132. God's Punishment

Leo and Shinobu were walking through a street. People with wings on their backs walked past them.

"Let's find someone way past his or her years. Having lived that long they should be able to give us valuable information."

Shinobu suggested. Leo nodded and they searched the crowd. They soon found an old woman selling fruits at the far end of the street.

"Grandma, can we ask you something?"

Shinobu smiled sweetly and asked the old woman. A faint fragrance escaped from her hands.

The old woman breathed it for a moment, her eyes immediately glazed over and she nodded.

"Can you give us a detailed understanding of Sky Island?"

The old woman nodded. She guided them inside her small store and pulled out a map.

"This is Skypiea and this is the Upper Yard. Skypiea is under the rule of our God who resides in Upper Yard. The rules here are very similar to the ones down in Blue Sea."

"The currency here is Extol, 10 thousand Extol is 1 Berry. Skypiea is a peaceful island. If there are any offenders they will be taken care of by the White Berets. But crimes above 3rd degree are judged by the priests in Upper Yard."

"By judging I mean execution. Any offender with a crime of 3rd degree and above will be executed by the priests."

Leo frowned and asked, "And what about your God?"

The old woman said with fear, "God is omniscient. He resides in a temple at the heart of Upper Yard. He brings judgment upon those who don't obey."

Just as she said those words the clouds started to rumble.

The people outside were startled and looked at the sky. Their faces went pale and someone muttered.

"It's God's Judgment!"

"God is bringing down his wrath!"

"Run!"

Leo heard the commotion outside however his attention was on the clouds above.

He could sense a terrifying power brewing in the sky.

Thunder?

The clouds parted and a pillar of blue light slammed down to the ground.

Leo drew out his sword. His sword intent poured out, sword rays shrouded the entire store and everyone within the beam's attack range.

Shatter!

He swung his sword upwards. A sword ray sliced through the store's ceiling and struck the blue beam.

Bang! Crack!

The sword ray and the thunder strike were even for a second before Leo's sword attack cleaved through it. The clouds above were parted by his sword strike and dispersed into the air.

Sheathing his sword Leo had a solemn expression.

God? How did this 'God' find us?

He turned to look at the old woman. She was unconscious, Shinobu made her fall asleep when the attack fell.

They made sure the old woman was fine before walking out. A crowd was present when they walked out.

All of them looked at Leo and Shinobu with fear.

Leo sighed and walked back to the ship. They got the information so it didn't matter whether they stayed here or not.

Mace saw his Captain return and asked, "Captain, what did you find?"

Leo explained what happened and Mace showed a pondering expression.

He thought for a while before saying, "I might know what happened?"

Huh?

Leo was surprised. He waited for Mace to continue.

"That blue beam... it must be a devil fruit. And not an average one, it's a logia. The Rumble-Rumble fruit."

Leo asked, "How can you be so sure?"

Mace explained, "Several centuries ago there was a pirate who ate the rumble-rumble fruit. Overnight he gained the strength of a vice admiral. But he died because of that same fruit."

Shinobu was curious and asked, "How?"

"The rumble-rumble fruit is particularly strong even among all the other Logia. It's destructive capability is off the charts. But it's also a double edged sword."

"If the user doesn't have enough control he will burn himself to death. That pirate who ate the fruit before fought against an admiral at that time. To defeat his opponent he tried to increase the power in his attacks."

"In the end his body couldn't handle the load and was burned to ashes."

I see...

Leo understood what happened. It's just like passing electricity through a wire. If you pass too much the wire will overheat and burn.

"So the islanders think he is a God because of his fruit ability, huh. And this said God just tried to kill us."

Leo's eyes turned cold.

This God or whatever didn't care about the casualties and struck down at a place where people were gathered. He held no value for life.

Leo turned his gaze and looked over the horizon. The White sea stretched far as the eye can see.

His eyes narrowed and focused on the shadow of a large island filled with huge trees far in the distance.

Shinobu smiled and said, "Don't be late."

She went back to the ship after saying that.

Leo smirked.

Soru!

Leo flashed and shot towards the island he saw. Whenever his body slowed down he lightly tapped on the clouds to accelerate.

Mace didn't find his actions surprising. After all, that God tried to kill mistress and his captain. It would be strange if his captain let it be.

...

Upper Yard.

A man with drooping ear lobes and wearing a white bandana sat upon a golden throne. He had a wheel with drums on his back.

This was the man the Sky Island people called as God.

God was frowning at this moment. He heard someone talk about him and sent down his punishment but he didn't expect someone to disperse his strike.

Who was that?

Four people kneeled before him. He looked at them and said lightly, "Find those illegal entrants and kill them."

"Yes!"

These four were the priests from Upper Yard. They were directly under the command of God.

Just as the priests were about to leave God frowned. He looked in a particular direction.

A dot could be seen far in the distance. After some time it became clearer and clearer.

It was human being! And he was flying!