How to Enter the Palace
Golden Lion Shiki slapped his forehead and strode into the room, laughing loudly.
"Hahaha! I forgot about you guys again, didn't I? But—"
His gaze swept over Sylvester, Willie, and Esdeath lying unconscious on the bed—finally settling on the black greatsword in the corner.
Shiki had truly aged. Even the once-tyrannical pirate's eyes held a faint, almost imperceptible nostalgia.
"Johnny's fist techniques… and the greatsword reforged from fallen debris—how interesting!"
"Join my crew, and I'll make the World Government's pursuit of you disappear."
Sylvester looked at Willie. Willie looked at Sylvester. Their eyes widened in unison.
Sylvester quickly finished chewing, swallowed, and asked with genuine confusion:
"What do you mean, hunted by the World Government? Why would we join you? Our boss treats us really well."
Willie rubbed his hands together, slightly embarrassed.
"Old blondie… got more meat? I'm not full."
Sylvester scolded him sternly.
"Meat what? All you know is eating!"
Willie shrank back, not daring to argue.
Shiki's lips curled into a smile. He felt Sylvester might be someone he could reason with.
But Sylvester's next words shattered that hope.
"Eating without drinking's choking me, old blondie—got something to drink?"
Shiki stared at the two brothers—faces full of innocent expectation. A familiar warmth stirred in his chest. For a moment, they blurred into the memory of a certain goofy shadow from long ago.
After a long silence, he stood. He didn't argue. Didn't rage. He simply turned and left, expression unreadable.
Clang, clang, clang—
"Give them more meat. And drinks."
Clang, clang, clang…
The metallic footsteps faded. The brothers ignored him, carefully setting aside a portion for Esdeath before devouring the rest. They were starving.
---
On another floating island, Yang Ning leaned against a tree hollow, catching his breath after slashing down a six-legged, blue saber-toothed tiger.
The creatures here were individually strong—none could beat him, but their numbers were endless.
Armored black ants by the thousands.
Dog-sized, ghost-faced "cannonball bulls."
Toucans with razor-wing slashes.
Flying, burrowing, crawling—relentless, fearless, driven by unnatural bloodlust.
Worst of all—killing them gave no rewards.
No soul fragments. No stat gains.
Like slaughtering robots. Pointless.
Despite their power, they registered as weak fauna in his system.
"Are they so mutated they've become mindless beasts?"
That was the only explanation.
With no benefit and only wasted stamina, Yang Ning refused to linger. He cut straight through forest and water, heading for the island's edge.
There—a cliff. Below, floating sea. Beyond it—another island, larger, with vegetation of a different hue.
After judging the distance, he turned back into the forest. He faintly recalled sensing a large bird earlier.
A "friendly" talk—sword sheath and fists doing most of the persuading—later, Yang Ning stood triumphantly beside a bruised, four-winged, two-clawed, one-legged horse-headed eagle.
He patted its broad back, grinning.
"Who said mutated animals are dumb? This one's smart! Hehe~ Left turn, left turn!"
Bang!
Another bump bloomed on the eagle's head. It let out a tearful screech—and obediently banked left.
Poor eagle. It had been sleeping peacefully when a wiry monkey dragged it out, beat it senseless, and now rode it like a taxi, babbling nonsense. Resistance meant another punch.
But eagles couldn't speak human.
With his mount, Yang Ning soared easily to the neighboring island's center.
But as he neared a man-made ring of trees, the horse-headed eagle went berserk—flapping wildly, refusing to approach.
"Bang! Don't move!" Yang Ning snapped.
The eagle, now with yet another lump, still panicked.
Yang Ning frowned, racking his memory.
Wasn't there a tree in Shiki's domain that emitted a scent only animals could detect? A natural repellent?
He reluctantly dismounted. The eagle wasn't smart enough for a nasal plug—leaving it here might mean finding only bones later.
He had to reach the village.
He was 80% certain Shiki had taken his ship and crew. A vessel that size couldn't vanish in a current—and Sylvester wasn't dead.
But which island held Shiki's palace?
These floating lands seemed small from afar—but up close, they were vast. Without local help, he'd wander forever.
He passed through a grove of large, white, belly-like trees that reeked faintly of decay—and found it: a village, nestled within the ring.
It was filled with slender women, young and old—none under thirty. Not a single man in sight.
Each woman bore a white feather band running from forearm to shoulder.
They eyed Yang Ning with curiosity—but no hostility.
Just as he opened his mouth to ask for directions, the nearest middle-aged woman suddenly tackled him—shoving him down a dirt step into concealment.
Yang Ning could've dodged. But her intent was protective—he let her.
"Auntie… what are you doing?" he asked, lying flat.
She peered out cautiously, voice hushed with fear:
"There's a Shiki-class autonomous surveillance Den Den Mushi in the village. Any man it sees gets captured and taken to Shiki's palace."
"Oh?"
Yang Ning's eyes lit up. Perfect.
Under the woman's stunned gaze, he sprang up—and spotted it: a gigantic blue snail wriggling nervously nearby.
He leapt, grabbed the snail's shell, and forced its eyestalks toward his face.
"OI! I'm a man—come get me quick!"
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters