The information contained within the Poneglyphs was far more than what he had mentioned.
Beyond trivial things—like Joy Boy entrusting the Mink Tribe, created by the Lunarians, to his good friend Zunesha, or how he gradually became the leader of the Lunarians—there were also crucial secrets.
Such as Imu's abilities.
And detailed descriptions of the three Ancient Weapons.
Poseidon and Pluton needed no explanation.
The true focus was on the weapon held by the World Government—the original, and likely the strongest of all: Uranus.
Uranus possessed the terrifying power to command the sky themselves and rule the sky.
Its true form was a floating metropolis—the very vessel the Birkans used when they migrated from the moon to the Blue Sea.
It was the pinnacle of Birka's technology, and after landing in the Blue Sea, it underwent several rounds of modifications, giving it power that surpassed even the later-built Pluton.
Ian didn't know whether, in the eight centuries that followed, Imu had made any modifications to it, but one thing was certain—there was no energy source in that thing.
As long as Vegapunk's side didn't have any issues, that weapon couldn't even be activated.
While Ian was lost in thought, Robin couldn't help but glance at him cautiously.
After reading the inscriptions on the Poneglyph, she already understood: Pluto was in Wano, and the mermaid princess was Poseidon.
In other words, even if the two ancient weapons hadn't fallen into Ian's hands yet, they were already within reach.
At that moment, Ian turned to her with a faint, enigmatic smile, their eyes meeting.
Robin felt a chill run through her and immediately lowered her gaze.
She knew some things were absolutely not to be spoken aloud.
"Then don't say it," Aunt Linlin muttered, shrugging, though she hadn't really expected Ian to reveal any details about the ancient weapons anyway.
Instead, her excitement turned elsewhere. "Then what about the Great Treasure? The legacy of the Ancient Kingdom can't just be this Poneglyph and a pile of useless books, right? Such an advanced nation must have left behind enormous wealth!"
Useless books? Ian chuckled lightly.
In fact, his earlier guess had been entirely correct.
These books were the technical archives of Birka, painstakingly preserved by Joyboy.
If someone could fully grasp the contents, recreating Birka's technology would be a mere flick of the hand.
"The Great Treasure exists, of course," Ian said, stamping his foot. "It's right beneath this."
"Right beneath this?"
Aunt Linlin's excitement surged. She instinctively looked at the man who had remained silent the entire time. "Bullet, hurry and open the path below!"
Bullet's face darkened instantly. "Who do you think you are? Ordering me around too?"
"Ah?"
Aunt Linlin also flew into a rage.
The person she respected was Ian—this jerk was just a nobody.
"All right," Ian said with a light chuckle. "No fighting here. Bullet, open the way down."
Everyone was too eager to bother looking for another passage.
Bullet snorted but once again activated his ability, assimilating the floor. The ground cracked, forming a staircase leading downward.
"Oh! The legendary Great Treasure is right below?"
Robin peered down hesitantly.
Yet no one moved first—until Ian stepped forward. Then everyone followed.
They hadn't gone far before a dazzling golden light flooded their vision.
"Oh."
Ian stopped, staring down in astonishment. "This is truly over the top."
"Wow! A sea of gold!"
Yamato, right behind Ian, laughed heartily.
Indeed, it was a vast ocean of gold.
The underground of the library held a vast space almost equal in area to the surface above.
In this space, roughly the size of Onigashima, the floor was piled high with gold and jewels.
Peering down with Observation Haki, one could see that the heap of gold was astonishingly deep.
Even if it wasn't quite an ocean, it was certainly more like a lake.
Even the Golden Ship of Tesoro from the original story probably didn't hold this much gold, right?
Birka really was quite wealthy.
Well, considering the situation more than eight hundred years ago, they could have easily sold a few things to neighboring countries and made a fortune.
Technology truly is the primary productive force.
Joy Boy and Roger certainly weren't exaggerating.
To obtain an ancient weapon was to obtain supreme power.
To acquire this much gold was to possess wealth incomparable to anyone else.
"Hee hee hee hee! So much gold!"
A booming laugh came from behind. Solem laughed like a man possessed, "Now my powers will be invincible!"
All this gold was indeed the greatest aid for someone with his Gold Fruit ability!
"Then it's all yours, Solem."
Ian said with a smile, "Without your powers, I really wouldn't know how to move all this gold out."
Solem immediately patted his chest and shouted confidently, "Leave it all to me, Lord Ian!"
Hee hee, stamping his mark on all the gold, so it could be used anytime he wanted in the future.
"Mama, Mama, Ian," Aunt Linlin also leaned in with a mischievous smile, "As the saying goes, finders get a share. Aren't you going to give a little to me too?"
Ian smiled, "That's not really a problem, but at least wait until you've helped me a bit first."
He genuinely wasn't interested in money or such things.
After all, soon the entire world would belong to him.
What was a mere pile of gold compared to that?
Aunt Linlin huffed in displeasure.
"So, Ian," Dragon's hands trembled with excitement, "Are we going to reveal all the historical truths we've seen here?"
Ian shook his head gently, "Wait a little longer. It's not the time to alert everyone yet."
Eight hundred years ago, Imu had indeed been weak, completely broken by Joy Boy.
But eight hundred years had already passed. In all that time, even a pig would have trained enough to become a pig demon.
Unless Imu really was useless, Ian was certain that his power had grown tremendously compared to back then.
So it was better to be a little cautious.
No mistakes at the final moment.
Revealing to the World Government that they had already obtained an Ancient Weapon now would not be a good idea.
It was better to first seize the energy researched by Vegapunk, giving Pluton a chance to fight, and only then reveal the truth, sparking the ultimate war.
"That's true," Dragon nodded knowingly. He realized he had been a bit too excited.
"So, Ian, when will the war begin?"
"In a few months, I suppose," Ian said.
He looked around at everyone here. "Everyone, use this time to prepare."
"Of course!"
Dragon was thrilled.
It was almost time! The moment he had been waiting for, the moment Roger had waited for, the moment Joy Boy had waited for—it was nearly here!
"In any case," Ian smiled. "Let's go back."
This trip to Laugh Tale had been incredibly satisfying.
Not only had they obtained everything they wanted, but they had also uncovered plenty of fun from the truth of the void century.
Joy Boy—he really had his own way.
That was undeniable.
**********
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