Two slashes shot up from beneath the ground, slicing through the thick earth.
Immediately after, a ship burst out from underground, carried upward by the White Sea. It soared dozens of meters into the air before the overwhelming force dissipated, flooding the surrounding land into a lake as the ship crashed down into the water.
The violent impact and the oxygen-thin environment left everyone on board staggering.
Roger clung to the mast, Ace still unsheathed in his hand, his face flushed red as he gasped for breath.
Looking around, the area resembled a completely untouched primeval forest.
Not far away, Rayleigh stood on the deck with his sword in hand as well. Clearly, the two slashes that had just cut open the ground had come from him and Roger.
"So this is a Sky Island?" Roger quickly adapted to the oxygen-thin air, steadying his breathing as he curiously looked around.
"Doesn't seem quite like what that guy Shiki described..." Gaban clicked his tongue.
Back when they drank with the Rocks Pirates on Hachinosu, they had talked about Sky Islands.
As the so-called authority on the subject, Shiki had bragged quite a bit about what he'd seen.
For example, islands made of island clouds, unique shell-based technology and culture, and Sky Islanders having small, mostly useless wings.
Also, there supposedly wasn't any real "soil" up there.
But the problem was—they had just cut through solid ground to survive. Otherwise, that terrifying Knock-Up Stream would've slammed them straight into the underground of this strange Sky Island.
This was completely different from what Shiki had described.
"Shandora..." Valthior struggled to his feet, leaning on the railing. Before he could finish, he vomited out two mouthfuls of seawater, his face pale. "The City of Gold… Shandora..."
From what he remembered, the Straw Hat Pirates had reached the White Sea via the Knock-Up Stream, then sailed for a while before passing through Heaven's Gate and ascending via a special route to the White-White Sea, arriving at Angel Island.
And according to Gan Fall, even the Roger Pirates had originally taken that same route.
But this time, the Knock-Up Stream had clearly been abnormally powerful—just like the one over four hundred years ago that blasted half of Jaya into the sky—sending them straight up to 10,000 meters.
As a result, instead of stopping at the White Sea and going through Heaven's Gate, the Roger Pirates had skipped the process entirely and been forcibly launched straight into Shandora!
"Rayleigh's guess is very likely correct," Valthior took a deep breath and steadied himself before continuing. "Based on what I learned in Mary Geoise, Shiki wasn't lying. The environment and culture of Sky Islands are basically as he described—there shouldn't be normal soil like this. And yet here we are, clearly contradicting that. I have reason to believe this is the legendary City of Gold—Shandora. Back then, Jaya probably encountered an abnormally powerful Knock-Up Stream, and half the island was blasted into the sky. This… is the other half of Jaya!"
Of course, this was post-fact reasoning—he already knew for certain this was Shandora.
After all, within the entire Sky Island system, this was the only place with actual "soil."
"Whether it's true or not, we'll know once we explore," Roger burst out laughing. "The City of Gold! I didn't expect we'd actually have a chance to find one of the great treasures. Waiting over a month on Jaya wasn't for nothing!"
They quickly left a few people behind to guard the ship, while the rest entered the mysterious island, beginning their exploration of the dense jungle.
Before long, Roger, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Rayleigh asked quietly.
Roger closed his eyes, as if merging with his surroundings. The others immediately fell silent, waiting.
Everyone knew—whenever this happened, it meant Roger had heard something again.
"I hear a bell..." After a moment, Roger suddenly opened his eyes, his tone filled with excitement. "A clear, pleasant bell… it's guiding us. Follow me!"
Drawing Ace, Roger began cutting through the jungle, advancing firmly in a certain direction.
Valthior and the others followed behind, clearing and widening the path. Soon, the ground beneath their feet began to rise—they were heading toward the peak of a mountain.
After about an hour, Roger slashed through the final tangled tree blocking their way.
Brilliant sunlight pierced through the jungle, spilling over everyone.
"This is..." Rayleigh stepped forward, swallowing hard as he stared ahead in shock.
"What an astonishing sight… Is this really something humans could build?" Roger murmured in awe.
"The City of Gold… Shandora… it actually exists!?" Gaban took off his sunglasses, staring in disbelief at the scene below.
They stood atop a mountain range, and in the valley beneath them lay a vast ruined city—built entirely of gold!
That… was the legendary City of Gold, Shandora!!!
Though over four hundred years had passed, and dust and grime covered much of it, many structures still gleamed, reflecting dazzling golden light.
"The bell guided us here—but where is it?" Rayleigh was the first to recover and asked.
"That bell… is on that giant vine," Roger said, pointing toward the massive beanstalk.
"Look over there! It's covered in dust, but that should be a Poneglyph, right?" Gaban pointed at a strange yet familiar cube-like structure.
Valthior immediately nodded. "That's right. It's a Poneglyph."
"Let's check out the Poneglyph first, then go find that Golden Bell. I want to ring it..." Roger grinned.
"Why ring it?" Rayleigh asked curiously.
"It's just sitting there—wouldn't it feel like a waste not to ring it?" Roger replied matter-of-factly, then added, "And don't you think that'd be something cool… something romantic?"
"Hahaha! Now that you put it that way, it really does sound romantic," Gaban laughed. "A Golden Bell that's been silent for over four hundred years… being awakened by us. That's pretty romantic."
They didn't waste any time and quickly slid down from the mountaintop, arriving before the dust-covered Poneglyph.
"Hey, Valthior," Doringo casually chipped off a chunk of hardened dirt from a wall, revealing the gleaming gold beneath. "How much do you think this City of Gold is worth?"
As soon as he said that, everyone stopped and turned to look at Valthior.
"At current market rates, one kilogram of gold is worth about 22 million Berries," Valthior said, bending down to pick up a rectangular fragment from the ground. He brushed off the dirt, revealing gold beneath.
Weighing it in his hand, he tossed it to Doringo. "This piece is about 1.6 to 1.7 kilograms—so roughly close to 40 million Berries. Now… the entire city is made of this. Do the math yourself."
As soon as he said that, everyone stared at the "gold bar" in Doringo's hand.
It wasn't even as long as his palm—just a simple little strip, maybe two fingers wide. Completely ordinary.
And yet, comparing that tiny piece to the entire City of Gold—and then thinking about 40 million Berries…
The entire Roger Pirates froze.
Before, they had known the City of Gold meant immense wealth—but they had no concrete sense of scale.
Now, looking at it again…
Even ignoring its historical and cultural value, just calculating the raw gold alone—this wasn't just trillions.
It wouldn't even stop at ten trillion Berries!!!
"If all this gold entered the market, it would throw the entire world economy into chaos," Shakky couldn't help but remark.
"How about we just disband?" Gaban clicked his tongue. "Everyone grabs some gold and goes home?"
"The Final Island doesn't seem that appealing anymore," Rayleigh nodded seriously. "As for the Void Century… we should trust future generations to figure it out."
...
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