In the heart of Skypiea’s Upper Yard, a magnificent and majestic stone hall stood quietly.
Upper Yard was originally a sacred land jointly revered by the Shandians and the Sky Islanders.
Ever since Rector resolved the century-old grievances between the two tribes, their leaders gathered to discuss the matter.
The final proposal concluded that only this sacred land was worthy of the Thunder Emperor’s status, so it was decided to build the Thunder Emperor Palace here.
The Thunder Emperor Palace was located not far from the ancient altar, surrounded by colossal trees that blotted out the sun, their dense foliage forming a canopy of green overhead, while the shadows of the trees shifted slowly with the movement of the clouds.
The Thunder Emperor Palace was divided into three areas: the Thunder Emperor Palace, the training ground, and the Thunder Emperor Guards camp.
The Thunder Emperor Palace was where Rector and Katakuri lived.
The Thunder Emperor Guards were a guard organization composed of elites carefully selected layer by layer from the Shandians and Sky Islanders.
The training ground was dedicated to the daily training of the Thunder Emperor Guards and their families.
“Mielle!
Take good care of him!”
Rector handed Bullet to a woman around twenty years old beside him.
She wore a white short-skirt maid outfit, with blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, a pair of small wings sprouting from her back, and a tall, slender figure.
A gentle smile graced her face, and with every step she took, the heave of her chest was even more turbulent than the waves stirred up by storms on the sea.
As the ruler of Skypiea, there was naturally a maid corps dedicated to food and daily life, and Mielle was the head maid.
She managed thirty maids and thirty chefs under her, and as for why there were so many chefs equipped, it was entirely to satisfy the bottomless appetites of Katakuri and his two brothers.
“Leave it to me, Lord Rector!”
Mielle took Bullet from Rector’s hands, and looking at his blood-stained yet smiling face, an expression of affection welled up in her eyes.
She turned and left with Bullet; Bullet currently needed to clean his body and then have a hearty meal.
“Lord Rector!”
A familiar voice drifted from the sky, and Rector looked up to see a cloud wearing a small hat flying toward him.
“Zeus?
Why are you here?”
Floating in the sky was none other than Zeus, who had left together with Charlotte Linlin.
“Lord Rector!
Mama sent me over to help you!
Lord Perospero said there are some matters you need to handle personally, and since Lord Katakuri and the others couldn’t help, she sent me over!”
Zeus swayed its body and floated in front of Rector, looking very happy.
“Doesn’t that drop Mama’s combat power on her side a lot?”
Rector stroked his chin in thought.
Zeus was an important combat force and transportation tool for Charlotte Linlin, able not only to attack enemies but also to carry her in flight.
With Zeus around, when encountering opponents whose strength was inferior to Linlin’s, she could quickly dispose of enemies relying on Zeus’s mobility.
When encountering opponents stronger than her, she could also fight and retreat while relying on Zeus’s mobility to make a smooth getaway.
Ships were dispensable things to her anyway, and now that Zeus had come to his side, she could only take a ship when traveling.
“It’s fine, Lord Rector!
Mama made another thunder cloud with the same attributes as me, named Hera!
Mama said I should follow Lord Rector from now on!”
Zeus’s body gradually shrank, turning into a palm-sized small cloud that gently landed on Rector’s shoulder.
It liked Rector very much because his body always exuded the scent of delicious food.
A smile curved the corner of Rector’s mouth.
Hera?
Wasn’t this the Homies that Linlin only re-created when she was in Wano Country?
He didn’t expect that because of his appearance, this Homies was born ahead of time.
(The Four Homies)
A condensed mass of lightning darted from Rector’s fingertips, casting a light blue shimmer in the air as he raised his hand and offered it to Zeus’s lips.
Zeus bit down on the lightning light in one gulp, a satisfied expression appearing on its round cloud face.
“Eat something first, we’ll get ready to work in a bit.”
The Katakuri three brothers, having finished their exercise, looked at Rector standing in the center of the grand hall and subconsciously stopped in their tracks.
“Big Brother!
Why are you back so soon?”
Katakuri asked first.
At the entrance of the grand hall, Mielle walked in carrying the already sleeping Bullet, followed by two maids carrying a crib.
“From now on, he will be your younger brother!”
Rector pointed at Bullet in Mielle’s arms.
“Big Brother!
Did you pick him up?”
The Katakuri three brothers looked at Bullet with curious gazes; this was the first time Big Brother brought an outsider back.
“That’s right!
His name is Bullet!”
“Katakuri, you guys must get along well with Bullet from now on.”
Rector walked over and reached out to rub the three brothers’ heads.
“His name is Bullet?”
Oven extended his finger, holding onto the edge of the crib without daring to touch Bullet.
“Bullet’s potential is very strong, don’t let him surpass you guys.”
Rector smiled slightly.
Bullet’s future combat power was the solid Emperor level, and among the three brothers, only Katakuri had the hope of reaching his height.
“Zeus!
Go to Drum Island!”
“Okay, Lord Rector!”
Zeus, lying on Rector’s shoulder, flew up while its body continuously expanded until it could carry Rector’s body.
Rector found a comfortable position to lie on Zeus’s back, took out the Eternal Pose engraved with Drum Island’s mark from his bosom, and tossed it to Zeus.
“Zeus!
Follow the direction on it!”
“Okay, Lord Rector!”
Zeus’s body extended strip-like clouds to catch the Eternal Pose, transforming into a lightning supercar and disappearing inside the grand hall, leaving a long white trail in the air.
Drum Island was situated on one of the seven routes of the Grand Line, with goose-feather-like heavy snow floating across the island year-round, dyeing the entire island into a pure white scene.
The three cloud-scraping peaks in the middle of the island resembled three giant pillars supporting the sky; on the highest peak in the middle stood a stone-built castle, its eaves hanging full of translucent icicles.
This castle was the residence of the current king, and the windows of the castle emitted specks of warm yellow light, particularly eye-catching in the vast white wind and snow.
Scattered here and there along the frozen river at the foot of the mountain were a few towns and villages.
Hopping Lapahns could be seen everywhere in the snow, their snow-white fur almost blending into the snowfield, revealing only their red eyes.
There were also herds of reindeer huddled together to keep warm, with fine snow particles hanging on their antlers.
Carrying Rector, Zeus didn’t stop and dashed straight toward the castle on the mountaintop.
Before coming, he had long figured out the ins and outs of Drum Island.
This island was a member state of the World Government, and the Heavenly Tribute that had to be paid every year was barely scraped together relying on the consultation fees earned by the island’s doctors going out on house calls.
In the future, Blackbeard came to Drum Island once when snatching the Dark-Dark Fruit, scaring away most of the island’s doctors and the king.
When Luffy landed on the island to look for a doctor to save Nami, not even a single proper resident doctor could be found on the entire island.
Only Kureha, the eccentric doctor, was left—of course, along with that notorious quack doctor and Chopper’s adoptive father, Hiriluk.
Zeus’s speed gradually slowed down, snowflakes hitting its cloud body and making a rustling sound as it spoke to remind the person on its back.
“Lord Rector, we’ve arrived!”
“Oh?
So fast.”
Rector sat up and stretched, raising a hand to brush off the snowflakes fallen on his shoulder, his gaze sweeping past the swirling snow curtain to look at the palace gate not far away.
“Who are you guys?”
“Get out of here quickly!”
The guards at the castle entrance wore thick cotton clothes and immediately raised their guns, aiming at the descending Rector.
Looking at the gun muzzles aimed at him, a trace of icy luster flashed in the depths of Rector’s eyes.
“Who told you to raise your guns?”
“Clank!”
Before the guards could reply, a silver-white lightning bolt had already crashed down from mid-air.
“Ah—!!!”
The screams stopped abruptly as soon as they began, and after the lightning dispersed, only a few charred corpses remained on the snow, the surrounding snow instantly melting and emitting wisps of white smoke.