"What do you mean we can't enter? We came all this way!" Usopp reasoned. "We can't just turn back now!"
"Be that at it may, the Almighty God Enel has decreed that Blue Sea dwellers are no longer permitted to enter White White Sea. His word is law."
"God Enel?" Nami repeated. "Who's he? The ruler of Skypiea?"
"He is as He sounds," the old lady replied, still showing no trace of emotion. "God."
Most of the Strawhats blinked. God, as in the God?
"You mean God lives here!?" Chopper asked in shock.
"I guess that would kind of make sense, since this is Heaven, right?" Usopp mused.
"No, that makes no sense at all," Sanji grunted.
"Whether or not it makes sense, the fact remains that we're not allowed to enter. Seems problematic doesn't it?" Robin commented.
"Does it matter?" Luffy asked lazily. "We're pirates, so why should we obey the law?"
Nami slapped her forehead. "It's not that simple Luffy! We don't even know how to get there without help, so how can we-"
"No, he is correct," the old lady stated, causing the Strawhats to look at her in confusion. "While the word of God is law, I am neither a Priest nor an Enforcer. Therefore if you insist on entering, I will not stop you."
Usopp still looked confused, but slightly hopeful. "So...you'll show us the way then?" he asked.
"That is correct," she replied.
Luffy smiled as if it should have been obvious. "See? Simple."
Nami looked dismayed. Inwardly, she ranted. I should have known not to argue logic with a guy that defies logic in a place that defies logic!
Robin giggled. "Don't be too easily fooled. All this means is that we can enter, but we'll be labeled criminals and hunted down by whatever law enforcement is active here," she surmised.
"Correct," the old lady said once again, showing emotion for the first time. She almost looked impressed. "You may either turn back, or I can take you to Angel Beach and you will be treated as a criminal from then on. The choice is yours."
"Easy choice," Luffy said. "Take us there, granny!" The indignant protests from some of the other Strawhats were cut off by Zoro.
"What are you all complaining about? We need to get to Skypiea for the log to set, so it's not like we can just turn back now. It's like Luffy said, we're pirates. We're used to being criminals anyway."
Nami sighed. "Still, it would have been nice to avoid that just this once," she bemoaned.
"So then...how do we get up?" Sanji asked curiously. Suddenly, the Going Merry rocked as if hit by a large wave. The Strawhats looked overboard and saw what appeared to be a giant shrimp holding onto the ship. They barely had time to question this before the ship was propelled forcefully up the windy path of sea cloud.
Amazon smirked. "To the Almighty God Enel, and the Priests who serve Him, seven illegal entrants have trespassed into the White White Sea. They now await Heaven's Judgement."
Now then, the stage has been set. Enel's grip has weakened, and it will only take one more push for the sky to slip through his fingers. Will these Blue Sea dwellers bring his reign of tyranny to an end, or will they too fall victim to the Ordeals of Heaven?
When the Strawhats reached the light at the end of the clouded tunnel, they gasped in awe at the scenery. They had wondered what Sky Island would look like, but this put their imaginations to shame.
"Amazing! It's like a tropical paradise!" Nami shouted in glee.
This caused Robin to frown. "Tropical?" she thought aloud.
"Something wrong, Robin-chan?" Sanji asked.
"I just thought of it now, but how can it be so warm up here?" Robin asked. "We are, after all, 10,000 meters above sea level. This place should by all rights be colder than the peaks of the highest mountains, and yet it is not only able to support entire civilizations of life, but actually has a tropical climate. How is that possible?"
"The same way the knock up stream forms underneath an island," Luffy said sagely. Robin turned to him curiously.
"I was wondering about that as well," she admitted. "It's not as if islands float on the sea after all."
Luffy desperately wanted to exclaim that it was a mystery island, but knew that while he was content in just enjoying the ride, Robin actually showed genuine interest in knowing and understanding these types of things. He rubbed his head sheepishly.
"Sorry Robin. I don't actually know. I was just saying that neither of them really make sense."
Robin blinked and smiled lightly. "Oh, I suppose I should have gathered that. I guess I'm just too curious."
Nami was giving serious thought to the question, but was broken out of her theorizing when Luffy shouted. "We've reached land!"
"It's...an angel!" Sanji shouted. Normally Nami would facepalm upon hearing this, but she had to admit that the exclamation had merit. The girl had wings, much like the old woman who had allowed them to enter. The fact that they were currently on a sky island made the concept of an angel almost credible.
Said girl turned to them in surprise, but soon smiled. "Heso!" she greeted, confusing the Strawhats with the unfamiliar speech.
As it turned out, the girl, who introduced herself as Conis, and her father, who arrived shortly afterwards, were both inhabitants of Angel Island, which was the part of Skypeia they were currently in. Looking closely, they could see that the entire island was made of the same solid cloudy material that they had come across in the White Sea below, which Robin claimed must have been how Jaya would be able to float on it. It was supported by what Conis confirmed was called island cloud, while the island cloud floated on the White White Sea.
"I'm sorry," Conis' father, who had introduced himself as Pagaya interrupted, "But where is Jaya? I've never heard of such a place."
"Oh, sorry!" Nami said, realizing they were excluding Conis and her father from the conversation. Jaya is an island on the Blue Sea, where we came from."
Suddenly Conis turned pale and fell backwards onto the beach, causing many of the Strawhats to frown. Pagaya had a grave expression on his face.
"Conis-chan," Sanji said worriedly, "Are you alright?"
"You all," she gasped, "You're from the Blue Sea...?"
"That's right," Luffy said blankly, but inwardly he was wondering what was wrong. Conis hadn't reacted this way last time. Was it because of...oh.
Zoro turned toward Luffy. "The old lady did say we would be criminals from the get go," he reminded everyone. "Maybe we shouldn't be staying here. We might get Conis involved."
"You...entered illegally?" Pagaya asked. "But how...the milky road can't be traversed without the-"
"That old lady let us in," Usopp interrupted. "She said we could come, but we'd be treated as criminals. Maybe this was a bad idea in retrospect..."
Conis started panicking. "You have to leave here immediately! You're all in terrible danger!"
"Why? You guys haven't had visitors from the Blue Sea before?" Zoro asked calmly, despite knowing that wasn't the case.
"That is precisely the problem," Pagaya said. "Just recently a band of Blue Sea dwellers caused a lot of trouble here, causing God Enel to decree that none from the Blue Sea would be granted entrance to Skypiea any longer."
"What happened here? Who got him so mad?" Luffy asked, curious as to who could have rattled Enel's cage to the point where the usually uncaring Skypiean would become this opposed to having company.
"I'm sorry. It is forbidden to discuss that incident," Pagaya said. "You all must leave here before He takes notice of your presence. Otherwise, I fear for your safety."
"It's a bit late for that," Luffy said. "He's already noticed us."
Chopper turned to him in shock. "What? But how? We just arrived here!"
"Observation haki," Luffy said.
Sanji's eyes widened in shock. "How far away is this guy?" His own senses were getting stronger every day, but they barely stretched out passed the Going Merry unless he focused them.
"God Enel sees all," Conis said in a subdued voice. "If he already knows you're here, then there's no escape." She was visibly dismayed.
"But how?" Chopper asked fearfully. "What can he do if he's not even-"
He was interrupted by a sudden flash of lightning above their heads, which was accompanied by a loud clap of thunder. The lightning struck a nearby formation of island cloud, utterly destroying the less than durable substance and leaving Chopper gaping.
"Chopper," Usopp said in a false tone of serenity that somehow didn't belie his inner feelings. "Please shut up." Chopper nodded dumbly.
"A devil fruit and observation haki?" Sanji concluded. "Sounds like a troublesome bastard."
"He sucks at hiding his aura though," Luffy stated. "Even worse than me."
On God's Shrine, at the top of Giant Jack in Upper Yard, a certain lightning logia was deeply amused.
"Ahahahaha! What an impudent little mortal. But still, it's rare to see a Mantra user from the Blue Sea. I wonder, what it this aura he speaks of? Is it the same as what we call a voice? Well, no matter." He turned to his nearest servant. "Alert Captain McKinley and gather the remaining priests below. I want these sinners dealt with."
"Yes, Enel-sama."
Back on Angel Island, the Strawhats had decided that their vacation time was over. They asked Conis and Pagaya about Jaya, and they nervously responded that the only island that fit the description was Upper Yard, the island made entirely of vearth, which had arrived in the sky 400 years ago. Apparently it was God's land and they were forbidden to set foot there. When Nami stated that the island was their destination, they looked resigned, but didn't protest, which caused Robin to narrow her eyes. She was debating whether to voice her suspicions when what seemed to be the local law enforcement arrived...crawling on the ground quite conspicuously.
"You there!" called a voice from afar. The Strawhats turned to see a group of men in white berets. "You are the seven illegal entrants from the Blue Sea, correct?"
"Yep, that's us," Luffy said, causing Nami to yell at him in reproach.
"By word of the almighty God Enel, we, the White Berets, are here to cast Heaven's Judgement upon you! For the class 5 crime of illegal entry, you are to be stripped of all your money and belongings, and sentenced to cloud drifting!"
The Strawhats could feel the temperature in the immediate vicinity drop 10 degrees, and turned to wearily face Nami, whose face had darkened. The more observant of them noted that there was a cloud slowly forming over the heads of the White Berets.
"Could you repeat that?" Nami asked quietly.
Captain McKinley raised an eyebrow. "We are here to cast Heaven's Judgement upon you-"
"No, the part after that," Nami clarified.
"Ah, the penalty, of course. You are to be stripped of all your valuables and sentenced to-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," the navigator said, smiling sweetly. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"
A bolt of lightning struck down from the cloud that had already formed, eliciting screams from that White Berets, who had been bunched up together, as the electricity coursed through their bodies. They finally collapsed in an unconscious heap. Sanji had hearts in his eyes, and Luffy started laughing hysterically.
"Hahahaha! Nice one Nami!" the captain praised.
"Oh dear..." Pagaya said.
"You guys...what have you done?" Conis asked, pale as ice.
"What? They were going to take our money! It was self defense!" Nami proclaimed, causing her crewmates to snicker at the logic.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid the consequences for this transgression will not be as forgiving," Pagaya said gravely. "Incapacitating the White Berets is a class 2 crime."
"You fools!" McKinley shouted, having regained consciousness. "Are you trying to invoke the wrath of God Enel!? The White Berets are the most forgiving of God's enforcers! The rest will not hesitate to make you repent for your sins!"
Luffy scratched his head. "Ok then. What's the penalty for a class 2 crime?"
McKinley looked surprised that he was asking. "Well...you're to be taken to Upper Yard to face the Ordeals of the Priests..."
"Ok, take us there," Luffy said with a shrug. "We were going to go there anyway."
McKinley gaped at him.
"Holy, sit," a bald man with sunglasses said. The giant dog immediately stopped pounding the dead man who had fallen victim to the ordeals. "It seems we have news." Another tall man with a strange hairstyle and a permanent angry glare on his face walked up to him and started speaking. Ohm couldn't understand a word he was saying, however. "You poor soul," Ohm said. "Having to constantly be reminded to open your mouth when you speak. Were you not a Priest, I would personally act as your salvation and end your miserable existence."
Gedatsu's jaw dropped in shock. "How careless!" he exclaimed. "As I was saying, we have orders from God's Shrine. There were seven illegal entrants who have committed a class 2 crime. We are to deal with them once they arrive."
Ohm hummed. "More wretched souls that need saving. Very well. Let's go, Holy. We shall prepare the Ordeal of Iron." The dog obediently followed him into the underbrush on its hind legs.
"Luffy, are you sure this is a good idea?" Usopp asked nervously as he watched the giant lobster grab hold of the ship again.
"Nope, but it should be fun! Now let's go!"
"So let me get this straight. God wants to kill us, and we're just going to march right into his home so he'll have an easier time?" Nami asked.
"City of gold," was all Luffy said in response.
Nami's eyes turned to Belly signs as she pumped her fist into the air. "Onward to Jaya!" she shouted as the ship started moving towards Upper Yard.
A/N: Short chapter, I know. I originally planned on stopping here the last time, but I had more work to do so I decided to split it up. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.