Buggy remembered Chris saying that the scroll held the method for opening the secret passage to the Ancestral Ruins. In fact, the writing at the very bottom of the scroll wasn't in any language commonly used in the world. It was written in ancient cuneiform.
In other words, unless someone could decipher the meaning of the script, Buggy's treasure hunt might well come to nothing. Of course, if he couldn't uncover its secrets, he could always try blasting the place open with a Buggy Ball—a terrifying cannonball powerful enough to destroy an entire town with a single shot.
But with Robin's sudden appearance, things wouldn't have to get that complicated.
Robin slowly approached the statue and unfurled the scroll, laying it on an uneven stone platform in front of the broken statue.
Curious, Buggy followed and stood beside her, gazing at the scroll.
Moonlight poured onto the uneven stone platform. Perhaps because the atmosphere above Gali Island was unevenly distributed, the moonlight shone brightest over this particular groove. The map and cuneiform writing on the scroll's surface faded beneath the moonlight, while strange patterns emerged from within, piecing together into a different map.
Robin explained, "This groove is probably made of Breathing Stone. With the scroll covering it, the stone is like a person with their mouth and nose blocked. It secretes a strange liquid, which reacts with the specially made ink on the scroll and the brightest moonlight to reveal the map's true secret."
Buggy nodded to himself. "Miss Robin, you really are a knowledgeable and clever archaeologist!"
"Ka-chew, ka-chew!" For some reason, Big Octopus had gotten excited too.
Robin studied the map on the scroll and said, "Red Nose, go twenty meters west, then sixteen meters north. There's a switch there. Go to that spot and wait for my instructions."
Once Buggy reached the location, Robin walked over to another brick beside the altar and said, "There's a mechanism to open the door where we're standing. I'll count down from three, and we'll both step down at the same time."
Buggy nodded. "No problem."
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One!"
As they stomped down on the stones, the bricks in the center of the altar began to rumble. The two stone doors in the ground slowly slid apart, revealing a dark passage leading underground.
"Ka-chew!" Big Octopus suddenly grew incredibly excited and rushed toward the passage without a care, but Buggy yanked him back with the rope in his hand.
"Octopus Slice, behave yourself, or I'll have to decide whether to make you sweet or spicy!"
Under Buggy's fearsome threat, Big Octopus didn't dare protest outright. Instead, he spat ink onto the ground and drew a turtle. Then he pointed one tentacle at Buggy and another at the drawing, looking at him with a cheeky grin. "Ka-chew, ka-chew!"
Thud, thud, thud...
Without mercy, Buggy left three huge bumps on Octopus Slice's head, then pulled back his stinging fist. Big Octopus immediately lost his balance as the world spun around him.
After waiting a moment, Robin took out a lit candle and placed it on the hand carved into the ground at the passage entrance. Its flame flickered, but in the end, it didn't go out.
"We can go down now."
Having confirmed that there was enough oxygen below, Robin walked straight down the steps. Buggy followed, leading Big Octopus by the rope.
The rock walls below looked as if they'd been smoothed by human hands. This wasn't a naturally formed cavern. The surroundings were silent, with only the faint footsteps of the three breaking the quiet.
Although the single passage twisted several times, there were none of the traps they'd expected.
"There's a hidden door here." Robin, ever observant, pressed a hand against the rock wall beside her. A huge stone door rumbled into motion, revealing a stone chamber in the glow of the oil lamp.
"Ka-chew!" Big Octopus suddenly broke free of the rope and darted excitedly inside. The moment half his body crossed the threshold, two rows of spear traps—one set into the ceiling and the other into the floor—snapped shut like the teeth of Sea Kings.
Big Octopus moved at twice his previous speed, escaping just as the spears closed. He let out several humanlike breaths. "Ka-chew, ka-chew..."
"Grra-grra—"
The spears mechanically slid back into place, slowly retracting into the cracks in the stone.
Watching Big Octopus, Buggy couldn't help wondering. The octopus didn't seem familiar with the place, so could the power he possessed really have come from here?
Robin raised the oil lamp, but its weak light wasn't enough to pierce the darkness of the chamber.
"Miss Robin, give me the lamp."
Buggy took the oil lamp from Robin, then detached the hand holding it. He carefully floated it into the chamber.
The hand moved through the air, lighting up the surrounding walls one by one. There were no carved words or images. The floor was pitted and uneven, with no sign of where a trap might be hidden.
The lamplight swept over the entire chamber, but there wasn't a glimmer of gold or treasure. It was empty.
Big Octopus had followed the lamp's movements intently throughout, turning his head as it moved. In the end, a disappointed look spread across his face.
"There's nothing here, so why bother setting up traps? Weird." Losing interest, Buggy pulled his hand back and returned the lamp to Robin.
Picking up on Buggy's question, Robin explained as she walked, "This chamber is ancient. The people who lived here back then might have set up traps to lure in invading enemies. Usually, they'd have left gold and treasure inside as bait. Of course, the invaders may have already taken the valuables, leaving it empty."
Robin's expression barely changed. She wasn't someone who readily revealed her thoughts. Holding the lamp, she continued cautiously along the passage.
The two of them and the octopus walked through the passage. Before long, they spotted half a stone statue lying on the ground. Up close, it looked like the upper half of the broken statue from the altar.
The statue depicted a muscular man. He held a harpoon in his right hand and rested his left against his chest. His face was covered in thick hair, giving him a wild appearance.
Robin crouched beside the statue and studied it repeatedly. After a moment's thought, she murmured, "The upper half of the statue outside... How did it end up here? Red Nose, what do you think?"
Buggy glanced at Big Octopus, who showed no reaction, and said, "Looks like someone put it here on purpose... Let's keep going. Maybe we'll find the answer up ahead."
"Mm..." Robin answered softly, rose, and continued walking.
The two proceeded cautiously at a slow pace. A journey that should have taken only two or three minutes took nearly ten, though they didn't encounter a single trap along the way.
The underground passage ended at a stone wall. Robin found a switch beside it and pressed it.
"Rumble—"
The huge stone wall opened with a roar, slowly sliding into a recess.
Watching the stone door slide and turn, Buggy could barely contain his excitement. There had to be treasure inside!
After all, pirates had no stable home base to cover their maintenance and daily expenses. Most relied on plundering villages and towns for supplies, living like maggots.
If the chamber held treasure valuable enough to cover Buggy's expenses, then it would be much easier for him to enter the Grand Line afterward.
At last, the stone door slid all the way into the recess, and what appeared before them was...
The Marines!!!