Chapter 177: Gold's True Prize – Poseidon's Secret
"What a shame. If you were a pirate, you'd be rolling in riches overnight," Sora teased, a playful smile tugging at her lips.
Ross chuckled. "Can't say I mind. To me, that much gold's just a shiny burden. Replace it with Berries, and its value tanks fast."
In a world this brutal, money couldn't buy everything. Priceless things—like resources to forge powerhouses—were the real treasure. Ten billion Berries might snag what a hundred billion couldn't, and flooding the market would just devalue it all.
"You've got a plan already?" Sora asked, her eyes lighting up. She loved that confident edge in him; it meant trouble for someone else.
Ross grinned. "How about we dangle it as bait? Let the Celestial Dragons build a massive golden palace with it—right in the heart of the Holy Land, front and center for our family to claim."
Sora's eyes widened. "They'd actually hand over that much gold? Just to one-up each other?"
She got it: exploit their endless rivalries. Trade the gold for real value—Devil Fruits, rare materials, whatever strengthened their house. Gold and Berries meant nothing to them anyway. But dozens of useful Fruits? That was a jackpot.
Those old Celestial Dragon clans hoarded Fruits like dragons guarded treasure. The World Government snapped them up nonstop, and Ross had his own networks in allied nations. Still, supply was tight. Fruits "cost" 100 million Berries each on paper, but the Op-Op Fruit fetched 5 billion—and even then, sellers called the shots. Jack up the price tenfold, and you'd barely see more trickle in.
To the powerful, 100 million or 1 billion was chump change. Fruits popped up sporadically across the seas; most eaters gobbled them or stashed them away. Only a fraction hit the black market, and transport woes meant even the Government snagged just a third. Half were duds anyway—useless Zoans or junk Paramecias.
High-end trades might work for premium Fruits, but haggling for the rest? Ross could leverage his status to strong-arm deals or snag freebies. No coin needed.
"Let Zane and the crew handle the gold haul," Ross said, shaking his head. "Transporting it from 10,000 meters up, then to the Holy Land? That's backbreaking. Each pillar's tens of thousands of tons—no ship hauls that whole. We'd have to melt it down, ship in batches."
He lacked the Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit for easy levitation, and manual labor wasn't his style. Sea route it was, but it'd take multiple runs and wear him out. No point rushing; the Fruits in those vaults weren't going anywhere.
With that settled, Ross slipped an arm around Sora's waist, guiding her deeper into the fabled Land of Gold.
They wove past rows of opulent golden structures—palaces and towers gleaming under the eternal sun, yet eerily empty, frozen in time. At the city's core loomed a colossal golden bell, towering like a mountain, its surface blazing with reflected light.
Sora tilted her head back, breath catching. "Incredible..."
The thing was massive—nearly a hundred meters high, pure gold. It dwarfed them, a monument to forgotten glory.
"But this is the real draw for you," she added, tearing her gaze to the massive stone slab at its base, etched with swirling ancient script.
Ross nodded. "Yeah. Some secrets demand the right hands. I keep this quiet."
Back in Alabasta, he'd left their Poneglyph untouched. Too risky then—before his Celestial Dragon ties were ironclad. Exposing it could've drawn World Government heat, endangering everything.
But Skypiea's relic? Unclaimed, off the grid. Perfect for a test run.
Sora scanned the text, brow furrowing. "Another on the Ancient Weapons? Poseidon's a mermaid princess? I figured they were just machines or something."
Ross translated the faded glyphs aloud, and Sora activated her Brain-Brain Fruit. The power locked every detail into her mind—language no barrier. It wasn't flashy for analysis or invention, but memory? Unrivaled. She absorbed it all in seconds.
"Poseidon, the sea god," Ross explained. "Every 800 years, a mermaid princess is born with the gift to command Sea Kings. She's the living weapon."
Not exactly classified—plenty in the Government knew, from Saint Saturn down. Ross could've grilled them, but why bother when the truth called to him directly?
Sora smirked, glancing his way. "Sounds underwhelming next to your Sea God powers. You bend the oceans themselves."
Her words carried a teasing lilt, but warmth bloomed in her chest. He'd brought her here alone—no Gion, no guards. With his strength, he could've handled this solo. Sharing these forbidden truths? Ultimate trust.
She'd honor it, tenfold.
Ross shrugged. "Mine's direct control over the seas. Hers? Just the beasts within them. Sure, some Sea Kings pack king-level punch, but fully awakened, I'd turn them like puppets."
"Speaking of—the 800-year mark's closing in," Sora mused, eyes on him for confirmation.
The World Government had ruled nearly 800 years. No mermaids among the Celestial Dragons meant Poseidon wasn't their ally. Ross had shared the lore: Joy Boy, the last Chosen One, their ancient foe. His era's princess likely perished with him.
If the cycle held, the next one's due soon—maybe already born, if the timeline shifted early.
Ross's gaze drifted back to the Poneglyph, the weight of centuries pressing in. The Grand Line hid more than gold here. Weapons that could shatter worlds, heirs to lost kings... and him, stirring it all awake.
What storms would this knowledge unleash? Only the seas knew—and soon, he'd command them too.
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