"What information?"
After hearing El's words, the three girls grew even more curious.
"The branch they belong to is responsible for adopting orphans, forcibly recruiting promising children, brainwashing them for Mary Geoise, and conducting intelligence gathering."
El activated his ability to lie without blinking—once again—and spoke calmly.
"In truth, recruiting us was only a secondary objective. After all, none of them expected me to be this strong, nor did they expect Nami and Carina to be Devil Fruit users."
"In their eyes, someone who merely grasped Flying Slash (Tobu Zangeki) was no different from a genius who mastered the Breath of All Things at a young age."
"Such a genius might dominate the East Blue or even Loguetown and the early Grand Line… but would still be vulnerable when facing a superhuman Devil Fruit user who mastered the Six Styles (Rokushiki) and its variations."
"So Bonier's team wasn't actually here to forcibly recruit us."
"They were here to investigate… a fairy tale."
El paused.
"That fairy tale is—the City of Gold."
"The City of Gold?"
Carina and Nami both frowned, expressions of faint recognition appearing on their faces.
"Feels like I've heard that name before…"
"I remember!"
Carina reacted first, her eyes lighting up as she looked at El.
"Is it the City of Gold from 'Noland the Liar'?"
"Noland the Liar?" Kuina asked curiously."I've read that fairy tale too. Isn't it fictional?"
"That's right," Nami nodded."I remember that in the end, Noland was executed for deceiving the king and was remembered as a liar for four hundred years."
She looked at El in disbelief.
"Are you saying… that fairy tale might actually be true?"
"Yes," El nodded."To the world at large, the City of Gold is nothing more than a legend."
"But to certain people—especially those who control the world—it may very well be real."
"Over the years, Mary Geoise sent countless expeditions into the sea searching for it. Every time they failed, they refined their conclusions."
El lifted a finger and pointed toward the sky.
"Their latest guess is that the island containing the City of Gold is located more than ten thousand meters above the ground."
"A Sky Island?!"
Nami stared at the vast blue sky and drifting white clouds, shock written across her face.
"An island floating ten thousand meters above sea level really exists?"
"It does," El replied."And not just one."
"In Bonier's memories, the CP organization has already discovered traces of multiple Sky Islands."
The three girls fell silent, stunned.
After a moment, Nami asked the most critical question.
"Then, Nii-san… which Sky Island holds the City of Gold? And how do we even get to a place ten thousand meters in the air?"
"We'll head to a special sea area," El replied, casually pinching Carina's cheek.
"In that region, all Eternal Poses point upward. Mary Geoise believes a Sky Island exists directly above it."
"According to their archaeological research, Noland, four hundred years ago, reached that very sea."
"That's why they suspect the City of Gold is located on that Sky Island."
"And as for how we'll get there…"
El glanced down at Carina in his arms and grinned.
"We'll rely on Carina's Devil Fruit."
"Me?"Carina blinked, pointing at herself.
"Right!" Nami's eyes suddenly lit up."I almost forgot!"
"Carina's Devil Fruit can transform her body freely. If she eats a giant bird, she can carry us into the sky!"
"Our money is all stored in the bank anyway. Aside from equipment and medicinal herbs for Nutritional Supplements, we don't have anything irreplaceable."
"We can abandon the ship!"
"That works!" Carina exclaimed happily."Nami, I didn't expect you to think of that!"
"Hehe…" Nami smiled smugly.
At that moment, Kuina frowned slightly.
"But where do we find a bird capable of flying ten thousand meters while carrying all of us?"
The excitement instantly vanished.
Carina and Nami fell silent at the same time.
Then, as if by instinct, they turned toward El—the omnipotent Nii-san in their hearts.
He didn't disappoint.
"Did you forget?" El said with a smile."On the island before Alabasta—the one filled with ancient and ferocious beasts."
"Among them were legendary pterosaurs."
"Ah!"The three girls' eyes lit up simultaneously.
"If it's a pterosaur," Nami said excitedly,"then reaching ten thousand meters won't be a problem!"
Then her expression changed.
"Wait—our ship is still sailing forward. We need to turn back to the previous route!"
She immediately ran to the bow to adjust the rudder.
"As expected of Nii-san," Carina said admiringly, hugging El's neck."Just by reading the enemy's memories, you figured out everything and even found a solution."
"So handsome…"
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
"I only thought of it just now," El said honestly, patting her head."Otherwise, Nami would've figured it out soon anyway."
In truth, this plan had indeed only just formed.
To be precise, El had originally intended to delay his Sky Island journey.
If he remembered correctly, Monkey D. Luffy would only go to sea at seventeen—and that wouldn't happen until May of Year 1520 in the Sea Circle Calendar.
Luffy would clear East Blue, reach the Grand Line, defeat Crocodile, and only encounter the Knock Up Stream around July or August.
But now—
It was only January of Year 1511.
There were still more than six months before the Knock Up Stream would even appear.
Originally, El planned to use that time to strengthen the three girls and find a new weapon for himself.
But after receiving his 80 million Belly bounty, El realized something—
The closer he moved toward the end of the first half of the Grand Line…
The more dangerous it would become to remain unprepared.
Advancing the plan was no longer optional.
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