But before the Orochi could stop rolling, it turned around and continued to bite Vic —a very difficult maneuver.
It's fortunate it was a snake; any other animal would have had its spine broken. But the Orochi's movement was natural and graceful, the posture of a predator.
The Orochi's tongue was much larger than Vic's, and its teeth were as sharp as knives, stark white and intimidating. It certainly had the capital to dominate this Sky Island.
"You dare call yourself the Sky Lord, claiming the island as your own? You even want to eat people? Haven't you ever been beaten up before?"
Seeing the snake head rushing towards him with lightning speed, Vic showed no extra emotion. He flashed to the side of the snake head, turned around, and kicked the Orochi in the cheek.
Before the Orochi could react, it was sent flying again. This human was too fast; the speed of snakes in the instant of an attack is something no human can dodge.
Moreover, it's not an ordinary snake; its enormous body not only doesn't slow it down, but actually provides a significant boost.
Even so, he was still overwhelmed by Vic's speed. In Vic's eyes, the Sky Lord was just a child who couldn't walk yet, and he could be manipulated however he wanted.
In the time that followed, the Sky Lord experienced the most humiliating moment in the past four hundred years. He used to be the island lord, but now he was being beaten like a prisoner.
It made a sound it had never made before. Hearing its own voice, the Sky Lord felt a little ashamed, but the sound came out involuntarily, and it couldn't control it now.
After defeating the Sky Lord Vic didn't kill it or eat its flesh. This creature had lived for nearly four hundred years; who knew what ancient viruses or bacteria it might carry? Eating it wouldn't be safe.
Vic wasn't so desperate as to eat anything; Vic just wanted to teach this little tyrant of the Sky Island who had pounced on him without a word a lesson.
"This is the price you pay for attacking me. Don't mess with those two-legged creatures again. Your mother's fate is a warning. Luckily you ran into me, or you'd be seeing your grandma today."
Vic looked at the Sky Lord lying crookedly on the ground with his mouth wide open and lectured him. The Sky Lord no longer had his previous high spirits, nor the oppressive feeling brought by his figure and color. All that was left was his disheveled state and pain.
Leaving aside the Sky Lord, Vic believed that even if it was severely injured, it wouldn't be in any danger. There probably wasn't anyone on this island who would dare to attack it.
Vic left the battlefield to find the gold. He used his Observation Haki to visualize the entire structure of the area. The buildings weren't all on a single plane; many ruins were buried beneath the Island Cloud, and you wouldn't know there was space underneath unless you dug it up.
With the help of his Observation Haki, Vic arrived at the cloud-based space that Robin had found without much effort.
Inside, it was a world of moss and vines. Vic didn't see any trace of gold, only the outline of the building covered in moss.
Some areas were tangled with vines, looking desolate, a far cry from the scene when Robin entered. At least back then, you could see the stones that made up the buildings and their exteriors, but now you can't see them at all.
"Has this place really been uninhabited for four hundred years? The buildings are completely covered in vegetation! There's no trace of its magnificent splendor from four hundred years ago."
Enel was probably the first person to discover this place, and then he took all the gold.
But now that I'm here, everything Enel owns will be mine, whether it's your Rumble-Rumble Fruit or the gold here.
Of course, I'll go see the moon for you. Just be an ordinary person.
Power will only corrupt your heart, turning you into an arrogant and conceited person, a frog in a well who has lost all reverence and considers himself a god. I'll show you how to truly use the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
Vic stared at the golden stains left on his feet and muttered to himself, "There's gold under the moss, not the stone Robin saw. That means this place isn't entirely made of gold; only the surface layer is decorated with gold bricks, and the rest is stone."
It didn't take Vic much effort to collect all the gold bricks on the surface into the Dimensional Space, and another mountain of gold appeared in the space.
Aside from the Celestial Dragons, Vic is probably the richest person in this world. As for the Gild Tesoro? He doesn't have that title yet; he hasn't grown up yet.
After the gold was taken away, the building was restored to its original color, making it look like a relatively new ruin. However, in another ten years or so, some plants will grow here again, though not as completely as before.
Vic continued to use his Observation Haki to see if there was any other place with gold besides here. As expected, there was a pile of gold in the underground warehouse of this ruin.
These gold items were no longer in the form of gold bars; they included gold coins, crowns, necklaces, daggers, and more, and Vic still didn't let any of these items go.
Leave it to the Straw Hat Boy? That's way too much; their pirate crew can't possibly have it. They're better off sticking to a life of poverty.
However, Vic decided to leave some money behind, otherwise they might not have enough to buy a ship. But Vic didn't stay here. It's estimated that only Robin will come here in the future. Even if she finds gold, she might not take it with her. Robin is just that kind of woman who regards money as dirt!
Taking all the gold won't affect the integrity of the ruins, but Nami will probably be very disappointed when she comes here later, and she'll probably curse Vic fiercely. In Nami's eyes, that's her money, Vic is just stealing her money.
"Since the Roger Pirates discovered the Golden Bell, they should have discovered all the gold in the ruins as well, right?"
Or did Roger find the Poneglyph through his ability to Voice of All Things, and then together they found the Golden Bell, without discovering the gold beneath it?
Or is it that their retracing of the Grand Line is solely for the sake of the Poneglyph, and they no longer care about gold? Perhaps they're just pressed for time!
Vic didn't rush to leave after collecting the gold. He returned to the island's ground, glanced at the bean vines piercing through the higher clouds, Vic then headed towards the top of the vines.
He didn't intend to take the Golden Bell with him, but he wanted to see it. It contained the Poneglyph of Poseidon, as well as the Ancient Script that Kozuki Oden had carved for Roger. More importantly, he wanted to hear what kind of bell could captivate both humans and beasts!
The location of the Golden Bell was blasted away by a giant bean vine when Upper Yard ascended to the Sky Island.
On the Island Cloud not far from the top of the bean vine, there was something that even Enel later failed to discover. Otherwise, he probably would have melted down the Golden Bell to make a spaceship, which would have been a huge sin.
Only a country bumpkin like Enel would do that! Most people wouldn't even think of melting down the Golden Bell for money, not even Nami, who loves money the most. She wouldn't even have the slightest thought of selling it. That's the sacred solemnity of the Golden Bell!
Vic was fast, and it didn't take him long to reach the top of the giant, tangled bean vines that looked like twisted ropes.
Unlike the Straw Hat Boy, who faced numerous difficulties on their way up, Vic arrived smoothly, much like the Roger Pirates. Without the Poneglyph, virtually no one would know they had been there, and Vic's journey was no different.