deck, Raki recognized him right away.
The visitor was none other than Skypiea's former god, Gan Fall.
Sure, in the Shandians' eyes, Gan Fall was still someone who'd occupied their holy land. But compared to Enel, Gan Fall was far more mild-mannered.
He didn't go out of his way to attack the Shandians—he only led troops against them when they launched raids on the holy land. Even then, he tried his best to keep both sides from crossing a point of no return.
So while Raki didn't exactly like Gan Fall, she didn't have much active hatred for him either.
"This man really doesn't have any hostile intent," Arton said, having already recognized him as well. He lifted his head and addressed the crew. "Everyone—stand down. No need to stay on guard."
"If that's the case, then we're fine," Carina said, lowering her hand.
Tashigi sheathed her sword.
Kaya stepped forward and asked whether Gan Fall needed treatment. Gan Fall didn't refuse, allowing her to use medical ninjutsu on him.
Feeling the bones inside him—ones that had nearly been shattered by the fall—rapidly knit back together, Gan Fall's eyes flashed with surprise.
Chapter 562: Pay Up and I'll Tell You
Smoothie: "Seriously—where'd this old geezer crawl in from? What a pain. He's ruining everything."
Ginrummy: "Arton was just about to show Serval's power, and then this guy barges in."
Ulti: "Just kill the bastard and be done with it."
Gion: "So he's not an enemy? Then… he isn't with Enel's group?"
Koala: "If that's the case, why is he here at all? What does he want?"
Kalifa: "I don't care either way. I just hope he leaves fast and doesn't delay me watching Serval's power."
"This… power is really great." Gan Fall, feeling his injuries from the crash completely mended, looked with curiosity toward Kaya, who had turned to heal his mount as well. "How did you do that?"
"Just a special method, sir. Don't worry about it," Kaya said.
"Right—and more importantly," Nami cut in, arms crossed, glaring at Gan Fall, "why did you suddenly drop onto our ship? Even if you didn't come with hostile intent, you owe us an explanation."
"I saw a ship from the Blue Sea arriving here and thought you might need help," Gan Fall replied. "When I got closer, I realized you actually had both Skypieans and Shandians aboard—so I got curious why they'd be here together."
As he spoke, he glanced at Conis and Raki.
"You wanted to see if we kidnapped them, didn't you?" Arton said with a smile.
"I did," Gan Fall admitted plainly. "But it seems you haven't."
After all, the conflict between Skypiea's natives and the Shandians ran deep. Yet on Arton's ship, Conis—Skypiean—and Raki—Shandian—were coexisting peacefully. Gan Fall couldn't wrap his head around it.
Unless… they were being held hostage. If they'd lost their freedom, of course they wouldn't be openly fighting.
But after watching Kaya calmly heal both him and his steed with such gentle skill, Gan Fall couldn't bring himself to believe this crew was the kind that kidnapped people.
Relief loosened his shoulders. Then, cautiously, he stole another look at Nami.
Earlier it wasn't only his mount that had been terrified—he had been shaken too.
Lightning was Enel's signature.
And yet a crewmember on a pirate ship from the Blue Sea had just thrown lightning at him.
For a split second, Gan Fall had thought Enel was striking him down.
But once he saw clearly, he realized it was an orange-haired girl who'd made the move—leaving him equal parts startled and intrigued.
"Hey. Why are you staring at me like that?" Nami snapped, brows knitting. "What—mad you didn't get zapped properly the first time?"
"N-no, not at all!" Gan Fall waved his hands quickly.
Even though the lightning had only grazed past him, he could feel how much power it carried. If he'd taken that head-on, he probably wouldn't have died… but it would've been miserable.
"I'm simply curious," Gan Fall said honestly. "Young lady… how can you use lightning?"
"You wanna know?" Nami asked.
"Yes. I truly do."
"Then pay up," Nami said sweetly. "If you pay enough, I might consider telling you."
Gan Fall fell silent.