Chapter 163: Sea Of Clouds

"Kizaru, did you capture the Frenzy pirates?" Asked a transponder snail with an afro and a small marine coat as it looked up at Kizaru.

"Unfortunately, no, Fleet Admiral, they slipped right through our fingers." Replied Kizaru lazily while eyeing the transponder snail in his hand, which suddenly frowned.

"What do you mean they slipped through your fingers? They killed a Celestial Dragon, and you just allow them to slip through your finger!?" Exclaimed the transponder snail as it erupted into fury, yelling at Kizaru while mimicking Fleet Admiral Sengoku's emotions.

"Yes, a massive pillar of water shot them into the sky; there was nothing we could do." Remarked Kizaru lightly as he looked at the spot where the knock-up stream occurred, before glancing back at the transponder snail.

"A pillar of water? Are you being fucking serious, Kizaru!?" Asked Sengoku as he widened his eyes before slamming his fist through his desk, breaking it, while eyeing a lazy-looking transponder snail in his hand.

"Yes."

After Kizaru's response, there were a few moments of silence as Sengoku took a second to regain his composure lest he erupt into a fiery wrath.

"Where is Akoji and Akainu?" Asked Sengoku with a cold calmness, only for two deep voices to resound out while two men, one wearing red clothes and the other wearing white, approached Kizaru.

"You called? Here." Remarked Akoji and Akainu, respectively, as the three admirals surrounded a single transponder snail.

"Now that some time has passed, which allowed the Celestial Dragons to cool off somewhat, there is no need for all three of you to chase after one pirate group. Kizaru, return to the HQ; Akoji, continue your assignment form before; and Akainu, you stay chasing after the Frenzy pirates." Stated Sengoku as he gave orders, causing the three admirals to nod, though one of them didn't seem pleased.

"Roger. Okay. Tsk." Said Kizaru, Akoji, and Akainu, respectively, with the latter displaying an annoyed face.

"Remember, the Celestial Dragons want the Frenzy pirates ALIVE, Akainu, especially the Captain, Chaos Kong." Declared Sengoku seriously as the transponder snail-eyed Akainu, who squinted his eyes and grunted in annoyance before turning around and walking away.

After a few more minor orders, Sengoku finally hung the transponder snail, causing him to lean back in his chair and sigh in frustration while rubbing his head as he looked at six wanted posters lying on his destroyed desk, yet one of them was slightly different compared to most bounties.

"Ugh, Frenzy Pirates, this is bringing back unpleasant memories; now I can't look at you without that man's face overlapping with yours. Please, do not let this be the second coming of the Rocks pirates." Muttered Sengoku with an unsightly expression while looking at Diddy's new bounty, only to wince as the image of Rocks D. Xebec overlapped his.

"No, we can not allow there to be a second coming of the Rocks Pirate." Said Sengoku solemnly with a hardened gaze as he picked up the six wanted posters before standing up and leaving his office.

While Sengoku was doing his own duty, the Admirals quickly followed through with their given orders as Kizaru turned into a flash of building light before shooting off eastward, heading back to the Marine HQ. Akoji grabbed a bike before leaping overboard, only to land on the ocean water, which instantly turned to ice; he then rode his bike along the ice, also heading eastward, though far slower than Kizaru. Akainu, the last admiral, stayed on the ship with a stern expression as he squinted his eyes and looked up at the dark clouds covering the sky, only to grunt.

"Tch, stupid pirates, wasting my time." Muttered Akainu with a deep frown as he turned around and entered the ship.

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"Um, is it safe to leave now?" Asked Trenza quietly as she opened the door and peeked her head, noticing the soft, smooth sailing of the ship.

"Yeah, it's fine now." Said Freyja lightly while leaning against the ship's railing beside Mael as the two overlooked the sea below them.

"Haa, thank goodness, we were getting thrown around in there." Said Scar with a sigh of relief as he exited the room, following Trenza while Grand emerged last, only for them to freeze in place.

"Woah, this is otherworldly." Muttered Grand with wide eyes as he observed the clear, beautiful sky, a far contrast to the previous gloomy, dark clouds that blanketed the sky.

"Then you should come and see this." Remarked Mael as he glanced at the three before looking back over the ship's edge, causing the three to approach him.

"Are those clouds?" Asked Trenza in disbelief as she, Scar, and Grand looked at the fluffiest sea of clouds the ship was sailing on.

"Yes; quite surprising, no?" Said Sebas with a slight smile as he walked downstairs from the upper deck and joined the five in the sightseeing.

"You could say that again." Commented Scar lightly, wanting to reach down and grab the clouds, though unfortunately for him, his arms weren't several feet long.

"Hmm, where's Captain?" Asked Trenza curiously as she looked around, only for something to shoot out from the sea of clouds right after her words, causing her to be taken aback.

"Weird, despite it being clouds, it still behaves just like an ocean; I'm curious if it also drains a devil fruit user's strength." Stated Diddy with a thoughtful expression as he landed on the ship's railing before suddenly eyeing Freyja, Mael, and Sebas.

"Diddy." Said Freyja warily as she glared at Diddy, who merely chuckled before suddenly appearing standing in front of her on the railing.

"Hehe, I'm not going to use you as a guinea pig despite wanting to; I've got a group of people over there that can test it for me." Remarked Diddy with a grin as he squatted to eye level with Freyja before pointing at another ship in the distance.

"Hoho, to think the straw hats would survive, luck must be in the air." Said Sebas with a slight chuckle as he glanced at the straw hat's ship.

Leaping into the air, I kicked the air behind me, propelling myself through the sky, and headed toward the straw hats in the distance; once I arrived, I noticed they were too busy enjoying the spectacle of the sea of clouds to notice my presence; lunging towards the deck, I grabbed that small furry creature, which I believe is a deer, by the nap before tossing him overboard.

"Chopper!?" Exclaimed Nami as she looked at Chopper flying through the air, her words garnering everyone's attention.

"Eh, what's he doing?" Asked Zoro calmly as he raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chopper.

"Haha, swimming in the clouds sounds fun!" Stated Luffy with a sudden realization as he leaped overboard while laughing in joy, which was quickly cut short when he entered the sea of clouds.

"H-Help! F-Forget, c-can't swim!" Said Chopper and Luffy, respectively as they weakly flailed in the sea of clouds, prompting Sanji and Zoro to both groan before leaping in after them.

"Hmm, I see, so the clouds act just like ocean water; good to know." Commented Diddy lightly as he stood beside Nami, overlooking the drowning Chopper and Luffy.

"Haa, yeah; good thing we learned that before we had to fight someone." Remarked Nami with a sigh before nodding in agreement as she watched Sanji and Zoro save Chopper and Luffy, respectively, the two slowly swimming back to the ship while the devil fruit users were unconscious.

"It's also good to know in case I wish to drown one of my crew mates; now that I think about it, I'm curious if their body would stay afloat in the clouds or if they'd sink right through it and exit from the other side." Stated Diddy with a nod as he voiced his thoughts, which caused Nami to freeze before she mechanically turned her head at Diddy.

"AHHHHH!" Yelled Nami in pure fear as she backed away, only to faint afterward, causing everyone to quickly notice Diddy's presence while a certain simp was instantly angry.

"You're even more pathetic than Trenza," Muttered Diddy with a slight frown as he glanced at Nami, only to bring his arm up to block a kick from Sanji, who ignored him and lunged for Nami.

"Nami! Stay with me; your Sanji is here. I will not allow this monster to harm you!" Declared Sanji passionately as he kneeled and held Nami in his arms before glaring at Diddy, who wasn't even paying attention.

"Sanji, Chopper is sinking!" Yelled Usopp, though Sanji seemed not to care as he ignored his yells, causing him to leap in after Chopper.

"So, what are you doing here, Chaos Kong? I hope it's not to attack us again." Asked Robin curiously as she boldly took a step forward and approached Diddy, feeling a little confident after their last encounter, granted she was still slightly worried standing so close to him.

Glancing at Robin, I was about to respond to her, but before I could, I suddenly turned around and outstretched my hand, grabbing a small cannonball that nearly hit me, looking back at the dude floating in the air while holding a weird-looking gun, I saw his surprised expression, which morphed into fear as I threw the cannonball right back at him, though he was lucky enough to dodge.

"Not even five minutes have passed since we arrived, and I'm already getting attacked; hehe, I like this place; I only wish that person was stronger." Remarked Diddy with a smirk as he glared at the floating man in the distance before leaping into the air and lunging at him.