"Are you here for sightseeing or war? If it's sightseeing, each person must pay an entry fee of one billion Extol," said an elderly Sky Island woman named Amazon, her face wrinkled like a sour plum, as she emerged from the Heaven's Gate inspection office and looked at Rosen and his crew.
"We're here to fight," Rosen replied calmly with a faint smile, puffing on a cigar. Smoke swirled around him, and his gaze was sharp and dangerous.
Amazon was momentarily stunned. Blue Sea people coming for war? That was rare, but not unheard of—some pirates were just that blunt.
She snapped a photo with her camera.
"Then you may enter, no entry fee needed. Good luck… Express Lobster…" The last part of her sentence rose slightly in tone.
With a rumble, the cloud river split open, and a massive express lobster extended its claws, clamping both sides of the Dawn and gently lifting it before racing up the winding cloud stream that spiraled toward the White Sea and God's Country.
As the lobster first grabbed the ship, Daz Bones and the others almost attacked, thinking it was another sea beast assault.
But Rosen recognized what it was and stopped them. Under the express lobster's swift pull, the Dawn shot toward the White Sea like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The winding cloud stream became a highway thanks to the express lobster—far faster than sailing under their own power. Soon, the lobster launched them high into the White Sea.
As they reached the sea's surface, Rosen spotted Angel Island, and from a high vantage point, he could also glimpse the holy land of Upper Yard.
Enel probably hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly. By the time word reached him, they might already be landing at Upper Yard.
Rosen came for the gold—and for Enel. The conflict between the Shandians and the Sky Islanders was none of his business unless there was something in it for him. Centuries of grudges weren't his concern.
"Head in this direction. Daz, Hathaway, be ready. It'll be a tough fight. But you two will focus on cutting off Enel's escape. We could overwhelm him together, but if he escapes again, it'll be a problem. Natalie, remember everything I just said?" Rosen asked, cigar in mouth, as sand began to swirl around him.
He wanted to defeat Enel one-on-one—it was tied to his 800-million-bounty-level mission. Enel's destructive power fit the bill, but his overall strength was questionable.
An 800-million bounty typically indicated near-Admiral-level strength—comparable to top Shichibukai like Boa Hancock or Bartholomew Kuma.
If the target posed significant danger and commanded a powerful force, even a billion or more wasn't unusual.
Bounties over a billion were rare outside the top commanders of the Four Emperors. Rosen guessed those ranged from one to two Admiral-level threats.
Above two billion meant confirmed Admiral-class power. The Four Emperors themselves were slightly above Admiral level with massive forces—so bounties of four or five billion were normal.
As for Enel's actual strength, Rosen wasn't sure. His Devil Fruit was incredible, but his combat instincts and physical skills were weak.
Would that drop his evaluation below Admiral level? Rosen didn't know. But he hoped Enel would reach the 800-million mark—because that would push Rosen one step further.
"Got it! Just look for where hundreds of people are gathered, right? That'll be easy," Natalie said confidently, patting her chest.
"Then let's go!"
"Is that a Blue Sea ship?" On a cloud beach, Conis had just finished playing a tune when she noticed a ship heading straight for the holy land of Upper Yard and froze.
That was where God lived—trespassing was a crime punishable by divine judgment. She might have ignored it if she hadn't seen it—but since she had, and if a warning could prevent death, she had to speak up. "Father, I'm heading out."
"Conis, what's wrong?"
But she was already gone.
"That's the holy land of God's Country—you mustn't go there, or disaster will strike!" Conis shouted as she quickly piloted a small boat toward the Dawn.
Seeing her, Rosen paused. In the original story, Conis had lured Luffy's group toward divine judgment, obeying her laws—but later revealed the truth out of guilt.
She wasn't wrong under the Sky Island laws, just a product of her environment. But her inherent goodness made her come clean in the end.
Rosen hadn't expected to meet Conis—and especially not have her warning them away from the holy land. She truly was kind. Too bad Rosen and his crew weren't good people.
"Go home, girl," Rosen said calmly after a glance. Daz and the others, who were ready to strike, lowered their guard slightly. It was natural to be on alert when approached so suddenly.
"You're from the Blue Sea, right? That ahead is the holy land of God's Country. If you go there uninvited, you'll bring down divine punishment," Conis warned.
"Wow! Such a beautiful angel lady—just like I imagined," Natalie said excitedly.
"Didn't we already see two earlier?"
"Those don't count! They weren't angels!" Natalie thought of the grumpy old man and sour-faced Amazon and refused to count them.
"I know. We're here for your god. This place isn't safe for you. If we don't kill your god, both Upper Yard and Angel Island will be destroyed. Since you were kind enough to warn us, if your god is still in power after today, leave Angel Island," Rosen said softly.
He never mocked kindness. In this world, it was rare—and deserved gentleness.
So he gave her a warning. Once Enel finished building his Ark and left for the endless land, he intended to destroy Skypiea—just like he did his homeland, Birka. To him, the islands floating in the sky were unnatural.
He claimed it was divine right. But to Rosen, it was delusional. Still, it proved that Enel was a cold-blooded ruler—one who had always crushed his enemies and never suffered hardship.
During his fight with Luffy, when things turned against him, he even cried out childishly to wait—revealing his unstable duality.
On the surface, Enel was dominant and arrogant. But when shaken, he panicked easily.
He had planned to destroy Skypiea all along—taking with him only a few survivors from his "trials." Nami had pretended to agree, but now, there were no trials.
"W-What?" Conis was stunned. What did this Blue Sea man just say? He knew about the holy land? He came to challenge God? And said Skypiea might be destroyed?
What was going on?
"Lightning strike!" Hathaway suddenly shouted, and a bolt came crashing down—Enel must've sensed them, probably triggered by hearing words like "God" and "Enel."
Enel's Mantra clearly wasn't active at all times—but certain keywords increased the chance of detection.
Rosen didn't mind.
"There are enemies at the shore! Should we land by force, Boss?" Daz asked.
"Land by force. Fire the cannons—indiscriminate bombardment first!"
"Yes, sir."
(End of Chapter)
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