Things were becoming fairly clear.
There was about an eighty percent chance that the fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy Dina's father had described was Enel.
He had already eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and, unable to suppress his hatred, had begun taking revenge on Birka. For some unknown reason, however, he had temporarily withdrawn afterward.
Even so, his power had left the people of Skypiea deeply terrified. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit truly possessed frightening abilities.
Lightning carried the traits of extreme heat, paralysis, and destruction; it was one of nature's most devastating forces. Even more terrifying, it moved at nearly the speed of light, allowing its user to disappear and reappear instantly.
In that regard, few other Logia fruits could compare. A Devil Fruit that combined overwhelming speed and destructive power could turn almost anyone into a powerhouse in a very short time.
"If he's not here, then this is going to be troublesome," Rogen muttered, shaking his head in silence.
He had three objectives for coming here.
The first was Enel. A man who possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and had independently awakened and developed his Observation Haki was undoubtedly someone with enormous potential.
The second was the gold of Upper Yard. If that massive fortune could be converted into berries and exchanged through the system, what in this world would he have left to fear?
The third was the Poneglyph. He had encountered several Poneglyphs in the original story, but their specific contents had rarely been explained. He wanted to see for himself exactly what they were.
While Rogen was thinking, the others continued asking Dina and her father about Skypiea.
"Skypiea uses extol instead of berries?"
"There are all kinds of magical shells that can do different things?"
"And there are Wavers that can travel across the cloud sea?"
"Plus all sorts of unique local foods? That's fantastic!"
The crew immediately became excited. Everything the father and daughter described was something they would never normally encounter on the Blue Sea.
The Logan slowly approached the shoreline, and the beach ahead became clearer. Groups of stern-faced guards wearing berets patrolled the area, while winged Skypieans watched them curiously.
"Wow! They're all angels! This is amazing!" Chaporos shouted. He was the first to jump off the ship and run toward Skypiea.
After throwing a mocking comment his way, Daz Bones followed close behind. Influenced by the crew over time, even the normally cold and reserved Daz Bones had become more open and lively.
The moment the two arrived on shore and looked around, they found themselves surrounded by winged people. Their eyes widened instantly.
"Men, women, adults, kids, they all have wings!" Chaporos yelled excitedly. Unable to contain himself, he ran behind a young girl and reached out, wanting to check whether her wings were real. "Are these actually real?"
Before he could touch them, however, Daz Bones stopped him. "Hey, don't go around touching people. Can't you see you're scaring them?"
Only then did Chaporos notice that the angels around them were looking at them with fearful expressions.
"They don't have wings. They're not Skypieans!"
"Outsiders!"
"Where are the God's Guards? Hurry and call them!"
Panicked cries immediately erupted along the shore.
"This is Angel Island. My wife, Talina, lives here," Kos explained as Rogen and the others stepped onto the beach as well.
'Tap tap tap tap!'
Rapid footsteps approached. A squad of white-beret guards quickly arrived and surrounded Chaporos and Daz Bones.
"What happened here?" the squad leader shouted.
"They're outsiders!" one of the angels called out.
"Outsiders?" The captain quickly glanced at Chaporos and Daz Bones, then at the rest of Rogen's group approaching from behind. His expression changed immediately. "Are you people from the Blue Sea?"
Seeing that none of them had wings, he recognized them right away.
"The Blue Sea?" Chaporos looked confused, clearly not understanding what he meant.
"That's right. We're from the Blue Sea. We've come here to pay a visit to your God," Rogen stepped forward and answered with a gentle smile.
"Visit God?" The white-beret captain looked puzzled, but he didn't hesitate. Matters involving visitors from outside weren't his responsibility.
Furthermore, after observing the group, he saw curiosity rather than hostility in their eyes and realized the disturbance was probably just a misunderstanding.
"I'll inform God. Since you've come to Skypiea, I hope you'll follow the rules here." His tone carried a clear warning. Visitors from the Blue Sea weren't common, but they weren't unheard of either, so he wasn't particularly worried.
"Of course," Rogen nodded with a smile. They weren't here to cause trouble. They were here to dig up treasure. As long as they achieved their goals, nothing else really mattered.
"I'll contact God. Please wait here." After giving the group one last long look, the captain turned and left with his squad.
"So they're people from the Blue Sea."
"I've never seen anyone from the Blue Sea before. They don't even have wings. That's so strange!"
"They even feel different from us."
After the white-beret guards explained the situation, the fear in the angels' eyes quickly faded. Soon they began surrounding Rogen's group and whispering among themselves.
Just as Chaporos and the others were curious about the angels, the angels were equally curious about people from the Blue Sea. With both sides interested in each other, conversation started naturally.
Less than half an hour later, some of the locals were already inviting members of the crew to visit their homes.
"Talina!" At that moment, Dina's father suddenly spotted a woman stepping out onto the street to see what the commotion was about and immediately shouted.
The woman had long golden hair flowing over her shoulders, a pair of small wings on her back, fair skin, and a slender figure. Her appearance was ordinary, but she bore a slight resemblance to Dina. She was Dina's mother.
"Kos? Dina?" Talina froze when she saw them.
"Mom!" Dina burst into tears and ran forward, throwing herself into her mother's arms. Though they had only been apart for a few months, it felt as though a century had passed. "We almost never got to see you again."
Kos tightly embraced Talina as well. "Thank goodness you made it here. I've already heard about what happened in Birka. You can stay here from now on," Talina spoke with concern.
Watching the reunited family from a distance, Rogen smiled faintly. A happy ending was always a good thing.
Just then, a squad of knights clad in steel armor entered the street. The moment they arrived, their eyes locked onto Rogen.
"It's them!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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