Guardians of skypiea!

As the ship approached, the outline of Sky Island could already be seen.

"Is that Skypiea?"

June stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the island almost entirely composed of clouds.

"Yes."

Nicholas approached June's side, looking ahead at the island.

Nicholas was quite interested in Skypiea or rather, its inhabitants. After all, the origins of these people might be quite remarkable.

The natives of the Moon, huh? Having already seen the Lunarians before, now being able to see the natives of Skypiea could provide valuable information if he was lucky.

As Nicholas pondered, he suddenly heard a burst of sobbing behind him.

Turning around, he saw Cricket and his father huddled together, crying.

"Hey, isn't this a bit much? It's just Skypiea, isn't it? Is it really worth getting so emotional over?" Bedeck couldn't help but speak up, watching the exaggerated father and son duo on the deck.

Unlike Cricket and his father, who seemed inexperienced, Bedeck, being one of the underground giants of the Sabaody Archipelago, might not have been to Skypiea personally, but he knew enough about it. So, he couldn't understand why these two were so excited to see Skypiea.

"How could you possibly understand, knowing nothing about it, to clear the stigma of the Great liar Noland, which is our ancestor Noland's title, means a lot to our entire family!" Cricket retorted, unable to contain his emotions. For him, the education he received from childhood was to use all his strength to find Shandora and clear Noland's name, restoring the glory of the Montblanc family.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Calm down, calm down," Bedeck replied quickly, not wanting to discuss Cricket's obsession. So, he promptly changed the subject.

Nicholas, seemingly oblivious to the commotion behind him, simply instructed Vista to steer the Sea Sovereign towards Sky Island.

"Wait a minute, Nicholas."

At that moment, June suddenly called out to Nicholas.

"What's wrong, June?" Nicholas looked at June curiously, waiting for her answer.

"I sense a strong presence of disease deep within that island," June said with a furrowed brow.

"Do you mean there's a plague on that island ahead?" Nicholas asked, surprised. He couldn't see any signs of a plague on the island, given the panic caused by their arrival, but he trusted June's words unconditionally.

June nodded, saying, "Yes, although I don't know why the disease is so active and hasn't spread yet, if it's not dealt with properly, the entire island will succumb and become a dead zone."

"Hmm..." Nicholas rubbed his chin, curious. "Can't your Devil Fruit powers solve this?"

June remained calm, saying, "Of course it can."

Nicholas was momentarily speechless.

So, as long as they found that 'source,' the problem wouldn't be a problem.

Three minutes later, the Sea Sovereign docked at a beach on Sky Island.

Vista remained on the ship to watch over it, while the others climbed the ladder onto Sky Island.

After landing on the island, the group headed straight for a tavern.

"Boss, bring out your finest wine."

Upon entering, Bedeck immediately placed an order.

"Mr. Bedeck, I can't drink alcohol as a skeleton. Just a glass of milk will do for me," Brook reminded quietly from the side.

"Mr. Brook, I apologize for my oversight," Bedeck quickly replied, eager to curry favor with Brook, who was one of Nicholas's crew members and thus, someone he needed to butter up.

The tavern owner, seeing Bedeck slap down a wad of berries on the table, looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief.

"Sir, we only accept Extols here."

"What?!"

"What?!"

Bedeck and Brook couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. Clearly, they had no idea what Extols was, but encountering a tavern that didn't accept berries was a first for them.

"Boss, what about this?" Nicholas took a bag from one of Bedeck's subordinates and tossed it to the tavern owner.

Seeing the bag on the counter, which was the size of a human head, the owner first, glanced casually, then opened it, and upon seeing its contents, his eyes widened in shock.

"What is this!?"

"This is..." The tavern owner asked incredulously.

"Over fifty billion-year-old soil from the Jaya, commemorating its significance and having considerable collectible value," Nicholas said seriously.

Then, to the astonishment of Bedeck and Cricket's father and son, the tavern owner carefully picked up a bit of soil with his index finger and tasted it.

"Pure and of high quality. Using these to pay for drinks is more than enough."

The tavern owner carefully put the soil in a safe and gave Nicholas the most sincere smile.

Soon, Nicholas and his companions were enjoying the local wine of Sky Island.

"Hey, Captain, are you sure you gave that guy a bag of random soil?" Simon asked, drinking at the counter and looking at the tavern owner, who was smiling like a Chrysanthemum. He couldn't understand.

"What does it matter? Rarity determines value, don't you understand? Just like the special products from Sky Island and various other things that can be sold for a high price in Jaya, soil from Jaya that's not very valuable there is just as valuable as Extols here on Sky Island," Nicholas explained nonchalantly. He had to admit that while Sky Island might not be as rich in resources as Jaya, its wine was quite unique.

And Katie had already arranged to purchase a large quantity of Sky Island wine using two large crates of soil and a seedling of an orange tree.

"Are you guys coming directly from Jaya?" Because of the soil, the tavern owner was exceptionally enthusiastic.

"Boss, how did you know?" Brook asked curiously.

"Hahaha, what kind of fortune-telling would that be? If you had come through the normal channels, you would have passed through several Sky Islands before coming here. It's impossible not to know what Extols is, a common currency in the White Sea," the tavern owner explained with a smile.

Just as the group was chatting, they heard a commotion outside.

Soon, about a hundred people had gathered outside the tavern.

"Listen up, people inside!!"

"We are the Guardians of Skypiea."

"You are surrounded! Surrender and you won't be harmed! I repeat, surrender and you won't be harmed!"

The people outside wielded weapons and gathered in groups, their expressions and words full of excitement, as if fearing that Nicholas and the others would resort to violence.

"Wow, why are there so many Guardians of Skypiea today? Did another group of pirates from Jaya come to Skypiea?" Simon asked, curious.

Behind the crowd,

A burly man with a golden earring and a large red prayer bead necklace, dressed in monk's attire and sporting a pair of wings on his back, curiously watched the tavern surrounded by the Guardians of Skypiea.