"Greetings, mighty young man. I am the ruler of this island—God Ganfall."
A flicker of peculiarity passed through Moses' eyes.
God?
That title was bound to invite envy and resentment.
Perhaps it was fortunate that this was Skypiea, isolated from the seas below. Otherwise, there would always be those eager to test the so-called "God's" mettle.
Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Moses asked curiously, "Mighty? Me? Why would you think that?"
Ganfall chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "That, of course, is something I sensed. In the terms of you Blue Sea folk, I suppose I am the ruler of this sky island—its king.
However, as king, I am also a battle-hardened warrior. My instincts tell me that you exude an exceptionally dangerous aura."
At these words, the surrounding guards widened their eyes in disbelief. Yet, since it came from the mouth of their God, they had no choice but to believe.
"Currently, I am the strongest on this sky island. And anyone who can give me a sense of danger is naturally a formidable figure."
Here, Ganfall also revealed a look of astonishment. "You are the strongest I've ever seen at your age—stronger even than those two youths from the Blue Sea I met over a decade ago."
At this, Perona giggled and chimed in:
"Old man, you've met people from the sea below before? You seem to hold them in high regard. Do you remember their names?"
"If they're still alive, we might have heard of them."
Ganfall smiled, stroking his beard as a nostalgic gleam flashed in his eyes:
"That group was, if I recall correctly, pirates from your Blue Sea. Their leaders were named Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh. The two young men with them were called Shanks and Buggy. Oh, and that Buggy boy had a bright red ball for a nose—quite amusing."
Hearing this, Moses' eyes flickered with surprise. So it really was them—his so-called father and his crew. Meanwhile, Robin's eyes widened slightly as she asked in astonishment:
"Gol D. Roger? The Pirate King? Red-Haired Shanks? The rising star who's made waves in recent years?
They were part of the same crew? Really?"
Robin felt as though she had stumbled upon some hidden truth, her surprise evident.
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Ganfall's eyes as he chuckled. "It seems they are quite the renowned figures in your world as well."
Perona sighed dramatically. "The first-ever Pirate King of the entire sea—of course he's renowned."
Robin added wryly, "Unprecedented, one might say. The first to conquer the entire sea and claim the title of Pirate King."
At this point, seeing Moses' indifferent expression, Kureha suddenly giggled.
Clap clap clap!
Ganfall clapped his hands and gestured to a nearby attendant. "Bring another chair and table for this young man."
Meanwhile, Moses plopped down onto the Island Cloud floor and looked at Ganfall.
"By the way, old man, how did you find my family? And why did you bring them here?"
Ganfall smiled. "Though I've already explained this to your family, the strong always enjoy certain privileges.
My guards noticed your arrival a week ago when you suddenly appeared here."
Then, you bought books on Angel Island, settled down, spent a week there, and came to Upper Yard today. So, I thought I'd take this chance to meet you.
Coincidentally, during my earlier chat with Miss Kureha, we agreed to exchange medical knowledge.
Our Sky Island also has a long history, and our medical techniques are quite commendable.
Therefore, as long as you don't break any laws, I'll allow you to move freely around this Upper Yard."
Moses understood. It wasn't surprising that they had come looking for them—these past few days, people had often been watching from the shadows. But since there was no ill intent, Moses had ignored it.
Now, with this cooperation in place, things would be easier. From now on, doing what they wanted on this island would be more convenient.
A win-win.
In less than a few minutes, a low table was brought over, followed by some fruits and drinks.
At Ganfall's invitation, Moses took a seat, eating the fruits while listening to Kureha and the others chat with him.
Time passed,
and the clouds on the horizon turned crimson.
At this point, Moses stood up and stretched, looking at the enormous Braided Vines in the distance. He pointed toward the part that soared into the clouds:
"I'm going to check that out. Anyone want to come?"
Moses glanced at Kureha and the others.
"Anyone? If not, I'll go alone."
Kureha glanced over. She was also curious about such a massive, peculiar plant—who knew if it had any special effects? She stood up.
"Fine, I'll go with you."
Moses turned to Ganfall. "Then we'll call it a day here."
Ganfall: "Alright, you go ahead."
Moses and the others left the courtyard, heading toward the vines.
Watching them leave, a middle-aged guard approached Ganfall's side, his expression doubtful.
"Lord Ganfall, is it really wise to let these Blue Sea people roam freely in the sacred land?"
Ganfall stood up and patted his shoulder, his expression grave.
"You've followed me for nearly twenty years. You've seen Roger and his crew—they possessed power capable of easily destroying our nation.
Similarly, I wasn't lying earlier. Though that young man doesn't give me the same sense of danger as those people, I'm not confident I could defeat him either.
The Shandians are still eyeing Upper Yard, always wanting to reclaim their homeland. Without an irreconcilable feud, it's best we maintain peace.
Besides, by keeping things amicable, we can also exchange medical knowledge from the Blue Sea."
The guard pressed his lips together, hesitating. "Then… should we scheme a bit and let these Blue Sea people clash with the Shandians?"
Ganfall's eyes darkened. He raised a hand to stop him, his expression stern.
"Enough. Never say such things again. The Shandians are people too. And never assume you're the only clever one. A mouse plotting against a tiger will only end up devoured.
I can tell that kid is no pushover—he still carries traces of bloodlust. Scheme against him, and you might lose your life."
Cold sweat broke out on the guard's back. He hurriedly replied,
"Understood. I won't say such things again."
Ganfall waved him and the other guards away.
The sacred residence was left empty.
Only Ganfall's sigh broke the silence, "This kind of war? When will it ever end? War has no future."
...
Moses walked along the spiraling giant vine, followed by several companions.
They continued upward.
At this moment, Kureha walking beside Moses said calmly:
"Where did you run off to this morning? You were gone for half the day. This place is dangerous, you know."
Kureha thought to herself that she had sensed several beings with abnormally powerful life forces—even if they weren't human.
Moses stopped moving. The path ahead had ended—or rather, to go further up would require climbing.
Turning back to look at Kureha, Moses smiled: "Don't worry, I'm strong. I'm not afraid of the creatures on this island. As for where I went this morning... I'll tell you when we get back."
Kureha rolled her eyes at Moses and said insincerely:
"Who's worried about your safety? I'm saying we're the ones in danger here. How can you be so careless, leaving three young girls and two small animals to fend for themselves in this primitive forest?"
"Uh... you're all strong too. I believe in you. Aside from a few creatures on the island, you shouldn't have anything to fear, right?"
Seeing Kureha's darkening expression, Moses sighed: "Alright, I admit I was wrong. How about I tie you to my belt from now on wherever I go?"
Kureha's face instantly turned pitch black. She couldn't believe Moses didn't pick up on her concern. Gritting her teeth in anger, she glanced down at the hundred-meter drop below and seriously considered kicking him off right then.
Moses looked at her furious expression with a strange expression of his own:
"Doctorine, have you noticed that ever since you became younger, you've been acting more and more childish?"
Kureha stared expressionlessly at the brat before her, grinding her teeth, then waved at Crow Dabao flying in midair.
A few seconds later, after saying "I'm going back," she was retrieved into the castle by Crow Dabao.
Moses sighed. The younger she got, the worse her temper became—harder to please now.
With that thought, he grabbed the vine with both hands and quickly climbed upward using both hands and feet.
Not waiting at all for Robin, Perona, Bear Cub, and Chopper who were following behind.
Twenty minutes later,
Breaking through a thick layer of clouds, Moses stepped onto horizontally growing vines and saw a structure appearing on a nearby Island Cloud.
A massive Golden Bell.
Covered in moss and tiny vines.
An overwhelming sense of ancient history washed over him.
Stepping on the soft, fluffy Island Cloud, Moses approached it.
[Detected legendary characteristic items present.]
Moses received this feedback from the "light sphere" in his consciousness.
And not just one—but two. One was the solemn, majestic Golden Bell, the other was a Poneglyph embedded in the bell's base.
Pressing his hand against the Golden Bell's base, Moses focused his will and could sense a unique Merit fluctuation being absorbed by the "light sphere" in his mind.
A few seconds later.
[Merit Points +15000]
The Poneglyph and Golden Bell received evaluations of C-rank and B-rank respectively.
Both had accumulated merits over nearly eight to nine hundred years—why were they different?
Could it be because the Poneglyph was just ordinary "black stone"?
This should be about right.
After seizing the Merit Points, Moses tapped and examined the Golden Bell and the Poneglyph.
Unlike famous swords or weapons that lost their legendary traits and became ordinary after being seized, these still retained their legendary properties.
Was it because they had remained widely known throughout history?
Perhaps in the future, he could forge some famous swords and sell them to see if they would retain their legendary traits after being seized, provided they became widely circulated over time.
Putting aside these thoughts, Moses focused on sensing the Golden Bell and the Poneglyph.
Though Merit Points were still accumulating, the amount was minimal and slow.
"Who knows how long it'll take to gather this much Merit again."
It was essentially a one-time deal.
Still, Moses wasn't greedy—he had already gained a considerable amount of Merit.
"Kyahahaha, who knew something like this existed here?"
At that moment, Kureha jumped out of Crow Dabao's castle, which had followed Moses up, and landed beside him.
"The Golden Bell?" Moses asked.
Kureha grinned, her earlier irritation completely gone. "And this big stone slab on the pedestal."
"You know about it?" Moses raised an eyebrow. "Can you read the writing on it?"
Kureha shook her head. "No, but that little girl Robin probably can."
After waiting a while, the rest of the group—two girls, a Panda, and a reindeer—climbed up one by one.
Panting heavily, Perona walked over, bending forward with her hands on her knees, looking utterly exhausted. "Haaah… I'm dead tired."
"Tired?" Moses stroked his chin. "Then from now on, your physical training will start with climbing this tree. Keep it up!"
Perona's face stiffened. Seeing this, Moses added:
"Next time, you'll start from the very bottom of the vines. Today, you only climbed from the upper-middle section. Doesn't count."
Pouting, Perona muttered, "Then you'll climb too?"
"Of course."
Meanwhile, Robin stepped forward with a complicated expression, running her fingers over the Poneglyph. "To see it again… this unique square stone and its block-like script."
Moses blinked, observing Robin's conflicted demeanor. "Do you recognize it? What does it say?"
Robin glanced back at Moses, noting the curiosity in his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Let me read it first."
Seeing Robin focus on deciphering the text, Moses smiled and walked away from the Golden Bell, heading to the edge of the Island Cloud.
He plopped down, gazing at the distant clouds ablaze with sunset hues, savoring the breathtaking view.
A sky island ten thousand meters in the air.
Sitting atop the clouds, with the massive Golden Bell tower behind him and layers of fiery clouds stretching before him.
"This is truly romantic," Moses murmured.
"Romantic?"
Kureha settled lightly beside Moses, studying the grown boy next to her. His profile, bathed in the golden-red glow of the sun, shimmered with light, filling her with a deep sense of happiness and fulfillment.
This was the feeling of family!
An emotion she had forgotten over her century-long life!
"Kyahaha, Moses, how old are you to be talking about romance?"
After a while, Robin approached with heavy steps, her expression gloomy, and sat down on Moses' other side.
Perona, who had followed along, paused slightly, pouted her lips, and sat behind Moses, leaning her back against his.
The group sat in silence for a moment, the atmosphere heavy. After a brief pause, Robin spoke softly:
"Moses, do you want to know what was written there?"
"Up to you."
Robin began to speak quietly.
"Convey the truth to the heart, without saying a word."
"We are the weavers of history, existing al
ongside the chimes of the Grand Bell Tower."
"Sea King. Poseidon. The princess of Fish-Man Island."
"..."
With a complicated expres
sion, she finished reciting the words softly and let out a sigh of relief, pausing briefly.
"Guess what else I saw up there?"
Moses chuckled lightly. "What?"
With a conflicted look, Robin uttered this line.
"I have come here to guide these words to the final destination—Pirate. Gol D. Roger."
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