Hearing Jerry's words, the little girl's tense posture relaxed slightly. She raised her head and looked at him with curious eyes, as if she didn't quite understand what a "goldfish" was supposed to be.
Witnessing this scene, Carina quickly stepped forward and yanked Jerry away by his collar.
"Get back, you weirdo!" she snapped at him before instantly switching to a gentle, warm smile as she turned toward the confused little girl. "Don't mind him, sweetie. You're not with that mean priest, are you? What's your name?"
"That's right, little sister!" Cavendish interjected, spinning dramatically with his eyes closed. "Tell us your name! Are you lost in this forest, or perhaps lost in my overwhelming charm—"
"You get back too!" Carina's foot connected solidly with Cavendish's shin, sending him hopping away while she maintained her sweet smile toward the girl.
Aisha watched Carina's rapid personality switches with wide-eyed amazement. Then, mustering all her courage, she stopped trying to hide like an ostrich. She jumped to her feet, clenched her small hands into fists, and shouted with as much bravery as she could manage:
"I'm Aisha, a warrior of Shandia! Who are you people? I'm not afraid of you!"
"Wow! You're a warrior too? So am I!" Carrot cheered excitedly, bounding over with sparkling eyes.
Aisha blinked in surprise as Carrot—who wasn't much taller than herself—suddenly appeared beside her. She puffed out her chest and declared, "Of course I'm a warrior! A real one!"
Jerry stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched the two young girls begin to bond. Now that he'd gathered so much information and actually set foot on this legendary island, all his memories about Sky Island were flooding back with crystal clarity.
Back when he was still in the Blue Sea below, he'd only remembered the broad strokes—Enel ruling this sky island and wanting to build a golden spaceship to reach the moon. But now, all the specific details were becoming clear again.
Things like the Lord of the Sky, that massive snake that had been living here for over four hundred years with a belly full of gold, were now vivid in his mind once more.
It seemed like the perfect time to go on the offensive. Compared to when Luffy and his crew would eventually arrive here, they were still early—Enel's ark hadn't been completed yet.
Thinking about all the possibilities ahead, Jerry couldn't help but let out a pleased chuckle.
"Heh heh heh..."
"What are you planning? I told you I'm not scared!" Aisha's slightly trembling voice interrupted Jerry's mental plotting. He looked down to find the little girl staring at him with tense determination, gripping a small wooden stick like a weapon.
At the same time, the rest of his crew was giving him distinctly suspicious looks.
Jerry immediately raised both hands in mock surrender, adopting an exaggerated expression of fear.
"Oh no! Little sister, you look so fierce! I surrender!" He grinned sheepishly. "Don't worry, I just thought of something funny and couldn't help laughing."
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out from the nearby battlefield, cutting through their conversation.
"Three-Verse Humming: Arrow Notch Slash!"
Everyone turned to see Brook standing behind the fallen Shura, striking his signature post-attack pose as he slowly sheathed his cane sword with theatrical flair.
"Yohohoho! That was quite exciting," Brook commented cheerfully.
"Brook, that was amazing!" Skull gave him a hearty thumbs up. "That priest had Observation Haki, didn't he? You handled him perfectly!"
The others nodded in agreement, clearly impressed.
During their extended battle, Brook had made full use of his speed advantage to keep Shura constantly on the defensive. While the priest's aerial mobility was certainly formidable, he'd gradually begun to struggle against Brook's relentless acceleration.
The two had clashed repeatedly in a series of close-quarters exchanges. Eventually, Shura had grown desperate enough to attempt a risky gambit—accepting one of Brook's sword strikes to land what he hoped would be a decisive blow with his flaming spear tip.
That attack had nearly singed Brook's precious afro completely bald.
Fortunately, Brook had managed to retreat just in time. With a mixture of genuine fear and righteous anger fueling him, he'd seized the brief moment when Shura couldn't retract his overextended spear and launched his devastating finishing technique.
"He almost burned off my beautiful hair! It scared me so much my heart was pounding—though of course, I don't have a heart anymore! Yohohoho!" Brook laughed, patting his intact afro with obvious relief.
After confirming that Brook was uninjured, everyone relaxed and turned their attention back to little Aisha.
Having witnessed the complete defeat of Priest Shura, Aisha's eyes went wide with excitement.
"Amazing! The bad guy's been defeated!" she cheered.
Carina and Carrot looked at the enthusiastic girl with growing curiosity. Just as they were about to ask her more questions, angry shouts echoed from deeper in the forest.
"You people! What do you think you're doing to Aisha?!"
Two figures burst from the tree line, weapons at the ready—a man and woman who were clearly rushing to the girl's aid.
The woman wore flowing lavender clothing, her movements revealing her urgency as her eyes darted between Aisha and the group of strangers surrounding her.
The man sported a distinctive mohawk with intricate braids, his muscular torso bare and covered in traditional tattoos. A large cannon was strapped to his back, still smoking from recent use. As he charged forward, he fixed the crew with a fierce, threatening glare.
Seeing the potential for a serious misunderstanding, the quick-thinking Aisha called out desperately:
"Raki! Wyper! They're not enemies!"
When the two Shandian warriors drew closer, Ace studied the intricate tattoos covering Wyper's arm and asked sharply:
"You're the one who attacked us down at the White Sea, aren't you?"
At his words, Jerry and the rest of the crew turned serious eyes toward Wyper.
"Wait, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?" Aisha asked uncertainly. While she didn't understand all the details, she could sense that Jerry and his friends meant her no harm. "Wyper, they just defeated one of the priests!"
Wyper glanced at Shura's motionless form, blood still visible on the fallen priest, but his expression remained unmoved.
"There's no misunderstanding," he said coldly. "Blue Sea pirates are our enemies too."
His voice grew more passionate as he continued. "Don't forget how our ancestors, led by the great warrior Kalgara, defended our homeland and fought without fear! Don't be deceived by temporary shows of friendship. We have nowhere left to retreat."
"Kalgara?" Deuce's eyes widened in recognition. He clearly remembered seeing that name in Cricket's records back on Jaya Island.
"Isn't that the warrior mentioned in Noland's diary?"
Not only Deuce, but the rest of the crew began murmuring among themselves with growing excitement. After all, that diary had been directly related to their Sky Island journey. During last night's feast, Cricket had shared it with Deuce, who'd then retold the legendary story to everyone present.
"You know about Kalgara... and Noland?!" Wyper's fierce expression cracked with shock. "Who are you people?!"
Hearing those two names that existed only in their most ancient histories coming from a group of Blue Sea dwellers left both Wyper and Raki stunned into silence.