Heaven's Gate

The Knight Of The Sky started explaining what Extol was. It is the currency used in Skypiea. The extol seems to be pegged to the belly, as there are 10,000 Extol per 1 Belly.

With that out of the way, the knight started explaining the general information about Skypiea.

The people who reside there have small wings on their backs, similar to the stereotypical angel which make them really unique, though no use has been revealed for them thus far.

The daily life of sky people revolves around the use of Dials, which normally are not available in the Blue Sea.

The people of Skypiea have a religious reverence for soil, because it can yield plant life much better than island clouds can, and also other materials that come from the Blue Sea. Most of the people from the Blue Sea believe that Skypiea is merely a myth.

The inhabitants of this haven 10000 meters above the ground are a kind, trusting folk naturally, although through the years the war with Shandia, the thievery of blue-sea dwellers and the harsh rule of gods has jaded them, leaving them with a bitter taste towards outsiders in general.

This isolationism is in stark contrast to Fish-Man Island, 10000 meters below the waves, who, while sharing the traits of kindness, had become largely swamped with outsiders.

The knight continued to explain what to do if the Straw Hat Pirates intended to go to Skypiea. They would have to pass through The Heaven's Gate.

Heaven's Gate is located in the White Sea and serves as an entrance to Skypiea. Visitors must pay 1,000,000,000 Extol per person to enter.

Amazon, the gate-keeper that resides down here with her Vision Dial-powered camera, collects entrance immigration fees, and immigration for those who are leaving.

"You mentioned Dials quite a bit in your explanation. What is it, Sir knight? " Robin asked The Knight of The Sky.

"Ah, Dials. They are devices which have the ability to store energy and matter. They are made from the remains of particular shellfish. The shellfish remains are gathered from the shallows near the shore of the White-White Sea. " The knight explained.

He continued to explain how useful Dials could be in battle, which he dubbed 'Sky Warfare' because on sky islands, battles are fought differently than down in the Blue Sea.

Oftentimes, weapons are upgraded, or even combined, with Dials. This creates incredibly powerful weapons and combat styles, allowing for tactics that would otherwise be unachievable.

There was a lot to process and Luffy felt like his brain was about to explode if he heard anymore.

Thankfully, Nami and Kaya was there. They were writing what the knight said down to their respective notebooks.

There were also their resident weapons experts Usopp and Nojiko on board. Maybe they could simplify it and explain it to him again.

"Well, from what I understood. There must be a lot of Dials that exist here. Do you have one that allows you to breathe fire?" Luffy asked the knight. The knight nodded.

"Yes, it's called the Flame Dial. It stores and releases fire. When equipped in a bird's mouth, it enables it to breathe fire like a dragon. Flame Dials can also be used in sky warfare, concealed in the user's hand beneath a glove or bandage to allow them to burn their opponents." The knight explained.

" Good to know, so it seems we'll meet a lot of dirty fighters out here. Well, we ain't saints either. Thanks for your time, old man. Before you go, what's your name? " Luffy asked him.

" I would be Gan Fall, the Knight of The Sky! And this is Pierre, my partner in crime! " Gan Fall introduced himself and Pierre who cried proudly.

"Even though he's a bird, he ate the Uma Uma no Mi! Which means he can become a winged horse! A pegasus!" Gan Fall shouted proudly as he got onto Pierre who transformed into his hybrid bird-horse form He transformed into a horse with wings that maintain the pink body with red polka dot design, but with white feathers. His face also elongates to that of a horse. In a way, he is supposed to resemble a Pegasus.

"Eww..... That's not what we had in mind...." Sanji muttered while he and everyone had a look of disgust while looking at Pierre. Gan Fall threw a whistle at Luffy.

"Use this to call me anytime! Your first whistle will be free as my gift to you! Farewell, brave adventures!! Till we meet again!!! " Gan Fall shouted before Pierre flew away from them.

After Gan Fall left, the Straw Hat Pirates resumed their journey towards Skypiea.

"Ha.... Finally, the explanations are over." Luffy sighed, feeling satisfied. Nami glared at him.

"You were the one who asked him in the first place, baka!" Nami pouted at him, making Luffy laugh loudly and scratched his head.

" Shishishishishi!! I was counting on you and Kaya to write it down so you guys can dumb it down for me. Can you dumb it down for me please? " Luffy grinned at her. Nami sighed and shook her head.

" Fine, Luffy. Come here."

While Nami was explaining to Luffy about what Gan Fall said in a simplified way, the Going Merry slowly made its way towards a cloudy waterfall.

They were curious about it. At the same time, Luffy finished listening to what Nami explained to him and he understood everything now.

He looked at the clouds in front of him and threw his stretched fist at it. The fist bounced off the cloud, surprising him.

"Woah!!!! A bouncy cloud!!" Luffy shouted before leaping towards it. He started bouncing on it while laughing happily.

"You got to write this down, Kaya! It's like a trampoline and it's soft like cotton!" Luffy grinned at her.

" But not as soft as Nami's though...." Luffy whispered to himself. Nami coincidentally heard it and was now blushing up a storm with steam rising out of the top of her head.

Robin noticed Nami's reaction and giggled to herself. 'Captain must've said something perverted. ' Robin thought to herself while smiling a little at Nami.

"Hey guys!! I see Heaven's Gate from here!!" Luffy shouted, making Nami snap out of it. He quickly got back onto the Going Merry and ordered Nami to get them there.

When they arrived, they felt like they were going to enter heaven. The place was so beautiful even Usopp had to slap himself three times to prove that he wasn't actually dead and was just entering a gate.

"So how much do we need to pay that Amazon lady? It's 1,000,000,000 Extol per person right? " Luffy asked Kaya who quickly started doing the math in her head.

" Alright, it's 10,000 Extol per 1 Belly. So if we exchange our Belly to Extol, each person in the crew would be 100,000 Belly. And we have 9 people so we would have to pay 900,000 Belly to her. " Kaya explained as Usopp ran down to the storage room where they keep their stack of Belly in.

" Do we even have that much? " Zoro asked her.

"With me being the sponsor, it won't even make a small dent."

" Here you go."

" Thanks Usopp. " Kaya replied to Luffy's question and thanked Usopp as he handed her a sack that has 900,000 Belly in it at the same time.

As they started entering Heaven's Gate, they saw someone coming out from a small door near the entrance.

The person was a short very elderly woman with an extensively wrinkled face. She has purple hair, put into two buns.

She has thin arms, and wears a pink tunic, and has small white wings on her back like all Skypieans do.

She is the elderly gatekeeper of Skypiea and informer at the entrance to Skypiea known as Heaven's Gate, Amazon.

Amazon was holding a camera. The camera was actually equipped with a Vision Dial which is used for capturing images and playing them back, comparable to a modern-day camera.

"Are you here for sightseeing, or are you here to fight?" Amazon asked as she took several pictures of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"If you don't have the money to pay for the entry fee, you can still go up." The elderly woman added, surprising them.

"Um, we'd like to enter Skypiea legally thank you very much. Here's the entry fee in Belly, there's nine of us here so there's 900,000 Belly in this sack. " Kaya smiled as she handed Amazon the sack full of Belly.

"Oh what a surprise, this is the first time people know what to do when entering Heaven's Gate. " Amazing muttered with a surprised expression.

Kaya wasn't buying it, actually everyone wasn't. Even the ever trusting Luffy's wasn't buying her act at all.

" Okay, something's up here. Why would she say that we can go if we don't have the money?" Sanji whispered to Luffy.

" You tell me, I think she's doing it on purpose. It's a trap. It must be, there's no way it isn't. " Luffy whispered back as everyone waved awkwardly at Amazon and the Merry started sailing forward.

Suddenly, a giant Shrimp grasped their ship and started lifting it. "Woah! What's this old lady?!" Luffy looked at Amazon for answers.

"This is a Speedy Shrimp. They will take you up Milky Road and to the White-White Sea. Have a fun ride. Goodbye! " Amazon smiled and waved at them as the Speedy Shrimp carried the Merry up a line of clouds shaped like a river.

Amazon smiled a little at the Going Merry that was sailing away.

"That straw hat kid looks familiar, especially that hat and that sword he has. He looks like that Roger kid that came here with his crew years ago. Eh, it's probably nothing but a coincidence. "

.

.

" Do clouds swirl like this? " Luffy asked Nami as they were quickly traveling up the river-like clouds.

"No. It must be artificially made, but how?" Nami wondered.

" There's the exit, or entrance in this case, what does that sign say? " Zoro asked as she narrowed her eyes at the sign.

"'Godland Skypiea'. Hope it's as holy as it sounds." Usopp grumbled. Zoro snorted.

"I assure you Usopp, nothing's ever flawless." Zoro muttered, making Usopp hum a little.

"While we're out of prying ears and eyes, what was up with that granny just now? Why'd she take pictures of us? Identification in case we break some law there?" Nojiko asked them.

" It's probably that, but nothing's ever that simple. She even tried to trick us. That's a new low, making us outlaws even though we aren't trying to be one here." Nami grumbled.

"We already are Miss Navigator, but they don't need to know that. " Robin added while smiling a little. They reached the entrance, and flew into the Sky Island propelled by the river.

Everyone widened their eyes and gasped in amazement at the breathtaking sight in front of them.

"Woah!!!!!"

To be continued...