The Face of the Treasure

### What appeared before them next made it seem as though the forest was no longer the same forest as before.

"Your Majesty, there's a path ahead..."

Junhe shouted loudly, his excitement unmistakable even from his voice.

After all, they had searched this place many times before, yet they had never found a path appearing before them. But as the massive tree slowly fell, the scenery around them seemed to transform completely.

Nova naturally noticed the change. He glanced at the path ahead, then turned to look at the tree that was still falling.

As the enormous tree collapsed, it smashed who knew how many other trees. Yet the instant it hit the ground, the tremendous impact made even the earth begin to shake.

Junhe hurried to Nova's side. Looking at the fallen tree, he could not understand why its collapse had solved every problem that had troubled them.

"Your Majesty, what is going on?"

Junhe asked curiously and respectfully.

Nova had merely stumbled onto the answer himself, and he did not fully understand what was happening either. Still, he had noticed this huge tree several times before. He simply had not expected that after it fell, the barrier that had obstructed everyone would vanish completely.

"I'm not entirely sure either. It seems this treasure has a side no one knows about. If there's enough wealth in it, then life in the Tru Kingdom will become much easier from now on," Nova said with a smile.

"Your Majesty is right. Now that the barrier has opened, we should be able to arrive before nightfall," Junhe said.

"Then let's get moving. We can come back later and investigate the reason for this," Nova said, smiling as he patted Junhe on the shoulder.

For the time being, no one could explain the changes in this area. Nor did they understand them, because it did not feel like something caused by human hands. Yet this place was definitely not as simple as it appeared.

A narrow path roughly two meters wide had appeared before them. No one knew where it led, but according to the words on the Treasure Map: "Once the barrier opens, the treasure shall reveal itself."

Those words alone were enough to confirm that this path should lead directly to where the treasure was located.

Still, no one knew whether further dangers awaited them on the road ahead.

Nova sheathed the Demon Blade Muramasa, ran his hand over it once, then hung it at his waist and walked forward.

"Your Majesty, please allow us to walk ahead. We still do not know whether there are any other dangers on this path," Junhe quickly said as he watched Nova take the lead.

"Don't worry. Your lives are lives, and so is mine. There's no need for such formalities between us. At the very least, my strength should be slightly greater than yours, so let me take the lead."

Nova spoke with a smile.

"His Majesty truly thinks of us..."

"From now on, whatever His Majesty tells me to do, I'll do it without a word of complaint..."

"Only a king like His Majesty is worthy of our loyalty..."

After hearing Nova's words, every soldier behind him was so moved that tears streamed down their faces. They did not hold back their praise.

Yet as they moved forward, the tree that had been cut down behind them slowly began to disappear.

However, the group had already gone quite far, and not a single person noticed its silent disappearance.

"Your Majesty, you've been working hard for so long. Would you like to rest for a while?"

After the group had walked for nearly another hour, Junhe came to Nova's side and asked.

"No need. Let's finish this journey quickly. Besides, this amount of exertion is nothing to us," Nova said calmly.

Junhe smiled, then continued following behind Nova.

The narrow path they were taking was extremely long. They had already walked for an hour, yet they still could not see its end.

The trees on both sides were exceptionally tall, and something about the place already felt strange.

Although Battila Island looked quite large on the surface, given their speed, the fact that it had taken them an hour to walk this far was already bizarre.

Moreover, they had felt as if they had been climbing uphill the entire time. After walking for an hour, they should have reached the sky by now, yet somehow it felt as if they were going in circles on the spot.

Finally, after another ten minutes, Nova fully realized something was wrong. It seemed they had encountered the same situation as before. The atmosphere here was eerie, making it impossible to tell east from west, north from south.

"Junhe, use Geppo to get into the sky and see what is going on."

Nova spoke sternly.

It was only a treasure, yet it had already cost them so much effort. Now, it felt as if they had fallen into a bottomless pit and an endless loop.

Upon receiving the order, Junhe immediately used Geppo, stepping through the air as he ran into the sky. When he looked down afterward, everything appeared perfectly normal.

But from another perspective, although they had walked for an hour, it looked as though they had covered only a few miles.

After jumping back down, Junhe said to Nova, "Your Majesty, the location marked on the Treasure Map is not far above us. But although we have walked for nearly an hour, we have only covered about five miles."

"We can't wait any longer. Have them stay here. You and I will go through the air. I want to see what could trap us here for nearly an entire day." Nova was beginning to get angry, and his tone was no longer as calm as before.

The key point was that this place was within his own kingdom, yet no one had any idea what was happening here.

Since this so-called treasure had been passed down and guarded since some unknown generation of kings, he did not believe that no one had ever come here to investigate it.

More importantly, why had the Pirate King placed his wife in this place? He must have known quite a lot about it.

Nearly twenty people remained where they were. Nova took Junhe with him, and both of them used Geppo to head toward the mountaintop through the sky.

After reaching the air, Nova looked down as well, and what he saw was almost exactly the same as what Junhe had found.

This entire area was filled with strangeness. Everyone had no idea what was happening. They had merely been circling in place, yet had wasted so much time.

Without paying any more attention to those behind them, Nova and Junhe headed directly toward the mountaintop through the air.

The distance had not been particularly far to begin with. Traveling through the air, the two of them quickly reached the summit. From its edge, they could even see the people still standing on the small path at the foot of the mountain.

At the mountaintop, Nova could not help frowning. This place was vastly different from what he had imagined. It was completely beyond expectation.

There were no trees or weeds here. The summit was made entirely of stone, and from a single glance, they could overlook the entire mountain.

Most importantly, the so-called Treasure Site lay completely in view, yet they could not find anything suspicious.

Could it be that after everyone had gone through so much effort, they would ultimately gain nothing?

"Your Majesty, I looked around, and there doesn't seem to be anywhere to hide anything here, much less a treasure," Junhe said directly after making a full circle and returning to Nova.

"Whatever the kings of past generations guarded cannot be that simple. Since the location is correct, it must still be here," Nova said.

Yet even he was uncertain inside. The mountaintop was only so large, and the location shown on the Treasure Map was precisely here. But at a glance, there truly was no space that could be used to hide anything.

Even so, neither of them gave up. They split up and continued searching.

The mountaintop was not very large. Before long, they had carefully inspected the entire place, yet they still found no clue whatsoever.

Damn it. Could the thing guarded by the kings of every generation just be a complete sham? There isn't a damn thing here. What exactly were they guarding? No one has come to claim it after all these years, so there probably isn't anything at all.

Nova cursed angrily in his heart.

The main reason was that this damn place was far too different from what he had imagined. He had come with such eager anticipation, yet this was the outcome?

"Your Majesty, I've finished checking my side, but there truly is no possible entrance or anything like that. Could there be something wrong with the Treasure Map itself?" Junhe asked doubtfully.

"Sigh, the problem is that I don't know either. When Old Man handed this thing to me, I didn't ask about it!" Nova said helplessly.

"Then what should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Go back," Nova said after calming himself.

There truly was nothing left to find here. Rather than waste time staying in this place, they might as well return and think carefully about how to make money.

After Nova spoke, he dropped onto a rock at the very top of the mountain. Having been exhausted for so long, he intended to rest for a while before heading back. But sometimes luck worked that way, appearing when least expected.

The moment he sat down, Nova suddenly felt the rock beneath him sink sharply. The entire stone seemed to be floating in midair.

Junhe noticed it as well. After exchanging a glance, neither of them needed to say anything. The delight on their faces said it all.

"Looks like it's beneath our feet. Move this stone and take a look..."

Nova said with a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Junhe immediately lifted the stone, showing no sign of fatigue. But once it was moved aside, the two discovered that the middle of the entire mountain was nearly hollow, with all the stones floating around its edges.

Because so much time had passed, the mountain looked no different from an ordinary mountain from the outside.

"Your Majesty, let me go down and investigate first..."

"No need. There shouldn't be any danger here. We can just go down."

As Nova spoke, he took the lead and jumped down.

They had only opened up a hole, but when they looked below, it seemed bottomless. It was also extremely dark, and no one knew what existed within.

But there was no need to think further now. The only thing they could be certain of was that something good definitely lay below.

Yet even as the two jumped into the mountain, some unknown force within caused them to float in midair as well.

"Junhe, stay close to the edge of the mountain and descend slowly. Make sure you watch your safety."

Nova shouted sternly.

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Neither of them had any idea what was inside. They could only rely on this method to slowly explore what lay beneath the mountain. Even now, no one knew what was down there.

But judging from the current situation alone, the only certainty was that something extraordinary existed below.

In Nova's understanding, nothing was too strange in the One Piece World. After all, all kinds of situations could occur at any time here.

As the two continued descending along the stones at the mountain's edge, it was still pitch-black, but they could at least vaguely sense unusual activity.

When they finally reached the bottom, the sight before them completely overturned Nova's understanding.

Junhe, meanwhile, stood frozen in place. This so-called treasure was something that barely had anything to do with the word treasure at all!

"Your Majesty, what is this?"

Unable to suppress the question in his heart, Junhe looked at Nova and asked.

At that moment, Nova ran his hand over the dark black object. The shock in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

There was no need to say anything more. He already knew exactly what the enormous object beneath his feet was.

It occupied the volume of an entire mountain. Yet it was not money or anything of the sort, but a weapon sought after by most people in the One Piece World...

"Junhe, it seems we've struck it rich this time. But whether it will be a blessing or a curse, I don't know. Once we leave, no one must learn about what is inside here. If word leaks out, the entire Tru Kingdom may be plunged into war!"

Nova spoke with a stern expression and a grave voice devoid of all emotion. He understood the importance of the matter now. The kings who had guarded this through the generations had hidden such an enormous thing within a mountain!

"Your Majesty, what exactly is this thing?" Junhe could not help asking.