While chatting, Xiao led the group forward, successfully piercing through layers of thick clouds and arriving at the edge of the Sky Island amid roaring thunder, raging winds, and pouring rain.
In truth, Lafitte and the others didn't even bother to raise basic defenses against the mild weather fluctuations they encountered along the way.
After all, they had long since grown accustomed to all kinds of extreme climates on the Grand Line.
At this moment, the only thing they truly yearned for was the path to godhood brought by Devil Fruits. Compared to that, everything else seemed trivial.
Among the four of them, only Lafitte and Poison Q possessed Devil Fruit abilities.
Poison Q had only obtained the Disease Fruit a few days earlier. He was still far from being able to control it proficiently and could only use a handful of basic techniques.
He hadn't even developed any signature abilities yet—let alone reach the so-called awakening stage. Strictly speaking, he was still stuck in the "fantasy" phase.
Lafitte, however, was a different case.
The Devil Fruit he possessed was an extremely rare Mythical Zoan—the Bird-Bird Fruit, Siren Form.
Its true form was that of a siren: a human face paired with a bird's body, bearing wings capable of soaring freely over the sea. By singing beautiful, enchanting songs, it could hypnotize passing sailors, luring their ships onto reefs and sinking them beneath the waves.
Among the three major Devil Fruit types, Zoan fruits were widely acknowledged as the easiest to awaken.
For ordinary animal-type Devil Fruits, awakening could often be achieved with nothing more than a bit of talent.
Take the Beast Pirates, for example. That crew gathered a massive number of Zoan users and was the place with the highest concentration of such abilities.
Among them, as many as ninety-nine percent had already completed preliminary Devil Fruit awakening.
Such an astonishing statistic was more than enough to prove that awakening a Zoan Devil Fruit was not particularly difficult.
However, Lafitte carried a different kind of burden.
The problem lay in the fact that his Siren Fruit was not just a Zoan—it was a Mythical Zoan.
This innate mythical power granted Lafitte exceptional versatility. Not only did he possess the formidable physique of a Zoan, but he also wielded supernatural abilities akin to those of Paramecia users.
Yet now, this very Mythical Zoan ability had become the greatest obstacle on his path of cultivation.
Because sirens themselves were legendary beings—mythical existences that had carried faith and belief across countless generations—Lafitte had no idea how to gather additional faith under such circumstances.
Fortunately, he had Xiao by his side.
A man who had already ascended to godhood.
Someone with both the experience and the capability to solve such a problem.
Unable to suppress his growing anxiety any longer, Lafitte finally sought help.
"Captain… I urgently need your guidance."
There was a rare note of tension in his voice.
After receiving Xiao's approval, Lafitte immediately poured out all his confusion regarding Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits, feeling a great weight lift from his heart as he spoke.
Xiao appeared genuinely interested in the topic. He diverted a portion of his computational capacity from the cyber dimension, ran several precise calculations, and then spoke slowly:
"Based on my current data and analytical results, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits are very likely the type most prone to reaching the stage of ascension to godhood.
As long as you can successfully embody and perform the role of the mythical siren, you should be able to absorb the scattered faith of the world. There's a high probability you'll gain the qualifications to ascend the altar."
Hearing this, Lafitte's lips twitched slightly.
It was that phrase—high probability—that left him deeply uneasy.
He couldn't help asking, "What does that mean? Are there… unexpected variables?"
Xiao smiled and replied, "Well… to be honest, I don't know the exact outcome either. This conclusion is purely based on theoretical inference and limited information.
If you want to uncover the truth, you'll probably have to test it yourself.
After all, what you possess is a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit. The Rubber Fruit, for example, is also known as the Zoan-type Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika.
Mythical Zoans inherently carry the potential for godhood. But as for whether this process will elevate you to a divine throne—or instead awaken the original will of the siren sealed within the fruit—I can't say for sure."
"Hahahaha~~~~!"
Xiao's words were like a bucket of icy water poured straight over Lafitte's head.
Already pale, his face drained of what little color remained, and his body began to tremble involuntarily.
"It's over… it's over… Lafitte, you're the unlucky one this time!"
Seeing this, the rest of Blackbeard's crew burst into laughter, clearly delighted by their companion's misfortune.
Amid the cheerful chaos, Lafitte helplessly typed out a single word in his mind:
GG.
He looked at Xiao with pitiful eyes and wailed, "Captain, you must have a solution, right? Please—help me!"
From that moment on, Lafitte followed Xiao around like a devoted pug, shamelessly flattering and pleading. In his desperation, he even transformed into his Zoan form for the first time.
In mythology, sirens were purely female spirits.
That was precisely why Lafitte had always avoided a full transformation—because doing so would forcibly change his gender.
Moreover, sirens possessed two distinct forms: one of the sea, and one of the sky.
According to legend, the siren was originally a harpy. After losing a contest against the Muses, her wings were torn away by the goddess.
Left with no other choice, her legs transformed into a fish's tail, turning her into a mermaid who used her voice to seduce passersby and devour them—the original prototype of the mermaid.
Thus, once Lafitte fully transformed into his mermaid form, his hypnotic and seductive voice intensified a hundredfold.
Even Xiao—who possessed resistance to mental interference—was momentarily bewitched and ended up agreeing to help him.
As for the others, they were completely enthralled. Even after Lafitte reverted to human form, they still wore expressions of lingering dissatisfaction.
"Bro… you smell amazing!"
Burgess blurted out shamelessly.
In the next instant, an enraged Lafitte sent him flying several hundred meters with a single kick, his body crashing into the distant sea of clouds.
"Ah—we're here!"
At that moment, the group realized they had finally passed through the Sky Island's outer defensive cloud layer.
They had arrived at the White Sea, hovering 7,000 meters above Gaya Island.
A colossal Gate of Heaven stood suspended above the endless sea of clouds. Behind it stretched a narrow cloud path that cascaded downward like a waterfall.
Once they crossed this path, they would officially step into the White-White Sea at an altitude of 10,000 meters—
And arrive at the legendary Sky Island.
"Wow! This place really feels like heaven!"
Staring at the magnificent gate before him, Burgess shouted excitedly.
"It makes me want to punch something!"
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