[84] Invincible
[2260 words]
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[Skypiea]
Skypiea was located on a gigantic mass of fossilized clouds known as an Imperial Cumulus.
The cloud wandered around the skies near Jaya and happened to be so dense that it managed to blot out sunlight almost completely, instantly darkening the portion of the Blue Sea where it floated by and giving the impression that nightfall had suddenly arrived.
The people who resided here had small wings on their backs, though they were mostly for decoration.
The daily life of sky people revolved around the use of Dials, which normally were not available in the Blue Sea.
As opposed to the "berry" of the rest of the world, they used "extols" as currency.
The first area reached was Angel Island for those entering through the Heaven's Gate.
...
[Few Hours Later]
Just a while ago, the Sky Island welcomed two uninvited people from the Blue Sea, their lack of wings being quite the indicator that made them stand out, that was without considering their tall nature.
The two, however, were not bothered by the occasional curious stares as they made their way through the region.
Angel Island sat on an island cloud, the main area of residence for the Skypieans.
.
Damien and Aurora were quite interested in all the specialties of the island, trying out their crafts.
"Welcome, all the way from the Blue Sea," a calm voice called out.
"Heso!"
The two were greeted by a near-six-foot tall man with long hair and a beard. He was accompanied by a group of Skypieans, welcoming them with their "Heso" callouts.
"I am Gan Fall," the leading man introduced himself.
The male pirate glanced at the group donning the angel-white clothing.
The two pirates gave their names in a relatively straight-up tone, wiping away any hidden tension.
.
"The God of Skypiea, it's quite a high title," Damien commented.
Gan Fall shook his head, "I only recently took upon the mantle, I have much to do."
"We came seeking the island floating in the sky, it's really amazing!" Aurora muttered, her usually quiet demeanour was momentarily gone.
"We weren't alerted of your arrival," the man muttered in slight alarm.
"Oh that... your gatekeeper was asleep so we continued our entrance," Damien casually answered.
"..."
Gan Fall sighed at the situation while a part of him felt that it would be wise to be hospitable to the guests.
"Come with me," the man relented, putting on a fake smile, "this is a rare time of peace here."
He walked on ahead, taking the two toward a path far away.
Many guards surrounded them, Gan Fall's Divine Squad comprised Skypiea's elite, while the God's Guards were the policing force.
"Where are we headed?" Aurora questioned, trailing behind the man.
"To my residence in the Upper Yard, above the Holy Land," Gan Fall answered.
…
[Later]
In the distance was the giant beanstalk that shot up from the ground to far skies above, disappearing from eyesight—a signature sight of the region where Damien and co had arrived.
"There's soil here…" Aurora muttered.
They arrived in the Upper Yard, stepping on the earth below.
Gan Fall nodded and addressed the young woman, "One of the reasons it's called the 'Holy Land' is because of the Vearth that is abundantly present."
Damien nodded the side, his memory of the location was decent, unfortunately, he was one of those people who droned off at the deeper information given in the anime for Skypiea.
[Upper Yard Image (in Discord)]
.
While admiring the island, the Sin Incarnate could not help but take a deep breath.
"The air here is incredibly clear," he muttered, sensing the warmth around him, "the trees and greenery have thrived from minimal human contact and the thinness of the atmosphere."
Not only did they thrive, but the trees also grew to colossal heights, dominating the view.
Gan Fall lightly smiled at the comments and felt some relief toward the peaceful guests.
"We need to ascend further up, let's take a shortcut…"
The angel-man took out a whistle and blew into it.
*Wheeee* The high-pitch screech echoed through the Holy Land, slowly dying out.
"..."
"Kaw!"
A few moments later came the cry of a giant bird.
With a wingspan of around twenty meters, the bird was quite glorious as it landed before the party with a resounding thud.
"Hop on!"
The Divine Squad stood guard as the three got on the mammal and soon flew off into the sky.
.
Aurora leaned to the edge of the saddle, enjoying the view of the island. As the bird shifted its path, an epiphany fell upon the purple-haired girl.
She subconsciously leaned toward the edge, seeing the island begin to resemble something.
"Damien…"
The pirate did not speak, instead, pulling out a map of Jaya.
He held it in front of them both, aligning it.
"The shape of Jaya from over three centuries ago… was a skull!" she exclaimed.
Damien silently nodded. Blue Sea's Jaya had the shape of a jaw while the Upper Yard was that of a skull missing its jaw; a puzzle-piece fit for a complete skull.
Though there was another missing link, one of the skull's eyes was void.
"But it's missing one piece," the girl muttered with a tinge of curiosity.
[Image (in Discord)]
…
[Twenty Minutes Later]
They had made it to an Island Cloud that hovered over the Upper Yard, Giant Jack, the beanstalk, going through its core.
"This is God's Shrine, my area of residence," Gan Fall said as he showed the two foreigners the building before them.
It was not large, just a single-story building with an open section that had a grand seating area, presumably for the reining God.
More of the Divine Squad were visible as they stood nearby, their spears in hand. Quite a few of them looked battered and bruised, their faces tired.
.
The three took their seats with Gan Fall at the head of the shrine and Aurora could not help but ask, "You mentioned a rare peaceful time, what did you mean by that?"
Gan Fall heaved a sigh and explained, "Skypiea has existed for a long, long time, ruled by the Skypieans."
"Over 350 years ago, however, a new land suddenly arrived here, the Upper Yard. It was a magical place with endless vearth... but it was visibly in ruins after some kind of war."
He turned toward the guests, "I'm sure you know what the God of Skypiea at that time wanted to do with this newly-arrived Upper Yard."
Damien beamed a smirk, his pirate instincts activating, "Lay their claim over it, of course."
Gan Fall slowly nodded with some fatigue and regret.
"However, the newly arrived island wasn't empty, it was the home to a small tribe called The Shandia, led by a fierce warrior named Kalgara. At the sight of their home being claimed by others, a war began to reclaim it."
With a heavy voice filled with remorse, he finished, "And that very war continues to this day, lasting nearly 360 years!"
"..."
Damien narrowed his eyes at the words, feeling the God's helplessness.
"The Skypieans and the Shandians were related, no? Both marked with wings on their backs," he asked.
Gan Fall lightly hummed, "From the text passed from previous Gods, there were three races that once lived in a single place: the Skypieans, the Shandia, and the Birkans; all winged people."
Aurora was quite intrigued by the information and echoed the question in her mind, "The same place?"
A reply came from Damien before Gan Fall could answer.
"The Moon."
The God of Skypiea paused in his seat, looking at Damien with shock.
.
Gan Fall regained his composure, "Yes… indeed—they hailed from the Moon."
Aurora's purple eyes shined bright, looking up to the sky, only to meet the shrine's ceiling.
'Skypiea arc must have been a lot more important than I imagined, a pity that I died before it was truly expanded upon,' Damien sighed to himself.
Gan Fall then cleared his throat, "Since taking my position as God of Skypiea, I have only a single goal: to end the war between the Shandia and Skypieans!"
Alas, he felt a little embarrassed.
The man dryly laughed, "Enough about me, I don't want to bore you anymore, you are welcome to explore as you wish."
"My people may be wary of outsiders but we are kind folk."
He then clapped his hands as trolleys of food arrived with Skypiean delicacies.
…
[A Few Hours Later]
Damien and Aurora headed to a certain location.
It was the other major reason why he came to Sky Island in the first place.
The moment he touched down at Skypiea, he had sensed a faraway land with a small population.
"Keep heading southeast," Damien told the girl as she used her powers to float the rock under them forward.
.
"So the text we read about the Shadorians were a people built up of the Skypieans, Birkans and Shandia," Aurora thought out loud.
"The Shandia are engaged in war with the Skypieans over the Upper Yard, but how come the Birkans live in such a recluse area?"
Damien felt her curiosity and returned a question of his own, "What do you think would prompt an entire species to flee from the home on the Moon to come down here?"
The girl thought for a moment before leaking a wry smile.
"My father taught me a lot of history and the number one thing for any form of conflict was resources."
She looked to the infinite sky, imagining the moon, "Up there, all alone for who knows how long... their resources must have gone dry."
.
"Look at you connecting the dots," Damien chuckled. "That's right, they all fled down here while the Shandia were stuck in Paradise for centuries, the Skypieans and Birkans were up against one another."
The pirate narrowed his eyes as they neared their destination, "I guess we know which of the two races was superior."
...
Their casual conversation went on and soon they arrived at a tiny land sitting on an island cloud.
It was quite small and the architecture was rather ancient, far before today's standards, even that of Skypiea's standards.
The pillars were marked with ancient scripture and symbols, detailing some history.
'This must be Enel's home island,' Damien thought to himself. 'Which means that treasure should also be here…'
.
Aurora studied the land and quietly examined the people in the distance.
"Unlike the Skypieans and the Shandia, Birkans' wings point downward."
Damien nodded at the observation, "Keep a low profile, they may not be as welcoming."
…
[A While Later]
Night fell as the two pirates continued to scour the island.
It seemed that the Birkans did get a share of the greenery of the Upper Yard.
It did not take long for Damien, who was well-connected with nature, to find an imposter in a fruit forest.
"Bingo."
Aurora, who was at Damien's side the whole time, followed his gaze to reach the treasure, "A Devil Fruit?" she muttered.
The Sin Incarnate raised his hand and all the while the very branch that held up the fruit began to shake; it moved as if it was alive, releasing the stem, consequently releasing the fruit.
The odd-shaped fruit landed in the palm of the pirate's hand, its myriad of blue was quite the sight.
"This alone makes this trip worthwhile," he muttered while tossing the priceless power up and down.
The fruit had a pyramid-like base that grew into a crown at its apex. It was mainly dark blue, while sporting light-blue spikes at its center. A similar coloured swirl pattern also fashioned the upper part.
[Fruit Image (in Discord) — not canon-accurate, see note at the end of the chapter.]
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Aurora's interest was piqued as she saw Damien, the same guy who threw a Mythical Zoan at her lowly subordinate, looking at this fruit with great satisfaction.
The Sin Incarnate smiled at her curiosity, granting her the answer, "The 'invincible' Logia: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
"The same fruit that had gone missing for over 150 years!?"
Damien nodded, holding the fruit up to his line of sight.
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
[Rumble-Rumble Fruit (Goro Goro no Mi)]
[Logia Fruit]
[Fruit Rating: 6.5 Stars]
[Allows the user to create, control, and transform into lightning at will, turning them into a Lightning Human.]
[Expanded: Considered to be the invincible Logia as it boasts the second-most destructive and second-fastest Logia, all within one power.]
>=-=----[]---<>---[]---=-=<
'Sibyl, if I translate this power into my own, what will I get?'
[As your Tokens can only transfer auxiliary abilities, you would at most gain an intangible, lightning body.]
Damien wryly smiled, 'Forget I asked.'
He then pocketed the ability into his Inventory muttering to himself, "Such a destructive power needs a worthy user."
Aurora, who was also a Logia fruit user, could not help but agree.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit could be considered priceless. If eaten by a marine, it would birth an Admiral, if eaten by a pirate, then surely a new powerhouse would be born.
.
"Hmm?"
Damien turned to the side, hearing the Birkan people move in a flurry.
Aurora's body began to swarm with the violet energy, ready to strike. "I didn't think they would be well-versed in Observation Haki," she commented.
"It's called 'Mantra' here," Damien added in a casual tone, "looks like we moved a little too close to their village."
"Let's go, a pacifist like me doesn't like shedding blood meaninglessly."
Damien began to walk back in the direction he came, leaving Aurora with a wry smile.
To Be Continued…
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Author's Corner.
[Canon Fruit Image (in Discord)]
Enel's lightning was originally yellow in the manga. I believe Toei opted for blue lightning instead as they thought the yellow resembled Kizaru's light too much. I prefer it in blue.
Images are available on Discord alongside other niche details: https://discord.gg/aJHHHPvb6q