Chapter 43
"I'm gonna be sick!" Usopp held his mouth, and he wasn't the only one. Nami was holding onto the railings like it was a vault, and Chopper had nearly gone flying overboard twice if Zoro hadn't caught him in time. Some of them were so busy screaming their lungs out, they had forgotten about the thin air.
The belt-shaped clouds took them higher into the sky, the express lobster never waning.
"This is awesome!" Luffy exclaimed, throwing his hand up while their ship was carried up a practically straight path.
Finally they could see a break in the clouds. As they neared a sign blurred passed them. "Did anyone else see that?"
"I'm getting sick of this ride!" Nami exclaimed. Sakura held onto her arm. Her own feet planted stably on the deck thanks to chakra.
Everyone braced for impact as they broke through the trail of clouds. They could practically feel the relief of the pinch as the lobster released the ship and sent them flying into the air before they hit the surface of clouds again.
Though they were on the clouds now, it still felt a bit like the sea, and seemed to have a similar temperament when impacted. And thankfully, the lobster had been careful with its claws, not crushing the Merry in its grip.
Sakura moved to the edge of the deck. She exhaled sharply, pressing a hand to her stomach. As a shinobi, she was used to making movements that would twist an ordinary person inside out. It was more to do with what she observed.
As the ship steadied, the crew slowly untangled themselves from whatever they'd been clinging to, their stomachs still lurching from the ascent. Though some are more affected than others.
Robin was the first to speak."Did anyone else see that sign? 'Godland: Skypiea'?"
Sakura straightened her clothes and ran a hand through her wind-tangled hair. "I saw it alright. So this must be the place."
'Maybe I should start taking pictures,' she thought wryly. 'Because if I ever make it home, no one is going to believe this.'
At first, she had thought the dinosaurs in Little Garden were the most unbelievable thing she'd encountered. But by now, she knew that this world was much bigger than her own, and it had more to show her, and likely more to surprise her.
With her bearings gathered, Sakura turned her head up to a scene that took her breath away, and it wasn't because of the thin air. For the first time, they all laid eyes on Skypiea, stretched out wide like an embrace waiting for them. Clouds that piled together in a natural form, unnatural to themselves. Creating rolling hills that had structures stacked on top of each other. Laying a foundation for towers and buildings that rose from the dense, pillowy surfaces. Vines that looked like a dragon diving was also decorating the area. Winding staircases that spiraled along these to create paths for its residents, while they were too far to see properly, there were signs of movement that keen eyes wouldn't miss.
"It was actually real,"
"We're… really here," Nami whispered with a hushed awe.
Luffy's grin was so wide it threatened to split his face. "I can smell the adventure!"
Sakura could only stare, her earlier irritation melting away. Shinobi life was the most dangerous and death defying career, it also took you to deadly heights that most people wouldn't even dream of, but she was certain no one had gotten this far in the sky.
Without considering the consequences of diving into a sea as a devil fruit user, Luffy was the first one to jump off the ship before they even dropped anchor.
"LUFFY, WAIT!" Sakura's warning came too late, though.
But he had already landed ankle deep in the clouds with a jovial flame that wouldn't go out. His fall was cushioned by the underlying surface of the clouds. Sakura was still wondering how exactly these events worked on a physical plane. Right now, she was more concerned about her captain falling through and somehow drowning in a bed of vapor.
"It's shallow!" Luffy laughed, wiggling his toes as if he was trying to bury them in sand, as you did in an ordinary sea. But this was far from ordinary.
Forgetting that he had become the cautionary tale, Usopp, unable to resist, leapt after Luffy, whooping as he hit the sea. Within seconds, the two were sprinting ahead, kicking up puffs of cloud. Soon Sanji and Chopper wrapped in the same fevor of excitement followed after then heading towards the shoreline of a beach that stood in front of the sky city.
Sakura lingered on the deck a moment longer, her gaze sweeping across the impossible vista. While things looked quiet, this sea of clouds also proved to have hidden compartments of danger.
"This… is unbelievable."
Even as she kept her attention on high alert, Sakura couldn't help but equate this to a scene a child would visit in their dream. For all the near-death experiences, the absurdity, the sheer stupidity it took to get here all suddenly seemed worth it. Now, if they could just be allowed to enjoy it.
'It doesn't look like there's anything lurking for now, and the water looks too shallow to have anything in it.' Sakura did another sweep before she decided to go lax. Though she tensed instinctively when she felt the presence getting close behind, one she had been actively avoiding.
"There's nothing there."
"I know," Sakura said, not even glancing in Zoro's direction.
"I already checked the other side too."
"Alright."
"We might have trouble dropping anchor if there's no seabed at the bottom."
"Yeah."
A silence fell between them, but it might as well have been a wall, even so she could feel the irritated glare from behind. But she could see his shadow overtaking her. There was no further action taken, though, as Nami's shriek rattled on the deck. Their navigator came out, deciding to change into a bikini top after seeing the beach shore, but had accessorized with the South Bird on top of her head as well.
"OW! STOP IT, YOU STUPID BIRD "
They turned just in time to see the South Bird deliver one final, vindictive peck to Nami's head before taking off into the sky.
"I thought we forgot something,"
"You think!?" Nami rubbed her scalp, scowling. "Someone should've let him go before we got up here. Will he be okay?"
They were already having a tough time being at this altitude.
Sakura sighed, watching as their living compass flew off into the clouds. "Well, he doesn't seem bothered by the atmosphere. He should be fine. Not like we can do anything about it now."
Nami rubbed her head, "Guess you're right. Let's get going, I wanna check out this place."
Sakura held out her hand, for Nami and the two jumped off, leaving the swordsmen behind without a glance.
As Zoro watched them being taken off with little care, he couldn't help gripping the edge of the ship a little too hard.
..
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Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper only needed to be a few minutes ahead to have turned the soft terrain of this cloud beach into their personal playground. The area was set like a resort, with beach chairs, a veranda, and even some fauna leading out into the distance, yet it was also vacant.
Luffy was in a tree checking his teeth after biting a huge fruit he found, it's skin was the same green pattern of a melon but it was shaped like a pumpkin but he discovered the literal hard way it had skin line iron.
Usopp was building a cloud castle on the shore before Luffy dropped that same fruit on his head and nearly cracked his skull. Chopper decided to frolic along the cloud hills and find out how soft they really were.
And Nami decided, after inspecting the veranda, to lounge on one of the beach chairs and simply allow herself to deflatten after their stressful journey. For pirates, it was only natural that their lives were dependent on danger and adventure, but there was no limit to that desire when it came to Luffy. They fulfilled his demands; now it was time to reap some proper rest. At least while they could.
'It's still a surprise she can even relax,' Nami had to be the more cautious member of the team, as the rest of them were rather…privy to their own instincts. But being this high from the sea, where so many of their problems were always waiting, made them feel a sense of security. Despite the troubles it took it get here. There was no navy, no wanted posters (which were still plaguing Sakura's mind), and no other pirates.
While everyone else was taking in the scene, and excavating it with their own preference of excitement, Sakura on the other hand wasn't sure what to do here to enjoy this merry time or rather where to start.
Then Sanji came skidding up to her, holding a bouquet of vibrant red and white flowers clutched in his hand.
"Sakura-chan!" he sang, twirling one of the oversized blooms between his fingers before tucking it behind her ear. "A flower as radiant as-
Sakura's hand shot out, grabbing his shirt before he could dart off toward Nami. "Sanji. Please be careful when touching strange plants. You don't know if they're poisoned."
"Ah, but Sakura-chan, danger only makes their beauty more intoxicating!"
She deadpanned. "That's not how botany works. Unless you intended to poison us,"
Sanji looked at her like she struck him with her hardest punch, "Ah! Sakura-chan, how could I ever! I'm sorry, I will eat these blossoms to make sure they don't-
"I'm joking, go give one to Nami."
Sanji spun away, already plucking another flower from the cluster growing along the cloud's edge. Sakura sighed, plucking the blossom from her hair to examine it. The petals were thick, almost waxy, with a faint, sweet scent, nothing she recognized from home.
'Probably not lethal,' she decided, tucking it back into place.
Zoro stepped onto the cloud-beach, scanning the strange terrain. Even though there was no sand to stick to his feet, he wanted to dry off. He caught something that blended nearly perfectly into the white of the cloud shore but had a different texture. Thinking it was a towel, he grabbed it, only to find that it was fur. The fur of a white fox had been curled up near the shoreline. Until it lifted its head, ears twitching.
"Huh," Zoro muttered, dropping the animal that ran off as soon as he did.
Before he could investigate further, a soft, melodic tune drifted through the air, a harp playing somewhere in the distance. The crew's heads snapped toward the sound.
Zoro pointed. "There's someone over there."
At first, the silhouette of a winged figure stands on top of the cloud hills.
Sanji's cigarette nearly fell from his lips. "An… angel?"
"Or another resident," The woman had almost an ethereal appearance, blonde hair in a long braid, in a soft pink dress with wings on her back. She looked at the crew, not with the usual reception pirates received.
"Heso,"
'Heso?' Was that some kind of greeting, because the tone sounded like that to Sakura.
"Uh… heso?" Sakura echoed.
She laughed lightly, stepping closer. "Did you come here from the Blue Sea?"
"Yeah! We came up from below!" Luffy grinned, still clutching the unbreakable fruit. "Do you live here?"
"Yes. Welcome to Skypiea's Angel Beach." Her gaze flicked to the fruit in Luffy's hands. "Would you like to drink what's inside?"
"YES!"
She demonstrated, turning the fruit upside down and tapping the bottom center with a small knife she produced from her sash. The hard shell cracked open, revealing a hollow interior filled with sweet, fragrant liquid. Luffy didn't hesitate and gulped it down.
"WHOAAAA! IT'S LIKE JUICE BUT BETTER!"
"My name is Conis. And this," she gestured to the white fox now weaving between her feet, "is Suu, a cloud fox. If there's any way I can help, please let me know."
Sakura's eyes flicked to Sanji, who was already halfway into a lovesick daze. "You might regret that offer."
As if on cue, Nami reached over and yanked Sanji's ear, dragging him back to reality. "There are a lot of things we'd like to know,"
But before Nami could get to one question to start alleviating her curiosity, Zoro saw something out on the sea.
"Hey. Something's coming."
All eyes turned toward the cloud-sea, where a shadow skimmed across the surface at breakneck speed, kicking up plumes of mist in its wake. That's when he neared and they saw an old man with wings. He was riding on something that looked like a scooter.
"That's my father," Conis said.
Nami squinted at the strange contraption. "What's that thing he's on?"
"That's a Waver."
"That was mentioned in Noland's log," Sakura remembered.
Cronus' father came barreling onto the beach with all the grace of a cannonball, his waver skidding sideways before flipping end-over-end and sending him tumbling in. He popped up instantly, dusting himself off.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked cheerfully, as if he hadn't just crash-landed.
Nami blinked. "You're… apologizing to us?"
Pagaya laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Excuse me for not introducing myself sooner! My name is Pagaya. I'm sorry-
"No need to apologize," Sakura cut in with a wry smile.
Nami was over by him, but she was more concerned about the device than the man who crashed onto the beach with it.
"It doesn't have a paddle or a sail," she murmured, crouching beside it. "How does it move?"
Pagaya's eyes lit up. "Ah! That's thanks to Dials."
"Dials?"
Conis stepped forward, holding up a small, seashell-like object. "This one is a Jet Dial; it stores and releases wind energy to propel the Waver."
Nami's fingers itched. A propulsion system without sails or oars? "Can you… Show me how it works?"
Unfortunately Luffy didn't have the capacity to wait through the entire tutorial and had already pulled the waver back out to sea and was skidding on the waves, for about three seconds before he went crashing hard sinking into the ocean. The moment Luffy shifted his weight, the Waver shot forward like a bullet, launching him high into the air before gravity took over sending him crashing straight into the cloud-sea with a spectacular splash.
Zoro and Usopp immediately dove in after him, dragging their waterlogged captain back to the surface. Meanwhile, Chopper, who had momentarily forgotten his Devil Fruit weakness and had already dived straight into the water before sinking like a rock.
Now, dripping wet Luffy sat on the beach, sulking.
Sakura rubbed her temples. "You didn't even listen to the instructions, did you?"
"The Waver is… tricky. It's so light that even small waves can throw you off balance. Unless you understand the sea well, it's hard to control."
Conis nodded. "It took me years to learn how to ride it without capsizing."
Just then, a familiar laugh cut through the air. "WOOOHOOOO!"
Everyone turned to see Nami, effortlessly gliding across the cloud-sea on the Waver, her movements smooth and precise. She leaned into the curves, her hair whipping behind her as she carved through the mist like she'd been born to ride it.
Luffy's jaw dropped. "HEY! NAMI! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GO TO DINNER! GET OFF THAT THING!"
Nami just smirked, executing a sharp turn that sent a spray of cloud-mist into the air. "Make me!"
Sakura couldn't help but chuckle, ruffling Luffy's soggy hair. "You lose this one, captain."
..
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"Please, make yourselves comfortable!" Pagaya said warmly, ushering them inside his home. After the seemingly boundless experiences of this ethereal plane, they were surprised to see how ordinary this home was from the inside. Wooden furniture, woven rugs, shelves lined with trinkets, it could have been any cozy house back in the Blue Sea.
"Huh," Sakura mused, doing a look over. "It doesn't seem that different."
Luffy, meanwhile, had already bounded over to the window, pressing his face against the glass.
"WHOAAAA! YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING FROM UP HERE!"
While the rest of the crew were settling in with Conis, Sanji asked Pagaya to lead him to the kitchen. He was eager to learn how to cook some of the sky food delicacies. Everyone else lounged in the soft furniture, listening to Conis share more details bout her home that was this sky world.
She started talking about dials.
Cronus showed them a shell, which didn't have anything special about it except for a little button they hadn't seen blending into the design. She told Luffy to say something into it, and it would mimic the words back, which was called a tone dial.
From what they could understand, Dials were special shells that store and release energy or matter. Each type absorbs a specific element like light, wind, or fire through tiny holes, then releases it when pressed. Some Dials, like Flash and Lamp, store the same thing (light) but release it differently. They also ranged from size.
Usopp was the one most enamored with this newest discovery and basically talked through their entire meal about them and how they were used for every day life. Even Sakura was interested, although she couldn't make sense of the science and physics behind this creation. Then again the same went for the snails on the surface of this world.
As Sanji stepped onto the balcony for a smoke, his eyes scanned the horizon for Nami. She still wasn't back, and he couldn't see any signs of the waver out on the white sea. He voiced this concern while inside, the crew enjoyed his seafood feast until Conis set down her utensils with a worried glance at her father.
"You don't suppose she went too far out?"
Sakura caught their tension. "What's the matter?"
Pagaya's voice dropped. "There's a place here we're forbidden to enter, Upper Yard, God's land. It borders this island... and it's ruled by Eneru."
Chopper gasped. "God?! Like... that God?"
"Yes," Conis confirmed. "Eneru sees and knows everything in Skypiea."
Luffy and Usopp leapt up. "Right NOW?!"
Zoro sipped his drink, unfazed. "God, huh."
Sakura arched a brow. "You don't believe?"
"Couldn't care less if he exists or not."
"Maybe you would if you faced one," Sakura muttered, rubbing her temples as war memories flashed, including Kaguya's chilling gaze and the weight of her presence that could crush you alone.
When Sakura asked about the consequences of trespassing, Conis paled. "No one survives Eneru's judgment."
Luffy's eyes sparkled with dangerous mischief. "A place you 'can't go...?"
Usopp shook him violently. "LUFFY DON'T EVEN THINK-
Sakura stood from the couch, "I'll find Nami."
Zoro scoffed. "How? Walk on clouds?"
"If I have to."
Luffy fist-pumped. "Yeah! Let's go to that place-I mean, rescue Nami!"
Sakura sweatdropped. "How transparent can you be?"
That's all folks! Well for now anyone.
If you're a fan of Bleach, a new crossover Kunoichi amongst Reapers has just entered the fold in my works.
I will be posting on a different schedule with that one though and I'll be bringing back with it Kunoichi amongst Benders soon but they will be on a different schedule as well. I am still doing a trial run to see how that works, and if I will be able to handle it all.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Thanks for tuning in but now I've gotta tune out!
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EARLY CHAPTERS FOR MEMBERS NOW: BUYMEACOFFEE
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes chapter (98, 99, 100, 101)
-Kunoichi amongst Pirates chapter (44, 45, 46)
-Crossroads of Fate chapter (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-Through the Looking Glass chapter (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
- (Bleach crossover) Kunoichi amongst Reapers: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
-Commission: Demon slayer x My hero academia (PART 1 & 2)
- Kunoichi amongst Benders (Avatar x Naruto crossover) (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-Kunoichi amongst Heroes WHAT IF SPIN OFF: Dorms and Exams
-(SEQUEL) Through the Spyglass chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6
-SPECIAL HALLOWEEN CHAPTER: Shinigami amongst Shinobi
Sneak Peak Chapter 44:
Sakura moved to the balcony, leaning on the railing to look out at the white sea and their ship sticking out like a thumb with a splinter. She could barely see her friends moving about, getting ready. But then the sea suddenly split beneath them. The ship began sailing with half its crew missing, but this was against the wind and moving backwards.
"What is that?" The alarm in her voice called over Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp, who rushed over to see their ship speeding through the clouds.
"Why are they leaving without us!?" Luffy exclaimed.
"I don't think that's it!" Usopp lowered his goggles over his eyes and began adjusting the frames to zoom in on the ship that was getting further away. Then he could see it, large claws attached to both sides, gliding the ship along against its will, against the crew that was still on it. Trapped. The creature also had something written on his forehead. 'God'