The Sky Island Treasure Secured

Three days after Kin'emon left.

On the Training Grounds of Hachinosu, Kaido slammed his fist into Seastone, splitting it in two. He stared at the crack for a few seconds, then walked to the Training Grounds, picked up a piece of meat, and began to gnaw on it.

"Oh, Lin Yuan, what are your plans regarding the Wano Country situation?"

Lin Yuan stood in the center of the Training Ground, his eyes closed. Zephyr swung his wooden sword at him, but he dodged it by sidestepping.

"Wait."

"Until when?"

"Wait until Kozuki Oden leaves Wano Country."

Kaido chewed on the meat, frowning. "Leave? Why would he leave?"

"Because that person can't stay still." Lin Yuan opened his eyes. "He is Kozuki Oden, the daimyo of Wano Country, but he's not the kind of person who would stay peacefully in the city. He wants to go to sea, he wants to see the outside world. Sooner or later, he will board a pirate crew's ship and leave Wano Country."

"When will that be?"

I don't know. Maybe a year, maybe two. But it won't be too long.

Kaido was silent for a moment. "What if he doesn't leave?"

Lin Yuan glanced at him. "Then let's go to Wano Country and beat him until he leaves."

Kaido paused for a moment, then laughed. "Oh ho ho... fine. We'll have to fight sooner or later anyway."

Zephyr swung his wooden sword again, but Lin Yuan dodged to the side, this time not even managing to graz it.

"You've improved." Zephyr put down his wooden sword. "How many of your ten Observation Haki can you dodge now?"

Eight.

"Not enough. Practice until you have ten."

Lin Yuan nodded. He walked to the Training Ground and took the water cup that Ginny handed him.

"Lin Yuan," Ginny opened her notebook, "I found something when I was scanning the sky yesterday."

What is that?

Above the clouds, there is land. A very large landmass. It's about ten thousand meters above the sea.

Lin Yuan paused for a moment. The Sky Island. He had known about its existence for a long time, but had never mentioned it to Ginny. Now that she had discovered it herself, the timing was perfect.

Can you pinpoint the location?

"Yes. Southeast, about three thousand kilometers away." Ginny's eyes gleamed with a purple light. "Lin Yuan, does anyone live up there?"

"There should be."

How did you know?

Lin Yuan took a sip of water. "Just guessing."

In the evening, Lin Yuan called everyone to the hall.

"Ginny discovered an island in the sky. Let's go get the treasure."

Kaido, who was gnawing on meat, looked up upon hearing this. "The sky? Oh ho ho... how do we get there?"

"Haha, let's teleport directly."

Lin Yuan raised his hand and opened a huge door in the air. Behind the door was a white world—white clouds, white light, like a sky made of clouds.

Kaido put down the meat, walked to the door, and peeked inside. "Can a person stand on this cloud?"

You'll know when you get there.

Lin Yuan stepped inside, followed by seven others.

White Sea.

Stepping on the clouds felt soft and yielding, like walking on thick snow, but without sinking in. Kaido stomped his feet twice, causing the clouds to tremble, but they didn't collapse.

"Oh, lol... that's interesting."

Ginny crouched down and touched the surface of the cloud with her fingers. "Very dense. Not an ordinary cloud."

She stood up, her fingers forming a circle, her eyes gleaming with a purple light. Her gaze swept across the entire Sky Island.

"The Sky Island is vast. It has forests, lakes, and buildings. The east side is inhabited, while the west side is ruins. To the northwest lies a massive ruin, resembling an ancient city."

"Where's the treasure?" Kaido asked.

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "There's a metallic reaction beneath the ruins. A large amount."

"Let's check if there are any Devil Fruits on the island?"

"There's a building to the south, like a temple. Inside, there's a fruit reaction. One."

Lin Yuan nodded. "Let's split up. Kaido, Bullet, and Kuma, come with me to the ruins. King, Moria, and Inazuma, go with Ginny to the temple. Once you get the items, wait where you are."

Remains.

Collapsed stone pillars, crumbling stone walls, ruins covered in vines. Sunlight streamed through gaps in the clouds, illuminating the stone slabs with a golden glow. Kaido stepped onto one of the slabs, and it cracked.

How many years has this place been around?

"At least eight hundred years." Lin Yuan squatted down, looking at the characters on the stone wall. He didn't recognize a single one of the Ancient Script. But he knew where he was. Shandora. The Golden City.

He stood up and placed his hands on the ground. His Spatial Perception expanded, penetrating the thick clouds and rocks, and he sensed the underground cavity.

"There's space below. It's quite large, about twenty meters above the ground."

"Dig?" Kaido slung the Iron Club over his shoulder.

"Dig."

Kaido slammed his fist into the ground, creating a crack. Bullet followed up with another punch, widening the crack. Kuma used his Paw-Paw Fruit to deflect the rubble, revealing the space beneath.

A huge cave. At the bottom of the cave, there were piles of golden things—golden utensils, golden ornaments, golden statues. There was also a huge Golden Bell, taller than Kaido, with Ancient Script engraved on its surface.

Kaido's eyes lit up. "Oh ho ho... I've struck gold!"

Bullet jumped down, picked up a golden statue, and weighed it in his hand. "Pure Gold."

Kuma crouched down, picked up a gold bracelet, looked at it, and put it in his pocket.

Lin Yuan raised his hand and opened a door, behind which was the warehouse of Hachinosu. "Move."

Temple.

Jin pushed open the temple doors, revealing a long corridor. The walls on either side of the corridor were adorned with murals depicting ancient Skypieans performing rituals, offering a fruit shaped like an Inazuma bolt.

Ginny followed behind Jin, making a circle with her finger. "There's a room at the end of the corridor. The fruit is there."

At the end of the corridor was a stone door, engraved with Inazuma patterns. Jin raised his hand, and the stone door, lifted by the Float-Float Fruit, slowly opened.

The room was empty except for a stone platform. On the platform sat a purple fruit with Inazuma patterns on its surface, from which a faint light seemed to flow. The air was thick with the smell of static electricity, and Ginny's hair stood on end.

"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit," Ginny whispered.

She stepped forward and reached out to take it.

A huge snake swooped down from above the room.

It wasn't an ordinary Orochi. Its body was thicker than Kaido's, its scales were white, its eyes were golden, and it had two horns on its head. It was coiled on the ceiling of the room, and no one knew how many years it had been there.

Ginny took three steps back, her sniper rifle already raised.

Jhin stepped forward, the flames behind him transforming into a white fire dragon that lunged at the giant serpent. The serpent opened its mouth, hissing, but its body was too large to maneuver properly in the room. The fire dragon crashed into it, its scales burning black. It then lashed out with its tail, striking Jhin.

Jin flew out and crashed into the wall, cracking it. He got up, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.

"Moria!"

Moria's shadow erupted from beneath his feet, transforming into a black wall that blocked the giant serpent's second tail attack. The Shadow Wall cracked, but did not shatter.

"Hehe... this snake is really strong."

"Inazuma!" Ginny shouted.

Inazuma flashed from the side, its fingers slicing across the giant snake's scales—the scales split open. Not cut, but cleaved. The giant snake winced in pain and jerked back.

Ginny pulled the trigger.

"Bang--"

The bullet struck the giant snake in the eye. Golden blood spurted out, and the snake hissed as it writhed violently. A large hole was smashed through the ceiling, and its upper body emerged from it.

"It ran away," Moria said.

"Never mind that." Ginny walked to the stone platform, picked up the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, and said, "Got the stuff. Let's go."

To converge.

Lin Yuan's door opened at the temple entrance. Kaido walked out carrying two bags of gold, Bullet carried a golden statue, Kuma held a box of golden utensils.

"How are things over there?" Ginny asked.

Kaido slammed the bag of gold on the ground. "Oh ho ho... I'm rich!"

Ginny held up the purple fruit in her hand. "We got this."

Kaido's eyes lit up. "The Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"

"Um."

Lin Yuan walked out of the door, glanced at the gold and fruit. "That's enough. Let's retreat."

He raised his hand and opened a huge door in front of everyone. Behind the door was the port of Hachinosu. The afterglow of the setting sun shone through the crack in the door, illuminating the White Sea as if it were covered with a layer of golden light.

Kaido was the first to walk in, carrying the golden bag on his shoulder. Bullet followed behind, then King, Moria, and Inazuma. Kuma was last; he stood by the door and glanced back at Sky Island.

"What are you looking at?" Ginny asked.

"It's nothing." Kuma stepped inside.

Ginny followed behind. Lin Yuan was the last. He stood on the White Sea, looking towards the distant temple. The giant serpent poked its head out from the hole in the temple, its golden eyes fixed on him, but it didn't chase after him.

Lin Yuan glanced at it, took a step back, and closed the door.

Hachinosu, port.

The sun was setting. Eight people emerged from the doorway, each covered in the White Sea dust and with static electricity in their hair. Kaido tossed the golden bag to the ground, sat on it, and gasped for breath.

"Oh my god... that was awesome!"

Bullet leaned the gold statue against the wall and stretched his wrists. "It's more tiring than a fight."

Ginny squatted down, placed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on a cloth, and examined it closely, turning it over and over. "This fruit is real."

"Of course it's true." Lin Yuan stood beside her. "You thought it was fake?"

"I just wanted to confirm."

Moria and Inazuma were counting the shellfish. There was a box of Wind Dial, a box of Flame Dial, a box of Impact Dial, and a dozen or so Reject Dial. Moria picked up a Reject Dial and pressed it towards the sea—a shockwave shot out from the shell, and a splash of water erupted on the surface of the sea.

"Hehe... this thing is even more powerful than a cannonball."

"Use it sparingly," Ginny said. "Every time we use Reject Dial, it's one less we can use."

Jin leaned against the mast, holding a Wind Dial to his ear, listening to the sound of the wind inside. A slight smile played on his lips—he rarely smiled.

Kuma stood to the side, still clutching the gold bracelet in his hand. Ginny glanced at him. "Kuma, are you going to keep that bracelet?" Kuma put the bracelet in his pocket without saying a word.

Lin Yuan walked to the pile of gold, bent down and picked up a golden wine cup. Ancient Script were engraved on the cup, which he could not understand, but he knew that this thing was valuable.

"Ginny, take inventory."

Ginny opened the ledger. Kaido helped move the gold, Bullet helped sort it, and Moria and Inazuma packed the shellfish into boxes. King used the Float-Float Fruit to lift the Golden Bell out of the door and placed it at the warehouse entrance.

"One Golden Bell, three hundred and twenty gold utensils, five hundred gold ornaments. Total weight—" Ginny wrote a string of numbers in the ledger, "... five tons."

Kaido paused for a moment. "Five tons?"

Five tons.

How much is it worth?

Ginny did the math. "At market price, it's about five billion Beli."

Kaido fell silent. Bullet whistled. Kuma remained expressionless, but a slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. The flames behind King flickered. Moria chuckled.

Lin Yuan stood at the warehouse entrance, holding the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hand.

Who will eat this fruit?

No one answered.

Kaido shook his head. "I'm Zoan. I'll explode if I eat any more." Bullet shook his head. "I don't want a Devil Fruit." Kuma shook his head. King shook his head. Moria shook his head. "Hehe... I only need the shadow." Inazuma shook his head. Ginny thought for a moment. "I ate the Glint-Glint Fruit, I can't eat any more."

Lin Yuan looked at the fruit in his hand. "Then keep it. Give it to the right person later."

Ginny wrote a line in the ledger, "Rumble-Rumble Fruit. To be allocated."

Late at night.

Lin Yuan sat on the Castle roof, looking at the moon. Ginny came up, carrying two glasses of water.

"You don't drink?"

"I won't drink."

"You're such a boring person."

"Living a long time is more important."

Ginny handed him the water and sat down next to him.

"Lin Yuan, we moved 5 billion Beli worth of gold today, along with a Logia Devil Fruit and a box of shellfish."

"Um."

Aren't you upset?

Lin Yuan took a sip of water. "Excited, but I have things to do tomorrow."

Ginny paused for a moment. "What is it?"

"To the Water 7."

Ginny's fingers paused for a moment. "Water 7? What for?"

"Shipbuilding." Lin Yuan looked at the moon. "It's unacceptable that pirates don't have a single decent ship."

Ginny was silent for a moment, then laughed. "You're the kind of person who's more carefree when it comes to spending money than when it comes to making it."

"Money is for spending," Lin Yuan stood up, "Not for saving."

He walked down from the roof. Ginny sat there, watching his retreating figure, a slight smile playing on her lips. She opened her ledger and wrote a line: "Water 7. Shipbuilding. Budget—Unlimited."

In the distance, on the sea, moonlight spills onto the water, creating shimmering waves.

(End of Chapter 66)