As the observation continued, Robin saw more information from the ancient text inscribed on the golden pillar.
"This note is so... rushed."
As mentioned before, only when someone is extremely familiar with a written language can they truly understand the information within.
Those who only understand the shapes of the letters are not proficient in a language.
Some things, like emotions or thoughts from the time of writing, cannot be understood by just looking at the shapes.
Robin continued to speak slowly:
"The person who wrote this seems very eager... perhaps even impatient, it feels like..."
She paused for a moment, as if searching for the right adjective.
Crocodile, standing nearby, added: "It feels like self-abandonment?"
Crocodile didn't understand ancient writing; he inferred this from the meaning of the phrase.
In Shandora 800 years ago, a scholar who dedicated his life to studying ancient texts discovered something, or encountered an enemy, and wrote these words.
He felt he had no power to resist, and in the face of an overwhelming power gap, he felt that what he had been proud of his entire life was worthless!
How desperate that must have been.
To make a scholar deny his studies is no different than denying his "everything."
For example, on the former Island of Archaeologists, Ohara, even when facing Marine gunfire, those archaeologists were still proud of the knowledge in their minds.
They never said cowardly things like "I wish I hadn't studied ancient texts, or I wouldn't be dying now."
Seeking the truth will never be wrong.
If they were like that even facing a destructive Buster Call, what kind of terrifying enemy could make an archaeologist deny everything about himself?
Robin and Crocodile's gazes involuntarily turned towards the Seastone passage not far away.
There, perhaps, lay the answers they sought.
Of course, the significance of this answer was different for the two of them.
Robin wanted more to fulfill Ohara's dying wish and uncover the truth of history.
Crocodile, on the other hand, was more interested in what kind of enemy that despairing scholar had encountered.
He was always a cautious ambitious man.
Any factor that could threaten his goals had to be considered.
...
Nearby, Rowan could see their thoughts, but he didn't rush to move.
He turned to the Shandian tribal soldiers beside him and instructed:
"Have someone quickly search the ruins of Shandora, don't miss a single corner, pay attention to text with shapes like this, even scratches should be marked."
"Yes!"
The Shandian soldiers nodded in agreement, then turned to carry out the task.
Crocodile frowned slightly, as Rowan's instructions were actually quite unnecessary.
He had witnessed Ryan Rowan using his very special Conqueror's Haki.
If Rowan wanted to, he had the ability to meticulously search the ruins of Shandora, leaving no corner unchecked, which would be much more efficient than sending others to search.
There was perhaps only one explanation.
Rowan's attention was probably more focused on that Seastone passage, leaving him unable to spare any thought for other matters.
And the facts seemed to bear this out.
Rowan, holding a scepter, stood before the Seastone passage.
Even Ryan Rowan was, after all, still a Devil Fruit user.
Facing a passage made of extremely pure Seastone, Rowan felt quite under pressure.
It was a feeling of absolute powerlessness. If Marine Seastone handcuffs were just a few grains of salt, then this passage felt like an unfathomably deep ocean to Devil Fruit users!
It was already difficult for Rowan to maintain an expressionless face.
"Hey, you're not going to go in, are you?"
Crocodile suddenly spoke.
In his opinion, no matter how strong Ryan Rowan was, he couldn't possibly personally enter this passage to explore.
The risk was simply too great!
But Rowan was clearly prepared.
He beckoned, and the Sky Island White Beret troops, who were waiting nearby, immediately sprang into action.
They took out the mechanical devices they had prepared and connected the pipes on the devices to the giant "boxes" beside them.
Robin had never been to Sky Island, so she was very curious about the situation before her.
"What is that?"
"It's cloud."
Rowan replied, "It took a lot of time and effort to refine this 'Iron Cloud'."
The so-called "Iron Cloud" was a unique specialty cloud of Sky Island.
This cloud was exceptionally hard in texture. As a weapon, it was even more durable than ordinary steel, and its toughness was greater.
And most special was that after special treatment, this cloud could exist in a very flexible form, almost like a liquid.
However, refining this cloud was extremely difficult, requiring a great deal of manpower, resources, and time, so it was not widely used on Sky Island, at most as a special weapon against enemies.
Among Enel's original priests, there were also experts who used Iron Cloud as a weapon.
But now...
Crocodile looked at the dozen or so huge boxes behind the White Beret troops and suddenly realized something.
If those boxes all contained liquefied special Iron Cloud, then everything would make sense.
Ryan Rowan, after first discovering this Seastone passage, had spent several months having the people of Sky Island produce an extremely large amount of liquefied Iron Cloud!
As for how this liquefied Iron Cloud would be used, Crocodile could easily imagine.
Rowan intended to use the properties of this Iron Cloud to isolate the Seastone that formed the passage and help him reach the depths of this passage!
...
As expected.
"Everyone, get ready!"
At the command of the White Beret captain, the White Beret members got ready.
They aimed their air guns at the four directions of the passage – up, down, left, and right – and sprayed the liquefied Iron Cloud from the boxes.
When these clouds touched the Seastone walls, they solidified into solid blocks of Iron Cloud.
Rowan reached out and touched the wall on one side, finding that the feeling of powerlessness still existed, but it was not as intense as before.
In this state, although elementalization could not be used, basic physical techniques were not affected.
This was enough for Rowan.
"Let's go."
He said to Robin and Crocodile behind him.
But while Rowan said this, the Shandian tribe and the White Berets couldn't possibly let Rowan's risky behavior go unchecked.
They each dispatched two fully armed elites to clear the way for Rowan and the other two Devil Fruit users.
Before leaving, a White Beret technician handed Robin a special potion.
"This is a potion that can re-liquefy the Iron Cloud. If you want to observe an area covered by Iron Cloud, you can use this."
"Thank you."
Robin, amazed by the technological level of Sky Island, nodded with a smile and expressed her thanks.
...
On the other side, Crocodile was still puzzled by Rowan's actions.
In his opinion, exploring such an unknown place could completely be left to the Shandians, the Sky Islanders, or even the Forgotten Ones, who had the strongest individual combat capabilities.
In any case, they would be more suitable than the three of them, Devil Fruit users.
Rowan turned his head and said with a smile:
"Is that so? I thought you would be very interested."
"What?"
Crocodile was taken aback.
Rowan smiled even more happily, a hint of unconscious excitement showing in his eyes.
"After all, exploring the 'unknown' is always so captivating, isn't it?"
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