The Golden City of Shandora

Lott pointed at a square stone on the base of the Golden Bell and said to Robin, "Robin-chan, there's something here that might interest you."

Hearing Lott's words, Robin hurried beneath the Golden Bell and saw the square stone inscribed with Ancient Script.

"Is... is this a Poneglyph?"

In her excitement, she tossed her bag aside and ran up to the Poneglyph, her right hand gently tracing every groove and ridge of the writing.

At the sight, everyone began speculating:

"Does this lady know these characters?"

"What is she trying to do?"

"Can she really read these characters?"

"Is she casting some kind of magic?"

Amid their speculation, Robin parted her red lips and slowly translated the inscription word by word: "Hold the truth in your heart, without speaking. I am one who weaves history. The Ancient Weapon bearing the name of a god-Poseidon.

We came here and will guide this text to its final destination."

"Huh?! What? An Ancient Weapon?" The Shandia were somewhat bewildered by Robin's translation.

The Shandia Chief spoke, his voice trembling slightly. "This is the Poneglyph our ancestors gave everything to protect."

Robin looked at the chief and said, "Chief, this Poneglyph has already fulfilled its mission."

"What? Could it be?"

Robin nodded. "Yes!"

Unable to hold back any longer, the Shandia Chief dropped to his knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "O-our task is complete! The war is over!!"

The Shandia warriors present could not hold back their tears either. "The war is over!"

Gan Fall quietly wiped away his tears and glanced gratefully at Lott. Throughout his many years in office, he had always wanted to end this conflict.

Today, this conflict that had lasted four hundred years finally came to an end.

Lott spoke then. "Yes, the war is over. You won't have to sacrifice yourselves for it anymore."

The Shandia Chief knelt before Lott. "God, thank you. Thank you."

Lott raised a hand and lifted the elderly chief with electromagnetic force, then said, "All right, everyone, the war is over. From now on, you can devote more of your energy to your lives ahead."

The chief nodded and looked back at the Shandia warriors, who were also sobbing uncontrollably, his heart aching for them.

To reclaim Upper Yard, the Shandia had been trained as warriors from childhood. Their entire people were effectively soldiers.

This had made life extremely difficult for the young Shandia.

At an age when they should have been carefree, they had to train desperately.

Fortunately, the war was finally over now. It was time for them to truly live.

Lott led everyone across the clouds beneath the vine to Shandora's location and pointed down. "Shandora is right underneath here."

"What? Under here? Isn't the White-White Sea below this?"

Gan Fall looked incredulous when he heard Lott say the Golden City was right beneath their feet.

It was not as though he had never searched during his time in office, but he had simply never found the legendary Golden City of Shandora.

That was why he still could not believe Shandora lay beneath their feet.

Enel found it hard to believe as well. Shandora, which he had searched for all these years, had been right beneath his feet all along.

Wyper was so excited that he wished he could burrow down immediately and see what had once been their most prosperous place.

Lott nodded to Zoro.

Zoro drew Wado Ichimonji. Several flashes of sword light swept past, cutting a large hole straight through the clouds beneath them.

Lott nodded and jumped down, with everyone following close behind.

They followed a passage forward, and the ruins of an extraordinarily magnificent city appeared before them.

Ancient buildings came into view, standing silently through the ages. Steps and roads crisscrossed, as though recounting stories of the past.

Green vines covered every inch of the buildings' walls and steps, filling them with boundless life and vitality.

Time had left its unique marks here, lending these buildings an intoxicating charm.

"To think... there are such magnificent buildings down here. Were the buildings above only the portion that rose above the sea of clouds?" Robin could not tear her eyes away from the ancient structures.

He had never been able to resist ancient things like these that recorded history.

She could no longer stop herself from walking forward and reaching out to touch the walls weathered by time.

Everyone else stood rooted to the spot as well.

Even though Lott had read the manga in his previous life, he could not help marveling at the ancients' extraordinary craftsmanship.

Wyper was weeping profusely now. "Great Warrior Carl-gara, the war is over, and we've found Shandora too!"

Looking at the magnificent city before him, Lott could not help nodding. "This place is very suitable for a capital. Then our nation's capital will be here-Shandora."

The Shandia were stunned at first by Lott's decision, then became wildly overjoyed.

They knew that "God" wanted to restore Shandora's former prosperity rather than let this Golden City vanish into the river of time.

One after another, they knelt before Lott. "God, thank you!"

Lott nodded, gladly accepting their thanks.

Only after a long while did he speak. "All right. The laws and resolutions I issued earlier must be implemented step by step. Everyone's help will be essential."

They nodded and sat in a circle around Lott, awaiting instructions from this "God."

Bang!

Just then, a tremendous noise drew everyone's attention.

An enormous python appeared behind them, making the Shandia extremely nervous.

Lott naturally recognized the python as the Sky Lord-Nola, a tragic python more than four hundred years old.

As a child, Nola had lived with Noland and Great Warrior Carl-gara and had especially loved hearing the Golden Bell ring.

Nola had lived in the Golden City of Shandora before, but Noland had disappeared, Kalgara had passed away, and even the home Nola had once lived in had been buried beneath white clouds.

Wyper aimed his rocket launcher at the python. "The Sky Lord. What's it doing here?"

Just as Wyper was about to fire a shot at the lord of Sky Island, he saw the Sky Lord slithering along Shandora's streets, looking around.

Gradually, tears spilled from the Sky Lord's eyes, falling drop by drop onto the timeworn streets and soaking the ancient paving stones inch by inch.

It returned the tears it had lost over the years to this city.

"It's crying?" The Shandia were puzzled, and Gan Fall could not work out why either.

Only then did Lott speak. "Its name is Nola. You could call it a friend of Great Warrior Carl-gara. It lived in Shandora from childhood. It just fell through that hole and saw this place filled with memories."

"This is its home too."