Pirates: Your emperor has returned!

Flames, ice, sand, lightning, beams of light, strong winds...

These powers, so closely intertwined with the world, reside within the bodies of Logia-type Devil Fruit users.

Nature that can be manipulated by individual will—this power is indeed terrifying, but it cannot escape the characteristics of nature itself!

Crocodile kept this idea in mind.

Learning more about things will always be helpful in the future.

However, while Hab's views somewhat overturned Crocodile's understanding, they were only at the theoretical level.

As Hab said before, he is strong enough.

Everyone knows that the ocean is a common weakness for Devil Fruit users, so what can be done about it?

Is it really possible for a devastating thunderbolt to be defeated by mere insulating rubber?

No way?

……

The group continued their journey and arrived at the "Golden Land" of Shangdola.

They were equally awestruck by the ancient city before them, which seemed to have been brought back to life.

Luo Wenzheng sat cross-legged on the ground, propping his chin up, deep in thought.

Crocodile walked up behind him and asked in a deep voice, "Hey, where's that lightning bastard?"

"They probably ran away? It doesn't matter. Bica's main force is gone. We can take over Bica now if we want."

Rowan didn't care about that. Instead, he gathered everyone together and asked Gan Fall, "Old Knight, what exactly is in Shandora?"

Gan Fall was taken aback, and replied with a puzzled look, "There are many metals here called gold..."

No, that's not what I'm asking.

Rowan turned his head, pointed to the ground, and asked:

What's buried beneath Shandora?

"Or rather, what exactly is Shandora built upon?"

[Chapter 70. The Road to Death]

Ever since Rowan landed on the Sky Island, he's been pondering one thing—

According to records, Shandola, known as the "Golden City," was once a magnificent metropolis.

Its glorious period was about eight hundred years ago, almost parallel to the period of the Alabasta Empire's prosperity!

But what puzzled Rowan was that he had never heard of the city of Shandora before.

Logically speaking, even 800 years ago, gold was a hard currency between countries, and Shandora, which possessed a vast amount of gold, should not have remained unknown.

Originally, Rowan didn't pay much attention to this, thinking it was just a slight shift in the course of history caused by a butterfly effect. But now, eight hundred years later, it seems that this is not the case.

Shandora still exists, and it continues to leave behind the legend of the Golden Land for posterity.

If that's the case, why didn't Shandora appear in public 800 years ago?

Did they choose to close their country off to avoid war?

Or is it that besides a large amount of gold, it has nothing and extremely weak military capabilities?

Or perhaps, there are other purposes besides maritime supremacy?

According to Rowan's current intelligence:

About four hundred years ago, Apayado was not yet propelled into the sky by the surging ocean currents and was still part of Jaya Island.

At that time, explorer Rolando led his crew to Gaya Island and discovered that it was inhabited by a people who valued fighting and honor above all else.

Their fighting power is astonishing, even capable of hunting sea kings, but their living environment is quite simple, and their culture is very primitive.

Even when infectious diseases are spreading, they will not choose to treat patients, but instead offer living people as sacrifices to the mountain god in order to pray for the god's protection.

This situation only gradually improved after Rolando formed a deep friendship with Calgra, the then "Great Warrior".

Given the circumstances at the time, these indigenous people, whose social structure resembled a "tribe," were absolutely incapable of building such a magnificent city.

Even if war might cause a break in cultural transmission, it shouldn't have led to the decline of such a vast civilization.

What exactly happened on Shandora?

The historical text containing information about the ancient weapon "Sea King" is located here.

Eight hundred years ago, the World Government...

Was it because of that blank century?

Nefertari, what have you discovered this time?

……

The Conqueror's Haki spread, and countless tiny grains of sand spread throughout this lost city.

The sand and gravel gathered together, forming one person after another dressed in traditional Alabasta clothing.

Under Rowan's control, they lived in Shandora as if they were real people, recreating this golden land from eight hundred years ago.

Consciousness spreads within Shandora, and Rowan attempts to use exhaustive elimination to find clues hidden within it.

At the market, vendors were calling out their wares, which was reasonable;

In the square, children were playing and laughing, which was perfectly reasonable;

On the street, people come and go as they please;

In the basement of a tall tower, there is a staircase leading deeper into the tower...

Luo Wen narrowed his eyes.

He deduced the solution hundreds of times, but still couldn't find a "reasonable" use for the staircase.

Therefore, it is unreasonable.

……

Gan Fall and others arrived just in time.

What's buried beneath Shandora?

"Or rather, what exactly is Shandora built upon?"

Faced with Rowan's question, Gan Fall was also momentarily perplexed.

For the Sky Island people, the soil "Bas" is an incredibly precious and sacred thing, and Apayado is an even more sacred and inviolable "Island of the Gods".

Ordinary sky island residents are not qualified to set foot on Apayado, and the successive "gods" who have lived on it have not been idle and have tried to excavate the island.

Therefore, Gan Fall was unable to answer Rowan's question.

Crocodile, standing to the side, seemed somewhat puzzled.

"Why go through all that trouble? Is your Observation Haki just for show?"

Rowan pointed in a direction that led to the plaza in front of the tower.

"Why don't you try standing over there?"

Crocodile then transformed into a sandstorm and arrived at the place Rowan pointed to.

He shrugged, a cigar dangling from his lips. "So what if I'm here..."

Before he could finish speaking, Crocodile's expression suddenly froze.

He stared down with an incredulous look on his face and stamped his foot.

Before long, a sinister smile appeared on Crocodile's face.

"Hehehe, this is getting interesting."

Several curious people then rushed over, including Gan Fall, as well as Hab, Dalton, Bell, and others.

However, these individuals reacted in different ways.

Gan Fall and Hab looked bewildered, not knowing what Crocodile was talking about, while Dalton and Hab looked on with strange expressions.

They suddenly felt a slight... sense of powerlessness?

Yes, it's like when half of your body is submerged in seawater; you're not drowning, but you're also somewhat powerless.

Dalton frowned, puzzled, and asked, "What's here?"

Crocodile took a puff of his cigar and answered his question.

"Hailou Stone."

Crocodile stamped his foot. "Right below us, and in enormous quantities, Seastone!"

After he finished speaking, he lit his cigarette ash, expecting a gasp from the crowd. But when he turned around, he found that everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

Crocodile: "..."

This is so troublesome! These guys from the first half of the Grand Line are so ignorant!

He tried to explain, but after understanding what sea stone was and how rare it was, his initial exclamation turned into a few sighs.

Crocodile: "..."

accurate.

……

Rowan led the main force to this side as well.

Gan Fall stepped forward, intending to learn more about the Four Seas Alliance, but Rowan shook his head.

"Old knight, please wait a moment."

Gan Fall clearly saw that this powerful Qinghai expert, who exuded an extremely strong aura of oppression, had a youthful excitement shining in his eyes at this moment.

Rowan stepped into the tower and eventually made his way to the basement.

The crowd followed closely behind.

Most people were simply amazed by the ruins of Shandora, but the Devil Fruit users in the group felt a wave of powerlessness washing over them.