“Raise the sails!
Robin, grab the ropes!”
“Thirty-Fleur!”
The Holy Sword was propelled into the sky by the ocean current and the updraft.
Lucas, Nami, and Robin had already prepared themselves, and they quickly managed to stabilize their footing.
Nami and Robin busied themselves dealing with various problems, while their great captain, Lucas, acted as though none of it had anything to do with him and simply sat quietly at the bow.
“God Enel, huh?
An interesting guy.
He’s quite powerful, but unfortunately, he was beaten down by the protagonist’s plot armor.”
Lucas stroked the Kitetsu in his hand, smiling as though he were talking to the sword itself.
“Do you think you can handle lightning?”
He gently drew the Kitetsu and gave it a slight flourish, slicing apart a stream of water that had fallen from above.
Lucas smiled.
As though sensing its master’s thoughts, the Kitetsu trembled on its own and emitted a clear sword cry.
“Excellent!”
Lucas laughed heartily.
After returning the sword to its scabbard, his expression gradually became serious as he stared at the increasingly close layer of clouds above.
“Lucas, we’re almost there!”
Nami and Robin had finished preparing.
Seeing Lucas sitting there as though nothing was happening, Nami hurriedly called out to him.
Lucas smiled.
Then his expression suddenly hardened, and the sword in his hand shot from its scabbard.
Meteor Thrust!
A gigantic sword arc, shaped like a cone, shot upward and plunged deep into the White Sea above them.
Because the White Sea was composed of clouds and wasn’t particularly thick, Lucas’s slash actually pierced a gigantic hole straight through it!
“So… so amazing!”
Nami and Robin stared at the scene in shock.
Lucas lightly leaped over to them, but cold sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
He gave a bitter smile.
“It’s only because the White Sea has such a special composition.
It’s not as impressive as it looks.”
“But seven thousand meters above sea level really is difficult to endure!”
As he spoke, Lucas slowly sat down to the side.
His body felt weak.
He watched as the Holy Sword shot straight upward through the hole he had created.
Then, a glimmer of light appeared.
The entire ship suddenly emerged above the clouds!
“So this is the White Sea at an altitude of seven thousand meters?”
Robin gazed in amazement at the surrounding scenery.
“What an unbelievable place.”
Although Lucas had already described what the White Sea looked like, actually experiencing it firsthand was still deeply shocking.
Nami was equally captivated by the scenery around them.
But soon, her attention shifted to Lucas.
Seeing that he was still breathing heavily, she couldn’t help worrying.
“Lucas, are you all right?”
Nami hurried over and helped him up.
Looking at the worry written all over her little face, Lucas laughed between heavy breaths.
“Huff… I’m fine.”
“That slash just now took almost all of my strength…”
“Huff… I just need some time to adapt.”
“You two shouldn’t move around too much either.”
“Get used to the environment here first.”
He looked at Nami and Robin before taking several more breaths.
“Mm.”
Nami gently wiped the sweat from Lucas’s forehead and quietly sat beside him.
Seeing this, Lucas wrapped an arm around her and the two of them enjoyed the scenery together.
However, the next moment, the White Sea beneath them suddenly began to churn violently.
A flat-bodied sea monster nearly twice the size of the Holy Sword suddenly emerged from the White Sea.
Its vicious eyes locked onto the ship.
“Not good!”
Lucas was startled.
His body hadn’t recovered yet.
This is bad!
“Ah!”
Nami was even more frightened.
She covered her mouth and fell backward into Lucas’s arms.
Lucas instinctively gave her bottom a few squeezes.
Round, firm, soft, and springy…
“Robin, it’s your turn!”
Lucas looked somewhat exhausted as the sea monster charged toward them and waved at Robin.
Robin gave him a teasing look and giggled.
“So even our great captain has moments when he’s this helpless.”
“Ah…”
Lucas took several breaths and glared at Robin unhappily.
This woman really isn’t as obedient as Nami.
Whenever she finally catches me looking helpless, she never misses the opportunity to tease me.
The sea monster leaped high into the air and opened its jaws, preparing to bite down.
Robin turned toward it, raising an eyebrow.
“Thirty-Fleur: Gigante Fleurs!”
Countless arms sprouted and intertwined in midair, forming a gigantic arm.
With a light punch, it sent the sea monster flying.
This was an ability Robin wouldn’t have learned until roughly five years later in the original story.
But things were naturally different now that she was traveling with Lucas, the man with what amounted to cheats enabled.
With Lucas’s guidance and a few insights from him, she had quickly learned the technique.
After a while, Lucas finally felt much better.
Still holding Nami in his arms, he slowly stood up.
He took several deep breaths, and his breathing finally settled.
If he were still the shut-in he had been back on Earth, suddenly being transported to an altitude of seven thousand meters would undoubtedly have left him struggling to breathe.
He might even have died on the spot.
But in the One Piece world, although Lucas was a swordsman, his physical strength had also increased along with his swordsmanship.
The improvement simply wasn’t as obvious.
Adapting to the environment at seven thousand meters was therefore still something he could accomplish fairly quickly.
Just then, Lucas looked ahead and slightly furrowed his brow.
Three masked men were gliding across the White Sea directly ahead of the Holy Sword, charging toward them.
“Why did they find us so quickly after we arrived?”
Lucas was somewhat puzzled.
Of course, he knew who these people were.
They were members of the so-called White Berets, a patrol force that targeted people from the Blue Sea who arrived on Sky Island, attacking newcomers whose bodies had yet to adapt to the high-altitude environment.
In the original story, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had been defeated almost instantly because their bodies hadn’t adapted to the environment.
Lucas glanced toward the sky above.
He guessed that the former God of Skypiea, Sky Knight Gan Fall, was probably somewhere in the clouds above them as well.
Nami nestled against Lucas’s chest without the slightest concern.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed because Lucas’s hand was gently stroking her.
“Lucas… who are those people?”
“Who knows?”
Lucas smiled faintly.
Then his expression turned cold.
His left arm remained around Nami while his right hand gripped the sword and violently drew it.
The next instant, a gigantic sword arc swept across the White Sea.
A trench more than a hundred meters long was carved into the clouds before the three men!
The faces of the three patrolmen beneath their masks turned grim.
Just as they were preparing to charge forward, the sword light made them jump in fright.
“How is this possible?!”
“Th-this…”
“Is this really a human?
This is the power of a god!”
The three men stared in horror at the scene before them.
Their gazes were fixed upon the man standing at the bow of the Holy Sword.
For a moment, they were completely at a loss.
High above them, an old white-haired man was riding an incredibly ugly-looking winged horse.
His small eyes had widened considerably.
“What a powerful man.”
“I never expected there to be someone this strong among the Blue Sea people!”
“I was originally planning to rescue them and make a little extra money…”
Lucas looked at the three men.
Then, intentionally or otherwise, he glanced upward.
Gan Fall’s heart trembled slightly.
“Don’t come looking for trouble with me.”
After coldly uttering those four words, Lucas sheathed his sword.
Nami noticed that Lucas’s body was still somewhat weak.
Understanding immediately, she wrapped her arms around him in return.
The two walked down from the bow.
The patrolmen exchanged glances before silently retreating.
They had no desire to be cut in half by such a powerful swordsman.
Just looking at the enormous trench beneath them, which had yet to completely disappear, was enough to make their hearts tremble.
High above, Gan Fall sighed.
“Such a powerful man has come to Sky Island.”
“I wonder whether this will be a blessing or a disaster.”
“Ah, forget it.”
“Everything can be left to that fellow Enel…”
After murmuring to himself, he urged his winged horse onward and quickly disappeared into the distance.