A new Thunder Queen?

As the deep chime of the golden bell faded, Aisa's small body trembled.

She rushed past Nami and the others, running straight to her unconscious cousin, Raki. 

"Raki!" Aisa cried out, shaking her. Raki groaned but didn't wake up.

Gan Fall dismounted Pierre and knelt beside the fallen Shandians, his face heavy with concern.

Meanwhile, Jacob gathered his crew. 

"Let's move to the Ark Maxim," he commanded. "There's something I want to check." 

The girls nodded in agreement.

The golden-flying ship, Ark Maxim, sat in a wrecked state—broken yet gleaming. 

Jacob analyzed its structure, scanning the bizarre Birkan technology and lightning-powered mechanisms. He was impressed but also noticed its flaws. 

"Can we fix it?" Carina asked, her curiosity piqued. 

Jacob shook his head. "No need. Desire, trap it in your card." 

Desire nodded nervously and placed her hand on the massive ship. A red glow enveloped the big airship, and Ark Maxim shrank, absorbed into a single card. 

Jacob smirked. "Now we own a flying ship."

Next, they traveled to the ruins of Shandora.

The ancient city was overgrown with cloud plants, yet traces of its grandeur remained. 

Massive golden ruins lay partially buried in the clouds, remnants of the city that once stood proud. 

Nami's greedy eyes darted everywhere as she calculated how much gold they could take. 

Desire was fascinated. "These ruins must be centuries old…"

Jacob surveyed the surrounding area. 

As golden coins clinked and shimmered, Nami and Carina dove into the treasure pile, laughing like maniacs. 

"We're rich!" Nami squealed, tossing handfuls of Shandorian gold into the air. 

Carina, equally ecstatic, hugged a sizeable golden goblet and smirked. "Forget robbing casinos; this is the real jackpot!" 

Kuina ran her fingers along a golden blade, mildly intrigued. "These weapons are still in good shape," she muttered. 

Meanwhile, Desire and Porche had mixed reactions. 

Desire sat on the ground, overwhelmed. "I can't believe we're actually swimming in gold…" she whispered. 

Porche was utterly uninterested in the treasure. She clutched Suu, the little cloud fox, in her arms and pouted. "I don't care about gold. I want this little guy!" 

Yamato's attention shifted, her red eyes sparkling as she stared at Suu. 

"Awww, it's so fluffy!" Yamato reached out, trying to pet the cloud fox. 

Sensing danger, Suu released a small, scared "Suu~!" and clung tighter to Porche. 

"Stay away, Monster Girl!" Porche shouted, turning away protectively.

Ignoring their antics, Jacob turned to Desire. 

"Desire, trap the gold in your card." 

Desire gulped. She had already trapped Ark Maxim earlier, and now this mountain of gold would push her limits. 

"F-Fine…!" 

She placed her hands on the golden ruins. A red glow started to envelop a portion of the area, and then suddenly, it turned into a card.

 Desire did what she did to the other artifacts: gold coins and statues. Everything was enveloped in red light and turned into a card until her legs wobbled.

"Okay… okay… I think I got most of it…" she panted. Sne then turned to look at Jacob. She took a deep breath and said. "My devil fruit has limitations; I can only make fifty-two cards daily; if you want me to trap these, we must wait until tomorrow."

Jacob looked at the gold. Even after her efforts, about thirty-five percent of the treasure remained. 

Desire slumped to the ground, exhausted. "But… I don't think I can make any card tomorrow. This is the first time I have created fifty-two cards simultaneously." 

Jacob looked at the remaining gold and nodded. 

"That's fine. We'll figure something out. Thank you, Desire, you did a great job. I'll give you priority when choosing from this loot. " 

***

With the help of Conis and Gan Fall, Kaya moved swiftly between the injured Shandian warriors scattered around the ruins of God's Palace. 

"Hold still," Kaya said gently, placing her glowing hands on Kamakiri's wounds. Her palms glowed white; they pulsed with warmth, accelerating his healing. 

Kamakiri groaned and blinked awake. "W-what happened?" 

"You fought," Conis said with a relieved smile, wringing out a wet cloth to clean his wounds. "And… you lost." 

Kamakiri gritted his teeth but sighed, accepting it. 

They regained consciousness all around them, some sitting up groggily, others looking around in confusion. 

That was when drums echoed from the deep jungle.

A procession of warriors emerged from the thick forest, led by the Shandian chief himself, an old yet imposing man. 

Behind him, dozens of Shandians walked in formation. They had heard the bell, and although many were confused about the situation, they came to see who had won the battle for Upper Yard. 

At the same time, a group of Skypieans arrived, drawn by the same curiosity. 

Gan Fall, standing beside Kaya, frowned. "This might get tense." 

Conis clutched her hands together nervously.

Above them, a large storm cloud formed. 

Both the Skypieans and Shandians turned their gazes upward. 

Jacob and the girls arrived from the sky on Nami's floating cloud, landing in front of the gathered crowd. 

The warriors, both Shandian and Skypiean, tensed instinctively. 

Jacob stepped forward, facing the Shandian Chief and Gan Fall. 

"We need to talk." 

***

Inside the large bedroom aboard Nami's island-sized cloud construct, the atmosphere was warm and intimate. The room was furnished with cushions, a soft white lantern, and the faint scent of herbs.

Jacob sat at the center of a large fluffy cloud bed, arms wrapped around the beautiful women who had chosen to follow him.

Nami, resting against his chest, smirked smugly. "Ten billion berries worth of gold," she repeated, twirling her orange hair between her fingers. "And that's before we even count the Ark Maxim, which is probably worth another seven or eight billion."

Carina, who had been lazily tracing circles on Jacob's arm, grinned. "If we liquidate all that treasure properly… we'll be richer than most East Blue royals."

"Hmm," Jacob hummed. "And I didn't even get my fight against Enel…" He pouted slightly.

Yamato, lying on her stomach beside him, laughed loudly. "Hey! I got impatient! He was annoying!" She lifted her hand in a playful motion, as if she were about to slam it down on Jacob.

"You ruined my fight," Jacob muttered, pinching her cheek.

"Eh-hehe," Yamato grinned but didn't resist.

Kuina sat nearby, leaning back on her elbows. Unlike Nami and Carina, who were actively flaunting their affection, she enjoyed the warm company.

Kaya, meanwhile, sat stiffly at Jacob's side.

She had finally, finally become a part of Jacob's romantic life, but…

As she watched Nami boldly kiss Jacob's cheek, and Carina teasefully nibble at his ear, her face burned red.

She wanted to feel happy, to be included—but the reality of sharing still left her flustered.

Jacob noticed her hesitation. He shifted slightly, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"You good?" he murmured, his voice only for her.

Kaya swallowed. "…I think so."

Jacob smirked. "You're cute when you're nervous."

Kaya glared at him half-heartedly. "Don't tease me…"

Just as things were getting more intimate, with Carina and Nami taking the lead, Yamato, who had been watching with curious interest, suddenly moved closer.

"Hmm…" she rested her chin in her palm. "I was just watching at first, but… this looks kinda fun."

The girls froze.

"…Wait, wait," Nami held up her hand. "Oden, you're just messing with us, right?"

Yamato tilted her head. "Why would I be?"

Carina grinned, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Hooo? Our big Oni girl is actually interested?"

Kuina exhaled, shaking her head. "This is going to be chaotic."

Kaya, meanwhile, looked utterly overwhelmed.

And Jacob?

He just laughed. "You girls are insane."

Yamato smiled mischievously and pushed him down onto the cloud bed.

"Let's test that theory."

***

Sitting near the fireplace aboard Nami's floating cloud, Conis and Raki were quiet, both clearly trying to ignore the suspicious noises coming from Jacob's chamber.

Porche, on the other hand, was completely unbothered. She sat comfortably, hugging Suu like a plush toy, her feet dangling as she hummed a little tune.

"…A-Anyway," Conis said, trying to distract herself. "I still don't understand why I'm suddenly a war spoil."

Raki, who looked grumpy, crossed her arms. "Tch. I don't like it either. But…" she glanced toward her rifle, which was now resting beside her instead of in her hands. "He beat Wyper, and the strongest warrior leads. That's our way."

Conis sighed. "Skypieans don't have that tradition…"

"Well, maybe you should," Raki snorted.

Porche giggled. "You'll get used to it. Jacob's actually a really nice playboy."

Conis's face flushed red again.

Trying to change the subject, Conis pointed at the fruit basket. "Here, try this one. You haven't eaten much."

Raki, who had been picking at her meal, glanced at the basket and grabbed a strange yellow fruit with weirdly shaped swirls decorating its skin.

The second she bit into it, her face contorted in disgust.

"Bleh! What the hell is this?!" Raki gagged, trying to spit it out.

But the bite was already swallowed.

Suddenly, her body trembled, and sparks flickered across her fingertips.

"R-Raki?" Conis asked, alarmed.

The Shandian girl stumbled, gripping the carpeted floor of the cloud. "I—I feel weird…"

Porche, still hugging Suu, blinked. "Huh? That kinda looked like lightning just now."

Before Raki could respond, her hand twitched—and a sudden burst of electricity shot out, zapping the fireplace!

"KYAAAA!!!" Conis screamed, jumping away.

Porche giggled. "Ooooh, you got a Devil Fruit!"

"…WHAT?!" Raki snapped her head toward her.

Porche nodded. "Yup! Only Devil Fruits do that kind of thing. What kind of fruit was that?"

Still shocked, Raki looked at her hands, which were still flickering with electricity.

"…Did I just eat a lightning fruit?!"

Conis's face paled. "I—It can't be… Wasn't that God Enel's ability?!"

As realization dawned, Raki's expression shifted from confusion to something else.

Something… exciting.

"…Heh." A grin spread across her face as she held up her palm, where tiny blue sparks now danced at her fingertips.

Conis, still shaken, stammered, "Y-You don't even know how to control it yet!"

But Raki only laughed.

"Tch… Wyper's gonna be pissed he missed this."