On a bright morning, the rising sun hung in the air, casting a faint golden glow that enveloped the entire land.
In the Sabaody Archipelago, specifically on Grove 71, a small ship gradually approached the remains of an old dwelling on the shore.
"You all wait for me here first," Sephiroth said. After saying that, he placed the iron cage in his hand, and with his black wings spread on his back, he leaped, soaring high into the air.
During this period, the "Great Liar" descendant of Mont Blanc Noland, Mont Blanc Cricket, was merely an unknown pirate still roaming Paradise. He hadn't yet arrived at Jaya Island, let alone thought of proving the existence of the Golden City "Shandora." Naturally, Sephiroth couldn't expect Cricket to help him find the Knock-Up Stream, so his ship could ride the Knock-Up Stream and land on Skypiea, 10,000 meters above sea level.
Previously, Sephiroth originally planned to take leave to the vicinity of Jaya Island to personally investigate the laws of the Knock-Up Stream in the surrounding sea area, and then go to Skypiea after making adequate preparations. For this reason, he had put a lot of effort into navigation. With his current navigation skills, he could go to any ship and become a navigator. There was no problem at all!
Now... he who had eaten the Door-Door Fruit no longer had to do such troublesome things!
Sephiroth arrived thousands of meters above sea level, and when shallow clouds appeared around him, he drew his Butcher's Blade from his waist, and, with a slash in front of him, opened a spatial door and stepped inside.
Sephiroth, in the Door world, ascended through thick clouds and emerged from below into the white cloud sea above seven thousand meters, where he saw all kinds of strange, large, and ferocious cloud sea creatures. He ascended a long vertical distance, through the white cloud sea above 10,000 meters, and left the sea, bypassing the border entrance labeled "Heaven's Gate," and the winding upward cloud path, which he continued past for more than two thousand meters. Only then did he see the two islands that appeared above the cloud sea, Angel Island and Upper Yard, not far away.
Using his Door-Door Fruit ability directly, and without permission and without anyone noticing, Sephiroth bypassed the border entrance to Skypiea, a sky island, and arrived at his journey's destination!
Only after Sephiroth split a black bat with his ability and let it fly to Upper Yard, did he change his position through the Vampire Bat on the small ship, located above the blue sea, opened the spatial door, and returned to the deck.
Gild Tesoro took a few quick steps and came to Sephiroth. He looked up at the sky and said curiously, "Boss, where did you just go?"
"I went to Skypiea, over 10,000 meters high."
"A Sky Island? Isn't that just in legendary islands?" Gild Tesoro said in astonishment.
Hearing this, Sephiroth smiled freely, and he joked in a tone, "Legend!?... Well, now is the time to witness a legend with your own eyes!... Set sail!"
The small ship pulled up its anchor, raised its sails, and slowly sailed away from the shore. Sephiroth still flew in front of the ship and used his long blade to open a large spatial door.
However, this time what appeared was a vast white cloud sea, and islands standing above it. Until the small ship sailed from the blue sea into the white cloud sea, the spatial door closed, and everyone on the ship still looked astonished.
"Is this?... The Kingdom of Heaven?... So beautiful!" Stella propped her hands on the ship's edge, and she looked towards Upper Yard, and Angel Island, which was built on white island clouds. Its unique architectural style filled her eyes with curiosity.
"The Kingdom of Heaven?... From a high perspective, it should be considered the Kingdom of Heaven." Sephiroth nodded with a profound impression.
Gild Tesoro took a few deep breaths and glanced at the surrounding situation before he said with a bewildered look on his face, "The air here is so thin... Breathing is a bit difficult..." He then asked, "By the way... Boss, what did you bring us here for?"
Sephiroth raised his right hand and pointed to Upper Yard, not far away. "Have you ever heard of the great liar Noland's story?"
Hearing the question, Gild Tesoro didn't think much of it and subconsciously replied, "Uh! No. However, when you asked me to prepare Noland's storybook, Boss, I saw it too. Wait! Could it be..." The green-haired youth's eyes widened, and a surprised expression flashed across his face.
"Exactly! The Golden City 'Shandora' is real. More than 400 years ago, a part of Jaya Island was sent to this sky island by a surging Knock-Up Stream. Therefore, when Noland returned to Jaya Island again, he didn't find any trace of the Golden City and didn't see his close friend Kalgara, which ultimately led to his unjust execution."
Looking at the island not far away, Gild Tesoro said with an excited tone, "Boss, if that Golden Village is real, couldn't we get a lot of gold?"
"Exactly!... However, after the island was sent to the Sky Island, it was occupied by the indigenous people of the Sky Island. And, the Sky Island residents and the Shandia Clan, the indigenous people of the archipelago, began a war that lasted for over 400 years. I also don't know how all that gold was disposed of, but... In addition, there should be some left, right?"
"In other words... If we want to get that gold, we are likely to go to war with the Sky Island people and the Shandia people?" Gild Tesoro was very keen and grasped the important issues involved.
Hearing this, Sephiroth nodded firmly, and he continued to explain, "Exactly! But I don't want to cause too much bloodshed here. In the Sky Island, there is a unique Dial culture, which involves aspects such as life and combat. If the company can take the opportunity to expand its business in this area, our company will once again usher in substantial development."
After a brief explanation of the situation, Sephiroth ordered the small ship to sail towards Skypiea Island. Although Sephiroth didn't want to engage in much killing, he brought along Umbrella Corporation employees, who were armed with sufficient firearms and ammunition.
After a while, the small ship slowly docked on the shore. The gangway was placed on the beach, and everyone disembarked one by one, landing on the land.
On the fertile ground of Upper Yard, Skypiea Island, was a lush, dense forest, with towering centuries-old trees that would require more than a dozen people to encircle. In the very center of the entire island, there was a Giant Jack, whose top was not visible. Deep within the dense forest, one could occasionally glimpse old and dilapidated house structures, covered in emerald moss on their broken walls, and green vines winding around them, making the entire island full of primeval jungle wildness.
Squeak, squeak.
Extraordinary black bats, separated from Sephiroth's body, spread across the entire island from all sides.
After a while, Sephiroth lightly "eh-ed" with a sound, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
"What's wrong? Boss, did you find the Golden City?" Gild Tesoro asked quickly.
"The Golden City, I found it and it's very well preserved. However, I found something even more interesting."