(T/N:
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"What is that?"
While climbing upward, Vivi suddenly pointed in a certain direction and shouted.
At her cry, everyone followed her gaze. In the distance stood a series of massive gates. Inscribed upon them were the words...
The Gates of Heaven!
'Well, look at that. I almost forgot about this place,' Sean thought, a slight smile playing on his lips. After all, in the original story, this was the birthplace of several iconic scenes.
Since they had arrived, why not go take a look?
"Lucci, let's go check it out!"
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
A minute later, the four of them landed on a platform. Although it looked like a single giant gate from a distance, it was actually a sizeable plaza. Aside from the gateway passage, there was a small house.
The door creaked open slowly, and an old woman stepped out. She scanned the four of them and looked surprised. The reason was simple: these four had not arrived by ship.
'Did they come all the way here using their own strength?' she wondered. However, it didn't matter. No matter how powerful a human was, they could never be a match for a god.
"Excuse me, ma'am, who are you?" Vivi asked politely.
"I am Amazon, the monitor of Angel Island. This is the Gate of Heaven leading to the island. Have you come for war... or sightseeing?"
"War? Sightseeing?"
Vivi was completely bewildered. Why was "war" the first thing mentioned? Did they really look like they were here to start a conflict? Confused, she looked back at Sean.
"We're here for sightseeing," Sean replied.
"Sightseeing, is it? Then I shall register you first."
As she spoke, Amazon produced a Visual Den Den Mushi from somewhere and quickly took a photo of each of them. Then, she spoke again.
"Now, please pay the entry fee."
"Of course. How much is the fee, ma'am?"
"One billion Extol!"
"Alright, we'll just—" Vivi stopped mid-sentence, frozen in shock.
What did the old woman just say? One billion? She must have misheard.
"Ma'am... how much did you say the entry fee was?"
"One billion Extol, per person!"
Aside from Sean, the other three were stunned. One billion, and that was 'per person'? That meant the four of them would need four billion!
They didn't know exactly how many Belly four billion Extol equated to, but even if the exchange rate was a hundred-to-one, that was still forty million Belly! It was absurd—utterly ridiculous. They had never heard of any country charging such an astronomical entry fee.
The three of them turned to look at Sean.
'Alright, since everyone is looking at me, I might as well recreate a classic scene,' Sean thought. A small smirk appeared on his face as he spoke.
"We don't have that much money!"
"You don't? Then just go on in!"
...
The three of them were stunned once again. What on earth? Just go in? She wasn't going to collect the fee?
"Ma'am, do you mean we can enter without paying the fee?"
"That's correct!"
"Uh..." Vivi was completely lost now.
"Alright, let's go then!"
Hearing Sean's command, the other three followed him quickly, though their minds were still swirling with questions.
'''
"Master, how many Belly is four billion Extol, exactly?"
"That? Roughly four hundred thousand," Sean answered.
"What? Only four hundred thousand?"
To be clear, four hundred thousand wasn't "cheap"—it was actually an exorbitant price. Vivi only used the word "only" because the gap between four billion and four hundred thousand was so mind-bogglingly large.
"Don't you find it strange?" Robin asked from the side. "If they built the Gate of Heaven and established a mandatory entry fee, why let us in without paying? Moreover, her expression made it seem as if it were the most natural thing in the world."
Vivi nodded in agreement. It really was far too suspicious.
"So, are you all ready to experience the life of a fugitive?"
Sean didn't answer Robin's question directly. Instead, his smirk widened as he dropped a sentence that left the three of them baffled.
'Fugitives?'
At that moment, the four of them continued to ascend, walking through the air without any tools, slowly rising higher.
Back at the gate, Amazon spoke into her communication device.
"This is Amazon, monitor of the Gate of Heaven. To the High Priests of the God of Good and Evil: 4 entrants are heading toward the Land of God. Let them receive the punishment of the heavens!"
'''
"Is this Sky Island?"
Looking out at the sea of clouds and the massive cloud islands in the distance, Vivi and Robin were mesmerized. It was breathtakingly beautiful, like a scene from a fairy tale.
"Well, how should I put it? This is Sky Island, but it's not exactly 'an' island," Sean explained.
"Why?" Robin asked.
" 'Sky Island' is actually a general term for the large Island Clouds in the sky. Just as there are islands in the ocean, these are the islands here. It's not the name of one specific place. The place we are heading to is a specific island within the sky called Angel Island."
"I see," Robin nodded. "Then what was that about being fugitives?"
"That's simple. It's because we're illegal intruders!"
"Don't tell me... because we didn't pay the entry fee...?"
"Smart. Exactly. Remember how she took our photos for 'registration'? Once we left, the monitor likely sent those photos to Angel Island. So..."
"So, our current status on Angel Island is that of wanted criminals?" Robin's eyes widened behind her mask.
'You're clearly rich enough, yet you couldn't even spare four hundred thousand Belly? You've turned us into fugitives for no reason! Are you insane?'
"Are you wondering why I wasn't willing to pay even four hundred thousand Belly?" Sean asked, answering her unspoken thoughts. "The reason is simple: I came here specifically to cause trouble for the ruler..."
Sean's self-answering logic left Robin speechless once again.
"Let me tell you something interesting. There is a 'god' here. A very 'chuunibyou' god."
"A Celestial Dragon?"
In One Piece, the first thing people thought of when they heard the word "god" was almost always the Celestial Dragons.
"No, no, no. Compared to the Celestial Dragons, this guy actually has real power. He's significantly stronger than Crocodile."
"The Devil Fruit he ate is the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, renowned as the most offensive power among the Logia types," Sean said with a smile. "Not only has he mastered its abilities far beyond Crocodile, but he is also a master of Observation Haki."
In terms of fruit mastery, Enel was arguably on the verge of awakening. As for Haki, Crocodile wasn't even in the same league. Not only had Enel awakened Observation Haki, but more importantly, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit actually amplified its capabilities.
"Is he really that powerful?" Robin asked, looking surprised.
"Whether he's powerful or not... just look up and you'll see," Sean replied. He gave a small smile, his words leaving her momentarily bewildered.
But the moment Robin looked up, she froze in shock.
Directly above the four of them, a massive surge of energy was coalescing in the sky. Countless bolts of lightning danced across the clouds, as if some horrific disaster was about to strike.
'Whether he's powerful or not, just look up and you'll see?'
'Could it be that this so-called god is attacking us?'
Recalling Sean's words, Robin's eyes widened in realization. But before she could ask him for clarification, a terrifying bolt of lightning crashed down from the heavens.
Its target was precisely where the four of them stood.
BOOM!!!