Chrollo stepped out of the Air Door and found himself standing inside the ruins of an ancient city.
Thick moss blanketed the broken walls and crumbling pillars. A majestic terraced temple built from enormous stone blocks still radiated a faint echo of its former solemn glory, even though time and nature had left their scars across every surface.
Directly above the city floated a colossal bell forged entirely from pure gold, standing proudly at the highest point.
Beneath its massive central pedestal, half-hidden by vines, lay an ancient stone tablet—the Historical Poneglyph.
Scattered around were countless smaller golden artifacts, gleaming like forgotten treasures.
Chrollo took in the breathtaking golden scenery and couldn't help but sigh again. Man… transmigration really is the best. Without crossing over, how the hell would I ever get to see something this beautiful?
It honestly looked like the pyramids of ancient Egypt.
But just as he was lost in admiration, a heavy, beast-like panting exploded behind him. The next second—
"GYAAAAH—!!!"
Nami shot past him like a human lightning bolt, eyes blazing with pure greed as she streaked straight for the gold.
"???"
Chrollo stared in disbelief at her terrifying speed. Wait… did she secretly eat the Rumble-Rumble Fruit too?
"GOLD!!!"
"So much gold… it's all mine! ALL MINE!!"
Nami's eyes had literally turned into beri symbols. She frantically scooped up every golden object she could reach, stuffing them into her clothes until they bulged, then latched onto the base of the giant bell like a koala that had found its soulmate.
Bonney watched the scene with her mouth hanging open.
Does… does gold actually boost Nami-neesan's combat power?
That burst of speed just now was at least Emperor-level!
Robin stood silently in front of the Poneglyph, carefully deciphering the ancient script. Bonney casually picked up a golden goblet from the ground and sipped her soda through a straw she'd pulled from nowhere.
But two people on the field were even more emotional than Nami.
Cricket and Wyper.
The two men stared at the massive Golden Bell, barely daring to breathe, terrified that everything in front of them might vanish like a dream.
They walked forward side by side, faces twisted with an overwhelming mix of shock, regret, gratitude, and finally… pure release.
At Wyper's silent nod, Cricket slowly stepped up. He lifted the enormous golden mallet from the ground, raised it high above his head, and swung with everything he had.
DONG—
A massive, clear, ethereal chime rang out, echoing across the entire sky island.
That single toll carried the weight of a four-hundred-year-old promise between two men.
Every resident on Skypiea—no matter what they were doing—stopped and lifted their heads, gazing toward the City of Gold from miles away.
"You have to come back, okay? I'll ring the Golden Bell to guide you!!"
"I'll make sure the sound reaches all the way to the Blue Sea! So until then… Noland!! Come visit whenever you want!!"
For a brief moment, it felt as if their ancestors—Calgara and Montblanc Noland—were standing above the bell, smiling and waving at each other across the centuries.
In that instant, four hundred years of humiliation, four hundred years of waiting, and four hundred years of stubborn hope crashed through Cricket like a bursting dam.
Tears poured down his face.
"Ancestor… can you see it now…? The legendary City of Gold… it really exists!!"
Cricket's roar echoed across the ruins.
The four-hundred-year "curse" that had hung over the Montblanc family…
…was broken today.
Under the ringing of that bell, Skypieans and Shandians embraced each other, weeping and dancing through their tears.
Because this sound meant one thing:
The mountain that had loomed over them for centuries—the so-called God Enel—had finally been overthrown.
With Jaya Island lifted into the White Sea by Chrollo, the land crisis and the centuries of tyranny dividing the two races were completely resolved.
The tolling of the Golden Bell brought them brand-new hope and light.
"The Drums of Liberation!"
"That's right! This has to be the Drums of Liberation!"
"The Drums of Liberation are ringing across the entire sky island—!!"
People hugged tightly, tears shining in every eye.
Meanwhile, inside the City of Gold, Chrollo's group slowly approached the second Historical Poneglyph.
In one corner, they could still see the carving Roger had left behind: "I was here."
Chrollo glanced at Robin. She nodded solemnly.
"That's correct~ It's one of the nine critical Poneglyphs. This one contains information about Poseidon—one of the three Ancient Weapons."
Robin gently traced the moss-covered stone with her fingers, her voice soft and distant.
"So the Shandians weren't protecting the City of Gold after all… They were guarding this Poneglyph all along."
Her expression grew grave.
"It says here…"
"Poseidon… is an even more terrifying weapon than Pluton. It is… a weapon capable of commanding every Sea King in the entire ocean."
"And its location… is Fish-Man Island."
"Another Ancient Weapon, huh~" Chrollo walked over and stood beside her, tilting his head slightly as he looked at her. A meaningful glint flashed in his eyes. "Anything else?"
Robin paused, then slowly shook her head.
"No… that's all."
Yeah… there can't be anything else.
For a split second, an extremely complicated look crossed Robin's eyes before she quickly masked it.
Even though she had already witnessed the Phantom Troupe liberate two nations and knew their actions were currently righteous…
She still couldn't bring herself to reveal everything written on the stone.
Because the true nature of Poseidon wasn't just a weapon.
It was a mermaid.
A mermaid with the power to command all Sea Kings.
Such a terrifying weapon had appeared once during the Void Century eight hundred years ago—and the last time… it had been a Mermaid Princess.
If the world ever learned that such a catastrophic weapon took the form of a living mermaid, the resulting disaster would be unimaginable.
Robin finally understood why Ohara had been erased by the Buster Call—they had uncovered even a fragment of this truth.
The World Government would never allow anyone to decipher the lost hundred years of history.
Because that era contained things they feared more than anything.
So no matter what, Robin could not speak this secret.
She refused to let the Troupe suffer the same fate as Ohara—marked for extermination and wiped out.
What she didn't know…
…was that the man standing right beside her was a transmigrator who already knew the full truth.
Chrollo even knew the name of the current Mermaid Princess—Shirahoshi.
Shirahoshi had long been one of the people he planned to "recruit" in the future.
Such overwhelming power… Chrollo would never leave it uncontrolled.
At the very least, he needed to make sure Shirahoshi stood on his side.
Chrollo looked at Robin with an unreadable expression.
It seems Robin still doesn't fully trust us yet.
But that was fine.
They had already shown her the unbreakable bond they shared as comrades and the kind of things they were willing to do.
All they needed now was one major crisis to completely erase the doubts in her heart and make her truly one of them.
When it came to winning people over, Chrollo was extremely confident.
However…
What Chrollo didn't know was that the crisis he was waiting for was already on its way—far sooner than he expected.
Far away in the Holy Land of Mariejois, a meeting at the very highest level of world power was about to begin.
A meeting specifically targeting the Phantom Pirates.
And the danger this coming crisis posed…
…was unprecedented.