Chapter 22: Skypiea
The sky was clear and cloudless.
High above the earth, Ace's body was enveloped in a shockwave shaped like a paw pad, soaring rapidly through the air. This was the work of Bartholomew Kuma's Devil Fruit ability, sending Ace toward the sky island 10,000 meters above sea level.
Though Ace couldn't control his body while being transported in this shockwave arc, he remained calm. He knew it wouldn't harm him.
"I didn't expect to reach Skypiea like this," Ace muttered as he watched the rapidly changing scenery pass by. "Still, Mr. Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit is incredibly convenient."
Bartholomew Kuma's Paramecia-type Devil Fruit not only allows him to repel anything—including the pain and fatigue accumulated in a person's body—but also enables instant teleportation. Not only can it send a person anywhere they desire, it can also launch others to distant locations like a free airline. Truly a dream-like ability.
Two days later, the arc of shockwaves carried Ace through a vast white sea of clouds. This was the White Sea, formed by dense "Sea Clouds" about 7,000 meters above sea level.
Another day passed, and Ace finally broke through the White Sea into the Upper White Sea, located at 10,000 meters altitude. This was the fabled Skypiea—the legendary Sky Island that many believed to be a myth.
After traveling through the clouds, the shockwave arc gently deposited Ace onto a soft, springy cloud surface, leaving behind a paw-shaped imprint before vanishing.
"Hmm~"
Ace stood up slowly. The air was thin, and breathing was slightly difficult. Stepping on the soft, fluffy cloud felt surreal—like he was walking through a dream.
"So this is Skypiea... it really does feel like a dream." Ace gazed at the undulating white landscape stretching into the distance like snowy mountains. If he hadn't witnessed it himself, he wouldn't have believed that such a place existed 10,000 meters above the sea.
"I wonder where exactly Mr. Kuma dropped me," he mused, glancing around. He saw no signs of the Skypieans and decided to walk toward the sun.
The White Sea's area might not be smaller than the Blue Sea below, meaning Skypiea's territory could be vast. In the original story, we mainly saw the Upper Yard, but the full scope of Skypiea must be much wider. For example, Urouge, one of the Supernovas, was also from a Sky Island but clearly not the Upper Yard.
"Come to think of it... I've basically entered illegally, haven't I?"
"I don't know if I'm in the area ruled by Enel right now. If I am, and I'm within range of his Mantra... he's probably already noticed me."
Ace remembered how Luffy and his crew were treated as criminals when they arrived in Skypiea for not paying the entrance fee. They were labeled Class-2 criminals and chased by Enel's enforcers.
Normally, visitors ascend Skypiea via the Knock-Up Stream, pass through the Gate of Heaven, and then reach the Upper Yard. But Ace had been directly launched onto the island by Kuma, bypassing all formal procedures. Technically, this made him an illegal entrant—but fortunately, no one had noticed.
"I hope Senior Rayleigh can find me soon," Ace said to himself. "If I'm stuck here alone, I won't be able to learn Haki. I don't even know how to train it. My only option would be to further develop my Devil Fruit powers."
Without Haki, Ace would be at a major disadvantage in the New World. But if he could push the limits of his Flame-Flame Fruit, he could still rise to power. After all, he now possessed a cheat-like ability—his "golden finger"—which allowed his elemental flame temperature to rise under the sun.
On Skypiea, the solar radiation at this altitude would allow him to increase his flame temperature by at least 10 degrees Celsius each day. If he remained on Skypiea for two years, the flame produced by his elemental form could potentially reach a terrifying 10,000 degrees. For comparison, Akainu's magma was only around 1,300 degrees, though its explosive power gave it a strong edge.
"Looks like I'll have to try it," Ace said, lifting his palm. A flame ignited in it. Under his control, the temperature of the flame began to rise steadily until it reached its current limit.
"654 degrees... Seems like the temperature increased while I was flying up here," he noted, analyzing the heat with precision. Looking up at the blazing sun, he added, "Today's sunbathing time is almost an hour. Let's see how much it can increase under these normal conditions."
Time passed quickly. After one hour, Ace felt a noticeable change.
"665 degrees. An 11-degree increase. That's exactly the difference between sea level and 10,000 meters. It's not a whole number anymore—this proves it's not a hard limit."
Ace had always wondered whether there was a ceiling to this method of increasing flame temperature through solar exposure. If there was, he assumed it would be an even multiple, like 10 degrees per day. But with today's result, the limit seemed unlikely.
"So the only limit might be altitude. Once I get used to the air here, I'll try flying even higher. If there's really no ceiling, I'll save so much time."
Extinguishing the flame, Ace looked up at the sun again and smiled. "If I could... I'd love to fly all the way to the sun one day."
"But if I could do that, I'd probably be invincible," he chuckled, shaking off the fantasy and returning to his journey.
He walked for nearly three hours before spotting signs of civilization in the distance. Eagerly, he quickened his pace.
Eventually, Ace arrived at a small town built entirely from cloud structures, nestled between seas of clouds. People with small wings on their backs walked about peacefully. From a distance, it looked like a fairy-tale village—like something out of a dream.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 30+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics