Dawn had just broken, and the first rays of the rising sun shone upon the Rainbow Bridge.
With the naked eye, countless ships could be seen sailing through the cloud sea, crossing the sky as they continued toward the distance. Some ships, however, changed direction and, amid cheers, headed toward a massive cloud waterfall far away.
On the deck of the Going Merry, however, the unprepared group was in terrible pain.
"I feel awful. I can't breathe..."
"Seriously, why didn't we prepare for this earlier..."
"It's my turn, or I'm going to suffocate..."
"Wait a little longer. Ladies first. Men can hold on a bit..."
After Nami handed the simple oxygen masks to Bell-mère and Nojiko, she finally said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Robin!"
Robin looked at everyone gasping for breath, faces flushed and miserable, and said with some exasperation, "Didn't you read the notice on the ticket yesterday?"
Nami looked embarrassed.
"Um, we forgot... We did read the back later, but we didn't think it would be this serious... Thank goodness you were prepared, Robin..."
"Hehehe..."
Robin could only cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
"Don't worry. Your bodies are all in good shape. I'm sure you'll get used to it after a while."
Unlike the miserable group aboard the Straw Hat Pirate crew's Going Merry, the large sightseeing ships passing around them were filled with cheers.
"Wow, are we almost at Angel Island?"
"It's so beautiful..."
"Are there really angels up there?"
Soon, as the ship moved forward, everyone saw the magnificent Gate of Heaven beneath the enormous waterfall.
As ship after ship passed through Angel Island's Gate of Heaven, what appeared before everyone was a huge town built from giant vines and clouds as solid as land. Countless people moved through it, and lively laughter rang across the sky.
Especially when, on that dreamlike island straight out of a fairy tale, winged women of the sky island residents appeared before everyone.
Their beautiful faces made every man stare wide-eyed.
"Wow... there really are angels..."
"They're so beautiful."
"So this is Angel Island?"
Sanji's eyes nearly popped out, and he shouted while drooling.
"Heaven... This is heaven..."
At that moment, staff members riding special motorboats quickly approached, shouting as they guided ship after ship into the docks.
"Please follow me. Once you dock, everyone can enjoy Angel Island properly!"
"We wish everyone a pleasant journey!"
"This is your number. With this number, you can enter the dock and take your ship out!"
"Arigato!"
After the Going Merry docked, everyone stepped onto the shore of Angel Island.
Stepping on the solid white clouds, everyone found it unbelievable. Before their eyes stretched a lively sea of people.
"Wow... It's so soft and fluffy. This is amazing!"
"We really can stand on it."
Watching everyone so happy, Robin thought for a moment and decided it was time to say goodbye.
"Well then, now that we've reached our destination, I'll be taking my leave."
"Huh?"
Everyone was startled at once.
Although what happened yesterday had left them wary of Robin, now that they were parting, everyone still asked politely, "Robin, aren't you coming with us?"
"No. I came here for business, so unfortunately, this is where we part. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."
"I guess that's that."
Before leaving, Robin looked at the not very reliable group and, after thinking it over, still decided to warn them.
"We may have only met by chance, but since we've met, that makes us friends. So there are a few things I want to remind you of."
Seeing Robin's serious expression, everyone grew tense.
"Because of some unpleasant incidents in the past, Angel Island is very strict when it comes to the law. Please be careful. Also, although the cloud sea of the sky island is made of clouds, it has the same properties as the sea below and suppresses Devil Fruit users. Finally, and most importantly, do not enter the Island of the Gods. The unpleasant incidents I mentioned earlier mean not all sky island residents welcome outsiders. They live on the Island of the Gods, so if you don't want trouble, don't even go near it. Otherwise..."
"You'll die!"
Everyone's faces tightened with fear at once, and Usopp swallowed nervously.
"Um, don't worry. We won't cause trouble!"
Nami said with an awkward smile.
"That would be best. Well then, goodbye."
With that, Robin left.
Everyone looked at one another in silence, then finally pulled themselves together.
"Let's not think too much about it. We came here to look around, after all. We spent one hundred thousand Belly..."
...
They had imagined things well, but once they actually began touring this beautiful Angel Island, their mood turned gloomy.
It was not that the island was not beautiful. The problem was that none of them had much money.
A poor trip where they could only look at the scenery naturally could not compare to a rich trip where they could eat whatever they wanted, drink whatever they wanted, and buy whatever they wanted.
"Ah... I'm so hungry, Nami. I want to eat that..."
"Idiot, stop saying that. This is all your fault. If you hadn't left the money with Merry, would we be starving?"
"But I'm really hungry!"
Nami was speechless. She counted the little money they had managed to scrape together, looked around, and could only choose a juice shop.
Luffy could not wait and drank the juice in one gulp. Then his eyes lit up completely.
"Huh... This is so good!"
"Is it really that good?"
Everyone grew curious and tried it too. Their eyes immediately lit up.
"This is amazing!"
If even one glass of juice was this delicious, how good would the food here be?
The thought made everyone even more depressed.
"If only we'd known, we should have swallowed our pride and borrowed some money from Robin-chan..."
The shopkeeper nearby saw their changing expressions and walked over curiously.
"Um, guests from the Blue Sea, is the juice not to your taste?"
"No, no, no..."
Nami quickly shook her head.
"The juice is delicious. It's just..."
After thinking for a moment, Nami suddenly came up with an idea. She put on a pitiful expression and said, "Our money was stolen. Um, uncle, is there any way to make money here?"
"That? I'm sorry, but I really don't know."
"Sorry to bother you."
The shopkeeper walked back, and just then, a few thug-like men nearby overheard Nami and suddenly laughed.
"What are you doing out here if you don't have any money? Bunch of broke losers!"
"What did you say, bastard?!"
Not a single member of the Straw Hat Pirate crew was ordinary. The moment their pressure spread, the thugs were so frightened they began trembling.
"Um, sorry, sorry..."
"Hmph!"
Nami snorted coldly. She had not planned to bother with these thugs, but then she suddenly thought of something. Her eyes shifted, and she said, "Since you're so impressive, you must have a lot of money, right?"
Under Nami's terrifying gaze, the thugs' faces changed drastically.
"Um, no, no. We're broke too. But if you're really short on money, I do know a good place..."