After sending Luffy and the others off, I said my goodbyes to the villagers and returned to Merchant's Island. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened on Merchant's Island, but it was time to start preparing for the future.
Fighting Mihawk had given me a good sense of how strong people were in the One Piece world. If I used every ability I had, I could probably fight on par with a Yonko, but that alone wouldn't be enough.
'It's not just the Yonkos I have to worry about.'
Even if a single Yonko wasn't a problem, they had plenty of powerful subordinates under them. If something happened and I ended up fighting Yonko-level enemies, Merchant's Island would probably be reduced to rubble. If I ever fell out with the World Government, almost no one on the island might survive.
'I need to get stronger myself, but I also need to gather people who are useful or worth raising.'
Thinking that, 'Ging' felt like a waste.
'Should've tried to recruit him back then? He seemed like a decent guy.'
If I see him again, I'm definitely grabbing him.
For now, I planned to go to Skypiea and obtain the strongest Devil Fruit ability. It was supposed to be experience for Luffy, but it couldn't be helped. The ability was too broken not to get. And to prepare for any situation, I also planned to take control of Skypiea and analyze the 'Island Clouds' that held it up.
The clouds in Skypiea could be stepped on like solid ground and processed into various forms as needed. According to the setting, they formed using 'Pyrobloin,' a component of Seastone, as a condensation nucleus after volcanic activity launched it into the sky, but there was no way to know how exactly it condensed.
Seastone, which was part of the composition, was extremely rare and insanely expensive, so even Vegapunk only used a little in his lab and couldn't dream of mass production.
But with my [Matter Manipulation], it was possible. You could say 'just get the Float-Float Fruit ability,' but if something happened to me, the islands I had suspended would fall, which was dangerous. So I absolutely needed Island Clouds that could maintain themselves permanently.
I took out the 'Talaria Vehicle' and [Jack Sparrow's Compass], found Skypiea's location, and set off. There was a Poneglyph on Skypiea, so I wanted to bring Nico Robin, but since I was going to [Kill and Steal], I figured it would be a bad look, so I decided to go alone.
After flying for about 3 hours, Skypiea came into view, so I headed straight for Skypiea, parked the vehicle in a suitable spot, and put it in my inventory. Then I immediately moved to the God's Shrine. I had no intention of drawing this out. Since his ability let him turn into lightning, if he ran, he'd be hard to catch even with teleportation, so I planned to deal with him quickly.
I entered the God's Shrine and saw Enel giving orders, so I instantly teleported behind him and, wrapping my cane-sword in [Armament Haki], cut his throat.
"Therefore. Divine punish— keh!"
Thud.
Ding~!
[You have stolen [(SS) Rumble-Rumble Fruit (Awakened)], [(SS) Observation Haki], [(A) Conqueror's Haki].]
[[(SS) Observation Haki], [(SS) Observation Haki] have combined and been upgraded to [(SSS) Observation Haki].]
[[(A) Conqueror's Haki] has been absorbed into [(S) Conqueror's Haki] and upgraded to [(SS) Conqueror's Haki].]
"Oh~ lucky!"
[Observation Haki] aside, I was quite surprised that Enel had [Conqueror's Haki]. It seemed like a latent ability.
If Enel hadn't lost to Luffy and had learned more about Haki, he could have become a truly terrifying enemy. Anyway, the [Conqueror's Haki] I'd gotten from pirates before had combined, and it seemed to have ranked up this time.
"Huh! My God!!!"
"Hey! I'm the new God now."
"What! That's impossible!! Get that guy!!"
"Geez, taking down Enel was easy enough... you're making this exhausting."
At Divine Soldier Yama's shout, the divine soldiers flooded into the God's Shrine like mad. I showed no mercy and electrocuted them all to death.
"Kyaaagh!" "Save me!" "Aaaaagh!"
[You have stolen [(B) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(B) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(C) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(A) Observation Haki].]
...
...
"Huh? I take back what I said about being tired! Bring more! Puhahahaha~"
After killing about 30 of them like that in an instant, they finally seemed to grasp the situation and all began trembling and kneeling.
"W-We serve the new God."
"Hmm... they can come at me some more, you know."
Just then, the priests arrived, having heard the news. I could tell at a glance: the fat guy in white clothes was Satori, the one riding a bald vulture was Shura, the big guy riding a large dog was Ohm, and lastly, the cactus-head idiot was Gedatsu.
There was no need to keep these guys alive. Their ideology was messed up, so it was easier to just kill them.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!!
"Kyaaaaaagh!" "Kueeeeeek!" "Kyaaaaaagh!" "Uwaaaaaagh!"
Thud!
[You have stolen [(A) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(S) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(A) Observation Haki].]
[You have stolen [(A) Observation Haki].]
The only one who survived was a large dog named 'Holy.' Holy was whimpering and trembling despite its huge size after its master died in an instant. I put all the priests' weapons in my inventory and called out to Holy.
"Hey! 'Holy', was it?"
"Woof..."
"Paw!"
Holy trembled as it placed its front paw on my hand.
"Good! From now on, you only listen to me, got it?"
"Woof woof woof!"
Holy barked and nodded its head vigorously.
"Good, follow me!"
I walked over to the divine soldiers who were still kneeling and said,
"Hey! Go call McKinley. The rest of you, clean this up."
"Understood, my God."
McKinley was a reasonably sane person, the captain of Skypiea's police force, the White Berets. He was someone who had tried his best to keep the residents safe under Enel's overwhelming power.
After waiting a bit, McKinley arrived. Whether he had heard the story on the way or seen the bodies being cleaned up, he seemed to accept reality.
"You're McKinley."
"Yes, my God."
"Inform the residents. A new God, 'Tae-jin,' has appeared. And appoint Gan Fall as the God's proxy."
"Y-Yes? Ah... understood. I'll inform them as such."
At my words, McKinley's face brightened. He clearly felt that I was different from Enel. After waiting while resting, Gan Fall arrived wearing armor and riding a strange spotted bird.
"You're the new God? What about Enel?"
"Dead."
"That Enel?"
Gan Fall asked in surprise, so I pointed to where Enel's body was. The divine soldiers hadn't dared touch it, so the body was still there. Seeing that, Gan Fall laughed hollowly.
"Haha... I don't know whether to laugh or not."
"You're the God's proxy now, so help me run Skypiea well, and when I'm not here, you'll act as ruler in my stead."
"What are you scheming?"
"Gan Fall, you're a benevolent ruler, but do you admit you're too weak to govern this place?"
"Yes... I admit it. I was too weak, so Enel took the God's seat from me, and the residents suffered."
"Do you think you can protect this place if you become God again?"
"Of course I can. I won't repeat the same mistake."
I decided to tell him the reality. Gan Fall was far too ignorant of how things were.
"You know nothing. There are Blue Sea people who surpass Enel in overwhelming numbers. Did you know that? Do you think you could stop them if they attacked here?"
"Is that true?"
"Yes, I'm proof of it. It took me all of 20 minutes to deal with Enel and his followers. If you think I'm lying, ask the divine soldiers."
"Then..."
"So you don't have the qualifications. You don't even have basic information. If you become God again and rule here, it's only a matter of time before evil and powerful Blue Sea people appear, take the God's seat, and the residents suffer again."
"..."
"Come under me, Gan Fall. The residents won't suffer like they did under Enel."
Gan Fall lowered his head and seemed to think for a moment.
"Fine. But promise me you'll be a benevolent ruler."
"Got it. I promise."
Gan Fall knelt and said to me,
"Gan Fall, I pledge my loyalty."
"I'm Tae-jin. Let's work well together. And you're too old for the many tasks ahead."
I gave Gan Fall 20 years of lifespan. Gan Fall was shocked as he suddenly rejuvenated to his 40s, looking over his body. His white hair and beard, aged with time, had returned to black.
"How is this possible..."
"This will be our secret for now. It seems like it would get tiresome in many ways."
"Understood."
"First order. Announce Enel's death to the people and hold a festival with food for the residents who have suffered. If food runs short, I'll supplement it, so don't worry."
Gan Fall left with a bright face at my order. I sent the remaining divine soldiers and White Berets to help with the festival. I checked the abilities and items I'd obtained.
I hadn't noticed while busy killing, but my [Observation Haki] had become (EX) grade at some point. I could now sense information across all of Skypiea and even several islands below it.
Then I checked the items. The Dials were incredibly interesting. Especially the 'Milky Dial' that Ohm used, modified into a sword, was really unique—it could create weapons in various forms using Iron Cloud.
The downside was that its strength was a bit weaker than real iron, but that problem could be solved by using Armament Haki. But not everything had Armament Haki, so if I could research it and increase its durability, it could become a truly great weapon.
"I got a lot today."
I spent time analyzing the unique Island Clouds and Dials while handling matters on Merchant's Island. A few days passed, and Gan Fall came with the Shandia chief and what looked like warriors. Their style was similar to Native Americans. I could see Wyper among them.
"My God, this is the Shandia chief and their warriors."
The Shandia chief stepped forward and spoke.
"New God, return our homeland to us."
He seemed to be talking about Upper Yard, where they used to live. But Skypiea residents were already living there.
"Do you know that Skypiea residents already live there?"
"We know."
"Then are you planning to drive them out and create new conflict?"
"No. We have no intention of doing that."
"Then what?"
"Upper Yard is vast. Assign us some area by dividing the region."
"Fine. I'll do that. On the condition that the Shandia serve me."
Hearing that, Wyper stepped forward and said angrily,
"What nonsense are you spouting!!"
"Why is it nonsense? Haven't you shed countless blood because of the conflict between you? Even if I divide Upper Yard and give you a section, is there any guarantee conflict won't arise again?"
"That's..."
"Alright, let's do this. Pick the 10 strongest Shandia warriors and fight me. If you win, I'll return all of Upper Yard. But if you lose, the Shandia will serve me. I'll make you a separate district in Upper Yard."
At my words, the Shandia warriors murmured among themselves. Then the chief spoke to me.
"Give us time to think."
"Understood."
The chief and warriors left like that. Gan Fall approached and said,
"My God, must it really go this far? There are more peaceful methods..."
"No, as long as two factions are in the same place, the fire of conflict will flare up again. And if external enemies appear in that situation, we can't handle it. It's better to deal with this quickly. And don't worry. No one will die."
"Understood."
In a world like this, I thought unification was the answer. Even if it took time to integrate after unification, it was better for the future than fighting each other. That's how it was in the original story anyway. And with many powerful enemies on the seas, it was better from a defensive standpoint too.
The next day, the chief and warriors came again.
"We've decided to settle this with a duel as you said. How will we do it?"
"I hold Shandia warriors in high regard. So I want to minimize casualties if possible, but since the fate of the tribe is at stake, accidents can happen when everyone's giving their all. So to prevent incidents as much as possible, let's each wear a headband, and the side that takes the headband wins. How about it?"
"That's a good idea. How far will armaments be allowed?"
"Use everything. I'll fight barehanded."
Hearing that, Wyper spoke again with a dissatisfied voice.
"Don't underestimate us. You beat Enel and got cocky, but Shandia warriors aren't pushovers."
"Fine. Then I'll arm myself appropriately too."
They didn't seem to realize I was being considerate. They'd understand once they got hit a few times.