The tunnel was quite long. Even at the speed of the magic carpet, it took Sherlock and Aisa some time to reach their destination.
Suddenly, the space opened up.
The duo emerged into a vast, expansive cavern, and immediately, their entire attention was seized by the behemoth situated in the very center.
It was a giant multi-decked ship, at least ten times the size of the Going Merry. Shimmering with golden light under the sun's rays, it possessed an overwhelming visual impact.
The character for "God" (神) was printed boldly across the middle of the vessel, demanding attention. Judging by the various fans and propellers of all sizes installed around its hull, this ship was likely not intended for the sea.
"It's... it's huge!" Aisa let out a cry of surprise. In all her life, she had never seen a ship of such magnitude.
"Indeed, it is quite large," Sherlock remarked flatly.
Although the Sorcerer—once the esteemed President of the Goldglint Trading Company—wasn't necessarily shocked by the sheer size of the vessel, a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes behind his lenses when he noticed the giant humanoid figurehead seemingly composed entirely of solid gold.
"Wasn't it said that metal resources are extremely scarce on Skypiea? Wait... the legendary City of Gold..."
After a moment of silent contemplation, Sherlock gently pushed up his glasses. "Could that 'God' have used all the gold from Shandora just to build this ship?"
As the former head of the East Blue's premier trading company, terms like "fabulously wealthy" were almost too modest to describe Sherlock. However, even he, a top-tier tycoon, had never dreamed of building a massive ship entirely out of gold.
No wonder they say "massive construction ruins three generations." It's because of spendthrift bastards like Enel who pour money into things with such inhuman extravagance!
While countless strange thoughts flashed through the Sorcerer's mind, the little girl suddenly tugged at his clothes.
"Sherlock, Sherlock! I feel it." Aisa pointed forward, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. "There's a very faint 'voice' coming from that direction."
"Oh... a survivor?" Sherlock didn't dare delay. He maneuvered the magic carpet again, flying toward the direction Aisa indicated. They arrived at a room adjacent to where the great ship was docked.
What met their eyes was a large number of charred figures lying on the ground, their fates unknown. Judging by their fallen postures and the crude weapons scattered around them, these former Divine Soldiers of the previous God had likely tried to stage a resistance, only to be defeated in a single instant.
The entire room was deathly still. The air was thick with the scorched smell of ionization. Everything about the scene resembled a Shura's Hell, chilling anyone who looked upon it to the bone.
"This is horrible..."
Though she had already guessed the fate of these people, seeing such a tragic scene with her own eyes caused Aisa's naturally rosy complexion to turn pale. She looked away, unable to bear the sight.
"Where is the voice?"
Sherlock's expression was far more composed. He sensed the area briefly and walked over to a Skypiean who appeared to have fainted. Kneeling down, he asked:
"Hey, can you still speak? I have a few questions for you—"
Clap—
Before the Sorcerer could finish, the Skypiean suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. In an extremely trembling voice, he whispered, "Run... quickly, run..."
"Run?" Sherlock's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the charred hand gripping him with what seemed to be the last of its strength. "Who should run? Where to? And why?"
"Leave Skypiea... otherwise, everyone will die. Everyone! Cough, cough, cough!"
The surviving Skypiean began to cough violently. His chest rose and fell like a broken bellows as he continued:
"Enel... he... he is a demon through and through! He plans to..."
At this point, the Skypiean reached out and pointed toward a workbench. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but unfortunately, his strength failed him. His head slumped to the side, and he fell into eternal silence.
"Hey, Sherlock, what did he say at the end?"
Sensing the disappearance of the final "voice," Aisa's expression became incredibly complicated. As a Shandian, she theoretically should have felt some satisfaction at this, but the kind-hearted girl felt an immense weight in her heart.
"I don't know..."
Sherlock stood up and walked with a somber face toward the workbench the Skypiean had pointed to. It was piled high with thick blueprints. He flipped through them briefly and found that they were all related to the giant golden ship outside.
"As expected. After completing this golden ark named 'Maxim,' these people who lost their utility were discarded without hesitation by 'God'? What a cruel and heartless fellow, that Enel."
At that moment, Sherlock accidentally pulled a stack of wrapped and bound design drafts from the pile. Compared to the relatively clean white paper of the other blueprints, this thick stack was much older and yellowed with age.
"The Ark Project?"
The Sorcerer lightly traced the yellowed pages with his finger, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. As his gaze drifted downward, a peculiar pirate mark entered his field of vision, instantly capturing his full attention.
It was a somewhat ferocious skull, behind which sat a circular ship's wheel. However, the most striking feature was that the skull possessed a mane of long, golden hair that flowed freely like a lion's, appearing extremely wild and overbearing.
"This mark... Golden Lion?!"
Sherlock was stunned. He was, of course, well-acquainted with the name of the "Great Flying Pirate" who had clashed with the Pirate King multiple times. But the Sorcerer could never have imagined he would find traces left behind by that legendary pirate here.
"Do these blueprints come from the Golden Lion Pirates? But hasn't Shiki been missing for twenty years?"
Calming his excitement, Sherlock quickly began flipping through the papers in his hand.
Though he couldn't understand the complex mechanical diagrams, based on the detailed annotations and the various rumors surrounding the Golden Lion Pirates from years ago, the Sorcerer was able to piece together the gist of this "Ark Project."
Before the start of the Great Pirate Era, Shiki had a powerful subordinate who possessed the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
To realize his ambition of world conquest, Shiki intended to use his own abilities combined with those of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user to develop a weapon with power comparable to the legendary Ancient Weapons—the so-called Ark.
The Ark in the design was meant to be transplanted with the flight capabilities of the Float-Float Fruit and the lightning power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Not only could it fly freely through the sky, but it could also amplify the power of lightning by generating a unique type of charged cloud. With just a little guidance, it could unleash a barrage of ten thousand lightning bolts—a terrifying prospect.
Golden Lion Shiki's "Ark Project" was this: build a hundred or so of these arks to form an invincible fleet. From the high heavens, they would give the enemies on the ground a baptism of lightning, allowing him to dominate the four seas.
However, while the imagination was grand, reality proved to be quite harsh.
Shortly after these blueprints were drawn, just as Shiki was excitedly hiding in the sky to advance his technology in secret, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user—one of the key components—died.
Consequently, the Ark Project was permanently shelved.
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