I, Kizaru, only came to the chat group after I became invincible

Chapter 454 Everyone Avoids!

“Building ruins?” Sauron repeated.

“Yes,” Victor said definitively. “I found it strange at the time that there would be debris from a building floating at sea.”

"That must have fallen from the sky above Lavala!" Robin exclaimed excitedly. "If that island really does float in the sky, it's normal for things to fall down occasionally."

“Mr. Victor,” Borsalino asked earnestly, “would you be willing to part with this pumice stone?”

Victor looked at the stone in his hand, then at the group of young people.

"You want it?" he asked.

“Yes,” Robin said sincerely. “This stone is very important to our research. We are willing to pay a reasonable price if possible.”

“Price?” Victor shook his head. “No price is needed.”

"Huh?" Everyone was a little surprised.

“You saved my life,” Viktor said sincerely. “If this stone is of any use to you, you can have it. To me, it’s just a souvenir.”

“But…” Robin was about to say something, but Victor interrupted her.

“Don’t refuse,” the old man insisted. “I’m already very happy to see this stone realize its true value in my lifetime.”

"Thank you!" Luffy solemnly accepted the light stone. "This is really important to us!"

"May I ask what you need this stone for?" Victor asked curiously.

So Robin briefly told Victor about his search for Sky Lavara. The old man listened with great interest, his eyes rekindling with the adventurous spirit of his youth.

“I see,” Victor exclaimed. “I never imagined that a chance discovery I made forty years ago would help you find the legendary island.”

“Yes,” Robin said. “With this pumice stone, we can be more certain of Sky Lavara’s existence, and the location information you provided is also very important.”

“That’s wonderful.” Viktor smiled with satisfaction. “You young people remind me of my own youth. Full of enthusiasm and adventurous spirit.”

“Mr. Victor is amazing too!” Chopper said. “He sailed to so many places when he was young.”

“That’s all in the past,” Viktor said, shaking his head with a smile. “Now I’m old, and all I can do is reminisce.”

“No way!” Luffy said earnestly. “You’ve given us such an important clue; it’s part of our adventure!”

“That’s right.” Nami nodded. “Once we find Sky Lavala, we’ll definitely come back and tell you the details!”

“Then I look forward to your good news,” Victor said sincerely.

It was getting late, and the Straw Hat Pirates prepared to take their leave. Before leaving, Chopper gave Viktor some final reminders, while Sanji left some food he had bought from the night market for the old man.

“These are for you,” Sanji said. “Take good care of yourself.”

“And this.” Nami took some money out of her purse. “You can use it to buy medicine and food.”

“No, no, no, that’s too much,” Victor tried to decline.

“Please accept this,” Robin said gently. “You have already given us something priceless; this is just a small token of our appreciation.”

Under Victor's grateful gaze, the Straw Hat Pirates left the small house. On their way back to port, everyone felt that this encounter had been very meaningful.

"I never expected that helping an old man would lead to such an important clue," Franky exclaimed.

“This is what they mean by good deeds being rewarded,” Brooke said.

“No.” Luffy shook his head. “We’re helping him not for anything in return, but simply because he needs help.”

“Luffy is right,” Borsalino nodded. “Doing good deeds is the goal itself; one shouldn’t expect anything in return. But this coincidence was indeed very lucky.”

“With the pumice, we can be even more certain of the existence of Sky Lavara.” Robin carefully put away the precious stone. “Moreover, the location information provided by Mr. Victor perfectly matches Oliver’s prediction.”

"This means we're on the right track!" Nami exclaimed excitedly. "Sky Lavara is very likely in that sea area!"

"Great!" Luffy waved his arms excitedly. "We're setting off the day after tomorrow! We absolutely have to find that Sky Island!"

Three days later, the Thousand Sunny was sailing in unfamiliar waters. After a thorough rest and resupply on Canaveral Island, the Straw Hat Pirates were ready to search for Sky Lavala.

“Based on Mr. Victor’s description, this should be the area.” Nami stood at the helm, carefully comparing the sea chart and compass. “The water is indeed a bit darker than the surrounding area.”

"And the wind direction is strange too." Sanji observed the ripples on the sea. "It's sometimes strong, sometimes weak, very irregular."

“This suggests there might be something in the sky affecting the airflow,” Borsalino analyzed slowly. “Perhaps it’s the Sky Lavara.”

"Great!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly from the bow of the ship. "We've found the right place!"

“Everyone, pay close attention to the sky,” Robin reminded them. “According to Oliver’s records, the outline of Sky Island is most visible at dusk and dawn.”

"It's afternoon now," Nami said, glancing at the sun's position. "It'll be dusk in two or three hours."

“Then let’s cruise slowly in this area and wait for dusk,” Zoro suggested.

Just as everyone was discussing the observation plan, Usopp suddenly shouted from the lookout tower.

"Wait! Look at the sea!" His voice was filled with shock.

Everyone immediately turned to look in the direction Usopp was pointing. About two nautical miles ahead of them, some strange debris was floating on the surface of the sea.

"What are those?" Chopper squinted at them.

“It looks like planks and stones,” Franky said, pulling out his binoculars. “And quite a lot of them.”

“Just like Victor said!” Robin recalled the old man’s description. “There are floating debris on the sea!”

"Great!" Luffy exclaimed excitedly. "This proves we've really found the right place!"

The Thousand Sunny accelerated towards the area of ​​debris. As they approached, they discovered that there were far more fragments than they had imagined. There were large pieces of wood, resembling the wreckage of ships or buildings; stones of various shapes, their surfaces bearing traces of human carving; and even some broken pottery and tools.

“These things must have fallen from the sky.” Robin picked up a stone and examined it closely. “Look, there are inscriptions carved on it.”

"What kind of writing is that?" Nami leaned closer to take a look.

“It’s ancient script!” Robin exclaimed excitedly. “The same script as in the underwater Lavara Temple!”

"So, these fragments really did come from Sky Lavara?" Sanji confirmed.

“One hundred percent sure!” Robin nodded firmly.

Franky pulled a plank from the sea and carefully examined its structure. "The craftsmanship of this plank is quite unique," he commented. "And the wood is very light; it must have undergone special treatment."

"Could it also use the technology of light stones?" Nami guessed.

“Very likely.” Franky nodded. “Mixing pumice powder into the wood would greatly reduce its weight.”

“Those people from Sky Lavala are really clever!” Chopper exclaimed. “To come up with such a method.”

Just as everyone was busy examining the debris, Zoro suddenly shouted, "Watch out! Something's wrong in the sky!"

Everyone looked up and saw that the clouds in the sky suddenly began to churn violently, as if something huge was moving within them.

"Is it Sky Lavara?" Luffy asked excitedly.

But the next second, the sight that appeared from the clouds shocked everyone.

That wasn't an island, but three enormous pirate ships! But these ships weren't sailing on the sea, they were flying in the air!
"A ship flying in the sky?!" Usopp stared in horror.

"How is this possible?!" Nami exclaimed in disbelief.

Three pirate ships slowly descended from the clouds, hovering about fifty meters above the sea. Huge airbags were mounted beneath the hulls, but something else seemed to be providing buoyancy as well.

“Wait a minute.” Franky picked up his binoculars and examined the ships closely. “Look at the hulls of those ships!”

Everyone took out their binoculars to examine the area. They saw that the bottoms of the pirate ships were inlaid with a large number of black stones, which gleamed dimly in the sunlight.

"Pumice!" Robin exclaimed. "They used pumice to make the ship fly!"

"I see!" Franky exclaimed, suddenly understanding. "No wonder they could fly. They must have collected a lot of pumice in this area, loaded it into the hull, and used the buoyancy of the pumice to levitate the entire ship!"

"What a brilliant idea!" Brook exclaimed. "Even though it was done by pirates."

“Look at the flags on those ships,” Zoro said, pointing to the lead ship. A black pirate flag flew on the mast, bearing a winged skull.

"Sky Pirates," Borsalino slowly read the text beneath the flag. "It seems this group of pirates operates specifically in this area."

"Could they know the location of Sky Lavara?" Nami asked a crucial question.

“Very likely.” Robin nodded. “The fact that they were able to obtain so many crystals shows that they are very familiar with this area.”

“Then let’s go ask them!” Luffy said immediately.

"Wait, Luffy," Borsalino stopped him. "Don't be impulsive. They're pirates, and there are quite a few of them. We need to assess the situation first."

Indeed, those three pirate ships were teeming with pirates, roughly estimated to be at least two or three hundred. Moreover, judging from their equipment and the size of their ships, their strength should not be weak.

“It looks like they’ve set up camp here,” Nami said, pointing to a small island in the distance.

Following the direction she pointed, there was indeed a small island not far away. Many tents and wooden huts were set up on the island, along with a tall watchtower. Most striking was a huge warehouse in the center of the island, seemingly used for storing supplies.

“That warehouse…” Franky observed carefully. “The walls are gleaming, could it be…”

“It’s built with pumice!” Robin confirmed. “They built the warehouse with pumice.”

“These pirates have collected a large amount of pumice,” Borsalino analyzed. “It seems they’ve been operating in this area for quite some time.”

"Then what should we do?" Sanji asked.

“Let’s try peaceful negotiations first,” Borsalino suggested. “If they’re willing to tell us the location of Sky Lavala, that would be best.”

"What if they don't want to?" Zoro's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.

“We’ll see how things go,” Borsalino said calmly. “But hopefully we won’t take action. After all, our goal is to find Lavala, not to cause trouble.”

“Okay.” Luffy nodded. “Then let’s go say hello!”

The Thousand Sunny slowly sailed towards the three flying pirate ships. As they approached, the pirates also noticed their presence.

"Captain! A ship is approaching!" a pirate reported to the captain.

"What kind of ship?" The captain walked to the side of the ship and picked up his binoculars to observe.

What he saw was a uniquely designed ship, with a lion-shaped prow and brightly colored hull. Standing on the deck were a group of people who did not look like ordinary merchants.

"That ship looks familiar," the captain said, frowning in thought. "That straw hat."

"Captain, that's Straw Hat Luffy!" exclaimed the first mate. "The Straw Hat kid with a bounty of 500 million!"

"Five hundred million?!" The captain's eyes lit up. "Are there any others?"

"That's Roronoa Zoro, bounty 300 million!" the lieutenant continued reporting. "And Black Leg Sanji, bounty 200 million!"

"A bunch of pirates with hefty bounties!" the captain grinned greedily. "If we can catch them, we'll be rich!"

"But Captain, they are very strong," the first mate said with some concern.

"What's there to be afraid of!" the captain shouted. "We have over three hundred men, and we have the advantage of air power! Their ships are on the sea, we're in the air, we can attack at will!"

"That's right!" The other pirates also got excited.

"All hands on deck!" the captain ordered. "Attack when they get any closer!"

At this moment, the Straw Hat Pirates were unaware of the other side's intentions. The Thousand Sunny continued to approach the flying pirate ships.

"They're almost within firing range," Usopp observed warily. "We need to be careful."

"It should be fine," Luffy said optimistically. "We just want to ask for directions."

Just as the Thousand Sunny entered the enemy's attack range, Luffy was about to call out to them. But before he could speak, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from the sky.

"Watch out!" Borsalino shouted.

More than a dozen cannonballs were fired from the pirate ship in the sky, whistling as they flew toward the Thousand Sunny!

"What?!" Nami exclaimed. "They attacked us?!"

"Everyone take cover!" Zoro shouted.

Nami immediately jerked the helm, and the Thousand Sunny made an emergency turn. Shells exploded on the sea surface, creating huge columns of water that splashed onto the deck.

(End of this chapter)