A long stretch of time had even killed the books here...
Sakazuki gently set down the book in his hands that had turned to ash.
He continued reaching for the next one without hurrying, searching through them one by one.
Finally, after flipping through all the books, he found nothing...
Only a floor full of scraps remained. Not a single complete book was left behind.
Time... Sakazuki sighed softly.
He stepped out and walked toward the next room. This must have been built privately by the owner of the ruins.
It looked just like a personal basement, with barely any extra space.
That study just now had only a set of table and chairs. The room with the mural was completely empty.
Karol was still in the first stone chamber, admiring those few ancient murals.
As for Enel, he followed behind Sakazuki, observing everything around them.
Two more rooms, but not much of a haul—one stored some tools, the other held a few golden ornaments.
Upon reaching the fourth room, it was clearly different from the ones before.
The door to this room was larger and more ornate than the others.
Creaaak!
The sound of rusted hinges scraped through the air as the door was pushed open.
What came into view was a massive bedroom. On the left was a three-meter-long table.
Atop it was a two-meter-long model of a warship.
On the right was a large bed, now collapsed. The walls were adorned with shell-like objects.
And directly across from the door stood a desk, a chair... and a skeleton slumped over the desk, one hand gripping a pen.
Sakazuki ignored the skeleton for now and first walked toward the model on the shelf.
The large model was made of gold and rested on a golden pedestal.
On the pedestal were two ancient characters. Though different from modern script,
They could still vaguely be read as the words "Admonition."
Beneath the pedestal was a large drawer. When pulled open, a thick stack of blueprints came into view.
Sakazuki's eyes lit up. He carefully picked them up—they weren't damaged.
It was a special type of paper, no doubt about it. Each sheet had a serial number.
The first page showed a sketch of the model.
As he flipped through, each sheet detailed a specific component and where it belonged.
Even someone without a background in mechanics,
Given enough people, could build a warship from this detailed blueprint alone.
When he got to the final page, there were no parts—only a drawing.
The enormous warship "Admonition" flew through the sky, overlooking an island below.
Endless black mist spewed from the top of "Admonition," connecting to the pitch-black sky.
Amid countless bolts of lightning linking heaven and earth, a black thunderball larger than the island hurtled downward.
With such a scene, it wasn't hard to guess the island's fate—
Or the power of this warship.
One blast to annihilate an island.
Sakazuki carefully gathered the blueprints and placed them on the ground.
He also took down the model of "Admonition" and placed it on the ground, leaving only the golden pedestal on the desk.
Placing his hand on the pedestal, molten magma surged from his arm,
Engulfing the golden base.
With a pull of both hands, a golden suitcase over a meter long emerged.
He set it on the table to cool.
He then walked over to the desk directly across from the entrance.
It was clear that the person who had become the skeleton had been writing notes before death. A large black stain marred the middle section.
He had likely been gravely wounded, and while writing his diary, spat out a mouthful of blood and died.
Gently pulling out the notebook, it didn't fall apart. He looked at the contents.
"Fate? 800 years later? What a joke!!!"
"One word—fate—buried an entire kingdom."
"Handed it over without a fight!!!"
"Unbelievable! Unbelievable!! Unbelievable!!!"
"Fools!!!"
"Damn that Joy Boy...."
"...."
".....I hate this so much!!!"
Most of this page was soaked in dark stains and unreadable. Only these lines could be made out.
Sakazuki fell into deep thought—Joy Boy, fate, 800 years later, and... the Great Kingdom.
But... to follow fate—utterly laughable.
He flipped forward a few pages. It was apparent this notebook wasn't used for daily records.
Rather, the owner wrote down memorable things at various ages. There weren't many pages.
For example, on the first page, the handwriting was messy and crooked.
"Today I heard Father talk about the history of our tribe. I never knew we were once so glorious."
"Fairy Vearth could give life to mechanical dolls at will—and there was even that enormous super warship."
"Could our ancestors have been gods?"
"I'm a descendant of the gods!!!"
"Hehe, I've decided! Someday, I will build a flying super warship and head to Fairy Vearth."
"So, today's goal! Learn kinetic conversion!!!"
On the second page, the handwriting had begun to straighten out.
"Today I met a member of another race Father once mentioned."
"They had two things like antennae on their heads. So strange... I don't know if it's hair or part of their body."
"Apparently, there are four different races. But two of them moved far away to the Blue Sea."
"I really want to meet them."
By the third page, the handwriting looked much more practiced.
"Our ancestors were truly wise. Even after years of studying, I still feel there's no end."
"I also learned why they migrated."
"Those living mechanical dolls and super warships used up way too many resources."
"No wonder the moon's surface has so many giant craters—its interior might already be hollowed out."
"I must design a warship that doesn't consume so many resources."
"But Sky Island has too few resources."
"So... off to the Blue Sea I go!!!"
By the fourth page, the writing had become sharp and firm.
"Fifteen years have passed before I even noticed."
"While traveling through the Blue Sea these years, not only did I find the materials I needed, I also found the other two races."
"It's truly fascinating. A city made entirely of gold... if it were up to me, I could build so many battleships out of it."
"And that enormous kingdom where all races coexist peacefully."
"It's just so beautiful."
"In the Blue Sea, there's even a kind of fruit that grants people supernatural powers."
"People of the Blue Sea call them Devil Fruits."
"I saw a Devil Fruit encyclopedia at my good friend Joy Boy's place."
"It gave me my next goal."
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which can be used as an infinite energy source."
"Unfortunately, I've already eaten a Devil Fruit, so now my goal is to figure out how to make objects eat a Devil Fruit."
...
By the fifth page, the handwriting had become mature but slightly messy, revealing the inner turmoil of the one who wrote the notes.
"Research on Devil Fruits has produced a few successful cases after numerous experiments."
"But the key to success still hasn't been pinpointed, though some clues have emerged."
"What troubles me most is my good friend Joy Boy's enormous kingdom."
"It's expanding and developing far too quickly. I have an ominous feeling. His ideology is far too ahead of its time... he might become the enemy of the world."
"What should I do..."
...
The sixth page's handwriting was deep and forceful—clearly written in great agitation.
"I've already given up."
"How could I have been friends with such a fool for over thirty years!"
"Always going on about destiny."
"That big, silly grin of his is now unbearably irritating."
"The political winds of the world are shifting."
"I need to prepare in advance. If I can't reverse things, I'll at least need an escape route."
...
As for the seventh page, it was the very one they had seen first.
Closing the notebook, the information it contained helped Sakazuki understand part of the world's hidden truths.
He felt a tinge of sympathy for the one who had written it.
A friend who's either carefree... or always talking about fate... the last two pages were brimming with frustration.
At that moment, Enel's immature voice rang out:
"Hey, old man, there's a box over here!"
Sakazuki walked over and flicked him hard on the forehead.
He reached out, pried open the collapsed bedboard, and pulled out a square box that had been trapped underneath.
Enel clutched his forehead with both hands and yelled:
"Why'd you do that?!"
Sakazuki's voice came out calm and slow:
"Do I really look that old?"
Enel held his forehead, glaring angrily at Sakazuki:
"Tch! Old man! Old man!!"
Sakazuki raised his left hand like he was about to flick him again.
Enel got scared and quickly ran off to the side. Seeing this, Sakazuki smirked slightly, which only made Enel even more annoyed.
Sakazuki opened the box.
Inside was a strange-looking fruit.
It had a spherical blue body with blue lightning patterns. Both ends of the stem bore lightning symbols. The surface was made up of countless tiny spiral-shaped lightning marks—overall, it looked like a dragon fruit.
That distinctive appearance—Sakazuki immediately understood—it was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Enel craned his neck, trying to peek inside the box.
But he wasn't tall enough. Finally, he couldn't help but ask:
"Old man, what is this?"
Sakazuki took out the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
He casually tossed it into Enel's arms and said:
"A Logia-type. Rumble-Rumble Fruit. After eating it, you can turn into lightning."
Enel held the fruit in both hands, unsure of what to do.
He didn't really understand what 'Logia-type' or 'Rumble-Rumble Fruit' meant, but the part about becoming lightning was easy enough to grasp.
Such a precious fruit made Enel tense up immediately. He clutched it even tighter, afraid it might fall and break.
Seeing Enel like that was a little amusing. Sakazuki asked:
"Why are you so nervous?"
Of course Enel was nervous! Such a rare fruit! He got a bit flustered:
"Take it back already! This thing's way too valuable!!!"
Sakazuki said calmly:
"You want it? You found it, so it's yours."
Enel froze.
"You're... giving it to me?"
Sakazuki nodded. Enel stood there in a daze, thinking.
Then—thump thump thump—he ran off to the mural room.
Sakazuki continued searching, looking for anything else useful.
...
Mural Room.
Thanks to the remaining magma, it was still well-lit.
Karol, who had been admiring the murals, sensed Enel approaching. He turned toward the door.
"What is it, Enel?"
Enel held out the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to Karol. Karol took it, examining the lightning symbol.
"This is... the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
Enel nodded and spoke awkwardly:
"The old man said whoever found it gets to keep it. But it'd be wasted on me, so..."
Karol smiled, patted Enel's head, crouched down, and handed the fruit back.
"I don't need it. But it'll give you a way to protect yourself. Just remember, no swimming from now on."
Enel felt the warmth of that large hand on his head—it dazed him a little...
He had felt something like this in a dream...
A dream born of envy while watching other families... this warmth felt like a big brother, maybe even a father...
He shook his head vigorously.
He tossed that thought from his mind and looked down at the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hands.
Then he looked up at Karol's encouraging expression.
He made up his mind—and took a big bite!
This is!!!
An indescribable taste shot straight through his taste buds to his soul—it made him tremble!!!
Just as he was about to spit it out, a large hand covered his mouth.
That enormous palm pressed against his cheeks, forcing him to swallow.
Enel looked desperately at Karol's smiling face.
An illusion!
All of that warmth earlier—it was all an illusion!
He's definitely a demon!!! Absolutely!!!
No!!!!!!!!!!
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