60: Chapter 60 The Natural Disaster That Shattered the White Clouds

The ship broke through the thick layer of black cumulonimbus clouds.

The physical kinetic energy of the warship's ascent began to decay rapidly. Earth's gravity recaptured the massive metal hull.

At the base of the main mast, Mikita stopped the operation of her Devil Fruit rules. Her ten fingers detached from the dark gold deck. The absolute lightness barrier of one kilogram collapsed with a roar.

Thousands of tons of physical mass instantly returned to every steel plate and every keel.

Boom.

The heavy warship chassis slammed downward. Below lay an endless sea of white clouds.

The physical structure of the cloud sea surface underwent violent deformation after bearing the pressure of several thousand tons of gravity. The white clouds were pushed aside, and a massive basin with a diameter of several hundred meters sank in the central area.

The high-density wapol metal armor wrapping the ship's hull erupted with astonishing displacement. After sinking a few meters, the warship relied on its massive buoyancy to remain firmly stuck on the surface layer of the cloud sea.

White cloud wisps rolled and rubbed along the edges of the dark gold armor, emitting a rustling sound similar to shifting quicksand.

The air became thin. The oxygen content plummeted off a cliff, with readings dropping directly to one-third of the sea-level value.

The barometer needle spun wildly, settling in the red alert zone. The temperature plummeted below freezing.

Cold air spread through the gaps in the deck, condensing the remaining water vapor into a fine layer of white frost.

Nami's legs went weak, and she slumped onto the edge of the mahogany helm.

Her lungs expanded desperately, gulping down the thin, freezing air. The efficiency of oxygen exchange in her alveoli dropped significantly, and the lack of oxygen caused an abnormal flush to appear on her fair cheeks.

Sweat slid down her forehead, freezing into tiny ice beads before it could even hit the deck.

Paula braced her arms against the metal railing. Black thorn barbs grew from the gaps of her ten fingernails. The tips of the thorns pierced the wapol metal surface, digging into the steel plate inside, thereby stabilizing her swaying, delicate body.

Her chest heaved violently, relying on breath-holding techniques trained during her time as an agent to forcibly reduce her body's oxygen consumption.

Nojiko opened her portable sheepskin medical notebook.

Her slender fingers flipped through the pages, searching for a drug formula to treat high-altitude low-pressure reactions. She drew the silver scalpel from her waist, cut a few dried medicinal leaves that could dilate blood vessels, and stuffed them into her mouth to chew. The bitter juice flowed down her throat, forcibly stimulating her central nervous system.

Chopper lay on the deck. Its blue nose puffed out a stream of white ice crystals. The Zoan Devil Fruit endowed it with a powerful physiological adaptation mechanism. Its lung capacity regulated spontaneously, its respiratory tract expanded, and it adapted to the low-pressure environment in a short time.

It stood up and rummaged through the heavy wooden medical chest for a few bottles of red concentrated oxygen solution.

Alvida drew her blue-gray pure Sea Stone rapier with one hand. As the blade was exposed to the air, the low temperature on the metal surface instantly stripped away the surrounding heat, forming a thin layer of frost.

She rotated her wrist and thrust the sword tip out flat, cutting through the white clouds beside her. The physical resistance transmitted back from the sword blade confirmed that this cloud sea possessed a special density capable of supporting solids.

Deep in the hold. Sea Cow Mohmoo was bound by pure steel chains.

The water temperature in the tank dropped sharply. The sea beast stopped flapping its thick tail fin, its heartbeat slowed, and it entered a low-energy dormant state to combat the oxygen deprivation.

The living eggbeater in Makino's hand kept its pig-iron mouth tightly shut.

The bio-electricity of the Devil Fruit slowed its circulation at low temperatures. The surface of the metal handle was covered in a layer of frost, and it stopped the action of chewing scrap metal.

The line of sight crossed the cloud boundary of tens of thousands of meters.

The God's Kingdom, Upper Yard.

This was a massive island covered by ancient soil. Thick, ancient vines like coiled dragons were rooted deep in the cloud soil. The vine skin was covered in cracks, devoid of life, yet still supported the massive complex of buildings. At the top of the island stood a magnificent Throne of God.

The wide seat was cast from pure gold. The surface was carved with complex lightning patterns and ancient Sky Island totems. A man leaned against the back of the chair.

Eneru. His upper body was bare, and four taiko drums engraved with three-tomoe patterns were embedded in his back. Earlobes half a meter long hung on both sides of his shoulders, with pure gold rings dangling at the ends. He wore loose harem pants on his lower body and was barefoot.

He held a green apple in his right hand.

His left elbow rested on the pure gold armrest. Observation Haki, utilizing the electromagnetic waves of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, formed an invisible electromagnetic radar network. This network covered the entire airspace of the Sky Island.

Faint bio-electric signals, air vibration frequencies, and material mass movements were all received and processed by his central nervous system.

In the electromagnetic radar of his mind, a massive foreign object appeared.

Thousands of tons of metal mass. Ten life signs of varying strength. This behemoth had directly penetrated the cloud defense line and landed rudely on the edge of the White Sea.

Eneru opened his eyes. There was no emotion in his pupils, only the indifference of looking down at ants.

His teeth bit through the apple skin. The flesh was chewed up. The sweet and sour juice slid down his esophagus into his stomach. His Adam's apple bobbed once.

He raised his right index finger. The fingertip pointed at the ceiling.

The natural rules of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit were activated. Bright white electric charges overflowed from his fingertip. Positive and negative charges separated, rubbed, and collided in the air. In the sky above, large patches of black thunderclouds quickly piled up. The air pressure changed drastically.

Free electrons gathered frantically inside the cloud layer. The voltage reading soared to ten million volts within milliseconds.

Eneru's index finger coldly traced a straight trajectory downward.

The sea area where the ship was located. The azure sky was instantly swallowed by black. Thick cumulonimbus clouds pressed down on the top of the mast. Blinding white light flashed inside the clouds. Free electrons in the air underwent high-frequency friction.

A pungent smell of ozone permeated the deck. The air pressure pressed against the hull, and the wooden deck let out an unbearable creaking sound.

Rice stood at the bow. Observation Haki captured the energy riot high above his head two seconds in advance. A pure white thunderbolt piercing heaven and earth appeared in his mind.

"Retreat into the cabin."

Rice spoke. His throat vibrated, and his voice, like pig iron rubbing together, pierced through the airflow and slammed into the eardrums of every crew member.

Paula reached out her left hand, grabbed Nami's arm, and forcibly dragged her toward the main cabin.

Alvida sheathed her sword, her figure flashing as she covered Vivi and Nojiko's retreat. Mikita grabbed the fur on the back of Chopper's neck and kicked the cabin door open. Everyone filed in. The heavy wapol metal door slammed shut. The brass lock clicked firmly into place.

Only Rice remained on the deck.

Boom——!!

A pure white thunder pillar with a diameter of five meters, like a long spear thrown from the heavens, tore through the clouds and slammed straight toward the bow of the ship. The speed of the thunder pillar's descent approached the speed of light. The air along the way was instantly heated to tens of thousands of degrees.

The expanding air exploded into a ring of ghastly white sonic boom clouds. The shockwave forcibly pushed away the surrounding white sea clouds, forming a vacuum zone.

[Judgment of God].

Rice did not dodge. His legs were slightly bent. His soles crushed the surface solid wood deck, and his feet were nailed firmly to the dark gold wapol metal armor below. He grabbed the collar of his white shirt with both hands and exerted force roughly to the sides.

Rip. The cotton fabric was torn into countless pieces by pure physical strength.

As the cloth pieces drifted into the air, they were carbonized by the high temperature at the edge of the thunder pillar, turning into black fly ash. The fly ash dissipated with the wind. His bronze-colored upper body was completely exposed to the violent thunder field. Pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi.

Every muscle was in a state of absolute tension. The muscle fibers were twisted like steel cables.

The thunder pillar swallowed Rice's torso.

Blinding white light enveloped the entire front half of the warship.

The dark gold armor surface erupted with dense blue electric arcs under this terrifying electric energy. The metal's conductivity channeled part of the current into the cloud sea below, and large patches of white steam exploded on the surface of the cloud sea.

The high temperature of tens of thousands of degrees attempted to melt Rice's skin, carbonize his bones, and evaporate the blood in his body.

But inside Rice's body, the lightning power smelted into the depths of his cells at the Loguetown execution platform fully awakened after suffering high-pressure stimulation of the same source and kind.

The mitochondria in the cell nuclei operated frantically. The violent bio-electricity broke through the limitations of the neural synapses, forming an invisible high-frequency reverse current beneath his skin and flesh.

The ten-million-volt natural thunderstrike pierced through the skin surface but did not tear his internal organs.

Rice's body turned into a huge energy pump. The violent current poured frantically into his body along his pores, blood vessels, and meridians.

Blood flow speed soared. Heartbeat frequency reached three hundred times per minute.

The dull heartbeat was like a war drum, piercing through the thunder and echoing on the deck. A crisp sound of pig iron being forged came from deep in his bone marrow. The power of thunder was violently tempering and compressing at the cellular level.

Three seconds passed.

The pure white thunder pillar was forcibly drained dry.

The last wisp of electric light drilled into Rice's palm. The black thunderclouds in the sky lost their energy support and disintegrated with the wind. Sunlight shone down again.

Rice stood in the charred charcoal ruins caused by the thunderstrike. There was no charring on his skin surface. His entire torso presented a breathtaking dark red blood color, like a peerless fierce weapon just quenched in a furnace.

Large clumps of scalding white steam sprayed frantically out through his pores. Rice opened his mouth and spat out a hot white mist mixed with plasma. The white mist dissipated rapidly in the cold air. Blue electric arcs jumped happily on his ten fingertips, making crackling popping sounds.

He raised his head, his violent black eyes piercing through the tens of thousands of meters of cloud sea distance, locking straight onto the direction of the Throne of God in Upper Yard. Prey, confirmed.

Inside the cabin. Outside the heavy windproof glass window, the white light dissipated. Robin leaned against the metal cabin wall, her azure eyes looking through the glass at the black-haired man who was unscathed and steaming all over.

Her heart contracted violently.

The destructive power of that thunderstrike was enough to split a warship loaded with cannons in half. But that man had actually carried it head-on with his physical body. He had even swallowed all that violent natural energy.

"Monster..." Paula whispered, her voice trembling slightly.

Alvida tightened her grip on the sword hilt, her white porcelain-like face expressionless, a trace of awe flashing in the depths of her eyes.

Rice turned around and strode toward the cabin door. His soles stepped on the charred wooden boards, leaving deep footprints. He reached out his right hand covered with blue electric arcs and pushed open the brass door lock. The heavy metal door was pulled open.

"Come out." Rice commanded.

The crew members walked out of the cabin. The air on the deck still retained a rich smell of ozone.

Rice pointed to a beach in front of the bow. It was a beach made of soft white sand. At the edge of the beach, several uniquely shaped Sky Island plants grew. Several domed white buildings dotted the back of the beach.

"Dock." Rice walked to the helm and issued navigation orders.

Nami took a deep breath and gripped the ship's wheel with both hands. The warship slowly turned its direction, the dark gold ram pushing aside the clouds, heading toward that white beach.

A few minutes later. The ship's keel touched the soft sand.

A dull rubbing sound was heard. The gangplank was lowered.

On the beach, two people stood. A young girl wearing a white robe with a pair of small white wings on her back. Conis. Beside her was her father, Pagaya. Both of them looked at the massive dark gold metal warship with shock on their faces. They had never seen such a huge steel monster that could rush directly from the Blue Sea to the White Sea.

Rice walked down the gangplank.

The dark red skin gradually returned to its original bronze color. The tension in his muscles relaxed slightly. He stopped in front of Conis, looking down at the Sky Island girl from above.

Before Rice could speak. In the distant sky, a roar of engines came.

More than a dozen uniquely shaped Wavers slid at high speed on the cloud sea, kicking up waves of white spray. On the Wavers stood a group of soldiers wearing white uniforms and white berets. They held strange shell weapons in their hands, with cold expressions.

White Beret Unit. The grassroots enforcers of the God's Kingdom.

The Wavers stopped at the edge of the beach. The captain, McKinley, jumped off the Waver.

He puffed out his chest, his gaze sweeping over Rice and the ship. "Blue Sea people. You have illegally invaded the God's Kingdom without permission. According to the law, you must pay a huge fine of 10 billion Extols each. If you refuse to pay, we will seize your warship and carry out a forced arrest."

McKinley drew the sword at his waist. The soldiers behind him raised their shell weapons one after another, aiming at Rice.

Rice didn't even blink.

He had one hand in his pocket, not looking back.

"Alvida. Clean up the trash."

As soon as the words fell. Alvida stepped in leather boots and leaped off the gangplank.

Her figure turned into an afterimage, instantly rushing into the formation of the White Beret Unit.

The blue-gray pure Sea Stone rapier was drawn. The blade tore through the air, bringing up a straight cold light.

Puchi. The sword in McKinley's hand was forcibly cut off by the Sea Stone rapier. The blade's momentum did not decrease, accurately piercing into McKinley's right shoulder blade. The bone shattered. McKinley let out a scream, his body flying backward, slamming heavily onto the metal shell of the Waver.

Alvida flipped her wrist. The sword tip shuttled through the crowd at high speed. She didn't use any fancy sword moves. Only the most basic thrusts, parries, and slashes. The extremely high density of the Sea Stone endowed the rapier with terrifying physical kinetic energy.

Every collision was accompanied by the shattering of steel shields and the breaking of bones. The Sky Island shell weapons that the enforcement soldiers were proud of had their internal energy completely suppressed the moment they touched the Sea Stone, turning into a pile of useless dead objects.

In less than a minute. More than a dozen White Beret soldiers all fell on the beach. Blood stained the white sand red. Screams rose one after another. The Waver engines were still idling, making a buzzing noise.

Alvida flicked her wrist.

The blood drops on the blade splattered into the sand.

The long sword was sheathed. It made a crisp metallic clatter. She retreated behind Rice, expressionless, as if she had just casually swatted a few flies to death.

Conis was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground. She covered her mouth with both hands, her pupils dilated.

Pagaya was trembling all over, unable to say a word. On the Sky Island, the White Berets represented the vanguard of God's judgment. No one had ever dared to disable them all so cleanly and neatly.

Rice lowered his head, looking at the collapsed Conis.

He reached out his thick right hand. His five fingers, like iron pliers, pinched Conis's fair neck. The immense force lifted the girl off the ground.

"You... what do you want..." Conis struggled desperately, her hands pounding on Rice's arm. The white wings on her back flapped weakly. Rice's bronze arm did not budge.

"We need a guide." Rice carried Conis and turned to walk onto the gangplank.

His pace was steady, making the wooden boards creak. He forcibly dragged the girl toward the main cabin of the ship. The brass door lock was pushed open. Rice threw Conis into the cabin and closed the door behind him.

"Set sail." Rice's voice pierced through the cabin door and reached the deck.

"Target, Upper Yard."

Nami turned the ship's wheel. The Sea Cow Mohmoo in the hold straightened the chains again.

The dark gold warship crushed the edge of the beach, and against the backdrop of blood, it pushed forward ruthlessly toward the massive island entangled by vines.