The aftershocks of the " Reckoner's " self-destruction explosion had not yet completely subsided, and the ruins of the steel city were filled with the acrid smell of burning and residual ozone. The faces of the surviving Resistance fighters and the residents who had just regained their senses were a mixture of bewilderment at surviving the catastrophe and grief at losing their homes.
The situation of the allied forces was also not optimistic. Ace and Sabo were exhausted and their breathing was unstable; Luffy had many scorch marks and impact injuries; and Allen was pale as a sheet due to overdrawing his Power of Time, and he could hardly stand and needed Luffy's support.
"We must leave here as soon as possible..." Sabo forced himself to stay alert and used his Omniscient Domain to scan the surroundings. " Imu's reinforcements are likely already on their way. Besides, Allen needs a quiet place to recover."
The Resistance leader, a resilient man Baku, staggered over, his eyes filled with gratitude and determination. "Thank you... Without you, this place would only become a giant tomb. We know a place that might temporarily escape Imu's pursuit, and... there might be something special there."
He pointed to the ruins of a massive warehouse on the city's edge, completely destroyed by an explosion. "That was originally where Imu's troops mined and transported a special ore. Our people secretly recorded that the ore seemed to cause... subtle ripples in time and space. Imu's people guarded it extremely closely, calling it ' Temporal Resonance Crystal Ore '."
"Time ripples?" Allen weakly raised his head, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes. Sabo also showed interest.
Led by Baku and several Resistance fighters familiar with the terrain, they traversed the wrecked ruins and arrived at the collapsed warehouse. Using the remaining machinery and their combined strength, they painstakingly cleared a passage leading underground.
Deep within the passage lies not a man-made mine, but a vast natural underground geode!
The sight before them stunned everyone. Countless clusters of pale silver-blue crystals, with fluid halos seemingly flowing within them, grew on the cave walls, floor, and ceiling, casting a mesmerizing and dreamlike glow over the entire space. A peculiar tranquility permeated the air; time seemed to slow down and thicken, yet remained remarkably stable.
"This is it..." Baku whispered, "Our men stumbled upon it; wounded soldiers recover much faster here when they rest, and they occasionally see... strange phantoms."
Allen took a deep breath, feeling his depleted Power of Time, like a parched riverbed receiving rain, spontaneously and slowly absorbing the gentle energy emanating from the surrounding crystals, greatly accelerating his recovery. "These crystals... contain extremely pure fragments of time energy..."
Sabo cautiously extended his Omniscient Domain deeper into the crystal cave. His body jolted, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. "Not just time energy... these crystals also record fragmented... historical information streams! The memories of this land's past!"
He tried gently placing his hand on a larger cluster of crystals, closing his eyes and concentrating. In that instant, fragmented images and sounds flooded his mind:
• Ancient ritual: Indigenous people dressed in animal skins dance around a cluster of faintly glowing crystals, seemingly praying for favorable weather and peace.
• The initial invasion: The flag of the World Government appeared, and personnel in white uniforms began to survey and blockade, driving away or even eliminating the native inhabitants.
• The roar of machinery: Huge drills and machines begin the destructive mining of crystal ore, crystal clusters are hauled away in batches, and the earth weeps (a sensation, not a sound).
• Imu's gaze: A blurry yet majestic figure ( Imu?) briefly loomed over this spot, seemingly quite pleased with the mineral veins here.
"I see..." Sabo opened his eyes, his tone heavy, " Imu is not only promoting order, he is systematically plundering and controlling these special resources that can influence time and record history! He is erasing the diversity of the past, leaving only the 'orthodox history' he approves of!"
Just then, the massive hull of Pluton, seemed to be drawn by the energy of the crystal cave. The ancient patterns on the hull glowed slightly, and a deep, ancient resonance came from the direction of the core control room.
The group immediately returned to Pluton. In the core control room, they discovered that many previously undecipherable Ancient Script and star charts were absorbing the energy of the crystal cave, becoming clear and even beginning to evolve dynamically!
Robin's resonance with the Poneglyph reached an unprecedented level; she rapidly deciphered the newly emerging information, and an expression of understanding gradually appeared on her face:
" Pluton... it's not just a weapon of destruction. Its true core power is 'protection and balance'!"
"Its power source is not simply energy minerals, but the energy that can absorb, harmonize, and stabilize the 'earth's veins' and 'spacetime flow'! The ancients created it to cope with potential catastrophes that could destabilize the foundations of the world! Its cannons are meant to eliminate the 'lesions' that disrupt the balance, not to destroy civilization!"
" Imu distorted its purpose, activating and amplifying only its destructive aspect, because it could not control Pluton ' true 'harmonizing' power, which requires resonating with the world's own emotions and history!"
This discovery was like the sun breaking through the clouds!
"So, we've been using Pluton the wrong way all along?" Ace asked in surprise.
"To be more precise, it only used half, or even less, of its power." Robin stroked the glowing wall. "It needs a ' Key,' not just Key to activate it, but also a 'key to the heart' to understand its true meaning."
Allen walked to the center of the control room, feeling the faint resonance between Pluton and the Temporal Resonance Crystal Ore below. His damaged Power of Time recovered rapidly, even becoming purer and more condensed. His perception of time was no longer limited to a linear flow; he could vaguely touch the "thickness of history" and "possible branches."
"These crystals... might help me better understand Pluton, and also help Pluton restore its true power," Allen said thoughtfully.
Sabo also immersed himself in the fusion of the Omniscient Domain and the flow of historical information. His calculation and deduction abilities began to incorporate insights into historical patterns and future possibilities, becoming more profound.
Luffy looked at the glowing Pluton and the geode, scratching his head. "I don't quite understand, but it seems to have become... happier?" His intuition always hit the nail on the head.
As Ace sensed the changes in his surroundings, his flames no longer seemed to be purely suppressed. Instead, within this ancient and balanced energy field, they found a way to burn more persistently and more subtly.
The allied forces had no time to linger. They carefully extracted some of the Temporal Resonance Crystal Ore using Pluton's newly Awakening abilities (over-mining would disrupt the earth's ley lines) and channeled its energy into Pluton's power core and defense systems.
In an instant, the overall light of Pluton became softer and deeper, and a faint, water-like spacetime membrane appeared around the ship, greatly enhancing its stealth and defense. It seemed to truly begin to "breathe," merging with the world.
Before leaving, they helped the survivors build a more secluded shelter and left behind some supplies.
Standing at the bow of the Pluton, looking back at the land that was slowly repairing itself and regaining a faint but tenacious vitality (the existence of the Temporal Resonance Crystal Ore accelerated the natural recovery), the mindset of the allied forces had changed.
They not only improved their strength ( Allen's Power of Time improved, Sabo gained historical insight, Ace's fire control improved, Luffy's resonance with Pluton deepened, and Pluton's own abilities partially recovered), but more importantly, they gained a deeper understanding that what they had to fight against was not only Imu's powerful strength, but also his ambition to rewrite history, erase diversity, and distort the origin of the world.
" Imu is afraid..." Sabo said slowly, a glint of wisdom in his eyes, "He fears the uncontrollable passage of time, the true nature of history, and the power of diversity. So he tries to bring everything under the framework of his absolute order."
"He's picked the wrong opponent!" Luffy adjusted his straw Straw Hat, his smile confident and dazzling. "We're the freest pirates!"
"And the Revolutionary Army," Sabo added with a smile.
"And... the guardian of time," Allen said softly, his eyes gleaming with a silver light that was deeper than ever before.
Pluton trembled slightly, no longer violently tearing through space as before, but rather gliding into a gentle ripple of spacetime as if merging into a stream of water, heading towards the unknown next destination.
Their journey has shifted from simple resistance and destruction to a deeper level of protection and reconstruction. This newly acquired power and understanding will be the key foundation for their fight against Imu's "absolute order".