"Pfft, hahahaha!" The young scholars behind the old man couldn't help but burst out laughing, and the old man also shook his head, struggling to suppress a smile.
"You can tell it's nonsense just by hearing it. There's only the Kamabakka Kingdom in this world, no Makabakka Castle." After speaking, the old man pointed to a blurry emblem above the castle gate. "This castle is called Silver Moon Castle, and its history dates back to..."
The guards responsible for protecting the scholars stepped forward and said with a chuckle, "Kid, don't cause trouble here and delay the scholars' archaeological work. Once the excavation is complete, you can do whatever you want. No one will stop you."
Wayne sighed helplessly. Damn, why were these people speaking so politely? It made him unable to find an excuse to lash out.
Just as Wayne was about to use Haoshoku to knock out everyone, a loud boom came from below the castle, making the entire ground tremble.
"What's going on?!" Everyone was stunned by this sudden change. The archaeological team members stopped their work and looked towards the castle in horror.
"Run! Everyone, run!!!"
A woman with a cascade of white hair, leading several terrified and dust-covered scholars, scrambled out of the gloomy entrance of the castle.
The woman shouted anxiously, "The ancient guardian robots in the depths of the ruins have activated! Everyone, get back to the ship!!!"
As if to confirm her words, a grinding metallic creak came from deep within the castle, followed by heavy footsteps, as if some colossal entity was emerging from the castle's depths.
"Run!"
"Back to the ship!"
"Remember to bring the data!"
The archaeological team members, like a startled flock of birds, frantically ran towards the coast. Even the two guards who had blocked Wayne ignored him and turned to flee.
Nico Olvia, who had already run some distance, looked back and saw Wayne standing still, as if he had been scared silly, and quickly shouted, "Are you crazy? Run!"
Seeing that Wayne was unmoved, Olvia gritted her silver teeth, turned back to Wayne, and grabbed his wrist.
"Come on! The ancient robots will kill you! They have no emotions and will only destroy all intruders!"
She pulled with all her might, but found that Wayne's body felt like it was rooted to the earth, completely unmoving.
Boom!!!
The colossal stone pillars and dome supporting the ancient castle groaned under the strain, then collapsed with a crash, sending a waterfall of smoke, dust, and rubble cascading down.
A massive shadow rose from the collapsing smoke and debris.
It was a metal giant nearly ten meters tall, covered in dark metal armor, with a dull mechanical hum emanating from its joints.
The ancient robot's single eye, glowing red, instantly locked onto Wayne and Olvia at the edge of the ruins, then raised its arm, its palm shimmering with a golden light.
Beep beep beep!
Wayne waved his hand, and Olvia was transported to a safe place by rolling earth, while Wayne himself drew the Blade of Mist, his figure vanishing from his original spot.
The next second, Wayne appeared without warning directly above the metal giant, and from above, a flash of sword light streaked by.
Immediately after, a straight cut mark extended from the very center of the robot's head, down along its spine.
With a slight sound, the ancient robot split into two, its remains crashing into the ruins on either side.
The energy furnace in the robot's chest gradually dimmed, leaving only a few weak electrical sparks crackling along the broken wires.
Wayne flipped his wrist, and the Blade of Mist, after arcing through the air, slid into its sheath.
Then, Wayne took a step and walked towards the woman who had just tried to save him.
"Hey! Hey!" He stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Nico Olvia's eyes. "Snap out of it!"
Olvia jolted awake, raising her head and examining the tall, handsome young man with her still-startled eyes.
"So powerful… Wait, who are you?" Olvia subconsciously took half a step back. "I don't think I've seen you on the archaeological team's ship?"
"Wayne."
"And you?" He asked, knowing the answer.
Because Wayne had already recognized this lady as Nico Robin's mother, Nico Olvia. After all, her face was too similar to Robin's; if her hair were black and her Will of D were a bit stronger, she would be a spitting image of Robin.
Nico Olvia.
However, speaking of which, if it were Nami's mother, Wayne might not have recognized her.
"Nico Olvia. I'm the leader of this archaeological team. I'm here to find ancient texts. Why are you here?"
Wayne smiled, "I heard someone say there's a Devil Fruit hidden in these ruins. That thing wouldn't happen to be right under this castle, would it?"
Just a little white lie, easy to do. Besides, a small lie isn't really a lie.
"A Devil Fruit?" Olvia's delicate brows furrowed. She recalled what she had seen in the castle's underground ruins and shook her head. "When we went down to investigate just now, we didn't see anything resembling a Devil Fruit."
"Wait! There was indeed a treasure chest on a stone platform in the deepest part of the ruins, but we accidentally triggered a mechanism before we could get close."
Olvia pointed to the robot's remains, saying with lingering fear, "Then this dormant ancient guardian was activated."
"Oh?" Wayne's eyes immediately lit up. "The treasure chest is in there, right?"
"That's right, but the entrance to the underground ruins has collapsed. It would be very troublesome to get down."
"Hey, it's fine. None of this can stump me." Wayne waved his hand, then lightly stomped his foot, and the collapsed castle ruins began to move.
The rubble flew up into the sky in unison, forming a belt of debris, and the passage to the underground ruins was naturally cleared.
Olvia rubbed her eyes in disbelief, "This... what's going on?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm actually a Devil Fruit user."
"Huh? Then why are you looking for a Devil Fruit?" Olvia asked, puzzled.
Wayne shrugged, looking as if it was the most obvious thing in the world: "Of course, it's for money. Any Devil Fruit has a starting bid of at least 100 million Berries. It's money that would be a waste not to earn."
"Oh, I see… So, you're a treasure hunter, or maybe… a pirate?"
"Call me whatever you want. I don't consider myself a pirate anyway. By the way, could I ask you to lead the way, Miss Olvia?"
Olvia chuckled softly, "Of course, please follow me."
Three minutes later, Wayne and Olvia emerged from the ruins, carrying a treasure chest.
The treasure chest contained a gleaming silver Devil Fruit.