Sleeping Ancient Town

"You don't have to be so disappointed, do you? We only came here to try our luck. It wasn't like we expected to definitely find the target we were after!"

At Punk Hazard's harbor, Oak's group of four was still aboard that small boat, with blazing flames behind them.

They had just stormed onto the island and conducted a thorough search, but found no trace whatsoever of the Great Hammer Warband. Rocks's previously eager face had fallen somewhat, and Oak consoled him from the side.

"I know, but it still pisses me off!"

Rocks raised his head and replied with a gloomy expression. Then, unwilling to continue the topic that was making him unhappy, he changed the subject.

"Tell me, what do you want us to accompany you to do?"

They had agreed that after leaving Punk Hazard, they would accompany Oak to retrieve two items.

Rocks was very curious about what could possibly interest Oak.

"Hehe~"

Hearing the question, Oak pulled a prepared sea chart from his clothes and pointed at it.

"First, come with me to this place!"

Rocks, Newgate, and Kaido leaned their three large heads in for a look. A location was marked on the chart.

"Sleeping Ancient Town?"

"You want to go there? Why?"

Looking at the completely unfamiliar location, Rocks shot him a puzzled glance.

"That's a secret for now!"

Oak did not answer, intending to keep them in suspense.

"According to the chart, we're very close to it. So stop standing around and get moving. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can head to the next place!"

He urged Rocks to set sail. Since Oak had rarely left the island where he was born while growing up, he knew nothing about navigation or sailing. If he wanted to reach where he was going, he could only rely on Rocks and Newgate, two veteran pirates.

Thus, the group set out again. After perfectly missing Sengoku's fleet, they arrived at the town known as Sleeping Ancient Town a day later.

"It's actually an ancient ruin!"

The moment they arrived, they discovered that the town was quite dilapidated. Moss-covered broken walls and crumbled ruins were everywhere, clearly abandoned for a very long time. However, after Rocks brushed aside the weeds covering a bluestone slab, he saw a string of ancient writing carved upon it.

The existence of such writing meant that the ruins had been left behind at least eight hundred years ago. As for why they were so ruined, it was probably the result of the great war his ancestors had spoken of.

Thinking that, Rocks sighed softly. Oak, however, did not care about any of that. All he cared about was how to find what he was looking for.

He could confirm that the thing he sought was somewhere in this town, but it was very small, while the town was huge. How was he supposed to find it?

He pondered for a moment, recalling certain details from his memories.

"I remember it should be beneath a castle!"

As he muttered to himself, he jumped up and slapped Kaido on the shoulder.

"Little brother Kaido, lend me your shoulders."

Without waiting for Kaido to agree, he braced himself with both hands and planted his feet on Kaido's shoulders.

His height of just over two meters, combined with Kaido's body over seven meters tall, came to nearly nine meters. From that lofty vantage point, he could see much farther.

"Get down!"

Kaido beneath him was furious. What did Oak take him for, stepping on him whenever he pleased?

He continuously shook his shoulders, trying to throw Oak off. Yet Oak's feet seemed rooted in place; no matter how Kaido shook, he could not dislodge him.

"Stop moving!"

In the end, Oak even found Kaido's flailing too annoying, as it was delaying his search. He slapped Kaido on the head and told him to behave.

Newgate watched the scene with interest, secretly chuckling.

Of the two apprentices, Kaido was completely dominated by Oak. He got bullied every day, yet always liked staying around Oak. Newgate did not know what to say about it.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

After examining the ancient writing and casually finding materials to make a rubbing, Rocks looked at Oak's strange behavior and could not help growing curious again.

Yet Oak did not answer. Instead, he asked the other three for help.

"Can one of you use Observation Haki to check where in this town there are the most bats?"

In his memories, Oak vaguely remembered that the thing he was looking for was beneath a castle. But after looking around for a long time, he found that there was more than one castle in town, and they all looked similar, leaving him unable to tell which one he wanted. Then he remembered a second detail: the place containing that item seemed to have many bats, which would fly out at night and spread throughout the entire town.

Living creatures like bats could be detected with Observation Haki. Oak had also awakened Observation Haki not long ago, but its range was limited and not enough to cover the entire town, so he could only seek help from the other three.

Though he said three people, he was mainly asking Newgate and Rocks. As for Kaido, his half-baked Observation Haki was not much better than Oak's.

Hearing this, Rocks stopped asking questions. Together with Newgate, he released his Observation Haki. Their Observation Haki could easily cover the entire town, so after only a brief moment, they pointed in the same direction.

"Over there!"

A castle somewhere to their front right was giving off a large number of life signals, making it the best match for Oak's requirements.

"Let's go!"

Oak stomped on Kaido's shoulder, borrowed the force, and shot toward that direction first.

"Thump, thump, thump~"

To travel faster, he directly used Geppo from the Navy's Six Powers. In just a few flashes, he reached the castle, with the other three following close behind.

After arriving at the castle, Oak did not need Rocks and the others to guide him. He could sense for himself that massive life fluctuations were coming from beneath a side hall in the largely ruined castle. Without hesitation, he controlled his strength and punched the side hall's floor.

"Rumble~"

With a tremendous crash, a pitch-black hole opened in the ground.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Sunlight shone into the hole, and countless startled bats surged out in a black tide.

"Get lost!"

To avoid being swept up by the bats, Oak released his Conqueror's Haki, instantly knocking them all unconscious before jumping into the hole.

Inside was a space resembling a secret chamber. Using the limited light shining in through the opening, he saw an ancient altar standing in the center, with a rotten wooden box placed at its very heart.

"Found it!"

Seeing the hint of purplish-red exposed within the rotten box, excitement flickered across his face. He eagerly stepped forward, grabbed it, and opened it, revealing a fruit covered in mysterious patterns in his hand.