The Winged Dragon continued diving deeper into the hidden depths of Reverse Mountain.
Finally, after half a day of rushing forward—
In a single instant, Ian's eyes lit up.
Two minutes later, the others on deck also broke into excited smiles.
"I can feel it… is that the place?"
Kaido was the first to shout with excitement.
"There's no mistake!"
Shanks's face was filled with barely contained joy. "A space that huge… of course that must be Laugh Tale!"
Everyone adept at Observation Haki had sensed it.
Some distance ahead, a vast, open space was revealing itself to them.
"It's almost here—no! We've finally arrived!"
Redfield, who had been maintaining that cold, expressionless face, completely broke composure. The impatience spreading across his features was obvious to anyone who looked.
After all, with the final island already so close before their eyes, who in the world wouldn't be overwhelmed with excitement?
That was the legendary treasure countless generations had sought over the past eight hundred years. Yet only Roger's crew had ever succeeded in finding it.
The one reacting the most intensely was, unsurprisingly, Nico Robin. The usually elegant and intellectual beauty now stood with reddened eyes, shimmering tears pooling in her gaze.
Finally.
Finally, this moment had come.
A short while later—
Boom!!
The massive battleship suddenly shook.
A fierce sense of weightlessness swept over everyone aboard.
Bullet dispelled the dome of energy covering the ship.
And in the next instant, the scenery around them was completely revealed.
Pitch-black darkness.
Nothing could be seen.
It felt as though they had fallen into a bottomless abyss, a hell with no end.
"Worororororo!"
Kaido immediately shifted into his hybrid form, flames of cloud drifting from his body.
The cloudlike fire not only cast light around them but wrapped itself around the entire ship, halting its rapid descent.
"Can't see a thing!"
Yamato had already rushed to the ship's rail, stretching her neck forward in an attempt to look below.
But beneath them remained only darkness.
"It's too dark. I can't see anything at all!"
"Muhahahaha! Leave it to me!"
At that moment, the Beast Pirates' resident technician, Queen, strode forward. He lifted his mechanical left arm high, aiming straight toward the gaping darkness above.
"I've long prepared countermeasures for this situation!"
"Artificial Sun—Fire!!"
Bang!
A cannonball shot out from the barrel embedded in his left arm.
It didn't fly very high before slamming into the pitch-black ceiling above.
The cannonball burst open—not with an explosion, but with a radiant burst of light cascading down from the sky.
Ian narrowed his eyes.
It looked like a massive dandelion, radiating a blinding light as if it were the sun itself.
Uncle Queen had really mastered quite a few of these chaotic techniques.
But right now, they were coming in handy.
One dandelion alone wasn't enough. Uncle Queen fired several more shots at the ceiling, and together they almost completely illuminated the space.
Now, they could finally see the entire area clearly.
It was a vast space, almost large enough to fit an entire city. Placing Onigashima here would make that giant skull seem small and even cute.
Above was a hemispherical dome, while below lay a body of water. Though it was seawater, in terms of size it resembled more of a lake.
And in the center of the lake, an island sat quietly.
"That's… Laugh Tale!!"
Kaido gripped the deck of the Sunny nearly so tightly it could have broken.
Ian looked down at the island below.
It wasn't exactly small—actually larger than Onigashima.
However…
"Why does Laugh Tale look a bit different from what I imagined?"
Yamato scratched their face in surprise, glancing at Ian with a puzzled expression.
"I was thinking the same thing," Ian replied.
Law couldn't help but laugh. "Who would have thought it would look like this?"
In their original imagination, Laugh Tale should have been an ancient ruin steeped in history.
How could it possibly be…
"Oh! Oh!! Oh!!!"
Uncle Queen's face flushed with excitement, his eyes practically popping out. "It's actually a futuristic city!!"
Indeed, the Laugh Tale below was unlike anything anyone had imagined before.
Even from high above, the strong metallic aura made it impossible to look away.
On a not-so-large island, steel skyscrapers stood crammed together. At a glance, it looked far more advanced than any of the great cities scattered across the seas today.
Who would have imagined that Laugh Tale from eight hundred years ago would look like this?
Ian couldn't hide the smile spreading across his face.
Of course, it made sense. The massive kingdom represented by Joy Boy eight hundred years ago already possessed technology that even surpassed the current world.
So it wasn't surprising at all that Laugh Tale would be a futuristic city back then.
This journey really hadn't lacked surprises at all.
Joy Boy, what other interesting things have you left on this island, you mischievous fellow?
The Winged Dragon was gently set onto the sea just outside the island by Kaido.
Now they could finally get a proper look at the island.
Wide, hardened roads stretched before them, flanked by medium-height metal skyscrapers, with a dense network of wires and pipes running between the buildings.
It truly radiated a sense of the future.
"Let's go check it out!"
Yamato couldn't contain her excitement.
And she wasn't the only one—everyone was eager to see what other wonders lay hidden on this island, which already exceeded all their expectations just from its appearance.
But before they could even set foot on Laugh Tale, another surprise appeared.
Splash!
Not far off, a massive fish leapt from beneath the waves, arcing through the air before crashing back into the sea.
"Huh?"
Sanji froze, startled.
"What's wrong?"
Ace, who had been excitedly looking at the final island, turned back in surprise.
"That is…"
Sanji stared dumbfounded. "A Horus Trunk Tuna."
"Huh? What kind of fish?"
Ace blinked, puzzled by the unfamiliar name, and instinctively asked, "So… what's the big deal?"
Sanji remained stunned. "But… this is a species that only lives in the West Blue."
Ian's lips curled into a smile. "That's probably because there isn't just one path leading into this space."
"Judging by what we see now, there should be six paths in total, leading to the Four Seas, New World and Paradise."
That Joyboy guy really was considerate, fully taking into account the needs of people scattered across the seas.
Makes sense—if there were only an entrance in the later part of the New World, it would be troublesome for those coming from the East or South Blue.
But then, why does the signpost only mark one entrance?
"So, through these paths, all the fish from every corner of the world are gathering here!"
Sanji's eyes suddenly lit up. "This… this is ALL BLUE!"
ALL BLUE was the dream of every chef, and Sanji was no exception.
"Then… this is yours."
Ian said casually.
Whether there were fish or not didn't matter—what mattered most now was…
"Let's land."
Ian said.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24