High in the sky, the Straw Hat crew was slowly making their descent.
"Argh, I'm so bored!" The dimwitted captain slumped over the dining table, letting out a long, mournful wail.
"Nami, when exactly are we going to get back to the Blue Sea?"
The Occultist had been right; in order to ensure a safe landing, the speed at which the Sky Island's octopus balloon descended was "painfully" slow. The Going Merry had been drifting through the chaotic atmospheric currents for hours, yet Luffy and the others hadn't seen the slightest sign that they were getting close to the Blue Sea.
"Don't be impatient, Luffy. Even if the speed is incredibly slow, we are definitely descending."
The dutiful, orange-haired navigator stood gracefully outside the cabin. She observed the shapes of the distant clouds while sensing the subtle shifts in the surrounding air currents with her own body.
"The only thing I'm worried about right now is where exactly we're going to land."
Nami gestured toward the Log Pose on her wrist and gave her captain a wry smile. "The direction the Merry is drifting in now is already quite far from the next island we're supposed to visit. Honestly, the air currents up here are just way too chaotic."
Luffy let out a helpless sigh, then turned his attention toward his crewmates.
Sanji was standing before the stove, researching a new type of cuisine. The trip to Skypeia had been quite beneficial for the curly-browed cook; the unique foreign culture had given him the feeling of opening a "New World" of culinary possibilities.
The "Great Inventor" Usopp was holed up in his "Usopp Factory," continuing his modifications on Sherlock's Black Knight armor. Meanwhile, Chopper had laid out a vast array of strangely shaped bottles, jars, and unidentifiable potions, analyzing the components of the Sky Island's miraculous red apples.
Both Sherlock and Robin were absent from the cabin. However, Luffy had vaguely overheard earlier that the two seemed to be in the study, researching a few ancient-looking books.
(Must be nice, everyone has something interesting to do to pass the time.)
Luffy stood up and walked out of the cabin onto the deck, feeling utterly bored.
(Even Zoro can pass the time by sleeping, though he really does sleep too much...)
Pulling his gaze away from a certain green-haired swordsman lying on the deck, the dimwitted captain rubbed his chin. His head tilted to the side as he did something extremely rare—he actually began to think.
At that moment, Nami, who was standing beside Luffy, happened to turn her head. Seeing his deep, pensive expression, she froze for a second before her body began to tremble.
"Wait, wait, wait... no way, am I seeing things?" Nami wore an expression as if she had seen a ghost.
(Luffy... Luffy is actually... thinking about something quietly and seriously?!)
In the navigator's eyes, the idea of this impulsive, single-minded idiot striking the pose of "The Thinker" was every bit as inconceivable as a pig climbing a tree.
(Alright, I must be tired. I'm hallucinating...)
Nami lightly massaged her forehead and shook her head before walking back into the cabin.
"Yeah, it's decided! I'll just find something interesting to pass the time."
Luffy slammed his fist into his palm.
"But is there anything interesting on the Merry?"
The dimwitted captain began to look around. When his eyes finally locked onto the giant octopus balloon tightly clutching the Going Merry, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Eh? This looks like it would be fun to play with..."
Suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran through the hearts of everyone inside the cabin. Though they couldn't say why, Sanji and the others all felt an ominous sense that something particularly bad was about to happen.
Elsewhere, in the girls' dormitory/study of the Going Merry, the two primary "brains" of the Straw Hat Pirates were conducting a secret research project.
The subjects of their study were the four black-covered codebooks of unknown purpose lying on the desk.
"So, the thing you said I'd be interested in back at Mock Town... it was this all along."
Robin sat in a chair, her long legs elegantly crossed, as her slender fingers gently stroked the cover of one of the black books. It was unclear what material the patent-leather cover was made of; not only was it quite heavy, but it showed no signs of damage despite the passing years. It was truly remarkable.
"Exactly."
Sherlock pushed up his glasses with a calm expression. "What I didn't expect, however, was that you would also have one of these mysterious books. It seems there must be many more of these black books with the same style but different serial numbers."
"That eccentric Marine..."
Thinking back to that rainy night in Alubarna when she first met Rear Admiral Alan, a cloud of doubt drifted over the archaeologist's beautiful, refined face. The behavior of that black-and-white twin-tailed girl back then had been far too mysterious and intriguing.
"But speaking of which, of the three black books in your possession, aside from the one from Alabasta, the other two were actually 'brought' back by you from a dream."
Robin turned her face toward the Occultist, a strange light shimmering in her enchanting blue-black eyes.
"Your Devil Fruit ability is truly inconceivable, Sherlock."
"Well, it's not actually as magical as you think." Sherlock reached out and picked up the two black books he had obtained from the Rainbow Mist, explaining to Robin:
"The power of the Mirror-Mirror Fruit mainly involves manipulating the boundary between illusion and reality. Everything in a dream is naturally 'void,' and all I did was temporarily transform that 'void' into 'substance.'"
The Occultist gently flipped through the somewhat yellowed pages. Looking at the lines of ancient script that made absolutely no sense when read normally, he noted with relief, "Fortunately, these two books themselves weren't mirrored; otherwise, we'd be looking at a completely reversed image."
"Anyway, let's put that aside for now. Robin, do you know what these books are actually saying?"
"Oh?"
Robin's eyes suddenly sparkled with keen interest. She asked tentatively, "Could it be that you've discovered the correct method to decipher them?"
The Occultist didn't answer. Instead, he reached out and retrieved a thick notebook from the Mirror Space and handed it to Robin. After flipping through a few pages, she was immediately captivated by the recorded contents.
"This... I see. So the correct method of deciphering involves mixing several books together. That is certainly complex."
Robin scanned the notes rapidly, her expression turning solemn. When she reached the end and saw a name that was both familiar and strange, her pupils suddenly constricted.
"Fresnel? Dr. Fresnel?! Sherlock, you mean this deciphering method was..."
"Correct. It was my grandfather, Sarsalian Fresnel."
Sherlock nodded and smiled. "I'm finding myself admiring the old man more and more. Though I never met him, I have to say, my grandfather was an absolute 'genius.' Well, in every sense of the word."
"You might still have some doubts about the encrypted text my grandfather deciphered. Why don't you try translating it yourself? You should know how to read it correctly now anyway."
As he spoke, Sherlock arranged the four black books in front of Robin. "And now that we have four books in total, according to the corresponding formula, we should be able to decipher even more information."
Robin didn't object. She picked up two of the black books with a hint of skepticism. The intellectual beauty's learning capacity was nothing short of divine; after only a few quick glances, she began to recite softly in the correct manner:
"When the crimson blood-weeping moon is full once more, and the seven stars converge, the cursed black evil flames shall descend upon the mortal realm again..."
"One Star: The first prayer of calamity; God listens to the sound of the world's collapse."
"Two Stars: The second disdain of calamity; God severs the surging flames and raging waves."
"Three Stars: The third sigh of calamity; God shall punish the foolish creatures of this world."
"Four Stars: The fourth wail of calamity; God seizes the fleeing moon and crushes it."
"Five Stars: The fifth gaze of calamity; God's will shall pierce the heavens and the stars."
"Six Stars: The sixth curse of calamity; God shall deliver the small and lowly mortals."
"Seven Stars: The seventh lamentation of calamity; God spreads a sun-blotting shadow to embrace death."
After translating a long passage of obscure text that sounded impressive yet reeked of "eighth-grader syndrome," Robin couldn't help but twitch a delicate eyebrow. The confusion on her face deepened.
"Sherlock, this text... couldn't it be describing that cursed holy blade—the Seven-Star Sword?"
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my pa-treon:
pat reon .c-om/windkaze