Nola

Nola, known to many as the Master of the Sky, is a giant snake who lives on Upper Yard in Skypiea. Having lived for over four centuries, the snake was once the companion of Kalgara and Mont Blanc Noland back when Upper Yard was still part of Jaya. It is the grandchild of the snake Kashigami, whom the Shandia once worshiped as a god.

Appearance
Nola is an extremely massive light blue snake who is hundreds of meters long and large enough to swallow multiple humans and even buildings whole with ease; its width rivals that of the immensely large trees on Upper Yard and its stomach was mistaken for a cave by Luffy. Nola's backside is lined with dark blue stripes, and the sides of its body are lined with long, light blue hair; it also has a pair of long whiskers by its nose. Nola has yellow eyes with narrowed black pupils, and in its mouth it has a set of four long fangs in addition to a long forked tongue.

Four centuries ago, Nola was no bigger than an ordinary viper and was mistaken for one by the Shandia that discovered it.

Personality
Nola is extremely attracted to the ringing of the Shandorian Golden Belfry Bell and will dance with happiness whenever it hears it. If time goes by without the bell ringing, Nola will become sullen and even weep out of sadness. Nola will be very friendly to people who ring the bell, acting much like a pet. Being separated from people it cares for will make the snake just as sad and upset as not hearing the bell, and Nola will not forget the people it loses even after centuries have passed.

After 400 years of not hearing the sound of the bell, Nola became a vicious predator feared by those who stepped foot on Upper Yard. If Nola saw a human, it would relentlessly pursue them with the intent of consuming them whole. However, when the bell was finally rung at the end of the Skypiea-Shandia war four centuries after the Shandia's arrival, Nola was overjoyed to the point of dancing for multiple days nonstop, and became friendly to the Skypieans and current generation of Shandia.

If it feels pain, Nola will cry out and wildly rampage around, threatening the trees and structures around it.

Mont Blanc Noland and Old Shandia
Nola first approached the Shandia on Jaya around 400 years ago while the explorer Mont Blanc Noland was also there, and quickly grew a liking to them, not seeming to know or care that they had killed its parent and grandparent just days prior. Noland and the Shandia Kalgara liked the snake and treated it with a very friendly and caring attitude. Nola would remain in the ruins of Shandora after becoming attracted to the ringing of the Golden Belfry Bell, and many of the Shandia, particularly Kalgara and Seto, spent time and talked with it when they went to ring the bell. After Noland left, the Shandia told the snake that they were ringing the bell to guide him back to their island when he decided to return, and Seto gave the snake the name Nola after Noland. However, tragedy would then strike five years after Noland's arrival, as part of Jaya would be sent up into the sky by a Knock Up Stream and Nola was separated from the Shandia as they were forced out of the land by the residents of Skypiea. Nola would not see Kalgara, Seto, or any Shandia from their generation again, and losing them made the snake extremely sad; it was shown having a nightmare about losing Kalgara and Seto 400 years later.

New Shandia and Skypieans
Having been separated from the Shandia for centuries, Nola did not recognize Kalgara's descendants and ferociously attacked them just like any other human it encountered. During the final invasion of Upper Yard, Nola ate the Shandia girl Aisa, and their leader Wyper, who was Kalgara's descendant, tried to kill the snake in order to rescue Aisa. However, this invasion culminated in the ringing of the Golden Bell for the first time in four centuries as the Skypieans and Shandia made peace, and Nola celebrated this landmark event alongside them as the snake lived in peace with people once again; two years later, Nola is seen happily working at the amusement park Wagomuland, serving as a bungee jump attraction for the children there. It seems as though the Shandia and Skypieans learned Nola's real name, as its attraction in Wagomuland is called "Nola-Bungee".

Abilities and Powers


Thanks to its large size, Nola is capable of swallowing humans and even buildings whole, and can cause large-scale destruction to any structure it makes contact with. When the snake slammed headfirst into base of the immensely large Giant Jack at high speed after the beanstalk had been slightly weakened by Zoro, the force was strong enough to slightly tilt it. Despite Nola's size, the snake can move very quickly, making it very difficult for its prey to elude it. Nola's scales are extremely tough and durable, as Wyper was unable to damage it even with multiple blasts of his powerful Burn Bazooka. However, a large thunderbolt from Enel proved powerful enough to knock Nola unconscious.

Nola can transmit venom through its fangs; the venom is powerful enough to instantly corrode trees.

Past


Nola was born to the offspring of the great snake Kashigami. Over 400 years ago, both its parent and grandparent were killed within days of each other, and in the days following, Nola approached the Shandia warrior Kalgara and the explorer Mont Blanc Noland. The snake accompanied them into the ruins of the great golden city of Shandora, where it became entranced by the ringing of the giant Shandorian Golden Belfry Bell. Nola made its home in the ruins and spent time with Kalgara and Seto, who told the snake that they were ringing the bell so Noland would hear it when the explorer made his return to the island. However, five years after Nola met Kalgara and Noland and a year before Noland would return, half of Jaya was launched into the sky by a Knock Up Stream and landed up in the clouds. The sky residents then proceeded to drive the Shandia out of their home, separating Nola from the people who cared for it; additionally, the Golden Bell became lost and did not ring for the next four centuries.

Skypiea Arc
Nola confronted Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, Tony Tony Chopper, and Nico Robin while they were exploring Upper Yard. The snake tried to eat the four pirates, but they managed to elude its bites and scatter. Later, Nola found Luffy again and swallowed him whole. Luffy attacked the insides of Nola's stomach to try to find a way out, causing the snake to lash out in pain and rampage through Upper Yard. Nola then saw Zoro hanging onto a bird and tried to eat him, and when Zoro fell onto the Upper Ruins of Shandora, Nola entered there from below, joining him, Wyper, Gan Fall, Ohm, and Holy in a deathmatch.

Nola continued chasing after Zoro, and Wyper shot his Burn Bazooka at the snake but was unable to do any damage. Nola then briefly started laughing as Luffy tried digging out of its stomach with a rock. Nami and Aisa then arrived to the Upper Ruins on a Waver, and Gan Fall took them into the air with his horse-bird Pierre; however, Nola rose up and swallowed all four of them whole. Ohm then surrounded the Upper Ruins in a dome made out of Iron Cloud barbed wire, and it caused Nola to writhe in pain every time the snake slammed against it. Wyper then moved to cut Nola's stomach open with his bazooka in order to free the people it had eaten. Later, Enel proceeded to obliterate the Upper Ruins with a blast of lightning, sending Nola and the other fighters crashing down to the main part of Shandora; Nami and Gan Fall were able to escape from the snake's stomach in the process. Upon Nola seeing the city it grew up in for the first time in many years, the snake became entranced and started looking around in search of the people it knew. Seeing no one, Nola then grew sad and began crying loudly, causing Enel to strike the snake with a massive lightning bolt which knocked it out. Whilst Nola was unconscious, Luffy, Aisa, and Pierre were able to escape out through its mouth.



Later, Nola had a dream of Kalgara and Seto inviting it to come and ring the bell for Noland. They then walked away with Nola being unable to follow them, causing it to wake up crying in distress. Nola started wildly slithering forward and crashed headfirst into the big beanstalk Giant Jack, causing it to lean slightly to the west, before falling unconscious again. However, Nola then woke up again to the sound of the Golden Bell ringing at last, and cried out with joy. Later, Nola danced alongside the Skypieans and Shandia as they celebrated Enel's defeat and the end of their 400-year war over Upper Yard. After multiple days of nonstop festivities, Nola slept well into the following day. Later that day, the Skypieans and Shandia rang the bell again and Nola was seen dancing to it.

Where They Are Now
Some weeks later, Nola was shown moving through Upper Yard peacefully alongside Aisa, Conis, and Raki.

From the Decks of the World
Two years after the end of the war in Skypiea, Nola worked for the new amusement park Wagomuland, in which it hosted a bungee-jumping attraction called "Nola-Bungee" by holding a rubber band in its mouth.

Translation and Dub Issues
As with many of the series' "r/l"-based names, English translations differ on whether the snake's name should be romanized as Nola or Nora; however, as it is meant to be an homage to Mont Blanc Noland, both the Viz manga and the Funimation anime render it Nola.

Translations also differ on Nola's species, which the original Japanese typically gives as Uwabami (ウワバミ)—a generic term for large snakes that is not tied to any specific species, and is indeed also used for mythical creatures such as the Yamata-no-Orochi. Notwithstanding this, many English translations refer to Nola as a "python" or "anaconda"—technically inaccurate, given that Nola is, unlike those species, highly venomous.

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece Treasure Cruise

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece: Grand Battle! 3
 * One Piece: Grand Adventure

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Pirates Carnival
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Trivia

 * At more than 400 years old, Nola is the second oldest-known living creature in the world (surpassed only by Zunesha, the millennium-old elephant carrying the island of Zou).
 * Unlike real-life snakes, which are strictly carnivorous, Nola is apparently capable of eating and digesting fruit.
 * Nola shedding tears is also impossible for any real-life snake to do, as they do not have tear ducts.

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