The open sea stretched endlessly beneath the blue sky. A colossal warship with a wolf's head figurehead sliced through the waves, its presence as oppressive as its enormous black pirate flag flapping in the wind.
At the prow stood Aeridar, his black coat adorned with white wave patterns billowing behind him. Bandages wrapped around his torso peeked from beneath the coat as the sea breeze tousled his hair. One hand held a glass of juice, the other gripped the latest wanted poster, his face curled in a deeply annoyed expression.
He muttered under his breath, "I risked my damn life to take down a veteran Vice Admiral of Navy HQ, and this is all I get? Cheap bastards..."
The bounty poster read:
Golden Ring — Chris T. Aeridar
Captain of the Chris Pirates
Crimes: Numerous and heinous
Bounty: 300 million Berries
"Captain! You're out here again? You're still recovering!"
Millie and Mina hurried up, puffing their cheeks in protest. They each grabbed one of Aeridar's arms, their disapproval plain on their faces.
"I'm not that frail. I've been holed up in that cabin for days, I was about to go crazy." Aeridar sighed, rubbing his temples as he glanced at the two pouting girls. Their expressions were so exaggerated they could've hung oil lamps from their lips.
Back when Aeridar and Syrons fought each other to a standstill, Syrons was left unconscious, while Aeridar barely held on to consciousness. He had ordered Arlan to seize the opportunity to eliminate the Navy forces. They had retreated to Rainbase to recover. Even though Crocodile was nearby, neither Aeridar nor Arlan ever fully trusted that overgrown reptile. So he had Millie, Mina, and Gorbo, all equipped with Seastone weapons, remain as guards.
Though they hadn't managed to wipe out that Navy unit entirely, they had done serious damage. Aeridar remained in Rainbase for several days, wary that Crocodile might make a move. After all, without a formal alliance, trust was meaningless between pirates. Even if there was a treaty, betrayal was just business as usual.
Eventually, the Chris Pirates, battered but intact, left Alabasta behind. They drifted across the seas for nearly two weeks. With proper treatment and hearty meals, Aeridar's condition improved rapidly. As long as he avoided intense combat, his wounds wouldn't reopen.
This morning, the latest bounty posters had arrived. The moment Aeridar saw his, he could no longer sit still. Despite Millie and Mina trying to keep him bedridden, he'd snuck out to breathe in some fresh air, and grumble about the paltry bounty.
To Aeridar, 300 million Berries was insulting. He had taken down someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with old veterans like Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp. As a veteran marine, he possessed the kind of monstrous power capable of toppling New World pirates. Taking him down hadn't just been a fight, it had been a war.
And this was all they gave him? He seriously began to wonder if the Navy was having financial problems.
"Come on, Captain. You're just mad your bounty isn't higher," Dimitri snorted from nearby. "Ours just doubled. Yours almost quadrupled. Three times over, and you're still whining."
According to the Navy's latest notices, every officer in the Chris Pirates had received a bounty hike. For instance, Dimitri was now worth 60 million Berries. Arlan and Oliver had both passed the 100 million mark, with Arlan at exactly 100 million, and Oliver at 120 million. That gave the crew three pirates with over 100 million Berries each, officially placing them in the Supernova class.
They were a crew to be reckoned with.
"Dimitri, are we still on course to Jaya Island?" Aeridar asked, choosing to drop the topic.
"Yeah, about one more day," Dimitri replied after checking the sea chart.
Aeridar stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Once we get there, we'll stay for a while, at least until I'm fully healed."
"Captain," Oliver chimed in as he approached, "I heard Jaya's basically a pirate hotbed, like the old Loguetown. Why stay there?"
Millie, Mina, and Dimitri all gave Aeridar puzzled looks.
"I heard there's a Sky Island above it," Aeridar replied, arms crossed and smiling. "Once I'm healed, I want to see it for myself. And since pirates gather there, it's the perfect place to recruit some fresh talent."
"Recruiting new blood makes sense, but that whole Sky Island thing sounds like a fairy tale," Dimitri said, blinking. "Even if it's real, how would we get up there? It's in the sky!"
"Sky Island? What's that?" Oliver tilted his head, a giant question mark practically floating above him.
"It's exactly what it sounds like, a floating island in the sky," Dimitri explained. "When ships reach Jaya, the Log Pose points straight upward. Sometimes ships fall from the sky. People think there's an island up there... but no one's ever confirmed it."
"Wait, the Log Pose points to the sky? Isn't it broken then?" Arlan had just walked over, stunned.
"An island and sea in the sky? Isn't that dangerous? What if it falls!?" Millie and Mina blinked, looking up nervously as if expecting the heavens to drop an island on them.
"Nope. Rule number one for navigators: never doubt the Log Pose," Dimitri said with conviction. "If it points upward, then something's up there. Guaranteed."
"In the Grand Line, you can't rely on logic or common sense," Aeridar said solemnly. "For all we know, there could be 'gods' up there too."
He wasn't speaking metaphorically. On Sky Island, those who ruled called themselves 'gods', like Enel or Gan Fall. Whether Enel still ruled was uncertain. But if he did, Aeridar wasn't confident he could defeat him while injured. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit wasn't dubbed "one of the most powerful Devil Fruits" for nothing. Lightning was one of nature's most devastating forces—fast, destructive, and nearly unstoppable.
In the original story, Luffy had defeated Enel due to a lucky combination of circumstances: Enel underestimated him, rubber countered lightning, and of course, main character plot armor. That kind of luck wasn't something Aeridar could count on.
If Enel ever came down to the Blue Sea with serious intent, he'd be classified as a major threat—a pirate on par with an Emperor. And if he ever decided to escape pursuit, even someone like Kizaru would struggle to catch him.
In terms of sheer destructive power, Aeridar believed his Impact-Impact Fruit could go toe-to-toe with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. But when it came to speed? Not a chance.
"Wait—God?!" The whole crew blinked in confusion.
"Captain, you're messing with us, right?"
"C'mon now, gods? That's a bit much!"
"If there's a god up there, I'll slice him down myself!"
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my ——— (.)com/JuanFiction [remove the parentheses ( )]
There are over 100 advance Chapters available for you!
For every 200 PS = 1 extra Chapter.