Shandora

Angel Island Celebration Banquet

The sky above the Sky Island was covered with dazzling fireworks, and the colorful lights intertwined with the clouds to form a dreamlike Milky Way.

Those were celebratory fireworks, a sign that the shadows that had weighed on everyone's hearts for years had finally been dispelled.

For the first time, the residents of Angel Island and the warriors of Shandia sat in the same square, around the same banquet table, drinking from the same pot of wine, and sharing the same laughter.

Gan Fall, dressed in his old knight's robes, stood solemnly on the high platform, with the Shandia warrior captain Wyper standing beside him.

Two leaders from opposing camps stand side by side today.

Gan Fall took a deep breath, looked at the crowd, and said in a deep voice, "For four hundred years, we have hated each other and killed one another... Countless lives have been buried in this sea of clouds."

His gaze swept over the elderly, soldiers, children, and mothers at the table, every pair of eyes listening intently.

"But today, we finally understand that the real enemy has never been each other."

Wyper nodded, his fist clenched, his voice firm. "The root of hatred is obsession, our inability to let go of our desire for this land."

There was a moment of silence in the audience.

Then, a Shandia warrior gently grasped the hand of an Angel Island woman, while others bowed their heads and silently wept, and an elder choked back tears as he patted the shoulder of an old enemy.

At this moment of gentle transformation--

The center of the banquet was filled with delicious aromas and was bustling with activity.

Luffy, Ace, and Roy were enjoying a delicious meal surrounded by a large pile of Sky Island specialties.

"Slurp slurp— Barbecue!! Ten more plates, please!!"

Luffy, with his mouth stuffed full of meat skewers, shouted indistinctly, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster.

Ace, holding the coconut juice, glanced at it with disdain as he drank, saying, "Your eating manners are even uglier than when you were a kid..."

"Huh?" Luffy looked up, a cloud fish bone still hanging from the corner of his mouth. "Huh? I've always looked like this."

Roy rested his chin on his hand, squinting as he watched them bicker. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said casually, "Hmm... Shandora really exists, you know."

"Pfft! Cough cough!!"

Ace choked on his drink and smeared it all over Zoro's head.

"Roy, what are you suddenly saying?!"

"Huh?!?!" Zoro pulled out a tissue with a disgusted look. "Why did you spray me with your own drink?!"

Luo pushed up his hat brim, his lips twitching. "... This is a lot of information."

Just as the group was in an uproar, the entire banquet hall fell silent instantly.

Gan Fall and Wyper turned their heads slowly and mechanically. The residents of Angel Island and Shandia all stared wide-eyed, their expressions shifting from confusion to shock, and then from shock to—"Eh?!?!"

A deafening scream echoed throughout the banquet!

Angel Island and the Shandia stood up almost simultaneously, chairs were overturned, plates flew everywhere, and the air was filled with a loud clatter.

"Shandora?! You mean... it really exists?! That legendary, epic Golden Bell?!"

"Didn't they say it sank into the White Sea a long time ago?!"

"We've searched for four hundred years and haven't found a trace of it!!"

Luffy's eyes lit up, "Huh?! Gold!? Where is it? Is it behind the meat!?"

Ace was still coughing and patting his chest. "Bro, are you drunk? What did you just say that was outrageous?!"

The crowd erupted like a pot lid being blown off, everyone's face screaming, "What the hell did you say?!"

Just as everyone was in a panic and completely bewildered, Roy slowly stood up, his smile calm and composed.

"Looks like everyone's pretty interested."

He raised his hand and waved—

"Whoosh!!"

The space trembled suddenly, as if the surface of a lake had been gently rippled.

Before everyone's eyes flashed, a sharp whistling sound, as if a gentle breeze had swept through their ears, carrying them across a thousand years of time.

When people open their eyes again--

"Whoosh--!"

A vast expanse of golden light rushed towards us, so dazzling that it was almost blinding.

Beneath my feet lies a street paved with golden bricks, gleaming with a warm, yellow light.

Surrounded by palaces, with carved railings and painted beams, and golden pillars soaring into the clouds, the city is majestic like the ruins of a divine kingdom, as if the sun itself had created a miracle.

It is the legendary Shandora Golden City!

The ancient city, which was said to have sunk into the depths of history, now stands quietly and authentically before them.

"This, this is..."

Gan Fall's body trembled, his pupils quivered, and then his knees buckled, and he knelt down on the gold bricks with a thud, tears streaming down his face.

"Shandora... the Golden Country... it really... it really exists!"

Wyper's face changed drastically, his eyes reddened, he knelt down with his head bowed, his right fist pressed to the ground, and his voice was deep and thunderous. "The 'ancient city' our ancestors spoke of truly exists in this world!"

At that moment, both the Skypieans and the Shandia were stunned.

The story, which the priests had called "myth" countless times, was unfolding before their eyes.

Some people opened their mouths in a daze, but could not utter a word;

Some people were so excited that they collapsed to the ground, their vision blurred with tears;

Many more people unconsciously reached out to touch the floor tiles, city walls, and golden pillars, just to confirm that this was not a dream.

"Wow--!"

A shout, cracking with excitement, suddenly rang out. It was Luffy, his eyes shining, jumping up and down in excitement!

"So big! So shiny! It's all gold! It's so cool!!"

He lunged at a huge golden wall, spreading his arms wide and rubbing them back and forth on it, his mouth stretched almost to his ears in a wide grin.

"Hehe~ What would meat made of gold taste like!"

Ace stood to the side, gazing at the ancient golden city that had been sleeping for thousands of years, a rare look of solemnity and respect appearing in his eyes.

Sunlight streamed down from the top of the sea of clouds, illuminating a corner of the Golden City and reflecting a golden glow that resembled a divine kingdom slumbering at the end of history.

At this moment, Zoro slowly walked up the steps, stood in front of a leaning golden pillar, reached out and tapped the surface, producing a dull echo.

"It's even heavier than I expected."

Kuina stood quietly beside a broken golden staircase, gazing down at the patterns that, though eroded by time, still shone brightly.

She reached out and lightly touched the ancient characters with her fingertips, her gaze filled with both reverence and contemplation.

This city has witnessed too many silent vows...

She looked up towards the main city tower and murmured, "So the so-called 'miracle' really exists."

Luo, standing beside her, remained silent, gazing at the city's layout with a complex expression.

"A city made of gold..." he muttered, "It's too illogical... but also too magnificent."

He pushed up his hat brim and said calmly, "Perhaps... historical miracles don't need logic."

At that moment, Roy quietly stepped alone into the deepest part of the Golden City.

His expression was calm, his gaze serene as a mirror, and his steps seemed to tread upon the torrent of time.

All around are the magnificent ruins left by time—broken golden pillars, collapsed temples, steps and murals swallowed by greenery, which seem to still whisper ancient legends in the light and shadow.

But Roy did not stop. He looked up, his gaze piercing through the thick clouds to the core that had truly been "supported" by time— the Golden Bell.

Over the centuries, the giant Vines of Upper Yard grew wildly to the clouds, silently uprooting, entwining, and dragging the entire clock tower, "lifting" it high into the sky as if it were a plant sacrifice.

Today, the Golden Bell, along with the entire bell tower, is suspended hundreds of meters in the air, half-hidden among the clouds, like the remains of a deity in the sky.

Vines, thick as pythons, entwined around the tower, were verdant and vigorous, while the surface of the Golden Bell, though covered with wind erosion cracks, still shone with golden light, releasing a sacred pressure amidst the sea of clouds.

That was not just a clock made of gold; it was Promise that had never been broken in four hundred years.

The wind swept through the clock tower, bringing with it the whistling of swaying Vines and a solemn whisper from ancient times.

Roy Teleportation to the steps of the bell base, stood quietly, and stretched out his hand, his fingertips brushing against the ancient inscriptions on the bell, as if caressing an ancient soul.

As the sunlight streamed in, his figure overlapped with the shadow of the bell, creating an atmosphere of profound solemnity.

"Noland's Promise with Kalgara-- "

He murmured softly, as if responding to the bells that had not rung for four hundred years.

"Today is the day to deliver."

He slowly raised his fist, and the entire Sky Island seemed to await that ancient echo—

"Thump--!"

A punch slammed into Zhong Xin.

That ancient and powerful bell tolled instantly, resounding throughout the sky!

The sound of the golden bell pierced through the clouds, echoing across the entire Sky Island, and also crossed the deep White Sea, reaching the even more distant Blue Sea!

That wasn't the sound of bells; it was a vow that transcended four hundred years, a hymn dedicated to our ancestors and to peace!

Gan Fall's eyes were already red, tears streaming down his face, his voice choked with emotion. "Four hundred years... finally..."

Wyper slowly raised his fist and slammed his Right Hand heavily onto the golden ground. "The vow of our ancestors has finally been fulfilled today!"

The high wall of hatred between the people of Angel Island and the Shandia vanished like the clouds after the Golden Bell.

They embraced each other, their tears and laughter mingling.

Some wept uncontrollably, some knelt in prayer, and some grasped the hands of old enemies, uttering a sentence long overdue. "We... have finally waited for this day."

Roy stood beneath the Golden Bell, his gaze sweeping across the entire golden landscape, his voice gentle yet firm. "From this day forward, this will be your shared home."

"Starting today--"

"There will be no more war between the Sky Islands and the Shandia!"

Immediately, cheers erupted like a storm!

"Oh oh--!"

"Long live peace!!"

"Heroes of the Blue Sea--!"

The crowd erupted in cheers as fireworks soared into the sky once more, bursting into brilliant colors atop the Golden Bell!

Gan Fall wiped away his tears, walked onto the platform beneath the Golden Bell, and solemnly announced, "I propose that the Sky Islands and Shandia merge to form a new nation—"

"The Land of God!"

Wyper raised his arm high without hesitation. "The Shandia agree!!"

"Wow--!"

From this moment on, New Era for Sky Island officially begins.

The ancient bell tolled, echoing through the depths of time, and planted seeds of hope in everyone's heart.