章 50: Chapter 50: Jumping off Sky island!
Chen Long had been sent to escort 66 and 77 for their medical studies, but Edie, impatient as ever, didn't wait for his return to Beehive Island. Instead, he chose to head there himself.
Knowledge was calling him, and he had no intention of waiting a moment longer.
Edie currently possessed three flight abilities: the Ability Ring of the Blue Dragon, the Phoenix, and the Pteranodon. Each ring allowed him to fly for 10 hours, theoretically supporting up to 30 hours of continuous flight. Given the redundancy in their design, he estimated they could last even longer, enough to carry him all the way to the golden land of Sky Island.
As the Pteranodon soared over Beehive Island, it quickly broke the sound barrier, leaving a thunderous crack in its wake. Edie pushed the form to its limits, flying at full power for nearly 20 hours.
The next day, he arrived at Sky Island, in the Kingdom of Gods, at the Ruins of Shandora. The sight of the golden city once again filled him with relief. The gold remained untouched, the scene unchanged since his last visit, indicating that no one had been there since.
Edie activated the Azure Dragon Ring and transformed into a Azure Dragon on the spot, breathing fire to smelt the gold. After several hours, a massive, irregular lump of gold was piled up in the center of the ruins.
This time, he needed nearly 4 trillion Beli in research funding. Estimating that each ton of gold was worth at least 500 million Beli, he calculated that he needed 8,000 tons of gold, approximately 414 cubic meters—equivalent to a cubic gold nugget with a side length of 7.45 meters.
"This should be enough," Edie muttered, eyeing the enormous golden lump. He immediately accessed the system and chose to pay.
In an instant, the gold began to disintegrate from the top, turning into quicksand and vanishing in the wind, leaving only a tenth of its original size.
Simultaneously, a torrent of knowledge and information flooded his mind—countless formulas, symbols, and experimental data, all the research he had conducted during the simulation. The sheer volume of information overwhelmed him, and Edie stood motionless, lost in a trance for half an hour.
Finally, he exhaled deeply, releasing the tension from his body.
"I see it now. I understand everything completely!"
Once again, the door of truth had opened for him.
He began to piece together the mysteries of Haki: Why does Conqueror's Haki stun the weak-willed? Because the energy released in an instant exceeds the upper limit of the target's soul. Why can Observation Haki detect the aura of others? Because the P particles released from the soul return with the target's information after hitting their soul. Why does Armament Haki form an invisible armor, greatly enhancing defense and attack power? Because the particles are closely bound together, creating an extremely powerful energy field.
Every secret of Haki was now laid bare before him. At this moment, Edie had ascended to a new dimension of understanding.
In a fantasy world, this might be described as comprehending the "way of heaven."
"It's fascinating," Edie mused. "Others unconsciously manipulate P particles to use Haki, merely igniting a 'fire' called Haki. But I'm different. I completely understand it. I know the 'ignition point,' how to create fire, extinguish it, understand it, and control it!"
With a smirk, Edie opened his arms to the sky, and something miraculous happened.
His body began to levitate, breaking free from the bonds of gravity. Edie consciously manipulated the ghost particles within his soul, precisely releasing energy to counteract the planet's gravitational pull.
"This is true freedom," he whispered, floating in mid-air and basking in the golden sunlight.
Closing his eyes, Edie released countless particles from his soul, which spread outward at the speed of light. Almost instantly, the particles returned, having touched other souls and brought back information. His Observation Haki now covered the entire Sky Island.
"The number of people on Sky Island... 10,245," he noted. "Men, women, children, elderly... The energy levels emanating from their souls..."
Edie slowly opened his eyes, transitioning from lying on his back to standing upright in mid-air as if walking on invisible steps until he finally touched the ground.
Suddenly, he recalled a scene from the story where Kaido once jumped off Sky Island in a suicide attempt. A desire to experience that feeling of flight himself arose within him.
Soon after, he arrived at the Kingdom of Gods, 7,000 meters above sea level, at the end of the White Sea. There, at the exit of the sea of clouds, stood a gate-like structure with "CLOUD-END" written on it.
As a pirate ship prepared to leave the port, its crew noticed a young man standing not far away.
"Captain, do you see that? There's someone over there," the navigator said.
The pirate captain, startled, replied, "You're right. What's that guy doing? Is he another pirate who came to Sky Island like us?"
As a seasoned traveler of Sky Island, the captain shouted a warning, "Hey, be careful! You could fall! This is the White Sea, 7,000 meters above sea level! If you fall, you'll die!"
Hearing the captain's shout, Edie turned slightly and smiled, nodding in acknowledgment.
Then, without hesitation, he opened his arms and shifted his center of gravity forward.
In the next moment, he plummeted.
The pirates on the ship rushed to the bow, their faces filled with shock.
"Is that guy insane?! He jumped on his own!"
"He's dead! No one could survive that fall!"
"Is it a suicide? Did he lose his companions coming up here and not want to live alone?"
"Idiot! When the sea surges up to the sky, either everyone lives or everyone dies. How could one person survive alone?"
"Don't try to understand the mind of a madman... he's lost it!"
The pirates were horrified, but from below, they heard joyful laughter.
"Hahahahahaha..."
Edie dived headfirst towards the sea, the wind rushing past his ears, leaving the white clouds behind. He felt exhilarated, an intense sense of freedom and joy filling his entire being. No wonder so many people enjoyed bungee jumping and skydiving.
"So this is what Kaido felt when he danced on Sky Island? It's so exhilarating! So liberating! Hahahaha!"
On the endless sea, a warship bearing the World Government flag sailed slowly, cutting through the waves with deliberate precision. On the deck, a dining table had been set, and at it sat a 13-year-old boy, meticulously cutting into a steak and eating his lunch with measured, elegant movements. His attire—a crisp suit and polished leather shoes—complimented his demeanor, one of grave seriousness and precision.
A man standing nearby spoke with urgency, trying to capture the boy's attention.
"Lucci, do you understand the mission this time?"
"A pirate group attacked the Kingdom of Nasika," Lucci replied without looking up, his tone as cold and mechanical as his actions. "Five hundred soldiers were defeated and captured. The pirates are using this to blackmail the king, demanding ransom."
The man nodded, satisfied but insistent. "This country is a member of the World Government. Your task is to resolve this matter flawlessly."
Lucci continued to eat in silence, as if the man had said nothing of consequence. Unperturbed, the man in the suit pressed on, a note of caution creeping into his voice.
"This pirate group is capable of defeating a kingdom's army. The captain's bounty exceeds 20 million beri. But with your skills, it won't be a problem."
After a brief pause, he added a more enticing prospect. "If you handle this perfectly, your achievements will be enough to join CP9."
At the mention of CP9, Lucci's eyes finally betrayed a flicker of interest. CP9—an elite intelligence organization under the World Government—was shrouded in secrecy. Most people knew of CP1 through CP8, but CP9 was different. To join CP9 meant to obtain a "killing license," granting the power to kill with legal impunity.
"Perfect?" Lucci echoed.
"That's right, perfect," the man confirmed. "You mustn't leave any room for error. The king must be entirely satisfied."
The man then smiled, his tone shifting to one of pride. "Don't worry. You're the strongest genius [Guanhao Island] has produced in 800 years. At only 13, you've already mastered Rokushiki—techniques that surpass the limits of human ability!"
Lucci remained emotionless, neither pleased nor flattered by the praise.
"We'll arrive in half a day," the man continued, "and we should be in the Kingdom of Nasika by seven o'clock this evening. Before that..."
His voice trailed off as a sudden gust of wind howled through the air, causing Lucci to look up abruptly. Something was falling from the sky, plummeting toward the ocean at an alarming speed.
Squinting, Lucci's eyes—sharpened beyond normal human capability—focused on the object. It was a person.
A person falling from the sky? Sky Island? The thought crossed Lucci's mind, but his interest in the lives of others was minimal, bordering on nonexistent.
However, what happened next seized his attention. The falling man began to slow his descent, defying the natural laws of gravity, and landed with a resounding crash in front of the warship. The impact sent waves more than ten meters high crashing onto the deck, soaking Lucci's pristine black leather shoes.
"What in the world...?" the government official stammered, clearly shaken.
Lucci stepped through the swirling seawater on the deck, moving to the front of the warship. His eyes locked onto the point of impact, and his pupils contracted in shock. The man who had fallen from the sky was now standing on the surface of the sea.
A Devil Fruit user?
But Standing on water???
"Who are you?" Lucci demanded, his tone as indifferent as ever.
In an instant, the man standing on the sea vanished, reappearing almost simultaneously behind Lucci. A hand clamped down on the boy's shoulder, freezing him in place.
Edie's voice was calm, almost casual. "Government warship, huh? You look familiar, kid... What's your name?"
Lucci's entire body went rigid as a wave of terror surged through him, as if fear itself had been injected into his very bones.
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