[91] Light of Shandora [1]
[2400 Words]
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The Grand Line, Skypiea.
In the upper Yard.
[Miss System, extract Enel's Devil Fruit.]
Ren stood in front of Enel's corpse and commanded.
[Goro Goro no Mi fruit has been placed in the Infinity Space, master.]
He glanced at Enel's body one last time, then bowed and touched the golden staff that disappeared the next moment.
"It's time to take control of Skypiea."
With this idea in mind, Ren approached the astonished Raki and glanced briefly at the girl, Aisa.
"Um...hi," Raki stammered, her heart pounding as she had just escaped death, and then things happened quickly, seeing Enel breathe his last.
"Thank you... for saving Raki, Oni-chan," Aisa suddenly said gratefully, wiping her eyes that had reddened from crying.
Ren blinked when he heard "Oni-chan," but then he returned to his calmness and said:
"It's good that you're okay. We'll talk later."
*Whoosh!*
In the next moment, Ren disappeared from in front of them and reappeared tens of meters away thanks to Shave.
"You're the former god, Gan Fall, right? I have something important to discuss with you," Ren said, looking at the old man who stood incredulous that Enel had indeed died.
"Y-yes... how did you know... never mind, what do you want, um...?"
"It's Ren," Ren told him his name and then said directly, "Let's be clear and tell you what I want."
He paused for a moment and continued:
"I will rule this place."
Conis, Gan Fall, Raki, and the rest of the Shandians froze upon hearing what he said, while his crew members were aware of his intentions.
Before Gan Fall could speak, Ren's voice came again: "I've heard that this land has witnessed a war that has not stopped for hundreds of years, claiming many lives. Then Enel came and ruled with an iron fist. I plan to put an end to this unnecessary cycle of violence."
Ren began delivering a speech that would move anyone to trust his words, claiming he would ensure stability in the land and stop the war, as well as guarantee the rights of all parties, whether Skypiéns or Shandiéns.
"So, I hope you will cooperate with me,Gan Fall-san, by conveying my words and goals to the people of Skypiea."
Ren looked at the tense old man with a friendly smile, but behind that smile, he was already prepared with an alternative plan if his offer was refused. It must be said that things wouldn't end well for Gan Fall if he refused...
He sought Gan Fall's help because he had been the former god of Skypiea for several years, so the Skypiéns trusted him greatly. Convincing them would be easier.
Of course, Ren wouldn't rely solely on this to win their loyalty; he would make some moves on his own. Enel's body and the unconscious priests would assist him in that.
Gan Fall looked at Ren with tension. Would he really keep his promise? Would he not become like Enel, or perhaps worse?
'But he's a pirate...' Gan Fall sighed inwardly with doubt. He knew pirates couldn't be trusted, but his sense and experience in judging people told him that this person wouldn't harm Skypiea without reason.
'But what if there is a reason?' Gan Fall trembled at the mere thought of that.
"What do you say, Gan Fall-san?" Ren's voice brought him out of his thoughts; he still maintained a friendly smile.
Gan Fall realized he had no choice but to comply with his words. He had killed Enel and freed them from his rule. As for whether the Skypiéns would accept this, he didn't know their reaction to it.
He only feared that Ren would impose himself if they opposed him, just as Enel did.
"I accept, Lord Ren."
Ren smiled. Wasn't this too quick?
But he was satisfied with the old man's flattery. He patted his shoulder and then turned to his crew members, looking at Conis.
"Yo~, I've avenged you." He patted her shoulder, seeing her quietly shed tears, and then hugged her without hesitation, starting to cry.
The girls stared in shock at Conis clinging to Ren, while the latter laughed and thought to himself, 'It seems that the mission related to her will be easy.'
"Nami, Nojiko, Mikita, the three of you are responsible for taking the priests to Angel Island and waiting for me there," he looked at the three girls and assigned them the task.
"Aye, Captain!" Mikita said with a smile, while Nami and Nojiko nodded.
"Robin, you'll come with me... but before that, I need to take care of some pending matters."
Without waiting for a response from Robin and the others, he disappeared from his place and reappeared tens of meters away.
The God's Army was Enel's main force.
It consisted of the four priests who had been defeated earlier and the Divine Soldiers led by Commander Yama.
In addition to Commander Yama, there were Lieutenants Kotori and Hotori , Satori's brothers.
With the addition of the Divine Soldiers, there were fifty people in total.
They had heard the sounds of the previous battle for a long time, so they left the temple to confront the enemy.
But they were shocked by the scene that met them there: there, their powerful, invincible god lay on the ground, dead...
The God's Army trembled and felt lost for a moment. What should they do now?
Should they escape? Where to? The person who killed their god is coming for their lives.
And he surely came.
Ren looked at the fifty soldiers in front of him with amusement on his face, transforming Versa into a black and red whip in his hand.
"Oh, killer of the god Enel!" Yama shouted, his eyes glowing red with fervor and worship, then ordered the soldiers to attack.
"Let's finish this quickly," Ren muttered, not wanting to waste any more time, and began striking the soldiers in front of him.
But he didn't kill them.
*Creek~*
The sound of the whip echoed through the air as Ren whipped the soldiers, causing them intense pain, forcing them to fall to the ground and not rise again.
*Slash!!*
"Ugh!" Yama cried out, attempting a counterattack, but was quickly subdued along with the others.
"We're done here," Ren muttered, then turned to his crew members who had watched everything calmly.
"Go, Nojiko, Nami, Mikita and the others, to Angel Island and wait for me there. Don't forget to take care of Conis too."
After seeing the girls assure him that they would do so, he turned his attention to Gan Fall and said, "I want you to enlist the White Berets and transport the remnants of the army to a safe place... a place where the angry people of Skypiea won't reach. Understand?"
"Yes, I'll make sure of that..." Gan Fall didn't understand Ren's reason for wanting these people, but he didn't argue. His concern was not to upset the new ruler who was even more powerful than Enel in a ridiculous way, or they might be doomed to failure.
Or worse, their failure.
The White Berets were originally Gan Fall's forces when he was the god of Skypiea, but after Enel took over, they served Enel out of fear of him harming the Skypiéns.
Even Ren remembered them turning against Enel when they learned of his plan to destroy Skypiea. So, in short, their first and last goal was to protect the Skypiéns.
So, Enel had to rely on Gan Fall to control them. He could put them to sleep magnetically, but that would be very tedious, and magnetic hypnosis might not work if used on hundreds of people at the same time. Ren didn't know his limits yet with this skill.
Ren came to his crew members, and after speaking briefly with Conis, he turned to Robin, who was watching him intently.
"Let's go, the rest will follow Nami." He grabbed Robin by the waist and flew into the sky using Moonwalk.
The girls watched Ren and Robin disappear into the distant horizon, then Nami finally broke the silence, "Let's go."
On the other side, the remaining Shandians were uncertain about what to do at this moment.
"What should we do...?" one of the Shandia warriors asked, confused about their next step.
Strong individuals like Whper, Kamakiri, Braham, and Genbo had died, so they found themselves in a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Raki looked at the remaining members of her tribe, then in the next moment, her expression became serious and she spoke, "Everyone, I want you to listen to me."
The warriors looked at her puzzled, knowing that Raki was the strongest person here, but these primitive warriors were not used to listening to a woman's words...
Raki saw their hesitation and felt worried. She knew something like this would happen. She couldn't help but get angry because of Kamakiri's decision to attack Enel, who was dying, costing him his life and the rest.
"Hi~?"
Raki heard a voice behind her, and turned to find a girl with blue hair crossing her arms over her chest and smiling at her.
...
Thanks to Nojiko's intervention, Raki knew how to deal with the tribe members and make them listen to her. This was largely due to Nojiko's association with the person who killed Enel, so the Shandia dared not insult or attack her.
But there were always exceptions, and fools everywhere. Nojiko had to show her strength, shocking Raki and all the people who didn't know her, except Gan Fall and Conis, who saw her defeat the priest.
Raki became certain of Nojiko's strength, who claimed that she defeated a priest, so everything became easy after that. After Nojiko asked Raki to accompany them and return the rest of the warriors to the tribe with the bodies of the dead, they left the Upper Yard for Angel Island.
...
Angel Island.
News of Enel's defeat spread like wildfire, thanks to the White Berets who were under Gan Fall's command once again.
The White Berets were more than happy to follow their old god. Unlike Enel, he was beloved by his people, so they naturally obeyed his orders.
"He is dead... Enel is dead!!"
"Hoora!! That scoundrel is dead!"
"I can sleep without worrying about being struck by lightning tomorrow for no reason!"
"Rejoice! That evil god is finally dead!"
"I heard it was the man Enel labeled as a criminal who did it! What was his name... Ren, right?"
"Amazing! We truly owe him!"
"Discussions spread across Angel Island, and in Lovely Street, people were discussing what had happened. They hadn't seen with their own eyes how Enel died, but the White Berets informed them that they needed to gather in the square.
There was an open square in the middle of Angel Island, topped with a wide platform. Currently, the square was crowded and noisy with people, children and adults, men and women, various segments of Skypiea's society gathered here.
"What do you think we'll witness?" one man asked his friend standing beside him.
"I don't know, but I have some guesses. Maybe Gan Fall-san will return to his position?" the man answered his friend's question while clasping his hand.
"I truly hope so!" a young girl joined them. She seemed to be their friend as well. They began chatting about what happened and expressed their support for Gan Fall's return to power.
Such discussions could be seen all over the square. Everyone was happy about the downfall of the tyrant ruler and became even happier because Gan Fall was expected to return to power.
Or so they thought.
...
On Gan Fall's side, the old man was speaking with the leader of the White Berets, McKinley.
"Aren't you going to return to rule, sir?!" McKinley asked in astonishment.
"Yes... there's someone better than me," Gan Fall replied, although he seemed somewhat reluctant.
In truth, he wanted to return to power, not for selfish reasons but simply to ensure the comfort of his people who had suffered oppression for six years under Enel's rule.
Of course, his concern about Ren hadn't disappeared. He couldn't trust someone he had met just today.
Gan fall sighed, then told McKinley that he would know more about this person in due time.
They were currently in a house specially prepared for Gan Fall by the White Berets at his command, but there were other people there as well.
"It's been half an hour since the captain left. Where do you think he went?" Vivi whispered softly to Nami.
"Perhaps to the ruins of Shandora?" Nami replied in a low voice.
All the girls were here except for Robin, who had left with Ren. Raki had joined them at Nojiko's request.
And Aisa was with Raki as usual. The little girl hesitated to leave Raki, so Raki had to bring her along.
Nojiko saw that her captain seemed interested in this girl, so she decided to invite her here.
She was hesitant to do so, even if she agreed to share her lover with other girls, but to the point of enticing them to him...
Nojiko sighed and snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Nami and Vivi's conversation. After some thought, she said, "Thinking about it, since Robin is an archaeologist, she must have gone to the ruins of Shandora, specifically to the Golden Bell."
"Really?!"
A cry came out of Raki's mouth. Nojiko was speaking loudly, so she could hear her clearly.
"Oh, you're from the Shandians who were responsible for protecting that bell, right?" Lorena recalled the information Ren had told them.
"Yes... you said Ren-san went there, right? Can I--"
*Ring!*
*Ring!*
*Ring!*
*Ring!*
.
..
...
....
.....
A deafening sound spread throughout Skypiea, no, not just Skypiea but reached the Blue Sea, specifically to Jaya Island!
On Jaya Island, which was still recovering from the previous attack by the Sin Pirates, the survivors raised their heads to the sky in shock and confusion.
They even forgot what had happened to them for a moment.
Meanwhile, in Skypiea, all over this island suspended above the clouds, not a single sound could be heard!
Chats among the people stopped, and silence fell over everyone in the square on Angel Island. Meanwhile, in the hidden Shandia tribe in the clouds, the surviving warriors fell to their knees on the ground, tears in their eyes.
"The light of Shandora... has returned!"
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Author's gossiping.
Add beautiful images to choose from as a cover in this paragraph, provided they are not too revealing.
2000 PS = Bonus chapter.