[Hidden Quest: Redemption of Skypiea complete—rewards will be settled after return.]
As the notification sounded, Gusion knew Enel was truly dead.
He landed on the Ark. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit might be useful for me. If you need it, I can give you an ancient Zoan fruit."
If Black Lily hadn't intervened, fighting Enel and Body Killer together would've been tough, so Gusion felt a bit guilty for stealing the kill at the end.
But he was considering eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit himself, so he couldn't offer it.
"No need. Whoever gets it keeps it. I couldn't kill him in time—if he'd used Raigo, we'd all be dead."
Black Lily shook her head, injecting herself with a recovery serum.
She knew that even if Gusion hadn't come, she couldn't win in a prolonged fight. If Enel recovered and used Raigo, everyone would die.
Her goal was complete: Body Killer was dead, and she was in a good mood.
"I don't like owing favors. If I get a skill scroll after this, I'll give you one."
Gusion said he didn't need combat skill scrolls, but they were useful for Black Lily—consider it payment for her help.
"Didn't think you were so straightforward. Sounds good."
Black Lily nodded, then jumped off the Ark, vanishing into the shadows.
Gusion didn't pursue her; he adjusted his state and went to find Ulti and Page One.
As he descended, surviving Skypieans looked up at him, unsure if the disaster was over.
Soon, with no more Enel or lightning, the people began to cheer, some weeping with joy at surviving.
But Gusion had no time to bask in their gratitude. He hurried to the eastern area to find Snow Wind's group.
"What's going on?"
He was confused by their eager looks.
"See for yourself."
Snow Wind pointed to the cellar. "There might be blueprints in there."
Gusion's eyes lit up. Even if he couldn't use them, they'd sell for a fortune.
He entered the cellar, checked the chest, and found it was within the range of his universal key. He unlocked it with a click.
The chest's craftsmanship was exceptional—beyond even Wano's artisans. Shaping such a large seastone chest must date back to the Ancient Kingdom.
Inside was a thick stack of blueprints. Appraising them, Gusion was stunned—the design didn't specify what it built, but the system told him: these were the blueprints for the ancient weapon Uranus!
A legendary-grade item—using it in the system and paying a fortune for materials, he could build a legendary-quality Uranus.
But it wasn't a quest reward, and the certification cost was astronomical—not worth it to him.
"What is it?" Snow Wind asked curiously, peeking at the item.
"Uranus blueprints," Gusion showed her, but didn't hand it over—she was an explorer, and if greed got the best of her, he might not get it back.
"Wow, that's high quality..."
Even Snow Wind was impressed, never knowing there was a tier above epic.
Her team had done well this time—if they pooled their loot and sold devil fruits, they might afford the blueprints, but Gusion probably wouldn't let them have it.
"Do you have any copying tools? I can make you a copy if you want—I have what I need."
Gusion planned to leave a surprise for the world before leaving.
Aramaki and Strawberry had orders from the top brass—if the Five Elders hated him so much, he'd just give the blueprints to Kaido.
With Wano's craftsmen and Caesar's science, if Enel could make the Ark, so could they.
"Wait… let me try."
Snow Wind pulled out a pad from her storage—a handy item from the system, far superior to real-world tech, never needing to be charged.
She took photos of the blueprints, then checked the pad—it had become a certifiable item just like the blueprints.
"No loopholes, huh…"
Snow Wind sighed. She'd hoped using her own device might avoid certification, but the system simply turned her pad into a certifiable item. At least, if she didn't certify it, she could still use the pad—but to use the data in the system's world, she'd have to certify it.
Gusion stored the blueprints in a sturdy iron box, handed it to Ulti, and said, "This is important—later, give it to Mr. King or Mr. Kaido, tell them it's the Uranus blueprints."
Ulti was confused. "Brother Gusion, why not give it to them yourself?"
He was stumped—he couldn't say he was about to leave this world. He'd escaped, but hadn't thought of an excuse for disappearing.
"Cough, cough…"
He coughed up blood—not faking, his heart wound was still serious. Even with Seimei Kikan, he could only barely stop the bleeding.
"Brother Gusion, are you okay?" Ulti asked, worried.
Gusion waved her off. "No problem. Sky Island's safe now. I just need to rest."
Snow Wind's group gave him a knowing look and left—they needed to regroup before returning.
Gusion didn't stop them; they were just a temporary team. He wanted to complain: "Damn, I soloed the Sky Island raid—where's King? Why hasn't he shown up?"
Could Green Bull really have beaten him? No way—Green Bull wasn't even an admiral yet. He shouldn't have been able to kill King.
Then Gusion realized he'd forgotten something.
Crap, I never told King I was going to Birka!
It hit him—they'd split up in a rush, and he didn't even have a den-den mushi to contact the Beasts Pirates.
He'd always been with them since arriving, and forgot to set up a way to communicate after splitting up. King said he'd catch up, but they never coordinated directions.
The Summit of High West was complicated, and there were multiple sky islands. If King took the wrong route, who knew when he'd find Birka.
Worse, the scheming Body Killer wouldn't make such a mistake—so where was Aramaki?
Boom—
As if on cue, a loud crash came from the island's port.
Looking west, he saw a giant humanoid tree towering over the Birka, holding up Gusion's wanted poster and asking, "Have you seen this man?"
Gusion cursed and hurriedly shoved Ulti and Page One into the cellar. "Hide and don't come out—wait for King to get you."
"Brother Gusion…"
They wanted to protest but were thrown to the bottom and covered with cloud.
Before leaving, Gusion warned, "If anything happens to me, tell Mr. Kaido what I said—don't act recklessly for revenge. Only do it when you have the strength!"
He then dashed to the eastern port.
He couldn't trust the Skypieans' resolve—in the face of the giant tree's pressure, a trembling Skypiean pointed him out.
Aramaki, soon to be an admiral, had strong Observation Haki and a great vantage point. Within seconds, he locked onto Gusion.
In his treant form, Aramaki grinned cruelly. "Let's see where you run now!"
He'd fought King all the way from the Summit of High West, only separated by ocean currents. A Navy elite had tipped him off that Gusion was on Birka, so he rushed there, lucky not to run into King again. He'd only arrived a few hours after Gusion.
Seeing Gusion fleeing, Aramaki was delighted. In his eyes, Gusion wasn't some big shot—just his ticket to becoming an admiral.
No Kaido, no King—no one could save Gusion. Kill him here, and promotion and fortune awaited.
With that thought, Aramaki moved—don't let his giant tree form fool you, he was fast. Each step covered over a hundred meters, shaking the ground and smashing everything in his path.
Birka had survived Enel's destruction plan, only to suffer Aramaki's rampage—more people died.
Aramaki didn't care about civilians—Sky island wasn't a World Government affiliation, so to him, they were no better than pirates.
Anyone blocking his pursuit of Gusion was a traitor and deserved death.
"Damn, who's the real pirate here?" Gusion cursed, seeing Aramaki's brutality.
But Gusion didn't dare stop. He would have helped civilians if he could, but survival came first.
He ran for his life, unsure whether to blame himself or King—for leaving him, wounded, to face a future admiral alone.