Inside the massive metal doors, the facility was brightly lit. Standing directly in front of Enel were neat, orderly rows of tiny, metallic robots.
"Ah! They're robots!" Chopper's eyes sparkled like stars, practically wanting to pounce on the adorable little machines.
"What happened? Did you activate them?" Perona asked, looking suspiciously at Enel.
"How should I know?!" Enel scoffed impatiently. "I phased through the door, and it was pitch black. So, I released a bit of electricity to see. Who knew this ancient ruin would suddenly boot up? Fortunately, they're obedient. I just ordered them to open the front door."
Enel crossed his arms, looking completely unimpressed. These robots looked absolutely brainless. Aside from following basic commands, they didn't seem particularly useful. However, their sheer numbers were staggering. Only thirty of them were currently awake; stretching deep into the facility were massive legions of dormant robots.
"Everyone, come look at this! These murals seem to depict the entire history of the Moon Dwellers," Robin called out from further down the metallic hall, gently tracing the ancient carvings with her fingers.
The crew gathered around.
"It looks exactly as we theorized. These figures are the ancestors of the Birkans, the Skypieans, and the Shandians. They are all descendants of the Moon Dwellers," Robin deduced.
"The Moon Dwellers possessed some terrifying technological prowess if they could mass-produce highly functional robots like these," Sai noted in awe.
"But how did they manage to completely drain an entire planet's energy supply? Is this completely barren, dead moon their masterpiece?" Daz Bonez frowned.
"Yeah, literally destroying an entire planet's ecosystem is unbelievable!" Chopper gasped.
"If they used to be this advanced, why can't modern Skypieans build robots? There isn't a single automaton on Birka or Angel Island," Perona pointed out.
"Oh? Look at this translation," Robin smiled, pointing to a specific sequence of glyphs. "This underground metropolis was also named 'Birka'. What do you think about that, Enel?"
"I'm looking with my eyes wide open," Enel muttered, his pride taking a massive hit as his entire worldview and religion were systematically deconstructed by a wall carving.
As the crew chattered excitedly, the bright overhead lights suddenly began to flicker and dim.
"Quick, Enel! Act as a battery and keep charging the ruins!" Bardock ordered.
"Don't tell me what to do, mortal! Discharge!"
With a blinding flash of lightning, the ancient ruins hummed back to life. As the electrical grid reached maximum capacity, the thousands of dormant robots in the background slowly flickered on, their eyes glowing warmly as they revived.
"Can any of you explain what happened here?" Bardock asked, crouching down to address the little robots. The murals explicitly depicted these robots shedding tears, which heavily implied they possessed genuine artificial intelligence and emotional capacity.
Eventually, the closest robot waddled forward and began explaining their history. The story perfectly corroborated the murals. The Moon Dwellers had over-industrialized, leading to a catastrophic depletion of planetary resources. Forced to migrate, they abandoned the moon and descended to the Blue Planet (the Blue Sea).
Before departing, they constructed this underground city, Birka, and left the Automata behind to guard and maintain the facility. Logically, once the Moon Dwellers found a new, sustainable energy source on the Blue Planet, they were supposed to return. But decades turned into centuries, and the Automata's batteries slowly died out. Their creators never returned.
As for why they never returned? No one knew. But Bardock had a very strong suspicion it involved the Void Century and the Great Cleansing.
"Do you have any highly advanced weapon schematics or precious research data stored here? For example, the blueprints on how to manufacture you guys, or maybe some ready-to-use superweapons?" Bardock asked eagerly. He had come here explicitly looking for a trump card against the World Government. If massive laser cannons weren't available, the technology to mass-produce an army of sentient, loyal robots was a fantastic consolation prize.
The Automata huddled together and aggressively whispered among themselves. After a brief consensus, they waddled into a back room and returned carrying a strange, metallic black box. They explained it contained a massive archive of Birkan technological data. They didn't know the exact contents, but the data could be decrypted and read by plugging the box into either the Automata themselves or the city's mainframe.
The chain of command was quickly established. Because Enel had provided the electricity to jump-start their systems, the Automata immediately registered the lightning user as their new Master.
However, Enel himself was currently a heavily coerced employee. He had originally resolved to conquer the moon, build his ultimate Ark Maxim, and reign as the supreme God of the Endless Vearth. Now that he was actually here, he realized the 'Endless Vearth' was just a dead, lifeless rock. It certainly wasn't the promised utopia he had envisioned.
Ironically, the barren reality of the moon caused Enel's interests to pivot. He was suddenly far more intrigued by the 'Blue Sea' Bardock had mentioned, and he was incredibly eager to hunt down these other 'Logia users' who supposedly rivaled his power.
Before departing, Bardock ordered Enel to spend the next few days continuously blasting lightning into the city's mainframe, completely maxing out the underground metropolis's power reserves.
When they finally prepared to leave, Bardock brought thirty Automata onto the White Dragon to act as tech-support and engineers.
Since the moon apparently possessed its own version of cloud-crafting technology, Bardock dug up a substantial amount of Vearth from Leo's botanical garden on the ship. He mixed it with the lunar soil and planted a handful of highly resilient seeds. He ordered the remaining thousands of Automata to aggressively protect the underground city, tend to the new garden, and gradually attempt to terraform the lunar surface.
He sincerely hoped that the next time he visited, the moon would look a little greener.
Overall, the expedition was a massive success. The only real disappointment was that they hadn't encountered any Space Pirates. Bardock was incredibly interested in the sea of stars, and looting an alien pirate crew would have been the cherry on top.
Upon returning to Upper Yard, Bardock gathered Gan Fall and the Shandian Chief and fully briefed them on the lunar discoveries.
The two old leaders were completely stunned. They shared a long, heavy sigh of profound grief. For 400 years, they had ruthlessly slaughtered each other in a bloody holy war... only to discover they were quite literally the exact same race. If the countless warriors who had died on this soil over the centuries knew the truth, what would they think?
They could only blame the tragic loss of their ancestral heritage. However, the revelation served as the ultimate catalyst for peace. Any lingering animosity between the two tribes vanished entirely, and their cooperation became incredibly close-knit.
After saying their final goodbyes on Upper Yard, the White Dragon made a brief stop at the sky island of Birka. Bardock issued a few final administrative directives to the Priests and the Divine Enforcers before officially guiding the golden galleon down toward the Blue Sea.
Meanwhile, on the Grand Line.
"Captain Smoker! Suspicious vessel spotted dead ahead!"
Smoker's patrol radius had steadily expanded over the past few months. He absolutely refused to just sit around Jaya waiting for a ghost.
He snatched a pair of binoculars from a subordinate and looked out at the horizon. His eyes widened slightly. Approaching them was an incredibly flashy, bizarre ship plated entirely in solid gold. 'What a bunch of arrogant, rich bastards.'
Then, he saw the flag flying proudly on the mast: The Dandelion.
"The target has finally shown up," Smoker grinned around his two cigars. "All hands, prepare for combat!"
"Yes, Sir!"
The medium-sized Marine warship instantly mobilized. Cannons were loaded, rifles were cocked, and cutlasses were drawn.
Up on the deck of the White Dragon, Enel's massive Mantra had already pinpointed the warship. He could even hear the frantic orders of the sailors.
"Bardock. Are those the 'Marines' you mentioned?" Enel asked lazily, leaning against the railing. "They seem to be explicitly targeting us."
Bardock walked over to the bow and looked down. He immediately spotted the iconic white hair and the two smoking cigars.
"What's going on? Why does Smoker have a lock on us?" Bardock muttered in confusion.
As the ships drew within hailing distance, before Bardock could even shout a greeting, Smoker grabbed a megaphone.
"Nico Robin! Surrender peacefully and come out with your hands up! You wouldn't want your crewmates dragged down to the hell of Impel Down, would you?!"
The Marine riflemen simultaneously raised their weapons, taking aim at the crew on the golden deck.
Bardock almost burst out laughing. 'What is this, a cheesy cop movie? Pulling the hostage guilt-trip trope? I didn't expect you to act like a stereotypical villain, Smoker!'
Enel, however, found absolutely zero humor in the situation.
"You filthy Blue Sea mortals," Enel sneered, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Check your own pathetic strength before you speak to me! Do you dare point your weapons at a God?! EL THOR (Judgment of God)!"
Enel casually raised his arm. His wrist instantly dissolved into crackling energy, shooting straight up into the sky. A second later, a colossal, apocalyptic pillar of divine lightning descended from the heavens, perfectly striking the center of the Marine warship.
KRACK-A-BOOOOM!
"AGHHHHH!"
Agonized screams echoed across the water. The devastating strike instantly cleared the deck. With a single, casual attack, the entire Marine platoon was completely wiped out. The sailors were either knocked entirely unconscious or twitching violently on the charred deck, groaning in agony.
This was the absolute, terrifying suppression a Logia user held over ordinary humans.
"You bastard!" Smoker roared, his eyes bloodshot with fury as he looked at his fallen men.
He instantly activated his Plume-Plume Fruit, transforming his lower half into thick smoke. Grabbing his massive jitte, he flew off the ruined warship, launching himself aggressively toward Enel.
'That guy is a Lightning Logia!' Smoker thought frantically. 'Thank god the tip of my jitte is capped with Seastone!'
"Oh? I barely arrived on the Blue Sea and I already run into another Logia?!" Enel laughed maniacally, completely thrilled by the challenge. His body crackled with electricity as he flew forward to meet Smoker in mid-air.
Bardock leaned against the railing, making absolutely no effort to warn Enel about the Seastone weapon. He was just going to grab some popcorn and watch the show. He was incredibly curious to see if the arrogant 'God' was going to capsize in his very first Blue Sea fight.
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