I went to the location Robin told about, picked up the enormous golden bell, and brought it to the palace.
"Wow~ Candy bro, you're strong. Carrying sothing that big just like that..."
Just then, Wyper touched the bell I had brought and said.
"I've heard stories... This is the Great Bell, the pride of our holand, Shandora."
"I see. Then I'll deliver this to the Shandia tribe's village later."
At that, Wyper and Kamakiri were deeply moved.
"We are deeply grateful for Your Majesty's generosity. How can we ever repay this kindness..."
"It's nothing. The Great Bell originally belonged to the Shandia, so it's only right to return it. However, besides the Great Bell, so of the treasures will have to be given to those who found them."
"That is only fair. They have a right to them, as they might not have been found otherwise."
Fortunately, they were generous about it.
While I was talking with the Shandia warriors, the Straw Hats were examining the Poneglyph under the Great Bell.
"Is this a Poneglyph?"
"Yeah."
But the Straw Hats, unable to read the ancient letters inscribed on the Poneglyph, just tilted their heads.
"Hmm... I can't read this at all. What does it say?"
"I'll look."
To hide the fact that Robin could read ancient letters, I stepped forward. Later, soone might need a person who can read them and try to take Robin, so I wanted to prevent that at the source.
"Hmm... This is a Poneglyph that indicates the location of the Ancient Weapon 'Poseidon,' nad after a god."
"Really? Then what about this?"
Sanji pointed to the letters inscribed next to the Poneglyph and asked.
"Hmm... I should read this as is. 'I have co here, and I will lead these letters to the ends of the earth. Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.'"
"Wh-What??? Gol D. Roger the Pirate King???!!! The Pirate King ca to this Sky Island too..."
The Straw Hats were amazed.
I first gathered them together.
"Now, I'll settle up, so show the treasures you collected."
At that, the Straw Hats gathered all the treasures they had brought and put them in one place. I roughly estimated the weight and judged the value.
"This amount is worth about 400 million berries. So I'll give you half, 200 million berries. Plus, although you couldn't bring the Great Bell, you did discover it, so I'll add another 200 million, for a total of 400 million berries. That should be enough."
Nami jumped for joy.
"Wow~!!! 400 million berries, we're rich!!!"
Not only Nami, but the other mbers were also happy.
"This should be enough to repair the rry. I didn't think it would be resolved so quickly."
"I know, right."
"What a relief."
After everything was done, the Straw Hats rested at the palace. I took the Great Bell, along with Wyper and Kamakiri, installed it behind the newly built village, and returned so of the treasures that were still intact. The Shandia chief was so moved he shed tears.
The chief, after a brief discussion with the villagers, decided to transfer two broken golden pillars from the bell tower to the kingdom as a token of gratitude. So I removed the two pillars, put them in my inventory, and returned to the palace. I didn't really need the gold, but I accepted it for a smooth relationship with the Shandia.
The next day, the Shandia tribe held a festival to celebrate the return of the Great Bell. The residents of rchant Island, Angel Island, and the Straw Hats all gathered to enjoy the festival together. Of course, we also provided food.
After enjoying the festivities for a while, the chief looked at the Great Bell and said.
"It is overwhelming to be able to perform our tribe's original duty again. Now that we have also recovered our lost holand, words cannot express this joy."
"That's fortunate. What is that original duty?"
"It is to protect the Poneglyph under the Great Bell. It has been our duty for generations."
Then Robin, who had been listening nearby, said.
"Chief, this Poneglyph has now fulfilled its role."
"Fulfilled its role? Your Highness, what do you an..."
"The nurous Poneglyphs scattered across the world, each holding pieces of information, must be read together to form a single sentence that fills in the void of history. But the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, who ca here in the past, surely took this text to his destination."
"I-Is that so? Then this Poneglyph... It ans we no longer need to fight to protect it."
The chief, moved to tears again by the thought that his tribe was free from their cycle of fate, asked.
"My ancestors' wish has been fulfilled, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has."
Just then, Luffy shouted in front of the Great Bell.
"The bell is back! Let's ring it!!"
The Shandia warriors quickly tried to stop Luffy.
"What are you doing, you!!"
"Grab him!!"
But the chief stopped them.
"Leave him be."
"Huh? Chief, but..."
"I heard this friend found the Great Bell. If so, isn't it only right to give him a chance to ring it?"
Hearing that, Luffy said excitedly.
"Great!! Then everyone, get ready to hear the bell!! Gomu Gomu~~~!!!"
Luffy stretched both his arms back and powerfully struck the bell.
"Bazooka!!!"
DOOONG!!! DOONG!!! DOONG!!!
As Luffy's hands struck the bell with all his might, the Great Bell resonated with a deep, majestic toll. The sound seed to fill all of Skypiea and spread beyond the clouds to the sea below. It was as if it was breaking centuries of silence, announcing forgotten promises and history to the world.
At the sound, everyone paused the festival for a mont and listened.
"It's a beautiful sound that stirs the heart. But the bell is so close that my ears are ringing."
Robin, her ears possibly hurting from the loud noise, lightly covered them and listened. The Shandia tribe also listened, deeply moved. Looking around, so were even crying.
And so, the day's festival ended. The next day, the Straw Hats prepared to leave, carrying the food supplies I had given them and the 400 million berries.
"Get to Water Seven as soon as you can. I've repaired the rry, but it's near its limit."
"Okay. I heard there are many shipwrights in Water Seven? Then I'll find a shipwright nakama there too."
"Good idea."
Chopper also said goodbye to Dr. Kureha.
"I'll co again, Dr. Kureha."
"Take this. The rchant King, no, the King of Elysium, has been generous, so my research results have increased. It'll help you."
"Thank you, Dr. Kureha."
Sanji was crying as he said goodbye to my secretaries and the beauties.
"I'm going to miss you all."
"Please make us lots of delicious food again, Sanji-san."
"Of course!"
The beauties each gave Sanji a kiss on the cheek. Then Sanji collapsed with a nosebleed. Zoro sighed, dragged the unconscious Sanji away, and put him on the ship.
I patted Elodie's head and said goodbye.
"Elodie, you've reached the Grand Line now, so you'll face many strong enemies. Don't neglect your training."
"Yes, Boss! I'll do my best!"
The Straw Hats finished their goodbyes, boarded the rry, and waved to us.
The children from the orphanage and the Shandia also waved goodbye to the departing rry. Interestingly, Mikita, Gem, Marianne, and Zala, who they had fought before, also ca out to see them off. It seed they had also talked with them while they were on rchant Island.
About half a month after the Straw Hats left, a problem arose. The orphanage graduates operating the rchant ships had Haki, but I wondered if they could survive in the Grand Line. So I thought that rather than delivery services, it might be better to set up sales points. That way, their routes would be fixed, and even if they received an attack too difficult to handle, support could co quickly.
The problem was the location of the sales points. If I set one up in Mock Town just below, the Marines might attack upon hearing I was opening a shop, and there were also too many garbage pirates. If I set one up in the latter half of the Grand Line, the New World, it would be too close to the territories of the Four Emperors.
'Hmm... Should I form an alliance with one of the Emperors...'
Currently, the only Emperor I was close with was Whitebeard, but he dies in the original, so, although it's cruel to say, a relationship with him might be as good as none. The only decent one is Shanks, but he's soone whose thoughts I can't fathom.
'Big Mom would definitely try to marry to her daughter to bring under her. Kaido is in Wano, too far away... Should I just wipe one out and beco an Emperor myself?'
While I was thinking about this and that, Hina asked .
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking that operating the rchant ships on the Grand Line might be a bit dangerous. So I was considering setting up sales points to reduce their travel routes. Our products are popular, so just delivering them to the sales points would be enough. The problem is where to put them."
"Then why not set one up in Mock Town right below?"
"There are too many garbage pirates there, which might cause problems, and the Marines might co looking for ."
Then Hina slamd the desk and said.
"Aren't you underestimating the kids you trained? They have Haki and are tempered by fighting tournants. They won't lose anywhere."
Hina might be right. Perhaps I was being overprotective. Trying to do everything myself probably made it worse.
"Hmm... Maybe..."
"Then how about this? Let the kids handle sweeping the pirates out of Mock Town. They can gain practical experience and we can test how strong they are at the sa ti."
"Okay. When the rchant ship is completed, let's do that."
With that plan in mind, not long after, the rchant ship was completed. Similar to a zeppelin, a round, long balloon was attached to the rchant ship for lift. This device was only used when flying through the sky. When sailing on the sea as usual, it could be folded and the ship used like a normal vessel.
The balloon was made of very durable material to prevent easy tearing. Inside, using Milky Dials, it was designed to automatically fill with sky island clouds, which are lighter than air. So even if it was torn in an attack, the clouds wouldn't leak out. Additionally, it used Breath Dials for propulsion. Besides the basic booster, an Impact Dial was installed to upgrade it to a longer, faster booster.
'At this level, it would be hard for any ship to catch them.'
But there was one drawback. Unless it absorbed wind or shock while sailing the sea to charge the dials, or recharged its energy on Sky Island, this airship could only operate in the sky for three days. After three days, it could stay afloat but could no longer move. Fortunately, a round trip from Sky Island to Mock Town took only a day and a half.
Still, we never knew what might happen, so the crew operating the rchant ships needed to be well aware of this. Naturally, they were thoroughly educated not to disclose anything about Sky Island.
Several days were spent on training, followed by flight practice on Sky Island. There didn't seem to be any problems.
"How about making a Jolly Roger too? Having a symbol might discourage people from ssing with us easily."
Robin suggested making a Jolly Roger. But Hina objected.
"No! We're not pirates. I'm in favor of making a flag with a symbol, just not a Jolly Roger."
Having been a Marine, Hina seed reluctant to use a Jolly Roger.
"Then what should we use?"
"Hmm... Since we're rchants, how about a scale mark?"
This ti, Vivi suggested.
"A scale... I like it. Let's do that."
Following Vivi's suggestion, I made beautiful flags with a dieval scale elegantly embroidered in gold and attached them to the rchant ships. The crew also seed to think the newly made flags weren't bad.
Now that the training was finished and the flags were made, we set off to occupy Mock Town, with Hina as the captain. They weren't alone; Mikita, Gem, Marianne, and Zala, who had been training hard, also accompanied them. Of course, I went along too, just in case.
"You guys, as soon as you land, don't touch the civilians. Beat up the pirates, but don't kill them, and bring them in! This operation affects our image, so we need to show overwhelming force so pirates don't underestimate us in the future!!"
"Understood, Captain Hina!!!"
At Hina's command, the crew answered loudly.
We arrived at Mock Town. Many pirates, curious about the unusual ship, ca out to the harbor to watch it approach. Unaware of what was about to happen.
Murmur murmur—
"What is that ship? It has a strange structure."
"It doesn't seem like a pirate ship? Have you ever seen a flag like that?"
"No, never."
As the rchant ship slowly anchored at Mock Town, the gaze of the watching pirates focused on it. At that mont, Hina suddenly shouted.
"Clean them out!!!"
"Wah~~~~!!!"
At Hina's command, the crew grabbed their weapons and charged off the ship. The watching pirates were flustered.
"Wait!! What is this..."
Thud!! Whack!! Whack whack!!
"Aaargh!!!"
"Don't resist and surrender quietly!"
From that mont on, screams echoed through Mock Town for a long ti. We swept through every place in Mock Town – hotels, restaurants, the harbor – and began capturing pirates. But the pirates didn't just take it lying down. So teams banded together to resist, and there were a few moderately skilled pirates among them. Whenever that happened, Mikita, Gem, Marianne, and Zala stepped in to help the crew.
"Alright, take them into custody and send them to Marine Headquarters... Ah, right... I'm not a Marine anymore."
Hina, not having been in this situation for a while and caught up in the mont, seed to have forgotten. Then a tied-up pirate recognized Hina.
"You're 'Black Jail' Hina, one of the rchant King's wives! Why are you doing this to us? This is a neutral zone for pirates!"
"Like I care! Listen up, you trash! From now on, Mock Town is under the control of the rchant King!"
"Th-That can't be..."
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