"Forbidden God's Island?"
Sanji's expression tightened as he exhaled smoke from his cigarette, his tone laced with worry. "You're saying, Nami-swaan might have accidentally wandered into that forbidden place?"
Pagaya nodded gravely. "There is indeed such a possibility."
Usopp gulped hard, his knees trembling. "Uncle, if someone enters by accident… surely God would be merciful, right? Nami wouldn't be punished for a mistake… she'd be forgiven… wouldn't she?"
"Usopp!" Conis's face paled, and she shook her head furiously. "You must not enter the forbidden area! To step into that place is to defy God. It's blasphemy!"
She knew very well that Enel could watch and listen to every corner of Angel Island. But she dared not reveal his surveillance openly. Even whispering about it felt like treason.
"Don't panic."
Shirogai leaned casually on a stool beneath the window, eyes half-lidded as he glanced toward the drifting clouds. "Anything spoken here won't be heard by that man."
Conis bit her lip. She didn't believe him, yet she forced herself to urge the Straw Hats again. "Shirogai San, Luffy, please… leave Sky Island quickly before you draw his wrath."
"Conis! Watch your words!"
Pagaya shot to his feet, his voice sharp with fear. "God! She didn't mean it!"
His eyes darted upward in terror as if expecting judgment from above at any moment. Then, unable to bear the pressure, he dropped to his knees.
Years of living under Enel's rule had taught him the cruelty of God's Punishment. A careless word, a slip of the tongue, even silence mistaken for doubt—any of it could invite divine wrath.
"What happened?" Robin's calm voice cut through the panic.
The Straw Hats looked around, utterly confused by the sudden fear in father and daughter.
"How strange!"
Luffy tilted his head, his mouth stuffed with meat. "Uncle, Conis, are you acting out some kind of play?"
"They're afraid of their God."
Shirogai's voice was steady, but sharp as a blade. He tapped a finger against the table and spoke with a faint smile. "The method Enel uses to rule this island is simple—constant eavesdropping through Observation Haki, and the sudden thunder of divine punishment that no one can escape."
The father and daughter froze as though struck by lightning themselves.
"Don't say such things!" Conis frantically waved her arms. "God will hear you!"
"So their God spends his time listening to private conversations?" Luffy frowned and waved a crab leg angrily. "That's awful! What a boring God! Awuuu…"
Pagaya collapsed weakly onto the sofa, his face pale with dread. "God must have heard. We're finished."
"Enemies incoming?"
Zoro adjusted the grip on his swords and crouched low, his eyes narrowing as he spread his Observation Haki.
Sanji stepped forward protectively in front of Robin and Chopper, his jaw clenched.
Usopp trembled and tried to hide behind Shirogai. "We're really going to die just for talking? This is insane!"
But moments passed. No thunderbolt split the sky. No divine voice roared from above.
"Heh." Shirogai's lips curved into a faint smile. "I told you. In the space around me, Enel can't reach. His Observation Haki doesn't have the right to trespass here."
Pagaya and Conis exchanged stunned glances. It was unthinkable. Yet the proof was undeniable.
"How… how is this possible?" Conis whispered.
Zoro sheathed his swords with calm finality. "If Shirogai says it, it's true."
Luffy laughed loudly, crumbs falling from his mouth. "Shirogai's strong! It's a pity I still can't use Observation Haki."
"Mm." Shirogai stretched a hand lazily out the window, curling his fingers as if plucking a thread from the air. His voice was soft, but carried weight. "Ice Dragon Roar."
A blinding chill surged into the sky.
"Roar!!!"
The air itself seemed to freeze as a colossal dragon of ice materialized above Angel Island. Its translucent scales gleamed with a deadly blue-white light, its eyes alive with fury.
The beast roared again, wings of frost spreading wide. The shockwave rattled the clouds themselves.
Usopp nearly fainted. "Wha-what kind of monster is that?!"
Shirogai's gaze turned cold, his attention locked onto the distant surge of electrical energy. "Enel… you dared to lay hands on our navigator. You've already chosen the path of death."
The dragon bellowed, its voice shaking heaven and earth, then dissolved into mist and streaked across the skies toward Enel's island.
"Shirogai San…" Conis whispered, her body trembling. "Are you… a God from the Blue Sea?"
Her father's eyes widened, unable to even form words.
The Straw Hats burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! Shirogai, a God?" Luffy slapped his knee. "No way!"
But Shirogai only offered Conis a calm smile, his voice lowered into the silent channel of the [Whisper-Whisper Fruit]. It's alright. Don't be afraid. That false God will never threaten you again.
…
At the edge of God's Island, the silence shattered.
"Boom!"
A cannonball ripped through the air, exploding among the four priests.
Nami flinched, clutching the Waver's handles. "What the—?!"
A masked figure emerged from the smoke, shield on his back and cannon still smoking.
"Wyper!" Nami's eyes narrowed. "You're the guy who attacked us earlier!"
Wyper ignored her, his gaze fixed on the ruined temple ground where fire and smoke still rose.
"The priests won't die from that," he muttered grimly.
Then, from the smoke, a battered Blue Sea pirate stumbled out, blood staining his shirt.
"Help! Please, take me with you!" He staggered toward Nami, desperation in his eyes.
Nami hesitated, biting her lip. "The Waver… I don't know if it can carry us both…"
"Damn woman!" The pirate suddenly raised his pistol, pointing it straight at her. "If you don't take me, you'll die here too!"
Before she could react, the sky tore open.
Enel had stirred.
…
Atop the shrine, Enel raised his hand lazily, lightning dancing between his fingers. His smirk was cruel.
"To harm the woman I've chosen? You dare?" He let the thunder gather into a single spear of light. "Die."
…
On the ground below, Nami tried to twist the Waver away, panic in her voice.
But the pirate froze, his eyes bulging as he caught sight of Wyper behind her.
"You… you're with the Shandians—"
The rest of his words drowned in a blinding flash.
"Crack!!"
White-hot lightning descended like divine judgment.
Nami stared in horror, frozen in place. "So this… is God's power?"
The pirate screamed as the bolt struck him. In blind desperation, his finger pulled the trigger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Bullets flew erratically, arcs of death aimed straight at Nami's torso.
Enel's eyes widened in shock. His Observation Haki had not foreseen this.
"She was supposed to die instantly…" His smirk faltered, replaced by a flicker of anger. "Why did the bullet still fire?"
His gaze sharpened. "The woman I desire… is she really going to fall so easily?"
---