Outside — on Moria's massive ship, the Thriller Bark.
At the edge of the island, dazzling arcs of electricity burst from Rorschach's hands, enveloping a row of open treasure chests.
Very soon, under the high temperature of the electric current, the gold attached to various jewelry and ornaments melted into shimmering golden liquid. Under the pull of magnetic force, that liquid streamed upward, gathering continuously into a spinning golden sphere floating in midair.
As the lightning refined it, the impurities in the gold were burned away little by little, leaving only pure, brilliant metal.
A radiant and spotless golden sheen spread across the surface of the rotating sphere, becoming more dazzling and resplendent as the power of lightning coursed through it — like a small, blazing golden sun.
Rorschach glanced at the one-meter-wide golden sphere before him, then turned to give Moria a disgusted look.
"Moria, you're one of the mighty Shichibukai, aren't you? And this is all the gold you have? Even Crocodile was richer than you! You're really down bad, man."
Moria's forehead bulged with veins, his sharp fangs grinding together audibly.
"You brat, what do you know? These golden artifacts and jewels are ancient relics I've collected! Their value far surpasses mere gold! Refining them like this is nothing but barbaric destruction!"
"No matter how you explain it," Rorschach said lazily, "it doesn't change the fact that you're broke."
Moria's face twisted with fury, nearly charging at him again.
But in a way, Moria's poverty also proved he hadn't done much plundering on the seas.
Aside from the pirates and merchant ships that happened to stray into the Devil's Triangle, Moria was usually holed up in his lair like a hermit, rarely venturing out.
"I just hope this works… And Vivi and the others — they were swallowed by that anglerfish, right? What if they weren't? Where would they be now?"
Rorschach sighed irritably and extended his right hand toward the floating golden sphere.
The heavy orb drifted forward, gliding into the mist ahead until only a faint golden halo remained visible.
"Zzzt…"
Tiny sparks of lightning flickered from Rorschach's fingertips, streaking toward the sphere.
"Fifty million volts — Lightning Metallurgy!"
His fingers spread wide.
Within the mist, the golden sphere was consumed by thunder, melting once again into molten gold that shimmered above the sea.
Under Rorschach's magnetic control, the molten sphere rapidly expanded — swelling dozens of times larger until it became a massive golden orb, several dozen meters in diameter.
Lightning danced within it, illuminating it like a blazing sun rising in the fog.
That golden sun hovered silently in the mist, like a divine lure — waiting for something to take the bait.
At the island's edge, Rorschach stood utterly still, his heightened senses amplified by the stimulation of lightning. His Observation Haki spread across the sea for tens of kilometers like a radar net.
Time passed slowly.
After more than two hours, Moria, growing impatient, carried the unconscious Perona back to his castle.
Truth be told, if he weren't wary of Rorschach wrecking his ship, he'd never have stayed to watch in the first place.
Hibari stood nearby, clutching a Den Den Mushi, trying various ways to reconnect with Vivi through the signal — but all in vain.
Then suddenly—
Rorschach, who stood silently with arms folded and eyes closed in focus, abruptly opened his glowing blue eyes.
Crack!
A flash of light erupted — and in an instant, Rorschach vanished from the island's edge.
His speed was so great that even Hibari's Observation Haki couldn't catch it.
"Brother Rorschach!" Hibari gasped, eyes wide.
Could it be — he'd found Vivi?
Above the giant, hundred-meter-wide hollow golden sphere, Rorschach appeared as if teleported, landing lightly on its surface as his gaze locked on the fog ahead.
In that moment, the mist blanketing the ocean began to churn violently.
For hundreds of kilometers around, the sea itself was surging in massive waves.
It was as though a tsunami were brewing — or as if some titanic creature in the deep was racing toward him, its immense bulk causing the ocean to convulse.
As a faint light appeared at the edge of his Haki's range, Rorschach's eyes narrowed.
"Coming… It's really the Anglerfish!"
He hadn't expected it to actually work.
He'd merely taken Moria's story as a lead and decided to try this "golden bait" method to find Vivi — and incredibly, it had attracted the Anglerfish for real.
Judging by the way the sea and fog were heaving, its size must be beyond imagination.
Not wanting to endanger Hibari still aboard the Thriller Bark, Rorschach stood atop the hovering golden orb, guiding it forward toward the oncoming behemoth.
Splash—!
The sea swelled high, the fog splitting apart as a mountainous shadow emerged from the depths, glowing faintly with eerie light.
Under Rorschach's gaze, the surface of the ocean split open into a gaping chasm several kilometers long.
Boom!
The sea for dozens of kilometers erupted violently, storms raging as the colossal Anglerfish rose. The shockwaves alone made Rorschach wobble in midair.
Two rows of jagged fangs — each as tall as a mountain — opened wide, lunging toward Rorschach and the golden sphere beneath his feet.
Millions of tons of seawater poured into that abyssal mouth.
Rorschach's jaw tightened.
"Holy— it's that big?! Compared to this thing, Moria's ship looks like a toy!"
As the Anglerfish's enormous jaws closed around the golden orb, Rorschach didn't hesitate.
His body dropped downward, encased in a deep blue armor of Haki reinforced by compressed air barriers.
Like a meteor, he plunged straight into the Anglerfish's mouth, slipping through the gaps in its jagged teeth and down its throat.
Even before it closed its mouth, Rorschach's Observation Haki had already sensed several familiar presences.
Vivi. Cobra. The others!
On the Thriller Bark, Moria — who'd been dozing on the deck because no bed was big enough for him — suddenly rolled as the entire ship tilted violently.
"What the—?! What's happening?!" he shouted, scrambling before melting into shadow form and clinging to the shaking castle wall. "That brat again?! Is he trying to destroy my ship?! Damn it — I won't forgive him!"
The waves were so massive that even the enormous ship couldn't stay steady, swaying uncontrollably.
Inside the Anglerfish — in one of its three massive stomach chambers — on a lush, forested island, Vivi and the others sat listening to a blond, overweight man telling his story.
He was the one who had shouted earlier, begging them not to harm the golden-haired girl named Olga.
His name was Acier, and the girl who had attacked Vivi was his daughter.
Acier had once been a scientist. In his desperate attempt to cure Olga's deadly disease — "Emperor Fever" — he discovered a mysterious metal capable of drastically slowing biological aging.
This metal emitted a radiant, sun-like golden glow — far more brilliant than ordinary gold. Acier named it Pure Gold.
Pure Gold acted almost like an elixir of immortality, maintaining a body's condition indefinitely.
As long as no external harm befell the wearer, one who possessed Pure Gold would never age.
"Tell me… what year of the Sea Circle Calendar is it now?" Acier asked, holding his long-isolated daughter in his arms.
"It's early in the year 1518," Vivi answered honestly.
"What? Sea Circle Calendar 1518?" Acier's plump face froze in disbelief.
His trembling eyes darted between Vivi's group, then down to himself and the child in his arms — tears suddenly welling up.
He began to cry.
"Sob… I can't believe it… nearly two hundred years have passed! We've been trapped inside Lord Anglerfish for almost two centuries! When will this nightmare end? I just want to see the sea again!"
"Two hundred years?!" Vivi and the others were stunned.
Cobra asked in shock, "You mean you've lived for over two hundred years?"
Acier nodded through his sobs. "Yes… if it's truly the year 1518, then we've been alive for more than two centuries. Olga contracted Emperor Fever when she was six. After wearing a Pure Gold ring, her body stopped aging — she's remained six years old ever since. She was born in 1316."
"1316?!" Vivi and Cobra both stared wide-eyed, completely dumbfounded.
"Two hundred years ago," said Gaka with interest, "there was a legendary swordsman named Ryuma of the Shimotsuki clan, right? Did you ever meet him, Acier?"
Acier shook his head. "No, but I'd heard of him. The newspapers back then were full of stories about him slaying monsters and pirates. Not long before Lord Anglerfish swallowed us, I read about Ryuma defeating a dragon and saving Wano Country. He was said to have forged the black blade Shusui and was on the verge of becoming the world's greatest swordsman."
Hearing Acier's tale of a bygone era, Vivi's eyes sparkled — the story felt like a glimpse into another time entirely, making her almost forget their dire situation.
But before she could ask about Alabasta's history two centuries ago, the ground beneath them suddenly lurched violently.
The world spun upside down.
The island beneath their feet tilted and flipped as if seized by an invisible hand.
People, ships, and beasts alike tumbled downward into the sea of sticky green acid below.
"Ahhh!"
The sudden upheaval sent everyone into a panic.
If they fell into that corrosive sea, there would be nothing left of them.
"Father!" Vivi screamed as she saw Cobra falling.
Her body dissolved into swirling sand, catching him midair.
She summoned a storm of sand to lift the others, but with her limited strength, she couldn't hold so many people aloft.
"Kyaaah!"
A sharp eagle's cry echoed from above.
A dark shadow swooped down — Pell, in his falcon form — grabbing Gaka and several guards with his talons.
Gaka, quick as ever, grabbed a few soldiers and seized Acier by the shoulder.
Acier clutched his daughter tightly in his arms.
"Pell!" Vivi shouted in relief.
"Get out of here! The island's collapsing!" Pell shouted back in panic.
Vivi's body trembled. She turned — and saw the overturned island plummeting toward them.
Above them loomed the falling island. Below — a deadly sea of acid.
Even flight wouldn't save them.
They were trapped.
"Pell! Take His Majesty and Princess Vivi and go! Forget about us!" Gaka yelled, breaking free from Pell's grip as he and several guards plunged toward the green abyss below.
"Gaka!" Vivi's eyes went red with tears.
At that moment, the air around them condensed into invisible chains, catching the falling figures midair.
Then — a calm, warm, familiar voice reached Vivi's ears.
"Finally found you, Vivi."
Good grief… So it really was you, Borsalino — dancing that Nika dance! Confirmed! Monkey D. Borsalino!
(End of Chapter)
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