Meeting Conis, Jacob goes to the Upper Yard

The South Bird screeched, flapping wildly in Yamato's arms.

"Hah?! Why should I let it go?" Yamato protested, holding the bird like a sacred relic.

Jacob sighed, already regretting letting her carry it. "Because it's loud, annoying, and we no longer need it."

Nami crossed her arms. "It'll draw too much attention, Oden. If someone hears it, we might get ambushed."

Yamato pouted, glaring at the bird like it had personally betrayed her. But after a long, dramatic sigh, she finally let it go.

The bird squawked angrily before flying off into the white clouds, disappearing into the vast White Sea.

"There. Happy?" Yamato grumbled, folding her arms.

Jacob nodded. "Good. Now let's split up."

"Nami, Porsche, Kaya—you three head to Angel Island."

Porsche, arms behind her head, smirked. "Why do I have to go with them?"

"Because I said so," Jacob replied bluntly.

Nami ignored their bickering and nodded. "I'll study the cloud structures and see if we can use them for our mobile fortress."

Kaya frowned. "I want to come with you, Jacob."

Jacob gave her a soft smile but shook his head. "No. Angel Island is safer. I need you to learn as much as possible about the Skypieans and their medical knowledge."

Kaya pouted but eventually nodded.

"Fine. But be careful."

Jacob patted her head nicely. "Always."

"Yamato, Kuina, Carina, Desire—you're coming with me."

"Hold up." Desire raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly are we getting there?"

Jacob crouched down, gesturing to his back. "Climb on."

There was an awkward silence.

Kuina blinked. "…All of us?"

Jacob nodded.

Yamato cackled, immediately jumping onto Jacob's back. "Heh, hope you're strong enough, Jacob!"

Kuina hesitated, then sighed and climbed on as well.

Carina and Desire exchanged glances. "…This is weird."

Carina shook her head but hopped on anyway, while Desire sighed and climbed on last.

Jacob, now loaded with four women, took a deep breath. "Alright, hold on tight."

Jacob launched into the sky with a mighty burst, flying toward Upper Yard.

Below them, Nami, Porsche, and Kaya watched as they vanished into the clouds.

Porsche huffed. "Man, why do they get the fun part?"

Nami smirked. "Because we're the smart ones."

Porsche raised an eyebrow. "…Are we, though?"

Nami ignored her and started steering her cloud toward Angel Island.

***

Nami, Porsche, and Kaya floated toward a massive gate of pure white clouds. At the entrance, an old woman with tiny white wings stood peacefully on a floating cloud.

"Welcome to Heaven's Gate." The old woman's voice was calm yet eerie.

She raised a thin, wrinkled hand and spoke in a monotone. "Entry fee: 1 billion extols per person."

Kaya nearly choked. "1 b-b-billion?!"

Porsche gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. "Lady, are you robbing us?!"

Nami narrowed her eyes. "One billion berries per person? That's insane!"

The old woman didn't react. "Not berries. Extols."

Porsche scratched her head. "Uh… what's the difference?"

The old woman remained silent.

Kaya whispered to Nami, "What if extols are actually super cheap?"

Nami wasn't taking any chances. "I'm not paying some ridiculous toll."

She controlled their cloud to accelerate forward, blasting past Heaven's Gate.

The old woman didn't even flinch as they sped past. Her smile never faded.

She picked up a Den Den Mushi and pressed a button.

"Three illegal entrants have been detected."

***

Jacob landed gracefully atop a gargantuan tree in Upper Yard. His passengers, however, weren't as composed.

"Ugh… I am never flying with you again." Desire clutched her stomach, her face green.

Carina chuckled as she helped Desire down. "I dunno, I thought it was kinda fun."

Kuina adjusted her sword belt and looked around. "So, this is Upper Yard…"

Yamato, on the other hand, was already climbing a tree. "This place feels so different from Wano! It's all sky but also land! Haha, this is amazing!"

From their vantage point, they could see a tense chase unfolding below.

A tall, dark-skinned man with slender wings pursued another man with smaller wings.

Before the fleeing man could get far, a massive thunderbolt erupted from the sky, striking him down instantly.

The tall, winged man smirked.

"Criminal." His voice was cold, laced with amusement.

Jacob's eyes narrowed. He knew who sent the thunderbolt. Enel.

***

Nami, Porche, and Kaya stepped off the cloud onto the soft, fluffy white beach. The feeling was unlike anything they had ever experienced—like walking on cotton.

Before they could marvel, a young woman with tiny, feathery wings and golden blonde hair approached. She smiled gently and wore a yellow summer dress with shell-like ornaments.

"Welcome to Angel Island, Heso!" she greeted with a polite smile.

The girls blinked in surprise. She looks just like an angel.

"I'm Conis," the winged woman introduced herself. "You must be visitors from the Blue Sea."

Porche poked on the fluffy cloud island with her boot. "This place is so weird."

Kaya, meanwhile, was captivated by Conis' wings. "Are these real?" she asked before stopping herself. "Oh, that was rude! Sorry—"

Conis giggled. "It's fine, Heso. Many Blue Sea dwellers ask that."

She then gestured toward their heads. "Don't Blue Sea dwellers have to style their hairstyle like an antennae?"

Nami raised an eyebrow. "Antennae?"

Conis pointed to her own hairstyle, where strands of her golden hair were styled upward into a shape resembling an antenna. "It is part of our tradition. Many Skypieans do this deliberately since we were young."

Porche snorted. "That's kind of cute, actually."

Conis tilted her head slightly. "What brings you here?"

Nami crossed her arms. "We want to study how the Sky Islands work. The clouds, the buildings, the land. Everything."

Conis looked intrigued. "That is unusual. Most visitors only care about dials and gold…"

Kaya, now holding a notebook, spoke eagerly. "We think this technology could be really beneficial if we can bring some of it down to the Blue Sea."

Conis thought for a moment, then smiled. "I'd be happy to help."

***

Jacob and the girls stood on the gargantuan tree branches of Upper Yard, the lush green jungle humming with an eerie stillness after the thunderbolt strike. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Jacob turned to the group, his gaze serious.

"Listen up. There's a Thunder Logia user here. He's insanely powerful, and I want to fight him."

Yamato's eyes sparkled with excitement. "A strong opponent? Then I'll—"

"No," Jacob interrupted firmly, pleading with his hands. "Please, just this once, let me handle it. I need to unlock my Armament Haki."

Yamato pouted but crossed her arms. "Fine, but if you start losing, I'm stepping in."

Jacob sighed inwardly. Good enough.

He pulled out the Seastone Jitte and handed it to Carina.

"If I go down, use this. Seastone can hurt him."

Carina took the weapon carefully, her blue eyes narrowing. "I don't like this plan, but okay."

Jacob turned to Kuina and Desire.

"You two, come with me. If things go bad, back me up."

Kuina nodded, resting her hand on Wado Ichimonji. "Understood."

Desire folded her arms, grinning slightly. "On one condition, you have to let me go after this."

Jacob looked at her straight in the eye. "Denied."

Now, the tricky part. Jacob needed to reach Enel's domain.

"Carina, try using your echolocation, mixed with a bit of observation haki, to locate him."

Carina nodded and closed her eyes; Ripples could be seen, focusing around her.

Opening her eyes, Carina said, "Found him."

Jacob nodded and pointed toward the Milky Way, a long, fragile cloud river stretching across the sky.

"Oden, I need you to check that pathway and see if it's stable."

Yamato blinked. "Huh? But what about—"

"Just a quick check," Jacob said, forcing an innocent smile.

When Yamato walked onto the cloud river, Jacob grabbed Kuina, Carina, and Desire and shot into the sky at full speed.

"HEY! YOU TRICKED ME!" Yamato's angry voice echoed behind them.

Jacob grinned as he flew toward the hidden temple. Now, time to kick Enel's ass.

***

Conis led Nami, Kaya, and Porche through the winding, cloud-paved paths of Angel Island, guiding them toward her home. The cloud city felt surreal, with its soft, cushion-like ground and buildings seemingly sculpted from clouds. The girls couldn't help but marvel at the strange yet beautiful structures.

Arriving at Conis' house, they entered to find a bald, bearded man tinkering with a strange device.

"Father, we have guests," Conis said warmly. "This is Nami, Kaya, and… Porche, Heso."

Pagaya looked up, wiping his hands with a rag. "Ah, visitors from the Blue Sea? Welcome! Please, make yourselves at home, Heso."

Before anyone could reply, Porche suddenly pointed at a nearby waver—a small, motorized skyboat.

"Hey, old man! Can I borrow that?" she asked eagerly. "That thing looks fun!"

Pagaya blinked in surprise. "Oh, my waver? Well, I suppose if you—"

"That's not important!" Nami cut in, rolling her eyes.

She set down a set of small containers and took out her own controlled cloud, stretching it out like a sheet.

"I need samples of every cloud type here," she stated. "I want to see if I can replicate them with my power."

Pagaya's eyebrows raised in curiosity. "You have cloud-related abilities? Fascinating!"

While Nami carefully took bits of different clouds and analyzed their structure, Kaya sat beside Pagaya, eagerly taking notes.

"Please tell me more about the Sky Island community," Kaya requested politely.

Pagaya smiled at her genuine curiosity and began explaining how Sky Islanders lived their history and the importance of dials.

Meanwhile, Porche sulked in the corner, glaring at Nami.

"Tch. You guys are so boring."