The Going Merry sailed slowly across the pristine, fluffy expanse of the White Sea. In the distance, framed against the bright blue sky, stood a massive, towering archway made of solid clouds. Carved into the very top of the arch in grand letters were the words: HEAVEN'S GATE.
Beyond the gate, a steep, winding river of clouds—the Milky Road—stretched upward at an impossible, terrifying angle, disappearing into the heavens above.
"It really is a gate," Nami marveled, leaning over the railing as the ship drifted closer. "But how are we supposed to get up that cloud waterfall? It goes straight up!"
As the Merry glided beneath the massive archway, a sudden, bright flash of light blinded the crew.
FLASH!
"Ah! My eyes!" Usopp yelled, rubbing his face. "Who did that?!"
Sitting inside a small, tollbooth-like structure carved into the side of the cloud gate was a tiny, incredibly wrinkled old woman. She wore a strange, snail-shell-like device on her hand, which was currently smoking slightly from the flash. But the most bizarre thing about her was the pair of small, white, feathered wings resting on her back.
"She has wings!" Chopper gasped, hiding behind Zoro's leg.
"Welcome to Heaven's Gate," the old woman croaked, her face completely expressionless. "I am Amazon, the gatekeeper. Are you here for sightseeing? Or perhaps war?"
"Sightseeing!" Luffy grinned, waving enthusiastically. "We want to go up there to the Sky Island!"
Amazon stared at them with dull, unblinking eyes. "To pass Heaven's Gate and enter the White-White Sea, you must pay the immigration toll. The fee is one billion Extols per person."
The entire deck fell dead silent.
"ONE BILLION?!" Nami shrieked, her eyes bulging out of her skull. "Per person?! There are eight of us! That's eight billion! We don't even know what an Extol is, but it sounds expensive! Do you take Berries?"
"I do not care about Blue Sea currency," Amazon replied slowly, her voice flat and monotone. "The toll is the toll. One billion Extols."
"We don't have that kind of money!" Usopp panicked, waving his arms.
"Well," Amazon muttered, leaning her chin on her wrinkled hand. "You can pass without paying."
Nami froze. "Wait, really? We can just go for free?"
"Yes," the old woman nodded slowly. "You may pass. But you will be recorded as illegal intruders. The choice is yours."
"Oh, sweet! We'll just do that then!" Luffy cheered, completely missing the heavy, dangerous implication of the word "intruders."
"Wait, Luffy! Don't you realize what she just said?!" Nami screamed, grabbing the rubber boy by the collar and shaking him violently. "She just took our picture! If we go up there without paying, we'll be branded as criminals the second we arrive!"
"We're pirates, Nami," Zoro pointed out calmly, leaning against the mast. "We're already criminals."
"He makes a solid point," Kai chuckled, walking up next to the swordsman. He glanced down at his left wrist. The orange-and-black Power Watch vibrated softly, and a steady orange waveform pulsed on the small glass screen.
"I am officially logging that this is a terrible idea," Bot's robotic voice buzzed from the watch's speaker, the waveform spiking erratically. "Statistically, entering unknown, heavily fortified territory as declared criminals has a 99.9% chance of ending in extreme violence."
"Too late now, Bot," Kai smiled.
Amazon watched them bicker with her dead, unblinking eyes. "Very well. You have chosen to pass as illegal intruders. I will summon the Express."
The old woman pressed a button inside her booth.
Suddenly, the cloud sea beneath the Going Merry began to bubble and churn violently.
"Uh, guys?" Chopper squeaked, looking over the railing. "The clouds are shaking again!"
Before anyone could react, the surface of the White Sea exploded. Bursting out from the depths was an absolutely colossal crustacean. It looked like a giant, heavily armored shrimp or lobster, easily ten times the size of their ship. Its massive, beady black eyes locked onto the Going Merry.
"MONSTER!" Usopp and Chopper screamed in perfect harmony.
The Super Express Shrimp lunged forward, snapping its gargantuan claws shut around the hull of the Going Merry. The ship creaked loudly as it was completely lifted out of the water.
"It's eating the ship!" Luffy yelled, his eyes sparkling with awe rather than fear.
"Hold on to something!" Sanji roared.
With the entire ship held securely in its massive claws, the giant shrimp turned toward the steep, vertical river of clouds that formed the Milky Road. It didn't swim—it ran.
The colossal crustacean sprinted directly up the cloud waterfall, defying all known laws of physics and gravity. The acceleration was instantaneous and bone-crushing.
"GAAAAAAH!" the entire crew shrieked as they were pinned to the wooden deck by the sheer, overwhelming G-force of the vertical climb.
The Going Merry was moving at terrifying speed, rocketing up the winding, twisting path of clouds. Wind roared past their ears, tearing at their clothes. The pressure in the air dropped rapidly as they ascended thousands of meters in mere seconds.
"This is insane!" Kai yelled over the rushing wind, gripping the wooden railing so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"Structural integrity holding!" Bot buzzed frantically, his waveform thrashing wildly on the screen. "But altitude is increasing at an alarming rate! Brace for impact!"
The winding Milky Road finally crested. The giant shrimp reached the very top of the cloud waterfall, launching itself and the Going Merry high into the air.
For a terrifying, weightless moment, the ship hung in the sky. Then, it plummeted downward, splashing heavily into a new, even higher sea of clouds.
The giant shrimp released the hull, clicking its massive claws once in farewell before diving back into the depths of the cloud river.
The Going Merry bobbed violently before finally settling. The deafening roar of the wind and the rushing clouds vanished, replaced once more by the serene, absolute quiet of the sky.
The crew slowly peeled themselves off the deck, groaning and rubbing their aching heads.
Kai pushed himself up, breathing heavily. He looked around.
They were no longer in the endless, empty white void. Before them lay a breathtakingly beautiful beach. But the sand wasn't made of dirt or rocks—it was made of soft, pristine, pure white clouds. Lush, vibrant green trees grew right out of the cloud-soil, bearing strange, round, colorful fruits. The ocean lapped gently against the cloud-shore, sparkling under the brilliant sun.
"It's an island," Nami breathed, her eyes wide as she took in the gorgeous landscape. "A real island made of clouds."
Robin walked to the bow, a gentle smile crossing her face. "Ten thousand meters above the Blue Sea. We have arrived at the White-White Sea."
"Look!" Chopper gasped, pointing toward the beach.
Standing near the edge of the cloud-shore was a young, beautiful girl with blond hair. She was holding a harp, and just like Amazon the gatekeeper, she had a pair of small, white feathered wings resting on her back. Next to her was a large, fluffy white creature that looked like a cross between a fox and a dog.
Luffy didn't wait for the ship to fully stop. He stretched his rubber arms, grabbed the railing, and launched himself onto the beach.
"Wow! It's so bouncy!" Luffy laughed, jumping up and down on the soft, marshmallow-like clouds. "It feels like a giant trampoline!"
Usopp and Chopper immediately followed, leaping off the deck and tumbling into the cloud-sand with joyful shouts. Even Zoro cracked a small smile as he climbed down the rope ladder, his boots sinking slightly into the strange, spongy ground.
Kai vaulted over the railing, landing softly beside his captain. He glanced down at his wrist, the orange waveform settling into a calm, steady rhythm.
"Atmospheric pressure is still low, Kai, but the oxygen density here on the island is much better than over the open sea," Bot's voice hummed cheerfully from the watch's speaker. "My sensors show this place is perfectly safe for exploration!"
"That's a relief," Kai smiled, walking up to where Luffy had stopped.
The young blond girl with the small white wings smiled warmly as the crew approached. The fluffy, fox-like creature at her feet barked happily.
"Welcome to Skypiea," the girl said, bowing politely. "My name is Conis. And this is my pet, Su. You must be travelers from the Blue Sea."
"I'm Luffy! I'm gonna be the Pirate King!" Luffy declared, adjusting his straw hat. He pointed at her back. "Are those real wings? Can you fly?"
Conis giggled softly. "No, we cannot fly. The wings are simply a trait of the Sky People. We are born with them."
Before anyone could ask more questions, a loud, roaring engine cut through the peaceful sound of the beach.
Tearing across the surface of the White-White Sea was a small, sleek watercraft. It looked almost exactly like the vehicle the masked warrior had ridden earlier, but this one was being driven by a middle-aged man with a thick mustache and a matching pair of small white wings.
The man skillfully drifted the craft onto the cloud-beach, kicking up a spray of white foam before bringing it to a perfect stop.
"Ah, visitors!" the man smiled, stepping off the machine. "I am Pagaya, Conis's father. Welcome to our humble beach!"
Sanji's visible eye instantly turned into a massive, pulsating heart. He spun across the clouds, dropping to one knee before Conis. "An angel! I have truly died and gone to heaven! Please, allow me to prepare a feast worthy of your divine beauty!"
Zoro rolled his eye, crossing his arms. "Ignore the idiot cook. What is that machine you were riding?"
"This is a Waver," Pagaya explained, patting the sleek handlebars of the craft. "It is powered by a Breath Dial, a special shell from the sky that stores and releases wind. It allows us to travel across the cloud sea without sails."
Luffy's eyes immediately turned into giant, sparkling stars. "A jet-ski that runs on wind?! Let me try! Let me try!"
Without waiting for permission, Luffy leaped onto the Waver, revved the handle, and shot out onto the open White-White Sea.
"Wait! It takes years of practice to balance—!" Pagaya yelled.
It was too late. Luffy immediately lost control, twisting the handlebars violently to the right. The Waver flipped over, launching the rubber captain headfirst into the deep, churning clouds of the White-White Sea.
"Luffy!" Chopper screamed, running to the edge of the water. "He's a hammer! He's gonna sink right through the clouds!"
Zoro sighed heavily, reaching for his boots to dive in. Sanji clicked his tongue, preparing to jump.
"I've got him!" Kai yelled.
Without needing to move his hands, Kai focused his mind entirely on the core humming against his wrist.
"Elemental Power: Water!"
In a brilliant flash of cyan light, Kai's everyday clothes dissolved into geometric particles. Instantly, he was clad in his sleeveless cyan vest, sharp white trim accenting the edges, layered cleanly over a sleek, long-sleeved black compression shirt. The fluid energy of the ocean hummed through his veins, his messy brown hair left completely exposed to the sea breeze.
He sprinted to the edge of the cloud-shore and thrust both of his hands forward toward the spot where Luffy had vanished.
"Water Flow!" Kai commanded.
He manipulated the fluid density of the sea cloud itself. A swirling, localized whirlpool formed on the surface, reversing its current to shoot straight upward. The powerful jet of water blasted Luffy out of the depths and tossed him safely onto the bouncy cloud-beach.
Luffy coughed up a lungful of white foam, his limbs completely limp like overcooked noodles. "I... I don't like the sky ocean..."
Kai let out a steady breath. The cyan light faded as his power disengaged, his clothes seamlessly returning to normal. "You can't just jump onto strange machines, Captain," Kai chuckled.
Nami, however, wasn't deterred. She confidently stepped onto the Waver, revved the engine, and shot out across the water. To Pagaya and Conis's absolute shock, Nami carved through the waves flawlessly, making sharp turns and riding the wind with the grace of a professional.
"Incredible," Pagaya gasped. "She has the perfect instincts for reading the wind!"
As the crew watched Nami enjoy the Waver, the peaceful atmosphere of Angel Beach was abruptly shattered.
"Ssuuuuuu!" a strange, high-pitched noise hissed from the treeline.
Marching onto the beach in a bizarre, wriggling formation was a squad of men wearing white berets. They didn't walk; they crawled across the clouds on their stomachs like inchworms, moving with eerie synchronization.
"What the heck are those?" Usopp muttered, sweating nervously.
The leader of the squad stood up. He was a tall man with a thick mustache, wearing a pristine white uniform. "I am Captain McKinley, commander of the White Berets—the police force of Skypiea. We received a report from Heaven's Gate."
McKinley pulled out a small piece of parchment. "You bypassed the gate without paying the toll. Therefore, you are classified as Class 11 Illegal Intruders."
"We told the old lady we didn't have any money!" Luffy argued, still lying on his back.
"The law of the sky is absolute," McKinley stated coldly. "However, since you have not caused any damage, you may pay your toll now. The fine for illegal entry, plus the late fee, comes to ten billion Extols."
"TEN BILLION?!" Nami shrieked from the Waver, nearly crashing into the dock.
"If you cannot pay," McKinley sneered, "you will be subjected to the judgment of Almighty God Enel."
Zoro stepped forward, his thumb pushing his katana up a fraction of an inch. "And if we refuse to pay, and refuse your judgment?"
"Then you escalate your crime," McKinley warned, raising his hand. The squad of White Berets instantly stood up, drawing strange, long bow-like weapons loaded with arrows made of dense, compressed clouds. "If you resist arrest, you become Class 2 Criminals, subject to immediate execution by the Divine Priests!"
Luffy slowly pushed himself up from the ground. The goofy, water-logged boy vanished, replaced by the fierce, unyielding captain of the Straw Hats. He pulled his straw hat down over his eyes.
"I don't care about your God, and I don't care about your laws," Luffy growled. "Nobody threatens my crew."
"Fire!" McKinley shouted.
The White Berets released their bowstrings. Dozens of compressed cloud arrows shot through the air, aimed directly at Luffy, Zoro, and the others.
Kai didn't blink. With no solid earth beneath his feet to draw from, he knew exactly which element to rely on. Syncing his intent directly with the device, his voice rang out.
"Elemental Power: Water!"
The cyan light erupted once more. His clothes vanished, replaced instantly by his sleek aquatic tactical gear.
"Water Shield!"
Kai threw his hands out, generating a thick, swirling dome of highly pressurized water directly in front of the crew.
THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!
The cloud arrows slammed into the fluid barrier, dissolving harmlessly into the water and losing all their kinetic force before they could touch anyone.
"What kind of Dial is that?!" McKinley gasped, taking a step back in sheer shock as the water shield dispersed into mist.
"It's not a Dial," Kai smirked, stepping forward.
"You dare defy the police?!" McKinley roared, drawing a cloud-sword from his waist. "Take him down!"
Three White Berets charged Kai, swinging their strange weapons.
Kai didn't budge. He channeled the dense fluid energy of the core directly into his hands.
"Water Strike!"
Kai threw a straightforward punch, unleashing a massive, high-speed blast of pressurized water from his knuckles. The rushing torrent slammed into the charging officers with the force of a tidal wave. The White Berets were blown completely backward, crashing violently into the surrounding cloud-trees.
"My turn," Sanji muttered, dashing out from the right flank. He spun into the air, his black shoes blurring. "Collier Shoot!"
Sanji's kick sent another officer flying into the White-White Sea.
Zoro didn't even draw his swords. He simply stepped forward, grabbed two of the charging White Berets by their collars, and slammed their heads together with a sickening crunch.
Captain McKinley looked at his defeated squad in absolute horror. He turned back to the boy with the straw hat.
Luffy stretched his arm far back, his rubber limb twisting like a tight coil. "Gum-Gum... Pistol!"
Luffy's fist snapped forward, catching McKinley squarely in the jaw. The police captain was launched off his feet, tumbling across the bouncy cloud-beach and skidding to a halt near Pagaya's Waver.
The entire skirmish was over in less than a minute.
Kai let out a steady breath. The cyan light faded, and his aquatic gear dissolved instantly back into his everyday attire. On his wrist, Bot's waveform pulsed proudly on the watch screen.
"Threat neutralized, Kai," Bot buzzed cheerfully. "Though our criminal status is definitely getting worse."
McKinley groaned, clutching his bruised jaw as he struggled to sit up. He glared at the Straw Hats with terrified, hateful eyes.
"You fools..." McKinley wheezed. "By attacking the White Berets, you have committed a Class 2 Crime. God Enel sees all. You cannot escape this island. The Divine Priests will hunt you down!"
McKinley signaled a retreat, and the battered White Berets scrambled to their feet, running frantically back into the dense cloud-jungle.
Luffy laughed, dusting off his hands. "Let them come! This sky island is awesome!"
Conis and Pagaya, however, looked completely terrified. They stared at the Straw Hats as if they were already ghosts.
"You shouldn't have done that," Conis whispered, her voice shaking with genuine fear. "Nobody defies Almighty God Enel and lives. You must flee to the Upper Yard immediately, before the priests find you!"