Summary:
The Shandia continued their campaign through the Upper Yard, but now must halt their advance as Kamakiri has been wounded. Engaged in battle with the priest “Skybreeder” Ohm and his dog Holy, Wyper reluctantly retreats with the rest of the Shandia to tend to their wounded. Ohm is ready to chase after them, but another priest, “Sky Boss” Gedatsu, arrives and tells him that they have been summoned by Enel. At the Straw Hat camp, Luffy helps Sanji prepare food for the crew. As he watches the water boil, he complains about how boring his job is, but Sanji stresses the importance of having water for the crew tomorrow. Just then, Zoro and Chopper come back from their supply run. Chopper found bananas, walnuts, aloe and garlic. Zoro returned with the rats and frogs. Sanji tells them to put it all in the stew, prompting Nami to comment that some weird stuff is going into it. Sanji guesses that he means garlic, which Nami vehemently denies. Robin then returns as well, holding a blue rock, which Nami initially takes to be a gem. It’s actually crystallized salt, much to Sanji’s delight. Chopper decides to keep some aloe and garlic for medical treatment and to help the Sky Knight, which confuses Zoro a bit as he assumed Chopper would need the frogs. Sanji then asks Zoro to help prepare as well; he has him hold a smoldering rock to put into the stew, much to the other’s chagrin at the use of his swords. Luffy wonders if they should eat the rock as well, as Sanji explains that the heat from the rock helps cook the stew.
While Sanji finishes their meal, Nami finishes making the map. The crew assembled and eating, Nami begins by first repeating what they learned from the Mont Blanc Noland story: He traveled to the city of gold 400 years ago. Years later, he returned in search of the golden city, but it seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Most evidence suggests that a particular part of the island was thrown into the sky by the Knock Up Stream, but Zoro points out that the animals and vegetation of the two islands are too different to have come from the same place. However, Robin points out that there are many different substances in both environments that affect their growth in drastically different ways. Chopper notes the size of the southern bird that saved them (compared to the one that got them on Skypie), prompting Sanji to ask why they were saved in the first place. Chopper isn’t sure, but points out that the birds referred to the Sky Knight as “god”. This sets Luffy off as he immediately associates Enel’s actions with the title and subsequently thinks he has to beat up the Sky Knights. This earned a sneer from Usopp, easing Pierre’s fears that Luffy might actually hurt his master. Nami continues to recap the information Noland’s book gave them about the Golden City, including the golden bell tower. Robin points out the things Noland wrote on the last page of his journal, more specifically his quote about seeing gold in the “right eye of the skull”. Nami thinks the same thing and shows the crew what happened by aligning the map Robin found in Jay with the ancient map of Skypiea: when they join where the cricket’s home of Mont Blanc splits, the two islands form a skull.
With this new revelation, it appears that the “right eye of the skull” is a specific area in the Upper Yard. Since the island was still land at the time of Noland’s discovery, the logic no longer applied and the puzzle could not be solved before he returned. The crew decide to head for that point the next day, but cannot leave the Going Merry unattended, so they split into two groups. Noticing that it is late, Robin suggests putting out the fire so as not to reveal their position to the enemy. Luffy calls the idea stupid (much to Robin’s shock), but Usopp tells Luffy to give her the benefit of the doubt and acknowledge the dark life she’s lived up until now. When Robin asks what he means, he explains that you just have to have a campfire on a camping night, even if it means death. Nami tries to berate the two about how dangerous the forest is, but realizes it’s futile when Zoro and Sanji join in and create a pile of wood. Sanji tries to suppress his fear by explaining that the beast is afraid of fire, but eyes begin to appear ominously from the darkness behind him, scaring her even more. Ironically, he is soon enjoying himself with everyone else: the eyes are revealed to belong to wolves, who befriend the crew and dance with them around the campfire.
Amidst the festivities, the Knight of Heaven finally awakens from his rest. He is very amused that the wolves have been tamed, and also that probably no one else would make so much noise in Enel’s house. He tries to apologize that he couldn’t be more helpful to the crew, but they dismiss it and offer him some food. Luffy and Chopper actually ask him to come to the dance, much to Zoro’s amazement (Zoro and Chopper often argue about his mobility after medical treatment). Sanji asks him about Conis and Pagaya and he assures them that they are safe in his house. His face turns serious and he reveals that he overheard their conversation about the history of Upper Yard. He did not know that the land was once known as Jaya, but still asks them if they know why the Upper Yard is known as the “Holy Land”. He goes on to explain to the crew that the ground beneath their feet is quite ordinary to them, but to the people in the sky, it’s the exact opposite. An island cloud can nourish plant life, but it cannot give birth to it; therefore, soil and plant life are not things of heaven. There they refer to the land as “vearth” and will forever hold it sacred.
Elsewhere in the Upper Yard, there is disagreement in the village of Shandia over their earlier mission. Wyper berates Raki for her lack of focus and blames Kamakiri’s injury on his need to save her. She apologizes and tearfully begs for the small bag Wyper snatched from her. She exclaims that it is Ais’s treasure and promises the little girl to bring her Vearth. Wyper counters, that’s exactly why she couldn’t focus. He continues to beg for the bag back until Kamakiri himself appears and knocks the bag to the ground. He claims he can still fight and agrees with Wyper that there is no better time than now to strike with one of the priests already down. He goes on to say that if they defeat Enel, there will be no need to keep the little pouch of Vearth and the Shandia will finally be able to return to the home they lost 400 years ago.