Skypiea. At the primary branch established by the World Government, Upper Yard.
BOOM!!!
Explosions soared into the sky, the searing heat from the aftershocks incinerating the surrounding trees. A closer look revealed that the perpetrators were all identical, hulking behemoths—Pacifistas!
Standing at the forefront, leading the unit, was Aranea Highwind.
The force currently being decimated by the Pacifistas was not the Government, but the Skypiean natives. Dressed in indigenous garb with small white wings on their backs, they fought using various Dials, the unique specialties of Skypiea, as weapons.
These people called themselves "Shandian Warriors." In their quest to reclaim Upper Yard, the ancestral land of Shandora, they had found themselves caught between the World Government and the Immortal Pirates. The results were predictable: regardless of which side they faced, they were being utterly crushed.
Representing the Immortal Pirates in this engagement was Aranea and her Pacifista unit. This was their second clash, and the result mirrored the first. After defeating them, Aranea refrained from dealing a finishing blow, moved by a sense of sympathy.
"I know we've occupied a place that technically belongs to you, but if you keep picking fights like this... if I don't deal with the next one properly, they're going to start docking my pay," Aranea said, spreading her hands in a helpless gesture.
Pere pere pere!
Suddenly, the wrist-watch-style Den Den Mushi on Aranea's left arm began to ring. Her movements stiffened, and she quickly answered the small device. "Moshi moshi~ Oh, it's you, Doctor."
As she listened to Dr. Vegapunk's voice from the other end, Aranea's expression shifted slightly. "The Captain did that? That's terrible. Doesn't that prove we have absolutely no bridge left to retreat across?"
As she spoke, Aranea massaged her right temple, a headache brewing.
"Stop complaining. This was destined from the very beginning. What's the status of Skypiea?" Dr. Vegapunk asked from the other end of the line.
While leading the Pacifistas away, Aranea began her report. "A group of Skypieans showed up to interfere, but it's nothing serious. As for the Government lately..."
…
After Aranea left the scorched center of the forest, the Shandian leader, Wyper, remained on the ground, unable to crawl up for a long time. When he finally attempted to push himself off the dirt, he coughed up a startling amount of blood.
"Cough! Cough!"
After several violent coughs and a long recovery period, Wyper managed to sit up. His eyes were filled with despair. He, whom his comrades described as "as terrifying as a demon," was so pathetically fragile before these Blue Sea dwellers.
Looking at the other Shandian warriors lying unconscious around him, Wyper shifted his body and croaked, "Hey, you guys..."
"Hey! Are you guys okay?"
Before Wyper could finish, a shout and the sound of footsteps echoed from the distance. Wyper turned his head to see several strangers running toward him. Upon seeing their appearance, he snarled, "Stay back! Blue Sea dwellers!"
The Shandians had lived on the Upper Yard during Enel's reign. Not long ago, they learned that Enel had somehow disappeared. Thinking it was the perfect chance to reclaim their homeland, they never expected that while one Enel left, two more "Enels" would show up to seize their territory.
These two "Enels" were called the "Government" and the "Immortals."
"Whoa! You guys are seriously hurt! You okay?" The newcomer looked at Wyper's condition with an expression of shock. It was Luffy.
"I told you to stay away from me, Blue Sea dweller!" Wyper waved his hand angrily. The exertion pulled at his wounds, and his body, which he had struggled to prop up, collapsed back onto the ground.
"No, they're all severely injured. They need immediate medical treatment!" A tanuki... no, a reindeer, anxiously told the others after checking the pulse of the other fallen Shandians.
The others were none other than Roronoa Zoro, Vinsmoke Sanji, Nami, Usopp, and Nico Robin.
"Hey, hey, are we really saving them? We have no idea who they are, and compared to Conis, these guys look terrifying!"
Usopp spoke up, sounding cowardly. Unlike Kizaru's catchphrase "how scary," Usopp was genuinely terrified; Kizaru was usually just faking it.
The reindeer, Chopper, had already opened his portable medical bag to bandage the nearest Shandian. "As a doctor, I cannot stand by when someone is dying right in front of me!"
Zoro scratched his green moss-head, then slung two unconscious Shandians over his shoulders. He looked down at Chopper and said, "Anyway, let's get them back to the Merry first."
Chopper brightened and waved. "Thanks, Zoro!"
"Let go of my comrades!" Wyper roared, but the outburst was immediately followed by a grimace of pain.
Luffy, picking his nose nearby, said, "You sure don't give up, do you? You're hurt this badly, and Chopper is rare enough to want to save you."
Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Chopper, using his Rumble Ball transformation, began moving the unconscious Shandians to their pirate ship, the Going Merry. Nami looked at the environment, which had been ravaged by recent battle, and said in shock, "This is crazy. What kind of fight could turn a place into this?"
The Straw Hat Pirates had just arrived in Skypiea. A Skypiean girl named Conis had welcomed them and informed them that two powerful forces were currently fighting over the territory of the Upper Yard, which the "God" had previously ruled.
Given Luffy's personality, there was no way he would pass up such an "adventure opportunity." Although the other crew members were more or less reluctant, seeing Luffy's resolve, they had no choice but to follow their captain into the fray.
And as soon as they arrived, they found the Shandians lying heavily wounded on the ground.
Robin walked over, her brows knitting slightly. Suddenly, her face changed color. She turned to Nami and yelled, "Nami, get down! Now!"
"What's wrong, Robin?" Nami asked, surprised to see the usually calm Robin show such an expression.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
At that moment, several gunshots rang out. Robin lunged forward, tackling Nami to the ground. The two of them narrowly avoided being hit.