Wyper's blunt question made Raki's heart lurch.
Seriously—she was standing in front of people who could flip Skypiea on its head without breaking a sweat. Even if Wyper didn't understand that, he'd just watched them crush the Four Priests. The bare minimum was to keep his head down.
And yet here he was, marching up and interrogating them like he had a death wish.
It rubbed Raki the wrong way.
She'd never felt Wyper was this reckless before, but now it was obvious—when it came to certain things, he really wasn't that mature. He was a solid warrior, sure… but compared to Arton?
He didn't even belong in the same league.
That realization made Raki feel an unexpected wave of relief.
She was glad—genuinely glad—that she'd chosen Arton.
Arton wasn't just someone who could drag Skypiea out from under Enel's boot. He'd also given her… a lot of experiences she'd never imagined for herself. All of it together left her feeling even more grateful to him—more reverent, too.
And before she could stop herself, her mind slid into the question of how she should repay him.
Her thoughts drifted—unhelpfully—back to the things Arton had drawn about her.
Just using my mouth isn't enough… I have to find a way to use other parts of me, too. But how am I supposed to get a chance like that?
Raki frowned.
The first thing that came to mind was alcohol.
If she could get Arton drunk, then wouldn't she be able to do whatever she wanted?
Except she knew better. With Arton's constitution, there was no world where she was the one getting him drunk. If anything, she'd be the one swaying first.
No—wrong focus.
Raki shook her head hard, forcibly clearing the heat from her thoughts, then planted both hands on Wyper's shoulders with a heavy squeeze.
"Wyper," she said, voice low and firm, "show Captain Arton and them some respect."
Wyper blinked. "Huh? You called him Captain? Don't tell me you're planning to follow him to the Blue Sea!"
"I am," Raki replied without hesitation. "Once Skypiea finally has peace again, I'm going with Arton to travel the Blue Sea."
Wyper stared at her like she'd grown a second head.
He couldn't process it.
Not long ago, they'd been fighting side by side. And now, after such a short time, Raki was saying things he never would've expected to hear from her mouth. Raki had never hated the Blue Sea, sure, but she'd also never once talked about leaving their home to go touring with a Blue Sea crew.
To Wyper, that kind of decision—walking away from the sky—was unimaginable.
Raki didn't flinch under his stare.
"Anyway," she continued, "after Skypiea gets its peace back, I'll be leaving. And the ones who are going to bring that peace are Conis and Captain Arton. So yes—watch your tone."
Then Raki turned her attention to Gan Fall.
"After Enel is dealt with," she said, "can you speak for the Sky People and make peace with the Shandians? Can you make it stick?"
Raki wasn't only worried about Enel.
She was worried about what came after she left—whether the Shandians and the Sky People could actually coexist without tearing each other apart again. Even without Enel, plenty of Sky People still resented the Shandians for trying to reclaim the Sacred Ground.
But Gan Fall… at least felt like someone you could talk to.
At least, Arton had said so.
So Raki wanted Gan Fall to become the bridge—so that once Enel fell, the fighting wouldn't just restart under a different banner.
Gan Fall froze, caught off guard by how far ahead Raki was already planning.
Enel was still alive. The war wasn't over. And they were already asking him to guarantee the future?
Isn't it a little early to be talking about this? Gan Fall thought, stunned.
Chapter 588: Gan Fall Sees Roger's Shadow in Arton
"Um… isn't it a little early to be talking about all that?"
Gan Fall finally voiced the doubt he'd been holding back.
Come on—Enel was still alive and well on Skypiea. Standing here discussing "what happens after Enel dies" like it was already decided… was that really appropriate?
Sure, deep down, Gan Fall would love to see the usurper who stole his seat as "God" die a miserable death.
But he wasn't so blinded by wishful thinking that he'd lose his head.
He knew exactly how dangerous this was—because Enel might be listening right now with that eerie ability called Mantra.
If Enel heard them, he could drop divine punishment on their heads and wipe them all out with a single blast.
And in truth… Enel was listening.
He'd been waiting, expecting Raki and the others to eventually arrive at his domain. But the moment he heard what they were saying, rage surged up and drowned out his reason. He gathered power in the sky and slammed down a massive pillar of lightning right over their position.
The instant he did it, Enel regretted it.
He wanted to take Conis as his subordinate. If he killed her here, then what had he been waiting for all this time?
But then—Enel's eyes widened.
His lightning pillar didn't hurt them.
Conis merely strummed the box in her hands—her instrument—and the lightning violently shifted off course, carving into the ground beside them instead. The blast gouged out a massive crater.
Enel's lips curled upward in satisfaction.
"Interesting. That instrument is even more interesting than I thought."
"I have to get it… and I have to make her teach me how to use it."
…
On the ground, Gan Fall and Wyper went pale, staring at the smoking crater. Then they looked back at Conis like she'd stopped being Conis and turned into something else entirely.
A long silence hung over everyone—until Raki broke it.
"Told you," she said flatly. "Conis can deal with Enel."
Then she locked eyes with Gan Fall.
"So, Gan Fall—can you agree to my condition now?"
"And let me be clear: Conis and I are sisters now. Don't think you can wiggle out of your promise just because Conis is a proper Skypiean."
As she spoke, Raki wrapped an arm around Conis and pulled her close.
After all, she and Conis were the kind of sisters who'd… taken turns pleasing Arton before.
And lately, the two of them genuinely got along.
Not to mention, in Arton's own comics, there were scenes where the two of them teamed up together against him.
No matter how you looked at it, they were close.
Raki finished speaking, smiling brightly as she looked from Conis… to Arton.
Conis caught that look—and immediately remembered those doujins, too.
Her face heated up. She gave an awkward, embarrassed little smile, then turned back to Gan Fall and nodded firmly, backing Raki's words without hesitation.
Gan Fall stared at her for a moment longer, then finally exhaled.
"…Fine. I don't know why you're so confident. I don't know where that power of yours came from."
"But if you can truly do it… then I'll follow through. I'll listen."
It was risky—but Gan Fall's patience with Enel had already reached its limit.
And beyond that… Arton was part of why he was willing to gamble.
Gan Fall had met countless people in his life, and he could feel it clearly—Arton was different.
Right now, standing there, Arton gave him the same strange, unmistakable impression as the man who once came to Skypiea long ago.
Gol D. Roger.
And Gan Fall couldn't shake the suspicion that Arton might possess a power on that same level.