As a Navy Admiral, Ortoren had never actually set foot on Skypiea.
That said, he still possessed a solid grasp of the basics. The Navy had the depth and resources to collect and preserve such intelligence.
Take the White-White Sea, for example. It was not like a true ocean that completely blanketed the sky at an altitude of ten thousand meters.
That would be far too terrifying. The Blue Sea below would be severely affected, perhaps even to the point where sunlight could no longer reach it.
The White-White Sea, though equally vast, was actually composed of scattered sections, like patches suspended high in the sky.
Almost every section of the White-White Sea connected to others, and these connecting areas formed the navigation routes between Skypiea islands.
Ortoren had risen directly from the New World into the White-White Sea. With Isshō's ability at hand, there was no need to follow the so-called "routes" at all. He could simply move in a straight line toward Angel Island, and if the path ran out, he would just keep flying.
The reason he chose to approach from the sky, instead of stopping at Jaya Island and ascending from there, was mainly for secrecy. He wanted to avoid drawing attention and letting others know what he was really up to.
After all, he was planning to transport an entire city's worth of gold down from the heavens.
Ortoren walked to the edge of the deck and looked out at the scenery, sharing in the Skypiea journey alongside the many Marines.
Seeing that Ortoren had finished dealing with his matters, Hina quickly moved closer and asked curiously,
"Admiral, I heard that your Goro Goro no Mi ability came from Skypiea. Is that true?"
Hearing this, Isshō also leaned in a bit, clearly interested in listening to some gossip.
Ortoren laughed.
"You're well-informed about the rumors. That's not wrong. My Goro Goro no Mi did come from a Skypiea island called Birka…"
"But didn't you say you've never been to Skypiea?" Hina immediately followed up, voicing her confusion. "How does that work?"
Ortoren reached out and gently ruffled Hina's soft pink hair, smiling as he began to explain.
Once again, he brought up his old man as justification. After all, he couldn't very well claim to have learned about the Goro Goro no Mi out of thin air.
"Back then, my old man once came to Skypiea and learned some information," Ortoren said casually. "But due to his situation at the time… I don't really know the details. In any case, it wasn't convenient for him, so he never went after it. Later, he met my mom, fell in love, and that's how I came to be. After that came the first time I ever met Katakuri…"
After hearing all of this, a look of realization appeared on Isshō's face.
"So that's how it is. Out of trust, I never asked how you knew about the existence of the Golden Land," he said. "Now it makes sense. That Golden Land was a clue your father left behind for you?"
Ortoren nodded calmly.
"That's right. It was him. The Goro Goro no Mi and the Golden Land were both gifts he left me. Now that I've come to inherit his legacy, I naturally have the right to inherit the Golden Land as well. It's perfectly reasonable."
Isshō listened, feeling that something about it didn't quite add up, yet at the same time… it oddly made sense.
After all, treasures of heaven and earth belong to those of virtue.
The Golden Land had remained hidden in the sky for so many years without anyone claiming it. Didn't that simply prove that those people lacked the virtue to possess it?
And Ortoren clearly looked like a man of great virtue and righteousness. No issues there at all.
After that, the warship continued steadily toward Angel Island.
Along the way, they encountered many creatures native to the White-White Sea and passed by several small Skypiea islands, giving the Marines a firsthand taste of the culture and scenery of the sky.
Meanwhile, Ortoren devoted himself wholeheartedly to his great fishing endeavor.
Seriously, if he couldn't catch anything in the Blue Sea below, that was one thing. But surely the heavens wouldn't be targeting him too?
Besides, the fish in the Blue Sea had nothing special about them. The fish in the sky were truly unique. Only by catching sky fish could one rightfully claim the title of Fishing King.
Reality, however, proved that poor technique was poor technique no matter where you fished.
Ortoren fished continuously for nearly two months. By the time the calendar rolled into early 1506, the Marines aboard the warship could already see Angel Island in the distance…
Yet His Excellency the Admiral still hadn't caught a single thing.
On the other hand, young Hina seemed to have developed an interest under Ortoren's influence. She spent the journey fishing alongside him, and her results were surprisingly plentiful.
"Hmph, it has to be your beginner's luck stealing my spoils!"
Ortoren watched as Hina lifted her rod again, effortlessly reeling in a feather-light Skyfish. His words were stubborn, filled with envy and resentment.
The fish of Skypiea might look large at a glance, but in reality, they were extremely light.
Hina barely put in any effort before pulling the Skyfish up. She then looked at Ortoren with a serious expression and said,
"Admiral, honestly speaking, I truly admire you when it comes to fishing."
Hearing that, the jealousy on Ortoren's face eased slightly, replaced by a gentle smile.
"It seems you can see through appearances to the essence. That's right, even though I—"
"After all, fishing is such a simple thing," Hina cut in before he could finish, sighing with heartfelt emotion. "Yet you managed to go a full two months without catching a single thing. That's nothing short of a miracle. You must have been cursed by the fishing gods!"
Ortoren???
You little brat, do you think I won't hit you just because you're pretty?
"Hina, come here. Put this helmet on."
Ortoren took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and handed a helmet to Hina.
Hina accepted it with confusion, put it on her head, and asked,
"Admiral, why do we need to wear a helmet while fishing?"
The moment she finished speaking, Ortoren knocked his fist against her helmet, making it ring loudly and causing Hina to yelp in protest.
"Brat, now you know why you need to wear a helmet, don't you?" Ortoren shouted.
While the two of them were causing a scene, Isshō pushed open the cabin door and stepped out. Seeing this, he couldn't help but shake his head.
Clearly, despite Ortoren "violently beating" his little secretary, Isshō still felt that the Admiral was doting on Hina quite a bit.
"Enough fooling around. Angel Island is just ahead…" Isshō said as he walked over.
But just as the words left his mouth, several dark figures shot across the surface of the White-White Sea at incredible speed from a patch of clouds beside Angel Island, heading straight toward them.
Isshō???
Before he could figure out what was happening, those dark figures leapt up from the cloud surface. Standing on something like skateboards, they shot into the air and rose to the height of the warship's deck.
At a glance, they looked like some kind of indigenous tribe, their bodies covered in dense patterns, their mouths letting out strange cries meant to intimidate their enemies.
At that moment, Isshō was completely dumbfounded.
Whose subordinates were these? How could they be this bold?
I've got such a massive warship here, and you few small fry think you can just fly up and seize it?
In the next instant, several arcs of lightning flashed.
The figures screaming as they soared above the deck were instantly swallowed by lightning, crashing down onto the deck with loud crackles, smoke rising from their bodies.
"What the hell was that?"
Ortoren clapped his hands and stood up.
"This really is different from the New World. Someone actually dares to jump aboard my ship?"
Back in the New World, the moment others saw his ship, they would either stop and lower their sails in respect or turn around and flee. Who would ever scream and charge straight at it?
Even that brat Jack under Kaidou wouldn't dare suggest pulling his ship alongside.
After casually knocking those people down, Ortoren walked closer and took a look, raising an eyebrow.
"Sandyans…"
Even after recognizing their identity, Ortoren had little interest in them. No one else jumped out after that, and the warship soon arrived at Angel Island's harbor.
At this time, the one in charge of Angel Island, the god Gan Fall, was already there with the island's guards, watching the massive Marine warship docked at the port with visible caution.
Compared to the Sandyans earlier, Gan Fall clearly had some understanding of the Marines and didn't rashly launch an attack.
When he saw the gangway lowered and several figures slowly walk down from the warship, Gan Fall let out a quiet sigh of relief. They didn't seem to be here to provoke conflict.
"Are you the god of this place?" Ortoren asked as he stepped down, looking at Gan Fall.
Gan Fall immediately nodded.
"Honored Marine, I am Gan Fall, the god of Angel Island. Is there anything we can assist you with?"
Ortoren didn't have a deep impression of this so-called god, but one thing he remembered clearly was that Gan Fall was very good at reading the situation.
And from this brief interaction alone, Ortoren had already felt that much.