Light the Fire of Shandora:

-x-

While two vicious battles had been fought and won by the Straw Hats on Upper Yard, down below it in their settlement on the White Sea the Shandian warriors had continued their strategy meeting after a brief recess.

Aisa had watched as Braham and Kamakiri went into the tent and rejoined the meeting and decided to peek through the door to see what it was all about.

"So Gan Fall the former God made his way into Upper Yard alone," Wyper recapped. "This will not sit well with Eneru."

"Do you think Gan Fall's trying to take back what he lost?" Kamakiri inquired.

"No way," another Shandian insisted. His name was Genbo. He had pale skin and was nearly as round as Satori. His head was shaved bald and on top of it he wore a white and dark yellow striped hat that resembled a chef's hat. A brown belt went diagonally across his large round chest and belly which was left uncovered. His arms were in a pair of long sleeves that went from his wrists to his shoulders and were covered in giraffe-like spots. He had the customary white Shandian wings on his shoulders and wore a short brown grass skirt. "That old fart's never had the guts to try before. Why would he now?"

FWOOM! At that exact moment Shura drove his burning lance through Gan Fall's body.

THWHAAAAM! Elsewhere, Sanji smashed his foot down on the top of Satori's head.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Aisa screamed and stumbled into the tent. Aisa's scream and presence drew the attention of all the Shandian warriors in the meeting. Aisa suddenly found herself standing in the middle of the tent in front of Wyper, who just earlier she had said that she found even scarier than God. "AAAAHH!" The girl screamed again then ran and hid behind Laki.

"What's the matter Aisa?" Laki inquired as the girl peeked out from behind her.

"Two voices... they're gone..." the scared girl answered.

"Your Mantra?" Wyper inquired.

Aisa nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. "It just happened."

"Grrr..." Wyper growled which caused Aisa to duck back behind Laki again. "You're saying you heard two voices... and then they disappeared suddenly? You need to be honest with me. Is this true?"

Aisa merely whimpered despite the fact that the scary warrior was doing a remarkable job of keeping calm while dealing with the girl.

"I assume that's a 'yes'," Laki informed Wyper. "We should believe her. Ever since she was born she's been able to use her ability of Mantra to sense people, even those who are far away from her. There is no mistaking her gift." Clearly Aisa wasn't 'just' a little Shandian girl. Laki glanced down at Aisa, "You sure you don't hear them? They're not there anymore?"

"Yeah... I think it stopped," Aisa answered, "But... it seemed like Gan Fall was fighting a Priest and they..."

"Killed each other?" Kamakiri supplied.

"Nicely done old man," Braham remarked.

"HOO!" Kiko howled, "Only three priests left now!"

"Which is good for us," Wyper realized.

"No... it was..." Aisa timidly attempted to correct the scary warrior.

SLA-SLISH! Just then Y/N slashed Shura with his blood red sword.

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Aisa screamed.

"AAAAAHH!" Kiko, who had been sitting next to Laki, jumped at the girl's sudden scream and then screamed right back at her.

"AAAAAAAAHH!" Aisa screamed at the wild-looking warrior.

"WHAT NOW?" Wyper demanded over the screaming causing both Kiko and Aisa to quickly quiet.

"Another voice..." Aisa whispered. "It disappeared... no... it's just really faint..."

"ENOUGH!" Wyper snapped, "Tell me exactly what you heard!"

"Eeep..." Aisa squeaked in terror.

Laki turned and draped her arm around Aisa. "Wyper calm down," Laki scolded him, "She's just a child. You're scaring her."

"She's a child who you just said may have vital information!" Wyper reminded her. He stared straight at Aisa. "Tell me... who... did you hear?"

Gulp. "Three voices," Aisa reported, thought she was still shaken. "The first was Gan Fall... he was fighting Shura... but he lost."

"So the old man didn't take him out?" Braham inquired. "What was the second voice?"

"The second was Satori," Aisa revealed, "Two people that I don't recognize beat him."

"That means we're down a former God and a Priest," Kamakiri noted.

"Two Priests," Aisa corrected him, "The one I heard just now was Shura."

"But I thought you said he took out Gan Fall?" Kamakiri questioned.

"Someone else beat Shura," Aisa explained, "I don't recognize their voice... it's very strange... I've never sensed anything quite like it before."

Wyper tensed when he thought back to earlier when he'd attacked a small ship filled with Blue Sea dwellers. Then he remembered seeing two of them again when he'd visited the Upper Yard.

"Blue Sea Dwellers..." Wyper spoke up, "I saw a small group of them earlier."

Aisa's eyes widened. "I saw three Blue Sea Dwellers when I was..." the girl trailed off when she realized that she was about to admit to in a room filled with Shandian warriors that she had gone somewhere that she wasn't supposed to go. "Uh... I mean.... maybe those are the strange people that I sensed. There are eight voices on Upper Yard that I've never heard before."

Wyper didn't dwell on Aisa's obvious slip. Instead he focused on the fact that two of Eneru's Priests had been taken out.

Wyper stood and walked to the opened flap with his cannon hoisted on his shoulder.

"I guess Heaven's actually answered our prayers," Wyper announced, "It's time for us to crush those Priests once and for all!"

"HOOOOO!" Kiko howled as he jumped to his feet. "Eneru's forces are the weakest they've ever been! LET'S STRIKE NOW!"

"On your feet!" Wyper ordered the less-high-strung Shandians. "We're launching a full-scale attack on the Upper Yard!"

"YEAH!" Kiko, Kamakiri and Braham chorused. Wyper led the men out of the tent and left behind Laki and Aisa.

Laki stood up and glanced down at the girl who was holding her hand. "Wyper still makes you nervous, doesn't he?" she inquired. The girl nodded. "You have to grow up sooner or later." Laki lightly pushed Aisa off of her then turned and left the tent.

"Laki wait!" Aisa called after her. Laki stopped outside the tent. "Those Blue Sea People that beat the Priests... they scare me. Be careful."

"Aahh," Laki sighed, "I'll try." She knelt down and motioned Aisa towards her. "Now be a good girl and hand over your bag."

"NOO! I can't!" Aisa protested as she hugged the bag that held the Vearth she'd collected on Upper Yard, "This is my special-secret bag it has treasure in it!"

Laki leaned in and smirked at her, "I know that," she said as she gave the girl a one-armed hug. "And it will have even more inside when I bring it back."

Aisa's face lit up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Laki confirmed.

"Ptoo..." Wyper spat out tobacco from a pipe he'd been smoking and scowled as he stood nearby with the other warriors.

-x-

"He couldn't have shut up any sooner," Sanji remarked as he stood with his foot on the unconscious Priest Satori's round belly. Luffy stood next to him admiring the large pile of bumps that the Priest was sporting on his head after being hit by Sanji's powerful kick. "There's nothing worse than being humiliated by a guy who looks like that."

"At least he had some neat tricks," Luffy supplied. "Like predicting our moves before we even knew them..."

"HEY! GUYS!" Usopp shouted. "LUFFY! SANJI! I FOUND THE BOAT BUT YOU'VE GOTTA MOVE! I'M SERIOUS! IF WE DON'T GET TO IT RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA BE STUCK ON THIS STINKIN' ISLAND!"

"I guess Usopp's okay," Sanji observed.

"He's yelling something about the boat," Luffy noted.

"KICK IT INTO GEAR!" Usopp instructed, "THE BOAT'S LEAVING THIS PLACE AND WE'VE GOTTA GET ON IT NOW!"

Luffy and Sanji climbed up a massive root to join Usopp.

"Get up here!" Usopp called down to them. "Just hold onto my body."

Luffy blinked. "What?"

Usopp held the sides of his grappling hook belt. "USOPP AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAH-AAAAAH!" BANG! The grappling hook shot out of the buckle in his belt and whizzed through the trees. WOOSH! The hook reached the Crow. SHUK! AND CAUGHT THE SIDE OF IT!

"Now that's what I call marksmanship!" Usopp bragged.

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he and Sanji ran over, "Usopp you're my hero!" WHUMP! Luffy and Sanji ran too fast and ended up inadvertently tackling Usopp off of the branch.

"Do you try to kill all your heroes like that?" Usopp complained.

"I don't think so," Luffy replied.

"You threw my back out, you jerk!" Usopp snapped at him.

The Crow kept going and pulled Usopp's grappling hook and the belt it was attached to along with it. KRAK!

"You fixed it!" Luffy cheered.

"I can do anything..." Usopp reminded him as he gingerly held his back.

Sanji smirked at him as he put an arm around Usopp's shoulders while Luffy casually poked at Usopp's special belt. "I'm surprised you pulled this off," he admitted.

"Oh yeah?" Usopp asked, "Well no more underestimating me."

The Crow kept going along the Milky Road and the three Straw Hats quickly grabbed each other and were yanked after it. SHOOM!

Of course, what Usopp hadn't planned on was the slight bank in the Milky Road which caused the Crow to turn and the rope to swing to the side to compensate. WHAAM! Luffy, Usopp and Sanji slammed into the trunk of a giant tree. Then they bounced off and smacked into another one. WHAM!

"Uuuuuugggghh..." Usopp groaned. When they finally reached the Crow they had a number of 'tree wounds' on top of their various injuries from the fight with Satori.

"I will never let you forget this..." Sanji growled.

"You know..." Luffy supplied, "I could have... stretched my arm... and grabbed the boat..."

"Look... we're on the boat and out of the forest..." Usopp pointed out, "That's all that matters."

The Crow continued along the Milky Road with its three passengers once again on board. They still had a fair distance to go but they were now headed for the Sacrificial Altar... or at least they hoped they were.

-x-

Up ahead of them, Y/N took a deep breath as he stared at the man that all the sky people referred to as 'God'. Eneru was casually seated on the railing of the Going Merry while Y/N was still carrying Gan Fall, Pierre and Chopper after fishing the three of them out of the Sea Clouds following his victory over the Priest Shura and his Ordeal of String.

"If that Priest refers to this guy as God then that means he's even stronger than he is," Y/N thought to himself, "There's no way I can take a guy like this after the fight I just had."

"Don't worry Blue Sea Dweller," Eneru called out to him, "I'm not here to fight."

"You're not?" Y/N questioned, he had to admit that he was a bit unnerved that the man had seemingly just read his thoughts.

"Not just anybody can face My four mightiest warriors and live to tell the tale," Eneru explained, "Your abilities have caught My interest."

"I kind of figured that out myself when you sent the White Berets to arrest me instead of passing judgment on me yourself when I committed a Class One Crime," Y/N replied. "And then flyboy mentioned that you ordered him to bring me to you. But then he decided he wanted to rough me up a little bit first."

"But despite that you managed to defeat the White Berets and one of My Priests," Eneru noted.

"As a pirate I'm used to dealing with people trying to arrest me," Y/N answered. "As different as this place is from my world down below, I guess some things never really change."

"Perhaps they could..." Eneru offered with a small smile, "As you proved when you defeated My warriors, good help is hard to find. Even for an immortal God such as Myself. I could use a warrior of your skill."

Y/N's eye widened in surprise, "Wait... you want me to join you?" he inquired.

"Yes," Eneru confirmed, "Your Mantra is remarkable. And know this, Blue Sea Dweller, I don't give out praise lightly."

"Mantra?" Y/N repeated in confusion.

Eneru actually blinked in surprise.

"Interesting," he remarked, "You don't even know what Mantra is but your usage of it surpasses that of My four Priests. If you joined Me, I could give you the training necessary to harness your ability. Who knows, perhaps someday your Mantra will be half as powerful as Mine."

"Is the Eye's telepathy 'Mantra'?" Y/N wondered. "I don't really like using its abilities. I just want to be able to control it. How do you say 'no' to a guy who thinks he's a God?"

-x-

"Satori and Shura have fallen," 'Sky Boss' Gedatsu thought to himself as he sat on a statue in his territory. "That's why their Mantra pales in comparison to mine. It seems that the intruders this time are from the Blue Sea... but they behave strangely. The sacrifices are now moving around freely as well. However, even if we leave them alone they won't find their way off this island."

Gedatsu's thoughts actually sounded cryptic and menacing. Too bad no one was around to hear them. Then the Priest stood up and once again proved his incompetence when he tried and failed to cross his arms properly.

-x-

"Do you hear the voice of sorrowful warriors, Holy?" 'Skybreeder' Ohm asked his giant dog as he sat on a rock at the edge of a grassy field that was filled with skulls mounted on spikes. "It doesn't matter how many times we walk this road, things always end the same. Shura may have defeated Gan Fall but his and Satori's Ordeals were broken. That's where luck will end for our new challengers. For them to attempt to see God is insolence at its greatest and their punishment at my hands will have things a bit unsettled this evening in the Upper Yard." Ohm reached up and pressed his sunglasses against the bridge of his nose. "No one here gets out alive."

-x-

"CAAAAAWW!" Fuza crowed as it flew over the massive trees.

Shura twitched as he hung from his bird's claws.

"How?" the wounded Priest wondered. "How could I have lost to a simple Blue Sea Dweller? I beat the former God. I have to... increase my training..."

"Next time Fuza..." Shura whispered, "Next time we'll kill him for sure..."

"CAAAAAAAAAWW!" Fuza screeched in agreement.

-x-

Wyper led a battalion of thirty Shandian warriors along the Milky Road towards Upper Yard. He was on the same dial-powered skis as he was before and had his cannon slung over his shoulder.

Kamakiri flipped through the air as he rode a dial-powered surfboard while wielding a spear.

Braham clutched a pair of guns as he raced along on a pair of skis.

Laki had a long rifle slung over her shoulder as well as Aisa's bag as she rode a pair of skis.

Genbo was in a wide stance on a pair skis and was wielding a cannon like Wyper's.

Kiko was right behind Wyper on his surfboard. He wore a pair of fingerless gauntlets that reached his elbows where tubes ran along his forearms to the back of his hands.

There were over twenty other Shandian warriors in their company riding dial-powered skis or boards and all of them were armed with some form of weapon for the upcoming battle.

"ALL OF YOU! LISTEN UP!" Wyper called out from the head of the group. "TODAY WE CATCH UPPER YARD AT HER MOST VULNERABLE! THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME! WE MOVE FULL SPEED AHEAD AND DON'T STOP UNTIL WE REACH GOD'S SHRINE! AND DO NOT FEAR ENERU! THE GREAT WARRIOR CALGARA IS OUR ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR! ONLY TO HIM ARE WE TRUE!"

The Shandians drew closer together as they bared down on Upper Yard. Wyper called out the names of his trusted officers.

"Kiko!"

"HOOO!" Kiko howled as he flipped his mane of wild pink hair. "HAIL CALGARA!"

"Braham!"

"Ready!" Braham called out as he clicked his guns.

"Kamakiri!"

"Hmph," Kamakiri grunted as he twirled his spear.

"Genbo!"

"Rraaah!" the round warrior growled.

"Laki!"

"Right!" Laki exclaimed.

"Be careful!" Wyper instructed his officers. "We split up here!" Wyper readied his cannon and pointed it at the massive trees of Upper Yard. "WE VOWED TO THE GREAT WARRIOR CALGARA TO LIGHT THE FIRE OF SHANDORA!"

"YEAAAH!" the Shandians cheered.

BOOM! Wyper fired the first shot and his round impacted with the tress. KA-BOOOOOOM! An explosion rang out and rose above the massive trees as the Shandians readied for battle.

Up ahead Ohm and Gedatsu tensed when they sensed the oncoming attack.

"So the Shandians have come for a fight," the two Priests realized and prepared to receive their special 'guests'.

-x-

Nami stared through her binoculars in shock. "It can't be!"

-x-

Secret of the Island:

-x-

"Look... I'm flattered," Y/N said, "But I'm loyal to my crew. I couldn't leave them."

"Yes, I sense that you have a strong bond with your pirate crew and that they have great loyalty towards you," Eneru stated, "The three that you sent off for their safety have already realized your true intentions."

"They have?" Y/N asked, "Wait... how could you possibly know that?"

"I'm God," Eneru reminded him, "I know everything that happens on this island. Two of them had a particularly loud argument concerning whether or not they should continue their attempt to find the treasure you claimed to send them out for or to return here and help you. Speaking of which, your other three crewmates are on their way here to rescue you. You'll be pleased to know that the three of them actually managed to defeat Satori."

Eneru decided not to mention the force of Shandians that He sensed approaching His island.

"Wow... flyboy was able to predict my moves but this guy can sense everything on this island," Y/N remarked, "He's not just on a different level, he's playing an entirely different game. I don't know if he's trustworthy but if he says Luffy, Sanji and Usopp are okay then that's a good thing. They even managed to defeat another one of the Priests."

"Which Priest is Satori?" Y/N questioned, "The dumb one, the fat one, or the bald one?"

"Satori is the round one that hosts the Ordeal of Balls," Eneru informed him, "It has a ten percent survival rate but they managed to overcome him. But you defeated Shura and his Ordeal of String which has a three percent survival rate and you did that on your own with only a minor distraction from that old fool that you're currently holding." Eneru glared at the unconscious form of Gan Fall that was currently draped over Y/N's shoulder. "If Shura hadn't already passed judgment on him I would have done so Myself. To think that the people here believe that their precious Sky Knight could stand up to My power. The reason I decided to come here was to meet you so he hardly matters at this point."

"Well... I've always been good at overcoming the odds," Y/N admitted, not sure of what to say about Eneru's dismissal of the old man that had saved his life earlier.

"But back to the matter at hand," Eneru said, "I want you to join My forces. With your abilities I could easily have you replace those weaklings Shura or Satori as one of My Priests."

"I told you, my loyalty is to my crew," Y/N replied, "and I've never really been overly religious."

"Following Me has very little to do with religion," Eneru corrected him, "If you'd prefer you could think of Me as a King. Although I'm significantly more powerful than any King you're likely to have met down in your Blue Sea World."

"That's just the thing though," Y/N countered, "I became a pirate for the freedom. I'm an outlaw which means I don't have to follow any laws or orders."

"Doesn't your pirate crew refer to you as 'Captain' and follow your orders?" Eneru pointed out, "If you followed Me then I'd be your Captain."

"He thinks I'm the Captain?" Y/N thought to himself. "Hey, I'm not..."

KA-BOOOOOM! Wyper's cannon exploded in a distance.

"What was that?" Y/N wondered.

"I'm a busy God," Eneru stated, "It seems like I have other matters to deal with at the moment so perhaps I'll give you some time to decide. Maybe losing some of your crew will make you more willing to reconsider."

Y/N's eye narrowed and he immediately forgot about being civil at the sound of the threat.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my crew!" he growled.

But to Y/N's surprise, Eneru merely laughed at his threat. "Yahahahaha! You actually believe that you pose a threat to Me? You may have been skilled enough to face My Priests but you'd stand no chance against Me. But rest assured, it wasn't a threat, it was a warning. The Survival Game will begin tomorrow. If you live through it I'll repeat My offer to you and any of your remaining crew. Consider yourself warned."

FWOOSH! There was a flash of bright light and Eneru disappeared.

A Survival Game... that didn't sound good.

-x-

Nami held her arms out to the side as she fought to keep her balance as she slowly crossed a log.

KA-BOOOOOOM! The explosion from Wyper's cannon suddenly rang out in a distance.

"Uh... guys?" Nami questioned. She stopped and looked worried about what she'd just heard.

"That sounded like an explosion," Zoro noted.

"I thought I heard some earlier," Robin added, maybe she'd heard the explosions from Satori's battle with Luffy, Usopp and Sanji, "but this one sounded bigger."

Nami overcame her shock and continued onward, "Well either way we have to keep moving forward," Nami announced.

SKISH! Zoro shot himself up on top of a log that was up above Nami's.

"Are you in some kind of hurry?" he asked.

"You've been acting odd for some time," Robin added as she crossed a third log alone. "What did you see?"

"Please tell me it wasn't god," Zoro groaned.

"It wasn't," Nami answered, "If I explained it you still wouldn't understand!"

"Enough with the mystery, Nami!" Zoro snapped, "Spit it out! Tell us what you saw!"

"Quit ordering me around and just do what I say!" Nami shot back at him. "We have to get to the sea shore!" She looked upward and noted that despite her very useful boots the other two were a lot further along their own logs than she was. "Would one of you please help me?"

"You're the leader," Zoro replied, "Why don't you help yourself."

"The sea shore?" Robin repeated as she casually created a long chain of arms that stretched down from the bottom of her log to Nami's.

"Yes," Nami answered. "It's the only way we can get close enough to check this thing out." She grabbed hold of the last hand in Robin's chain and allowed the older woman to pull her up to the higher log. "Because to be honest, I won't believe what I saw until I see it up close."

"Me too," Robin agreed. "It's been bothering me for a while now but I still can't prove anything yet. Of course, a theory is only a theory until proven. But if what I've dreamed up turns out to be true it would be interesting, very interesting. The one thing I always wanted in life... doesn't seem so far out of reach anymore." Robin's mind briefly flashed back to the Poneglyph in Alabasta's Royal Mausoleum. Then to the other one that she and Y/N had found that marked the resting place of the ancient weapon Pluton, "Although, it's only a theory."

Nami stood up on the log behind Robin and wondered what her theory was.

-x-

"Uuugghh..." Chopper groaned as he blearily opened his eyes. He glanced around him and noticed that he was on the Going Merry. "What's going on? What happened?" Then he noticed the wounded Gan Fall and Pierre were lying on the deck nearby. "GAAH!" Chopper shrieked at the sight of the hole going through the Sky Knight's armor as well as his chest. "SKY KNIGHT! HEY! DOCTOR!"

"That's you..." Chopper glanced off the side of the Going Merry and saw Y/N dragging the main mast up the altar stairs towards the ship. Chopper had torn it off after Shura's bird Fuza had set it on fire. But the mast was still showing signs of serious burns. "You'd better take a look at the old man."

Chopper nodded then turned and pressed his ear and hooves to Gan Fall's chest.

"Uuugghhhh..." the Sky Knight let out a low groan.

"He's alive!" Chopper noted, "That's good."

"But he's hurt bad," Y/N pointed out. "See what you can do for him."

"Piieeee..." Pierre let out a low caw.

"The bird's fine," Y/N told him as he reached the top of the altar and set the mast down beside the ship. "He only fell into the Sea Clouds. Focus on helping the old man."

SWOOSH! A winged figure suddenly flew over the opening in the trees above the Altar.

"Huh?" Y/N grunted as he looked upward. He had the Eye covered once more so he was back to having limited depth perception and couldn't see anything that high above him but with his sharp ears he was still able to hear it.

"What happened to the Priest?" Chopper asked.

"I used the Eye and beat him up," Y/N answered. Skish! He jumped up onto the railing then dropped down onto the deck and glanced at Chopper, Gan Fall, and Pierre. "Then I dove in and fished you three out of the clouds. How's he look?"

"He's hurt really bad," Chopper observed, "He was stabbed straight through his chest and a number of his internal organs are probably burned."

"I've got a couple of those too," Y/N admitted as he looked down at his chest and stomach where Shura had stabbed him with his lance. "But mine are shallow and aren't nearly as bad as his so I can wait."

"Get his armor off," Chopper instructed, "I'll go get my medical supplies."

Chopper shot up and ran for the storage room. Tmptmptmptmptmp!

"Piiiieeeee..." Pierre let out a mournful cry as he slowly pushed himself up.

"Don't worry," Y/N reassured the bird, "Chopper's the best doctor around. If anyone can help your friend, it's that little guy."

SWOOOSH! A winged silhouette passed over the opening above the clearing again. Y/N's head snapped upward.

"Okay, this time I know I heard something," he insisted.

SWOOOOOSH! A large winged figure descended from the sky towards the altar.

"Don't tell me the Priest's chicken is coming back..." Y/N muttered.

Fwap! Fwap! Fwap! The bird pulled out of its dive and beat its wings and it hovered above the Going Merry. Y/N went wide-eyed when he saw what the bird really was.

"Chopper..." Y/N called out towards the reindeer in the storage room, "You're gonna wanna take a look at this..."

"JOOOOOHHH!"

-x-

"We're almost there," Robin announced, "I can hear the waves breaking on the shore. Listen..."

"Hmm..." Zoro hummed as he stopped moving and listened quietly as Robin instructed.

"Almost... there..." Nami panted as she climbed over. "It might not be treasure... but Y/N's not gonna believe what we found... Hurry up, slow pokes!"

"Would you mind telling me what you saw?" Zoro asked yet again. Then he lowered his voice and muttered, "Or at least shut up."

"On second thought, I'm hearing more than just the tide rolling in," Robin said as she stood next to Zoro while Nami continued to climb off ahead of them, "you?"

"Yeah," Zoro answered, "It sounds like a charging army."

-x-

"RAAAAAAHH!" the invading Shandians let out a collective roar as they charged down the Milky Road through the forest of Upper Yard.

KA-BOOOM-BOOOM-BOOOOM! Explosions marked their path as the warriors blasted the huge trees as they whizzed by them. They wanted the Priests to know they were there. They had come for a fight.

-x-

"And some explosions thrown in for good measure," Zoro added. "With any luck, it's a distraction from what we're doing."

"Or they're attacking our friends," Robin supplied.

"Y/N and Chopper?" Zoro questioned. "I didn't really wanna admit this but Nami was right before. Y/N can handle himself. I've sparred with him at night enough to know that he's one of those guys that I wouldn't wanna fight for real. While he might not be very strong, he never holds still and always keeps moving during a fight. He gets in your head and outsmarts you. That's how he beats you."

"You don't have to tell me something I already know," Robin replied, "I fought Mr. One Eye three times back on Alabasta. But he does have a habit of getting distracted when his friends are in trouble. So the one I'm really worried about is Mr. Doctor."

"Chopper?" Zoro repeated, "Don't worry, he's tough for being so fuzzy. When the time comes he can handle himself."

"And the others?" Robin inquired.

"You mean Luffy?" Zoro asked.

"He won't sit still after learning what happened to us," Robin stated.

"Right," Zoro agreed, "And he's the one who wanted to come here to begin with."

"I don't know what this God has hidden out here," Robin admitted, "but I doubt he'll let our Captain just walk through."

"Between that, your theory, Nami being annoying, and this other battle..." Zoro recapped.

"This whole thing has gotten more complicated," Robin pointed out.

"That's what I was gonna say," Zoro noted, "Anyway, our Nakama are used to being neck-deep in trouble so I'm not worried. Getting bent out of shape over things that haven't happened is a waste of time."

"Fufu," Robin lightly chuckled, "Good point."

"WOULD YOU TWO HURRY UP!" Nami shouted at them. She wasn't nearly as athletically gifted as Zoro or even Robin so it was taking her a while to climb over each root even with her hiking boots. Meanwhile the other two were making their way through the giant forest with casual ease.

Nami finally climbed down off of the latest root and turned around then smiled at what she saw ahead of her. Between two trees off in a distance she saw nothing but white. They'd reached the shore. Wordlessly she continued onward. Her destination was within reach.

"Nami wait!" Zoro called after him. "NAMI!"

-x-

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he, Usopp and Sanji continued to sail along the Milky Road on the Crow. "Lemme do it again but this time don't make me laugh."

"Ahahaha! Alright," Usopp laughed in agreement, he grinned then called out, "Zoro would you wake up already!"

"Huh?" Luffy grunted in a deeper voice as he looked up at his friend. He'd pushed his hair back to expose more of his forehead, narrowed his eyes, and made his rubber nose more pointed. As a result, Luffy's face looked like Zoro's and once again, Luffy was using his rubber body for an impersonation. "You're a dead man..." 'Zoro' let out a low groan then passed out again.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Usopp roared with laughter. "THAT'S THE BEST! AHAHAHA!"

"THIS IS NO TIME FOR GOOFING OFF!" Sanji yelled at them from the driver's seat. "Miss. Nami and Miss. Robin are lost out there and for all we know they could be in trouble."

"Y/N, Zoro and Chopper are with 'em, you know," Luffy reminded him.

"There are three more Priests waiting in the wings," Sanji told him, "We may have more challenges ahead of us."

Luffy brushed his black hair down so it covered his left eye, then pinched his right eyebrow and spun the end into a spiral before he held two fingers in front of his mouth like he was smoking a cigarette. "Ordeal of Love..." Luffy mumbled in an impressive Sanji impression.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Usopp laughed and applauded the impersonation.

A couple seconds later, the laughter had stopped and Sanji was lighting up a new cigarette while sporting a large tick mark on his head.

"Whatever the case is, we've got to get to that Altar," Sanji resolved, "Don't you think?"

Clearly Sanji hadn't cared for Luffy's impression of him because the Captain and Sniper had suffered yet another vicious beating at the feet of their cook and were now sporting puffy lips, black eyes and large bumps on their head.

"Ookaaayyy..." Luffy and Usopp groaned, "We're soorryyy..."

-x-

Nami panted as she exited the trees and laid eyes on what she'd come all this way to see.

"I wonder why she took off so fast?" Robin remarked as she and Zoro followed the Navigator.

"Figures," Zoro grumbled, "She sees what she wants leaves everyone else behind."

Nami brushed her hand on the wall she'd found on the shore. "I was right," Nami realized as she stared up at it. "This is exactly what I thought I saw."

Robin reached the edge of the forest but then she stopped and stared in surprise at what Nami had found. "Unbelievable," she gasped.

"Hey Nami!" Zoro called out as he climbed over the last large root, "If you don't tell me what it was that you saw... then I'm am gonna—" Zoro immediately cut off when he looked up and saw what it was that Nami had found.

"Speaks for itself pretty well," Nami told him, "Look at it. It's almost unreal. But it's no fairy tale. We've all seen what it belongs to." Nami walked along the side of the round dirt and vine-covered stone structure. "How did it get all the way up here?"

"That doesn't make any sense," Zoro said as he overcame his shock and walked over to the two women. "Why would this be here? It looks exactly the same. It's like a copy."

"But it's not," Robin corrected him.

"How do you figure?" Zoro questioned.

"This is the other half of what we saw before," Robin informed him.

"Go on," Zoro instructed her.

"It's bugged me for a while," Robin explained, "Why is it we walk on soil here instead of Island Cloud? This dirt, there's nothing in the make-up of the White White Sea that would allow for its existence. So... the ground that we're walking on shouldn't exist up here. Upper Yard was originally on the ground."

"I knew that house was off when I saw it," Nami added, "Thing is, it's a two story house but there was no staircase leading up to the second story. And what would make you build a house on the edge of a cliff? But then again, it wasn't a cliff at all."

"WHOOAA!" Luffy and Usopp exclaimed when they first saw what they thought was Montblanc Cricket's house on the north-eastern shore of Jaya. "AMAZING!"

On the shore in front of them was a castle. It was a large white structure that was easily six stories tall. It had three round pink diagonally striped turrets and two that were pointed with yellow and black stripes. There were fancy designs all over it and cannons perched on top of the walls of the top two stories.

"Uggh... look closer," Zoro groaned.

"It's really unattractive," Sanji commented. "The guy's gotta have some serious guts to build a house that ugly."

Chopper stared at the castle and stretched his eyes wider with his hooves, "Hmm? What's that?"

SKISH! Luffy leapt off of the Merry and onto the shore then ran around the side of the palace. "WAAAAAAAHHH!" he howled. The palace turned out to only be a wooden cutout. The actual house was a small, round two-storied structure. The house was half as tall as the cutout and a third as wide. "IT'S NOT A PALACE AT ALL!"

"This is that half of the island that was ripped away," Nami realized. "THIS ISLAND USED TO BE PART OF JAYA!"

The proof was the fact that Zoro, Nami and Robin were currently stared at the aged second half to their friend Montblanc Cricket's house. The gaudy palace cutout was to cover the hole in the side of the house that had been split in half. Together the worn half-round house combined with the one Cricket was living in down on Jaya and made the same round two-storied house.

"So what that means is a few hundred years back the island split in half and one side of it rose into the sky," Zoro concluded. "Do either of you know how that could have happened?"

-x-

Back at the Going Merry, Y/N and Chopper found themselves staring up at A MASSIVE SOUTH BIRD!

"JOOOOOHH! JOOOOOOHHH!" the huge South Bird crowed.

SWOOOSH! SWOOOSH! More winged shapes descended from the sky and suddenly the one massive South Bird became an entire flock of nearly a dozen giant-sized South Birds.

"They're South Birds!" Chopper realized, "A whole flock of 'em! They're huge! I didn't know they got so big!"

"Everything's big here," Y/N reminded him, "These birds are only supposed to be native to Jaya. What are they doing all the way up here? And for that matter, what do they want Chopper, you know I don't like birds."

"Piiiiee?" Pierre looked offended.

"Sorry but its true," Y/N apologized.

Then before his eyes transformed into his winged Pegasus form. "Piiiee?"

"That actually is better," Y/N admitted, "I've got no problem with horses."

"JOOOH! JOOOOOOH!" the main South Bird crowed.

Chopper went wide-eyed and glanced at Gan Fall, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S GOD?"

"Or he's the former God at least," Y/N realized, "Eneru must of unseated him. That must be why he was so dismissive toward him before."

-x-

"It had to have been the Knock Up Stream that did it," Nami reasoned, "Sounds ridiculous but that's the best I can do. "

They all remembered the powerful Knock-Up Stream that had blasted their ship up through the clouds to the White Sea. And then they remembered their friend that helped them get there.

"My name is Montblanc Cricket," Cricket had introduced himself. "I'm sorry I attacked you. I thought you were more bandits coming for my gold."

"YOU MEAN THERE'S NO SKY ISLAND?" Luffy shouted after they'd explained their reason for coming. "ARE YOU SURE?"

"I know of only one who has claimed to see the island for himself," Cricket had answered, "But that man is considered a liar of epic proportions."

"'I saw a City of Gold on an island in the great sea,' declared Noland," Nami read from the fairy tale story Noland the Liar. "And the courageous King decided that he must have this treasure for his kingdom. The King set out with Noland and two thousand of his finest soldiers and all they found for their troubles was a normal island covered with an ordinary jungle."

"As the story goes, Noland's last words were as follows," Cricket told them, "'I can only assume that the City of Gold sunk into the sea. Unable to find the city Noland assumed that it had submerged due to shifts in the Earth's crust. But everyone dismissed this as the last-ditch excuse of a doomed man."

"That's what made you keep diving until you got sick," Chopper had realized. Their friend had given up his former life and had moved to Jaya so he could spend his days diving into the sea in an attempt to find the City of Gold that his disgraced ancestor claimed to have found.

"All I'm doing is following what I believe is my destiny," Cricket had said, "This is between me and Noland. I'm facing what I fear. Whatever the outcome, the act is all that matters."

"Let's settle this Noland!" Cricket had cried out to the sea after he'd left his crew to stay behind on Jaya. "Once and for all!"

They could imagine it now, the powerful upward current known as the Knock-Up Stream had shot up under Jaya and blasted half of it along with the creatures and people that were on it up into the sky. Cricket's house had been on the exact spot where the island had broken in half and had been split resulting in one half being in the sky on what became known as Upper Yard while the other half remained behind down on Jaya. Cricket gave up his former life and spent his days living as a disgrace as he attempted to find the gold that would restore honor to the Montblanc name.

"The City of Gold didn't sink into the sea like he guessed," Nami realized, "This part of Jaya... has been floating in the sky for four hundred years!"

-x-

City of Gold in the Sky:

-x-

"YAAAHOOOOO!" Nami cheered. "GOOD GOD THANK YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE AFTER ALL THE SUFFERING WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TO FIND SKY ISLAND THAT IT REALLY TURNED OUT TO BE THE CITY OF GOOLD!" Nami clasped her hands in prayer, "This must be your way to reward me for my good behavior, right God? You're just... great!"

"Shut up," Zoro spat at her. "Ten minutes ago you were scared this God was gonna kill you, remember?"

"Well, call me shallow," Nami replied, "but I don't care how scared I get as long as someone has gold waiting for me."

"So do you fear or praise this God?" Robin inquired, "I'm confused."

"Alright, I'm done keeping up with your mood swings," Zoro announced.

-x-

"Whoooaaaa..." Luffy and Usopp gasped as the Crow finally exited Satori's territory known as the Lost Forest. They were still traveling along the Milky Road only now it was out in the open and ran above a grassy field.

"What is this?" Luffy wondered.

"My money says that this is where we're supposed to find the next Ordeal," Sanji stated, "Which means another Priest. So you two stay awake."

"Oh no," Usopp groaned, "I think one Ordeal is enough for today. Which one seems like it could be out here? String? Iron? Swamp? I'm so nervous!"

"Relax," Luffy reassured him, "It's just a grassy field."

"Open your eyes!" Usopp exclaimed. "It's a field with a thousand impaled skulls set up like trophies to scare us! AND ITS WORKING!"

The three Straw Hats had left the forest and were now in a field. And to make matters worse, it was Ohm's field in the territory where he conducted his Ordeal of Iron.

"Yeah you're right," Luffy noted as he eyed the impaled skulls as they sailed by them. "I wonder who did this."

"AAAAAAH!" Usopp screamed as he clasped his hands over his eyes. "Its another one of those Priests! I just know it! He's gonna tear our bodies in half!"

"Another Priest with another Ordeal?" Luffy questioned, "Sounds like fun!"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Usopp shouted, "THOSE ARE HEADS ON STICKS BACK THERE! ON STICKS! Next its gonna be us..."

"Don't worry so much Usopp," Luffy wrote off his scared sniper's worries, "We'll beat 'im!"

Luckily for the three Straw Hats. Ohm was currently... occupied.

Sanji turned his head in time to see an explosion rock the edge of the field. KA-BOOOOM!

"Hey, what's that smoke?" Luffy asked as he stared in the direction of the explosion.

"GAAAH!" Usopp shrieked, "I KNEW IT! THEY'RE GONNA GET US WITH STRING, IRON AND SWAMP ALL AT ONCE!"

"That certainly would save time," Sanji remarked.

KA-BOOOM! One of the skulls exploded.

"AAAAAAAHH!" Usopp wailed. "WE'R DEAD!"

WOOOOOSH! Wyper, Kiko and five other Shandians flew over the Crow on their skis and boards. Wyper flipped so he was hanging upside down in midair and aimed his cannon at the Straw Hats. BOOOOM! Wyper fired off a round at the three pirates.

"AAAAAH-GAGAGAGAGAGA!" Usopp screamed and whimpered at the same time.

Luffy pushed Usopp out of the way and inflated his stomach, "GUUUM... GUUUM..." WHUP! Wyper's round impacted with Luffy's inflated belly. "BAAALLOOOON!" SHOOM! Luffy launched the round back the way it came.

SWISH! Kiko spun in midair and slammed his elbow into his side. FWOOSH! A long blade of fire shot out of the tube on the back of the Shandian's right gauntlet. FWOOOOM! Kiko slashed the fire-blade like a whip and cleaved Wyper's incoming round in half. The round flew passed them and exploded on the ground. KA-BOOOOOM!

"WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?" Kiko demanded as he, Wyper and the other five Shandians landed on a massive tree branch at the edge of the clearing ahead of the Straw Hats.

"Paramecia," Wyper answered, "Only one who has eaten one of the Devil Fruit could do that."

"HOOOO! I'LL SLICE THEM TO PIECES!" Kiko howled.

"STAND DOWN!" Wyper ordered, "We're not here for them. Keep fighting."

"Grrrr..." Kiko growled as he gritted his fang-like teeth. But he knew better than to go against Wyper's orders. "Fine."

"You..." Sanji said as recognized the masked man that had wiped the floor with him, Luffy and Zoro when they first reached the White Sea.

"WE'RE READY!" Luffy hollered at the Shandians. "COME ON DOWN! WE'LL CREAM YOU! MAKE YOUR MOVE BIG GUY!"

"You sound and stink like Blue Sea People," Wyper noted, "Which means you're responsible for all the chaos in Skypeia!"

"Luffy, that's the guerilla we saw back on the White Sea," Sanji informed his Captain, "Look..."

"What's gotten into him?" Sanji had wondered about Chopper odd behavior after the doctor had just witnessed Wyper blowing up a ship.

SHWOOSHH! The cook looked off the side of the ship and spotted Wyper racing along the clouds on his dial-powered skis.

"Check it out, he's right," Sanji realized when he spotted the strange man approaching the front of the ship. "There's a guy running around out there."

Currently, the only difference in Wyper's outfit now was that he'd left his mask behind.

SKISH! The bull-masked man leapt off of the clouds revealing his then-unknown dial-powered skis and flew at the Merry looking to land on it.

"Hey stop!" Sanji called out to the man, "What do you want?"

"TO DESTROY YOU!" the man shouted.

"Oh, is that all?' Sanji questioned.

"He's mine," Zoro called out.

"Who is?" Luffy asked. "What's going on?"

THWAK! Before anyone could react the man flew over the railing and sent Sanji crashing into the side of the galley with a surprisingly powerful kick.

"AAAAHAAAHAAAAHAAA!" Usopp screamed as he dove for cover, "JUST BLOW US UP AND GET IT OVER WITH!"

"If you don't want to die, then go back to your 'blue sea' immediately!" Wyper ordered, "Because, I promise, if you do anything stupid on this island..." Wyper growled as he glared straight at Luffy, "Grrr... We'll execute you along with Eneru!"

"They're up here trying to kill this guy Eneru?" Sanji questioned. "Then that means that these guerillas... are different."

"If different means that they're not Priests then that means they don't have to kill us," Usopp pointed out, "For the sake of keeping all of your body parts intact can we please SAIL ON?"

"NOT A CHANCE!" Luffy snapped as he raised his fists. "WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A FAIR FIGHT? JUST YOU AND ME!"

Usopp grabbed Luffy from behind and held his waist in a desperate and pathetic attempt to keep him from getting them in trouble with another scary enemy. "PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!" Usopp sobbed. "PLEASE STOP!"

Luffy struggled to get the sniper off of him as he continued to shout threats at Wyper. "YOU STAY ON THAT TREE BRANCH! I'M COMING TO YOU! USOPP, GET OFF ME! HANDS OFF! I'M TRYIN' TO FIGHT HERE! I'LL UPHOLD OUR HONOR! I HAVE TO! WE'RE PIRATES!"

"Do all Blue Sea People act this strange?" Kiko inquired, he was seated on the branch next to Wyper and was scratching an itch in his pink mane of hair... with his foot.

Wyper gave the wild warrior an odd look then went back to watching Luffy struggle with Usopp, "They'll probably end up destroying each other before they can make it off this island. Let's go!" SWOOSH! He turned and leapt off through the trees. Kiko and the other five quickly followed behind him.

Once the Shandians were gone, Usopp finally let go of Luffy and dropped down to the deck.

"I wonder why they're up here," Luffy said as he stared after the tribal warrior quintet.

"I'm not sure," Sanji admitted, "Must be pretty serious. But they seem to be enemies of Eneru as well as us."

"Yeah," Usopp whimpered. "You know... I really do hate this place..."

"Let's keep moving," Sanji resolved.

"Koff! Koff!" Usopp let out a pair of fake coughs. "I think my 'Can't-Go-Into-the-Scary-Forest' Disease is acting up!"

"I'm starving!" Luffy complained.

"HOW COULD YOU BE HUNGRY?" Usopp demanded, "Look, we need to calm down! All of us! Let's just sing Sanji's song and everything will be fine, right? Good. Eh-hem!"

"TAAKE MYY HAAND HONEEEY!" Luffy and Usopp sang together.

"THOSE AREN'T THE WORDS!" Sanji snapped at them.

-x-

At that moment, Ohm, Holy and Gedatsu were in the forest ahead of the Straw Hats dealing with the attacking Shandians.

CHOMP! Holy lunged forward and clamped his giant mouth down on one of the Shandians. The warrior's entire body fit in the colossal canine's mouth as it stomped its paws on the ground to scare off the other Shandians. WHOMP! WHOMP!

"I'll cover you!" Laki called out to Braham as they sped over on their skis.

"RAAAH!" Six Shandians leapt at Ohm, each from a different direction.

Time slowed as Ohm used his Mantra to sense the movements of the six warriors then in a flash drew his sword and slashed his opponents. SLA-SLISH!

"AAAAAAHHH!" All six men were hit by a single split-second swing of Ohms sword and dropped to the ground. Fwump-wump-wump!

WOOOSH! Braham sped in and fired his guns at Holy's face. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

"Useless!" Ohm growled as Holy reared up and knocked the gun-wielding warrior away with one of its massive paws. WHAM!

-x-

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji continued to sail across the empty meadow on the Crow. Luffy and Sanji were both relaxed but Usopp was still nervous and was awaiting an oncoming attack from one of the Priests.

"There's no way they'd let us out of here this easy!" the sniper insisted as he peered through his goggles for any sign of trouble. "You know as soon as we relax we're all dead meat! We've got zero! And I mean Zoro... I mean Zolo... no that's stupid... ZERO! Hey I wonder how Zoro's doing..."

-x-

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Three Shandians were sent flying courtesy of Gedatsu in a rare display of competence. A spear-wielding Shandian stared in surprise as he watched his comrads get dispatched by the Priest.

"He-heh," Gedasu chuckled. The Priest lashed out his hand and the warrior went flying. WHOOOM! Gedatsu was on a roll.

-x-

Head for God's Shrine:

-x-

"We've been sailing forever Sanji," Luffy complained, "When can we stop? Can we stop now?"

They'd left the skull-filled field behind and were now once again traveling through the giant trees of an Upper Yard forest.

"Soon," Sanji answered. "I just wanna make sure that field behind us is way behind us."

"I think that since we've gotten this far maybe they'll let us keep on moving," Usopp suggested, "Yeah, I mean, of course they will! They already have!"

WOOOSH! The Crow dipped downward and Usopp started screaming again as they found themselves sailing down a spiral of Sea Cloud.

"SHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed, 'THIS IS IT! DYING WILL BE A BLAST!"

"THIS WHOLE POINT IS NOT TO DIE!" Usopp yelled at him, "SPEAKING OF POINTS, WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING A CANAL SPIRAL LIKE THIS?" They picked up speed as they continued down the spiral. "SUDDENLY I DON'T FEEL VERY GOOD!"

"YAAAHOOOOO!" Luffy cheered. He was having a great time. "SHISHISHI! YOU'VE GOTTA ADMIT, THIS IS FUN!"

"I'LL DO NO SUCH THING!" Usopp shouted.

"HOLD ON!" Luffy called out.

"I'M ALREADY DOING THAT!" Usopp exclaimed.

WOOOOSH! The spiral stopped but the canal suddenly tilted upwards as the Crow went through a loop in the terrifying rollercoaster.

"SHISHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed loudly, loving every second of it. "THESE MILKY ROADS ARE A BLAST!"

"And they're perfect if you ate something earlier AND YOU DON'T WANNA KEEP IT!" Usopp snapped. "I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HATE THIS PLACE!"

-x-

"RAAAAAHHH!" Kamakiri and Genbo roared as they charged in and tried their hand at attacking Ohm, Gedatsu and Holy.

"HAAA!" Ohm shouted as the slashed his sword and dispatched another batch of soldiers.

With Ohm there to cover for Gedatsu's blunders the two Priests were holding their own against the Shandians even if there were only two of them.

-x-

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were now on a canal that was running up above the trees which allowed them to see the beautiful orange color the sky had turned due to the setting sun.

"The sun's going down," Usopp noted, "I wonder what we'll run into after dark. Do you think we can make it to the Altar before then?"

"No, I don't," Sanji answered around his cigarette.

"I can barely see the sunset through those clouds," Usopp remarked as he adjusted his goggles.

"I'm surprised they even have sunsets up here," Luffy added.

-x-

WOOOSH! WOOOOSH! Kamakiri and Genbo looked up from their fight with Ohm in time to see Wyper, Kiko and the five other Shandians come racing through the trees.

"HOOOOO!" Kiko flew straight overhead and swung a flaming whip out at Holy who was holding off Laki and Braham. FWOOOSH! "TAKE THIS BEAST!" Kiko swung his flame whip downward but the dog caught him off guard when it suddenly reared up onto its hind legs and lashed out its massive paw. WHAAAM! Kiko slammed into Braham and both of them were knocked out of the way.

"WYPER!" Kamakiri shouted. "WE CAN HANDLE THIS GUY! HELP THE OTHERS!"

"Right," Wyper agreed as he bounded over a tree and spotted a bunch of Shandians having a hard time with Gedatsu.

Wyper dove and lashed out his leg at Gedatsu's face. SWISH! Gedatsu tilted his head to the side to avoid the kick but then found Wyper's cannon pointed at his face. KA-BOOOOOOOM!

-x-

"YYY/NNNNNNNNN! CHOOOPPEEEEER!" Nami called out. She, Zoro and Robin had finally made it back to the Altar. "WHERE ARE YOU GUYS? IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, ANSWER!"

"They tore the mast off," Zoro noted when he saw the Going Merry's main mast lying next to the ship on the top of the Altar. "What've they done to her?"

"Obviously they were attacked!" Nami exclaimed, "Y/N and Chopper couldn't have done that to the Merry. YYY/NNNNN! CHOPPER? WHERE ARE YOU? SORRY WE TOOK SO LONG! AT LEAST GIVE US A SIGN THAT YOU'RE NOT DEAD!"

"..." The ship stayed silent.

"So I guess that means they're dead," Robin dead-panned.

"WOULD IT KILL YOU TO THINK POSITIVE?" Nami snapped at the morbid woman.

"Huff..." Zoro sighed, "HEY Y/N, CHOPPER! COME OUT HERE! NAMI'S SCARED!"

Krek... They heard the faint sound of the galley door opening.

"I knew that would get him," Zoro said with a smirk.

Y/N appeared wearing a new black t-shirt. "Hey guys," he greeted them. "Chopper's dealing with a patient right now."

"Thank God he's still alive," Nami whispered.

"I think it's despite god that he's still alive," Zoro countered.

"Y/N!" Nami shouted, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?"

"We got attacked," Y/N answered. "I handled it."

"YOU WANNA GIVE US A LITTLE MORE DETAIL?" Nami requested.

-x-

"Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as the Crow sailed up a steep incline. "We're climbing over a tree! And it's the biggest tree I've ever seen!"

"My stomach's already in knots and your yammering isn't helping, Luffy," Usopp complained, "Do you feel that? It's weird, like something bad's gonna happen when we get over that tree."

"Maybe," Sanji replied, "But my money's on the rest of those Priests waiting for us at the end of our journey here."

They reached the top of the tree and realized that the steep incline now became an extremely steep decline.

"That's what you were sensing Usopp," Luffy pointed out, "An incredibly unsafe drop off of this treeeeeeeee..." Like an actual bird, the Crow started to dive and the three Straw Hats plummeted from the top of the tree at a rapidly increasing speed. SHOOOOOOM!

"AAAAAAAHHH!" Usopp screamed in terror.

"WAAAAAHHHH!" Luffy screamed in delight.

"PLEASE TELL ME IT'S NOT ANOTHER CORKSCREW!" Usopp shouted.

"Huh... you see them down there?" Sanji asked. Unlike Luffy and Usopp, he'd stayed calm the entire ride and just kept staring ahead of them. Right now he saw a large lake at the bottom of their drop filled with small specks.

"Are those the Priests?" Usopp wondered.

"No, just Sky Sharks," Sanji informed him.

"Oh," Usop said, "Thank goodness, I thought for sure we were goners." But then he realized what Sanji had said and actually saw the school of Sky Sharks waiting below them with wide-opened mouths. "WAAAAAAAH! SKYY SHAARKS! AAAAAAAH! THEY'LL SWALLOW US WHOLE!"

Whup! Luffy leapt over Sanji and landed on the head of the Crow figurehead and began to lash out his fists. "GUUUUUM... GUUUUM..." Luffy shot his fists out ahead of them and peppered the entire school of Sky Sharks with rapid-fire punches. "GAATLIING!" KA-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW-POW!

SPLOOOOSHH The Crow slammed down into the lake that was now filled with the unconscious floating bodies of the Sky Sharks that Luffy had easily knocked out.

"Uuugghh..." Usopp groaned, "WE'RE SOAKING WET!"

But Luffy saw something to be very happy about.

"HEY! CHECK IT OUT!" he called out to the other two. "WE'VE FOUND IT! THERE'S THE GOING MERRY SITTING RIGHT ON TOP!"

Zoro, Nami and Robin looked to the side and saw Luffy, Usopp and Sanji approaching them on the Crow.

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy laughed and waved to his crew.

"MISS. NAAMII! MISS. ROOBIIIN!" Sanji swooned, "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING BUT I BEAT THE ORDEAL OF LOVE TO GET HERE!"

"I thought it was Balls, not Love?" Luffy questioned him while Nami sweat-dropped.

"If that was love I don't ever wanna find it again," Usopp insisted. "ANYWAY, WHO CARES! WE'RE ALIVE! WOOOOHOOOO!"

"Sounds like they're happy to be here," Nami remarked, "Safe and sound."

"Hey Chopper!" Y/N called out towards the galley, "All the others are back!"

At long last the Straw Hats were all reunited.

-x-

Luffy, Usopp and Sanji had sailed the Crow up to the Altar and Usopp was now on the ship standing between Y/N and Chopper as he surveyed the damage to the ship.

"Sorry about that Usopp," Y/N apologized, "I had to deal with a Priest, his fire-breathing bird and the Ordeal of String. The bird lit the mast of fire so while I led the Priest away I had Chopper tear it off and throw into the clouds so the flames didn't spread to the rest of the ship."

"Sorry Usopp," Chopper whispered as he hung his head.

"I had to deal with one of those Priests too," Usopp admitted, "Those guys are no joke." He turned and smiled at Chopper, "It's a good thing that bird only lit the mast on fire instead of you, right? Ahahahaha! We can figure out the details on the ship later."

"See Chopper, nothing to worry about," Y/N reassured his little brother.

Chopper had tears in his eyes and was touched that Usopp was more worried about him than his treasured ship. Chopper turned and jumped up onto the railing and with flames of courage burning around him shouted, "I PROMISE TO BECOME A MORE DEPENDABLE MAN, STARTING RIGHT NOW!"

Luffy glanced from Chopper over to Y/N, "So how'd you beat your Priest?"

"I cheated and used the Eye," Y/N answered, "Nothing else that I did was working. He kept predicting my moves. Chopper blew the One Whistle and the Sky Knight came and helped me. If it weren't for him I would've literally been toast."

"The Sky Knight was here?" Luffy questioned, "Where is he? I don't see him." Y/N and Chopper glanced solemnly towards the galley.

-x-

A moment later, Luffy, Y/N, Nami, Sanji and Chopper were gathered in the galley standing over the Sky Knight. Sanji had made a quick trip to the shore in the Crow and had brought Zoro, Nami and Robin over.

Gan Fall the Sky Knight and former God was lying unconscious in a makeshift futon that Y/N and Chopper had made for him. Pierre was dutifully sitting nearby still in his Pegasus form.

Luffy crouched down and stared at the unconscious man. "He was willing to sacrifice this much for us, even though he gave us that whistle for free."

"If it wasn't for the Sky Knight you guys wouldn't have a ship," Chopper said, "And we'd be dead for sure."

"Using the Eye was the least I could do after he saved me," Y/N admitted.

"I've got a bunch of questions for him," Sanji said, "but I guess I'll wait 'till he wakes up." Sanji glanced over at Pierre, "We owe you a 'thanks' as well."

"Piiieee..." the 'horse' chirped and saluted.

Nami stared down at the Sky Knight then glanced at Y/N who was standing beside her. WHAK! Nami elbowed Y/N in the stomach.

"AAAGGGHHH..." Y/N groaned, "What was that for?"

Nami glared at him, "I knew there was something you weren't telling us!" Her hand flashed out and she grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted it up to reveal the bandages he had wrapped around his chest and stomach. "YOU GOT HURT TOO!"

"First of all," Y/N said, "the old guy's sleeping. Keep your voice down. Second, his injury was worse than both of mine put together. And third..." Y/N grabbed Nami by the hand and led her out of the galley. Zoro, Usopp and Robin were out on the deck to keep from crowding the galley. "Third, I didn't want to worry you."

"You didn't want to worry us..." Nami repeated, "WELL YOU COMPLETELY FAILED ON THAT ONE! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW WORRIED WE WERE ABOUT YOU!"

Zoro leaned over to Robin, "Wasn't she the one saying not to worry about him?"

"I think someone should scream at him," Robin replied, "She seems like the best choice."

"Look, I'm sorry I worried you," Y/N apologized, "but I didn't want any of you getting hurt so I wanted to keep God's attention focused on me."

"WE FIGURED THAT OUT FOR OURSELVES, GENIUS!" Nami yelled at him. "You may think you're clever and sneaky but you didn't fool any of us! Didn't it ever cross your brilliant mind THAT YOU COULD'VE TOLD US WHAT YOU WERE PLANNING? THEN WE WOULD'VE KNOWN WHAT TO EXPECT AND LEFT ZORO BEHIND TO HELP YOU OUT!" Nami jabbed her hand in Zoro's direction, "THAT IDIOT WAS NEXT TO USELESS OUT THERE IN THE FOREST!"

"HEY!" Zoro protested, "Who saved you from those sharks!"

"SHUT UP ZORO!" Nami snarled at him before she turned back to Y/N, "HE WAS WILLING TO FIGHT GOD FOR YOU! HE WOULD'VE HAPPILY HELPED YOU KICK THAT PRIEST'S ASS!"

Zoro blinked. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the girl insulting him one second then sort-of praising him the next.

POW! Nami lashed out and punched Y/N in the chest.

"AAAAH!" Y/N gasped.

"DON'T YOU EVER TRY TO KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM US AGAIN!" Nami threatened him, "IF YOU DO AND I FIND OUT, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS! THEN I'LL LET THEM HAVE WHAT'S LEFT!"

Y/N frowned as he remembered his meeting with God. He hadn't even told Chopper about that. "Then boy do I have a story for you," he said.

"We have one too," Nami informed him, "I decided to take my mind off of your idiocy and actually find something while we were wandering that forest for hours."

"Then we should probably have this conversation elsewhere," Y/N suggested, "I wanna get off of this damn Altar."

"He's got a point," Sanji agreed as he came out of the galley with Luffy and Chopper, "The ship's trashed and it'll be dark soon so there's no chance we'll make it back to Angel Island until tomorrow. We should hop over to land and make came for the night."

"Why there?" Luffy asked.

"Because if we stay here and someone attacks us the first thing to take a beating will be our ship," Usopp pointed out. "Would you use you're head Luffy? You're as bad as Y/N."

"Not to mention it's easier to fight from land than from an Altar floating on a cloud," Sanji added.

"SHISHISHISHI!" Luffy suddenly started laughing and Chopper laughed along with him. "TEEHEEHEEHEE!"

"CAAAAMPIIIING!" Luffy cheered.

"THIS ISN'T A PARTY!" Usopp snapped at him, "WE'RE IN ENEMY TERRITORY! NOW CALM DOWN!"

"Not a party... got it," Luffy said as he stared off the ship at the still unconscious Sky Sharks. "Hey Usopp... is a barbecue a party?"

-x-

Sometime later, night had fallen and the Straw Hats were gathered on shore around a campfire. Gan Fall was still resting and Pierre the horse was lying next to him.

"Get your hand... off my food..." Y/N growled at Luffy as he yanked half a Sky Shark away from him.

"I WANNA EAT THAT!" Luffy argued.

"EAT YOUR OWN!" Y/N snapped back. "I haven't eaten anything all day! I tried to make some sushi before but the Priest interrupted me and then the shark went bad. The last time I ate was at that party last night at Cricket's house. That was nine chapters ago! If you don't take your hand off my food... right now you're gonna lose it!"

"Okay, okay, geez," Luffy conceded as he pulled away from Y/N's half of the sky shark.

Tap! Tap! Usopp tapped a stick against a chalkboard, "Quiet down now," he instructed, "It's time to hear everyone's field reports."

"We ran into this Priest named Satori who uses Balls with different kinds of threats inside them," Sanji recapped as he casually grinded some medicine for Chopper to use on Gan Fall, "Explosives, dragons... the usual. But what really hung us out to dry in the fight was that this guy kept predicting our moves using a power called 'Mantra' or something."

"The Priest that attacked us was called Shura," Chopper chimed in, "He used a spear that sets fire to anything and his bird lit the main mast on fire. He seemed like he could predict Big Brother's moves like that Satori guy. When things got really bad I used the One Whistle to call the Sky Knight and he came and saved us just in time."

"I couldn't see most of that fight because it was way up in the air," Y/N continued for Chopper, "But when he shouted 'Ordeal of String' I knew I wanted to see what was going on. I took off my eye patch and realized that Shura had spread extremely thin string all around the clearing. It was invisible to the naked eye so the Sky Knight and his bird didn't notice it until they were so tied up in it that it kept them from moving. Shura finished him with his lance and that's where I jumped back in. I used the Eye and a reluctantly cooperative shark as a distraction so I could finish him off. Then his bird took him away."

"Sounds like you all had a rough time," Nami remarked, "Well, what we found was that this island we're on is actually the missing part of Jaya. You see, the City of Gold didn't sink into the ocean like in the Noland the Liar story but it was shot into the sky like us."

Y/N grinned, "Then that means it's somewhere here on the island," he realized. He looked over at Nami, "That's probably that large amount of treasure I've been sensing."

"I've noticed that you've stopped sneezing," Nami noted.

Y/N looked thoughtful, "I've been fine ever since I took my eye patch off."

Meanwhile, Luffy finished off his half of the Sky Shark while Y/N was still working on his.

"EXCELLENT WORK!" Usopp crowed then motioned to what he'd written down on the board. "Now, based on your reports we've learned that the Priests can predict our movements using a power they like to call Mantra. Next, the bird breaths flames, the spear burns you and watch out for invisible string. But most importantly, we learned THIS! The City of Gold is not a thousand leagues under the sea as we had thought but it is hidden somewhere on this very island!"

"NO WAY!" Luffy exclaimed.

"THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I TOLD YOU!" Nami scolded him.

"So... what is this Mantra-business all about?" Zoro asked Sanji.

"Maybe it's some sort of sixth sense you only get up here," Sanji suggested.

"Actually..." Y/N said as he glanced at Nami, "I've got something else to report. After I beat the Priest... I met God."

"YOU MET GOD?" Chopper exclaimed.

Y/N nodded. "It was while you were unconscious following your swim. I carried you, the old man and the horse up the stairs and found him sitting on the side of the Going Merry."

"You met God... what's He like?" Usopp asked.

"What do you think the person in charge of the Priests that tried to kill us, is like?" Y/N countered, "He's really dangerous. His Mantra is probably fifty times stronger than the Priests'. He can sense everything that's happening on this island. Anyway, I used the Eye's telepathy to beat Shura and he claimed that it was Mantra and that it was powerful enough that he wanted me to join his forces. I tried to let him down easy since my loyalty is to you guys but then we heard an explosion, he threatened you and said something about a 'Survival Game' that would start tomorrow and then he disappeared. I just thought I'd warn you guys."

"OOOOOH! A GAME!" Luffy cheered, "THAT SOUNDS FUN!"

"I like games," Chopper admitted.

"Do you really think it's going to be a simple game after what we've been through today?" Sanji asked him. "By the way, do I need to grind this down anymore?"

"Yes it needs to be a fine powder," Chopper told him as he turned back to the Sky Knight, "He suffered a lot of damage to his digestive system."

"The game doesn't matter," Luffy decided, "We've finally got an adventure with gold at the end! I can't wait!"

Nami winked at him, "Glad to see someone on my side." She turned to Y/N, "After everything you put us through today, you'd better make up for it tomorrow by finding that City of Gold!"

Y/N nodded, "Consider it found."

"Luffy nooo!" Usopp protested, "Did you forget about what the scary guerilla guy said about execution? We can't go looking for treasure! Now we've got an even scarier God after us!"

"God will be really mad," Chopper nervously realized.

"Fufufufu," Robin laughed, "Sounds like fun."

"Well, we wouldn't be very good pirates if we turned our backs on gold," Sanji reasoned, "So let's not."

"It won't be easy," Zoro stated with a smirk, "You know everybody up here already hates us, which means I'm in."

"Come on..." Usopp attempted to reason with them, "Aren't you even a little bit frightened of the wrath of God? I mean, I wanna live, don't you?"

"Look at it this way,' Y/N told him, "'God' knows everything that happens on this island. So he probably knows what we're doing now. He hasn't reacted yet so maybe he doesn't care what we do while we're here."

"SHISHISHISHISHISHI! Luffy stood up and laughed, "GOOOOLD! AND IT'S ALL WAITING FOR US!"

The Straw Hats were getting set for the treasure hunt of a lifetime.

-x-

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!