Chapter 46: Back to the Blue Sea
"Luffy! Let go, you idiot!!"
Nami couldn't help but worry. Falling from this height would kill anyone, right?! She cursed him once, then floored the waver to chase after him. If they broke through the cloud layer and hit the sea, it was game over.
Meanwhile, everyone in Upper Yard heard the massive DOOOONG and looked up.
Even people in other parts of Skypiea heard the bell and stepped outside.
"That sound… it's beautiful. The final song from four hundred years ago!"
"Is that… the song of Bass?"
"Yes! It must be the island singing!"
An old man wiped tears from his eyes. He'd grown up on those legends. Never thought he'd live to hear it.
Below the Cumulonimbus, in Jaya:
Mont Blanc Cricket and the Saruyama Alliance's two apes froze when the bell rang.
"No way…!"
"That's right! There's only one bell in the world that can make that sound like that! Nice job, Straw Hat boy!"
Cricket sobbed. All those years of persistence had finally paid off.
The City of Gold… was real!
…
Back in Upper Yard, everyone stared upward.
At first they were moved by the bell… then they realized something was falling. And screaming.
They heard screaming.
They squinted.
Holy— the golden bell?!
It's falling?!
Luo Lin had just reached Upper Yard with Robin when he heard Luffy's pig-like shriek. He looked up— a massive golden comet with exhaust trail was plummeting straight at them.
"Holy shit! Luffy, you absolute moron! Why'd you knock the damn bell down?!"
He scooped Robin up and sprinted a hundred meters in a blink, escaping the impact zone.
He set her down and watched the show.
The golden bell fell straight down— KABOOOM! It punched through the island cloud where Enel's shrine had been, then kept going— KABOOOM! and smashed right into the real hidden Shandora ruins below.
Clouds churned like a tsunami. Shockwaves spread for miles. A good chunk of the ancient city got wrecked.
Luo Lin clearly felt the temperature around Robin drop ten degrees.
Oh no. Some people are dead but still breathing. Some people are breathing but about to be dead.
Luffy = Danger.
And the guy who told Luffy where the bell was (him) might get collateral damage.
"Robin-baby, this really isn't my fault, okay? Luffy's always been a walking disaster!"
Robin, who had been glaring at the ruined ruins, couldn't help it—she burst out laughing.
"Why are you so nervous? Even if you didn't tell him, he would've found it himself."
Luo Lin exhaled in relief. Thank god Robin was reasonable.
Normally they didn't get this tense with each other, but the guy still had ulterior motives, so he was extra careful. If Robin got mad and banned him from the bed tonight, he'd cry.
Cloud bed, you know the deal.
"So… we heading back?"
"Mm. Nothing left to do. I recorded everything I needed. The damage isn't too bad, and now they've discovered the real Shandora. Could call it a blessing in disguise."
"Perfect! Time for a nap!"
The two strolled leisurely back to the Devil.
Luo Lin flopped into a deck chair like a dead weight.
"Ahhh~ paradise. Even if the sky falls I'm not moving. Robin-baby, come cuddle!"
"No way♪ I'm sorting my notes. Sleep first."
"Fine…"
He pouted, then immediately started snoring.
…
Luffy's side—after the exhilarating free-fall—crashed together with the golden bell into the real Shandora below.
Webber, who'd already been half-dead, was now barely clinging to life.
Luffy shot upright.
"Whew! Still alive! Awesome! Hahaha!"
He spotted Webber unconscious on the side and crawled over.
"Hey! You okay?! Hang in there!" SMACK SMACK SMACK SMACK!!
A dozen full-power slaps to the face.
Webber had been hanging by a thread—Luffy nearly sent him off for good.
"S-stop… slapping…"
He croaked. Luffy finally stopped and looked around.
"Cool, you're alive! Where are we? Looks like more ruins!"
Zoro up top saw Luffy punch through the cloud and rushed to the hole.
He realized there was an entire hidden layer below.
Nami came down on the waver. The injured Shandians woke up. Gan Fall arrived too.
When they saw the real Shandora beneath them, they were speechless.
"So this… is the true Shandora!"
Everyone rushed down in excitement.
…
Gan Fall, the original "God" of Skypiea, declared:
Enel is gone. I have no intention of claiming Apayado. I don't want more war. This land belongs to no one. I hope Shandians and Skypieans can share it.
He'd been working toward peace even before Enel arrived.
After this battle, the Shandians were exhausted too. Six years under Enel taught them war was pointless.
Peace was the only way forward.
Both sides agreed instantly: share the land, rebuild together under Gan Fall's lead.
The bell rang once more—this time marking the end of a 400-year conflict.
Of course, the person they most wanted to thank was the guy who solo-killed Enel.
Too bad he'd already bounced.
After the handshake, Gan Fall led everyone to the Ark Maxim.
Enel had built it to reach the moon, stripping every bit of gold on the island except the bell tower.
The ship was huge—way bigger than the Merry—electric-powered, full of intricate machinery.
But nobody wanted it now.
So… they stripped it for parts.
Luffy was the happiest—tons of gold, especially the giant golden mask at the bow!
Thanks to the Divine Squad spreading the word, tons of Skypieans came to help dismantle it.
Even the white-beret captain who lost an arm to Luo Lin was alive.
He admitted he'd joined the berets to protect the people, which is why he'd been so harsh on Blue Sea "criminals." Losing the arm? He deserved it.
They worked until night, then—of course—threw a massive party.
With the Straw Hats' party squad leading, everyone quickly became friends. Last traces of resentment vanished.
Luo Lin slept until evening. Robin was sitting beside him.
"Up! Food's ready!"
"Let's eat!"
He sprang up like a carp. It had been forever since he ate Robin's cooking!
While eating, he casually extended Observation Haki and felt the huge party.
"Robin-baby, they're going wild over there. Wanna go?"
"Nah. Too noisy."
"Cool!"
After dinner Robin cleaned up. Luo Lin trained a bit.
He complained about the trash system, but he actually liked it a lot.
Everything it ever gave him had been exactly what he needed most at the time.
A little training never hurt—who knows when the mall would open and have something critical?
Now that he was a Devil Fruit user too, falling in the sea = GG.
He had the Six Powers, so he was fine. Robin? Not so much.
If she fell in now, he couldn't save her without dying together.
He'd tried for years to get her to learn at least Shave and Geppo. She always refused.
Haki and physical skills are different—one's math, one's PE.
You can learn multiplication tables just by listening. PE? You actually have to move.
Robin finished dishes, came out, and saw Luo Lin swinging his sword?!
She blinked twice to make sure.
"You're… training? That's rare. Last time was… three years ago?"
Luo Lin: …
Cough "I'm a Devil Fruit user now. Gotta stay sharp in case I fall in the sea!"
"True. If it's just the two of us and we fall, the fish eat well that day."
"So, Robin-baby, how about learning Six Powers? Just Shave and Moonwalk? Then no drowning!"
"Absolutely not♪"
Luo Lin: …
He trained a bit more, checked the system—400+ Cultivation Points already! One point per swing—nice!
Goal for today: 10,000 swings! I wanna see what goodies the mall has!
The system heard everything and quietly jacked up all prices by several tiers. Perfect control.
After training, Luo Lin showered, saw Robin reading with coffee, and the beast inside him roared again.
"Hehehe! Enel's gone. No one's watching. Time to do something more meaningful on the clouds!"
Who knows if we'll ever come back to a sky island—can't leave regrets!
He scooped her up, hit 0-100 in one second, dashed into the forest, found an empty island-cloud spot.
(100,000 words omitted)
…
Three hours later, Luo Lin zipped back with a sleeping Robin in his arms, gently tucked her in, then stepped out.
Feeling refreshed, he stretched and used Observation Haki.
"Hm? They're still partying? Let's go see!"
ZAP!
He appeared right in front of Luffy.
Luffy had a mouthful of meat—saw Luo Lin, PFFFT—sprayed it all out.
Luo Lin dodged.
"Don't just pop up like that! You scared the hell outta me, jerk!"
(⌒◡⌒ꐦ)
Luo Lin smiled kindly. Luffy shivered—pure instinctual fear.
Webber, drinking with Zoro, saw Luo Lin and walked over with his cup.
"Didn't expect the Blue Sea to have someone as strong as you. Thank you for taking care of Enel. Cheers!"
Luo Lin grabbed juice and clinked cups.
"The Blue Sea is huge. There're people stronger than me. I just really wanted his fruit. Helping you guys was a happy accident."
"Makes sense. Everyone wants a Logia."
The Straw Hats overheard and went "???"
"Ability? Luo Lin, you're already that strong—why become a Devil Fruit user?"
"Because the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is one of the strongest Logias out there!"
"Ohhh! So you're a user now too?"
He made a pale blue lightning orb in his palm. Answer obvious.
"Cool!"
Luffy reached to touch it. Luo Lin didn't stop him.
Luffy tilted his head, giant question mark above him. No feeling at all? Fake fruit?
Luo Lin dismissed the orb.
"You're rubber, dummy. You're immune to electricity. Anyone else would've been knocked out."
"Ohhh! So who's stronger than you? I've never seen anyone!"
"You have. Your grandpa is one."
"Huh? Grandpa's that strong? Anyone else?"
"Dunno!"
Everyone: …
So only one?
Actually there are a few.
Whitebeard, for example—Luo Lin couldn't beat him.
Over the past ten years he'd visited Fish-Man Island several times. Once, Whitebeard was there too.
Both guests of Neptune. Neptune introduced them.
Freshly learned Conqueror's coating Luo Lin challenged the old man.
Result: instant loss. One clash of Conqueror's coating and he was done.
Now he'd last longer, but the title "World's Strongest Man" wasn't for show—it was earned punch by punch.
…
Next morning, Luo Lin woke up—Robin was already up.
Last night he'd been goaded and mocked into drinking real alcohol for the first time.
"Damn it! If I ever drink again I'm a dog! Tastes like death!"
This life he wasn't allergic, but alcohol was still bitter and gross.
"Hehe~ You said it♪"
Robin walked in and heard him. Luo Lin threw off the blanket, ran over, and puckered up.
"Nope! Morning breath! Go wash up. We're heading back down soon!"
Rejected hard, but he happily went to wash anyway.
…
The Straw Hats had gone back into the snake that night and taken every last piece of gold.
Now both ships were ready to leave.
Only Conis and Aisa were seeing them off, chasing on wavers.
"Alright men! Set sail!"
At Luffy's command, the ships moved.
They weren't tied together this time—heading back to the Blue Sea, one ship would land first. Tied together, the second would smash the first.
Conis and Aisa chased on wavers all the way to the end of the clouds.
Luffy also beat up the bird they'd brought up—turns out they'd forgotten it. The South Birds up here bullied it, so it wanted to go home too!
"Luffy! Nami! Everyone! Come visit Skypiea again!!"
The ships passed through the cloud archway, entered the cloud path, and shot forward— WHOOSH! Then the path vanished.
Both ships dropped vertically.
Even the Merry's sheep head looked terrified.
Mid-fall, giant octopus tentacles wrapped around both ships, slowing the descent dramatically.
Skypiea specialty—Balloon Octopus! Balu!
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