After the vault doors slowly opened, the drunkenness suddenly vanished from Cracker's face. He tilted his head and glanced back at the passage they had come through, feeling somewhat relieved before stepping into the vault.
Just after Cracker entered the vault, a face appeared on the door again. Its pair of bell-sized eyes looked around, and the doors slowly began to close.
But just as the doors were about to shut completely, Katakuri flashed out from the corridor and arrived before the vault.
"Lord Katakuri!"
Slightly different from its attitude toward Cracker, the door spirit actually greeted Katakuri with a smile. Then, without needing Katakuri to say anything, the doors slowly opened.
Cracker, who had just entered the vault, had wandered over to the Poneglyph stored in one corner. Big Mom had not taken any particular protective measures for this giant stone stele when storing it. It had simply been placed inside the vault.
The stone stele engraved with the Poneglyph possessed the attribute of being "eternally unworn." Forget weathering or oxidation—even cutting or chiseling it with sharp tools would leave no mark upon it.
Even if Tsugikuni Yoriichi were to attack the stele with his famed blade, he probably would not be able to break through its defenses. This thing had already surpassed what the word "hardness" could describe. It had become a "rule."
Cracker stood before the Poneglyph in silence for a long time. Just as he was about to use his ability to "pull out" the rubbing cloth and ink he had prepared long ago, he heard movement from the vault entrance. Katakuri could hide himself and avoid Cracker's line of sight, but he could not conceal the sound of the vault doors opening and closing.
Cracker's expression did not change upon hearing the noise from the