The moon had set. The sun rose.
A long night, yet somehow fleeting, had come to an end.
The battlefield beside the altar lay in ruins.
A massive crater had cracked open the ground, revealing the remnants of a hidden underground structure.
Scattered across hundreds of meters were shattered and intact stone statues, twisted metal sculptures, and gouged earth pitted with craters and deep scars.
Among this wreckage, hundreds of hunters from the town combed through the debris, searching for clues.
Four bodies lay in front of Archer and Andrei.
"Chief Headhunter Walter Baron. Altar Keeper Ansel Nekk. Nila Ariel, heiress of the Nila family. And the Wolf Instructor, Raymond Lekra," Archer read each name aloud, disbelief thick in his voice as he looked down at the corpses.
"We're still missing one. What about Rico Leon?"
"No trace," Andrei replied grimly. "Just a pile of pirate corpses by the basement stairs, trampled to death. Dozens of them."
He stood there, overwhelmed by the scene, these weren't just any casualties. These were the strongest people on the island.
Even Nila Ariel, despite her youth and nobility, was a master of the spear whose skill could fend off over a hundred men. Brilliant, poised, and deadly, now lifeless on the altar. It was hard to accept.
Archer furrowed his brow. "Those pirate corpses... Which crew were they from?"
Andrei exhaled. "All of them wore the mark of the Triangle Pirates."
Apparently, Vito and his people had fled in such haste, they hadn't bothered retrieving the bodies of their fallen men.
"Damn it... Could they have actually found that legendary treasure?" Archer muttered, stunned, then frowned deeper. "No, something doesn't add up. That treasure was rumored to be hidden in the mountains. Why were they at the altar instead? Unless... those four knew something they weren't supposed to, and it turned into a deadly clash? But what about all these statues and sculptures?"
Andrei offered a theory. "Maybe... the mayor knew something?"
"Captured? On the run? Or dead somewhere?" Archer speculated, unsure.
Then Andrei asked the question weighing on both their minds: "But... did the Triangle Pirates really have the strength to do this?"
"I doubt it. But I found signs that a third party was involved. And more than that, Baron and Nekk killed each other."
Even as he said it, Archer couldn't believe it himself.
"What? That's insane!" Andrei was stunned silent for several seconds.
Baron and Nekk weren't exactly close, but they had always been allies. For them to end up in a mutually fatal battle, it didn't make any sense.
They discussed for a long while, but the pieces refused to come together.
"Clean up the battlefield," Archer finally said, glancing toward the harbor. "We'll head to the docks later and see what they know."
At the Harbor, Aboard the Chris.
Inside the ship's conference room, Aeridar stepped back in, freshly washed and dressed in clean clothes after shedding his tattered, bloodied garments.
The senior members of the Chris Pirates were already gathered.
"This stone box... It's made of the same material as the Poneglyphs," murmured Switch Dalt, admiring the object on the table. "To think such an indestructible stone could be crafted into something this intricate... It's an absolute masterpiece."
"It's ridiculous," grumbled Oliver, the swordsman, poking the box with a calloused finger. "I've just entered the New World and already run into two things I can't cut. Unbelievable."
The stone box, no bigger than a man's palm, was etched with swirling cloud patterns. One side bore a symbol identical to the one carved into the black round table in the underground chamber.
"We've got the map. Next, we grab the key, and then the treasure's ours," said Arlan, spreading out a folded parchment across the table without even lifting his head.
The parchment, an aged, folded piece of sheepskin, was about twenty centimeters long and fifteen wide. The surface was filled with intricate lines and a labyrinthine maze of markings, enough to make anyone's head spin.
A quick glance toward the door, and in walked Aeridar.
Dimitri raised a curious eyebrow. "Captain, how bad was it in that underground ruin? Dangerous?"
Aeridar scoffed, clearly irritated. "What do you think? The whole place was one giant death trap. I got buried once."
He dropped himself into the main seat, while Millie and Mina stood dutifully behind him, working out the tension in his shoulders with practiced hands.
"Captain," came Gorbo's voice, sudden and eager, "did you try that glove yet? What does it actually do?"
As soon as he said it, the room shifted, everyone turned, eyes gleaming with interest, locked on Aeridar.
With a faint smirk curling at his lips, Aeridar reached into his coat and drew out a plain-looking black glove. "I haven't figured it all out yet. But it's called the Edvishen, the Living Glove. Supposedly, it can bring inanimate objects to life. The person wearing it gains abilities similar to a Devil Fruit user."
He turned it over in his hand, then added, "It's also incredibly durable, blades can't cut it, bullets bounce off. And it's… oddly responsive."
A hum of awe rippled through the room.
"I haven't tested it properly yet," Aeridar continued, "since I don't know what kind of side effects it might have, or if it has any limitations. There might be more information deeper inside the ruin."
"Even if I didn't see what happened last night," Dalt murmured, his eyes locked on the glove, "if what you all described is true, then mastering the Edvishen would make it a god-tier artifact on the battlefield."
His voice was near-reverent, and the hunger in his gaze made it obvious, if the glove weren't so critical, he'd already be elbow-deep in dissecting it. The ability to grant Devil Fruit powers to an object... Even the World Government hadn't cracked that.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Otto suddenly sprang to his feet, practically shouting. "Let's go get that key already! I can't stand just sitting here!"
Aeridar gave him a sidelong glance. "You'll wait. Whether you like it or not. They still have their uses."
Arlan, who had been silent until now, raised his head and said thoughtfully, "Captain… you're planning to use them to gain ground in the New World, aren't you?"
Aeridar nodded. "Exactly. They've been surviving out there for over eight years, longer than even Enrod and his crew. They've got information, contacts, routes... more than we could dig up on our own. If we can get them to work with us, even just a temporary alliance, it'll make everything smoother."
He leaned forward, voice calm but firm. "So even if we let them walk away with a chunk of treasure, some things are worth more than gold."
Knock knock knock—
A rapid pounding at the door cut through the moment. Then a lanky man with a harried expression burst in.
"Captain! A whole mob of hunters from the nearby town just showed up outside. Must be at least a few hundred!"
"NANI?!"
Everyone jolted to their feet, shocked.
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