The warship sailed through the stone archway and paused next to a small, dome-shaped guardhouse.
An old woman stepped out. She was short, her hair styled into two snail-tentacle-shaped buns, and a pair of small, pure white wings rested on her back. She had a wrinkled, expressionless face.
"Oh! It's an Angel Grandma!!"
Ginny, Kuma, and Ivankov gasped, their eyes wide with wonder.
York chuckled. It was the standard reaction for anyone seeing a Skypiean for the first time.
"Are you here for sightseeing? Or for war?" the old woman, Amazon, asked in a flat tone.
York leaned against the ship's railing, offering a harmless smile.
"Sightseeing, of course!"
Amazon held out a small camera-like device and her other hand.
"That will be 10 million Extol per person for the entry fee."
(Note: Without Enel's tyrannical rule, the standard entry process still requires payment, though the punishment for illegal entry varies).
"HOW MUCH?! 10 MILLION?!"
The crew, who had just been marveling at the "Angel Grandma," nearly jumped out of their skin.
"10 million entry fee?! Are you robbing us?!" Kaido yelled, veins popping on his forehead. "Are you the pirates, or are we the pirates?!"
Just as the crew was rolling up their sleeves, ready to storm the gate, Stussy burst out laughing.
"It's 10 million Extol! Not 10 million Berries!"
"Huh?" Kaido blinked, his kanabo lowering slightly.
Stussy smiled, adjusting her veil. "Extol is the local currency of Sky Island. The exchange rate is ten thousand to one. 10,000 Extol equals 1 Berry!"
"Which means," she calculated quickly, "the 10 million Extol per person is actually just 1,000 Berries."
Amazon smiled gently and nodded. "That is correct."
A collective sigh of relief washed over the warship.
"What? Kaido grunted. "Only 1,000 Berries? I misunderstood."
"10 million sounds terrifying," Gloriosa muttered. "Why couldn't she just say 1,000 Berries?"
Shakky exhaled a plume of smoke, amused. "A very effective prank."
York didn't waste time haggling over pocket change. He tossed a small bag of Berries to the gatekeeper.
After verifying the payment, Amazon didn't delay. She pulled out a whistle and blew a sharp, piercing note.
SPLASH!
The sea clouds beneath the ship bubbled. Suddenly, two massive, red, mechanical-looking shrimp claws burst from the water, clamping securely onto the sides of the warship's hull.
"WAAAAH! What is that?!" Ginny shrieked, stumbling backward.
"That is a Speedy Shrimp, a special creature of the White Sea," Amazon explained calmly. "Do you see that cloud path winding up into the sky? That is the Milky Road."
"Normal ships cannot sail up that incline. Only the Speedy Shrimp can carry vessels to the Milky Sea."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Speedy Shrimp's tail snapped, and the warship surged forward with incredible velocity.
"HOLD ON!!"
Amidst the squealing of the kids and the roaring wind, the Speedy Shrimp hauled the massive galleon up the vertical cloud river. They climbed thousands of meters in a matter of minutes, ascending from the 7,000-meter White Sea to their final destination.
WHOOSH!
The warship shot out of the Milky Road's exit, tracing a massive parabola in the sky, before crashing heavily into a new ocean of clouds.
SPLASH!
As the rocking subsided, the crew looked around. They were instantly awestruck.
"This is Sky Island?"
"It's beautiful..."
"An island made entirely of clouds! It's like a fairy tale!"
They had reached the White-White Sea, 10,000 meters above the Blue Sea.
"Are we going to live here from now on?" Ivankov asked, looking at York.
York nodded, a sharp glint in his eyes.
'This will be the perfect fortress,' he thought. 'An untouchable base of operations.'
York walked to the bow of the ship. He took a deep breath, imbued his voice with Haki, and shouted across the expanse of the sky.
"SKY ISLAND!! YOUR EMPEROR HAS ARRIVED!!"
His voice echoed like thunder, rolling across the cloud cities.
Miles away, the ordinary Skypieans froze in the streets.
"Whose voice is that?"
"An Emperor? Who dares be so arrogant in the land protected by God?!"
York was too lazy to waste time sailing to Angel Beach. He turned to Kaido.
"Kaido. Dragon form. Let's go."
Kaido grinned, transforming into his massive Azure Dragon form. York hopped onto his back.
"See that landmass?" York pointed to a massive island made of real dirt and forest, completely out of place in the sky. "And that giant beanstalk?"
Kaido looked toward Upper Yard. A colossal vine—Giant Jack—wound its way high into the heavens, piercing through the cloud layers.
"That's where the ruler of this sky, 'God', and his army are stationed," York explained. "We take that place, and this Sky Island is ours."
Kaido roared, his serpentine body coiling as he shot toward Upper Yard.
Down below, the Skypiean residents looked up. Seeing a massive, mythological blue dragon soaring through the sky, their defiance turned into absolute terror and devotion.
"A divine beast!"
"The true Lord of the Sky has descended!"
Kaido landed with a heavy thud in the clearing near the Divine Shrine on Upper Yard, reverting to his human form. York stepped down beside him.
The ruler of Skypiea—the current "God"—had already gathered his Divine Squad.
York glanced at the man leading them. It wasn't Gan Fall, the man who would later hold the title. This was his predecessor.
The current God stepped forward, gripping his spear tightly. "You are people from the Blue Sea, aren't you? What is the meaning of this display?!"
York didn't bother with pleasantries or negotiations. He was a 3-Billion-Berry powerhouse; he didn't need to play politics with Paradise-level fighters.
"I'm here to rule you," York said plainly.
Before the Divine Squad could raise their weapons, York's eyes narrowed.
BZZZZT!
A vast, suffocating wave of Conqueror's Haki erupted from York's body. A blood-red domain instantly enveloped the clearing. In the eyes of the Skypiean soldiers, the sky itself seemed to turn crimson under the crushing pressure of York's will.
They didn't even last a fraction of a second.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Hundreds of elite Divine Squad soldiers collapsed, their eyes rolling back into their heads, foaming at the mouth.
The only one left awake was the current "God", and only because York deliberately focused the Haki to spare him the full brunt of it. Even so, the ruler of Skypiea was forced to his knees, gasping for air, his spear clattering to the ground.
"What... what kind of power is this?!" the God gasped, trembling violently.
"Conqueror's Haki," York explained patiently, walking closer. "The symbol of a true King."
York looked down at the kneeling ruler.
"Do you understand the difference in power between us now?"
"If you don't want the entirety of Sky Island to be wiped out by my crew, I suggest you surrender obediently."
The Skypiean God gritted his teeth. He looked at his unconscious men, then at the towering Kaido, and finally at York. He knew resistance was suicide.
But as a ruler concerned for his people, he mustered his last ounce of courage.
"If I surrender... how do you plan to rule us?"
York smiled, a dangerous, confident grin.
"That is not for you to worry about."
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