Seeing this rare, utterly shy demeanor so different from her usual sharp-witted self, Luffy grew even more interested.
Nami like this was more interesting than treasure.
Moreover, he found that holding Nami's soft, warm hand seemed to help him control the compression of electricity more finely. That soft, smooth touch also made him not want to let go at all.
"Nami, your hand is so soft. It's almost like my rubber hand." Luffy's thumb unconsciously stroked the back of her hand lightly.
"Don't say things like that!"
This time, Nami's reaction was even stronger. Her whole face flushed crimson, almost dripping with blood, her palm growing even warmer and damper.
She seemed to lose all strength, simply letting Luffy hold her hand, feeling the continuous, weakening current that made her body go limp.
On the distant beach, Nika, who was playing with Merry and had been tossed into the air, happened to glance toward the Going Merry. She saw the two people on the deck holding hands and gazing at each other intently. She couldn't help but pout and let out a disdainful "hmph."
"Men! They only know how to use tricks like that!"
Meanwhile, deep within the sacred island of Upper Yard, in a magnificent temple completely forged from gold...
A man with pale skin, bare-chested, with extremely long earlobes and four large drums etched with three-tomoe patterns on his back, lounged comfortably on a throne of pure gold.
He was the God of Sky Island, the user of the Logia-type Goro Goro no Mi—Enel.
Enel's closed eyes slowly opened, as if sensing something. A playful, cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Oh? More interesting people from the Blue Sea have arrived? Their presence feels... considerably stronger than the usual trash."
He lazily snapped his fingers.
A portly, tall priest wearing loose-fitting white robes entered and respectfully knelt on the floor.
"Did people from the Blue Sea arrive?"
"Yes, Amazon reported a group of Blue Sea people entered."
Enel commanded in an unquestionable tone. "Bring those newly arrived Blue Sea people here."
The priest instinctively replied, "But... Amazon reported they entered legally, having paid the fee."
Enel's gaze instantly turned icy, dangerous blue arcs of electricity beginning to dance around his body. "Hmm? Are you defying God's command? Or would you like to play with me?"
The priest trembled in fear, cold sweat instantly soaking his clothes. He hurriedly kowtowed. "No, no! I wouldn't dare! I'll go immediately! Immediately!" With that, he scrambled out of the temple to muster the Divine Soldiers and Priests.
In the now-empty golden temple, Enel shifted to a more comfortable position, propping his chin on one hand. A teasing glint, like a cat toying with mice, flickered in his eyes. "The Shandians are so restless... And now strong people from the Blue Sea arrive at this time. Interesting, interesting. My Ark Maxim is nearly complete as well. Before I leave this boring sky for Fairy Vearth..." His lips curled into a malicious arc. "Let's play an interesting survival game. The rules are simple: those who survive... God will grant them the qualification to follow me to Fairy Vearth!"
Luffy let out a long sigh. The final, uncontrollable arc of electricity on his body, like a docile little snake, silently burrowed beneath his skin and vanished completely.
He stretched his limbs, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease. His control over the electric current seemed to have improved another notch.
"Finally done. Nami, let's go play!" He turned to Nami, whose cheeks still held a trace of lingering blush and seemed lost in thought. Without another word, he grabbed her wrist and leaped over the railing, landing on the soft white sand of the beach.
Nami's heart skipped another beat at his sudden action. Feeling the fine, warm white sand under her feet, she finally snapped back to reality. She glared at Luffy but didn't pull her hand free.
They had only taken a few steps when a frightened scream sounded not far away.
Following the sound, they saw a large, ferocious-looking cloud fish thrusting most of its body from the sea of clouds, its maw full of sharp teeth wide open as it lunged at a figure collapsed on the sand.
A local?
Because Luffy saw wings.
It was a girl. A beautiful, golden-haired angel girl. She had smooth, long golden hair tied into two cute braids draped over her shoulders. She wore a simple pink sundress, her exposed skin fair and delicate, with gentle, sweet features.
Though dressed plainly, she was clearly a beauty, and the pair of small, pure white wings on her back added an ethereal quality.
Now, she was sitting on the ground, looking up at the lunging giant fish, her pretty blue eyes filled with terror. She let out an instinctive scream.
"Hey! Get away from her!"
Without a second thought, Luffy's rubber arm retracted like a loaded cannon and then shot forward with a mighty punch.
The force was immense.
The girl saw the enormous cloud fish, mere inches from her face, take the full force of the terrifying punch directly to its head. It let out a muffled groan, its massive body sent flying backward to crash heavily into the distant sea of clouds, sending up a huge plume of spray before sinking, dazed and confused.
So strong.
The rescued girl, still shaken, her chest rising and falling slightly, looked at Luffy and Nami as they approached. She quickly stood up, clasping her hands in front of her and giving a slight bow, greeting them in the Sky Island way. "Hesso! Thank you so much for saving me!"
Nami looked at her curiously. "Are you from Sky Island?"
Luffy also leaned in curiously and poked her wing. "Can these wings really fly?"
Nami smacked Luffy's hand away impatiently.
Why was he touching her randomly? What if Sky Islanders had some tradition, like touching wings meant you had to marry them or something? Would they have to leave Luffy here?
"N-no, they can't. They're mostly just for looks. It's just a feature of us Sky Islanders... But, they can still feel touch."
Nami pushed Luffy's head down. "Sorry, our Captain's a bit thoughtless, but he doesn't mean any harm. He's Luffy, my captain. I'm Nami, this guy's navigator."
Did that sound a bit like staking a claim?
"Hello, I'm Conis."
The golden-haired girl Conis blushed slightly, her voice soft and sweet. "Thank you very much, Mr. Luffy, for helping me. That cloud fish is one of the rulers of these nearby waters, very dangerous. If it weren't for you, I might have..."
"Don't mention it."
"Are you from the Blue Sea?"
Conis was equally curious about them. Sky Island rarely saw outsiders all year round.
***
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