The lightning-avoiding doll hanging from Ren's waist let out a faint jii~ sound as the anti-thunder field began to hum to life.
Behind him, dense black spheres surged forward.
BOOM—!
Raging lightning danced across the sea of clouds, bringing with it deadly flashes and thunderclaps.
A dozen Sky Pirates hidden within the clouds were instantly struck dead.
Nami clicked her tongue as Ren's arm wrapped around her waist, and the two soared right over Zoro's head.
"This guy—he definitely did that on purpose!"
Zoro's face darkened. Pushing off with his foot, he followed Ren and Nami as they landed on the Waver.
By then, Vivi had already finished off the remaining Sky Pirates—each one of them twitching as their charred corpses smoked and stiffened.
As for Nojiko, she was locked in battle with the Sky Pirate captain.
But to the onlookers, it was clear she was only testing the pirate's fighting style.
This wasn't a real battle anymore. It was a game.
The so-called "fight to the death" had already ended.
Zzz—!
A violent current burst from within a Wind Shell as Andre darted nimbly through the cloud sea at high speed.
Sparks of light flickered above his head, like a shower of fiery stars raining down.
Each projectile was only the length of an arm and no thicker than a finger.
They looked harmless.
But upon contact, their power was terrifying.
Again! Andre's face twisted. He shook his Iron Cloud Sword, transforming it into a shield that intercepted one of the fiery arrows.
The impact boomed. A burst of flame exploded outward.
The cloud sea opened a two-meter-wide hole, the blistering heat evaporating a wide ring of mist.
Andre's body was blasted backward, plunging deep beneath the cloud layers.
Above the sea of clouds,Nojiko stood atop a column of flame, a fierce bow gripped in her gauntleted hand.
Her delicate brows furrowed as she peered downward.
He'd vanished.
The Sky Pirates' combat style was strange—there were no real blind spots. And the cloud sea itself was their perfect camouflage.
No matter how strong her firepower, she couldn't possibly evaporate all of it.
But Nojiko was no longer the gentle girl she once was. After receiving the flame of power from Ren, she had decided to become the kind of person she had always admired—someone strong enough to protect others.
Only then could she truly help Ren.
Then let's try this.
The fiery armor cloaking Nojiko blazed brighter, her orange-red eyes glowing as the longbow of red flame dissolved into sparks. She spread her fingers—summoning a flaming doll surrounded by fire.
Sunny Doll!
Burn!
The flames around Nojiko converged toward her, forming a massive fireball that surrounded her completely.
Riding the rising air currents, Andre looked up in alarm, instinctively tightening his grip on the Iron Cloud Sword.
Then came a blinding flash.
A blazing sphere exploded outward, flames expanding in all directions like the shockwave of a bomb—spreading hundreds, then thousands of meters across.
The clouds, the vapor, even the seawater droplets in the air—everything caught a flickering spark.
As an attack, though, its power didn't seem overwhelming at first glance.
Andre blinked, bewildered. A tiny ember landed on his Iron Cloud Sword—then quickly went out.
And in that instant—
The Sunny Doll floating above Nojiko's palm suddenly turned its head. Its scarlet eyes pierced through the dense clouds, locking onto Andre's location.
So he went above me, huh?
Nojiko's head snapped upward. The Sunny Doll could automatically reject factors that interfered with its "burning." Meaning—it could sense what obstructed fire, and what did not.
Now—its flames were being hindered.
And as the Queen of Flames, she would personally ignite all that stood in her way, turning obstacles into fuel.
BOOM—!
Unleashing her full power, Nojiko transformed into a crimson meteor streaking through the clouds.
Andre's expression shifted as a wave of heat roared toward him. He swung his sword reflexively.
The metal sphere under the hilt whirred—mechanical gears amplifying both speed and power.
A razor-thin slash of condensed cloud energy shot forth, cleaving through the mist.
Nojiko didn't flinch. Flames surged around her meteor form, their heat skyrocketing under the Red King's trait.
800°C—1000°C—1400°C—
The cloud blade struck—and melted instantly under the infernal heat.
Monster…! Andre's eyes went wide. The hilt in his palm glowed red-hot—too hot to hold.
Without hesitation, he pressed the release switch.A mass of Iron Cloud the size of a small house erupted in front of the flaming meteor.
Zzz—!
Compressed air hissed violently as Andre turned to flee.
Haredas was beyond saving now. Escape was his only option.
But a deafening blast roared behind him—the meteor of flame devoured the Iron Cloud entirely, converting its matter into pure combustion.
Superheated air expanded, propelling the inferno forward.
Within an instant, flames engulfed Andre and coalesced into a giant fiery hand, three meters wide, that closed around him.
Szz—szz—szz—
His skates screeched at full power as he thrashed desperately—but Nojiko gave no quarter.
The temperature within the hand's palm plummeted, cooling the air inside.Meanwhile, the fingers' temperatures skyrocketed, the air around them expanding explosively.
The contrast created an invisible compression force that slammed Andre backward.
From within the inferno, a hand clad in a blazing gauntlet reached out and seized his throat.
The flames receded—revealing Nojiko's calm face.
"Nowhere left to run, is there?"
The air sizzled. His skin cracked and smoked as the scent of char filled the air.
And with that—the brief, brutal battle was over.
Andre had been captured.
Meanwhile, far above, Ren—who had been watching through Clairvoyance—slowly withdrew his sight.
She's grown again. The Red King trait of the Blaze Crown has become full thermal manipulation in her hands. That perfectly compensates for the weakness of her flames only targeting hostile presences within range. I wonder what kind of new finisher she's developing next.
Nojiko's growth was astonishing.In terms of combat strength, she was already around Bonney's level—and with time to charge, possibly stronger.
Vivi had also done well, fulfilling Ren's orders perfectly. There were no more enemies left on the Waver.
Well—aside from the one man still locked in his cabin: Haredas.
The old man looked like a wizard from medieval times. When Zoro dragged him out, he was still utterly bewildered—and cautious, for good reason.
But once Nojiko returned with Andre in custody, the truth became clear to everyone.
"Weatheria? So there really is such a wondrous Sky Island in this world?" Nami's reaction was immense—she knew Weatheria very well.
The Enlightenment's second deck contained an entire library filled with books on Weatherian meteorology. Ren had even translated and gifted her Nami's Weather Diary, a compendium of Weatherian theories.
And outside, on the ship's garden terrace, was the Weather Plantation—a sanctuary of cultivated weather plants.
While Vivi, Nojiko, and Robin surrounded Haredas with questions, the old man remained hesitant—still scarred by betrayal and wary of another trap.
Zoro, reliable as always, located the Divine Punishment Type-1 weapon and secured it for storage.
"So, just combining Dials can make a weapon like that?" He recalled the blinding white beam he'd seen earlier. Even without facing it directly, he knew—it was no simple attack.
At that moment, he could almost hear the breath of the flames: a violent, burning roar.
"What's your assessment?" Ren asked, stroking his chin. "Compared to yourself."
"The scale's massive, the speed incredible, and the firing rate's insane. One shot isn't bad—but several at once? That's a nightmare. Dodging would be nearly impossible. Even cutting or blocking it would leave you severely burned. A weaker body would die instantly. Full Armament Haki coverage could endure a few shots; partial coverage, maybe ten at most before you drop dead. If you can't end the fight before then—you're done for."
Zoro's analysis was blunt but accurate.
Andre had already described the Divine Punishment weapon's workings: Metallic powder as an ignition catalyst—producing ultra-hot white flames. A Flame Shell expanded the firepower; a Heat Shell intensified the temperature. Finally, Jet Shells expelled combustible gas—forming a blade of divine fire.
That beam reached 2700°C, hot enough to instantly vaporize the light materials composing Sky Islands—the very Island Clouds themselves.
For reference, cremating a human body into ashes requires 900°C. The Divine Punishment's flame tripled that—and destructive power rose exponentially with temperature.
Raw iron melts at 1200°C; steel, around 1500°C. At 2700°C, both man and weapon would melt—or evaporate—in seconds.
Even Ren would need to use his Fire Calabash's power to withstand it.
"The key point," Robin noted as she approached, "is that this weapon can be mass-produced, correct? Do you need our help?"
Ren turned slightly, surprised. Zoro frowned, thoughtful.
"You treat that old man differently," Robin continued. "Like someone both familiar and foreign. And when Nami spoke earlier, she mentioned things that shocked him."
Indeed—Haredas guard had loosened, not because he trusted his rescuers, but because of Nami.
She possessed Weatherian meteorological knowledge—not just superficial theory, but systemic mastery and practical experience.
It was the kind of competence found only among Weatheria's own scholars.
He had even begun guessing which Weatherian teacher had trained her—until her reactions made it clear: she'd had no teacher at all.
Ren saw this and smiled. "You're sharp, Robin."
"Just deduction," she replied softly. "Piecing together fragments is my profession. You asked Zoro about the Divine Punishment weapon—meaning you consider the Sky Pirate Alliance a potential enemy. Your strange treatment of Haredas, combined with Nami's mention of Weatheria, filled in the rest. A simple intelligence chain." She paused, eyes glinting. "Though, of course, I suspect your information network is far beyond what I can comprehend."
Ren chuckled. "Nothing so grand—just a chance for mutual gain."
He didn't elaborate further, but began issuing orders.
The Waver couldn't be taken intact, so he had Nojiko, Robin, and Vivi dismantle its Dial systems. Andre and a few Sky Pirates were kept alive under Urouge's watch. Their equipment was also collected for training and study.
Haredas was entrusted to Nami—Ren's only instruction: earn the old man's trust.
As for the Divine Punishment weapon—it was temporarily handed to Karasu for analysis.
When the aftermath was settled, the Enlightenment remained docked instead of sailing off.
Robin had been right. Ren intended to get involved.
This was war.
The aggressors: the Sky Pirate Alliance—over two thousand strong, organized into squads of twenty, each armed with a Divine Punishment unit. All were seasoned aerial fighters.
The defenders: the scholars of Weatheria, researchers of meteorology and weather science. Their combat power was unknown, but they clearly wielded weather-based technology.
And between the two sides lay an irreconcilable conflict. The Sky Pirates wanted Weatheria itself, while the scholars would never surrender their sanctuary.
A total war was inevitable—and Ren saw his chance to step in.
Scholars might not be warriors—but he was. The Sky Sea had its mercenary class, like the Sky Knights of legend. And profit lay everywhere.
First, Nami would benefit—completing the missing parts of her weather-control system. A mentor's guidance was priceless compared to self-study.
Second, and most important—Ren sought the fusion of Weatheria's weather technology with Enel's Ark Maxim.
In other words, an upgrade.
The Ark could generate massive thunderclouds, magnifying Enel's lightning into island-destroying power.Its secret lay in precise internal machinery.
Ren wanted that—and with Haredas's help, perhaps he could make it even stronger.
His current thunder system relied on magic to manipulate weather and draw power from storms.But with a ship capable of generating lightning clouds on demand…
He could free himself from reliance on Mana Crystals—and vastly strengthen his thunder techniques.
He might even achieve flight—gaining the sky's greatest mobility.
That was the dream. But for that, Weatheria had to agree.
And that hinged on Haredas.
In the original timeline, the scholar's influence was significant. But right now, his wariness needed to be disarmed.
Luckily, Ren had Nami—his ultimate trump card.
Yet, to his surprise,the true breakthrough didn't come from Nami's persuasion—but from fate itself.
During their hours docked, Nami had taken Haredas to the library on the second deck. There, he finally understood why she knew so much about Weatheria.
Because she was a self-taught meteorologist—nurtured by Weatheria's own knowledge system!
"What a waste of genius!" Haredas cried, clutching his head. "Which fool trained you and didn't bring you back to Weatheria? A prodigy like you should be raised among scholars!"
He was utterly distraught.
In just a few hours, he'd witnessed her incredible gift—her ability to feel atmospheric shifts through her skin alone. To him, such talent was unheard of.
Even without guidance, Nami could have become a full-fledged meteorologist on her own. Given opportunity, she might even cultivate her own weather plants.
And now, she already possessed Weatheria's teachings—clear proof lying in the books filling Ren's ship. If not for their slightly newer print and incomplete content, Haredas might've thought she'd stolen the entire Weatherian library!
Each author's name remained intact—credit left unaltered. Clearly, they were copies made by some former Weatherian scholar for a personal student.
Haredas could imagine it vividly: A stranded Weatherian scholar, unable to return home, discovering a young Nami in the distant East Blue—realizing her immense talent, unwilling to let it be wasted.
So he reproduced much of the Weatheria Library from memory, gifting it to her, nurturing her curiosity and love for meteorology.
And now, years later, she had met him—another who could become her teacher.
Thus—
the gears of fate began to turn.
(End of Chapter)