"Hey, what's he doing?" Braham asked. "Is he really going to wake that thing up?"
"Beats me," Wiper said. "But he says he can help us find the golden bell, so let him be for now. I may not like them myself, but they've done a lot for Noland's descendent, so we'll treat them as allies." Braham nodded in agreement, and Laki, who had shown up a few minutes ago, supporting a severely injured Kamakiri, smiled in relief.
"What's this, Wiper? You're acting rather docile all of a sudden," she commented. Wiper shot her a look, but rather than flinch, she continued smiling, causing him to scoff.
"Even the best of warriors can recognize a ceasefire. I'm satisfied for now, but if the Skypieans think they can take our land again, I won't show any mercy," he said.
A loud mix between a hiss and a growl alerted them to the fact that Luffy had roused the Master of the Sky. The Shandians tensed as if preparing for an attack, but the giant reptile merely observed her surroundings before her eyes rested on Luffy expectantly. The rubber man grinned up at her.
"We kicked God's ass. Now we're gonna ring the bell, so be sure to listen!"
"Strawhat," Wiper called. "It's my goal to ring the bell as well, but first things come first. Are we sure Enel is really defeated?"
"He is," came a voice from behind him. The Shandians turned to see one of their own coming out of hiding. "I can hear his voice from here, but just barely. It's strange. Enel's voice has never been this quiet."
Wiper narrowed his eyes. "And what exactly are you doing here, Aisa?"
The girl gulped in fear. "I was–I mean–I heard everyone's voices gathered in one place, and I wanted to know what was going on..."
"Well, you're lucky you arrived after the battle ended," Kamakiri stated. "You could have been hurt otherwise."
"I don't need to be told that by you, Kamacrispy!" The girl exclaimed, sticking her tongue out.
The warrior unexpectedly smiled. "Cheeky little brat," he said, with a hint of fondness.
"So, back to the matter at hand..." Wiper said. "How do we know that he won't regain consciousness?" Wiper asked.
"If he does, we'll know," Luffy said. "But I don't think he will. If anything, Zoro went overboard a bit." He turned to the swordsman. "Are you sure he won't bleed out?"
Zoro nodded, and Luffy accepted the assurance. Out of the two of them, Zoro actually had the greater amount of discipline when it came to holding back. Although Luffy was slightly stronger, it was much easier to mistakenly kill someone with a sword than with bare fists. As a result, after years of honing his swordsmanship, Zoro had an abundance of restraint.
Even if he didn't always use it.
"Hey, Robin!" Luffy shouted. "Do you think you can figure out where the bell is?" Although he rang it in the previous timeline, he honestly didn't remember exactly where it was.
Robin thought for a moment. "When Jaya ascended passed the clouds, it most likely gained some altitude over the White-White Sea before falling back down. So unless it never made it to the sky, in which case Cricket-san probably would have found it, it would most likely be at an altitude far above the ruins." She turned to the Skypieans. "Have you checked the top of Giant Jack?" she asked.
"We never got a chance. Following the island's ascension, our ancestors were weakened from the change in altitude, and were quickly driven off of our land," Wiper said, somewhat bitterly. "But God's Shrine was built up there afterwards, so if it was up there, that old man would already have found it," he said, pointing to Gan Fall, who confirmed it wasn't up there.
"Are there any cloud formations above the White-White Sea?" Robin asked next.
Gan Fall rubbed his chin in thought. "There are a few rather small ones, but nothing nearly as large as the one we reside on."
"We should check those as well then," Robin suggested.
"There's only one problem," Laki said. "How do we get up there?"
"I can check," Luffy offered, before jumping up into the air and with Geppo and ascending passed the top of Giant Jack while searching for the cloud formation that he now remembered from the previous timeline.
It wasn't long before those gathered at the bottom heard a distant shout of "Gomu Gomu no..."
Nami's eyes widened. "Wait, is he going to–"
"Bell!"
A resonating melody echoed through Upper Yard, throughout Skypiea, passed the clouds, and beyond them. Some who heard it cheered; others cried with relief. A certain snake actually started dancing, much to the bemusement of those who were just now starting to grow accustomed to her presence. After 400 years of war and division, the Song of the Island had been heard once again.
At that moment, the sun was almost directly over Giant Jack, and a straw-hatted silhouette could be seen from Upper Yard below. Seeing this, Robin smiled, remembering her conversation with her captain from earlier today.
"Hey Robin, I have a question for you," Luffy said. It was the morning after their bonfire party, and the Strawhats were now getting ready to set out to find the City of Gold.
"Yes, Captain-san?" Robin responded.
"Remember those gigantic shadows we saw near Jaya, when we first found out about Sky Island? The ones we nearly flipped our shit over?" he asked.
"I remember."
"Well, I have a theory about those."
As Robin listened to his explanation, a smile gradually formed on her face.
"That's quite the impressive theory Captain-san. But I'd say there's only one to test it out."
10,000 meters below the White-White Sea, on the island of Jaya, the last descendent of Montblanc Noland stared up at the sky wistfully.
"Message received, brat."
Towering over the island was a kilometer high silhouette in the fog, wearing a straw hat, back turned, arm raised, and flashing a thumbs up over his head.
"He really rang it..." Braham said. "To think the one who would signal the end of the war would be neither Shandian nor Skypiean."
"Such trivial things should matter not, at this point," Gan Fall reasoned. "Shandians and Skypieans alike owe their lives to those pirates."
"I just hope he heard it..." Wiper whispered, causing Laki to smile again behind him.
"Hey, it looks like he's coming down," Kamakiri noted.
When Luffy landed, he had a satisfied grin on his face. "How was that?" he asked.
"Thanks, Strawhat," Wiper said, uncharacteristically showing gratitude. "You helped light the fire of Shandora. We owe you one."
"No problem!" Luffy said. "But we have a small problem."
Braham looked back up at the cloud that Luffy had descended from. "You mean we can't get it down," he inferred.
"Right," Luffy confirmed. "I could probably get it down if I tried, but most likely not without breaking it. But I think I may have a solution. I saw something at the top of the beanstalk that might help us."
The group made its way up to the top of Giant Jack, and saw what Luffy was referring to. Enel had built a ship of some sort using the gold from the ancient city of Shandora. After a few moments of deliberation, Usopp guessed that it was powered by lightning, at which point the Strawhats all turned to Nami. Although her Clima-Tact couldn't conjure nearly enough electricity to bring the ship to full power, it was enough to be able to slowly bring it up to the bell, load it on, and lower it to the ground. It was a tedious process with Nami constantly having to recharge it, but they got it done nonetheless.
When they were done, Luffy looked up at the ship in thought. "So this is what Enel did with all the gold," he speculated. He then turned to Zoro. "Hey, do you think you can cut it up into pieces?" he asked. The question caught Nami's interest, and she turned to the swordsman as well.
"It won't be too hard," Zoro replied, causing Nami to shout in glee. "But will we be able to fit it all on the ship?"
This brought Nami back down to earth. "Not all of it. But still, it'll be a lot. I estimate the amount we'll be able to take will be worth around...1.2 billion belly!" Her eyes turned to belly symbols as Usopp sweatdropped.
"How do you know that?" he asked. "Just by looking?"
"Usopp, are you doubting my money sense?"
"You have a money sense?" The sniper asked in response.
"It's a gift. I was born with it."
"Wow, I wonder if it's a type of haki," Luffy said, causing Zoro to laugh. The swordsman then turned to Wiper.
"Hey, do you mind if we take some of this?" he asked. "It's worth a lot where we come from."
"The gold means nothing in that form," Wiper said, shrugging indifferently. "You can take as much as you want, as long as it's not from the bell."
"We are so sailing in style from now on!" Nami exclaimed.
Usopp looked down at his feet. "I just wish we could use it to repair the Merry, but..."
The reminder of their dilemma brought Nami out of her reverie, and she too looked disconcerted at the thought of having to buy a new ship. After a moment of silence, Luffy spoke up.
"Um...guys? I think we have another problem," he said, staring off at the horizon. Catching onto this, Sanji's eyes narrowed.
"Does it have to do with Enel?" he asked.
Luffy nodded. "I can't sense his aura anymore." Zoro's eyes widened, before he focused his senses in the same direction. After a moment, he started to look slightly uncomfortable. "I know I said I went overboard, but not that much."
"I don't think it was you," said Luffy, frowning.
Wiper looked at them strangely, before turning to Aisa, who looked scared.
"They're right...his voice disappeared," she confirmed quietly.
Gan Fall's eyes widened as well. "So Enel is..." he trailed off.
"I'm going to go see what happened," Luffy decided, before shooting off into the atmosphere and heading in the direction of Angel Island.
When he arrived at the shore, he began looking around, trying to locate Enel. In retrospect, they should have known better than to just leave him here, surrounded by the people he'd oppressed all these years. But the false deity was still a logia. He didn't think he'd have anything to worry about. Finally, he spotted a figure lying sideways on the island cloud. Making a quick dash up to it, he grimaced. The injury from Zoro's attack was still there, but it wasn't bleeding, and it wasn't the problem.
The problem was the knife wound to the heart.
Sighing, Luffy walked up to Enel's body. He had to be sure.
There was no pulse. The corpse was cold to the touch.
Closing his eyes, he straightened up. For a short moment, the only sound to be heard was the howling of the wind through the sky high tropical paradise. Finally, Luffy spoke.
"Did you do this?" he asked without turning around.
"Yes," a voice from behind him replied. It was a voice he recognized. Turning around, he laid eyes upon a short elderly woman who met his gaze dead on. In her hand was a seastone knife, covered in dried blood.
It was Amazon, the gatekeeper to Skypiea. And to have known so quickly that Enel was vulnerable, and to have been able to locate him...
"You're a mantra user?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer. The woman nodded. Luffy was silent for a moment. "Why?" he asked finally. He didn't care for Enel. He wasn't about to preach to anyone about how every life was sacred. He wasn't that pure. He was simply curious.
"Until six years ago, there was a sky island nearby this one. It was a land called Birka. Birka was home to some of the most accomplished mantra users in the sky. Among them were Enel and a group of four that would one day become his priests. Six years ago, Enel laid waste to that land using the Goro Goro no Mi. It was complete annihilation, and to this day, there are no survivors." She had an intent gleam in her eye. "At least, no more than one. A simple old woman who survived the genocide. One who had had a home, and a family. A daughter, a son-in-law, and two grandchildren."
Amazon turned around, dropping the knife in the process, and began to walk away. Luffy turned around, hoisted Enel's body over his shoulder, and waded through the White-White sea until he was knee-deep in the milky sea cloud, before laying Enel's body down in the water to be swept away. Returning to shore, he picked up the knife, staring at it for a moment before taking off into the air again.
Luffy arrived back at Upper Yard to face the questioning looks of everyone gathered there. When asked what the verdict was, he simply presented the blood-covered sea stone knife in explanation. No one questioned him further.
A couple hours after the events that would come to be known as the liberation of Skypiea, the Shandians and Skypieans alike were celebrating. Grateful for the end of the war, the Shandian chief allowed them to spend the night there, and even come and go as they pleased, provided that they did not attempt to take the land for themselves again. Gan Fall, who was soon appointed the title of God again, readily agreed to these terms.
The Strawhats also joined in on the celebrations, needless to say. It wasn't long before they got another bonfire going.
"Staring into the face of the enemy, I knew I would have to end it quickly!" Usopp recounted to the crowd of Skypieans that had gathered around for the tale of Captain Usopp's victory over God Enel. "Repelling a barrage of lightning bolts with my slingshot, that's when I said: 'Listen up, God Enel! Complacent Logias have short lifespans!'"
"Hey, hey," a certain swordsman protested from where he was having a drinking contest with the Shandian warrior, Braham.
"You just...don't go down...do you?" the gunman asked sluggishly.
"Well, that's my First Mate for you," Luffy boasted proudly. "The only one who can drink him under the table is me, after all." Said First Mate scoffed.
"Dream on, rubber brain, dream on."
It wasn't hard to guess who the next drinking contest would be between.
"Hey, can I get in on this?" another Shandian warrior asked.
"Wiper," Braham greeted. "Have your injuries healed?"
"I'll be fine for now," Wiper replied. He was covered in bandages, and his arm was in a sling. "That little raccoon guy can be pretty strict. Wouldn't let me rip these off even when I said I was fine." Zoro silently sympathized with the man's troubles.
"Oh hey, Strawhat, I meant to give you something," Wiper said, causing Luffy to look at him curiously. Wiper threw him a dial, which he caught.
"This is..."
"My reject dial," Wiper said. "Your friend with the long nose was trading for some dials. They don't have them on the Blue Sea, right? I won't need it anymore, so consider it a gift."
Luffy grinned. "Ok, sure! Thanks."
Early the following morning, Robin was making her way towards Giant Jack. There was something she needed to confirm, and the golden bell just may be the key. When she arrived at the base of the beanstalk, she caught sight of the Shandians cleaning off the bell as the Chief observed, staring at an inscription in the side. Gan Fall was there as well.
"What do you think it says, Chief?" one of the Shandians asked.
"I cannot decipher it," he answered. "But it is not part of our duty to know–"
"Keep thy motives in heart, with closed mouth. We are those who will weave history with the ringing of the great belfry."
The chief turned to her in shock. "How do you know those words?" he asked.
"They were written on the ancient ruins of Shandora," she answered as she walked up to the bell.
"You...can decipher that ancient language?" the chief asked in amazement.
"I'm the only one left who can," she replied absently. I was right. There's a poneglyph embedded in the side.
"Then, do you know what that says?" Another Shandian asked, pointing to the inscription.
"It reveals the location of the ancient weapon, Poseidon," came a voice from behind them.
Robin turned around in surprise. "Luffy!"
"He can read it too?" the chief asked incredulously.
"No, I can't. I can hear it," Luffy corrected, before turning to his archaeologist.
"Don't lose hope just yet, Robin. Check the other inscription." Eyes widening, Robin turned back to the bell and caught sight of the writing on the bottom.
"I have come here and will lead this passage to the farthest ends of the world. – Gol D. Roger."
"So Roger came here too, huh?" Luffy concluded out loud.
"Roger," Gan Fall spoke up. "Do you know him?"
"He was quite famous among pirates in the Blue Sea," Robin answered.
"Was?" Gan Fall asked.
"He was executed 22 years ago," Luffy supplied.
"I see. What a shame. He was a good man. I still remember when he came to visit, just over 24 years ago. He had quite the lively crew as well," Gan Fall reminisced.
"So that means the Pirate King found this poneglyph 24 years ago," Robin said. Her brow furrowed. "Will lead this passage to the farthest ends of the world..." Her eyes widened. "Is it possible? The Rio Poneglyph..."
"On Raftel," Luffy concluded with a smirk. "Works out pretty well, doesn't it?"
"Luffy..." Robin wasn't sure what to say, so instead she turned towards the Shandian chief.
"Chief, this poneglyph has already achieved its purpose," she stated, causing his eyes to widen. "There are many poneglyphs scattered throughout the world. It seems one must link them all together in order to reveal the True History, something which only the Pirate King succeeded in doing."
"So then...we no longer have to fight?" the chief asked with tears in his eyes. "The will of our ancestors has been fulfilled?"
Robin smiled. "That is correct." As the chief regained his composure, Robin turned back to Luffy. "Captain-san...who are you, really?" she asked. Luffy stared ahead, not meeting her eyes.
"What a silly question. You know who I am," he said.
Robin let out a sigh. "And you know a lot of things that you shouldn't–couldn't–know," she replied. "You knew about Crocodile's plans before you even arrived at Whiskey Peak..." At Luffy's raised eyebrow, she added a little guiltily, "I was listening in once you came in contact with Princess Vivi. Not only that, but you were able to anticipate Crocodile's moves and outwit him on multiple occasions, as if you were familiar with how he thought, or you had inside information from the beginning. But I would have known if you had managed to infiltrate Baroque Works. You are also impossibly strong for a rookie, and now it seems you already knew about the Rio Poneglyph. Then...there's the fact that you made contact with the Revolutionary Army on Jaya."
Luffy couldn't help but smile in amusement. "You think I'm a Revolutionary?"
"I've considered the possibility, even if you don't really seem like the type," Robin said.
He let out a dry laugh. "You know, all things considered, it's not a bad guess. But if I wanted to hand you over to them, don't you think I would have done it back then?"
Robin looked down. "I didn't mean to imply anything like that...I just can't help but be curious. There's so much about you that's a mystery, even to the other crew members. The only one who seems to know is Swordsman-san."
"Well, I might as well tell you that I'm not with Dragon. I'm my own man," Luffy said, before sighing. "You're right. We've been hiding things, Zoro and I. Nami and Sanji have begun to suspect it too, no doubt. It pertains to the entire crew, which is why I really wish we could just tell you. But we can't...not yet." He looked at her. "But still...I don't want you to feel as if you can't ask. You can come to us about anything. That applies to everyone in the crew."
Robin smiled. "I know."
"Jeez, what's taking Luffy and Robin so long?" Zoro asked. He had already cut up all the gold and loaded it onto the ship with Sanji's help. "Alright, set sail. We're leaving without them," he announced, only to have to dodge a kick from the chef.
"As if, you shitty swordsman! We're not leaving without Robin-chan!"
"Or Luffy," Usopp added.
"Whatever!"
"You wanna fight, you stupid cook?" Zoro asked. "You tried to kick me, so I assume you wanna fight."
"Bring it on, shitty moss-head!" Sanji shouted, not backing down.
"Yeah, bring it on, shitty moss-head!" Chopper echoed happily. Zoro glared at the reindeer, causing him to hide behind Sanji...the wrong way.
"Hey look, there they are!" Nami shouted. The crew turned to see Luffy and Robin making their way to the ship.
"Hey guys! Are we ready to set sail?" The captain asked.
"Yes, the log is set." Nami replied.
"Alright then. In that case..." He turned to the crowd of Skypieans that was seeing them off. "See you later, everyone!"
"Bye, Luffy-aniki!" Aisa shouted. "Don't fall to your deaths!"
"We won't!" Luffy assured her. The others, minus Zoro, were wondering what they were talking about. The rest of the Skypieans cheered for them as they raised anchor. They were about to set the tail, but Gan Fall told them to keep it furled.
Suddenly, the South Bird that they had released when they arrived flew back onto the ship. After a brief conversation with Chopper, the reindeer relayed that the bird had wanted to meet the gigantic members of its own kind that resided in the sky. Apparently, its business was done now.
"Everyone hang on tight," Zoro said as the ship approached Cloud's End.
"Oh," Nami said as grabbed hold of the mast. "You mean it's going to be another milky cloud ride?"
Luffy smirked. "Something like that."
The Going Merry fell off of Sky Island.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Nami screamed as the rest of the crew started to panic, and Luffy started laughing. Suddenly, the ship's descent was slowed as it was seized by a giant octopus which took the shape of a balloon, essentially functioning as a parachute.
"I thought we were gonna die," Usopp wheezed from his prone position on the deck of the ship.
"Why didn't you warn us if you knew!?" Nami shouted indignantly.
"That wouldn't have been as fun!" Luffy answered, before proceeding to dodge his navigator's punches and run around the deck as she chased him.
"Well, that got the adrenaline pumping," Sanji said as he lit a cigarette. Suddenly, the crew quieted.
"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Chopper asked. Listening to the sound from above, they soon realized it was the sound of the golden bell being rung. The message was clear.
Come back any time.
It had been about an hour of floating downwards, and the Strawhats were getting ready to have lunch. It was then that the crew noticed Luffy staring out the window, brow furrowed.
"Hey Luffy, what's up?" Zoro asked. Luffy turned to him.
"Zoro, do you sense another presence on this ship?" he asked, much to the bewilderment of the crew. Zoro closed his eyes and focused, before opening them again.
"Nope. It's just us, as far as I can tell," he replied.
Luffy hummed in thought before making his way outside. The rest of the crew followed behind out of curiosity. Luffy walked over to Nami's tangerine grove and reached his hand toward the vines.
"Hey, Luffy! You better not take one without asking!" The navigator shouted.
But when Luffy pulled his hand back, the fruit he was holding wasn't a tangerine.
"Is that...?" Robin asked, eyes wide.
"It's definitely a devil fruit," Luffy confirmed. "I can feel the ominous aura radiating from it."
"You can sense devil fruits too?" Sanji asked. "But why couldn't Zoro?"
"It's something unique to him," the swordsman replied.
"And a few others," Luffy said. "But anyway, that means this is..." he trailed off.
"The Goro Goro no Mi," Robin finished. "It must have reincarnated when Enel died. To think we'd get our hands on one of the most powerful Logias in existence."
"Yeah...but does anyone here want to eat it?" Usopp asked. There were no volunteers. Of the seven of them, three were devil fruit users already, and the rest had their own fighting styles they wanted to improve, as well as wanting to be able to swim.
"So, what can we do with it?" Chopper asked.
Suddenly, Nami's eyes glowed. "Wait! Don't those sell for 100 million belli?" She asked excitedly.
"Only if they're unidentified," Robin answered. "But this one is fairly well-known, and we'd know what we'd be selling. A Logia this powerful could sell for 2 billion, most likely more." Nami actually started drooling.
"Ok, before we get any ideas, who would we even sell it to that would be able to pay that much?" Zoro asked skeptically.
"The only people that come to mind are the Marines," Sanji said.
"I'd say that's out of the question," Robin said. "Even if they didn't try to just arrest us and confiscate it..."
"We'd be promoting one of their vice admirals, which isn't really something we need to deal with," Luffy said, completing the thought.
"So what does that leave?" Nami asked.
"The black market," Sanji replied. "But even then, we don't know what kind of sketchy character we'd be helping out."
"So we can't sell it," she concluded, a raincloud forming over her head that did not originate from her Clima-Tact.
"For now, we'll just hold onto it," Luffy decided. "Don't mention it to anyone until we can figure out what to do with it."
It was another few minutes before the Going Merry finally met the waters of the Blue Sea once again.
"You know, now that we're back down here..." Usopp began.
"It almost feels like a dream," Robin agreed.
"Guys, I think we have a problem," Luffy said.
"What is it?" Nami asked. Suddenly, multiple spotlights focused in on their ship, and the Strawhats looked up to see that they were shining from the surrounding rock formations, which upon second glance, they seemed to be stranded by.
"That," Luffy said.
They had landed in the middle of a Marine base.
A/N: And we're done! I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to the Sky Island arc. Until next time.