Chapter 114: The Roots of the Heavens

[General POV]

The jungle eventually gave way to a massive clearing. At the exact center of Upper Yard, piercing the cloud sea and spiraling impossibly high into the heavens, was the Giant Jack, a colossal, ancient beanstalk.

Its sprawling, wooden roots were the size of small mountains, creating a natural, maze-like fortress. It was the perfect place to make a stand. Unbeknownst to the Skypiean and Shandian refugees, who had spent four centuries bleeding over this soil, the Golden Bell they all sought was resting quietly at the very top of this exact stalk, hidden above the clouds.

“We set up camp here,” Jacob announced, dropping a heavy crate of supplies onto the mossy ground. “Gwen, use your webs to string up tripwires between the roots. Maria, help the Shandians set up firing lines at the chokepoints.”

The unified militia quickly got to work. But away from the crowd, the core crew gathered in the shadow of a massive root to formulate a plan.

“We shouldn’t be fighting blind,” Law stated flatly, leaning against his nodachi. “We know they have numbers, their weapon reserves, or what those two monsters are actually planning. If we just sit here and wait for them to attack us, we give them all the initiative. And there is a high chance we will lose.”

“Then we take back the initiative,” Peter said, cracking his neck. He looked at Law. “Reconnaissance. We slip in, figure out what they have, and sabotage anything that looks like it could wipe out this camp.”

“Sounds good,” Law nodded. He looked at the rest of the group. “Jasmine, you and the others stay here. Help these people coordinate their cards and Flame Guns. They need a crash course in squad tactics before the enemies arrive.”

“What about you two?” Gewn asked, raising an eyebrow.

Law pulled two of the duplicated blue Meeseeks boxes from his coat, tossing one to Peter. “We go to work. My Devil Fruit makes me the perfect infiltrator for Shiki’s floating islands. I can teleport out if things go wrong.”

“And no physical wall or guard can stop me from walking right into Enel’s shrine,” Peter added, tapping the Ghost Touch vest. “We get in, get the intel, and get out.”

[Victor POV]

High above the ruins, the Titan’s Glory sat anchored in the open sky.

I sat cross-legged on the railing of the bow, my eyes closed, letting my Observation Haki spread outward like an invisible net. Beside me, Ace was spinning a ball of fire over his knuckles, while Robin read a book on a lawn chair, occasionally glancing at the horizon. Laura was sharpening her adamantium claws, and Gammamon was eagerly munching on a pile of sky-fruit.

“The skirmishes in the jungle are dying down,” I reported, opening my eyes. “The natives made it to the center. They are working to secure the area.”

“Why don’t we just end this?” Ace sighed, extinguishing the flame. “You and me, Victor. We fly over there, drop a couple of suns on Shiki’s floating rocks, and then go fry the lightning guy.”

“Because it’s not that simple, Ace,” Robin interjected smoothly, not looking up from her book. “We are dealing with two highly volatile Devil Fruits. If we push Shiki too hard in a direct assault, he could simply release his gravitational hold on his islands and drop thousands of tons of rock directly onto the refugee camp, and that irrespective of what his army of monsters will do if we are not able to control them. And Enel raw electrical output alone could simply vaporize the cloud sea itself if he feels cornered.”

“She’s right,” I agreed, frowning. I looked toward the east and the west. “Besides, I can’t get a clear read on the strongholds. Their raw presence is creating static in my Haki. It’s like trying to look through a frosted window. We need to strike them in such a way that it neutralizes their mass-destruction capabilities before we actually engage them.”

Before Ace could argue, the air pressure suddenly shifted.

A massive, concussive BOOM echoed from the western horizon. A thick pillar of black smoke began to rise from one of Shiki’s floating outer islands.

We all stood up, rushing to the railing.

“What the hell was that?” Laura asked, her ears twitching. “Did Shiki just blow up his own base?”

Before I could answer, a second, equally massive explosion violently rocked the eastern horizon. A blinding flash of golden light and pulverized stone erupted from the outer courtyard of Enel’s Golden Shrine.

Ace let out a low whistle. “Well. So much for the quiet approach.”

I narrowed my eyes, completely baffled. The crew down in the jungle didn’t have heavy artillery, except for the Breath cards and I could not feel any major fight taking place. I had no idea what was happening inside those strongholds, but the chaos had officially started.

[Law POV]

Ten minutes earlier.

Infiltrating a floating pirate fortress was remarkably easy when space itself bent to your will.

“Room,” I whispered, flicking my fingers. Shambles.

I swapped places with a loose piece of rubble, instantly bypassing the outer patrols and materializing in a dark, metallic hallway deep within Shiki’s headquarters.

I needed to access their main data terminal, but the corridors were swarming with heavily armed mercenaries and massive, mutated guard beasts. I ducked into an alcove and pulled out the cloned Meeseeks box. I pressed the button multiple tiimes.

Poof. Poof. Poof. Poof.

“I’m Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!” the blue creature chirped loudly.

I clamped a hand over the mouth of the first one. “Quiet. Go to the outer armory on the edge of the island. Lock the doors, pour gunpowder everywhere, and blow the entire structure to hell. Make sure every guard in this fortress comes running to stop you. If anyone tries to stop you kill them.”

“Ooh, yeah! Can do!”

The Meeseeks sprinted off down the hall, giggling manically. Few minutes later, the massive explosion rocked the floating island, vibrating the metal plates under my boots. Alarms began shrieking, and the heavy footsteps of guards rushed past my hiding spot, heading toward the blazing armory.

The path was clear.

I slipped into the main laboratory. It was a massive, cavernous room filled with chemical vats and surgical tables. Above the launch bays, suspended on heavy mechanical chains, were dozens of colossal artillery shells filled with a glowing, neon-green liquid.

I approached the main terminal on the central desk and quickly began typing, bypassing some of Dr. Indigo’s rudimentary security protocols.

I brought up the chemical blueprints. I assumed the green liquid was some sort of explosive, but as my eyes scanned the data, my blood ran ice cold.

Project: IQ Pathogen.

It was a medical report, my horror growing with every line. In its unrefined state, the chemical was a hyper-aggressive, airborne mutagen. The moment it entered a respiratory system, it violently attacked cellular structures, forcing agonizing, rapid, and entirely fatal mutations. Anything that breathed it would rot and tear itself apart from the inside out within minutes.

Shiki was preparing to gas the entire center of the island, to win this war. He was trying to wipe out the refugees, Enel’s forces, and our crew in one single, cowardly strike, it looks like he gave up on the idea of enslaving the people of this land.

I drew Kikoku, stepping back from the terminal. I had to destroy the shells before they could be loaded into the cannons.

“Room…..”

Before the dome could fully form, a massive shadow fell over me. The ambient gravity in the laboratory suddenly spiked, multiplying by fifty.

I allmost slammed face-first into the metal grating, the breath violently forced from my lungs. The sheer pressure felt like a mountain had been dropped on my spine. My nodachi clattered out of my hand, skidding across the floor.

“Sneaking into a man’s laboratory is incredibly rude,” a squeaky, manic voice echoed through the room.

I struggled to turn my head. Dr. Indigo was walking toward me, flanked by a towering, hulking mutant gorilla wearing a tailored sui, Scarlet, the executive commander. The beast had a gravity-dial apparatus strapped to its chest, radiating the oppressive weight keeping me pinned.

“The Surgeon of Death,” Dr. Indigo giggled, adjusting his colorful scarf. “Shiki said your Warlord captain might try something sneaky. Unfortunately for you, the artillery is already primed. But don’t worry… we’ll let you watch the fireworks before Scarlet crushes your skull.”

[Peter POV]

Ten minutes earlier.

Enel’s Golden Shrine was a monument to absolute, blinding arrogance. It was beautiful, massive, and heavily guarded by ranks of White Berets.

I pressed the stud on my Ghost Touch vest, feeling the familiar, freezing hum wash over my body as the world turned translucent blue. I simply walked forward, phasing straight through the outer golden walls, leaving the guards completely unaware.

Inside, the shrine was a labyrinth of corridors. I needed to draw the Elite Priests away from the inner sanctum. I pulled out the blue box and pressed the button multiple times.

Poof. Poof. Poof. Poof.

“I’m Mr. Meeseeks!”

“You and You Go to the eastern courtyard,” I whispered to the blue creature. “Find a cache of explosive Dials and detonate them. Make as much noise as possible.”

“Ooh, I’m Mr. Meeseeks, can do!”

“You and You Go and search the entire structure and if you find any captives, free them and smuggle them outside the shrine, and avoid getting caught, fight anyone you have and kill if necessary.”

The creatures sprinted down the hall. A few minutes later, a catastrophic explosion shattered the eastern wing of the shrine. I heard the furious shouts of Enel’s Priests as they rushed toward the blast zone, leaving the path to the sanctum wide open.

I phased through the intricately carved floor, dropping down, down, down, completely bypassing the main halls, until I landed in a massive, hidden subterranean cavern.

I deactivated my intangibility to conserve power, catching my breath as I looked up.

My jaw dropped.

Docked in the center of the cavern was a colossal, golden flying ship. The Ark Maxim. It was a marvel of engineering, covered in massive rotors and conducting rods designed to channel pure electricity.

“The gears are set. The gold is aligned,” a calm, echoing voice spoke from the deck of the ship.

I ducked behind a massive stack of golden crates, holding my breath.

“God” Enel was standing on the bow of the ship, his golden staff resting on his shoulder. He was talking to himself, his eyes staring blankly at the cavern ceiling as if he could see the sky beyond it.

“This war has become a tedious bore,” Enel mused coldly, electricity sparking off his earlobes. “The Golden Lion drops his filth on my Vearth, and now Blue Sea vermin dare to declare themselves rulers of my domain? It is a mockery of divinity.”

He raised a hand, and the massive rotors of the Ark Maxim began to slowly spin, humming with raw, terrifying power.

“I am done playing with them,” Enel declared, a twisted, euphoric smile spreading across his face. “I will take the Ark to the skies. I will unleash Raigo upon them. And with its help I will unleash a thunder so massive, so absolute, it will vaporize the entirety of Skypiea and Angel Island. I will drop this corrupted land back into the Blue Sea where it belongs, and take my rightful place in the Fairy Vearth.”

My blood ran cold. He was going to nuke the entire island, his idea of winning the war was to kill everyone but himself. Everyone, the Skypieans, the Shandians, Wyper, Isa, Aisa, my cousins, they would all be instantly vaporized.

I had to get back to the camp. I had to warn Victor.

I carefully took a step backward, reaching for my chest stud to activate the Ghost Touch.

But as my boot shifted, it caught the edge of a heavy, iron wrench left behind by one of the shipwrights. The tool clattered loudly off the edge of the golden crate, hitting the stone floor with a sharp, ringing clang.

I froze.

The humming of the Ark’s rotors stopped instantly.

Slowly, Enel turned his head. His eyes locked directly onto the crates I was hiding behind. The arrogant, bored expression melted away, replaced by a mask of sheer, crackling wrath.

“A rat,” Enel whispered.

Blue electricity flared in his eyes, and the entire cavern lit up with blinding, lethal light.