God's Army

This was the assembled war machine that backed Enel during his reign over the sky island, drawing its ranks from both Birkan and Skypiean warriors stationed on Upper Yard. The organization split into several tiers. At the top stood four Priests, Enel's mightiest servants, each tied to one of the deadly Ordeals and armed with unique Dial weapons. Beneath them came fifty Divine Soldiers, a 650 strong Divine Squad, and the White Berets, a police body that resembled the Marines of the lower seas.

The Priests, rendered variously as Vassals or Sky Knights across translations, posed the gravest danger to the crew short of Enel himself. Ohm guarded the Ordeal of Iron with his battle dog Holy, Satori oversaw the Ordeal of Balls, Gedatsu the Ordeal of Swamp, and Shura the Ordeal of String alongside his bird Fuza. Every Priest could read an opponent's next move through Mantra and slip away before a blow landed. The Divine Soldiers, led by Yama with the brothers Hotori and Kotori as lieutenants, carried Axe Dials that loosed invisible blades and wore Shooters to skim through the clouds. The Divine Squad, seized from former ruler Gan Fall, were enslaved for six years building the Ark Maxim, while the White Berets, captained by McKinley, only obeyed Enel to shield Skypiea's citizens and turned on him once his plan to wipe out everyone became clear.

Eight years before the arc, Enel raised his loyal Birkan followers, then leveled their homeland with the Goro Goro no Mi, pushing them to seek a new sky island. They reached Skypiea, overthrew Gan Fall, and Enel claimed the mantle of God. When the Straw Hats arrived, the crew picked apart the army piece by piece: Roronoa Zoro beat Ohm, Sanji and Luffy downed Satori, Wyper felled Shura, Tony Tony Chopper defeated Gedatsu, Nico Robin bested Yama, and Nami with Gan Fall handled Hotori and Kotori. After Luffy toppled Enel, the god fled to the moon aboard Maxim while his forces were sentenced to Cloud Drifting. Gedatsu alone dodged that fate, tumbling into the Blue Sea where he opened a hot springs resort. The group is also remembered as the first antagonists shown using a form of Haki, which Mantra was later confirmed to be.