"After I announce that I've taken control of this place, you two can figure out how to erase the hatred yourselves. I won't be coming up here often."
The two old men exchanged glances. Then, as if biting down on something bitter, they nodded.
"There are some seeds here." White Ghost set five heavy sacks on the ground—goods hauled up from the Blue Sea.
"Several varieties. You're short on resources, aren't you? You've got land—use it to farm. It'll help stabilize your current situation."
He waved a hand lazily, like he was talking about housekeeping.
"While you're farming, raise some Sky Dials alongside the crops. I'll come collect regularly. Of course, I won't take them for free."
Both old men's eyes trembled.
Food. Trade. A future.
White Ghost yawned. "Think it over yourselves. I'm going to sleep."
And just like that, he lay down and closed his eyes. He couldn't be bothered dealing with the two of them—he hadn't come to Skypiea to play king.
When he woke again, morning had already come.
Still half-asleep, White Ghost blinked, glanced around, and confirmed everyone was still working.
His gaze landed on the mountain of gold piled nearby. He silently estimated.
This has to start at trillions… minimum.
"Boss, you're awake." Zan Gao was training Enel with heavy equipment not far away.
White Ghost yawned. "Mm. How much have we gathered?"
Kuro walked over. "About sixty percent—roughly three-fifths. As expected of Golden Shandora."
"Good." White Ghost stared at the gold like it was gravel. "That's enough. We're leaving soon."
Zan Gao laughed. "Yeah… boss. At this point, you're basically numb to money."
Senor Pink exhaled smoke, eyes sweeping the ruins.
"Honestly… I've never seen this much gold in my life."
When White Ghost finally announced they were finished, both Skypieans and Shandians nearly cried tears of joy.
Thank heavens. This devil is finally leaving.
They'd worked nonstop for a full day and night without daring to rest, terrified he might become dissatisfied.
Then White Ghost added, offhandedly:
"I'm taking over Skypiea."
Surprisingly, the crowd stayed quiet.
White Ghost didn't care enough to ask why. He simply declared:
"The Shandian Chief and Gan Fall will represent me. When I'm absent, they speak with my authority."
And then he stopped paying attention.
After storing the mountain of gold into his bracelet, White Ghost slapped his forehead.
"Ah. Almost forgot."
Kuro, Zan Gao, Senor Pink—and the rest—looked over. "Forgot what?"
"You wait here."
White Ghost unfolded his wings and flew toward the top of the great vine.
Below, everyone stared upward, confused.
At the vine's summit, White Ghost found it.
A massive Golden Bell.
He stared at it for a second.
Tch… ridiculously extravagant.
Then he stepped forward and punched it.
DOOOONG—!
The sound blasted outward—heavy, vast, absolute.
DOOOONG—DOOOONG—DOOOONG—!
The echoes rolled across the clouds. Even the cloud layer itself seemed to tremble under the vibration.
White Ghost stood there, looking at the bell like it was just another object.
Below, all of Skypiea looked up.
"What… is that sound?"
The Shandian Chief's eyes filled with tears as he listened.
"That's…!"
More and more Shandians dropped to their knees as the bell continued to ring.
"It's real… it's real!" The chief collapsed fully, voice shaking. "It can't be wrong—this is the fire of Shandora, just like the ancestors said!"
Gan Fall stared up too, his expression complex.
"I always believed this moment would come," he said quietly. "The legend says that when Shandora's Golden Bell rings… it means the war ends."
DOOOONG—!
The sound rolled across the entire Sky Island.
People stared upward, crying without understanding why they were crying.
It was a beautiful sound.
A sound that meant they would no longer lose husbands… or sons… or fathers… to an endless feud.
DOOOONG—!
The sound crossed the clouds and reached the Blue Sea.
On Jaya, a man with chestnut hair slowly raised his head.
Beside him, a man who looked like a gorilla and another who looked like a monkey also stared upward.
"Boss… isn't that the legendary Golden Bell?" the gorilla-like man asked.
"It has to be." The chestnut-haired man's face twisted into a grin. "That's the bell 'Liar Noland' described—HAHAHAHA!"
He laughed so hard his shoulders shook.
Then his laughter cracked.
"Hahaha… my ancestor wasn't lying… he really wasn't…"
And as he laughed, Mont Blanc Cricket started to cry.
"If my ancestor wasn't lying… then the City of Gold really was blasted into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream."
He wiped his face hard, then looked up again, eyes burning.
"Men! Modify the ship. We're going up there ourselves!"
He crossed his arms, chest swelling.
"A man's romance really is that simple."
"ROMANCE! ROMANCE! ROMANCE!" the gorilla and monkey shouted, throwing their arms around each other.
"Alright. That's enough."
White Ghost stored the Golden Bell into his bracelet without hesitation.
I'll mount it on my territory later. Ring it whenever I feel like it. Sounds fun.
When he returned to the ground, he froze.
Every single person on Skypiea—Skypieans and Shandians alike—was kneeling in front of him, staring with fanatical eyes.
"…What is this?" White Ghost frowned, looking at the two leaders.
Gan Fall and the Shandian Chief lowered their heads even further.
"Only when Shandora's Golden Bell rings can the war truly end," they said. "And you are the one who rang it."
Skypiean civilians came running from every direction, desperate to see the person who rang the legendary bell.
"You are the god who ended our four hundred years of conflict," the Shandian Chief said. He and Gan Fall bowed deeply together. "Please accept our worship!"
"GOD—!"
More and more voices joined, kneeling and chanting.
White Ghost narrowed his eyes—
Then understood.
So that's your plan, you two old bastards. Turn me into a symbol so you can finally force the war to stop.
He didn't hate it.
If anything… it was efficient.
Gan Fall seized the opening at once.
"God—since you will not remain here, please allow us to send two people to serve you."
White Ghost glanced across the crowd, then back at the two old men.
"Tch. Nice move. Timing, place, legend—everything lined up. With this, the hatred can actually be worn down."
He snorted.
"Old men really are dangerous."
"I'll choose myself," White Ghost said.
Gan Fall and the Shandian Chief exchanged looks, quiet satisfaction passing between them.
White Ghost stepped forward and looked at the sea of kneeling people.
"I need two people to follow me," he said. "Two who can handle minor matters for me."
"We swear to follow the god to death!" the crowd roared, bowing again.
White Ghost pointed at a huge man.
"You."
The big man blinked in shock.
Me? The god is pointing at me?
"Yes, you. Come out." White Ghost's gesture was impatient.
Under thousands of envious stares, Urouge walked forward—nearly three meters tall, built like iron.
White Ghost nodded.
Then he pointed again.
"Also—you."
This time his finger landed on Wyper.
Wyper's expression tightened, but he stepped forward without hesitation.
White Ghost nodded again.
Good.
Gan Fall and the chief hesitated, then tried their luck.
"Should we also send women? They're men—men don't serve as well…"
White Ghost shot them a flat look.
Do you want Ain to cut me in half? That girl's jealousy is lethal.
"No." White Ghost's tone was final. "Say goodbye to your families. Prepare yourselves. We're leaving."
Both leaders could only nod and give Urouge and Wyper private instructions.
Kuro walked up and murmured, "Good picks. And that bell—nice move."
White Ghost grinned. "Of course I'm taking it. I'll ring it on my own territory whenever I feel like it."
"Alright. We're going."
White Ghost's body swelled—his dragon form erupted into the sky.
The Skypieans fell to their knees again at the sight of their "god" becoming a dragon.
Zan Gao grabbed Enel and jumped onto the dragon's back.
Urouge and Wyper used Wind Dials under their feet to propel themselves upward.
White Ghost's massive golden wings beat once.
"I'm leaving," he called down lazily. "I'll come back someday."
"WE SEE OFF THE GOD—!"
Urouge clasped his hands, looking horrified.
"To stand upon the god's back… such disrespect…!"
Zan Gao: "…He's still doing this."
Senor Pink: "…He's committed."
White Ghost sighed.
"What, are you guys really playing along with him now?"
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