The Gol-Gol Fruit not only controls gold but can also transform it. The texture of gold itself isn't hard, but under the control of the Gol-Gol Fruit, it can surpass the hardness of ordinary steel.
However, the Gol-Gol Fruit can only transform the body into gold. It cannot disperse its body to evade damage; otherwise, it would be classified as a Logia-type.
To acquire a large amount of gold, the trip to Sky Island is essential. However, he took the regular route, sailing bit by bit up through the cloud sea of the Western Heaven Peak. He didn't want to experience the nerve-wracking and exhilarating sky adventure.
"Isn't Sky Island... just a fairy tale?"
"Are you talking about the big liar Norland? I remember that's a fairy tale from the North Sea, right? Have you heard it in the West Sea too?"
This story is well-known in the North Sea, but Cindry was born in the West Sea, so Tesoro was quite curious.
"I heard it from my father when I was young. Many of our fairy tale books are from the North Sea."
Due to the existence of the Red Earth Continent and the Grand Line, each of the Four Seas has developed its unique regional culture. Among them, the fairy tales and novels of the North Sea are the most developed. Although mostly popular locally, those with means can still obtain specialties from other seas.
The Victoria family is also a noble in the West Sea, so it's not surprising that Cindry could see these in her childhood.
"I see, although most people don't believe in Sky Island, it indeed exists, and coincidentally, we're heading to the Golden Land this time."
Cindry is a newcomer, but Tesoro didn't avoid any topic. Currently, the Hundred Beasts Fruit is developing rapidly, and having acquired the Gol-Gol Fruit, he needs more time to train.
So he didn't have time to slowly assess whether Cindry was a qualified member. Taking her along to the Golden Land was the simplest way to verify that.
...
At the Western Heaven Peak, Tesoro and the others reached Sky Island by following a safe current, as they gradually sailed up along the cloud sea.
Moreover, as a dancer, Cindry maintained high-intensity training, so she didn't experience any altitude sickness, only feeling amazed by the cloud sea here.
"Is this... Sky Island?"
"Yes, but not quite. This is the White Sea, and our destination is the upper White-White Sea, but we'll soon arrive. Tanaka, change the flag to the flag of Lord Arceus!"
Upon reaching here, Tesoro's ship quickly switched to another sail, with the emblem of the Thousand Cosmos Bracelet prominently displayed. Shortly after they changed the flag, several Shandia people arrived.
"Are you the Divine Envoy this time? The things the Divine Spirit requested are prepared."
Back when Arceus became the new god of the Shandia Tribe, Tesoro came here under the guidance of Arceus and naturally became known as the Divine Envoy in their speech.
Looking at those Shandia people, Cindry felt a strange sensation.
Currently, the Shandia people still maintain their ancient style of clothing, but some things are quite advanced, such as the weapons on them, which makes them appear somewhat incongruous.
"Don't be surprised; these things are originally sold by us. You just joined, so our operations cover a wide range. You'll see more exciting things later."
Cindry didn't understand Tesoro's meaning yet, but when the Golden Land appeared before her and the giant Serperior surrounded them, she felt as if she had truly entered a fairy tale world.
Tesoro was just there to collect gold. Under his ability's control, a large number of fragmented giant gold pieces turned into golden balls, rolling in an orderly manner toward the carts they brought.
Not long before, below on Gaya Island, a group of pirates had arrived.
The leader was quite special; his name was Montblanc Cricket, a direct descendant of Norland. His purpose was to clear his ancestor's name.
He believed Shandora truly existed but had sunk into the ocean due to some accident.
However, after a lengthy search with no results, Cricket's companions had left him, and he persisted in searching for traces of Shandora alone.
After prolonged exhaustion, he chose to rest for a while in Demon Valley Town. Over a decade had passed, and the people here had mostly changed, but Dote's tavern still stood firm.
Cricket sat at the bar, drinking sullenly, chatting idly with Dote after a few drinks.
After all this time, Dote's face showed the marks of time, but his health was still decent.
"Boss, have you heard of the Golden Land?"
He was ready to be laughed at, as that's how it had always been in the past, but this time he heard a different answer.
"I've heard of it, maybe it's on the Sky Island above."
"Hey, Dote, you're telling jokes again!"
"Yes, there's no such thing as Sky Island in this world, that's just a story for kids. Stop trying to deceive people with that broken photo and just bring the drinks!"
Other customers clearly didn't believe such things; there were no witnesses to the truth then, let alone after so many years. However, Cricket sobered up.
After Dote delivered the drinks, Cricket hurriedly grabbed his wrist and asked, "You said the Golden Land is on Sky Island?"
"No, I just said it's possible; it's just my guess. If you're interested, I'll tell you about it. These young people don't believe my words."
With that, Dote pulled out a box from the cabinet, inside which were some yellowed old photos.
"It was about a decade ago, back then Roger wasn't the Pirate King yet. A group of people came here looking for Sky Island, and they really found it. This was a gift from a young girl because I was the only one who echoed their words.
Now, that girl should be a grown woman."
Then Dote presented the photos Yamato had taken to Cricket. Although the photography skills were not great, one could still see the extraordinary scenery.
"It's said that this is Sky Island. I think if the Golden Land really exists, it might be up there."
Back then, Yamato didn't reveal information about the Golden Land. The photos only showed the giant serpent's silhouette and the cloud sea of Sky Island, so the Golden Land was his own speculation. However, for Cricket, Dote's words were a revelation.
"You're the only one willing to listen to my ramblings over these years, so I'll show you my collections."
With that, Dote told his staff to keep an eye on the tavern and took Cricket to the room in the back to view the Memory Shells that Yamato had brought him back then.
After that, Cricket seemed to have gained a new understanding. While persisting in salvage operations, he also started to think about how to reach Sky Island. Meanwhile, on Ghost Island, Omanyte obtained a very important piece of information from his relative.