Sky Island, Birka.
Eneru's face was full of unbridled arrogance; as the corners of his mouth curled up, he sized up the old white-bearded man before him with an unfriendly gaze.
"I am Eneru. Is there something you want?"
Eight years ago, Eneru only found out after the fact that he had actually missed a Devil Fruit—a Devil Fruit that had actively sought him out, only to mysteriously vanish.
Over these past eight years, Eneru had explored almost every corner of Birka, yet he still hadn't found that Devil Fruit.
Having confirmed his identity, a gratified smile immediately appeared on Gan Fall's face; he finally hadn't failed Lord Thunder God.
"Child, Lord Thunder God wants to see you."
Eneru furrowed his brows.
"Thunder God? If I go to see the Thunder God, can you let me leave Birka?"
His hometown didn't have even a hint of a home's warmth; there was only cold words and loneliness. If he could leave Birka, he wouldn't just go see the Thunder God—he wouldn't even fear the God of Death.
Seeing the thatched hut behind Eneru, Gan Fall seemed to understand everything. The welfare system of Sky Island had, in the end, failed to reach these orphans.
Sigh, wherever there are people, there is corruption.
Gan Fall patted his chest and guaranteed.
"No problem. The Thunder Cloud Guards are currently recruiting new members; I will personally take you there for an interview."
"Fine, I'll go with you."
A moment later, Eneru shouldered his pack and sat on Gan Fall's mount: a strange horse with wings, flying over the sea of clouds.
"Old man, why does your horse have wings?"
Gan Fall stroked his beard: "His name is Pierre, and he's a Spotted Heaven Bird that ate a Devil Fruit."
Hearing 'Devil Fruit', half of Eneru's good mood instantly vanished. For eight years, he had lived every day in torment, regretting why he hadn't taken a bite first back then.
If he could do it over, he would definitely eat them all.
Before long, Pierre landed on Gods Island.
As Eneru followed Gan Fall and stepped onto the stairs suspended above the sea of clouds, the moment his gaze struck the Thunder God Palace, a flame seemed to ignite in his heart.
The magnificent palace was covered in flowing gilded patterns, its towering dome pierced through the clouds, and lifelike dragon-shaped reliefs were coiled around the corridor pillars.
"Now this is the kind of place a man should live."
Compared to the Thunder God Palace, his own thatched hut was practically worse than a doghouse.
A thought inexplicably rose in Eneru's mind: if he had eaten that Devil Fruit back then, perhaps he could be living in such a big house now.
Once some things are missed, they are truly gone; it's too late for regrets.
Eneru wasn't the only one feeling sentimental.
Below Sky Island, at the Jaya Island pier.
After reuniting with the crew, the east blue emperor docked at the pier for supplies. Seven stood at the bow, feeling equally chagrined in his heart.
Just now, the akame ga kill user took the Imperial Arm: Water Dragon Possession... off the shelves (Armor plating: keep reading).
Seven felt as if all his strength had been drained; his head was lowered, his eyelids drooped, and his arms hung limply, like a walking corpse.
This appearance gave the crew quite a scare.
Ginny showed a look of concern.
"Captain, are you okay?"
"How did you come back from a trip looking like you've lost your soul? What on earth happened?"
Seven shook his head mechanically: "Don't mind me, I just need a moment to recover."
"Oh, brother, why did you have to take it down?"
"Since you were going to take it down, why did you put it on the trading platform in the first place? You've completely hooked my soul."
"You profiteer, you really deserve to die."
Since setting sail again a few months ago, Seven's journey had been smooth sailing; he never expected to be taught a lesson by another user on the trading platform.
"I'll just treat it as a lesson learned."
Seven took several deep breaths, and his regretful gaze was instantly replaced by a look of pure, simple-mindedness. Having suffered through two lifetimes of hardships, what did this little bit of pain matter?
"Kuma-san, set sail."
"You got it, Captain."
Seeing Seven pull himself together, Mihawk silently put the red wine he had collected for years back into the wine cabinet.
How could a man Mihawk acknowledged be easily defeated by a setback?
"Seven, are we taking the knock up stream this time?"
The experience of taking the knock up stream to Sky Island two years ago was still fresh in Mihawk's memory; that... vibrant stimulation was still before his eyes.
"Probably not, Mihawk." Seven hurriedly shook his head. "With Mr. Issho here, we'll fly straight up."
Fujitora could even summon meteorites from outer space, so making a ship fly shouldn't be much of a problem; he just needed to make the ship float weightlessly.
The abilities of the Float-Float Fruit and the Zushi Zushi no Mi can show similar wonders in specific scenarios.
A user of the Zushi Zushi no Mi can release gravity waves to control the intensity and direction of gravity at will.
For example, they can increase gravity to firmly suppress a target, making them unable to move; they can also weaken gravity to let objects float weightlessly, and even form a powerful repulsive field to bounce back incoming attacks.
Furthermore—
The user does not need to use any physical movements and can activate the ability directly with just their thoughts.
A Float-Float Fruit user, on the other hand, can completely break free from the shackles of gravity, achieving free flight for themselves and giving non-living objects floating properties through touch.
Hearing this, Fujitora laughed awkwardly.
"Captain, about that... I... I haven't tried making a ship fly in all these years. Maybe next time."
Seven grinned mischievously.
"Mr. Issho, you still need to practice."
"How about this, I'll take Kuma-san and Ginny up first, and then I'll open a door to pick you guys up later."
As long as Kuma set foot on the land of Sky Island, he could use his fruit ability to accurately "paw" Law and the others up there, so they wouldn't be sent off course and fall from ten thousand meters in the air.
In the future, Seven could also return to Sky Island at any time.
The same went for Ginny.
Once the east blue emperor sailed into the deep sea, Seven grabbed Kuma and Ginny on either side and soared directly into the sky.
Normally, elemental flight cannot carry people, but Seven had his flying cloak.
The wind at high altitude was far more piercing than imagined.
The gale was like a blade tempered in ice, scraping against their faces painfully; Ginny's originally neat hair was plastered all over her face, and she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Captain, fly a bit slower."
Hearing her, Seven slowed down his ascent.
"You still need to practice, Ginny."
"Hurry up and train your Armament Haki. Look at Kuma-san, he's perfectly fine."
Noticing Ginny's gaze, Kuma spread his hands helplessly, though a smile played on his lips.
To those who had never reached Sky Island, it only existed in legends, and they could not fathom the exquisite and dreamlike scenery above the White Sea, which looked like heaven.
After officially entering Sky Island from Gate of Heaven, Ginny's large eyes went wide and round, her pupils reflecting the endless sea of clouds and the outlines of the floating islands.
"It's so beautiful, just like the legendary heaven."
Although the scenery was beautiful, Ginny and Kuma's steps were extremely light; every step was like a test, for fear that even a slight force would cause them to fall from this ten-thousand-meter height.
Ginny tugged at Kuma's clothes, and the two followed closely in Seven's footsteps.
Hearing the almost imperceptible breathing behind him, Seven stopped and turned back with a smile.
"Don't worry, it's very sturdy."
"Quick, open a door and bring them up."
Ginny then snapped out of it and nodded quickly; a faint spatial ripple appeared at her fingertips, and an oval doorway expanded out of thin air. On the other side of the door was the familiar sight of the east blue emperor's deck.
Through the opened Space Door, Fujitora and the others, as well as the giants Dorry and Brogy, arrived on Sky Island one after another.
"Mr. Mihawk said he would stay on the ship."
"Mhm."
"My dear crew, welcome to the territory of the Thunder God Beelzebul—Sky Island."