As soon as Sandy returned to the Going Merry, Chopper rushed over in a panic.
"Skypiea is too scary, Sandy! You have to protect me, okay? Huh? What's wrong?"
Sandy's expression hardened. "Someone else is here."
"Nani?!" everyone exclaimed in unison.
Usopp yelled, "What's going on this time?! Is another one coming to attack us?"
Sandy smirked. "Don't worry. If one comes, I'll beat one!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Usopp waved his arms frantically. "Don't mess around like you did before!"
Moments later, a white-bearded old man wearing knight armor appeared, riding an eagle-like creature. He gracefully landed on the Merry's railing.
Nami was the first to speak. "Who are you? Are you also here to attack us?"
The man replied calmly, "I am the Sky Knight. Young man, your skills are impressive."
"Sky Knight?" Sandy sized him up, giving a brief knightly salute. "Name's Sandy. These are my crewmates — the Straw Hat Pirates, from the sea below. And you are?"
The Sky Knight nodded. "I am Gan Fall, the Sky Knight. This is my partner, Pierre. Don't worry, I'm not with the man who attacked you earlier."
Hearing that, Nami visibly relaxed. But seeing Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji still gasping for breath, she sighed.
"Seriously, what are you three doing? You got beaten up by one guy? Pathetic!"
Sanji groaned, "Nami-swan's right… it's embarrassing."
Luffy wheezed, "I just feel… weird. Like I can't get any strength."
Robin explained, "Didn't Sandy say so earlier? The air here is too thin."
Zoro nodded. "Yeah. That must be it."
Gan Fall walked to the upper deck and looked at them kindly. "You're Blue Sea people, aren't you?"
"Blue Sea people?" Nami repeated. "What does that mean?"
"It's what we call those who live below the clouds," Gan Fall explained. "So you came from the Blue Sea?"
Sandy's expression darkened slightly. Didn't I literally just say that?
Luffy, lying flat on the deck, raised a hand lazily. "Yeah, we are."
Gan Fall nodded. "This place is called the White Sea — about seven thousand meters above the Blue Sea. Above this, ten thousand meters up, lies another sea called the White White Sea. Ordinary Blue Sea people often can't move properly when they first arrive."
Luffy sat up, grinning. "Great! I'm finally getting used to it."
"Same," Zoro said, stretching his arms. "Feels easier to breathe now."
Gan Fall continued, "To tell you the truth, I'm a professional mercenary. The White Sea is dangerous — people who don't understand the sky often fall prey to raiders like the one who attacked you earlier… or get eaten by Sky Fish. For a whistle and five million Iq, I come to the rescue."
"A whistle and five million what?" Luffy tilted his head.
Gan Fall looked offended. "Five million Iq! My price is already the cheapest! Don't try to haggle — I have to make a living too!"
Sandy scratched his head. "Old man, could you at least explain the exchange rate between Iq and Belly? If it's reasonable, we'll take your offer."
Gan Fall frowned. "Didn't you come from the High-Speed Sky Road? You must've passed one or two islands on the way, right?"
Luffy blinked. "Old man, what language are you even speaking?"
"Wait!" Nami interrupted. "You said there are other ways to reach the Sky Sea?"
Gan Fall nodded, and Nami exploded. "I knew it!"
She grabbed Luffy by the collar, shaking him furiously. "We almost died because of you! We could've taken a safe route if you weren't so impulsive! You moron!"
Gan Fall chuckled softly and tossed a whistle toward Sandy.
"When I say 'a whistle,' I mean this one. Blow it anytime, anywhere — and I'll come to your rescue. Normally, each call costs five million Iq. Consider this one free — a welcome gift."
Before Sandy could respond, Gan Fall climbed back onto Pierre and soared into the clouds.
"Hey! You didn't tell me the exchange rate!" Sandy shouted, but the Sky Knight was already gone.
Luffy dusted himself off and approached. "Didn't he say he'd come if we blew it?"
Before he could do something stupid, Sandy, Usopp, and Chopper lunged forward to stop him.
"Don't you dare waste that!" Sandy barked. "Save it for Nami — in case she's in danger."
Usopp pouted. "Why her? I need protection too!"
Sandy crossed his arms. "Because Nami's a beauty. You're not. Go sit down."
Sanji's eyes turned into hearts. "Sandy's right! Nami-swan, you should keep the whistle safe!"
Sandy laughed. "Sanji, I've known you for ages, and you finally said something that made sense."
Sanji glared. "You bastard! Want me to kick your face off?!"
"Can you two not start?" Zoro sighed. "Anyway, that Sky Knight didn't tell us anything useful. What now?"
Robin smiled slightly. "From what he said, there's another White Sea above. That must be Skypiea."
Chopper pointed to a massive cloud waterfall in the distance. "Is that the entrance up there?"
Luffy grinned. "Only one way to find out — let's sail over!"
Sandy turned to Nami. "Hey, Nami, how much Belly do we still have?"
Nami's expression darkened immediately. "What are you planning? And don't forget — you still owe me 1.2 million Belly! If there's no City of Gold up here, you're finished!"
Sandy groaned. "Stupid woman! Did you fall into a pile of money? What's more important — your life or Belly?"
"Belly, obviously," Nami said flatly.
Sandy threw up his hands. "Fine. Forget I asked."
Before long, they reached a strange gate guarded by an old woman.
"Nani?!" Usopp shouted. "One billion Iq? That's eighty billion for eight people! That's insane!"
"Is that… the price to enter?" Chopper squeaked.
Usopp muttered, "She's totally trying to scam us…"
"Shut up," Nami hissed, stepping forward. "Excuse me, ma'am — hypothetically, what if we don't have any money?"
The old woman smiled kindly. "Then you can still enter. And if you don't want to, that's fine too."
Everyone blinked.
"…Huh?"
"Is she senile?" Usopp whispered.
Sandy just sighed. If I remember right, Enel rules this place. That twisted lightning freak's goal is to destroy Skypiea anyway. We'll end up fighting him sooner or later. Might as well enjoy things while we can.
The old woman added, "I'm not a guard or soldier. I just wanted to ask what your intentions were."
Luffy grinned. "Simple! We're going to Skypiea!"
Usopp bowed his head. "Old lady, we don't have any money, but please let us in anyway!"
She nodded. "All eight of you, correct?"
"Yes!" the crew answered together.
Moments later, a massive creature — the famous Express Shrimp of the White Sea — appeared.
It clamped its giant pincers on both sides of the Merry Go, guiding the ship along the cloud path toward the dazzling entrance of Skypiea.
The Straw Hats watched in awe as their journey into the heavens truly began.
...
Author's Note:
The fanfic One Piece: My Flirtatious System Adventure is now fully completed.
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