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Dressrosa – the King's Plateau.
"Fufufufufu… what a disgrace, Crocodile. You plotted for so long, only to get taken down by a rookie!"
Reading the morning paper, Donquixote Doflamingo—the flamboyant Warlord himself—let out a strange, mocking laugh.
He'd always thought only Gecko Moria was a waste of a title, but apparently Crocodile wasn't much better.
East Blue, Loguetown.
The Straw Hat crew had docked to rest and stock up on supplies for their next voyage.
"Huh? What the—five hundred million berries?!"
Sanji caught a wanted poster fluttering down from the sky and tossed a couple of coins to the News Coo. His eyes widened as the endless zeros filled his vision.
"Who the hell's got a bounty that high?!" Usopp leaned in, curious—then froze. "L-Logan?!"
Usopp's scream split the air, his face going pale.
"Who's Logan? Is he strong or something?" Luffy tilted his head, puzzled.
"Idiot!" Zoro's expression darkened. "He's the one who stole my Wado Ichimonji."
Usopp nodded frantically, turning to Luffy with trembling lips. "Luffy… he's that monster from Syrup Village who sliced you and Zoro up!"
The reminder hit Luffy like a slap. He finally remembered—that was the first time he'd ever been seriously injured after setting out to sea.
Bang!
Luffy slammed a fist on the table. "Damn it! So it was that guy! Next time I see him, I'm sending him flying!"
"I'll take back my sword too," Zoro growled.
Meanwhile, thanks to Morgans' relentless media machine, the Alabasta incident was still spreading like wildfire.
News Coos were flying to every corner of the world—no town too small, no island too remote—to make sure everyone saw the explosive headline.
And the man at the center of it all, the one responsible for "917," Logan, was currently… very, very busy.
The airship was set to autopilot.
For days now, Nami and Tashigi hadn't trained, Makino hadn't brewed a drop of alcohol, Kaya had abandoned her medical books, and even Robin had put aside her ancient texts.
The girls weren't doing anything—except taking turns.
They were enjoying themselves, sure, but… also a little confused.
Hadn't things gotten a bit too frequent lately?
Logan's excuse? "We're in a brand-new environment. Gotta make the most of that freshness while it lasts."
The girls sighed helplessly. He was the captain, after all.
In the spacious café area, Valentine, Golden Week, and Sara were behind the counter, mixing up coffee in every flavor imaginable.
"Logan, what's this 'Sky Island' you keep talking about?"
Nami was lying across Logan's lap, lazily munching on an apple without a care in the world.
Robin closed her book and joined in, "I've heard legends about a Sky Island—but that's all they are, right?"
"Captain, does it really exist?" Kaya asked curiously, her chin resting in her hands, eyes sparkling.
"An island in the sky? That sounds so magical."
Logan nodded calmly. "It's real. But it's a place few people can ever reach, which is why most think it's just a myth."
He continued, "Sky Island was formed centuries ago. About 400 years back, an island called Jaya was struck by an enormous Knock-Up Stream. A part of it got blasted into the sky—that's how Sky Island came to be."
The girls listened quietly, captivated by the explanation.
Then Vivi, who'd been lounging against his shoulder, suddenly sat up, her big black eyes glimmering mischievously. "So, Logan… what are you really going there for?"
That one question made the entire group go silent—then every pair of eyes turned toward him, suspicious.
Right. Logan never did anything without a reason.
He wasn't the type to climb all the way to the heavens just to sightsee.
Tashigi adjusted her glasses with a sly glint. "Captain… don't tell me you've got acquaintances up there too?"
That line sounded way too familiar.
And judging from his face—
"Alright," Logan said at last, shrugging. "You caught me. There are two beautiful women on Sky Island."
Knew it.
But before the teasing could start, he quickly added, "Besides that, there's another big reason we're going."
"Huh?" The girls blinked in confusion.
Logan being serious was rarer than a blue moon.
Robin's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait… could it be the legendary City of Gold?"
She'd once read about it in an old text—the city supposedly existed on Jaya but vanished mysteriously, becoming nothing more than a bedtime story.
But if part of Jaya really was blasted into the sky… then the lost city might be up there too.
Logan shot her an approving look. "Exactly. The City of Gold. An entire city made of pure gold. Centuries have passed—it's probably in ruins now, and a lot of treasure's been lost—but there's still plenty left."
He grinned. "And we're going to claim it all."
"Wait—did you just say gold?!"
That word hit Nami like lightning. She jumped off the couch so fast her pupils practically turned into gold coins.
"Logan—no, I mean, Captain!" she said, fluttering her lashes and pressing herself against him. "Considering how much I… serve you every day, can I maybe get a little share of that treasure?"
The other girls weren't as dramatic, but they definitely looked intrigued.
After all, when mountains of gold are involved, who wouldn't be tempted?
Logan smirked and tilted her chin up. "If I give you gold, will you behave?"
"Yes! Totally!" Nami nodded like her life depended on it.
She'd obey him even without gold—so if there was gold involved, all the better. Win-win.
Logan chuckled, satisfied. Nami's eyes sparkled with greed and excitement.
"Actually," he teased, "forget it. What's mine is yours, right? So technically, it's already yours."
Her smile froze.
Then—chomp! "Logan, you jerk!"
The others couldn't help laughing out loud.
Poor Nami, outsmarted again.
As laughter filled the cabin, the airship pierced through the clouds and soared higher and higher until it reached the realm of the heavens—Sky Island.
The Holy Domain – Apayado.
The dwelling place of "God."
At that same moment, Enel, resting on his bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
"What… is that?"
The strange, humming vessel in the distance made his brow furrow.
As the self-proclaimed god of Sky Island, Enel's "Mantra," enhanced by his lightning powers, could sense every movement across the entire island.
But this sound—this ship—was something else.
He tried to probe it further… and was shocked to realize his Mantra couldn't penetrate it.
"How interesting."
A wicked smile tugged at his lips as arcs of white lightning danced across his body.
The "god" of the sky had found a new amusement.
Meanwhile, the airship burst through the last veil of cloud, emerging above a dazzling sea of white.
"Whoa, that's gorgeous!"
"So this is Sky Island? It's beautiful!"
The girls pressed against the windows, their eyes shining.
Below them stretched a world of gleaming clouds and golden light, so dreamlike it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.
Where their eyes landed, everything was made of island-clouds and sea-clouds.
"This is Angel Island. Let's go down and take a look." Logan used a patch of island-cloud to gently lower everyone down.
"It's really beautiful," he murmured, staring at the pristine white landscape.
Sure, the main reason he came was to recruit the story's pretty girls, but he couldn't pass up scenery this lovely without enjoying it a little.
"Kaya, the clouds are so soft under my feet!" Kaya giggled, bouncing on the cloud beneath her and sharing her joy with Logan.
The other girls copied her in an instant, and soon a chorus of delighted exclamations filled the air.
"Captain, I've never seen fish like this." Karumen scooped a strange-looking sea-fish out of the cloudwater and held it up in wonder.
"Logan, come here! This cloud chair is so comfy!" Nami waved excitedly from not far away.
"Logan—"
"Captain—"
"..."
Every new discovery sent the girls rushing to call Logan over, as if they'd found a new continent.
Watching them lose themselves in play, Logan relaxed in a way he hadn't felt in a long time. It was hard to describe—if their earlier pleasures had been mostly physical, this was a simple, unforced happiness of the heart.
"Huh?!!"
Just as Logan was about to flop down on a cloud chair for a bit of rest, a clear, melodious voice drifted across the sky from a distance.
"What's that sound?!" the girls looked toward where the voice came from.
"Logan, someone over there." Nami's observation haki flared; she'd picked up a stranger's presence.
"Let's go see." Logan took the lead—he already had a pretty good idea who it was.
They hadn't gone far when they saw a golden-haired girl standing on a cloudstone not too far away.
More precisely, she was an angelic beauty—two small, pure white wings unfurled from her back.
Those who had never seen an angel froze in place, stunned, whispers spilling from their lips: "An angel, it really is an angel!!"
"She's so pretty!"
Logan sized her up from head to toe: a high-necked, ultra-short dress, pale yellow braided hair, a harp at ease in her hands...
Yep. It was her.
Conis.
Noticing all the staring, Conis paused, smiled softly at the group, and parted her lips to say, "Hello."
"She's so gentle!"
"So cute!"
"..."
The girls cupped their cheeks and gazed at Conis as if enchanted.
One smile from her and the image of a pure, holy angel was complete.
"Hi, angel! My name's Nami!"
"I'm Kaya!"
"I'm Dasuki!!"
"..."
Collecting themselves, the girls introduced themselves one after another.
"Are you all Qinhua people?!" Conis approached with the grace of a lady walking on lilies.
"Yes, we're from the Qinhua region." Makino answered kindly.
Before coming up here, Logan had already explained to them what "Qinhua" meant: anyone from the seas below was called a Qinhua by the islanders of the sky.
"Hello, my name's Logan. I'm captain of the Logan Pirates, and these are my crew," Logan said with a smile when Conis came nearer.
"Your... crew?!" Conis blinked, her eyes sweeping left to right over the eleven girls.
Eleven beauties—what a lucky man.
"Hello," Conis answered politely.
During the brief conversation, Nami and the others exchanged a look, then nodded in unspoken agreement.
Logan hadn't told them which two girls they were here for, but there was no doubt Conis was one of them.
Don't ask why—women's intuition. Eleven women's intuition.
"Conis, we've just arrived. Could you show us around?" Logan asked with a warm smile and a soft voice.
"Sure. I haven't met many Qinhua people in a long time. There's a lot of fun stuff to see here." Conis's smile was gentle and enthusiastic; she gladly agreed.
For her, this was a chance to make new friends and to hear stories about life on the surface.
The girls were thrilled at the offer and followed Conis as she guided them through Angel Island.
Time ticked by.
At every interesting spot, Conis would stop and explain things to the curious girls, earning admiring looks in return.
They walked and learned about the sky-island's customs and people.
After two full hours, everyone was tired. They rested in a small pavilion.
"Conis, you said earlier there's a place we absolutely mustn't set foot in, right?!" Nogika suddenly asked between sips of water.
Conis went quiet for a moment, then lowered her voice: "Yes. Because a god lives there, no one may step foot into that place."
"A god?!!"
"There's no such thing as gods in this world!" Nami burst out and snorted, unable to hold back the water she'd been drinking.
"Don't joke about it." Conis waved her hands anxiously and glanced around. "Don't say that lightly. The gods are watching everything we do now."
"If we offend the gods, they'll punish us."
Conis's fear made the other girls' hearts squeeze a little.
Talking about gods had stolen the radiant ease from the angelic girl's face; only terror remained.
"There's no god—just some blowhard putting on a show." Logan shook his head with a laugh. (If Enel counts as a god, that's laughable.)
If Enel was considered a god, the title didn't mean much.
"Logan, don't joke about it. If a god hears you, we'll be punished," Conis whispered, her cheeks suddenly drained of color at the memory of something terrible. She still couldn't forget that scene back then, like a natural disaster descending.
Anyone who had opposed the god had died.
"Logan, who is this guy? Is he really that powerful?!" Seeing Conis reduced to babbling fear, Nami bristled with anger.
Who could be so mean as to bully such a pretty angel? The other girls felt the same righteous outrage—if they could beat him, they'd teach him a lesson.
"He's not that strong. He's a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, and there's no one on the sky islands who can use haki, so he's been running rampant here." Logan explained calmly.
The girls all went "oh." A Logia-type Devil Fruit user? No wonder.
Without haki to suppress him, wasn't he basically a god?
"Hmph. I thought it'd be something impressive—turns out it's just one of the elemental powers I can develop myself." When Nami learned the truth, she snorted.
"Right, his power isn't actually that great." Logan tilted his head and looked toward the distance, his face growing serious. He spoke coldly: "Enel, with your arrogant, brazen attitude—when did you start spying on people? Come out and show yourself!"
"....."