"Lord Red! Someone is requesting an audience!"
Just as the Straw Hat crew were busy with their respective duties, a priest suddenly rushed into the divine palace and reported to Red, who was in the middle of proposing renovation plans.
After witnessing Enel's miserable defeat, those lackeys who had once sworn loyalty to him abandoned their former master without hesitation and defected to the Straw Hats' banner.
"Hm?" Red frowned slightly upon hearing the report. "Aren't Robin and Nami handling that side?"
The priest immediately replied, "Lady Robin declined the priests' escort two hours ago and went alone to the location of the Golden Bell."
"As for Lady Nami, she is currently studying the blueprints of the Ark Maxim together with Lord Usopp."
"I see~"
Realizing that his companions were all occupied, Red nodded.
Looking at the towering execution platform—nearing completion under the combined efforts of insects and priests—he waved his hand decisively.
"Alright. Take me to them."
"Yes, Lord Red!"
The priest bowed and immediately turned to lead the way.
Before long, the two arrived at what had once been the main hall of the divine palace.
Because the place was being converted into a site for executing Celestial Dragons, the entire hall had been remodeled beyond recognition. Only a few pillars still stood firm, supporting a thin layer of roofing.
As Red stepped inside, two completely different atmospheres came into view at once.
He immediately recognized their identities.
The former God of Skypiea—Gan Fall—and the strongest warrior of the Shandians—Wiper.
After Enel's defeat, these two represented the most powerful factions currently on Skypiea.
One possessed immense prestige and could rally the numerous native Skypieans.
The other was the future chieftain of the Shandians, a people who were practically all warriors.
It could be said that subduing these two would be equivalent to taking control of all Skypiea.
However…
"Strange. How did these two end up together?"
With no intention of conquering Skypiea, Red showed a hint of doubt. He strode forward without hesitation and sat down on Enel's former high seat, looking down at the two below.
"I heard from Gedatsu that you wanted to see me?"
"Lord Red, greetings."
Gan Fall, whose heart had long since found calm, showed no airs at all after learning that the Straw Hats had defeated Enel. Instead, he wore an expression of genuine respect.
However…
The man beside him clearly lacked such composure.
The moment Wiper saw Red, he lifted his head, his sharp gaze sweeping over him.
"So it was you people who defeated Enel!?"
"Hm?" Red raised an eyebrow, looking with interest at the burly, coal-dark man before him.
It was hard to imagine that even after centuries of life on Skypiea, a Shandian could still possess such dark skin.
It spoke volumes of how pure his lineage was.
"Hey! Wiper!"
Gan Fall's brow furrowed instantly upon hearing that tone, panic and worry flashing through his eyes.
Do you even realize who you're talking to!?This man defeated Enel!What idiot did the Shandians send here!?
Naturally, Red had no intention of giving Wiper any courtesy either.
His time was precious—he had no patience to waste on nonsense.
"What do you want with me?"
"Well, it's like this…" Gan Fall tried to take the lead and ease the tension.
But at that moment, Wiper suddenly pulled a long spear from behind him. The sharp spearhead flashed coldly through the air as it shot straight toward Red's throat.
Whoosh!
The spear tip stopped just one centimeter from Red's neck. Yet scorching heat erupted around the spearhead, lightly searing his skin.
Seeing this, a glint of triumph flashed through Wiper's eyes.
"Blue Sea people—Skypiea doesn't welcome you!"
"Hand over Upper Yard!"
"Otherwise, prepare to face the wrath of the Shandians!!!"
"Wiper!!!"
Gan Fall was utterly shocked, never expecting such a move. He reached out frantically to stop him.
But Wiper spoke again, his voice cold and resolute.
"Gan Fall, our old grudges aren't settled yet!"
"Don't think time can erase everything!"
"But tell me—do you really want to see Skypiea ruled by a bunch of Blue Sea pirates!?"
"Look at what they've been doing these past few days! Hoarding dials, carrying out massive construction in the divine palace…"
"These people are just the next Enel!!!"
Wiper roared angrily.
His words caused Gan Fall to hesitate.
After all, his true purpose in coming today was to find out exactly what the Straw Hat Pirates intended to do.
And Wiper wasn't entirely wrong.
Their recent actions were indeed strange.
They had used the precious earth of Skypiea—Vearth—to trade for massive quantities of dials, then forcibly evacuated all residents from the island without causing any damage to property or lives.
Such bizarre behavior left Gan Fall deeply puzzled.
Yet at that very moment, with the spear pressed to his throat, Red suddenly spoke.
"So… you want your God Island back?"
Crackle—
A brilliant arc of lightning suddenly flared along Wiper's spearhead, and an inexplicable terror instantly flooded the strongest warrior of Skypiea.
Then, in the blink of an eye…
Red's eyes transformed—from ordinary human pupils into sharp, menacing eyes streaked with jet-black patterns.
Deep within those pupils, dazzling lightning burst forth.
"AHHH!!!"
Without any warning, Wiper was engulfed in endless lightning, his body convulsing violently as he stood frozen in place.
Red lifted his hand—now transformed into a bird's talon—and lightly tapped the spear, knocking it cleanly out of Wiper's grasp.
The lightning-wrapped Wiper collapsed to the ground.
"D-damn it…"
"Why can you… use that bastard Enel's power…"
Even so, as the Shandians' strongest warrior, Wiper struggled forward on the ground, desperately reaching for his spear.
Then—
Step… step…
Red descended the steps, kicked the spear aside, and stomped down on Wiper's hand.
Scorching lightning surged once more, relentlessly ravaging his body.
Red's eyes were icy as he bent down and spoke softly by Wiper's ear.
"You know… you're really no different from Enel."
"The same arrogance… the same frog at the bottom of a well…"
"No—"
"You're far inferior to him."
"At least Enel actually had some real strength."
Red let out a disdainful scoff, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"I was already busy enough and had no intention of dealing with you."
"But your ignorance has successfully piqued my interest…"
"Gan Fall."
Red suddenly turned his authoritative gaze toward the stunned former God.
"Go find the Shandians and tell them this—if they want Wiper returned alive and intact…"
"Send a little girl named Aisa as the exchange."
"Tell them not to worry. We won't harm her."
"On the contrary, she will become an important member under our crew."
"You may leave now."
Though merely the lowest tier among mythical beings…
A god beast was still a god beast.
With the Zapdos template loaded, Red now carried an unquestionable aura of kingly authority.
Compared to him, the trembling Gan Fall looked far less like a god.
"Y-yes…"
Still in shock, Gan Fall replied numbly.
At Red's signal, the priest who once served Enel stepped forward, expertly bound the unconscious Wiper, and dragged him away.
Gan Fall knew all too well—
That direction led to the divine palace's prison.
Red, meanwhile, acted as though none of this concerned him and turned back toward the depths of the palace.
"What a mess this turned into…"
Once the hall fell silent again, Gan Fall let out a long sigh.
Years of age and experience gave him uncommon composure.
He picked up Wiper's spear, replayed Red's words in his mind, and turned to leave the palace.
He had only wanted to understand what these powerful Blue Sea visitors intended to do. Instead, Wiper's reckless actions had left him at a loss for words.
Still, he couldn't fully blame Wiper.
Cloud Hidden Village lay far from here, and the Shandians never communicated with the Skypieans.
Naturally, they had no idea how earth-shaking the battle between Enel and the Blue Sea people had been.
The Skypieans hadn't evacuated obediently just because Enel was defeated.
"I wonder… whether this will be a blessing or a curse for Skypiea."
Gan Fall murmured to himself.
In truth, his seasoned instincts told him—
That young man hadn't harbored any hostility at the start.
Had Wiper not made such an unreasonable threat, they might have actually talked things out peacefully.
But such was fate.
Decades of hatred had taught the Shandians to treat all outsiders as enemies.
Cooperation with Blue Sea people was never an option in Wiper's mind.
Not having witnessed that battle, Wiper likely assumed Red's group had merely relied on Sea Prism Stone to defeat Enel by luck.
To the Shandians, aside from Enel himself, they were the strongest.
That pride was etched into their very blood.
"Perhaps… that young man was right after all…"
"Confined to Skypiea, we truly have become frogs at the bottom of a well."
"…If this leads to change, maybe it isn't such a bad thing."
As he pondered, Gan Fall whistled softly, summoning his old partner—
A bird that had eaten the Zoan-Type Horse-Horse Fruit.
Having roamed Skypiea's skies for years, Gan Fall roughly knew the direction of Cloud Hidden Village.
And with Shandians often patrolling nearby, contacting them wouldn't be difficult.
All he needed was to show Wiper's spear as proof.
The only thing he couldn't understand was—
Why would a group of youths who had just arrived from the Blue Sea demand a Shandian girl they should have never met?
"Aisa, was it…"
With the name firmly in mind, Gan Fall wasted no time.
As the pink, black-spotted pegasus wings beat powerfully, they shot into the sky, heading toward Cloud Hidden Village.
…
…
Elsewhere.
Back near the execution platform, the anger on Red's face vanished completely, replaced by a satisfied smile.
"What is it? What's got you so happy?"
Seeing Red's expression, Usopp—riding atop a rhinoceros beetle while directing insects—asked curiously.
Red smiled faintly.
"Nothing much."
"It's just that, if all goes well… we might soon have our very own deep-sea radar."
"Huh!?"
Usopp blinked in confusion.
But before he could ask more, Red had already gone off to adjust the placement of the Camera Den Den Mushi.
"Seriously… Red's at it again with his riddles."
Having been teased like this more than once, Usopp smacked his lips, puffed out his cheeks, and returned to his own work.
(End of Chapter)