A few days later.
"It's real! A Sky Island! And it's the one above Jaya Island!"
Van Augur and the others were in complete shock. They had all heard the old legend of the Sky Island that hovered above Jaya, but none of them ever believed it was true. And yet—there it was.
Who could have imagined that the Souta Kiryuu Pirates had been hiding all this time on that very legendary island in the sky? Even if the Navy Headquarters discovered its location, it would be nearly impossible for them to attack it directly.
"Ahahaha! Finally! Time to cause some real chaos! Once we stir things up, our new bounty posters will proudly bear the mark of the Souta Kiryuu Pirates!"
Bartolomeo was practically bouncing with excitement, barely able to contain himself. He couldn't wait to return to the seas under Kiryuu's flag and make a scene so wild that the entire world would know his new allegiance.
"Wahahaha! I'm a member of the Kiryuu Pirates too now! Maybe I'll even get to command one of those flying battleships!"
Burgess roared with laughter, his fists clenched with exhilaration.
The luxurious warships that once floated through the sky thanks to the power of the Float-Float Fruit had already been moved into the Sky Island's propulsion system laboratory for reconstruction.
The Kiryuu Pirates' aerial fleet had been officially established.
Even without those lavish ships once owned by the Celestial Dragons, they already possessed dozens of flying warships. Once the refitting process was complete, their fleet would number nearly fifty flying vessels—a massive skyborne armada like nothing the world had ever seen.
Once Souta Kiryuu and his crew fully subdued the formidable pirates who had escaped from Impel Down, the number of elite fighters under his command would surpass even the sixteen divisions and forty allied crews of Whitebeard's era.
In both strength and scale, the Kiryuu Pirates were on the verge of surpassing even the Four Emperors.
After the fierce battle on Lorenz Island—where Souta Kiryuu and his crew had confronted the Golden Lion Shiki—their presence once again vanished from the seas.
However, the World Government and countless other forces were fully aware that the Kiryuu Pirates were growing at a terrifying pace.
Upon their return to Sky Island, Kiryuu immediately began reorganizing and refining his forces, cutting away the excess while formally absorbing all the newcomers and former Impel Down inmates into his ranks for intensive training.
Whether it was Bartolomeo and the other rookies or the hardened convicts from the third, fourth, and fifth levels of Impel Down, every one of them was being trained in the mastery of Haki—the Armament and Observation colors alike.
Only those who awakened their Haki would rise in status within the crew.
Meanwhile, the massive tsunamis caused by the falling floating islands had drawn the full attention of the World Government and the Navy Headquarters.
When they arrived to investigate the area, they discovered more than a dozen newly appeared islands scattered across the sea.
After a thorough investigation, the Navy concluded that these islands were most likely the remnants of the Golden Lion Shiki's former strongholds.
From that, they deduced that Shiki had probably been killed by Souta Kiryuu, causing his floating islands to crash back into the ocean.
However, what puzzled Sengoku the Buddha and Vice Admiral Tsuru was that, despite falling from such great heights, not all of the islands had been completely destroyed.
That inconsistency made it difficult for them to confirm whether Shiki was truly dead or not.
Across the Grand Line, news about the Golden Lion's fate continued to spread like wildfire.
While the Kiryuu Pirates fell silent once more, the Holy Land of Mariejois accelerated the construction of its massive defensive barriers. As long as the Holy Land remained secure, the Five Elders could focus all their efforts on dealing with Souta Kiryuu.
Weeks passed in a blur.
Then, a shocking piece of news arrived—one that sent waves of excitement through both the World Government and the Navy Headquarters.
The location of the Kiryuu Pirates' main base had finally been discovered.
In their desperation to find it, the World Government and Navy had deployed countless troops and intelligence agents, scouring remote islands across the seas. They even sent more than ten reconnaissance teams up along the Sky Island routes.
One particular route on the Grand Line began at the Summit of the Western Sky, leading travelers past several Sky Islands before eventually descending safely at the eastern end of the Cloud Horizon, returning to the Blue Sea below.
However, the journey was perilous—nearly a fifty percent chance of disaster.
Many ships were attacked by Sky Beasts or Sky Fish, while others were swallowed by sudden whirlpools or cloud holes, plunging them to their deaths thousands of meters below.
Ordinary pirates wouldn't dare attempt such a suicidal voyage.
The homeland of Enel—the destroyed Birka Island—and the fabled Angel Island above Jaya were both extremely remote from the other Sky Islands along this route. Yet, there were subtle links between them.
For example, the "Slash Dials" used by Sky Island's divine soldiers were not produced locally but traded from other Sky Islands. Angel Island and Birka had never manufactured them themselves.
But after Enel destroyed Birka, most of those trade routes collapsed. When he later seized control of Angel Island, the island became even more isolated and rarely visited.
During his reign, Enel declared all "Blue Sea dwellers" enemies of God and created eleven levels of sin to judge them. Many who dared set foot on Sky Island were struck down by his lightning without mercy.
The infamous ten-billion-Extol entry fee was also personally decreed by Enel himself—any Blue Sea visitor who failed to pay it would be hunted down by his divine soldiers and turned into sport for his amusement.
All Sky Islands used Extol as currency. It was said that at some point in ancient history, the entire Sky Island route had been unified by a single ruler, standardizing the currency and trade of Sky Shells across the heavens.
The current exchange rate stood at 1 Belly = 10,000 Extol.
Among the more than ten reconnaissance teams sent out by the World Government and Navy Headquarters, one particularly fortunate team managed to cross several of the Western Sky's islands and push eastward toward the Edge of the Cloud Horizon, continuing their perilous journey at seven thousand meters above sea level.
They searched tirelessly for any trace of the Kiryuu Pirates, even passing through the ruins of the long-destroyed Birka Island.
There, the intelligence officers discovered faint traces of lightning burns—evidence that made them believe they had found signs of the Thunder God, Enel.
Excited by their discovery, they quickly reported their findings to headquarters and pressed on, navigating through the dangerous White Sea until they finally spotted a colossal Gate of Heaven looming ahead.
When they saw the sentinels guarding the gate—some Sky Islanders, others clearly of Blue Sea origin—they were stunned.
And then they saw it—fluttering in the high winds above the gate—the crimson, bloodstained flag of the Kiryuu Pirates.
Panic set in instantly. Without hesitation, the reconnaissance ship turned around and fled, sending frantic communications back to the World Government to report what they had seen.
But the moment didn't go unnoticed.
The guards at the Gate of Heaven, stationed there for years without seeing a single outsider, immediately spotted the fleeing vessel.
Realizing something was wrong, the Sky Islanders and Kiryuu's men launched their flying warships and began their pursuit.
"We've been discovered! There's no going back now! But our mission is complete—long live the World Government! Long live Justice!"
The reconnaissance leader shouted his final message before cutting the line.
Knowing escape was impossible, the crew slowed their ship and prepared for capture—or death.
If they weren't immediately killed and instead taken prisoner aboard Kiryuu's main base, perhaps they could gather even more valuable intelligence.
The commander hid a small Den Den Mushi disguised as a hair ornament, keeping contact with the World Government even as they surrendered.
Seeing the strange vessel raise a white flag, the pursuing warship chose not to destroy it immediately.
Instead, they captured every member aboard and brought them back to Sky Island for interrogation—awaiting orders from their superiors to decide the prisoners' fate.
Back at Navy Headquarters and the Holy Land, when the World Government confirmed the coordinates of the Kiryuu Pirates' base, Sengoku the Buddha and Vice Admiral Tsuru were summoned overnight to Mariejois.
There, under the watchful eyes of the Five Elders, they began drafting a plan—one designed not merely to attack, but to annihilate.
To avoid alerting Souta Kiryuu or the powerful news networks under Morgans' control, they kept everything strictly confidential.
Not even top forces like Aokiji, Garp, or Akainu were recalled for the meeting.
This time, they would strike only once—a single, decisive blow—to utterly erase the Kiryuu Pirates from existence.