Marcus found himself trying to recall fragments of information about this so-called Master of the Sky. Something about the original Shandian rituals... hadn't they been about feeding these giant snakes?
If that was true, and the murals had been changed to depict Nika instead, did that mean the world itself had somehow "corrected" history? Had this snake's entire backstory been rewritten? Or had the ritual's purpose shifted four hundred years ago for some other reason?
He was curious, but the giant snake clearly wasn't interested in giving him time to ponder historical mysteries.
The massive creature began moving forward silently, its eyes locked on a target.
Kira immediately threw the food away, hoping to redirect the snake's attention.
But Nola apparently had other ideas. Its mouth opened wide, large enough to swallow the entire Going Merry in one gulp, and it lunged forward intending to eat both the girl and the snack together.
"Like hell you will!"
Sanji was the first to react, his knightly instincts kicking in as he launched himself at the snake's lower jaw with a powerful kick.
Luffy, realizing what the snake intended, came back and shifted into a combat stance, his skin flushing red as thin wisps of steam began rising from his body.
Zoro had already drawn Wado Ichimonji.
And then, the giant snake froze, stopping just short of Kira. Or more precisely, it stopped directly in front of Marcus.
And its expression... changed. The hunger vanished, replaced by something that could only be described as fawning submissiveness.
"What the hell?"
Everyone who'd been preparing to attack stood there stunned.
Marcus felt ghostly energy emanating from the Shichiseiken at his waist, spreading out in invisible waves. His expression turned odd as he realized what was happening.
Kira stared at the massive snake. She wasn't scared, just deeply weirded out by having something that big looking at her with such a pathetic, groveling expression.
Then the sword spoke to him mentally, transmitting a message: "A fine mount. Very useful."
"..."
"What's going on? I kicked the damn thing! Did it just... ignore me?"
Sanji was starting to doubt whether his attack had even connected. That was a new and unpleasant experience for someone who prided himself on his kicks.
"I think... it's a mount," Marcus said uncertainly. "Like, the original wielder of the Shichiseiken's mount. Maybe?"
The Shichiseiken's history dated back to before the Void Century. If this snake had been that sword master's mount, that meant it had to be at least eight hundred years old.
Was that even possible?
Eight hundred years. Even giants only lived to around three hundred at most.
Robin, being the most knowledgeable person present, stepped forward to provide context. "Scholars have observed Sea Kings before, even studied their behavioral patterns and lifespans. According to scientific research on aging markers, there's a documented case of a turtle-type Sea King in the Calm Belt that was over a thousand years old. For serpentine Sea Kings though... the oldest recorded specimen was around three hundred years."
"That's still incredible!" Chopper stared up at Nola in awe. "An animal living three hundred years?"
If Usopp had been there, he would've immediately pointed out that Chopper was also an animal. But the sniper was off somewhere else at the moment.
Goliath glanced down at his body. Did golems even have lifespans? That was a question for another time.
Marcus slowly drew the Shichiseiken from its sheath.
Nola immediately lowered its massive head, pressing it against the altar floor like a vassal bowing before royalty.
The gesture felt surreal, but Marcus stepped forward anyway and climbed onto the snake's head. He had to admit, it was surprisingly comfortable up there. The skull structure provided natural footholds, almost like the creature had been designed for carrying a rider.
"Hssss..."
Chopper translated automatically. "She says, 'So nostalgic.'"
Vivi could understand the words too. She'd been getting better at translating animal speech lately, though she rarely advertised that ability. Maybe she should start sharing translations in the group chat everyone used.
Robin observed the scene, then turned back toward the murals. Some of those faded images had included long, serpentine shapes that she'd dismissed as purely decorative elements. But now... could those shapes depict this snake? It seemed unlikely, but then again, so did an eight-hundred-year-old reptile.
She remembered Liar Noland. There had been no mention of a giant snake. The accounts of the City of Gold had included references to sacrifices, but those sections had been vague, glossed over without detail.
"Was it erased... or just not worth recording?" she murmured to herself.
Any text connected to the missing hundred years would have been altered or erased by the World Government. After eight centuries, almost no books from that era survived intact. The only way to find the truth was through the Poneglyphs, the indestructible historical records scattered across the world.
And here, without a doubt, there had to be one.
This would be the second time in her life she had the opportunity to encounter a Poneglyph. And this one might be connected to Nika, possibly containing information about events from the Void Century.
Meanwhile, Marcus had become the center of attention after somehow taming the Master of the Sky.
Luffy stretched his arms and launched himself up onto Nola's head, grinning. "This is so cool!"
But the giant snake made a displeased hissing sound, clearly not enjoying having extra passengers. Only after Marcus said something did Nola reluctantly stick out its tongue in a petulant gesture, like a child being forced to share a toy.
Chopper's eyes sparkled. "I want to try too!"
"Hey, snake! Want to join our crew?!" Luffy shouted enthusiastically.
"Luffy, that's not happening!" Sanji waved his hands frantically. "Look at the size of that thing! There's no way it could fit on the ship!"
"Seriously, we need to be realistic here," Nami added.
Luffy turned his hopeful, pleading eyes toward Marcus.
"Don't look at me like that," Marcus sighed. "I mean, technically I could build something big enough to carry it, but the Going Merry doesn't have the power to pull that kind of weight. We'd need a completely different vessel."
His words seemed to hit Nola hard. The massive snake's head drooped visibly, and you could see the disappointment radiating from it.
"Aww..." Luffy's own disappointment was equally obvious.
Marcus felt a pang of sympathy. If there were two Human-Human Fruits available, maybe he could pull off something creative. But he couldn't synthesize a Devil Fruit that had already been eaten. Unless he had Vegapunk's abilities to manipulate bloodline factors and clone fruits, it was impossible.
Marcus' refusal left both Luffy and the giant snake looking dejected, though everyone else breathed a sigh of relief. By visual estimate alone, Nola had to be at least two hundred meters long, possibly longer. No matter how you looked at it, there was simply no way to bring her aboard a normal pirate ship.
"Hssss..."
Chopper perked up. "She's asking if we could grill her one too. Says it smells really good."
Sanji couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. A giant snake wanting grilled fish. Why not?
"This is the last one," he announced, speeding up his cooking process. "If you want more after this, you're catching them yourself."
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, Nola's tail suddenly whipped up from somewhere behind them. When it came back down, it was holding several struggling cloud sharks, which it deposited neatly onto the Merry's deck.
Sanji blinked. "Well then."
So having a huge body really did mean you could do whatever you wanted, apparently. And that raised a question, how big was that stomach? If this thing joined the crew, he'd be cooking nonstop, literally working himself to death trying to keep it fed.
Robin stepped onto the deck and looked up at Nola's massive form. "Do you know if there are other structures like this altar nearby? Other ruins?"
Nola turned its massive head toward Robin. Then, she lowered her head until it was level with the deck.
The enormous skull passed close enough to Robin that she could feel the displaced air brush against her skin. It was like standing next to a moving building.
Chopper's voice piped up nervously. "She's asking... 'Why are you looking for these things?'"
Robin felt something strange in that moment. She reached out and placed her hand on Nola's scales. They were surprisingly warm, almost pleasant to the touch.
"I want to find history," Robin said simply. "The truth that was erased."
Nola's eyes examined her quietly, as if weighing the worth of her words. It remained motionless for several seconds. Then, without any warning, it opened its mouth and swallowed Robin whole.
It happened so fast that nobody had time to react.
"Spit Robin out right now!" Sanji immediately prepared to launch himself at the snake.
The rest of the crew tensed. Even Luffy looked shocked, which was saying something. But before anyone could attack, Nola hissed twice.
Chopper was so flustered he couldn't translate fast enough, his hooves scrambling as he tried to process what he'd heard.
That's when Vivi spoke up. "She says... many ruins are inside her stomach. And her digestive ability isn't strong. A person wouldn't be digested that quickly."
Her words left the Straw Hats stunned.
"Wait, what?"
"Inside her stomach?"
"So Robin's just... sitting in there with a bunch of ruins?"
All eyes slowly turned toward Marcus, who was still perched on Nola's head looking far too comfortable for someone whose crewmate had just been eaten.
"Why are you all looking at me?" he said defensively. Then he sighed. "But yeah, as far as Sea King digestive systems go, you can use Laboon as a reference point."
"Laboon?" Bon Kurei, Chopper, and the newer crew members looked confused.
But the original Straw Hats immediately understood what Marcus meant. They'd all been inside Laboon's stomach at one point, and Crocus had been living there just fine.
"Right," Nami said slowly. "Crocus survived in there for years..."
Luffy's eyes lit up as he caught the scent of adventure. "Then let me go in too!"
"I'm going too!" Sanji immediately volunteered. Like hell was he going to let Robin explore the inside of a giant snake's stomach alone. That was just not happening.
Marcus thought for a moment. Then he shrugged. If Nola had wanted to hurt them, the snake had have done it already. Plus, the Shichiseiken seemed to have some kind of connection to this creature.
"I'm coming too. Might as well see what we're dealing with."
Nola didn't object. It simply opened its massive mouth again, revealing a surprisingly clean-looking throat that descended into darkness.
Soon, only Zoro, Shira, and Chopper remained on the Going Merry. Everyone else had disappeared into the giant snake's gullet out of curiosity and concern for Robin.
Shira stared at Nola, studying the massive creature that had just eaten half their crew.
"Are you sure this is safe?"
Zoro took a swig from his bottle, completely unconcerned. "Relax. Whether it's Luffy or Marcus, they're both strong enough to cut their way out if things go wrong."
But even as he spoke, his eyes remained locked on Nola, never wavering.
Nola noticed the faint hostility radiating from the swordsman and let out a soft hiss.
Chopper translated automatically. "Human, you count as a swordsman among your kind, right? Unfortunately, even a swordsman cannot pierce my defense."
Zoro's eyebrow twitched. "This damn snake..."
He hadn't expected the giant snake to be so talkative. Or so smug.
Nola coiled itself more tightly around the altar, settling into a comfortable position. Another hiss emerged from its throat.
Chopper translated again. "She says... 'Don't worry. The only one who can earn the recognition of the Shichiseiken is the Joy Boy of the new era, the one we've been waiting for.'"
All three remaining crew members stared at the snake in complete bewilderment.
"Joy Boy?" Shira asked. "Who's that?"
"Someone from eight hundred years ago?" Chopper guessed.
Zoro said nothing.
Being looked down on by a snake, of all things, made his hand instinctively moved toward his sword hilts. Part of him wanted to test himself against this creature, to see if its boast about its defense was true. But before he could act on that impulse, a new presence made itself known.
A man riding atop a massive white dog silently approached the altar.
"Ah, how sad," the man said, adjusting his black sunglasses with his middle finger. "The Master of the Sky has already marked them. Only three prey remain. Hardly enough to share."
Ohm studied the remaining crew members. These Blue Sea dwellers were trapped on an altar surrounded by nothing but clouds, perfect hunting conditions.
Zoro's eyes immediately locked onto the sword at Ohm's waist.
"You use a sword?" A smile spread across his face. "Perfect."
He grabbed his sake bottle and drained the rest in one long gulp, then stood up slowly.
"Oh?" Ohm studied his opponent more carefully. "I didn't expect a Blue Sea dweller to know Mantra as well... but you're still too green."
He slowly drew Eisen Whip. The fierce battle intent coming from this swordsman demanded respect. He would give him that much before cutting him down.
Chopper, meanwhile, stared at the scene in growing panic.
"They're already fighting?! Aren't we supposed to ask who he is first?! Maybe negotiate or something?!"
The reindeer had no idea what to do. Ever since joining the crew, he hadn't really been in a serious fight. He was a doctor, not a warrior!
"Hissss..."
He paused at Nola's hiss, then obediently sat down.
"Just... watch? We're just supposed to watch?"
"Hissss."
Chopper translated quietly to himself. "A duel between swordsmen isn't something outsiders should interfere with..."
Nola raised its head slightly, observing the two combatants. With its vast experience spanning centuries, it could easily tell who was stronger.
The winner was obvious, the man wielding three swords. The difference in Haki quality alone made that clear, not to mention the superior weapons.
"Hissss..."
"She says," Chopper translated nervously, "that Joy Boy's companions are rather weak."
Zoro's eye twitched. "This damn snake..."
Forget it. He wasn't going to waste time arguing with a reptile. Instead, he'd prove his strength where it mattered, in battle.
Almost unconsciously, he began channeling energy into the Sandai Kitetsu. Thin wisps of ghostly violet aura crept up his arm, wrapping around him. To the naked eye, a demonic shadow seemed to form behind him, growing more distinct with each passing second.
Ohm's expression grew serious as he witnessed this phenomenon. Having lived his entire life on Skypiea, he'd never encountered a cursed blade before. And even if he had, he'd certainly never seen one that could manifest a spirit form like this.
"What kind of Dial technique is that?" In his limited understanding of the Blue Sea, he couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.
But his Mantra was screaming warnings.
Zoro vanished from his position on the Going Merry's deck.
CLANG!
Steel met steel violently at the altar's edge, the impact sending shockwaves rippling across the cloud surface.
Holy, Ohm's massive white dog, was thrown backward instantly by the sheer force of the collision, yelping in surprise and pain as it tumbled away. Naturally, he lost his footing as his mount was sent flying, but he managed to land in a defensive stance, Eisen Whip raised to block.
Even though his Mantra had warned him, even though his body had prepared to defend, the impact still drove him backward. His feet left trails in the clouds as he slid, barely managing to arrest his momentum before crashing into a tree.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes widened as he looked at Eisen Whip, the blade was now visibly bent from the force of that single clash.
Zoro landed smoothly, examining the Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri in his hands. He'd swung them the same way he always did, using the same techniques he'd practiced for years. Yet both his speed and striking power had multiplied dramatically.
"So this is what a Power X enhancement feels like," he muttered. "It's at least doubled my strength, maybe more."