OP70: The White Sea of Clouds

The crew aboard the Kuja Pirate Ship couldn't feel any wisp of force or restriction. Veyron kept accelerating and they could see the clouds phasing before them like a white tsunami. After a few minutes, Tsuru looked at the odd compass that she had and waved her hands towards Veyron who was at the centre of the ship, levitating.

"Stop here!"

"Are you sure!? We're in the middle of the sky!"

"Yes, here!"

He knew that Skypea was high in the sky but didn't know exactly how high. The boy followed Tsuru's indication and receded his psychokinesis; the ship desaccelerated slowly and came to a stop. He then erased all the influence he had on the ship altogether and it started to fall.

!!!

Due to the action of gravity, panic immediately settled in everyone aboard as the ship started falling from the skies in free fall.

"Veyron!" Primrose seemed to be the most affected by this as she literally flickered to pick his arm, disregarding everybody else including her dumbfound daughters.

*BAANG!*

Everyone fell heavily on the ship's deck when it hit something as if it had fallen on the sea and yet no splashes were heard. It took them all several seconds to recover and stand up, starting from Robin who rubbed her painful head and looked around to find a paradise of whiteness and a blue sky.

The clouds had turned into the sea.

"I heard the legends of the legendary sky islands but to think such a ridiculous thing exists in this world. A sea high up in the skies" Robin couldn't help but sigh in awe at everything she had experienced in less than half a day. Reaching the great heights of the skies in less than five minutes and now, sailing on the clouds.

'If I were to tell them about this adventure, they'd never believe it'.

Tsuru dusted herself off and was helped up by Gion who did the same, her gaze just in awe like the rest, even Veyron was no exception. He just couldn't help but try to find an explanation as to why the ship was floating on the clouds, it wasn't physically possible but he also knew in this world such rules either didn't exist or were completely different altogether.

"This is called the Cloud Sea and is different from the 'Blue Sea' that we regularly sail in. There is an explanation as to why this sky exists" Tsuru tried to explain only to have a white-haired boy literally nudge her back.

"I'd love to hear it!" Veyron chimed in with excitement. 
"Go ask the mad scientist Vegapunk, he can explain it to you better".

"Spoilsport".

"In all my years I would have never thought this existed, How long has this been here?" Primrose extended her hand forward to catch a cloud and noticed that she could literally touch the clouds, they were soft yet dense like marshmallows.

"They have existed for as long as our race exists or even more. Although it wasn't until recent history that we Marines came to know about them".

"We marines...?" Gion crossed her arms sternly, as a vice admiral, she didn't know about this at all.

Tsuru shrugged her shoulders, "There are things that are better remaining a secret, Momousagi. But from the beginning -since I knew Peter was a Birkan- I considered that we'd have to come here and hence, I got this from the HQ".

She pointed at the odd compass that she had which was like a cylindrical meter with a red arrow pointing in a certain direction, moving slightly together with the wobbling of the ship.

"Where is the island we're looking for?" Sandersonia, Marigold and Hancock had yet to recede from the shock of being in the skies, two years ago they learned the marvel of flight, and now their beliefs were further shattered by their boyfriend.

"The island should be in that direction" She pointed at the place where the device was pointing which was a cluster of clouds in the distance.

"What is this device?" Veyron knew she would give any deep explanations but she could at least tell what the device was, and indeed...

"It is a boreas compass. A device created under the world government's budget and used by high-ranked marines to detect flying islands, hey kid!-"
Veyron snatched it away to analyse it without asking for permission and flew away from an irritated Tsuru, "That's why I hate dealing with kids!".

"This seems to work the same way as a barometer. It measures the atmospheric pressure and points at the spot where it is the most prominent. Does that mean the sky islands except for a pressure on the sea clouds?"

"..." 
'That was... what Vegapunk explained to us when he gave us the device... he analysed just by seeing it!?'

The vice admiral was out of words, but everyone else, including the Boa sisters who had already seen Veyron's genius, and Gion who wasn't clever enough to even understand the implications, thought it was normal. For her part, Robin was also astonished that he knew what the device was since she didn't know and that was with all the books she read on a daily basis.

"What's a barometer, Veyron?" The archaeologist asked and Veyron realised that such a device wouldn't have the same name in both worlds.

"It doesn't matter... according to hat you said, that means the island we are going to may not be Skypea" He ignored Robin's question much to the beauty's irritation and instead focused on Tsuru's intel.

"That is correct, this device merely detects the closest sky island to us. But I know for a fact that Shandora is not far away".

"Shandora?"

"..."
There were many questions and few answers. The Vice Admiral Tsuru was determined to keep her mouth shut and instead extended her hand forward to receive the device from Veyron, which he complied to hand back but with questions of his own.

"Why are you so adamant on protecting a government that doesn't have your best interests in mind, Tsuru?"

"..."
"I always wondered the same with the old man Garp. He knows what his son is doing. He supports it, that's why he doesn't hunt Dragon. Then why stick with the government?"

"Once a marine, forever a marine".

Her answer did nothing but irritate him, rather than giving a rational answer, her logic was stubborn and blind loyalty which he couldn't be more peeved of.

"Why?"
"If the only monicker of justice in this world is sullied, what awaits for us except anarchy?"

"But the government-"
"There will come a time when the government is cleansed. But the marine will always remain a symbol of justice".

"This justice is being sullied as we speak... by the world nobles".

Tsuru bit her lips and moved to another end of the ship, not willing to attend reason. It is said an old dog doesn't learn new tricks. Veyron knew it was impossible to change her mind, just like Garps, but there was somebody else here.

'I don't want to join the marines. But that doesn't mean I think the Marines are on the bad side of this game... not all of them at least'.

Gion looked down in apparent shame at the fact that she understood very well what they were talking about and yet she didn't have any rational answer to give to this young boy to convince him.

The very reason they were on this mission to begin with was tied to the dulling justice of the marines and the boy was going to latch onto that.

When her eyes met Veyron's she realised she was about to be questioned as well and tried to move away. But he grasped her wrist.

"You're hunting an ex-marine".

"Yes".

"Then you must understand what I'm talking about. In no newspapers it ever mentioned that Peter Hornigold was an ex-marine. Why conceal the truth?"
She cast his wrist aside rather harshly, prompting Hancock to frown at her, any sort of insult towards her beloved was punishable, but Veyron indicated for her to stop. Gion never let her guard down.

"This world is more complex than you think, boy... sometimes sacrifices must be made for justice".

"When does it stop being the world's justice... and become your own?".

!!!

Unlike the headstrong Tsuru, Gion did gasp and clenched her fist, recalling in her mind the many reasons why she loved to be a marine and even joined in the first place, but also with the pass of time, the many flaws she had seen in the system that raised concern and yet everyone ignored.

Primrose walked forward and grasped the boy's shoulder softly, she shook her head at him.
"Veyron. When a wild animal is cornered you must leave a way out, lest it bites back".

"You- I'm not corner-"

*CHA!*
A thunder strike revered far away in the direction they were sailing towards, all of Veyron's senses caught it.
"A Lightning bolt in broad daylight?" Sandersonia frowned, feeling an ominous aura coming right from that direction, like a beast concealed amidst the clouds. 
"That wasn't just any lightning bolt. That's Skypea! Everyone get ready!".

Aware of the position he needed to go, Veyron once again took control of the ship and catapulted it towards that direction, There could only be one source of lightning in these skies and it was exactly what he was looking for.