The five pirate ships advanced steadily along the cloud river suspended in the sky.
By now, Teach and his crew had entered God's Island. Gan Fall and the other residents of Angel Island remained outside, barred from entry until the Nightfall Pirates chose to leave.
No one protested.
They did not want to go in, and Teach had also declined Gan Fall's offer to provide a guide.
Neither side wished to know what the pirates were searching for. Gan Fall understood that curiosity here could be fatal. Once these people set foot on the island, the fate of Angel Island rested entirely in their hands, and he could not afford even the smallest mistake.
Teach's Observation Haki spread across the entire island like a net. Locating the Golden City of Shandora was effortless.
There was only one basin on the island, and above it floated a thick layer of island clouds. Beneath those clouds lay Shandora itself.
Hidden, forgotten, untouched.
Aside from the future Enel, no one had ever uncovered it.
Standing on the deck, Teach lifted his head slightly. His gaze swept across the surroundings.
People were watching.
From deep within the primeval forest, on both sides of the cloud path, hostile eyes stared at the advancing pirate fleet. Their intent was unmistakable. They were waiting for the right moment to strike.
Teach sensed them clearly.
He had no intention of waiting.
He turned his head slightly and met Laffitte's gaze.
Laffitte understood at once. He adjusted his top hat, lowered his head, and an eerie smile spread across his pale face. A flicker of killing intent passed through his eyes.
In the next instant, he vanished.
Hidden among the dense jungle foliage, the Shandian warriors watched the unfamiliar intruders with confusion and tension.
They had been at war with the Sky Islanders for centuries. Outsiders from the Blue Sea were something they had never encountered.
Instinctively, they assumed these people were allies invited by Angel Island.
That assumption sealed their fate.
They readied their weapons. Shell-based armaments were strapped to their bodies and clenched in their hands: Impact Dials, Wind Dials, and other Cloud Dials. Even a single Impact Dial carried tremendous destructive power.
The rarer Reject Dial was even more terrifying, capable of releasing force many times stronger than an Impact Dial. Even pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions would struggle to withstand it, assuming Haki was not involved.
Then a sharp sound cut through the air.
Shick.
A staff-sword pierced straight through a warrior's chest.
He froze, eyes wide, staring at the pale face inches from his own.
"When… did he get here?" was his final thought.
He never had time to warn the others.
Around him, more than twenty Shandian warriors fell in silence.
The Shandians were the original inhabitants of Jaya Island, swept into the sky four hundred years ago by the Knock-Up Stream. Upper Yard, the only land in the Sky Sea with real soil, was their sacred homeland.
For four centuries, they had fought an unending war with the Sky Islanders to reclaim it and ring the Golden Bell once more.
Four hundred years of hatred ended in minutes.
Bodies dropped from the bushes one after another. Their clothing and dark skin resembled that of ancient tribal warriors. Individually, they were strong.
Against Laffitte, they were nothing.
Less than a minute later, Laffitte reappeared beside the ship. His staff-sword slid back into place without a single drop of blood staining the blade.
"Deal with the rest," Teach said calmly, his senses already locked onto another location. "Our targets are the Golden City and the Golden Bell. The Golden Bell is the core of their faith. They've fought four hundred years for it. They won't stop."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"To avoid trouble later, leave no one alive."
He pointed casually. "That way."
Laffitte did not respond. He didn't need to.
Whatever they set their sights on belonged to them. No one tolerated insects that refused to stop crawling.
Four hundred years of persistence could be called determination, or it could be called foolishness.
In stories, such devotion was admirable.
In reality, they were pirates.
Good and evil meant nothing. Only results mattered.
And in this world, weakness was the original sin.
Laffitte's wings unfurled.
Dark red bat wings, enormous and sinister, spread from his back. With a powerful flap, his body shot forward, vanishing toward the direction Teach indicated.
That region was shrouded in thick fog.
As the fleet advanced, dangerous native creatures stirred within Upper Yard. The most infamous among them was the giant python Nola, known as the Lord of the Sky.
Teach and his crew paid them no mind.
These creatures were not foolish. Their instincts screamed danger. Sensing the overwhelming pressure radiating from the pirates, they retreated instinctively.
If any dared approach, they would simply become dinner.
Sky Island ingredients were excellent. Better than most things found in the Grand Line.
Eventually, they reached the fog-covered basin.
Below lay a thick layer of island clouds. Above, colossal vines spiraled skyward, their tips disappearing into the heavens.
"Captain, is it up there?" Van Augur asked, peering through binoculars. "There are ruins on the vine leaves."
"No," Teach replied, shaking his head. His gaze dropped. "Those are decoys. The real Golden City is below us."
He raised his foot and stomped down.
The island clouds were dense and resilient. Without sufficient force, they would never part. No wonder Shandora had remained hidden for centuries.
Beneath the clouds lay an entirely different world.
While Teach advanced toward Shandora, Shandia Village was dying.
Scarlet figures moved through the village like ghosts.
By the time the Shandians realized what was happening, nearly a hundred were already dead.
In four hundred years of war, they had never suffered losses like this.
Shandia Village held barely a thousand people. Centuries of warfare and limited resources had kept their numbers low.
Laffitte descended into the village at last.
A pale man in a black suit. A style utterly alien to them. Dark red bat wings stretched from his back, and his speed rendered their weapons meaningless.
The remaining warriors surrounded him.
"You monster!" one of them roared. "You've killed so many of us!"
Fueled by rage, they charged.
They believed numbers would prevail. That together, they could defeat even Gan Fall, the Sky Knight.
They were wrong.
One by one, they died.
Laffitte smiled as he slaughtered them. His eyes closed, head tilted slightly, savoring the moment. He enjoyed the scent of blood filling the air.
Hope bled away with each fallen body.
"Run!" the Shandian chief shouted at last. "This enemy cannot be defeated. I'll hold him off!"
"Chief, no!"
"The village needs you!"
"As chief," he replied, gripping his weapon, "how can I abandon my people?"
The elderly, women, and children had already been sent away.
What he didn't know was that every movement was being tracked.
Laffitte's ultrasonic waves mapped their escape routes perfectly.
"Heh," Laffitte said softly. "Such a pointless struggle."
He transformed fully.
His body twisted into a humanoid bat, fangs bared, ears sharp, top hat still perched neatly on his head.
A monster.
He moved.
A blood-red shadow flashed through the crowd.
Screams echoed, then vanished.
"I'll buy time!" a fleeing warrior cried, turning back. Others followed, throwing themselves into certain death to slow him down.
Laffitte watched them with mild admiration.
"Impressive," he murmured. "If this were another time, I might have recruited you."
A blade pierced the chief's abdomen.
"Who are you?" the chief demanded through clenched teeth. "Why are you killing us?"
Laffitte paused, thought for a moment, then smiled.
"Just a whim."
He pulled the sword free and moved on.
The chief collapsed, eyes wide, dying without understanding.
Soon, no warriors remained.
Shandia Village fell silent.
It wasn't over.
Laffitte turned toward the northwest.
A secret passage lay there, carved centuries ago for disasters that never came. It was large enough to shelter the entire village and stocked with supplies.
Now it was filled with despair.
The ground shook.
Sword light flashed.
The ceiling collapsed.
Screams filled the passage as light poured in.
Above them, Laffitte hovered, smiling.
Then he descended.
He showed no mercy.
When it ended, the passage lay in ruins, buried beneath corpses.
The Shandians, who had fought for four hundred years, were gone.
Erased.