The lunch at Conis's house was a delightful affair. The Skypiean cuisine was unique—fruits that tasted like meat, cloud-fox milk that was sweet and rich, and breads made from island-grains.
"This is delicious!" Luffy shouted, stuffing his face with a purple pumpkin. "Sanji, learn how to make this!"
"I'm already analyzing the texture, Captain," Sanji replied, sipping tea elegantly.
"It is a humble meal," Pagaya smiled, sipping his tea. "We are glad you enjoy it."
Suddenly, Conis froze. Her fork hovered halfway to her mouth. She looked around the table, counting heads.
"Wait," Conis whispered, her face draining of color. "I forgot to tell something important to the navigator lady?"
Sanji blinked, looking around. "Nami-swan? She said she should be nearby. Although I haven't heard the engine in a while."
Ben, who was leaning against the wall, tinkering with a small piece of machinery, looked up. "She went east. She said she wanted to check out the shoreline."
"Oh no," Conis dropped her fork. Clatter.
"East is..." Pagaya adjusted his glasses, sweat forming on his brow. "...Upper Yard."
"Upper Yard?" Usopp swallowed a piece of bread. "Is that a cool place?"
"It is the Forbidden Land," Conis said, her voice trembling. "It is the holy ground where God Enel resides. No Skypiean is ever allowed to set foot there. If you step onto the land of God... you will face Divine Judgment."
The room went silent.
"So..." Luffy swallowed his food. "It's a place where nobody goes? And God lives there?"
"Yes," Conis nodded. "It is terrifying."
Luffy's eyes began to sparkle. A grin stretched across his face—the grin of a man who had just heard the words 'Do Not Enter' and interpreted them as 'Welcome'.
"WE HAVE TO SAVE NAMI!" Luffy shouted, jumping onto the table. "She's in danger! We have to go to this Upper Yard immediately! To save her! Definitely not to explore the forbidden forest! Let's go!"
"You just want to go look at the forbidden stuff!" Usopp yelled, pointing an accusing finger. "You're a terrible liar!"
"Luffy-san, please be cautious," Vivi warned. "If this is the home of their God, we shouldn't antagonize him."
"But Nami is there!" Luffy argued, already running for the door. "And she might be... uh... eaten by a God-Monster! We have to go!"
Ben stood up, pocketing his device. "He's not going to listen. You all signed for this the day you joined this crew."
---
While the crew was realizing her location, Nami was already deep within the forbidden territory.
She had ridden the Waver along a current that naturally pulled her toward a massive, imposing island. Unlike the fluffy white clouds of Angel Island, this place smelled of earth. Real, damp, glorious dirt. Enormous trees, larger than any she had seen on the Grand Line, pierced the sky.
She had parked the Waver in a cove and wandered into the forest, drawn by the scent of ancient history (and potential treasure).
But now, she was hiding behind a massive root, her heart pounding in her chest.
Through the dense foliage, she watched a clearing. A man—a rugged treasure hunter with a pickaxe—was running for his life.
"Get away!" the man screamed, firing a pistol blindly behind him. "I just wanted a little gold!"
Chasing him was not a human, but a blur of motion.
"There is no escape from the Priests of Enel," a deep, gurgling voice echoed.
From the shadows emerged a strange figure. He was tall, with a hairstyle that looked like spider legs, and he was biting his lower lip so hard his eyes were rolling back. This was Gedatsu, the Priest of the Swamp.
"Swamp Cloud... Burger!" Gedatsu shouted (internally), launching a cloud that looked like a marsh.
"He... he forgot to speak out loud?" Nami whispered, terrified but confused.
The treasure hunter scrambled up a tree. "Please! I'll leave! I'll never come back!"
Suddenly, the air pressure dropped. The sky above turned a blinding, crackling white. The hair on Nami's arms stood up. Static electricity buzzed in her teeth.
"Oh?" Gedatsu looked up. "It seems He has noticed."
"He?" The treasure hunter looked up.
From the heavens, a column of blue-white lightning descended. It wasn't a bolt; it was a pillar of pure annihilation.
"GOD'S JUDGMENT."
ZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!
The sound was deafening, a thunderclap that shook Nami's bones. The massive tree the man was climbing vaporized instantly. The man didn't even scream; he was simply erased from existence. The ground where the tree stood was left smoking, a blackened crater in the sacred soil.
Nami clamped her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming.
'What... what was that?' * she thought, * 'That wasn't normal lightning. That was precise. That was... aimed.' *
Gedatsu looked at the smoking crater. He finally opened his mouth.
"Careless," Gedatsu grunted. "Our time limit was up anyway. Ohm just contacted me. A new group has entered the country."
He tapped a dial on his ear.
"Yes. Sixteen of them. Fourteen humans, two animals. They entered illegally through Heaven's Gate. They are to be purged."
Nami's blood ran cold.
'Sixteen... that's us! They know! They know everything!'
Panic overrode her greed. Nami scrambled back to the Waver, pushed it into the water, and gunned the engine. She had to get back to Angel Island. She had to warn them. They were being hunted by a literal force of nature.
---
Back on the beach of Angel Island, the rest of the Straw Hats were preparing to board the Merry to go find Nami.
"Everyone on board!" Luffy ordered. "Operation: Adventure... I mean, Rescue!"
"HALT!"
A siren wailed. From the cloud-forest, a strange troop of soldiers emerged. They were sliding on the clouds using skates, moving in a synchronized, crawling formation that looked utterly ridiculous. They wore white uniforms and berets that looked like puddings.
Leading them was a stern-looking man with a majestic mustache.
"I am McKinley, Captain of the White Berets!" the man announced, sliding to a stop. "We are the guardians of the law in Skypiea!"
"Who are these weirdos?" Zoro asked, hand on his katana.
"They're crawling," Luffy observed. "Are they worms?"
"We are not worms!" McKinley barked. "We are humble servants of God! We move low to the ground to show our subservience!"
He pulled out a scroll. "You are the Blue Sea dwellers who arrived recently. We have received a report from the Gatekeeper Amazon. You passed Heaven's Gate without paying the toll."
"Oh, that," Sanji lit a cigarette. "The old hag said she didn't care."
"Ignorance of the law is not an excuse!" McKinley shouted. "By entering without paying, you have committed the crime of Illegal Entry. This is a Class 11 Crime!"
"Class 11?" Chopper hid behind Robin. "Is that bad?"
"It is the lowest class," McKinley sneered. "However, you must now pay the penalty. The fine is ten times the entrance fee."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Ten times?"
"That is correct," McKinley nodded. "10 billion Extols... times 16 people. That is 160 Billion Extols."
The crew stared at him.
"160 Billion..." Usopp did the math. "That's... 16 million Berries?"
Usopp screamed. "WE DON'T HAVE THAT!" (Nami doesn't give money to the crew so easily.)
"Then you are under arrest," McKinley declared.
"Wait, wait," Sanji stepped forward. "Can we talk about this? We didn't know."
"Silence!" McKinley pointed a finger. "Attempting to negotiate with an officer? That is Obstruction of Justice. Class 10 Crime!"
"What?" Sanji blinked.
Zoro yawned loudly. "This is boring. Can I sleep?"
"Sleeping in front of an officer!" McKinley scribbled furiously. " Disrespect of Authority. Class 9 Crime!"
"Hey!" Luffy laughed. "This guy is funny! Look at his mustache!"
"Mocking the mustache!" McKinley's face turned red. " Defamation of Fashion. Class 8 Crime!"
"This is ridiculous," Ben sighed, leaning against a tree. "There's a law for everything?"
"Lean-to-Tree Crime!" McKinley shouted at Ben. "Damage to public property!"
Usopp was hyperventilating. "Don't move! Don't breathe! Everything is a crime!"
"Too loud!" McKinley pointed at Usopp. " Noise Pollution. Class 7 Crime!"
Robin smiled, amused. "If we attack them, what class is that?"
"Assault on a Deity's Servant," McKinley said gravely. "Class 5 Crime. Punishment is death by cloud-drifting."
"Okay," Luffy picked his nose. "So we just beat you up and leave?"
"Picking your nose!" McKinley shrieked. " Improper Hygiene in a Holy Zone. Class 6 Crime!"
It was a bureaucratic nightmare. The White Berets weren't attacking; they were just aggressively listing things the crew was doing wrong.
"My existence is a crime!" Chopper cried.
"Technically, yes," McKinley nodded. "Being a monster is a Class... well, we'll make one up."
---
Just as McKinley was about to arrest them for "Thinking rebellious thoughts," the roar of an engine cut through the air.
VRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOM!
"Nami-san!" Sanji cheered. "She's back!"
Nami came speeding across the white sea on the Waver. She looked pale, her hair disheveled, her eyes wide with terror.
"Guys!" Nami screamed as she approached the beach. "We have to leave! Now! It's dangerous! There's a guy with lightning! He vaporized a person! We're all gonna die!"
She drifted the Waver onto the sand, sliding to a halt in front of the crew.
"Nami!" Luffy waved. "You're just in time! These guys are charging us money!"
Nami froze. The terror in her eyes momentarily paused, replaced by a twitch in her left eye.
"Money?" Nami asked slowly.
"Yes," McKinley stepped forward, adjusting his beret. "You are the missing criminal. You have entered illegally. The fine for your crew is 160 Billion Extols."
Nami stared at him.
"One hundred... and sixty... billion?"
"Correct," McKinley smirked. "Pay up, or face the wrath of God."
Something snapped inside Nami.
She had just seen a man disintegrated by a laser from the sky. She was terrified of the Priests. She was terrified of Enel.
But 160 Billion Extols? That was a different kind of fear. That was financial ruin. And to Nami, losing money was worse than losing her life.
The fear in her eyes vanished. It was replaced by the fires of Hell.
"ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY BILLION?!" Nami screeched, her voice cracking the sound barrier.
"Yes, and if you shout, that is a Noise Crime—"
"SHUT UP!"
Nami slammed her foot onto the Waver's accelerator.
VRRRROOOM!
"Wait, what are you—" McKinley's eyes widened.
Nami didn't steer away. She steered into him.
"I DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY!"
CRASH!
The Waver slammed into McKinley's stomach. The Captain of the White Berets folded like a lawn chair. He flew backward, knocking down six of his subordinates like bowling pins.
"Strike!" Usopp yelled involuntarily.
"OWWWW!" McKinley groaned, clutching his gut. "Assault! Assault! Class 2 Crime! You are now Class 2 Criminals!"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT CLASS I AM!" Nami jumped off the Waver, grabbing her Clima-Tact. She stood over the fallen captain like a demon. " DO YOU THINK MONEY GROWS ON TREES?! DO YOU THINK WE'RE MADE OF GOLD?! I'LL GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT! 100% OFF!"
"She's... she's more scary than the God..." a White Beret soldier whimpered.
"Get them!" McKinley wheezed. "Milky Arrow!"
The White Berets scrambled to their feet. They drew small bows and fired arrows made of dense clouds.
"Oh, we're fighting now?" Zoro grinned, waking up fully. "Finally."
"Protect Nami-swan!" Sanji twirled.
"Wait!" Ben held up a hand. "Let me test something."
Ben walked forward. A White Beret fired a cloud arrow at him.
Ben didn't dodge. He simply raised his hand. [Ruler's Authority].
The arrow stopped in mid-air. Ben plucked it, squeezed it, and watched it turn into vapor.
"Cloud density is low," Ben analyzed. "Velocity is subpar. These guys are glorified mall cops."
He looked at Luffy. "Captain, they're all yours."
"Gomu Gomu no..." Luffy stretched his arms back.
The White Berets looked at the stretching arms in horror. "His arms! He is a monster!"
"...GATLING!"
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
A flurry of punches rained down on the White Berets. They didn't stand a chance. Within ten seconds, the entire squad was lying on the cloud-sand, groaning in pain.
McKinley struggled to sit up, his mustache crooked. He looked at the Straw Hats with genuine fear now.
"You... you fools," McKinley gasped. "You have attacked the White Berets. You are now Class 2 Criminals. This is beyond my jurisdiction."
He pointed a shaking finger at them.
"The Priests... the Vassals of God... will come for you now. They will hunt you down. There is nowhere to hide in Skypiea."
"Let them come!" Luffy laughed. "We're going to the Upper Yard anyway!"
"No we're not!" Nami grabbed Luffy by the collar and shook him. "Luffy, listen to me! I saw it! The lightning! It destroyed a person! We can't fight that!"
"Lightning?" Ben's ears perked up. "Interesting."
"It's true," McKinley coughed, retreating with his men. "God Enel sees all. He hears all. You have angered Heaven. Prepare yourselves."
The White Berets scurried away, sliding on their cloud-skates as fast as they could.