Chapter 22 – Thunder Zones and the Blades of the Past

The Queen's Grace sliced through the cloud seas, leaving soft ripples in its wake as it approached the edge of the Forbidden Thunder Zones.

Ahead, the sky darkened unnaturally, arcs of blue lightning dancing across thick, condensed clouds that no ordinary sky ship dared to enter.

Conis's harp hummed a tense tune as the winds howled louder.

Kaito stood at the bow, his coat flapping violently behind him as he scanned the electric storm brewing on the horizon.

Nojiko tightened her grip on the wheel, her eyes flicking between the storm patterns and the navigation dials. "We're entering the densest thunder corridor in Skypiea's records. Even the Sky Knights avoid this route."

Kaito's smirk was sharp. "That's why we're taking it."

"Of course you'd say that," Carmen called from the galley, rolling her eyes but already preparing emergency supplies in case they got struck.

Khalifa stepped beside Kaito, the faintest spark of challenge in her gaze. "Enel's elite guards are stationed along this path. They're expecting to wear us down before the final temple."

Kuina, polishing her blades, stood just behind them. "Good. Let's cut them down."

Aisa perched on the mast, her Observation Haki already painting the thunderous maze ahead. "I can feel them. There are two of his top guards waiting for us in the storm."

Kaito's smile didn't falter.

"We break through."

But even as he gave the order to push forward, a distant memory surfaced.

The storm in his heart had begun long before Skypiea.

Long before he met Luffy.

It started in a small dojo in East Blue.

It started—with Zoro.

Flashback – The Dojo Days: Sparks Before the Storm

Kaito wasn't born in this world.

He woke up as a boy with a wooden sword, standing in front of Koshiro's dojo, the same place where two names would one day become legend—Roronoa Zoro and Kuina.

In his old life, Kaito had drifted—no purpose, no friends, no ambition.

But here, something clicked.

He trained, ate, laughed, and bled alongside Kuina and the other students.

Zoro was his constant sparring partner—a boy who wore his pride like armor, who took every loss personally, and who never backed down, no matter how many times Kuina knocked him to the ground.

Kaito remembered those early matches.

He and Zoro were evenly matched, both struggling to reach Kuina's level.

Unlike Zoro, Kaito didn't burn with the desire to be the strongest.

He just wanted to grow strong enough to protect the life he'd found in this world.

But their rivalry grew all the same.

"Again!" Zoro shouted, bruised but unbroken.

Their wooden swords clashed, over and over, each strike sharper, each step faster.

Kuina watched them both from the sidelines, her expression unreadable.

In those days, Kaito's dream was simple.

To sail with friends.

To see the world.

To never be left behind again.

It wasn't until Kuina's accident—the one that should have claimed her life—that everything shifted.

But in this life, Kaito had changed that future.

He had trained with her relentlessly.

He had been there when she climbed the staircase with trembling legs, pushing past the point where her body wanted to give in.

He had caught her when she stumbled, forcing her to rise again.

She survived because she refused to fall.

Because Kaito refused to let her.

That day, the three of them stood on the hill behind the dojo, wooden swords slung over their backs.

Zoro grinned fiercely.

"One day, I'll be the strongest swordsman in the world."

Kuina's eyes burned with quiet resolve.

"I'll stand at the top too."

Kaito simply smiled.

"I'll chase a different path. But I'll sail—because I want to live this life to the fullest."

Zoro pointed his sword at him. "Then we'll meet again out there, Kaito. You better not slow down."

Kaito knocked his blade aside with a playful grin. "Only if you don't fall behind."

That promise lingered across the years.

It lingered now, as Kaito steered his ship into the heart of a raging thunderstorm.

He wasn't chasing Zoro.

He was sailing alongside him.

Back to the Present – Entering the Thunder Zones

Lightning slammed into the sea of clouds as the Queen's Grace plunged into the Forbidden Thunder Zones.

Arcs of golden-blue electricity snapped across the hull, but Nojiko's quick steering and Conis's harp harmonies stabilized the ship's balance.

"Storm intensity rising!" Aisa shouted from the mast. "The guards are moving to intercept us!"

Two sky paths branched ahead, both crackling with dense thunder.

Kaito's system chimed in his mind.

[Split Route Detected]

Left Path: Shura the Sky Rider – Wields a Heat Dial Lance and controls flame birds.]

Right Path: Gedatsu the Sky Monk – Controls swamp clouds and has mastery over breath dials.]

"Two guardians, two routes," Kaito said, analyzing the paths quickly.

He looked to his crew.

"Kuina, Khalifa, Carmen—you're with me. We'll handle Shura."

"Aisa, Nojiko, Conis—you take the right path and handle Gedatsu."

Aisa's eyes sparkled. "Finally! My turn to lead!"

Nojiko raised a brow. "Don't get reckless."

Kaito's gaze hardened. "We'll rendezvous at the Sky Temple after you break through. Don't hold back."

"Aye, Captain!" the crew answered.

The ship swerved, splitting its forces as they shot into both thunder-laced corridors.

Left Path – Clash with Shura the Sky Rider

Shura descended from the clouds atop a massive flame bird, his heat dial spear glowing with intense energy.

"So you're the intruders who defeated Satori and Ohm," Shura sneered. "You'll burn in the sky."

Kaito leapt from the ship with Kuina, Khalifa, and Carmen close behind, landing on a floating sky platform.

Shura's flame bird screeched, diving straight toward them.

"Carmen!" Kaito called.

She grinned, activating a flame dial in her gauntlet and launching a controlled burst of fire to counter the bird's dive.

"I'll handle the bird," Carmen said, charging toward the sky beast.

Khalifa darted forward, her movements surgical as she closed the gap with Shura, her dial-enhanced gloves intercepting his first lance thrust.

Kuina's blades crackled with thunder as she weaved into the battle, her footwork now fully aligned with her lightning flow.

Shura's spear strikes were fast, his heat dial amplifying the scorching attacks, but Khalifa's counters were sharper, her eyes dissecting his patterns.

Kuina circled in, thunder crackling from her blades as she unleashed a rapid, flowing combination of strikes.

Kaito engaged from the flank, his sword infused with his system's combat boost, each clash sending sparks flying.

Shura, overwhelmed by their coordinated assault, roared in frustration.

"Fall, all of you!"

His flame bird dove with a fiery screech, but Carmen met it head-on, her sky-cooked flame dials clashing with its wings in an explosive collision.

Kuina's next step was precise—thunder bursting from her blade as she sliced through Shura's spear shaft, the lightning severing the weapon mid-swing.

Kaito followed through, his blade slamming into Shura's guard and sending him crashing into the cloud floor.

The battle ended in a decisive strike—Shura defeated, his flame bird collapsing in a burst of sky embers.

Carmen brushed soot from her coat. "Next time, bring a real fire."

Khalifa adjusted her glasses, unimpressed. "His spear work was predictable."

Kuina exhaled, her grip steady, her thunder humming softly. "Let's move."

They regrouped and prepared to push toward the Sky Temple.

Right Path – Aisa's First Command

On the opposite route, Aisa led Nojiko, Conis, and Kaya through the treacherous swamp clouds controlled by Gedatsu, the erratic Sky Monk.

Gedatsu's swamp clouds trapped anything that touched them, and his breath dials blasted sudden bursts of air that could knock a ship from the sky.

"Don't let the swamp clouds touch the hull!" Aisa barked, her haki pinging rapidly. "Stick to the cloud bridges!"

Nojiko's precise steering and Conis's harp harmonies kept the ship agile as they weaved through collapsing pathways.

Gedatsu launched a barrage of air blasts, but Aisa's sniper shots—infused with her growing Observation Haki—intercepted the dials mid-flight.

Kaya provided quick support, managing supplies and loading Aisa's ammo at critical moments.

Despite Gedatsu's bizarre speech and unpredictable attacks, Aisa's sharp senses and tactical calls led the team safely through the thunder corridor.

In a final exchange, Aisa's bullet, crackling faintly with her burgeoning haki, struck Gedatsu's breath dial, detonating it and knocking him unconscious.

Her team broke through without losing a single crew member.

Aisa grinned, her heart pounding with the thrill of her first command.

"I'll tell Kaito we beat our guy faster," she said proudly.

Nojiko smiled. "You did well, Captain Aisa."

Conis laughed softly, strumming her harp. "The skies move in our favor."

Toward the Sky Temple

Both teams pushed forward, the storm intensifying as they neared the final temple.

Enel's presence was palpable now—his mantra sweeping the entire island, his lightning dancing hungrily across the sky.

But Kaito's crew had broken through the guardians.

They had weathered the thunder.

And they were ready.

The Queen's Grace would not falter.

The past had forged their blades.

The present had sharpened their bonds.

And the future—

The future waited in the storm.