"That's right, it was these Angel Tribe people who brought the Ark Maxim from the moon."
Raleigh felt he was getting closer and closer to the Ark Maxim, so he opened the adjacent room.
Contrary to Raleigh's expectations, inside were various notebooks left by the original inhabitants. Unfortunately, Raleigh had arrived far too late.
They had been exposed to the air for too long, breeding bookworms and becoming riddled with holes.
No wonder they chose murals to record all this.
Raleigh also understood why Poneglyphs were made from those special stones—because unlike paper, which turns to dust over time, the stone remains unaffected by environmental conditions, preserving the recorded text without impact.
"Raleigh-sama, I found a strange ship model."
Enel's voice came from another room behind him.
Raleigh carefully set down the decaying notebook in his hand, afraid that too much force might destroy it completely.
"I'll be right there," Raleigh responded.
He had finally obtained what he wanted—the model of the Ark Maxim.
In a room noticeably twice as large as the previous ones, Raleigh steadied his mind before stepping inside.
Upon entering, he was greeted by a foul, decaying smell. Having been isolated from outside air for too long, the room was filled with an unpleasant odor.
It might have been emanating from the skeleton slumped over the desk.
Raleigh gave a slight nod to the skeleton, feeling he had disturbed the original owner.
"Raleigh-sama, this ship is truly incredible."
Enel's voice echoed in the room as Raleigh gazed at the expansive ship model before him—a three-meter-long replica.
Though its internal structure remained unclear, its exterior appeared nearly identical to the ship Enel would possess in the original timeline.
The three-meter model was crafted entirely from gold, gleaming in a brilliant yellow hue.
Two mysterious ancient characters were inscribed on it. Though they differed slightly from modern Skypiean script, Enel could still decipher them.
"It reads 'Maxim'," Enel pointed at the ancient characters.
"These must be characters from long ago. The script we use now is a derivative," he added.
Raleigh approached and extended his right hand to carefully trace the model's surface.
Then, his Devil Fruit ability flowed continuously into the Ark Maxim's interior for investigation.
After meticulous probing, Raleigh had gained insight into the ship's power and transmission systems.
No wonder Enel could operate the Ark Maxim and journey to the Endless Earth—this vessel was electrically powered.
Even though the ancient developers had perfected energy storage and conservation systems, they couldn't compare to the sheer volume of lightning Enel could generate effortlessly with his Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Raleigh rubbed his hands together, then seemed to recall something. He reached beneath the model to feel around.
Noticing this, Enel asked curiously, "Raleigh-sama, what are you doing?"
With a relaxed smile, Raleigh explained, "This is a common storage design. When someone creates an exquisite model, they typically make blueprints and hide them within the model itself."
His hand slid slowly across the underside until it encountered an obstruction. Upon closer inspection, it felt like a small button.
"Found it! Right here."
Raleigh pressed the button directly, anticipating changes in the ship model.
Click-clack—
In the secretive environment, every sound was amplified, especially those from within the model.
"Is it moving already?" Enel expressed keen interest in such technology.
Soon, as if the internal mechanisms had completed their cycle, a final click sounded, and a small storage compartment extended from the model's side.
Raleigh opened the drawer and knew immediately his gamble had paid off.
Inside lay stack upon stack of blueprints.
A delighted expression spread across Raleigh's face as he carefully retrieved one sheet.
This particular blueprint felt thicker than the others—understandable, as durability required substantial material to withstand time's erosion.
He spread the blueprint across the desk and began examining it meticulously. All blueprints were numbered for efficient assembly during construction.
Starting with the first sheet, Raleigh studied it closely.
The initial blueprint was created by the Ark Maxim realist school, entirely rendered in pencil illustrations.
From massive components spanning over ten meters to connective parts no larger than a finger, every detail demonstrated the advanced technological prowess of the ancient Sky People.
Even having reviewed numerous Marine warship designs, Raleigh recognized this as superior to anything he'd previously encountered.
Though, if one wished to construct an Ark Maxim, it remained entirely feasible.
Raleigh continued flipping through the book, now possessing complete confidence in his ability to construct the Ark Maxim.
As the blueprints in his hands kept turning, his understanding of the Ark Maxim advanced by leaps and bounds.
When he reached the final pages, the last page contained no written descriptions. Perhaps the author felt words weren't impactful enough—less striking than a short image would be.
A massive Ark Maxim hovered above a small nation, with endless black smoke billowing upward from the vessel.
The sky had already begun to darken with dense clouds.
Amid extreme weather accompanied by thunder and lightning, the Ark Maxim was seizing the moment to draw energy from the sky.
The ship's design made it evident—lightning rods for channeling thunder were everywhere.
The warehouse beneath the battleship had opened, nurturing a blue lightning sphere wider than the island below.
Such an illustration, whether in content or other aspects, depicted something truly capable of changing the world.
Yet, from the final image of a lightning ball larger than the island beneath it, one could easily grasp the terrifying power of this weapon.
Could it be related to the Ancient Weapon Uranus?
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