"Are you actually serious about these standards?"
Gion was bewildered. In just six months, how on earth had Sean managed to train an ordinary person to reach 300 Doriki? Not to mention mastering the Rokushiki.
It was beyond absurd. No, 'absurd' wasn't even a strong enough word.
She found herself wondering if she should send her own marines to the 16th Branch in batches for further training. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like an excellent idea.
However, just then, an emergency occurred.
Somewhere within the fleet, a Sea King suddenly erupted from the water, lunging toward the nearest medium-sized merchant ship. A rough estimate put the creature at about 200 meters long—not particularly massive, but it was too far from Gion and Lucci for either of them to save the ship in time.
'Damn it, we haven't even entered the Calm Belt yet. How unlucky!'
It wasn't that Sea Kings didn't exist outside the Calm Belt; it was simply that they weren't nearly as dense in the rest of the Grand Line. That was why Gion considered this bad luck. In the first half of the Grand Line—Paradise—the areas they were currently traversing had the lowest density of Sea Kings. It was perfectly normal to sail for years without encountering a single one.
But in the next instant, two figures leaped from the merchant ship, appearing vividly in Gion's sight.
She was stunned. Such speed and height were absolutely impossible for ordinary humans.
The figure on the left landed a devastating Hakuda strike squarely on the Sea King's head. Simultaneously, the figure on the right delivered a vicious whip-kick to the creature's neck.
They weren't finished.
Almost the exact moment the two attacked, a Flying Slash shot out from the ship, slamming into the Sea King's abdomen and carving a deep path across its belly, leaving a wound dozens of meters long.
A massive spray of blood erupted into the air, raining down upon the ocean.
Only then did Gion recall what Lucci had mentioned earlier: every merchant ship had at least three marines deployed on board, enough to handle ordinary Sea Kings. She had been skeptical before, but with the evidence right in front of her, she had no choice but to believe it.
With this kind of strength, what was there to fear in the Calm Belt? Even if a stronger Sea King appeared, these marines could at least hold it off for a short while—plenty of time for Gion and the others to arrive and provide backup.
'Why the hell was I worried about drafting a detailed escort plan...' she thought. 'We can just set sail right now!'
'''
At the same time, in Upper Yard.
Sean was climbing upward, accompanied by the two women. Although the vines were incredibly high, compared to their previous trek across the Sky Island, this was a piece of cake.
After passing through two Island Cloud platforms, the three of them finally reached the summit—a platform on a small island.
There it was: the massive Golden Bell.
The entire structure was made of shimmering gold, its brilliance nearly blinding them.
At that moment, Sean felt a sudden surge of regret.
'Why does this look two or three times larger than it was described in the original story?'
He hissed inwardly. 'With a size like this... it's probably worth way more than three trillion Belly!'
Three trillion Belly! And he had actually promised to leave it to the descendants of Shandora!
However, he had already given his word. Despite the metaphorical blood dripping from his heart, Sean had no intention of going back on his promise.
Beside him, Robin's eyes were locked onto the base of the Golden Bell. More accurately, she was staring at the massive Poneglyph embedded within the base.
"If you want to see it, go ahead," Sean said, patting Robin gently on the shoulder with a smile.
"Thank you, Sean," Robin replied with a nod, stepping toward the stone.
"Master, are you really leaving that thing to them?" Vivi asked blankly, finally snapping out of her daze.
She had originally imagined that 'large' meant perhaps two or three people tall. But this thing... it looked to be the height of thirty people. Just the stairs leading up to the base of the Golden Bell had nearly fifty steps.
It was too exaggerated, too absurd!
"Vivi, as people, we must keep our word. Stay calm—it's just some gold!"
"Then why do you look like you're in physical pain?"
"Ahem! That's because... the Golden Bell is missing a pillar! Such a magnificent work of art, yet it's missing a pillar. Isn't that a tragedy?"
"Oh, I see!" Vivi nodded. She felt bad for misunderstanding her master; she really shouldn't have.
Sean felt a wave of relief. He was glad he had reacted quickly, otherwise, his image as a towering, noble figure in front of his disciple would have crumbled instantly.
However...
In the very next second:
"Wait, that's not right, Master. I'm looking at it, and none of the pillars are broken?"
Hearing this, Sean quickly looked back at the Golden Bell.
'Crap!' All four pillars—two long and two short—were perfectly intact. Nothing was missing!
Dammit, he had only remembered that in the original story, a pillar was broken and later found in the ruins below. But the original story never specified 'when' it broke. Looking at the pristine Golden Bell, it was obvious the pillar hadn't snapped yet.
Feeling Vivi's suspicious gaze, Sean wanted to cry. He hurriedly changed the subject.
"Come on, Vivi, let's go see how Robin is doing!"
Without waiting for Vivi to respond, he quickly marched toward the Poneglyph.
"Hey! Master, wait for me!"
'''
In front of the Poneglyph, Robin showed a look of surprise.
Although she hadn't finished the entire translation, the parts she had already deciphered matched exactly what Sean had told her before. It concerned the location of Poseidon, one of the three Ancient Weapons.
According to the text, the so-called Poseidon was not a physical weapon like Pluton, but rather a power—a bloodline ability that could be inherited. Following the clues on the Poneglyph, the current Poseidon would be...
"So, finished reading?"
"I've translated most of it."
Hearing Sean's voice, Robin turned and gave him a deep, searching look.
'Is he not lying to me? It seems he actually knew...'
"Do you want me to tell you the contents?"
"Is it necessary?"
"Fair enough. It's not necessary. It's exactly as you said before."
Robin gave a wry smile. She had intended to test him one last time to see if Sean actually knew the truth or was just guessing. But hearing his answer, she realized there was no need for such a pointless test.
"Then what do you plan to do? The Sea King is right there. If you wanted to, it should be quite easy to..."
"No rush. She isn't in danger for now; there's no need to interfere in her life so quickly."
"Alright, you're the boss!"
Robin nodded and continued translating the remaining text.
Several minutes passed.
"I've finished reading. Shall we head to the ruins of Shandora next?"
Aside from the Poneglyphs, Robin's greatest interest lay in exploring ancient ruins.
"Hold on. Beside the Poneglyph, on the base, someone has carved a message in the ancient language. Aren't you going to take a look?"
"Hmm?"
Someone had carved words into the base of the Golden Bell, and in the ancient language at that?
Robin spun around and began searching the area. A moment later, as her eyes landed on the bottom-right corner of the Poneglyph, her eyes widened.
"I have come to this place, to guide this text to the final land."
She gasped. "Who carved this?"
"Gol D. Roger. Or more accurately, Kozuki Oden helped Roger carve those words. Roger himself couldn't read the ancient language, but Kozuki Oden, a member of his crew, could."
"Kozuki Oden... Is there anyone else in the world who understands the ancient language besides me?"
"No, publicly, it's probably just you. Oden has been in the ground for a long time."
"I see... But what exactly does this message left by Roger mean?" Robin pondered seriously.
Suddenly, Sean unsheathed Hekireki. Powerful lightning instantly condensed along the blade.
"Sean, what... what are you doing?"
"Regardless of why Roger left this message, or what his plan was, I only know one thing..."
"He has already brought enough pain to this world."
"The world... does not need his plan, and it certainly does not need his so-called will!"
'Boom!'
In the next instant, Sean swung Hekireki downward.
A crater exploded into the base of the Golden Bell, and the words left by Roger vanished completely from the face of the earth.
Because of Sean's pinpoint control over his power, he had only blasted a small hole—exactly enough to destroy Roger's carving—without damaging any other part of the structure. Compared to the massive base of the Golden Bell, the hole was insignificant and did not affect the overall structural integrity.
"Let's go. Next, we'll check out the ruins of Shandora," Sean said with a smile as he returned Hekireki to its sheath. "There should be a vast amount of gold craftsmanship, jewelry, and other trinkets there."
"Master, Master! Can I pick out one piece of gold jewelry?" Vivi immediately cheered upon hearing about the gold. "No, no, one isn't enough! I want to pick one for Sister Kalifa, Sister Makino, Sister Sophia, and Nami too!"
"Fine, but only one piece per person!"
"Yay, Master! Let's go, hurry, hurry!!"
Looking at Vivi as she tugged on his arm, Sean gave a wry smile.
'This girl is far too different from the original story.'
Environment truly was the key to shaping one's personality. Because of his presence, everyone he interacted with had deviated, to a greater or lesser extent, from their original characters.