At an altitude of nearly seven thousand ters, Stussy was soaked from head to toe, glaring at the White Sea stretching above her while cursing loudly.
"Why is there a sea in the sky in the first place?! And why can it nullify Devil Fruit powers too?!"
Karina flew beside her, struggling to suppress her laughter.
"Alright, alright, Stussy. You know... evaporation, rainfall, and the whole water cycle. For now, let's et up with the others first, then we can think about it later."
"Hmph. I don't even want to go up anymore."
With a sulky expression, Stussy turned around and started flying back. Karina was about to follow when Stussy suddenly stopped, turned toward the White Sea with an irritated look, and gathered a sphere of compressed air between her hands.
"You bastard... I'll blow you up!"
"BOOOOM!"
Robin was completely absorbed in studying the ruins when she felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. She raised her head in confusion.
"An earthquake? Do earthquakes happen in the Sky Islands?"
Peter didn't answer her, not because he didn't want to, but because he had no idea how to explain it.
Stussy, who rarely got angry, had just launched a sphere of compressed air at Upper Yard. But Peter viewed it differently; to him, it was actually a positive sign.
Stussy had spent most of her life under the control of others. Now she was finally free to act as she pleased and express her emotions openly. That was perfectly natural.
"It doesn't matter. It's not a big problem. Let's get back to what we were discussing. What did you find? Are there any secrets hidden in these ruins?"
Peter quickly changed the subject.
The tremors subsided a few monts later, and Robin set her concerns aside before explaining her findings.
"There's sothing strange about these ruins. According to the records, Shandora was a magnificent city in ancient tis, and its greatest treasure was the giant Golden Bell that stood at the center of the city. It is said that its sound was both deep and clear, as though it could soothe the hearts of all who heard it."
She paused before continuing.
"But ever since we arrived, we've found no trace of it. Either Enel lted it down along with the rest of the gold, or he realized its value and hid it sowhere. Either way, it's bad news."
She spoke while cursing Enel in her heart.
To historians, nothing was more precious than ruins and historical records. Yet that fool had stripped the gold covering the ancient city and lted it down to power his flying ark.
As a result, part of history had been lost forever.
At that mont, Robin wished she could dig up his grave and kill him all over again.
Peter understood the problem as well.
He knew the Golden Bell still existed.
But where?
How had Luffy and the others found it originally?
He couldn't rember.
The only thing he still recalled was that the Poneglyph beneath the bell contained an ancient ssage, along with words engraved by Roger himself.
That scene had remained vivid in his mory because it was one of the most impactful monts he had experienced while watching the ani.
"Let's split up and search. This was the greatest treasure of an entire city. Enel wasn't stupid enough to lt it down. Besides, our ship still needs several days of repairs, so we can use the ti to search. If we don't find it, we'll leave it for another visit."
Robin imdiately agreed.
The two split up and began searching every corner of Upper Yard.
Five days passed.
On the third day, Karina and the others could no longer wait. Working together, they finally managed to reach the Sky Island.
Peter didn't give them much ti to marvel at the golden ship before recruiting them into the search party.
Then, on the fifth day, after everyone's efforts, they finally found it.
A gigantic Golden Bell is standing alone atop a small cloud island floating above Upper Yard.
The mont they saw it, even Peter froze in place.
"My God... It's far bigger than I imagined."
The Poneglyph alone stood four or five ters tall.
And the massive base supporting it, along with the enormous pillars surrounding it...
If all that gold were lted down and sold as raw material, its value would easily exceed four or five hundred billion Beli.
"Gulp..."
Karina swallowed nervously.
Only then did she finally understand why Nami had refused to leave the island all this ti.
"Robin, the bell is yours, but... what do you think about replacing the base and pillars with iron?"
The mont she finished speaking, she t Robin's eyes, glowing with a frightening crimson light.
Karina instantly shut her mouth.
Peter smiled at her reaction.
"Heh, look at yourself. Don't let the gold blind you. The carved stone in the center is the real treasure."
Then he turned toward Robin and said with mock seriousness:
"After you've copied everything on it, how about we sell it to the World Governnt? I'm sure they'd pay an absurd fortune to recover this Poneglyph."
Robin's cheeks puffed up in anger imdiately.
"Even you're joking about that?! No! I'll never sell it to anyone!!!"
"Hahaha, just kidding, just kidding. We don't even need the money. I'd never do sothing like that."
Seeing her turn away in anger, Peter smiled.
He hadn't known she possessed such a cute side before, so he gently tried to calm her down.
anwhile, everyone else watched the exchange in silence, swallowing whatever comnts they had wanted to make.
Hina shifted her gaze toward the bell—or rather, toward the Poneglyph beneath it.
"So this is the Poneglyph the World Governnt hides and forbids anyone from studying? I can't understand a single thing."
The others approached. Mikita tapped it lightly with her fingers.
"It's incredibly sturdy. No wonder the governnt can't destroy it. It almost feels like it's the one challenging them."
Vivi reached out and touched its surface.
"It really is hard. This is the first ti I've seen a Poneglyph with my own eyes."
Peter looked at her strangely.
"What are you talking about? Doesn't your royal family's mausoleum have one? Didn't Cobra ever show it to you?"
Vivi tilted her head innocently.
"What do you an? We have one?"
"...No, stay exactly the way you are."
Peter gave up.
Robin had once gone all the way to Alabasta specifically because of that Poneglyph. Had Vivi never once wondered why?
"If your grandmother Lily knew one of her descendants turned out like this, she'd climb out of her grave and teach you herself."
Vivi beca even more confused.
"Lily? Who's that? I've never heard that na before."
"...Never mind. Go play sowhere."
Peter waved his hand dismissively.
But Vivi imdiately grabbed his arm.
"Who is she? Tell ! If you don't tell , how am I supposed to know? Co on, tell !"
"Stop, stop!"
Peter pushed her away by the forehead.
"You're already skinny. Don't try copying Nami's spoiled behavior."
"You jerk! What did you say?!"
Vivi placed a hand over her chest indignantly and was about to explode when Peter calmly replied:
"Nefertari D. Lily. The woman responsible for scattering the Poneglyphs across the world eight hundred years ago, and one of the original Twenty Kings. The only difference is that she chose not to remain in the Holy Land like the others."
He paused before spreading his hands.
"Honestly, has it really co to the point where I have to explain your own family history to you?"
"...Huh?"
"...HUH?!"
Everyone froze in shock.
All eyes turned toward Vivi, who stood there utterly speechless.
Even Robin, who rarely showed special interest in anyone, found herself intensely curious about the young princess.
"The letter D is in your grandmother's na? What does it an? Why did she scatter the Poneglyphs? Was it intentional or accidental?"
Robin bombarded Vivi with questions until the poor girl nearly short-circuited.
"Wait! Wait! I don't know anything! I've never heard that na in my life!"
Elsewhere, Hina, Kalifa, and Alpha exchanged strange looks.
They had once served in the Marines and intelligence agencies, where the World Governnt and the Celestial Dragons stood at the very peak of loyalty.
And while Vivi wasn't officially a Celestial Dragon, her bloodline originated from the sa source.
The sa thought crossed all their minds: We used to serve people with that bloodline... and now we're on the sa team as one of their descendants?
It felt strange...
Yet sohow satisfying.
Hina accepted it calmly, while Kalifa and Alpha's eyes lit up as they began secretly planning how to recruit Vivi into their group one day.
A Celestial Dragon descendant and us... sharing the sa man...
Who could understand that feeling?
Vivi: ...
The won laughed at Vivi's expense until Peter finally stopped them.
Afterward, Robin began carefully copying the contents of the Poneglyph while Peter discussed the fate of the gigantic Golden Bell with the others.
"What do you think? The bell isn't going anywhere. Why don't we just leave it here?"
"No!!"
Karina imdiately objected.
"A treasure of this magnitude, and you want to leave it here?! What if other pirates find it? I vote no! Nami votes no too!"
The others weren't as greedy as Karina, but abandoning sothing worth hundreds of billions of Beli wasn't easy for them either.
Vivi suggested:
"Maybe we can move it to Alabasta? My father can keep it safe."
Karina imdiately replied:
"Forget that idea."
Then Nojiko said:
"In that case, let's put it on the ship. There's enough room at the stern."
"I agree! And Nami agrees too!"
Everyone turned toward Peter.
After all, he was the only one capable of moving the thing.
Under their expectant gazes, Peter spread his hands.
"Fine, I'll carry it. But make sure the ship can support its weight. Otherwise, no matter how valuable it is, I'm leaving it here."
Karina ignored the rest of his words and cheered happily before calling Nami at the harbor.
After hearing the explanation, Nami confidently thumped her chest and declared that the newly renovated ship would never disappoint them. She even announced that she would personally bring it over to load the treasure.
...
Ten minutes later, the renovated ship slowly entered their field of vision.
It no longer resembled Enel's short, bloated vessel in the slightest.
After the renovation, the thundercloud-generating devices had been removed, opening vast spaces throughout the ship.
The upper deck had been lowered slightly and reorganized into three internal levels.
Above everything else, a large open terrace had been added, perfect for farming or enjoying tea in the open air.
As for the red characters aning "God" that once adorned both sides of the ship, they had been completely erased and replaced with the emblem of Peter's royal family.
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