Enel: "???"
Perona floated over, curiously poking Lieutenant Specey's head.
"This little robot is so interesting~ It can even cry!"
Tesoro looked at the tiny robot.
"Is this a relic of an ancient civilization?"
Reed shook his head.
"I'm certain this is not a Moon-made creation. At least, this one isn't."
Moria's zombie soldiers had already gathered around him.
"Hehehe~ Should we take him apart and study him?"
At that, Lieutenant Specey immediately darted behind Enel.
"Boss, help! These terrifying things want to tear me into pieces!"
Enel: "…."
Reed rubbed his temples.
"All right, enough joking around." He turned to Lieutenant Specey.
"Do you remember anything? What about the other robots?"
Specey's eyes filled with frustration.
"We can't remember! I don't even know how long the power was out."
Reed looked at the small, dejected lieutenant.
"Oh, so you have amnesia, poor little thing. Enel, hit him with lightning!"
He had regained his memory after being injured while watching cartoons. Being struck by lightning should have a similar effect.
"Release!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"Do you remember now? What are you saying? What do you remember? Also, I don't need recharging anymore, thanks!"
"Enel!"
"1000 volts!"
"Ahhhhh!"
"You…"
"Ahhhhh!"
"I remember, I remember! Stop scaring me! I remember now!!"
Tears welled up in Lieutenant Specey's eyes.
"I remember…"
He wiped his eyes with his small, stubby hands, took a deep breath to calm himself, and began to tell his story.
"I was born on Robot Island in the Blue Ocean. I am Dr. Tsukimi's most precious creation!" Specey puffed up his tiny chest, but quickly deflated.
"Dr. Tsukimi's favorite thing to do was take us robots to watch the Moon and eat sweets together…"
Perona hugged her plush bear, eyes sparkling.
"That sounds so romantic~"
"Until that night…" Specey's voice suddenly dropped.
"We were in the courtyard, watching the Moon like usual. The doctor was eating his favorite red bean mochi…"
Tesoro pushed up his glasses.
"And then?"
"And then the Moon suddenly exploded!" Specey waved his tiny arms excitedly.
"The doctor was so scared he could hardly breathe! We patted his back, gave him water, but…"
His small head drooped.
"The doctor… still…"
Lina looked at the little robot with concern.
"Was he frightened, or is something wrong? Maybe a heart problem?"
Specey shook his head.
"The doctor choked on the mochi and died."
Death by mochi.
Moria scratched his head.
"He's kind of fragile, isn't he?"
"You're not allowed to say that about the doctor!" Specey jumped up in anger.
"The doctor was the best person in the world!"
Reed patted Enel's shoulder.
"Go on."
"After burying the doctor, I decided…" Specey clenched his tiny fists.
"I have to uncover the truth about the Moon's explosion! We can't let the doctor die without knowing why!"
Moria appeared from the shadows.
"Hehehe~ So that's why you came to the Moon? How did you even get here?"
"That's right!" Specey nodded proudly.
"We came to the Moon in a hot-air balloon…"
They were basically superheroes.
(Yes, you read that right. Four little robots arrived on the Moon in four balloons. Old Reed needed to travel aboard the Ark Maxim, a vessel said to be eight hundred, maybe a thousand years ahead of its time. But next to these little robots, it looked like a rookie ship. And the four robots didn't even have extraordinary abilities they could easily have been wiped out by space pirates in an instant.)
Everyone: "..."
"But I finally made it to the Moon!" His little eyes suddenly dimmed.
"All these explosions were caused by space pirates."
"Wah~" Laboon tried to console the poor little robot.
"You were unlucky to lose to them, but you were brave."
The little robot's face darkened even further.
"We were killed instantly."
Far off on the Moon, the sound of massive explosions echoed.
"That sound… it must be pirates." The little robot stared toward the distant blasts, his tone resolute.
"Yo~ They came right out themselves. I thought we'd have to work harder to find them."
When Reed and his companions arrived, they saw a group of oddly shaped pirates using heavy machinery to dig into the Moon's surface.
The leader of the space pirates was enormous, shaped like a giant catfish, operating a massive drilling rig. Beside him stood a man in a black hat and long coat, holding a blueprint, seemingly directing the excavation.
"This site likely contains an ancient ruin. Keep digging down."
"Understood, boss!"
A flash of lightning danced in Enel's eyes.
"How dare they touch territory sanctioned by a god! Let the god…"
"Wait." Reed raised a hand to stop him, a dangerous smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"They are still useful."
Blood mist silently spread as Reed released a faint aura of Conqueror's Haki. He was genuinely afraid that using too much power might kill them all.
It's worth noting, even after decades, these pirates could not defeat Enel. He was ultimately defeated by Luffy.
"Prosper!"
An invisible pressure swept across the area like a tsunami. Every space pirate froze in place, cold sweat soaking their backs.
Reed led his group forward.
The space pirate leader, "Big Wolf," probably looked like a wolf, Reed guessed. The first time he saw him, he thought his face was carved from a shoehorn. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his cane trembled.
"Brother… we didn't know this was your territory…"
Reed waved, blood mist creeping under his feet.
"Don't worry, we're all brothers~" His voice was so gentle it sent a chill down the spine.
"Keep digging and help me find the ruins…"
He paused, his gaze suddenly freezing.
"If you fail to find them, you will all die here~"
"Yes! Dig faster!" Big Wolf jumped in fright, then roared at his subordinates.
"What are you standing around for! Work faster! We must turn the entire Moon upside down to find the ruins!"
"Very good, full of energy. Thank you, everyone."
It should be noted that these pirates had been digging for over a decade. They had only recently discovered this site before Enel's attack and might have found other ruins. Reed's target was the area filled with tiny robots like Specey, along with several tablets documenting the Moon's inhabitants. He was eager to see it with his own eyes.
Fueled like they'd been injected with stimulants, the pirates immediately began frenzied excavation. The drilling machines roared across the Moon's surface.
Tesoro leaned close to Reed, whispering,
"Captain, can we trust these people?"
Reed shrugged.
"Better than digging ourselves."