*** Present

"Hmm, from what I hear, you Marines are like the White Berets, correct?" The Knight said suspiciously, "Well, it seems like your trip here may be interesting after all." He said with an air of finality.

As he prepared to leave on his giant bird he said , "Don't forget, one whistle and I'll be there to help you, 5 million extol per save, but for your bravery, I'll give you one save for free, the first whistle you give will be a free save." He said.

"Wait!" Nami called out, "We don't even know your name."

"I am Gan Fall, Knight of the Sky!" he declared proudly, mounting his giant bird, "And this is my partner Pierre."

With that, the self-proclaimed Knight of the Sky took off from the Going Merry.

After a fair bit of uneventful sailing, the Marines finally came across something of note.

"Heaven's Gate!" Chopper read off a large fanciful gate.

An old lady greeted the Marines at the aforementioned gate.

"What is your purpose here," she asked drily, "Are you tourists or do you wish to fight?"

As Luffy was about to answer, the old lady droned on, "Well, it doesn't really matter, whatever your intentions, you must pay 1 billion extol to enter."

"one BILLION!" Nami said mortified.

"Hmm, that would be 100,000 beli, in blue sea currency."

Just as Nami was about to shoot back an angry response, the old woman spoke again, "You don't have to pay, of course."

Nami smiled, "Then what are we waiting for!" she said joyfully, "Let's enter."

"No," Luffy said firmly, "If we do not pay, we are criminals, isn't that right, old lady?"

Said old lady cracked a wry smile, "So it is." She responded simply.

"Nami," Luffy ordered, "Give her the money out of our stores from the last couple bounties we've collected."

Nami did so extremely reluctantly, moaning about how it was highway robbery.

Once the money had been given, Luffy spoke up in the awkward lull in the conversation, "So, how do we get to heaven!?" he said excitedly.

Something rumbled beneath the Going Merry.

"That's your ride," the old lady said, "White Sea's very own Special Speedy Shrimp."

The Special Speedy Shrimp took the Marines up a belt of clouds, taking them to the entrance of what a large sign proclaimed as 'Godland Skypiea'.

They burst into what seemed to be a stretch of cloud just a little bit away from an island.

"It's Sky Island!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

The Merry made its way to the shore, where all the Strawhats burst out excitedly.

"The surface of this island is like a fluffy cloud!" Usopp said.

After goofing off on the island for a while, the Marines noticed someone in the distance.

"It's an angel!" Sanji crooned at the figure off in the distance.

"Heso!" the so-called angel said.

She approached along with what seemed to be an all-white fox.

"Are you blue sea dwellers?" she asked, "I'm Conis and this is my sky fox, Suu."

She took a large watermelon like fruit that Luffy had been trying to penetrate to no avail.

She flipped it over and took a knife to the base of the fruit, cutting it open from there, "You have to cut it from right here, the skin is like steel everywhere else." She explained.

From the distance out in the white sea, emerge a figure which seemed to be hurtling towards them at great speeds.

Nami squinted out at the figure, "What is THAT?" she asked, curiously.

"Conis! Heso!" the figure yelled out.

"Heso Father!" Conis yelled back.

"He's riding something," Nami realised.

"Ah, my bad," Conis said apologetically, "That's a Waver."

The man, who later identified himself as Pagaya, Conis' father introduced himself and invited the Strawhats to his house for dinner.

Pagaya spoke a lot about life on Sky Island and how life worked around there, but as some of the Strawhats noticed, he skirted around the topic of the leadership of the Island completely.

After Luffy explained who they were and what their position was, Pagaya's expression became far more pensive.

"You'll probably want to talk with the White Berets," Pagaya said, "They are the enforcers of God."

"God?" Zoro questioned, incredulously.

"Shh," Pagaya hissed, "He hears all!"

"Where can we find these White Berets?" Tanaka asked, ever the voice of reason.

Pagaya hesitated but Conis offered, "We can take you to their base on the Island."

*** Enel

The Strawhats caught the notice of God the moment they entered the White Sea via the Knock-Up Stream, after all, anybody brave enough to take that path was worthy of the notice of god.

Notice, however, turned to trepidation once he used his Mantra to try and read the kind of strength these intruders had, to see whether it was bravery or arrogance that took them up the Knock-Up Stream.

Strong.

They were all strong.

Some of them were merely strong but some of them were beyond the realm of anything Enel could have imagined.

He needed to get them down and he needed to do it now.

With that in mind, Enel called his White Berets, informing them of the threat, telling them to make up an offense if they didn't commit one themselves.

Anything to get them onto God's turf.

He listened in on their conversation with Conis and Pagaya.

Marines.

They seemed to be like enforcers themselves, relatively senior ones if they were to be taken on their word, and Enel certainly would, they were crazy strong…perhaps even strong enough to take on God.

Just as he was about to signal to the White Berets to go out and seize the Marines at all costs, the Marines left to go to the White Berets.

It was like a gift!

A gift to God.

Enel crackled into being in front of his White Berets.

Once all were appropriately kneeling, God spoke.

"When the intruders arrive here, bring them to me at all costs."

*** End of Chapter