Juno stood at the heart of the Golden City, surrounded by mountains of shimmering treasure. The ruins of Birka had remained untouched for centuries, yet now, under his guidance, the ancient wealth of the skies would serve a new purpose. The World Bank would be built upon a foundation of gold, and Juno was here to make sure of it.
Vegapunk, ever the genius, had worked swiftly. With his advanced technology, mining robots had been deployed throughout the city, their metallic limbs digging deep into the golden structures, refining the gold into bricks and coins. A massive refining station had been constructed, converting raw gold into its purest form before transporting it to Vita.
Juno oversaw the process, ensuring that everything ran smoothly. With each passing hour, vast quantities of gold were extracted, shaped, and transported through the dimensional gates leading back to Vita. The operation was seamless and efficient—until an ominous presence disturbed the air.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the city, carrying an ominous pressure with it. Juno narrowed his eyes as he turned toward the approaching figures. Emerging from the dense mist of the sky, a procession of warriors marched forward. Clad in white and gold robes, their weapons gleamed under the sunlight. Leading them was a man whose very presence demanded reverence.
The self-proclaimed god of Skypiea—Cielis.
Juno watched as the god approached, his piercing gaze locked onto the foreign presence disturbing his domain.
"You dare trespass upon my land and steal from the heavens?" Cielis' voice boomed, his expression darkening. "Who gave you permission to take what belongs to the gods?"
Juno remained unfazed, his expression calm. "I came to talk. I can take what I need without bloodshed."
Cielis scoffed, his eyes narrowing. "Talk? You've insulted me. There will be no talking, thief. Only judgment."
With a swift motion, Cielis swung his blade, and his priests unleashed a flurry of arrows toward Juno. In a blur, they descended from above, but Juno was already moving. He inhaled sharply, and in that moment, the air around him shifted.
Juno's feet dug into the cloudstone beneath him as he released his Crushing Pressure. By manipulating air pressure, he could make a target feel as if they were under six times Earth's gravity, immobilizing them instantly. But for this so-called god, Juno only used three times the force—just enough to make a point.
The very air warped, thickening as if the atmosphere itself was pressing down on the intruders. A wave of invisible force surged outward.
The ground beneath Cielis cracked, and the god's eyes widened in disbelief as the pressure hit him. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, unable to rise. His sword dropped from his hand, clattering against the golden stones. The priests faltered, unsure of what to do.
Juno didn't move, but his piercing gaze locked onto Cielis, who now knelt before him in a position of weakness.
"You... you dare!" Cielis spat, his voice strained as he struggled against the unyielding force. He tried to rise, but his muscles screamed in protest, his strength failing him.
Juno didn't speak a word, his eyes watching Cielis' efforts. He wasn't here to play with prideful gods. This was a warning. A message.
But the priests weren't finished. Their arrows rained down, and the soldiers charged with swords drawn, desperate to avenge their fallen god. But Juno's gaze sharpened, his impatience evident.
Without flinching, Juno muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowed into slits. "It's too noisy."
The words were simple, but the effect was catastrophic.
A dark aura, menacing and oppressive, erupted from him in a shockwave. It wasn't just a surge of power—it was Conqueror's Haki. The very air itself vibrated, and the ground trembled as a tidal wave of authority exploded outward, collapsing upon the priests and their weapons.
The sheer pressure sent the nearest warriors crashing to the ground, their faces slamming against the stone with brutal force. Their bodies went limp, one by one, as the wave of power swept through them. The golden city seemed to bow to Juno's will as the echoes of the crushing force rolled out, causing the heavens themselves to quiver.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Each fall was met with the hollow sound of heads hitting the ground, like thunderclaps that reverberated throughout the sky.
Cielis, once a towering figure of godly might, trembled beneath the weight of the Haki, his pride shattered as he struggled to lift his head. His eyes locked with Juno's, filled with a mix of fear and admiration.
"You… you are not human," Cielis whispered hoarsely, his voice barely a breath.
Juno stepped forward, his footfall unhurried, as if this was no battle at all. "You shouldn't have done that," Juno muttered, his voice carrying an edge of disappointment.
Without hesitation, Juno moved—his body flickering out of sight, reappearing in front of Cielis in less than the blink of an eye. With a single, devastating strike, he sent the so-called god crashing through several stone structures. The sky warriors gasped in disbelief.
Cielis groaned, struggling to lift himself, but before he could react, Juno vanished again. This time, the very air around Cielis disappeared with him. Juno had used Vacuum Prison, draining the very oxygen from the space, trapping Cielis in a suffocating void where he could neither breathe, move, nor even hear.
His eyes widened in panic, his chest heaving as he instinctively tried to inhale, only to find nothing. The realization dawned on him—this wasn't just power. This was complete dominion over the battlefield. His body was locked in place, immobilized by the crushing absence of air.
Juno stood over him, his gaze cold. "Finally calmed down?" he asked, his voice a calm, almost mocking tone.
Cielis couldn't respond—his mouth moved, but no sound came out. Desperate, he nodded vigorously, his eyes wide with a mix of panic and defeat.
Juno tilted his head slightly, the pressure in the air still suffocating. "Can you listen now?"
Cielis nodded again, his face a portrait of helplessness.
Silence filled the air, broken only by the labored breathing of the fallen god. Juno stood over him, arms crossed, waiting for him to speak.
Cielis' pride was shattered, but his mind was still sharp. He knew he had lost. If he continued to fight, his entire city would suffer. His people would suffer.
"What... do you want?" Cielis finally asked, his voice weary.
Juno's expression softened slightly. "Gold. I will take the gold, but I will give you something in return."
Cielis' eyes flickered with suspicion. "And what could you possibly offer us?"
"Dirt," Juno said simply. "You live on clouds. You have no soil, no way to grow anything of your own. What good is gold to you? You can't trade it for iron. You can't use it for war. But dirt—dirt is life."
Finally, he nodded. "Agreed."
Juno turned away, already issuing orders for his machines to continue their work. As he watched the gold being transported through the gates to Vita, a small smirk played on his lips. He had what he needed. Now, it was time to prepare for his next move.