"Hometown?!!"
Upon hearing this, Empad immediately perked up and looked at Gawain with hopeful eyes.
"You mean you'll allow us to live back in our homeland, that God's Island?"
At this point, Empad's eyes shone with immense anticipation.
At the same time, the eyes of all the surrounding tribespeople, including Laki and Aisa, lit up.
The reason they fought the Skypieans for four hundred years, the reason they hid in such a secluded place, and the reason they refused to give up even when only a few thousand people remained.
What they're after is nothing more than reclaiming that piece of land in the air—the half of Jaya that was swept into the sky!
Could it be that at this very moment, the new ruler of the Sky Island is willing to hand over that land?!
Thinking this, Empad looked at Gawain with great excitement, but meeting Empad's expectant gaze, Gawain simply shook his head calmly.
"To be precise, I don't mean for you to go back to that island."
I want to put that island back where it was originally!
At this point, Gawain raised his hand and pointed to the towering vines that could be clearly seen even from hundreds of kilometers away.
That's the direction of the God's Island.
Thousands of years ago, a magical pea vine suddenly appeared on the Sky Island.
The vines grew rapidly, reaching a height of tens of thousands of meters in just a few years.
Therefore, this vine, which is hundreds of meters thick, is regarded by the Skypieans as a blessing from the gods to the Sky Island.
Of course, now that Rayleigh has mentioned the records in the Poneglyph, Gawain has a feeling that this vine on the Sky Island might also be the seed of Nika's group.
They claim to plant trees all over the world, so isn't it normal that there's a magical seed and a fruitless vine on the Sky Island?
Perhaps it's just one of those sacred trees that failed to be planted!
As for why Jaya is called the God's Island?
This brings us to an interesting point.
Four hundred years ago, Jaya was swept into the sky by Knock Up Stream current. It then traced an arc and crashed precisely onto the Divine Vine of the Sky Island!
Look, a piece of land suddenly fell onto the Divine Vine. In the eyes of the Skypieans, isn't this land that passed through the vines the land bestowed upon them by the gods?
And so, the Sky Island, which had been at peace for countless years, was plunged into a war between the Shandia and the Skypieans. In fact, the source of all the conflicts on the Sky Island was concentrated in that land!
Thinking this, Gawain pointed to the vines in the distance and said slowly.
"Empad, have you forgotten where your roots truly lie?"
Your country, your tribe, and your history and culture are all on Jaya, and even more so in that Golden City on Jaya!
The towering ocean currents carried you to the Sky Island, and from then on you were displaced and lost your home.
For the Sky Island, the sudden appearance of land not only allowed them to witness what was considered sacred, but also fueled their ambitions.
So, right now I only want to do one thing.
If it is truly God who sent your homeland, half of Jaya, into the sky.
Then I will inform God that I will not let him have his way!
At this point, Gawain's deep pupils fixed intently on Empad's face.
"As for today, the reason I have come to your tribe is..."
It's not just because I wanted to give you a gift; I'm also here to deliver a notification.
Soon, I will move half of Jaya, where Golden City and Golden Bell are located, off the Sky Island!
Where this half of the island disappeared from, I will make it reappear there!
And you, whether you accept my gift or not, whether you are willing to follow Jaya back to the Grand Line or not.
In short, Jaya is about to leave the Sky Island, so please make the necessary preparations!
After saying this, Gawain nodded to Empad one last time, then turned to leave.
Before Gawain could turn around, Wyper, the contemporary Shandia warrior not far away, shouted at Gawain.
"So you're still using God's methods, aren't you? You haven't given us any choice at all!"
Shandora is our holy city, our homeland that we have been away from for four hundred years!
If he really will be sent back to the sea by you, then as descendants of Shandora, we should of course leave the Sky Island with Jaya!
Is this really a choice you're making?!
"Oh?"
Upon hearing Wyper's words, Gawain smiled knowingly, gently pointing to Wyper's chest and laughing.
"Wyper, when did I ever say I would give you a choice?"
I've said it before, I just wanted to give you a gift, and that gift is your chance to return to Jaya.
However, I may have missed a sentence, so I'll add it now.
Gawain spoke to Wyper, word by word.
Do you think... everyone has the right to refuse my gift?
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain chuckled and then gently patted the shoulder of the stunned Wyper.
"Take you, for example, Wyper, you know?"
Because your hometown was washed ashore on Sky Island, the great adventurer Noland was known as the world's biggest liar. He was beheaded by his king, and his stories of deceiving the world were treated as fairy tales and jokes by people all over the world!
Just before I set foot on the Sky Island, Noland's descendants were still desperately waiting on the remaining half of Jaya!
He relentlessly ventured into the sea to explore, and this exploration became his life's work!
What do you think he did it for? He was treated coldly by countless people, and everyone called him a descendant of a liar.
You think he did it for the gold? Ha! He just wanted to hear the Golden Bell ring out across the sea again, and more importantly, to let the whole world know that Shandora truly exists!
At this point, Gawain chuckled and looked into Wyper 'Wyper eyes, which were filled with disbelief.
He opened his mouth in a dejected manner, hesitated for a long time, but could not utter a sound.
After more than ten seconds, Wyper slowly uttered a single word.
"Noland's... descendants, are they still waiting?"
"You'll have to see for yourself; it's no use me telling you!"
Gawain shook his head and said to Wyper, then looked at the other thoughtful tribesmen.
Facing them, Gawain raised his voice slightly and continued.
"Besides Noland's descendants, do you know what Jaya has become right now?"
After the Golden Country you were so desperately waiting for disappeared, Jaya has become Paradise for scammers!
Then, starting with con artists, pirates, human traffickers, assassins, gangsters, and countless scoundrels, they completely took over your hometown, their numbers exceeding one hundred thousand!
In the past, after Noland's travelogues were published, even if he was mistakenly considered a fraud, people learned through his stories that Shandora was a land of gold!
But now, haha, everyone in the Four Blues who mentions Jaya knows it's an extremely dangerous place that even a good dog wouldn't want to stay in!
You were once the guardians of the Golden City; you not only have a glorious past, but you also deserve a future that will be celebrated Four Blues.
But now, your honor has vanished completely into the vast ocean four hundred years after your departure!
What about the glory of the Guardians? What about the glory of Shandora? All of that has been completely obliterated by the terrifying environment of Jaya today!
That was all thanks to the efforts of your ancestors. Are you really willing to continue being trapped on the Sky Island, continuing to trample your ancestors into dust and mud?!
The moment Gawain finished speaking, the surrounding Shandia residents erupted in an uproar, immediately starting to whisper among themselves.
However, Gawain ignored their whispers and turned to continue speaking to Gawain Empad.
"But you can rest assured, Jaya is no longer a dangerous place. Before I set foot on the Sky Island, I made some minor adjustments to the situation on Jaya!"
Do you know how I handled it?
Gawain transformed into lightning in the blink of an eye, moved to the chief's vicinity, patted Chief Empad on the shoulder, and whispered.
"I killed them all, about 120,000 people in total."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain ignored the shocked chief and squatted down next to Aisa.
"And little Aisa, wouldn't you like to see the butterflies fluttering among the flowers? There are plenty of them in your hometown."
Of course, it's not like the ones on the Sky Island. The Sky Island is too high up, and the animals there would look strange if they stayed there for too long.
Below the Sky Island lies your original home, a beautiful forest that should have been everything to you.
But now you have nothing...
Ah no, perhaps you still have something left; at least you still have endless wars and countless sacrifices.
Although you might not like those things..."
At this point, Gawain gently rubbed little Aisa's head, and then he addressed everyone around him.
"Think carefully about your lives. Do you want to continue fighting and confronting the people in Sky Island sky on your own land, only to face the inevitable defeat one day?"
Or perhaps we could try my method: take your land and the Golden City back to your original homeland?
A complete Jaya is the meager profit I intend to give you.
That's why... no one can refuse my gifts.
I will probably remove Jaya from the Sky Island's territory in about a week, and then I will return Jaya to its original location.
You have only one week to prepare. If you are ready, come find me on my ship.
Remember, this offer is only valid for one week; it won't be available after that!
As soon as he finished speaking, Gawain suddenly transformed into the form of Inazuma and then vanished from the sight of the Shandia.
But after he disappeared, a final sentence could still be heard drifting from his location.
"I look forward to meeting you in your hometown and witnessing you reclaim the honor and mission of your ancestors."
At this point, Gawain's voice and appearance completely disappeared, leaving only a Shandia looking at each other in bewilderment.
They looked at each other, then immediately launched into a heated discussion.
But after their discussion, they finally realized that they were each focusing on different things.
Many people recall the stories passed down from their ancestors, dating back four hundred years.
Many others recalled the stories of Noland told by their predecessors.
The children kept looking ahead to the landscape and the forest.
The Great Chief sighed as he counted his last four thousand-odd tribesmen.
With only four thousand men, could that guy who can turn into Inazuma like Enel possibly kill them all in half a day?
As for Wyper, the former Guerrilla warrior who was once most focused on fighting the Skypieans, he muttered to himself in a daze.
"Are Noland's descendants still waiting for Kalgara's descendants? Is it us who fulfilled the promise, or them?"
As he spoke, Wyper became increasingly confused, because he suddenly realized that even if he wanted to continue fighting, he seemed to have no one left to fight!
It's important to know that during the time of the god Gan Fall, the relationship between the Shandia and the Skypieans had already improved considerably.
During the reign of God Gan Fall, the two sides had not fought a major war for more than twenty years.
Even the Guerrilla that Wyper is leading now was a specially formed team after the appearance of God Enel.
Their enemies were more Enel's government; they didn't actually have any hatred for God Gan Fall.
However, Enel's men, apart from the 650 White Berets who manage order on Angel Island —that is, the police—are not included.
All the other core members were turned to stone by Gawain and his group...
Even their revenge seems to have run out of targets...
After all, most of them were young people, and all they hated were the guys who killed their relatives and friends, but those were almost all done by Enel's subordinates.
As for how innocent and naive ordinary Skypieans are, don't the Shandia know?
And so, from that moment on, the entire Shandia tribe, from the chief to the great warrior, and then to almost every tribesman, including the children, began to unite.
Everyone was confused.
Do you want to go home?
Is it really possible to go back?
Meanwhile, on the Dark Bird Ship, Gawain, disguised as lightning, returned to his sofa.
Upon seeing Gawain return, Gion had been sitting upright and nervously drinking tea, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"My lord, you're back!"
She put down her teacup and said with concern.
Upon hearing Gion's voice, Gawain nodded and smiled.
"Yes, we're back. The problems in Shandia won't take long to resolve. After all, their needs are very clear, and their objectives are very clear."
Their only goal, their only obsession, is the City of Gold.
Therefore, as long as we take the City of Gold away, it doesn't matter if they didn't accept my conditions at the time.
They are also destined to leave the Sky Island in their own way and return to Jaya, where they should have lived.
Moreover, Golden Town on Jaya is currently in dire need of reconstruction, and we can't expect a group of Masira to completely carry out the Golden Town work.
Therefore, as long as their tribe chooses to return, Golden Town will inevitably gain a new grassroots force!
At this point, Gawain took off his clothes, then, shirtless, waved to Gion.
"Let's not talk about that anymore, training continues. Next up is Tekkai and Armament Haki, right?"
"That's right!"
Gion took a deep breath, then stood up and clenched her fist. Since the adults were starting to go out alone occasionally, her fists should be even harder!
If the adults don't become stronger quickly, I really can't help but worry!
To stop worrying, adults need to at least reach a level where they can defeat themselves!
With that thought in mind, Gion exploded, and in less than ten seconds, Gawain was crushed under his feet.
But this was just the beginning; Gawain would next face beatings from all the officers on the ship.
After all, he can't rely Gion's striking power and attack habits to master Armament Haki!
Following the training plan, Gawain endured beatings until noon, then continued to rest and replenish his nutrition.
This time, while eating various Sea King meat, Kalifa spoke to Gawain.
"My lord, after three days of weighing and tallying, I estimate that the total value of the gold on the Sky Island is around 18 trillion Beli."
"Congratulations, sir! With this gold, we will no longer lack funds for our Sea Train project in the early stages of the Grand Line!"
"But it's still lacking in the mid-to-late stages, right?"
Gawain asked softly, and without waiting for Kalifa's reply, he continued speaking to Kalifa.
"Therefore, let's reserve a portion of this gold for future use. First, we'll allocate the gold worth two trillion Beli, along with the sales revenue from the large ships that Mary Geoise has been transferring to Water 7, to the material reserve plan for the Sea Train project."
Besides that, there's the remaining gold, worth sixteen trillion Beli..."
Gawain pondered for a moment, then asked softly.
"Kalifa, do you think it's possible for us to transform Golden Town into a true Golden Town and use the gold we possess to establish a banking system exclusively for our Dark Bird Group?"
After all, the Beli was a gold standard currency, and with a large amount of gold as a trust, the banking industry's foundation should already be strong enough.
As for public credibility, I think that as our news spreads further, we can gradually improve our credibility as well.
As for the depositors, as we travel all the way to the East Blue, we will at least reach all the islands in this current ocean current and build the first Sea Train between these islands.
Once the transportation along this route becomes well-developed, it is destined to become the newest economic hub on the Grand Line.
As long as we can maintain our credibility, we should not lack depositors.
What do you think?
After speaking, Gawain looked at Kalifa frowned and pondered for a moment.
After a moment, Kalifa spoke softly.
"My lord, in that case, we need to speed up the handling of the pirates within the shipping lanes, because pirates don't have the habit of saving, and as the mainstream of the seas today, they will also influence a large number of civilians to save."
Currently, most of the world's banking operations are controlled by the World Government, but even with the Five Elders personally involved, the banking sector is showing signs of decline.
After all, hiding treasure is almost an instinct for every seaman!