The golden flying ship, Erebus, continued its ascent, reaching an altitude of ten thousand meters in search of a sky island.
Hiruba's research and invention lab was well-equipped, even stocked with oxygen supplies. However, with everyone's strength having improved, enduring the low temperatures and thin air had become much easier. Only a few weaker crew members had to stay inside the cabin, wearing oxygen masks and thick winter clothes, emerging only when the oxygen levels and temperature stabilized.
"Captain Brook, maybe the Sky Island in the New World really exists! Just like the one we found in the Grand Line, the oxygen and temperature are returning to normal. That means we must be close!"
Shakky wore a pair of goggles, ice crystals forming on the lenses. Brook and the others had frost covering their clothes, and even the mustache on Newgate's upper lip had turned into ice.
Only near a Sky Island would the oxygen and temperature recover. In all other high-altitude areas, whether at ten thousand meters or just a thousand, the environment remained frigid and oxygen-deprived.
Perhaps the Sky Island's unique atmosphere allowed for increased temperatures and oxygen levels, making it habitable for the island's residents.
"The island cloud has appeared! There really is a Sky Island!!"
Newgate and Linlin had never seen a Sky Island before. Despite being notorious pirates worth hundreds of millions of berries, they couldn't help but shout in surprise when they spotted the buildings atop the island cloud.
"Very good, everyone! From now on, this Sky Island will be part of our territory! Full speed ahead!"
Brook drew the Seven-Star Sword, pointing it forward, declaring his ambition to conquer the Sky Island.
"Wow, a Sky Island! I wonder if there's a golden city like Shandora up there!"
Shakky removed her goggles, raised her binoculars, and scanned the New World's Sky Island.
"Uh, Captain, this Sky Island looks a little shabby... It's not even as good as Angel Island~"
Through her binoculars, she saw that most of the buildings were made of white island clouds, with little color. There was barely any soil, and hardly any greenery.
"The conditions may be worse than the Sky Kingdom, but at least it's safe. Hopefully, the crew from the News Agency sent to establish a base here can endure it. That's why we need to secure Doragenzo Arran Island below—to provide supplies for this place!"
Since the Sky Island lacked soil, plants were scarce. This was the very reason the Skypieans and Shandians had fought over Shandora for centuries—to claim its land and vegetation.
Some might wonder how an island with no plants could sustain life. Wouldn't they suffer from malnutrition?
The Inuit, an indigenous people living in the Arctic, rely heavily on hunting and fishing for their diet. Their traditional food sources include seals, whales, walruses, fish, and seabirds, as well as land animals like caribou and polar bears. While the harsh climate limits plant-based foods, they also consume berries, seaweed, and edible roots when available..
Ever heard of an entire seabird, feathers and all, being fermented in a seal's stomach for months, then eaten whole to supplement nutrition? It may sound bizarre, but it exists.
In short—if something exists, it must be for a reason!
(Oda is just a manga artist, and Huo is just a failed author making things up...)
Brook gazed at the Sky Island. Was this where the future Overlord Candidate, Urouge, was born? Or was he from another Sky Island? Either way, Urouge definitely knew how to reach this place.
After all, when he defeated Snack, one of Big Mom's original Sweet Four Generals, Snack was demoted, leaving the Sweet Three Generals.
That victory completely enraged Big Mom, and she sent Charlotte Cracker, one of her top generals, after him. Urouge was eventually defeated and thrown into the ocean during one of Big Mom's summoned storms.
How he survived remains a mystery. Was he really a Devil Fruit user? What was certain was that he later appeared on a Sky Island, recovering from his injuries, and even witnessed Kaido's infamous suicide attempt by leaping from the island.
Urouge's homeland was a Sky Island steeped in monk culture, where most residents were peaceful priests—except for Urouge himself, a warlike monk who had broken his vows. Yet, despite his nature, he always wore a smile.
Brook shook his head. It didn't matter how bad the conditions of this Sky Island were, or if there were no vegetables to eat—this island was going to be his!
As Erebus approached, the island's residents spotted the massive golden ship. Some were sailing on island clouds aboard Wavers, but none had ever seen a flying ship of such enormous size before.
Alarms blared across Baron Island, and its guards took up defensive positions, warily watching the unknown vessel approach.
"Captain Brook, they seem to have a lot of Impact Dials and Jet Dials. It looks like they rely heavily on breeding these Sky Shells!"
Through the ultra-long-range scope of his sniper rifle, Hiruba identified the attack-type dials wielded by the Sky Island guards.
The island's residents had distinctive tentacle-shaped braids and the characteristic wings of Sky Islanders. The guards' skin tone was similar to that of the Shandians—a deep brown.
Their clothing was minimal, indicating that the temperature here was fairly warm. At the forefront of the defense stood a leader wielding a monk's staff as thick as a bowl, with Paijibei tied to both elbows.
"Strangers from the Blue Sea, what is your purpose here?"
These Sky Islanders were well aware of the Blue Sea people. Every few years, an unfortunate pirate or merchant ship would be swept onto Sky Island by an updraft. If they survived, they would leave behind stories of the outside world.
"We are here to claim this Sky Island as our own. Submit, and nothing in your lives will change. In fact, things might even improve!"
Redfield stepped forward, unleashing a burst of Conqueror's Haki. The overwhelming pressure caused many guards to faint on the spot!
"You... You want to invade Baron Island?!"
The island's leader, Monk Wumi, trembled under the crushing weight of Redfield's aura. Despair and anger flashed in his eyes—his people stood no chance against such power.
"No, this isn't an invasion. We're here to lead you to prosperity!"
Brook stepped forward, his own fierce presence further crushing Wumi's resolve. The monk lowered the rapier blades attached to his elbows, surrendering.
Charlotte Linlin, riding Zeus through the sky with lightning crackling around her, hovered over the cowering guards. Prometheus, the massive sun, burned brightly at her side, striking terror into the islanders, who clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, and sat down in submission.
"Hoho~ Don't worry, we don't think too highly of you. I already rule another Sky Island. Just live your normal lives. Even if I ask you to help build houses, I'll pay you!"
Seeing that the Sky Islanders had been completely subdued by the overwhelming power of the Hell Pirates, Brook grinned.
It was time to begin construction on their new Sky Island base.
-----
When Brook's golden ship entered Baron Island, he finally understood what Shakky meant by "shabby."
This Sky Island truly looked impoverished and underdeveloped—just barren land and empty skies. The monk culture here seemed to have turned the people into a lazy race!
Every resident of Baron Island had a peaceful smile on their face. Even if they went hungry for two days, they wouldn't hunt more beasts or fish to fill their stomachs.
Maybe it was the scarcity of resources that gave birth to this strange belief—a pursuit of peace and respect for life, to the point where even sky beasts and sky fish, which were supposed to be food, were treated with reverence!
Aside from the island's guards, who were unusually tall and strong due to their diet of meat, the rest of the people had a mentality of "as long as we're alive, it's good enough."
This kind of culture was a disaster for governance and development! Offering them food as an incentive wouldn't work, let alone getting them to help build a palace.
These people only cared about surviving another day, whether they ate well or not didn't matter...
Would they really have to force them to work?
"Captain Brook, the people here remind me of that poor kingdom, Haraheitania. They're all too damn lazy!"
(TL: The only location on Namakura Island mentioned is Harahettania, a kingdom containing a Satan-worshiping tribe run by Pekkori.)
Shakky crossed her arms and scoffed. She had never seen a race so indifferent to food before—honestly, they should've gone extinct a long time ago!
"It looks like we'll have to establish a pressure-based rule here. Otherwise, these people will never change their so-called 'kindness,' 'peacefulness,' and 'Buddhist-like' personalities, no matter what benefits we offer them."
Brook hadn't expected this Sky Island to be in such a sorry state. There was no demographic advantage at all, let alone any potential warriors. Even if a rat wandered onto this island, it'd probably just turn around and leave!
"Brook, there's no dessert here! Why don't we take over Sheep House, Elbaf no. 2 instead? I hate this place!"
Charlotte Linlin frowned, the initial excitement she had felt upon arriving fading into disappointment.
"This is just ridiculous. A place like this, with so much peace, and yet they waste it by refusing to work or improve their lives. If only the people from my homeland could live in a place like this..."
Newgate's tone carried a hint of resentment. His homeland had been ravaged by pirates and human traffickers for years, forcing its people to live in constant fear.
"Not even a single rare type of Sky Shell... what a waste!"
After searching and asking around, Hiruba was utterly disappointed. Every kind of Sky Shell available here could already be found on Angel Island—there was nothing new or valuable at all.
"There's no choice but to force them to build a branch of the News Agency and set up our base here!"
Brook didn't have time to reform their way of thinking. As long as they built what was needed, he could improve their living conditions later—and maybe even train some decent warriors among them.
If they could produce more fighters like Urouge, it would be a huge win.
The Erebus landed at the highest point of Baron Island. Their base camp had to be in the most conspicuous location, which meant the locals living there had to move.
Brook ordered the monk Wumi to gather the islanders and begin mass-producing clouds, while Charlotte Linlin, Newgate, and the others headed to the White Sea to hunt sky beasts and sky fish.
None of them had ever tasted creatures that lived at such high altitudes, so they were eager to see how these exotic animals tasted.
Brook even described the appearance of a Devil Fruit to Monk Wumi, but the monk swore he had never seen anything like it.
This place really was a dump—no resources, no fighters, not even a single Devil Fruit.
Too damn miserable!
—
While Brook was setting up his base on Sky Island, a blonde woman on Doraganzo Island had been waiting for two weeks.
If not for her training as an agent, she would have cursed out the Hell Pirates for taking so damn long to find the island!
Meanwhile, Golden Lion Shiki, along with Scaredo, was once again controlling a stolen pirate ship, flying over the sea in search of any trace of the Hell Pirates.
"Captain Shiki, Mr. Brook and his crew left us with too little information. We're flying blind out here!"
Scaredo sighed, feeling their luck was particularly rotten. Shiki had finally made up his mind to join the Hell Pirates, and now they couldn't even find them!
It was ridiculous!
Right now, all six of the great pirate factions wanted Shiki in their crew. A flying fleet was an unbeatable advantage.
As long as they weren't as stubborn as before, any group with Shiki's floating ships could directly challenge the Rocks Pirates for dominance over the seas!
With a skilled navigator, they wouldn't have to worry about weather conditions blocking their way anymore.
Shiki, frustrated as hell, decided to look for news about Brook through the underground network.
But after the fall of the Dark News Agency, the entire intelligence industry was crippled. Information was now slow to spread, and crucial details were often missing.
"Wait... I forgot I have a Den Den Mushi!"
Shiki smacked his forehead, remembering he actually had Brook's personal number.
Recently, he had heard that many of the number holders had died—a grim reminder that in this world, even the strongest warriors could be killed at any moment.
When Shiki tried to ask about Brook's location in a Den Den Mushi group, he was instantly kicked out.
Stunned, he was about to smash his Den Den Mushi in anger when a mysterious "No. 2" sent him a warning.
However, No. 2 also gave him Brook's direct number, but told him that his special Den Den Mushi would soon revert to a normal one.
As Shiki stared at the device, the screen went blank, and the connection severed itself. The Den Den Mushi returned to being a standard communication device.
A strange feeling crept up his spine—as if he had just lost his chance to uncover the world's greatest secret.
Meanwhile, Rayleigh from Roger's crew noticed that several familiar Den Den Mushi contacts had disappeared one by one.
He assumed it was because of the new world war—too many pirates had been wiped out recently.
At the same time, it was a grim reminder of how dangerous the New World was.
The Roger Pirates had only entered the New World after Admiral Coss was forced to retreat.
Back then, the Dark News Agency's collapse had just happened, and the great pirates were still fighting for dominance.
They had kept a low profile, quietly building strength, avoiding the war for power, and had no interest in territorial disputes.
—
When Brook finally heard that Golden Lion Shiki wanted to join him, he was stunned and overjoyed.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Shiki would choose the Hell Pirates.
Could it be that his luck had finally turned around?
If Shiki could create floating islands, Brook was already considering having him move eight to ten islands into his domain.
He even started planning—building an Eighteen-Layer Hell Island, or even a Nine-Layer Sky City.
Brook's mind raced with possibilities. Beast Island could become Beast Hell. Boeing Islands could become Gluttony Hell...
If nothing else, Linlin would definitely love that one.
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