When Neferpitou returned by using Moonwalk, Lafayette controlled the paper pterosaur and descended toward the place where Enel had fallen.
"The rest is up to you."
Jumping down from the back of the paper pterosaur, Kaito spoke to Lafayette and Neferpitou.
"No problem. Leave it to us!"
Lafayette nodded immediately. He then controlled the paper pterosaur, carrying himself and Neferpitou away to handle the remaining matters.
Watching the two leave, Kaito withdrew his gaze and looked toward Enel, who was lying unconscious in the crater on the opposite side.
He stretched out his right hand.
A hole suddenly split open in the center of his palm, and a powerful suction force erupted from within.
The unconscious Enel was immediately sucked into the Tuntun Space inside Kaito's body.
"Now, let's find a suitable place to use as a temporary base."
Kaito looked toward the enormous vine towering in the center of the island.
Well... Enel's palace was quite nice.
He could use it as a temporary residence. At the same time, he could also take away the golden bell and the Poneglyph located here.
With that in mind, Kaito began making preparations.
Time passed quietly.
Before he knew it, several days had gone by.
"Captain, almost all of the gold on the island has been gathered."
On the cloud-covered ground beneath the enormous vines, golden light dazzled the eyes.
A massive mountain of gold had been piled up there.
Standing at the foot of the mountain of gold, Lafayette reported to Kaito. At the same time, aside from Neferpitou, nearly a thousand people had gathered nearby.
"Well done."
Kaito was undoubtedly satisfied as he looked at the enormous amount of gold in front of him.
After patting Lafayette on the shoulder, he activated the power of the Munch-Munch Fruit.
The mountain of gold was immediately sucked into the swallowing space inside his body.
Because the amount of gold was so enormous, it naturally took quite some time to absorb everything.
While the process continued, Kaito turned his attention toward the nearly thousand people gathered nearby.
Seeing that his captain was looking at them, Lafayette immediately understood and explained:
"Captain, I've already reached an agreement with the Shandians and the people of Angel Island.
"These nearly one thousand people are the first batch of elites that the two sides have provided to us.
"In exchange, this island will be jointly controlled by the Shandians and the people of Angel Island."
"Mm. As long as they're strong enough."
Kaito nodded slightly.
The reason he had brought Lafayette to Sky Island this time was precisely because of his ability to handle matters.
Judging from the current situation, Lafayette had clearly not disappointed him.
He had successfully settled the relationship between the Shandians and the people of Angel Island.
Kaito's primary target for coming to Sky Island had naturally been Enel.
However, he had also intended to develop Sky Island into a source of manpower for the War Pirates.
The main reason was that Sky Island was hidden high above the Blue Sea, making it extremely difficult for the World Government and Marines to discover.
Furthermore, the quality of the warriors here was not bad at all.
Take the Shandians, for example.
Although their culture and way of life were primitive, practically every member of the tribe was capable of fighting.
They could be called natural-born warriors.
Then there were the people of Angel Island.
Before Enel arrived, the people of Angel Island had repeatedly managed to repel the Shandians through their numerical advantage.
However, they also possessed their fair share of talented fighters.
If the Shandians and Angel Islanders were developed into a reliable source of manpower, the War Pirates would no longer have to worry about lacking basic troops in the future.
As for why the two sides were willing to provide soldiers, Kaito quickly learned the details from Lafayette.
During their negotiations, Lafayette had relied on more than just Neferpitou's overwhelming strength to intimidate them.
He had also used benefits to entice them.
And the key benefit was the ancient land of Upper Yard.
Whether they were Shandians or Angel Islanders, Upper Yard held extraordinary significance for both sides.
The two groups had been fighting over it for more than four hundred years.
Under Lafayette's arrangement, the various groups would receive territories on Upper Yard.
The more troops they provided—and the higher the quality of those troops—the larger the territory they would receive.
With such an arrangement, the outcome was naturally obvious.
Unable to resist the overwhelming force of Lafayette and Neferpitou, the Shandians and Angel Islanders had no choice but to accept the agreement.
Moreover, they had quickly turned their attention inward, competing with one another to obtain larger territories.
The first batch of troops they had provided was a perfect example.
On the Shandian side, warriors such as Wyper, Kamakiri, and Braham, who had appeared in the original story, were all included.
Among them, Wyper, a descendant of the great warrior Kalgara, was essentially the next generation's leader of the Shandians.
From this alone, it was enough to see just how desperately the Shandians wanted to obtain more territory.
As for the people of Angel Island, the first batch was mainly composed of the members of God's Army who had originally followed the four priests.
After Enel's downfall, these people had been divided between the various factions of Angel Island.
Now, they had become the first batch of warriors provided by Angel Island to the War Pirates in order to compete for more territory.
It took some time to finish collecting all the gold.
Once that was done, it was naturally time to leave.
There was a passage leading directly from near Angel Island down to the Blue Sea.
Taking the ships provided by the people of Angel Island, Kaito, Lafayette, and Neferpitou arrived at the passage together with nearly a thousand people.
The passage was actually a massive opening that allowed ships to pass directly through the White-White Sea and the White Sea before descending toward the Blue Sea below.
Of course, ships couldn't simply fall all the way down.
They were equipped with special octopus balloons that allowed them to descend safely, much like hot-air balloons carrying them through the sky.
The Shandians and Angel Islanders took charge of the ships.
Soon, a total of five vessels, each supported by an octopus balloon, began slowly descending through the passage.
Kaito wasn't Luffy.
He wasn't the type to be surprised by every little thing.
The descent went smoothly.
Several hours later, accompanied by the sound of crashing waves, the five ships finally landed safely on the Blue Sea.
And the place where they had landed happened to be near Magic Valley Town.
Under Lafayette's command, the five ships immediately headed toward Magic Valley Town.
"It's the captain! The captain is back!"
"It's really the captain! Great! The captain is back!"
"Quick! Get ready to welcome the captain!"
Because the ships had landed so close to Magic Valley Town, the people there could clearly see the vessels descending from the sky.
Among them were members of the War Pirates.
At first, the members of the War Pirates were merely curious about the ships that had appeared from the heavens.
But when they saw the leading vessel, they immediately recognized the figures standing aboard it.
Kaito.
Lafayette.
And Neferpitou.
The moment they realized that their captain had returned, everyone in the War Pirates erupted with excitement.
They hurried toward the port to welcome their captain home.
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