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Since Noir declared the rebuilding of the long-abandoned capital, Anel, the sounds of bustling activity echoed through the ruins every day.
The reconstruction had already begun to take shape.
In just a few days, the debris and wreckage had been cleared from the capital. The streets and buildings were now clean, and people busily worked with their tools.
Noir envisioned the capital as the heart of the reborn kingdom, a place that needed to be truly exceptional.
Fortunately, among the people Noir had rescued were skilled builders and master designers. They had quickly drafted blueprints for the capital's reconstruction, which Noir had personally approved.
Highly satisfied with the designs, Noir confidently delegated the construction to his trusted crew.
He, meanwhile, had found a suitable location to unleash a long-awaited reward.
Standing in a large open space within the ruins of the old royal palace, Noir pressed his hand against the ground.
Enel watched him curiously. "What are you up to, Captain?"
Wyper shook his head. "He called us here, saying we were going to a sky island."
"But I've looked all over, and there's no sky island in sight."
Robin smiled softly, her gaze fixed on Noir. "You two still don't know him well enough, do you?"
Enel and Wyper exchanged a look, then chuckled. "True. I probably wouldn't even be surprised if he conjured a sky island out of thin air…"
As they whispered among themselves, Noir focused his mind, navigating the System's interface to select the sky island.
[Confirm generation of custom sky island?]
[Warning! Generation is irreversible!]
Noir closed his eyes, his voice firm. "Confirm generation! Directly above this location!"
The System's mechanical voice responded, "Adjusting altitude, area, and environmental compatibility…"
[Generation successful!]
Noir's eyes snapped open, and he looked up eagerly.
But the sky remained a clear, cloudless blue.
Huh?
So… where did the sky island go?
As Noir puzzled over the island's whereabouts, Enel suddenly cried out, his face contorted in shock. "What is that?! How is that possible?!"
In Enel's mind's eye, through his Observation Haki, a massive object had materialized in the space above them without any warning!
His eyes nearly popped out of his head. He pointed towards the sky, shouting, "Something's appeared! Way up high!"
At his words, the crew of the Underworld Pirates tensed, forming a defensive circle. Issho focused his senses, but the details in the sky remained hazy.
Noir looked up, bewildered. The island had been generated, but why couldn't he, its owner, sense it at all?
Just then, the System's voice chimed in, [Host, your custom sky island is remotely controllable. The control hub has been transferred to your spatial storage.]
Remotely controllable?
Noir was taken aback. He quickly focused his mind, and sure enough, he found a small, fist-sized sphere within his System inventory.
The sphere seemed to be made of solidified clouds, cool to the touch. As he held it, he felt a faint connection to something distant.
Noir gripped the sphere, willing the connected sky island to move.
"Something's… approaching?" Issho murmured, a slight frown creasing his brow as he tilted his head, listening intently to the sky.
Enel waved his arms frantically. "The sky island is falling!"
As he spoke, the bright sky darkened. The people working in Anel stopped what they were doing and looked up.
Reha, now dressed in work clothes, stammered in a serious tone, "Is this the end of the world?"
Above Anel, an island made of soft, white clouds had appeared, its sheer size comparable to the capital itself.
Noir's mouth twitched. He stared at the sphere in his hand. "This thing… actually works…"
A remotely controllable sky island was the perfect base for the Underworld Pirates!
Enel and Wyper stared, dumbfounded, at the sky island now within sight. "He really did just conjure up a sky island!"
Noir turned to Reha outside. "Calm everyone down. I'm going up to take a look."
Reha nodded quickly. Noir gathered Robin in his arms and transformed into a bolt of golden lightning, shooting up towards the clouds.
Enel and the others quickly followed, landing on the sky island.
As soon as Noir's feet touched the white ground, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. He smiled. "Not bad. This feels… right."
Wyper rolled around excitedly on the cloud surface. "This feeling! It's been too long!"
Although the deck of the Ark Maxim was also covered with a layer of island cloud, stepping onto a true sky island held a special significance for Wyper, a native of Skypiea.
Enel, however, looked around with a hint of disappointment. "It's so empty… There's nothing here."
Conis, also from Skypiea, frowned. "True. Without houses or streets, it feels lifeless."
Noir grinned. "That's an easy fix. We'll build a palace here in no time."
Robin shook her head, smiling. "That aside, I'm more curious about how you created a sky island in the first place?"
Noir scratched his head, holding up the white sphere. "I found this a while back. Apparently, it can control this island."
Trusting Noir implicitly, Robin accepted his explanation without question. "How strange."
Enel, overhearing their conversation, asked eagerly, "That's amazing! Can we use it too?"
Noir shook his head, unsure. Enel quickly snatched the sphere from him.
As soon as Enel held the sphere, the sky island trembled violently.
Noir watched in surprise. So, others could use it besides him?
What happened to "exclusive sky island," huh?
Before Noir could dwell on his irritation, Enel's face turned pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body swaying precariously.
Wyper rushed to catch him. "What's wrong?!"
Enel clutched his head, wiping the blood from his mouth. "I'm fine. This sphere drains your energy. It almost sucked me dry…"
Noir was stunned. It drained energy?
He hadn't felt anything when he used it.
'Of course, the System's gifts would have an owner recognition protocol…'
Noir quickly took the sphere back. It seemed he was the only one who could safely control it.
That was fine by him. If even Enel suffered such backlash, ordinary people would be in even greater danger if they tried to move the sky island.
...
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