Chapter 103

World Timeline Calendar, December 1518.

In the conference hall, Arthur sat high on the throne.

Below him were the key officials from the eight islands, along with the heads of the kingdom's medical, police, defense, and transportation departments.

Three days ago, I traveled to Mary Geoise to meet with the World Government and have just returned to Gang Cole.

This time, joining the World Government was certain, as we received the documents and agreements that official member nations must follow.

Sky Island, now called the Angel Empire, has been officially added to the World Government's list of allied nations.

After the New Year, this announcement will be made public worldwide.

As for the Marine forces that will be stationed here, representatives from the Marines will decide which island within the empire they will be placed on.

Apart from the membership certificate, Arthur wasn't concerned with the rest of the regulations.

All that mattered was sending the Celestial Tribute every year. Everything else was internal affairs, and only Arthur would make those decisions.

"What I need is just the title of an allied nation. As for the tribute, once the plan for 50 floating islands is complete, I'll be making back dozens, even hundreds of times the amount!"

After listening to Gang Cole's report, Arthur spoke to the local officials.

"Once the New Year passes, I'm planning to begin a full-scale relocation of the empire!"

"What?"

"A complete relocation?"

"Move the entire country?"

"What does this mean?"

As soon as Arthur finished, the hall erupted in confusion.

"Quiet." Arthur frowned. Despite being only nineteen, no one dared to disrespect him.

First, Arthur was incredibly powerful, radiating an imposing presence. If he didn't usually hold it back, few in the room would even be able to stand near him, let alone speak to him directly.

Second, his Conqueror's Haki was fearsome. Even when he suppressed it, the aura of a majestic and commanding king still lingered.

Because of these, even though Arthur rarely dealt with Sky Island's affairs, whenever he spoke, no one dared to disobey.

"Our empire is currently located above the Calm Belt, with part of our territory and the Gate of Heaven situated in the middle of the first half of the Grand Line."

"This position doesn't match my vision for the empire's future."

"So, I'll be relocating Sky Island to the far end of the first half of the Grand Line."

"Of course, Apayado and Vine Island will be moved as well. They'll remain in the Calm Belt, and the other islands will be relocated too."

"I'll place the kingdom's gateway, the Gate of Heaven, along the Grand Line, while most of the area will stay within the Calm Belt."

"I've already instructed the design institute to create sketches, so let's take a look!"

Arthur gestured to a beautiful and intelligent angel, who immediately understood and activated a video shell to show the designs.

The first image showed an empty space, about three hundred kilometers wide, above the White Sea. The White Sea below remained untouched.

The second image showed this empty area with a massive vine in the center. Above the vine was Apayado, but it looked completely different from how they knew it.

The vine was also much larger than it is now, stretching around 15,000 meters instead of the current 12,000 meters.

The third image showed Apayado at the center, surrounded by a three-kilometer-wide White Sea. A ring of clouds encircled the edges of the White Sea.

In the fourth image, many floating islands of various colors appeared.

The locations of these floating islands were carefully planned. The shadow patterns showed that the islands were arranged in a way that they wouldn't block each other.

The shadows from the floating islands were positioned cleverly so that very few overlapped.

Although the White Sea below was covered by shadow, due to the height of the floating islands, it wasn't very dark.

The fifth image showed beautiful, well-placed clouds connecting the floating islands.

Wide cloud pathways linked the main floating islands, with channels up to two hundred meters wide. In the middle of each pathway was a strip of island cloud, three meters wide and five meters high, dividing the path in two.

The small cloud roads were even narrower, just 80 meters wide, with a strip of island cloud in the middle dividing the road in two.

There were also many unfamiliar road signs, which Arthur had borrowed from Earth's traffic rules.

Not all of these floating islands were interconnected.

First, Arthur's shrine was located 15 kilometers above the ground, with no islands nearby.

Five hundred meters below the shrine was the same area as before, where the shrine guards were stationed. The only difference was that Arthur's office had also been moved to this level.

Surrounding the shrine were ten floating islands, each two square kilometers in size. Every island had its own unique symbol, marking them as barracks for the Ten Army.

One kilometer further down was the headquarters for various government departments of the Angel Empire.

Around this area, about 10 kilometers outside Apayado, various floating islands began to appear at different heights. These were high-end islands selected by Arthur, though they were not connected to Apayado.

Fifteen hundred meters below that was Apayado, which had changed drastically. Eight empty islands floated 500 meters above Apayado, now home to the native inhabitants of the sky islands.

Beyond Apayado, five kilometers outside the ring sea, and about 200 kilometers away, were various other floating islands.

At 2,500 meters below Apayado, and 2,500 meters above the White Sea, more floating islands were situated. These were of the lowest grade, including one-star and two-star hotels, all located 10 kilometers away from Apayado.

All these islands were connected in a circular formation, leading to the eight angel islands. Each of these angel islands was linked by medium-sized clouds to three floating islands.

Within a 200-kilometer radius, from 7,000 meters above the White Sea to 15,000 meters, the floating islands were arranged with a balance between density and spacing. The layout was well-planned, giving a dreamy appearance.

The sixth image showed the base of the vine. Vine Island, originally expanded to 250 square kilometers, had now returned to its previous size of around 50 square kilometers.

On Vine Island were ships bearing the symbol of the Angel Empire, with an army stationed there.

As for the previously missing islands and the strange beasts, Arthur planned to place them outside the red ring of the planet, orbiting as satellites.

By doing this, Jessica wouldn't need to constantly control their movements. They would naturally stabilize in the sky above the island, following the planet's revolution.

This would also make it easier to train soldiers, as they could be sent to the massive transport ship built using a combination of Sky Island's technology and the various shellfish found there.

This plan would kill two birds with one stone. And since the island was directly above Arthur's head, his Observation Haki could easily track it at any time.

The seventh image showed an island where the army was stationed, with many ports. In the image, boats were parked while people floated up to the sky in cable car cabins pulled by bubbles.

Others were tied with ropes, with the boats themselves being lifted into the sky.

The eighth image depicted boats that had been pulled into the sky, their ropes removed, paying at the Gate of Heaven before either slowly entering on their own or being pulled in by express shrimp.

The ninth image showed eight empty islands with large shipyards, where many vessels were docked.

Groups of people were seen entering Sky Island's exchange office, trading Berries or gold for Sky Island's exclusive currency. Afterward, they rented yachts, speedboats, or motorboats and set out.

The currency used on Sky Island was based on Arthur's borrowed concept of RM currency. It came in denominations of 10 cents, 50 cents, 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, and 100 yuan.

The exchange rate was ten times that of Berries.

In other words, 1 yuan was equivalent to 10 Berries. While the value wasn't the same as money in other regions, Sky Island's purchasing power matched that of the Blue Sea.

Arthur planned to enforce the use of yuan exclusively on Sky Island, allowing Berries only in the form of gold.

There would be exchange offices on the gateways leading to the Blue Sea. Travelers could exchange their gold or Berries for yuan before ascending, or they could do so once they arrived on Sky Island.

When leaving Sky Island, travelers could exchange their yuan back to Berries, but gold wouldn't be accepted. Even if gold was exchanged for yuan, it could only be traded back for an equivalent amount of Berries upon leaving.

These policies were established by Arthur to secure gold reserves and promote the circulation of yuan within the Blue Sea.

After seeing the images, the officials were shocked.

It wasn't just the dreamlike appearance of the Angel Empire—it was the sheer scale of the project.

However, with Jessica's Lion Fruit (Neko Neko no Mi), the entire relocation of the nation became much simpler. Moving the country wasn't as difficult as it seemed.

To finalize the relocation plans, Arthur held a half-hour meeting, instructing everyone to inform the residents of Sky Island. The move would begin immediately after the New Year.

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