Chapter 255

Chopper comments that he was initially worried the forest would be a dangerous place, but now he thinks it’s nothing to worry about (he makes a mental note that he feels safer with the group), prompting Luffy to mention how brave he’s being today. Zoro adds that he can relate since nothing came at them when they entered the forest yesterday either, and Chopper feels even better about himself. Unbeknownst to all of them however, a gigantic snake that severely dwarfs them all in size slithers across the forest behind them. Robin muses to herself how strange the group is for being so eager for something bad to happen. At that moment, the giant snake fully emerges in front of them.

Aboard the Going Merry, Usopp has taken it upon himself to act as “captain”, and asks Nami to speed up the ship. She responds that the milky road current is too rough, so they just have to rely on the dials to get them through. Usopp then asks Sanji to be his bodyguard, which he coldly replies he will do exclusively for Nami. Nami then remembers that it’s time for the Knight of the Sky to get his medicine, and asks Sanji where Chopper kept it. The knight speaks up, and states that his name is Gan Fall.

He asks to share a bit of history of the country. He starts by saying that until 6 years ago, he was known as the “God” of Skypiea. This causes Usopp to ask him if he fell on his head, earning him a nasty bite on the head from Pierre. He continues by confirming what the crew had already figured out: Upper Yard first appeared in Skypiea around 400 years ago. Prior to its arrival, Skypiea was a peaceful place where its inhabitants greatly treasured the blue sea items that occasionally washed up via the Knock Up Stream.

All the vearth that appeared in Skypiea beforehand had come in this manner, but for something the size of Upper Yard to come up was truly unprecedented. They considered it a true miracle, a Holy Land as a gift from heaven. The land already had its own native residents however, the Shandia, and thus began a war for the Holy Land. In the end the Shandia were forced out, and have since been trying to reclaim what was once theirs. Sanji and Usopp immediately voice their blame on Gan Fall, earning them both a bite on the head from Pierre.

However Gan Fall owns up to it and doesn’t attempt to shift blame at all. As he pauses to take his medicine, Nami asks him about “God” Enel. He explains that six years ago Enel showed up leading a powerful army, and defeated both God’s Army and the Shandia. He took control of Upper Yard from then on, forcing his army into intense labor, though he doesn’t know the details. He reaffirms that who “God” is doesn’t matter to the Shandia, they only want their homeland.

Sanji asks what caused them to attack the crew when they first arrived then, and he explains that they attack God’s Army without mercy. They most likely mistook them for militia, since they sometimes attempt to escape on blue sea ships. Gan Fall says he became the “Knight of The Sky” to help people so easily deemed as criminals escape from Enel’s sphere of influence. Sanji resolves that Enel is nothing but a tyrant, which freaks Usopp out, as he wonders what Enel can hear. Gan Fall explains that it’s actually worse than being a tyrant; he enforces a system that uses various excuses to outlaw people, and then pushes the people of Skypiea to take part in capturing them.

This awareness creates fear, which he uses to maintain a control over the population that truly does liken him to a god. Nami frets at how absurd this all is, realizing the City of Gold has gone to a truly incredible place. This sparks more memories of Gan Fall from the crew’s discussions the night before, and he asks what gold is. Back in the forest, the Explore Team prepares to deal with the snake. Luffy yells for them to run away (though he is clearly enjoying himself), Chopper is scared speechless, Robin wonders if the island’s environment is the reason for its size, and Zoro prepares to cut it.

The snake strikes at them, and they all manage to dodge. The snake does strike a tree however, which completely melts down, and it is revealed the snake has extremely corrosive venom. With this, they decide that running away is the better option, though Luffy again clearly finds the snake is cool. Zoro warns that the venom will instantly kill you, and Luffy tries to get its attention. It focuses on Robin however, and strikes at her.

She effortlessly dodges, and creates a makeshift vine to swing herself to safety. Chopper quickly scrambles away (comically running upright on his hind legs in walk point), and Zoro finds himself face to face with the snake next. Zoro comments on how dire this looks, and the snake lunges for him. Robin is unsure of what to do. She has navigated back to where they were originally, but no one else is there. She wonders if she should wait. Elsewhere, Chopper is in a severe state of panic that he’s gotten lost, and cries out for help. In a different location, Zoro wonders where everyone has gone. He quickly resolves that they’ll be fine by themselves though, and that he even memorized most of the map: he just needs to go “right”. Finally Luffy has also been separated from the group, but he assumed they got lost. He decides that he’ll just meet them at the ruins, and since they said it is “to the south”, that must mean it is someplace warm.