"Please don't worry, boss. We'll tell you everything we know!!!"
The four robots, seemingly realizing they had a chance to survive, immediately straightened up, adopting an obedient, respectful demeanor.
Yemu didn't bother reacting to their attitude and went straight to the point.
"First question. What exactly are you?"
The one who answered was the silver-white robot among the four.
Although they looked identical, their temperaments were clearly different. This silver-white one was obviously the leader.
"Reporting to the boss, we are robots created by Dr. Kuro…"
"Dr. Kuro? And who is that?"
"Dr. Kuro is our creator, and the most brilliant scientist in Reykjavik."
"Reykjavik?!"
The name echoed in everyone's ears, leaving them momentarily stunned.
"Eh… isn't that the island where you fought that monster, Bullet? Could it be because of that battle? Does that mean these robots are actually from seven hundred years ago? That's insane! They've lasted that long without breaking down?!"
As Flare spoke, she reached out and poked their faces. They felt soft to the touch, almost no different from human skin.
As for Reykjavik's history, Tiger had already explained it to everyone before. They all knew it was a nation from seven hundred years ago.
But the ones even more shocked than anyone else were the robots themselves.
"Wh… what…?!"
"Seven hundred years?!"
"Have we been asleep for seven hundred years?!"
"Seven hundred years have passed… then does the Doctor's homeland, Shandora, even still exist?"
The four robots wore completely different expressions. Some were angry, some shocked, some dazed, others furious.
At that moment, neither Yemu nor Enel paid attention to them. Both of them had caught a familiar name.
Yemu spoke up immediately.
"What do you mean? Why are you looking for Shandora? What does that have to do with your Doctor?"
The silver-white robot at the front suddenly broke down, wailing loudly.
"Shandora is the homeland of our creator, Dr. Kuro. We were built by him using Shandora's technology. He told us to return to his homeland in his place and fulfill his dream… sob… sob… but we never imagined that seven hundred years would pass just like that…"
In an instant, both Yemu and Enel fell silent, lost in thought.
Enel rubbed his chin and carefully examined the four robots, looking left, then right, before suddenly recalling something. He spoke in disbelief.
"No wonder these four looked familiar. They're exactly the same as the little figures painted on Shandora's murals, just without wings. If that's the case… doesn't that mean that continent really existed?"
Suddenly full of energy, Enel turned to look at Yemu.
Yemu felt a bit awkward.
When they were younger, Yemu had deliberately told Enel that the figures on the murals were just legends, not real. He did it to keep Enel from developing the same obsession with going to the moon as in the stories, and from refusing to follow him to the Grand Line.
But now…
Fortunately, Yemu's skin was thick enough. His expression didn't change at all.
Flare, on the other hand, couldn't hold back her curiosity as she watched the two of them speaking in riddles and finally asked.
"Hey… what are you two even talking about?"
Yemu answered casually.
"What, didn't I ever tell you? Tiger should know. Enel and I come from the place these four little guys mentioned, Shandora. The legendary City of Gold."
At that moment, aside from Tiger, Flare, Erik, and Ayala all wore the same dumbfounded expressions as the four robots, eyes wide in disbelief. Only Baby-5 looked completely lost, staring blankly at everyone's shocked faces.
"You two are actually from the City of Gold? Isn't that just made up? Don't try to fool me. I read the stories of Noland the Liar when I was a kid."
Yemu shook his head.
"The City of Gold really does exist, and Noland wasn't lying. It's just that the island isn't on the Grand Line anymore. It was carried up to the sky by the Knock Up Stream and ended up on Skypiea."
"Sky… Skypiea…"
"Eh?!"
That revelation was even more shocking to everyone present than the existence of the City of Gold itself.
At the same time, the four robots finally reacted. Their tear-streaked faces instantly turned to joy.
"B-Boss… you're actually from the Doctor's homeland?!"
"This is amazing… sob… I never thought that the moment we woke up, we'd get to meet someone from the Doctor's homeland…"
"Doctor… are you watching over us?"
"That's wonderful. Please… take us there. As long as you bring us to the City of Gold, we'll do anything you ask…"
Yemu shook his head.
"Don't get ahead of yourselves. First, explain your situation properly. I want everything, from beginning to end."
"Hey!!!"
All at once, the four robots shifted from passive to eager, hurriedly explaining their story.
"Our creator, Dr. Kuro, once told us that he was born in a massive city called Shandora. It possessed technology far beyond the rest of the world. But for special reasons, Shandora was destroyed. Many people escaped, and the Doctor was one of them. He came to Reykjavik and lived on under the name Dr. Kuro. But he never forgot his homeland, and he never forgot his dream. So, using the technology he brought from Shandora, he created the four of us, hoping we could help him fulfill that dream. But…"
At that point, the robots' emotions suddenly turned heavy.
That sorrow wasn't an act. It was genuine, heartfelt pain.
The silver-white robot clenched its teeth, tears pooling in its eyes, and spoke.
"But then, a group calling themselves the World Government suddenly appeared. They threatened the Doctor, demanding that he work for them. Otherwise, they would destroy Reykjavik."
"The Doctor had no choice but to agree. But just as he boarded their ship, they didn't honor their promise. Instead, the ground began to shake, terrifying tsunamis rose, and the sea swallowed our island. The entire nation was destroyed."
"Dr. Kuro was furious. Before his death, he activated a freezing bomb, sealing the entire country and us along with it beneath the sea."
"Before he died, the Doctor told us that he could no longer fulfill his dream. So he hoped that if we ever awakened, we could complete it for him. He wanted us to find Shandora and go to that land, because there lies the blueprint to build Paradise."
"!!!"
Yemu didn't let them continue and cut in immediately.
"Paradise… what paradise?"
The silver-white robot was startled by Yemu's urgency but still answered obediently.
"I… don't know. The Doctor only told us it was a set of blueprints, a method to create a dream kingdom. But what it actually is… he never told us."