"What did you just call that man's ancestor?"
Robin glanced at Wyper, her eyes calm and analytical.
Piecing together the fragments of history she had gathered, she replied softly.
"Mont Blanc Norland."
She paused, watching his reaction. "Do you know him well, Wyper-kun?"
On their way to the shrine, Gan Fall had briefed them about Wyper's identity as a descendant of the legendary Warrior Kalgara.
Wyper stood frozen, his pupils trembling—first in shock, then in a overwhelming surge of joy and excitement.
"So... Norland's descendants in the Blue Sea have been searching for us all this time?!"
Tears welled in his eyes, streaming down his war-painted face.
"HAHAHA! Warrior Kalgara! Your friendship wasn't forgotten!"
"Our Shandia people... we didn't fight for nothing!"
Ray, watching from the side, knew the full story.
Why were the Shandia so stubborn about Upper Yard?
Instead of coexisting peacefully, why did they insist on fighting to the death for centuries?
Beyond it being their ancestral land, the key reason was the friendship between their ancestor, Warrior Kalgara, and Cricket's ancestor, Mont Blanc Norland.
It was a promise forged in blood and gold.
Kalgara fought to reclaim the land so his friend could find him again, battling Sky Island's priests until his death.
Norland, unwilling to betray their friendship, insisted the Golden Land existed—dying with the stigma of being the "King of Liars."
But their bond didn't just shackle Norland's descendant, Cricket.
For four hundred years, it drove the Shandia to war, rejecting all peace offers, denying themselves stable lives in the name of an ancient vow.
Kalgara and Norland's friendship wasn't wrong.
The Shandia's persistence wasn't wrong.
Gan Fall's coexistence strategy was also correct.
So why did war and death continue?
Because of war itself.
War plants seeds of hatred, generation after generation—unforgotten, unrelinquished.
But if peace were truly possible... it would require eliminating the root cause of the conflict.
Now, Wyper didn't respond.
He simply looked up at the massive bell.
Gan Fall watched calmly with a silent prayer on his lips.
All eyes turned to the straw-hatted figure winding up his arm.
"Cricket! Monkeys! Apes! We've found the Golden Land!" Luffy roared, his voice echoing across the heavens.
"Now, I'll prove its existence!"
"Gear Third: Gum-Gum Golden Bell Hammer!"
Luffy's enlarged fist struck the Golden Bell with the force of a meteor.
CLANG—!
The sound was indescribable.
It wasn't just a noise; it was a vibration that shook the soul.
This was the sound of Shandora's light—the same melody heard 400 years ago.
And now, it was the song of ceasefire.
The bell's echoes reached everyone's ears.
The great snake—Lord of the Sky—wept, remembering the melody it had heard in its youth, accompanying Kalgara and Norland.
The Shandia people stopped in their tracks, weapons lowering.
After 400 years of war, just as they'd nearly given up hope, the bell's song finally reached them.
Gan Fall smiled, closing his eyes. 'When the sky's song rings out, peace will comes to Sky Island.'
...
Far below, in the Blue Sea...
Cricket, the Masira Brothers, and their crews stopped their work.
They heard it—a faint, beautiful chiming from the clouds.
Cricket fell to his knees, unable to contain his emotions.
"Straw Hat Kid... thank you!"
"Sky Island and Golden City exist. Norland... you never lied."
One bell's chime—saving lives, honor, and souls.
...
Some Time Later.
The war ended as abruptly as the bell rang.
The Shandia and Sky Island priests made peace.
Cricket stopped his reckless diving for gold, finally focusing on his health—though he stubbornly refused to quit smoking.
As for the saviors, the Straw Hats...
Robin deduced the route back down.
Accompanied by Gan Fall and the Shandia elders, they headed toward the ruins of Shandora—the true Golden City beneath the clouds.
Everyone wanted to see it!
The elders also planned a massive feast to thank the crew.
"How strange," Chopper complained, his tiny hooves tapping on the stone.
"We just had a banquet in Kaede's village all night, and now we're eating again within an hour. My stomach is confused!"
Nami, Usopp, and Zoro claimed they weren't hungry.
But Sanji? He eagerly anticipated meeting Shandia beauties to showcase his cooking skills.
And Luffy? He was thrilled—he could eat for three days straight without pausing to breathe.
Half an hour later, the feast began.
Even Conis and her father joined the celebration.
"Miss Conis! Long time no see!" Sanji zoomed over to flirt, noodle-dancing around her.
Strangely, Zoro didn't mock him. It was unusual enough for the others to notice.
"Lately, whenever Sanji did this, that Miroku guy would join in," Usopp muttered, swirling his drink.
"We really have left them," Nami sighed.
After living with Inuyasha and the others, their absence felt heavy.
It was uncomfortable, like a limb had gone to sleep.
Ray observed everyone's state but didn't respond.
He, too, was reminiscing.
Just as the mood threatened to turn melancholy, a loud shout pulled everyone back to reality.
"SANJI! I WANT GRILLED SKY SHARK!"
Luffy was jumping around, grinning wildly, carefree and heartless.
Seeing their captain like this, the crew gradually immersed themselves in the festive atmosphere.
At the banquet, Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp went wild.
Nami was sneaking around the periphery, her intentions clearly involving treasure.
Zoro, unchanging as ever, either drank alone or challenged Shandia warriors to contests.
As for Ray, he stood up and walked toward the distant pyramid.
Below the massive structure sat Robin who lost in thought.
"Didn't find the Poneglyph you wanted to see?"
Ray spoke first, guessing that Robin's despondence was because the stone slab beneath the Golden Bell wasn't a historical Poneglyph.
"No," Robin sighed, though she turned to him with a smile. "That stone slab only recorded information about one of the three Ancient Weapons—Poseidon. Not the history I seek."
Seeing her smile, Ray felt a pang of worry.
It seemed too forced.
Although his experiences in the Inuyasha world had made him more empathetic, comforting people was still not his strong suit.
Ray took a breath and spoke slowly.
"There's no need to live in the past. Focus on the present—you still have... us. Many of us."
Hearing this, Robin's smile faded, and she fell silent.
This reaction made Ray uneasy.
'Damn it, I'm really not good at this.'
Why did he have to bring up her trauma? He expected her to become even more despondent.
But her reaction surprised him.
After a moment of silence, Robin showed a genuinely sincere, radiant smile.
"Thank you, Ray."
"Actually, during those two months of training in the Monster Mountain Range, I'd already figured things out."
She looked up at the Golden Bell. "While the Poneglyphs are important to me... you, Luffy and the others are equally important. I won't think about dying just because I can't find a Poneglyph anymore."
"Living with all of you is the meaning of my life now. Searching for Poneglyphs is just something I do along the way."
Hearing Robin's words, Ray felt an immense weight lift from his chest.
This girl who had been running for twenty years, haunted by nightmares, had finally started living for herself.
'Wait. What did she just say? She put me first among the people important to her—is this.... a confession?'
Thinking this, Ray took a breath, then walked away without blushing or panting, maintaining his cool facade.
"Let's return to the banquet and have some drinks."
Robin put her hands on her hips, pouted slightly, and shook her head.
"Ray, do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to?"
"Huh? I understand—you're fine now and don't need comforting."
"(ˉ▽￣～) Hmph~~, lolicon! Hmph!"
Ray stopped dead. "What did you say?"
"I'll repeat it. (ˉ▽￣～) Hmph~~, LOLICON! Hmph hmph!"
"Hiss~ Robin, are you looking for a beating, i'm someone who hold gender equality high you know?!"
"Hmph~"
On the way back to the banquet, Robin was actually quite happy.
Because this time, after she had teased Ray, he hadn't released any of his killing intent.
If it were before, that overwhelming pressure would have already crushed down on her.
'Such a big change.' Robin couldn't help but overthinking it.
'Does this mean he has me in his heart?'
Ray, of course, had no idea what was going through Robin's mind.
If he knew, he would definitely reply with: "Stop overthinking it."
The reason he didn't release killing intent was simply because Ray had acknowledged his comrades and didn't want to direct such an aura toward them.
As for whether there were other reasons... well, no one knew.
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Ray x Robin sounds good too!