After ending God Enel's six-year reign of terror, the people of Skypiea finally felt like liberated serfs breaking into song.
They hurried to spread the news, clapping in delight and offering their heartfelt gratitude to the Blue Sea pirates who had rescued them from the depths of fire and water.
On Upper Yard, the former God of Skypiea, Gan Fall, personally met with the supreme leader of the Shandia, the Great Elder. The two parties held a warm and friendly discussion. During the meeting, at the urging of the Shandia (led by the Great Elder) and the wider Skypiean public, Gan Fall once again assumed the mantle of the supreme leader of the clouds: God.
Simultaneously, the leaders of both sides reached a consensus on a policy of "peaceful coexistence." From that day forward, the Island of God, Upper Yard, would be the communal property of all Skypieans and Shandia alike.
After all, Vearth refuses no one, does it?
With that, a war that had spanned four hundred years finally came to a triumphant conclusion.
However, the Straw Hat Pirates—the primary heroes of the conflict—couldn't have cared less about the local politics of the islanders. Their original goal remained unchanged: the gold of the City of Gold!
The former docking site of the Ark Maxim.
"Whoa, this place is huge!" The dim-witted captain adjusted his straw hat, looking around with an expression of pure excitement.
After being subjected to the baptism of the Sorcerer's "Six-fold Fusion: God-Slaying Spear" and Enel's staggering 200 million volts of electricity, this secret construction site for the Ark was unrecognizable. Shattered stone fragments mixed with the glittering golden wreckage of the Ark, scattered everywhere.
Even though several days had passed, the utter devastation and the faint, lingering scent of scorched air told the story of just how fierce the battle had been.
"I didn't expect such a massive space to be hollowed out down here."
Sanji exhaled a ring of smoke and smacked his lips. Then, with an incredibly flamboyant flourish, he spun around several times and addressed the beautiful orange-haired girl beside him. "Nami-san~~~ what should we do next?"
Nami completely ignored the love-struck cook. With a serious expression, she bent down and picked up a piece of gold the size of her palm. Although this piece of wreckage had been warped out of shape by that terrifying crimson lightning, it couldn't hide the fact that it was pure gold.
"Sanji, Sherlock said earlier that Enel used all the gold from the Golden City to build that giant ship, right?" Nami spoke in a flat tone. Her orange bangs shadowed her eyes, making it impossible to read her expression.
"Uh... yeah, that's right," Sanji nodded.
"And that Sky Knight promised us we could take as much of this gold as we can carry, right?"
"Exactly, that's what he said." Snuffing out his spent cigarette, the curly-browed cook swallowed hard. For some reason, he found the navigator a bit... intimidating at this moment.
(But Nami-san is so cute like this, too!) thought the irredeemable love-struck cook.
"Heh... hehehe... Hahaha! Oh my God! This place is heaven!"
Nami snapped her head up, gazing at the golden fragments shimmering in the rubble with the look of a total fanatic, Berry symbols practically flashing in her beautiful eyes.
"Sanji! Luffy! Don't just stand there like idiots! We've got work to do!"
On a cloud near the summit of Giant Jack, the Great Bell of gold that the Shandia had sought for centuries sat in quiet solitude. Time had passed slowly here; the massive bell tower was now covered in moss and vines, thick with the weight of history.
In truth, after punching Enel into oblivion, Luffy had ridden Gan Fall's mount, the "Bird-Horse" Pierre, up here to ring the bell. He wanted to let the Saruyama Alliance know that Skypiea and the City of Gold were real. Afterward, the Straw Hat glutton had hurried back down, desperate to start the banquet.
Fortunately, Luffy hadn't attempted to transport the Golden Bell back to the Island of God himself. Breaking the ancient tower would have been the least of their problems; if Luffy had accidentally dropped it into the White Sea—and the Blue Sea was directly beneath that—the Shandia "savages" wouldn't have had anywhere left to go to cry.
To bring this massive golden bell tower back down safely, they would have to rely on the Sorcerer's methods.
Stepping off the Sorcerer's magic carpet, the brilliant gold that stood out so sharply against the white clouds immediately caught the eye of a certain charming woman.
"This is... truly beautiful."
Robin's current demeanor was a world away from her usual calm and collected self. She stared silently at the Great Golden Bell, her dark blue eyes shimmering with a light called fascination.
"You're a bit too impatient, Robin. It wouldn't have hurt to wait until I moved it down before you started your inspection."
With a wave of his hand, Sherlock dispersed the mirror image of the magic carpet. He stole a glance at the "strange" beauty and archaeologist beside him, gently pushing up his glasses.
(If Nami were here, her reaction would probably be similar to Robin's—except one would be because it's gold, and the other because it's a historical relic.)
(Truly ridiculous...)
Shaking his head, Sherlock called out to Robin, who had already walked up to the bell tower for a closer look. "Hey, find anything new?"
Robin didn't answer. Her entire attention had been captured by what lay before her.
It was a square, pitch-black stone embedded in the base of the golden bell tower. Its exposed surface was covered in characters that looked like strange, cryptic runes.
(As I thought! The thing the Shandia Great Elder described is indeed a Poneglyph!)
A flash of fervor crossed Robin's eyes as she impatiently began to decipher the ancient text.
A few minutes later...
(Why is it another record of an Ancient Weapon?)
Though Robin hadn't held high expectations from the start, a look of disappointment inevitably crossed her intellectual features once she reached the final word.
It was the same in Alabasta, and now the same in Skypiea. Was fate trying to force her to awaken an Ancient Weapon and destroy the world?
"Poseidon."
Standing beside Robin at some unknown point, the man in glasses frowned and muttered to himself. "Fish-Man Island? It seems this Ancient Weapon is hidden there now? Heh, that is quite the piece of intelligence."
At the mention of an Ancient Weapon, Sherlock's mind began to race once more.
The powers of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit relied heavily on external objects. The stronger the original weapon, the stronger its mirrored counterpart would naturally be. Thus, Sherlock couldn't help but wonder: if he managed to get his hands on the "Sea King" Poseidon, said to be capable of destroying the world...
He briefly visualized himself commanding a massive fleet of "Sea Kings." Even someone as composed as Sherlock felt his breathing quicken.
Unfortunately, while the imagination was rich, reality was lean.
At this moment, the overthinking Sorcerer hadn't considered the possibility that Poseidon was a "living being" at all...
"I almost forgot you can read some of the ancient script yourself."
Having known that the Sorcerer had taught himself some of the ancient language, Nico Robin wasn't surprised. She nodded. "What a pity. Once again, it isn't what I'm looking for."
"Indeed. But the thing you are looking for... that's hidden in a truly remarkable place."
Sherlock gazed at the small line of text carved next to the Poneglyph, gently pushing up his glasses.
(Gol D. Roger, the Void Century, Laugh Tale...)
(Heh. Things are getting more interesting by the second.)
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