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"Swish——"
The airflow roared ceaselessly.
The giant war fortress flew past over the azure sea.
"Heh heh, truly a convenient ability..."
"Lion Ghost" floated in mid-air, appearing somewhat weak, but his face was filled with ferocity, somewhat contorted. He cackled sinisterly, with an irrepressible excitement.
With his hands barely able to move, "Lion Ghost" could finally begin to use the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi's ability, causing the giant war fortress to directly fly up, heading towards the first half of the Grand Line, Jaya.
His lost legs had already been reattached by Law using the Ope Ope no Mi's ability. The "specimen" was precisely "Steel Drill" Boyle, the Twelfth Division Commander under the Golden Lion. Even the ship's rudder on his head had been mastered, but the conditioning of his body and his ailments would require a considerable amount of time to recover.
Over these past few days, "Lion Ghost's" arrogant personality remained unchanged. Ichi, somewhat annoyed, directly squeezed his heart, "re-educating" him until he was half-dead, fundamentally not daring to be excessively presumptuous again.
"It's really flying..."
"And the speed is several times faster than before."
The Vinsmoke and Drea sisters jumped onto the railing of the war fortress, their large, watery eyes curiously gazing at the vast sea below, unable to help but exclaim in amazement repeatedly.
"Jaya Island?"
Hearing that this time their destination was Jaya Island, Ohm, who had fought in Germa for many years and was widely experienced, said, "Your Highness, I remember the legendary City of Gold seems to be related to it, right?"
He was naturally very clear about the story of "Noland the Liar"
"Noland the Liar" was a well-known fairy tale in the North Blue. The protagonist, Noland, was a fool and a liar who often told falsehoods. Even when executed, he still insisted that the City of Gold truly existed—a "lie."
"Your Highness, does the legendary City of Gold really exist?" Ohm, somewhat curious, couldn't help but ask.
Gin, Law, Cavendish, and the others also couldn't help but look towards Ichi with interest.
This time, they had indeed gained a lot from the Golden Lion, but no one would complain about having too much treasure.
Moreover, the process of treasure hunting was undoubtedly full of excitement, making people look forward to it with anticipation and enthusiasm. Especially after finding treasure, there was always an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
"Of course it exists, but it's not on land or under the sea, but up there."
Leaning against the railing, admiring the beautiful scenery, Ichi smiled and pointed meaningfully towards the sky, implying without explicitly stating.
"I remember that sea region indeed has legends of Sky Islands..."
Having struggled for several days, ultimately unwilling to die meaninglessly and have his body "desecrated" by others, the former Flying Pirates Fifth Division Commander, "Violent Tiger" Saunwol Boris, who had reluctantly chosen to join Germa, was somewhat astonished and asked, "Are you saying the City of Gold is on a Sky Island?"
He had naturally heard of the existence of Sky Islands, and had even landed on one with the Golden Lion.
But if the City of Gold truly existed, it could indeed only be on a Sky Island; otherwise, it should have been discovered long ago.
"What truly interests me isn't just the City of Gold, but also another... giant..."
...
Several days later.
Grand Line, a certain sea region.
"Rumble rumble——"
Even before reaching Jaya Island, they saw a giant whirlpool forming on the sea surface ahead, truly heart-stopping.
A giant war fortress hung suspended in mid-air. The Germa soldiers and others on the war fortress stared in shock at the terrifying whirlpool, cold sweat trickling down their backs.
If one didn't have the ability of the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, once caught in that thing, it's estimated that even a giant sea king fundamentally couldn't escape that terrifying whirlpool.
"Unexpectedly, we actually encountered an upward current. This luck..."
Standing on the ship's prow, caressing Ideo who was somewhat seasick, Ichi looked down at the terrifying whirlpool ahead and couldn't help but smile.
"Ordinary pirate ships, trying to ride an upward current to go up, it's practically a nine-deaths-one-life situation..." Cavendish looked at the dark, pressed-down area in the distance, the center of the wildly rotating whirlpool, and couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
The giant whirlpool rotated continuously. Looking at it from afar was already somewhat unnerving, let alone getting directly involved.
"This is truly a rare and wondrous sight!"
"Rumble..." The sound of the giant whirlpool was terrifying. A huge pillar of water suddenly erupted from the center of the whirlpool, shooting straight up.
The giant pillar of water roared deafeningly, tens of meters wide, its momentum vast, fiercely rushing towards the sky.
"'Lion Ghost,' directly follow this skyward current up..." Ichi turned his head and ordered "Lion Ghost."
"Heh heh, truly knows how to order people around..."
With a sinister cackle, "Lion Ghost" directly used the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi's ability, manipulating the war fortress to continuously ascend, flying towards the high sky above.
"Sky Island, truly an unbelievable place!"
Looking at the indistinct clouds high above, Law, shouldering "Kikoku," couldn't help but say with emotion.
"Hmm..."
The two giant eagles that had been circling in the sky also landed on the war fortress.
After the giant war fortress ascended above the Cumulonimbus clouds, they directly saw a sea route like cotton candy. Following that sea route directly, they headed forward.
Following the cloud road, continuously accelerating forward, at the end of the cloud road, a dark patch of sky appeared. Vaguely, they could see a giant, somewhat gloomy gate standing there.
"It's been a long time since any Blue Sea people came through this route. Didn't expect to encounter some again today!"
An old woman with a pair of strange small wings on her back, her face full of wrinkles, looked at the giant war fortress, and couldn't help but squint her eyes slightly.
"It's not following the sea route, but floating in the sky..."
Her mouth agape, she was completely flustered, exclaiming in shock.
This giant, strangely shaped warship could actually float; it was a bit too astonishing.
"There really are people!"
After the giant war fortress approached the somewhat gloomy gate, Ideo, nestled in Ichi's arms, widened her eyes, pointed at the old woman dressed differently from Blue Sea people, and couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised and curious.
Seeing humans existing at such a high altitude for the first time, how could she not be surprised?
"Silly girl, haven't I told you already?"
Patting Ideo's forehead, Ichi smiled somewhat exasperatedly.
"Blue Sea people, welcome to Sky Island!"
Looking at Ichi, Gin, and the others standing at the ship's prow, the old woman suppressed the shock in her heart and said in a somewhat deep voice: "However, before you go up, you must pay the entrance fee!"
"Entrance fee?"
Gin, Ohm, and the others, hearing this, couldn't help but frown.
Seeing Ichi had no intention of speaking, Ohm immediately asked directly: "How much?"
"According to 'God's' decree, outsiders must pay 1 billion Extol per person upon entry. I need to count exactly how many of you there are..."
The old woman looked at the giant war fortress constantly advancing, suspended above the cloud road, feeling a certain pressure, but still braced herself and spoke.
She furtively took out a Den Den Mushi, preparing to report to those above.
"1 billion? Per person?"
Cavendish and the others' mouths twitched.
Including the hundreds of Germa soldiers, was this trying to bleed dry all the spoils they had obtained from the Golden Lion this time?
First come, first served—they naturally wouldn't think that Sky Island's currency exchange rate with Beli would be so exaggerated as 10000:1.
"Violent Tiger" Saunwol Boris, who had been to other Sky Islands before, knew this and had no intention of explaining. A somewhat playful look appeared on his ferocious face.
Up against the legendary "Army of Evil," this was clearly seeking death. He didn't think that Germa demon, stained with countless fresh blood, was some kind-hearted fellow!
"Hmm..."
Before the old woman could say anything more, Ichi, standing on the ship's prow, sneered. His left hand caressed Ideo's slender waist, while his right index finger directly flicked, shooting out a powerful blast of air.
"Apologies, I choose illegal entry!"
....