The Next Day.
Everyone slept in late.
The Shandia people and Conis, who had attended the banquet, had already returned home.
Gan Fall and the Shandia elder had gone to the temple to discuss policies for future coexistence.
By the time the Straw Hat Pirates finally woke up, it was already lunchtime.
Everyone was full of energy, refreshed after the celebration—except for one person.
Nami.
The cunning little thief cat had been scowling since the banquet ended last night, giving everyone a sour look that could curdle milk.
"AH!!!!" she wailed, clutching her head. "What kind of City of Gold is this?! Where did all the gold go?!"
Nami had searched all night in the Shandia ancestral land, overturning every rock and ruin, but she hadn't found a single decent piece of treasure.
She looked at the two pathetic lumps of gold in her hand, tears streaming down her face like a small river.
Sanji and the others took turns comforting her, but each ended up receiving a "loving" blow to the head for their trouble.
"Who cares about eating?!" she snapped at Sanji. "If we don't find gold, no one will eat from now on! We're broke!"
Regarding the gold, Ray was also somewhat helpless.
Most of the gold had actually been placed on the massive ship built by Enel—the Ark Maxim.
It had been used as decorations and conduction material on the Ark.
As for where that gold had gone, Ray knew very well.
The Ark had been shattered by his full-power strike, the Azure Dragon Break.
Aside from the gold, everything else had turned to dust.
Although the gold hadn't been completely destroyed, it had fallen from the sky due to the Ark's destruction, plunging into the Blue Sea below.
So now, there were only two places left to obtain gold.
One place was, naturally, the Golden Bell.
The second was inside the belly of the Lord of the Sky, the giant snake still sleeping off the feast in the distance.
The Golden Bell was too large to take whole, and Ray didn't have any magical storage rings like a cultivation novel protagonist.
Moreover, the bell was completely intact this time—it was a sacred relic.
'Either fish some out from the giant snake's belly, or chop off a piece from the Golden Bell to take away.'
That was Ray's plan.
Take nothing? Impossible.
Since setting sail, they had only earned a total of 100 million Belly.
Of that, 90 million came from exchanging Bellamy and Sarquiss's heads before coming to Sky Island.
Since they were here, leaving without taking several hundred million Belly worth of gold was something not even Nami could accept, and frankly, Ray couldn't stand it either.
So, he told Nami, "My Observation Haki has sensed a significant amount of gold inside that snake's belly."
Upon hearing this, Nami immediately perked up.
Her eyes filled with terrifying killing intent as she stared at the Lord of the Sky.
Sanji instantly understood. "Nami-swan, no need for you to lift a finger. I'll go slaughter that snake right now, give it a C-section, and make it deliver the gold personally!"
Unfortunately, Luffy and Chopper firmly opposed this.
"No way! That snake was partying with us last night—we can't kill it!" Luffy shouted, arms crossed.
Since the captain had spoken, only one solution remained.
Ray spoke slowly. "We'll just go into its stomach and take it out. Chouchou, Chopper, go negotiate with that snake."
Chopper would attempt verbal persuasion first.
If the snake proved unreasonable, Chouchou would follow up with... physical persuasion.
Subdue it, enter, retrieve, leave.
Simple.
As for the Golden Bell on the other side, Ray declared they couldn't let that slip away either.
"Zoro, let's go chop off some gold."
"Alright."
At that moment, Robin also spoke up.
"I'll go with you. Before sleeping last night, I recalled some information I'd missed on the Poneglyph."
"Mm."
Thus, the team split.
Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Chopper, and Chouchou headed into the snake's stomach to retrieve gold.
Ray, Zoro, and Robin went to the Golden Bell to take it by force.
...
Beneath the Golden Bell.
Gan Fall, the Shandia elder, and Wyper were gathered around the massive bell, deep in discussion.
"These pirates helped us achieve peaceful coexistence, effectively saving countless lives in the future," the elder murmured.
"They definitely came here initially for gold," Wyper noted, his face serious.
"Unfortunately, all the gold from our ancestral land was lost because of Enel."
"The only remaining gold is this Golden Bell."
"We absolutely can't give this away," Gan Fall said firmly. "It is the soul of Shandora."
Everyone fell into a dilemma.
They wanted to repay the kindness but couldn't part with the Golden Bell, which held immense importance for both cultures.
Then, Conis, who had been listening nearby, made a suggestion.
"How about we break off a piece of the Golden Bell's support pillar and give it to them?"
"Agreed!"
Wyper immediately extended his right hand, preparing to use an Impact Dial to shatter the base of one of the pillars.
Just then, Ray, Zoro, and Robin arrived on the scene.
They froze.
"Uh... Ray," Zoro muttered, his hand hovering over his sword hilt. "I'm having trouble going through with this."
Zoro had been ready to carve off a piece, but hearing they were planning to offer it voluntarily... he was instantly overwhelmed with shame.
Ray also felt somewhat awkward.
'We came to steal, and not only do you not resist, you're even offering it willingly? Doesn't that make us look utterly uncivilized?'
Seeing their embarrassed expressions, Robin couldn't help but cover her mouth to suppress her laugh.
Gan Fall, noticing Ray, immediately expressed their goodwill.
"Please, allow us to offer this as thanks."
The main problem now was that Wyper's Impact Dial might not be precise enough.
It could damage the structural integrity of the bell itself.
At that moment, Ray looked at Zoro.
"Confident you can cut it cleanly?"
Zoro revealed a confident smirk. "Easy."
This statement stunned the surrounding Sky Islanders and Shandia people.
Although they had no concept of gold's monetary value, they were well aware of how sturdy the material was.
They'd never seen anyone capable of cutting through solid gold like butter.
Zoro stepped forward slowly, drawing Yubashiri with one hand.
"Ray, how much do we need?"
Ray replied, "One ton is enough."
"Uh... about how big is one ton?" Zoro asked, scratching his head.
Hearing this, Ray's mind went blank for a moment.
'Why did I suddenly feel like I've been called on by a math teacher to solve a calculation problem?'
He racked his brain.
Gold's density is approximately 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter.
Combining density, mass, and volume formulas...
After some quick mental calculations, he reached a conclusion.
"A cube with length, width, and height of roughly 37 centimeters. Chop away."
"Alright!"
Without another word, Zoro moved.
With three simple, fluid strikes, he carved out a perfect 37 cm cube from the thick base of the golden pillar.
It was effortless, as if he were slicing tofu.
Gan Fall, Wyper, and the others inhaled sharply.
This swordsman from the Blue Sea was indeed scary.
Ray and Robin showed no reaction.
If he could slice through steel, what was gold to him? After three months of training in the Demon Realm, cutting metal had become pure muscle memory for Zoro.
Staring at the small, gleaming cube before him, Zoro looked puzzled.
"This thing weighs a ton?"
"Try it and see," Ray challenged.
So Zoro gave it a casual lift—it didn't budge.
He frowned, planted his feet, and exerted some real effort, finally hoisting the small block of gold onto his shoulder with a grunt.
"Hiss~ It actually made me use a fraction of my strength. Not bad."
Robin glanced at Zoro, whose forehead was beaded with sweat despite his bravado, and smiled without a word.
"You don't believe me, woman?" Zoro grumbled.
Ray ignored him and turned to Robin. "Did you find something?"
"Yes," Robin said, her eyes shining. "On another stone tablet, there was something that greatly interested me."
"What did it say?"
"'I have come here and will guide this text to its final destination.'"
Robin's voice trembled slightly. "—Left by Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King!"
Watching Robin's expression shift from shock to pure joy, Ray knew she was safe.
Robin now had a clearer purpose to live for.
Last night, she had thought the Poneglyphs didn't record true history, causing her long-term goal to vanish.
Ray had urged her to live for herself and her companions, but a motivated person needs both short-term and long-term goals.
Now, with Roger's message confirming the existence of the Road Poneglyph at the end of the Grand Line, Robin would strive to live on in pursuit of it.
She had found companions who cherished her, and now she had found her path again.
Coupled with the Straw Hat Pirates' growth in strength over these three months, Robin's inner security (life's meaning) and external security (companions' strength) had both improved drastically.
'Did CP9 still think they could make Robin sacrifice her life to protect her friends? Dream on! If we ever crossed paths now, it would be an all-out fight!'
This was the main reason Ray had comforted Robin twice.
To prevent her from losing her head and throwing her life away again in Water 7.
If they had to rescue someone, they couldn't afford to hold back.
Alabasta had nearly driven Ray mad with frustration.
A direct fight would be so much simpler and cleaner.
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