Next Bonus, 100!!
As Jin arrived in Red Hair's territory...
Skypiea.
God's Island, Upper Yard.
Dawn broke over the sea of clouds.
Villagers from the Hidden Cloud Village, shouldering various tools, began to gather at the village entrance, boarding the newly constructed cloud ships.
"Wait for me! I'm coming too!"
Aisa, a small satchel bouncing against her back, sprinted toward the ship.
"Aisa?" Kamakiri, one of the newly appointed God's Priests, frowned as he looked down at her. "We're going to work. What are you doing here?"
Aisa stuck out her tongue, making a face at him. "I'm going to work too!"
"And what exactly can you do?"
"I can do lots of things! I can draw... Grandpa Gan Fall says I'm really smart. He likes me the best!" Aisa boasted, puffing out her chest. "He even taught me how to read. Can you read?"
Kamakiri fell silent.
He had spent his childhood training as a warrior, his mind focused solely on reclaiming their homeland. Why would he need to read?
"Is reading even useful up here?" he grumbled. "Especially the script of the Blue Sea."
"It is useful!" Aisa insisted. "Wyper and Laki are down in the Blue Sea right now. God said that next year, I get to go to school!"
She looked incredibly smug.
"Let her come," the round-bellied Jerry chuckled. "We're here. nothing bad will happen."
Kamakiri huffed. "Don't spoil her. If you're coming, Aisa, you start training with us tomorrow. I won't have you going down to the Blue Sea just to get bullied."
"Fine!"
Aisa boarded the ship with them, traveling into Upper Yard and arriving at the air force base.
Fighter jets roared down the runway, taking flight.
Niji was currently leading the training drills.
The Skypieans were naturally better adapted to high-altitude, low-oxygen, and low-temperature environments than the Blue Sea dwellers. With a little training, they made qualified pilots.
A group from Angel Island arrived at the same time. As the two groups met, they exchanged greetings—the relationship between the two peoples had clearly thawed.
Aisa ran off to find people she knew, eager to touch the fighter jets.
She loved these massive machines.
However, rather than piloting them, she wanted to design her own. That was why God—Jin—had told her she needed to study hard.
Gan Fall and the Old Chief, acting as deputies to the new administration, managed the logistics while assisting Niji with the construction work.
The two old men held blueprints in their hands, assigning tasks to the workers.
Their goal was to clear the ruins of Shandora and build a new city that would serve as a transit hub for future "air freight."
Jin's planned "Land, Sea, and Air" transport work was steadily moving forward, gradually taking shape.
Gan Fall and the Old Chief watched as Shandians and Skypieans formed mixed squads, walking off to work together.
The two old men exchanged a smile.
A four-hundred-year-old feud was finally resolving. They had even eliminated Enel. It was a future they had never dared to dream of.
—
Jenikote Island.
The Coast.
Shanks and his crew were waiting.
Perched atop the mast of the Red Force, Yasopp lowered his spyglass. "Shanks. I see them."
"Yeah."
Shanks stood on the sandy beach, letting the sea breeze snap his cape like a whip.
In the distance, on the surface of the sea...
Jin stood at the rail of the deck, gazing ahead. An island shaped like a giant tortoise had risen above the horizon.
White sands, green coconut groves, and a tranquil bay. Faintly, a bustling town could be seen further inland.
Docked in the harbor, alongside the Red Hair Pirates' ship, were several other pirate vessels flying the Red Hair flag.
Although Shanks loved the "freedom" of sailing, there was no such thing as true freedom in the New World without territory.
Like the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, he had followers responsible for managing his territorial waters and islands.
Jenikote Island was one such place.
Hearing they were about to dock, Brook, Porche, and the rest of the music troupe emerged from the ship's internal island, cheering loudly.
Long sea voyages weren't always pleasant.
Perhaps at the start, the vastness of the ocean was exciting. But after a while, once you'd seen enough water, it became monotonous.
To be a sailor required the ability to endure boredom, drudgery, and loneliness.
Some sailors even carried a pouch of soil from their hometown when they set out to sea.
What they loved seeing most was land.
The Empress slowly decelerated, approaching the shore.
"Yohohoho... That's the flag of the Red Hair Pirates!" Brook exclaimed, clutching his skeletal cheeks.
The fluttering Jolly Roger—a skull with three scars across the eye—was unmistakable.
"Eh?" Carina's eyes went wide. "It really is the Red Hair Pirates!"
Jin looked toward the simple pier constructed of wooden piles and planks. Shanks stood there, leading his officers.
Their gazes met.
Shanks stood tall and proud.
A terrifying light seemed to shine from his eyes.
Jin held his gaze.
Two colossal auras suddenly collided.
Sharp, domineering, and violent—the pressure materialized like a howling gale.
Arcs of crimson and gold lightning crackled through the air between them, weaving a web of pure dominance.
It suppressed everything in its vicinity.
There was no wind, yet people began to fall. Porche and the beautiful dancers of the troupe collapsed, one after another.
"Yohoho... What's happening to everyone?" Brook cried out, his voice trembling.
Conqueror's Haki. A direct clash.
In an instant, the world seemed to lose its color.
The sky roared, plunging into a sudden gloom.
The sea churned, waves rolling in uneasy agitation.
The mental impact was intense.
Even Brook felt his soul swaying, dizziness washing over him. It took every ounce of his strength just to remain standing.
When he looked back, Porche and the others had already lost consciousness.
"A Conqueror's Haki that can rival Shanks?!"
Yasopp was stunned.
That was a chasm countless strong men could never cross.
He muttered to himself, feeling the pressure squeezing him like a mountain. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Distracted, his foot slipped, and he fell straight off the mast.
Beckman, Lucky Roux, and the others narrowed their eyes.
The mental weight was heavy.
Even breathing was becoming difficult.
Jin and Shanks continued to stare each other down.
The leaking Haki was tyrannical, screaming through the air.
Crack... Crack...
The intense collision released countless sparks of black lightning, spreading outward from the space between them.
The wooden piles and planks of the pier groaned, fissures appearing on their surfaces under the sheer weight of their wills.
Wind and clouds shifted in the sky; thunder rumbled.
The pirate flags snapped violently in the wind.
Shanks watched the young figure before him, keenly sensing that Jin's Conqueror's Haki was stronger than before.
It wasn't just destructive power; it was depth and density. It was like facing the ocean itself—vast enough to contain all things.
"You've awakened it... a Trait?" Shanks narrowed his eyes.
"A Trait?"
~ 70 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
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