Luffy put both hands behind his head and said casually, "The story of Noland, 400 years ago."
Four hundred years ago, Montblanc Noland from North Blue discovered the golden city of Shandora.
After returning to his country, he told the king about it, and the king was overjoyed. He personally led a fleet to the Grand Line.
But there was no gold, and Noland was executed.
However, he never denied the existence of the golden city—not even at the moment of his death.
His final words were likely...
"Shandora exists!"
"What does that mean?" Nami widened her eyes. "Shandora is here?"
"The keywords are Knock Up Stream, Jaya Island, and Skypiea."
Luffy smiled without giving a direct answer.
Robin paused in thought.
"When I was down there earlier, I saw a map of Jaya Island. It showed a vast landmass, but it didn't look complete. So... the place called the Golden City was taken into the sky by the Knock Up Stream?"
Nami looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. She stood up abruptly, grabbed Robin's hand, and said excitedly:
"Robin, let's find the treasure together! I survived—you should come too!"
Robin shook her head with a soft laugh.
Nami, as always, understood.
Realizing Robin wouldn't come, Nami turned to Vivi.
"I survived, and you owe me 1.2 billion berries, so you have to come!"
"Eh?!"
Vivi couldn't refuse, even if she had to share the treasure with Luffy.
"Okay, Nami, I'll go with you," she agreed reluctantly.
"And your second-in-command too!" Nami added quickly.
So that was their plan?
Vivi looked helpless.
Bartolomeo, her runner-up, immediately ran forward.
"Nami, don't worry! Even if we have to flip the sky upside down, I'll help you find that treasure!"
"Let's go!"
Nami was bursting with enthusiasm, pointing to a distant cloud path. "There must be a city there. Let's ask around first! Luffy, come too!"
She didn't feel safe without her strongest fighter beside her.
"Go ahead. Barto, protect them well."
"Yes, Captain Luffy!"
Immediately, Nami led her full second-in-command team toward Angel Island.
Watching them run off to search for treasure, Usopp sighed.
"When it comes to money, Nami turns into a demon. Luffy, aren't you going to do something?"
"Don't worry, I'll discipline her later."
Hmm... at night.
Luffy took out the Spirit Fruit from the ship and turned to the others:
"Do you guys know about ship spirits?"
"Ship spirits? Oh yeah, I've heard of them," Sanji said, sitting cross-legged. "They say when the bond between the crew and the ship grows deep, a small spirit with a wooden hammer appears. But that's just a legend, right?"
"It's real," Luffy replied, lifting the fruit in his hand with a grin. "This fruit is called the Ship Spirit Fruit. If you feed it to the ship, a spirit will appear."
"What!?"
Usopp took the fruit and stared at it curiously.
Chopper was stunned. "But... how do we feed it to the ship?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you guys."
Luffy scratched his head, wondering how exactly to make the ship eat it.
At that moment, Zoro suggested:
"A ship's spirit is kind of like a god, right? Maybe this thing is like an offering. If we leave it out, the spirit might come to eat it."
Everyone froze and stared at him in disbelief.
"What's with those looks?!"
"Genius!" Usopp gasped. "Zoro, I totally underestimated you!"
Sanji stood up and patted Zoro's shoulder with a sigh. "I'm sorry, man."
Chopper was in awe. "Zoro, you're amazing!"
"I'll kill you all!"
Zoro immediately drew his sword, ready to strike.
"Hahaha, we should try it."
Luffy laughed heartily, thinking the idea might actually work.
Zoro, sorry—I underestimated you too!
Without wasting time, Usopp grabbed Chopper and Sanji, and they rushed to the Merry to begin the experiment.
Johnny and Yosaku quickly abandoned their own captain and joined in for the fun.
On the beach, only Zoro, Robin, and Luffy remained.
"Luffy, since you know about the Golden City, do you know exactly where it is?"
Hearing this, Luffy looked at the woman in surprise. Was she getting smarter after spending so much time with him?
"I know the general area."
"Then why didn't you tell Nami and the others?"
Zoro reclined in a nearby chair and opened a bottle of alcohol.
"...If they knew, it'd ruin the thrill of exploration. Why take that away from them? Besides, the treasure is right there."
Luffy shook his head, lost in thought, thinking about who he should give the fruit to.
First, he had to choose between Nami and Vivi.
The others could wait.
When it came to his women, he tried to treat them equally.
Both held equal places in his heart.
Unfortunately, there was only one Akuma no Mi, and choosing who to give it to was hard.
Nami had the talent of a navigator, and the Ame Ame no Mi could boost her power tremendously.
Vivi ruled a desert nation, always plagued by drought. With this fruit, she could change Alabasta's fate.
Even though Nami had once said she didn't want a Devil Fruit—so she could still swim—this one had no side effects.
He was sure Nami would want it now.
But Vivi needed it too.
"Maybe I should try refreshing again to get another one?"
With that thought, Luffy checked his adventure coins.
He still had over 7,000—enough to refresh and get a Haki Fruit to raise his Observation Haki to level 5.
After some thought, he opened the adventure store.
[You spent 20 Adventure Coins. A new batch of items is now available.]
With a quick glance, Luffy froze.
He spotted something he'd never seen before.
[Blank Fruit]: If placed next to the body of a recently deceased Devil Fruit user, it absorbs the scattered power and transforms into the corresponding Devil Fruit. The fruit created this way has no side effects.
[Price: 5,000 Adventure Coins]
No discount. It was the top item on the list.
The moment he saw it, one person came to mind:
Enel, user of the Goro Goro no Mi!
It would be perfect—kill him, take his power. Then he'd have two Logia Fruits, both with no side effects.
The only downside… it was expensive.
The Ame Ame no Mi cost 4,800, and the Blank Fruit was 5,000.
All the rewards he earned from reaching Skypiea would be gone.
System, was this your plan all along?!
As expected, money comes and goes fast.
[Adventure Coins]: 7305 → 2285
Luffy stood up and said to Zoro beside him:
"I've got a plan."
"Huh?"
"A plan to hunt a god."
"...What?"
Luffy smiled and gestured for Zoro to follow him. "The ruler of this Sky Island is called a god. Let's kill him. Robin, you in?"
"Kill a god?"
Robin's expression tensed. "That's dangerous. Just be careful, Luffy."
"There's a Poneglyph near him."
Robin's body stiffened and her eyes widened.
"What a wicked man~!"
She smiled faintly, closed her book, and stood elegantly from the cloud chair.
"Let's go, Captain Luffy!"
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉