Chapter 469: The Expressions Are Quite Interesting
Below the vines, within the forbidden ground, Luffy and the others had also arrived at the location of the vines.
Originally, they had been following Robin and Reiju, hoping to find the golden city of Shandora, but they ended up encountering the Sky Guardian, Nirvana, along with Enel's divine soldier corps.
Although Nirvana was the only remaining priest, he still faithfully carried out Enel's orders and attacked Luffy and his crew.
He knew that God Enel was fighting a powerful enemy, and he couldn't help with that, but he could at least eliminate the rats that had broken into the forbidden ground.
Unfortunately for him, this time he was alone against the entire Straw Hat Pirates, with Reiju backing them up!
Although Reiju's combat strength wasn't as strong as Ian's, she was far stronger than Nirvana, and most importantly, the abilities of Reiju's Germa battle suit were quite similar to Skypiea's unique aerial combat techniques. She was well adapted to fighting on this island.
However, Reiju ultimately didn't make a move; Nirvana was cut down by Zoro!
Zoro, who had obtained the Wado Ichimonji, had been wanting to find an opponent to test his sword against, so Zoro was the one who fought.
After taking down Nirvana, the group unexpectedly encountered the Shandian guerrilla fighters who had also invaded the forbidden ground. Wiper, who harbored some hostility towards Blue Sea people, directly attacked Luffy and the others.
Although it was just a few casual attacks, they failed to harm Luffy and his crew. Seeing this, Wiper didn't press the issue; their target was Enel's forces.
However, after Enel's divine soldier corps had all been taken out by the Shandians, Wiper began to feel that something was off.
"This... is it really this easy?" Wiper looked up in confusion at the vines above. Although he had personally witnessed Ian taking down three priests earlier, when his guerrilla fighters engaged the divine soldiers, he didn't notice any sign of Enel making a move.
Wiper was well aware of Enel's power. He knew how strong Enel was. This time, when they attacked the forbidden ground, he had even come up with a plan to deal with Enel.
Seastone!
Yes, Wiper and his people knew very well that Enel was no god; he was just a powerful Logia Devil Fruit user. Devil Fruits weren't entirely unfamiliar to Skypieans either. The Skypieans even knew that the best way to deal with a Devil Fruit user was Seastone.
This information had naturally been brought by people who had come to Skypiea from the Blue Sea, and as it happened, this Skypiea had deposits of Seastone!
Seastone is a very unique mineral. In the Grand Line, it's only produced in a specific sea area. Due to its powerful sealing and suppression effects on Devil Fruit users, it has always been controlled by the Marines and the World Government. It was precisely because they held this resource of Seastone that the Marines could capture those Devil Fruit users.
However, strangely enough, the sea area where Seastone forms often has volcanic eruptions that can blast some of the components that make up Seastone into the sky!
Especially the "rock salt crystals" among these components, which are the main cause of the formation of Skypiea's island clouds!
Since all these components are present, it's not surprising that by chance, they could recombine to form Seastone. Although naturally occurring Seastone on Skypiea is quite rare, it does indeed exist!
Of course, it can only be found on larger Skypieas, and the Skypiea where Angel Island is located happens to be one of the larger ones.
Seastone is almost entirely controlled by the Marines and the World Government. Only members of the Seven Warlords of the Sea can apply for a Seastone quota from them, but it's usually not much. This shows how strictly the Marines and the World Government control it. Skypiea is the only special way to obtain Seastone outside of their supervision.
The scientist Waldo from Ian's pirate crew had also studied Seastone. After all, he and Vegapunk were colleagues back then, and Seastone was one of Vegapunk's research topics at the time. So Waldo knew a bit about it. When Ian and the others obtained the Barron Gray Terminal Skypiea as their base, Waldo suggested that Ian try to look for naturally occurring Seastone on the island.
Unfortunately, the Barron Gray Terminal was indeed a bit small, so Ian didn't find any at the time. This time, when he came to Angel Island, one of the reasons he tried to stop Enel before he could cause greater destruction was that he was hoping to find Seastone on this island. If he let Enel indiscriminately blast everything with lightning, destroying any places where Seastone might appear, how would he ever find it?
As for Wiper, he wasn't thinking too much about it at the moment. He just wanted to find Enel and use the Reject Dial combined with Seastone to take him down!
However, the expected Enel didn't appear. Above them, at the top of the vines, although they could hear the rumbling of thunder, strangely, no lightning bolts came down to attack them.
"What the hell is going on?" Wiper wondered as he puffed on his cigarette, leading his guerrilla fighters towards the vines.
"Enel has the same Mantra as Aisa. He must know we're here, but he hasn't shown himself. That can only mean one thing: he's encountered an enemy too!" Wiper thought back to Ian he had met at the edge of the forbidden ground. "Could it be that Blue Sea man is fighting him right now? Are those Blue Sea people we just ran into his companions? Even though he's strong enough to take down Enel's three priests in one blow, he wouldn't stand a chance against Enel, would he?"
"No! I need to go help him!" Wiper made up his mind. Although he didn't like Blue Sea people, having such a powerful Blue Sea man as an ally would increase their chances of defeating Enel.
However, when the Shandians, led by Wiper, accelerated their pace and arrived at the base of the vines, they once again encountered Luffy and the others.
"Ah! It's you again!" Luffy shouted when he saw Wiper, angrily asking, "You want to fight again?"
Zoro, Sanji, and the others all assumed battle stances alongside Luffy, ready to fight. However, Wiper, with a cigarette in his mouth and a rocket launcher on his shoulder, exuded a tough-guy image. Instead of answering Luffy's question, he asked, "Do you have another companion, one with bandages on his hands and bells hanging from them?"
"Ah! Big Brother Ian!?" Nami was startled and blurted out, "Have you seen Big Brother Ian?"
Actually, the main reason Nami and the others had come to the forbidden ground this time was to find Ian. Although Nami knew Ian was looking for the golden city of Shandora, she also knew there was a powerful enemy on this island who called himself God. So when Wiper mentioned Ian, she couldn't help but ask.
Zoro, Reiju, and the others were stunned when they heard this, then pricked up their ears, waiting for Wiper's answer.
However, Wiper looked up at the clouds above the vines and said, "If I'm not mistaken, he's fighting Enel right now. He might need help."
"Is that God Enel really that strong?" Zoro couldn't help but ask. "My senior brother is also very strong. Can't he even beat Enel?"
"Hmph!" Wiper snorted coldly. "Don't you know? There's always been a saying on this island: God is invincible!"
Just as Wiper said this, a voice rang out from the sky. "He's right. Enel's strength is despair-inducing."
Everyone looked up and saw a garishly colored pegasus. The person who had arrived was none other than the former ruler of Skypiea, Gan Fall!
"Ah! It's the old man mercenary!" Chopper pointed at Gan Fall.
"Gan Fall, what are you doing here?" Wiper naturally knew Gan Fall and sneered. "You, who lost to Enel, can you even muster the courage to fight him again?"
Gan Fall gripped his knight's spear tightly and replied seriously, "He and I... need to settle things one way or another."
"Then let's join forces!" Wiper glanced at Gan Fall, then at Luffy and the others. "The Shandians will definitely light the flame of Shandora again, but that will only happen after we defeat Enel!"
With both Wiper and Gan Fall speaking from experience, and seeing how serious they were, even mentioning a joint effort, Sanji and Zoro began to take the situation seriously.
"Alright, let's go up and see what this invincible god really looks like!" Zoro said, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist. "If I can cut him down, does that mean I've killed a god?"
"Just make sure you don't die first!" Wiper shot him a glance. "Let's go. Head for the God's Palace!"
Just as everyone was filled with confidence and apprehension, ready to climb the vines, Reiju looked up at the sky and suddenly spoke. "Wait, something seems to be falling from above!"
Everyone else also looked up, and sure enough, they saw a small black dot emerging from the clouds.
However, as the black dot descended, it became clearer and clearer until they could finally make it out completely. The entire group was dumbfounded.
Because the person appearing before them was none other than Ian!
And when Wiper saw Enel, bruised and battered, being held by Ian, *plop* — the cigarette in Wiper's mouth fell straight to the ground...
At that moment, both he and Gan Fall had expressions that were quite interesting...