"…Stubborn," I muttered—almost without thinking—as I stared toward the direction Enel had been sent flying… or rather, blown away… by my Lion Hurricane Scramble.
Nami barely caught it.
"Stubborn? What?! He's still alive?!"
"O-oi, oi, oi…" Usopp's face went pale. "How can he survive an attack with that ridiculous destructive power?! I get that he's a Logia, but even then—what kind of monster is he…?!"
"If we're talking monsters," Zoro shot back, "what about the one who used that technique? How strong are you? And are you sure? Is that bastard really still alive?"
"Probably," I answered. "The impact felt a little weak. Right before it hit, he made himself fluid and bled off some of the force… as expected of lightning. He's quick on his feet."
The moment I said it—
Rumble… rumble… BOOM!!
A deep, earth-shaking sound rolled down from above.
We all snapped our heads up.
The Island Cloud overhead—its "ground," the soil and ruin-strewn surface—was collapsing. It cracked, broke, and began to rain down in a hideous avalanche: clods of earth, chunks of stone, remnants of ancient walls—everything.
'That bastard… so he's giving up on a straight fight and trying to bury us alive.'
Panic erupted instantly.
Some screamed. Some ran. Some tried to "stop" the falling debris with weapons and desperate swings.
It was useless.
Random flailing wouldn't stop an avalanche.
So I decided to end it quickly.
GROOOOOOOMMMMM!!
I unleashed the same ultimate technique—the Lion Hurricane Scramble—but this time I eased my Haki and produced four at once, launching them straight upward.
Each one was weaker than the earlier strike.
But the falling mass was mostly cloud fragments, with only scattered rubble and soil.
More than enough.
The gale detonated upward, shredding the debris down to dust and blasting it far above Skypiea—until even the last grain vanished into the sky.
Then the aftermath drifted down like a stage effect: a thin sprinkle of sand, stray bits of soil, and countless sheets of paper fluttering like confetti.
Not to brag, but…
With sunlight pouring through the hole I'd carved in the cloud ceiling, it even looked like a spotlight.
People who'd been bracing for death stared up with their mouths hanging open.
So I clapped my hands—clap, clap—to snap everyone back to reality.
"Alright, eyes here! I know you're confused and exhausted, but we're getting out of this area first. The lightning jerk retreated, and there's no point staying here. And Shandia—yeah, I know you've got a lot of feelings about finally stepping onto your homeland… but evacuation comes first. That guy is planning something vile. He's not the type to end this quietly."
"…Ah!" Nami blurted, suddenly remembering. "That's right! He said something really bad earlier!"
At the same time, Zoro, Wyper, Gan Fall, Leona—and a few others—stiffened, like the memory hit them all at once.
We asked around, pieced it together, and the answer made everyone's blood run cold.
Enel's plan—mostly the same as the original story—was to drag everything in the sky down with him.
Angel Island. The Hidden Cloud Village. God's Island.
Even the Stacked Imperial Cloud itself—the foundation of Skypiea.
He intended to destroy it all.
People who hadn't heard that before went deathly still, as if their brains refused to accept it.
But there was no time to argue.
We needed higher ground immediately.
The Giant Jack vine was visible in the distance, and climbing it was the obvious route… but it was far, and we had too many injured.
So I made a paper escalator.
Straight out through the hole I'd opened.
I was late to the fight, and I'd let him slip away. The least I could do was get everyone out alive.
When we finally emerged—
The Ark Maxim was already airborne.
Not smoke poured from its chimney, but a thick, black Thundercloud—rolling and swelling as it climbed higher and higher.
"So that's… the Ark my God's Guard was ordered to build," Gan Fall murmured. "I never imagined it would be a flying ship."
"Where does he think he's going?" Zoro squinted. "He just keeps climbing."
"Probably the summit of that giant tree," Robin said calmly. "The Golden Bell should be up there… that's what he's after."
"Huh? You mean—"
"What…?!"
Raki and Aisa gasped, and Wyper's eyes flared with fury.
They understood instantly.
The Light of Shandora—their sacred inheritance—was being targeted.
It lit their anger all over again.
Meanwhile—
"What do we do, Miss?" Lupus asked, voice tight. "If we leave him alone, this could get really bad… Didn't he say he was going to destroy the whole island?"
"Yeah," I said. "I don't know how he plans to pull it off, but if he thinks I'm just going to watch him do it, he's dreaming. Now that we know where he is, there's no reason to let him escape again."
Paper wings unfurled from my back.
'Time to fly up there, board that Ark, and finish off that lightning bastard for good.'
I was about to launch—
"Wait… Sue!"
A hand clamped onto my shoulder from behind.
Luffy.
Ah. He's back on his feet.
Also—seriously? Grabbing me right as I'm about to take off? Dangerous timing, Captain.
I turned, already ready to flick him off—
And Luffy hit me with a stare that was sharp enough to cut.
"I'll do it."
"…Huh?"
"Eeeh?!"
For a second, I just blinked.
Nami. Usopp. Zoro. Even Lupus and Leona—who'd apparently returned too, thank god—froze like someone had dropped an anvil into the conversation.
But Luffy wasn't joking.
"Thanks for saving my crew," he said. "But this is my fight. Stay out of it!"
"…Um. Why?"
"W-wait, wait, wait!" Nami grabbed at him. "Luffy, what are you saying?! Why are you suddenly acting like this? It's fine! You don't have to be so stubborn! I get that you're mad, but still!"
"Yeah!" Usopp waved both hands. "It's annoying he escaped, but this isn't the time! Let Sue handle it!"
"Exactly!" Nami snapped. "You didn't even see it—Sue is insane! Enel couldn't lay a hand on her—she demolished him! If she's willing to help, we should trust her!"
"And you can't even fly!" Zoro added. "How are you getting onto a ship that high? You're beat up—don't push it. Sit down."
"No way!" Luffy barked. "I'm going! I don't care how strong Sue is… I'm the one who has to do this! And I'm not that beat up—just a few burns!"
…Looking closer, he really wasn't in terrible shape.
Burns, cuts, and scorch marks—sure—but blunt attacks and lightning didn't work on him. He'd mostly taken damage from heat and the spear's cutting edge.
And he didn't look exhausted, either. Probably because he'd spent so long inside that snake's belly.
Mentally? He was still Luffy.
The question was… why was he so fixated on settling this personally?
We exchanged bewildered glances—
And then I demanded, "What do you mean 'only you can do it'?! What's going on in your head?"
Luffy's jaw set.
"The rhombus-faced old man… is my friend!"
"...!!"
The Straw Hats snapped to attention instantly.
Everyone else looked confused.
But I understood.
Ah.
That rhombus-faced old man.
It took a second to translate the nickname in my head, because Luffy's naming sense was… its own kind of weapon.
Then he began to explain—about the man in the Blue Sea who still searched the ocean depths for the sunken Golden City.
About his crew.
About the people who'd been essential to reaching Skypiea.
About an ancestor branded a liar—his tragedy turned into a children's book, his name mocked by the world—yet the descendant still dove again and again into the sea, determined to settle things with the past.
Luffy's eyes burned.
He was going to tell his friend—
The Golden City exists!
It's been in the sky all along, for four hundred years!
I'm going to ring the Golden Bell and tell him!
…Sigh.
It was dazzling, in the dumbest, brightest way.
A boy chasing dreams and calling it "romance" without even knowing that's what he was doing.
"…Alright," I said. "Go."
[!!!]
The reactions were immediate—wide eyes, gaping mouths.
"Eh? You sure, Miss?!"
"If that's how it is," I said, "I'll back off this time. You're not the type to budge once you decide something." I tilted my head slightly. "But you'd better beat the hell out of him. Do it for all the trouble he caused Leona, too."
"…! Yeah," Luffy grinned, fierce and simple. "Leave it to me!"
"Climbing the vine would take too long," I added. "So I'll give you a boost."
I folded and shaped paper with a flick of my fingers—
And created an Origami bird large enough for Luffy to ride.
…Oh, right. I'd been riding one of these when Luffy crashed into me and sent me tumbling into the clouds.
Completely irrelevant memory, perfectly timed.
"Thanks, Sue!" Luffy said, climbing on. "And sorry about crashing into you back then!"
So you remembered too, huh?
"Alright," he said. "I'm off—"
"Wait, Straw Hat!"
Wyper's voice cut through the moment.
Luffy paused.
Wyper stepped forward, leaning on Raki for support, and held out his hand.
In his palm were several small Dials—each about the size of a fist.
"Take these," Wyper said. "Milky Dials. If you can't fly, and you get knocked down… you'll need something to stand on. Press one and throw it. It'll make a small cloud platform. Temporary, but enough."
"Eh? Are you sure?"
"…In exchange," Wyper said, eyes hard—
"…Huh?"
"I entrust it to you," Wyper growled. "You must ring it. The Light of Shandora!"
Luffy didn't ask why.
He didn't ask what changed.
After everything—after Wyper's relentless hostility—the help should've felt suspicious.
But Luffy just grinned.
"Yeah. Got it!" he said. "Thanks!"
He took the Dials, climbed onto the Origami, and soared into the sky.
Wyper watched him leave in silence.
Aisa and Leona stood beside us, stunned.
"That Wyper… entrusted something to Luffy…"
"Entrusting… the Light of Shandora… to someone outside Shandia…"
Wyper—so radical, so uncompromising, so fiercely exclusive he'd been called a Berserker—had handed over a four-hundred-year dream to someone else.
They couldn't believe it.
And then I noticed Robin.
She wore a faint smile—like she'd already spoken with Wyper while we were busy with Luffy.
(…Ah. This is "romance" too, isn't it?)
Yeah.
When a man as stubborn as Wyper entrusts his dream to another, it's because he's found someone just as foolish—
Or even more so.
Lost in that thought, I realized Robin was looking at me.
"Are you sure about this, Pirate Literary Master?" she asked softly. "Leaving everything to our Captain?"
"Hm," I said. "Yeah. When you get to my age, you can't help rooting for young idiots chasing dreams." I shrugged. "If it gets dangerous, I'll step in. But I think he'll be fine. Luffy didn't get a 100 million Berry bounty for nothing."
Taking down a Shichibukai should've made it higher than that, honestly.
"By the way," I added, half to myself, "Crocodile being only 80 million never made sense. My guess is he kept his crimes low-profile to avoid the Government's attention, so his bounty never reflected the truth—then he became a Shichibukai before it could catch up."
Even if bounties aren't pure combat power…
If Luffy beat him, then Luffy was probably already stronger than most people wanted to admit.
Robin's eyes glittered.
"True… and what about you?" she asked. "The one they said was stronger than that Captain. How much is on your head?"
"Seventy-six million," I answered. "Three million less than yours."
"…What a rip-off."
Maybe so.
☆☆☆
Meanwhile—high above…
At the very peak of the Giant Jack, Enel had just finished retrieving the Golden Bell and loading it onto the Ark Maxim.
A shadow landed behind him.
Luffy, leaping from his Paper Bird.
"…I won't let you get away this time!" Luffy growled. "Lightning! And hand over that Bell!"
"Honestly," Enel sighed, not even turning at first, "you should have waited below… insolent fool." He glanced back. "But… are you the only one who came?"
"…? Yeah," Luffy said. "Just me."
A mocking smile spread across Enel's face.
"Yahaha… I see." He lifted his staff—newly reforged, the tip crackling as it shaped itself into a blade. "That works to my advantage. But you've made a grave miscalculation."
Zzzzt…
Tiny sparks snapped at the tip—carrying that same dreadful electrical heat.
Luffy didn't flinch.
He clenched his fist, stance low and ready.
"I've figured out your body," Enel said, voice dripping scorn. "What works, what doesn't. What to watch for… and your weakness. To be honest, that paper woman chasing me was far more dangerous than you. My odds against her would've been higher." His smile widened. "And yet… to think it ends with them placing their hopes on a monkey like you. Wyper… everyone here… still fools."
"I don't care!" Luffy barked. "This is my fight! The Golden Bell is about that rhombus-faced old man—my friend's dream! That's why I'm gonna kick your ass! For Sue! For the Bazooka guy! And then… I'm gonna ring that Golden Bell!"
"Keep dreaming," Enel sneered. "This time, I'll teach you properly. Humans cannot defeat a god."
In the next instant, lightning exploded—
Enel drove his spear forward—
And Luffy hurled his charged fist with everything he had.
On Skypiea—ten thousand meters above the sea—at its highest peak—
The final battle began.
To be continued...