It took quite a while before Nami snapped out of her gold-induced ecstasy. She rushed over to Ivan, grabbed his sleeve, her eyes burning with fervent urgency, and pleaded:
"Ivan, we have to take all this gold with us!
But how can we possibly transport such a massive city? Do you have any ideas?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance back at that golden sea, her eyes filled with reluctance and anticipation.
This much gold was enough to secure her financial freedom forever, to never worry about money again. She absolutely couldn't leave a single piece behind.
Ivan gazed at Shandora before him, lightly stroking his chin in thought before speaking slowly:
"There is one way, perhaps using a Sealing Technique."
"Sealing Technique?" Nami pressed eagerly. "What's that? Can it pack away all this gold?"
"It's a technique I accidentally developed earlier," Ivan explained calmly. "By utilizing the Gravitational Collapse of Space-Time, items can be compressed and sealed into specially made scrolls. Whether it's gold or artifacts, as long as their volume doesn't exceed the scroll's capacity, they can be sealed away."
Nami's eyes lit up, and she tugged at his arm, urging:
"How do we do it? Let's hurry! With so much gold, we need to seal it up quickly. We can't leave any behind!"
Ivan smiled wryly:
"Don't rush. The Sealing Technique has limitations. It can't seal the entire City of Gold all at once. We'll have to break it down and seal it piece by piece into the scrolls."
"Piece by piece is fine!" Nami declared without hesitation. "I'll go call Tashigi and the others to help. More hands make lighter work—we'll get it done faster!"
With that, she eagerly turned and dashed off toward the direction of the previous town, her steps light and swift.
Ivan remained behind, wasting no time. With a focused thought, he quickly produced one Sealing Scroll after another. It only required expending some of his stamina to seal the gold into the scrolls.
Before long, Nami returned with Tashigi, Smoker, and a group of marines in tow, each face brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
They had all heard the legends of the City of Gold, and seeing it with their own eyes now filled them with awe.
Not letting their amazement linger too long, Ivan distributed the prepared Sealing Scrolls to everyone and explained how to use them:
"Hold the scroll, place the gold you want to seal above it, channel your own energy into it, and activate the runes on the scroll. The gold will be automatically compressed and sealed inside.
Remember, don't try to seal overly large pieces of gold at once. Exceeding the scroll's capacity will cause the seal to fail."
Everyone nodded in understanding, took the scrolls, and immediately dove into the sealing work.
Nami was the most enthusiastic, her hands never stopping. With every piece of gold sealed, her smile grew brighter.
The others divided the tasks clearly, sealing away golden sculptures and fragments one by one.
The City of Gold, Shandora, was immense, every part crafted from pure gold, its volume staggering.
Even with the large number of Sealing Scrolls Ivan produced, and everyone giving their all, the process consumed a great deal of time.
Two full weeks passed before the final fragment of gold was sealed into a scroll, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thus, the legendary city of gold, Shandora, was finally completely sealed away.
Ivan put away the last Sealing Scroll and placed it on the Orange Ship.
The secret room of the Orange Ship was now filled with Sealing Scrolls.
In the original location, the majestic golden city of Shandora had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty foundation as proof of the legendary city's existence.
After finishing everything, Nami leaned close to Ivan, contentedly saying:
"Finally, it's all sealed away. With so much gold, we've really hit the jackpot this time!"
Ivan nodded with a smile, his gaze fixed on the distant Sea of Clouds:
"Alright, all the gold has been packed up. It's time for us to leave Skypiea and return to the sea."
"Yes!" Nami was the first to respond, her voice brimming with excitement as she couldn't help but rub her hands together, daydreaming: "Once we're back in the Blue Sea, I'm going to the most bustling town, shopping like crazy, eating all the delicious food, and exchanging all this gold for the prettiest accessories and Berries!"
Everyone laughed as they packed their belongings, and the Orange Ship slowly sailed to the edge of the Sea of Clouds.
As Ivan retracted the sails, the ship instantly lost the support of the Sea of Clouds and began plummeting rapidly toward the Blue Sea below.
But Ivan, who had long been prepared, had already crafted a pair of massive wooden wings for the Orange Ship using sturdy timber.
Now, the wings slowly unfolded, steadily supporting the ship's hull and instantly slowing its descent.
With a slight movement of his fingertips, Ivan manipulated the airflow to balance the ship. Not only did the Orange Ship stop plummeting, but it even began gliding with the help of the sea breeze, completely avoiding the risk of crashing.
Nami held onto the ship's railing, watching the sea below grow clearer and clearer, unable to hold back her gasps of amazement.
A moment later, the wooden wings slowly retracted, and the Orange Ship landed steadily on the sea's surface, splashing a ring of fine waves, the hull remaining calm and undisturbed.
Thus, this journey across the ten-thousand-meter-high Skypiea officially came to an end.
Night fell, and the sea was silent, with only the soft glow of the Orange Ship's lanterns illuminating the surroundings.
The sea breeze, carrying the salty dampness of the ocean, gently brushed against the orange tree on the deck.
After washing up, Ivan was about to lie down and rest when the door was pushed open by a slender figure.
Immediately, this slender figure slipped inside, gently closing the door behind her.
The next second, a soft, warm body firmly embraced Ivan from behind, while a pair of delicate hands began to wander downward.
Ivan slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked at Nami clinging to him, a playful smile curling at the corner of his lips as he teased:
"What a greedy little thief cat, sneaking into my room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. What are you trying to steal?"
Nami didn't back down either. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her warm breath brushing against his ear as she smiled coquettishly, her voice dripping with sweetness:
"What I want to steal, of course, is White Dove. So, how will White Dove punish this adorable little thief cat?"
Ivan didn't answer. Instead, he turned and pulled her into his arms, responding to her provocation with action.
Outside the window, the evening breeze blew intermittently, rustling the leaves of the orange tree on the deck, which swayed gently, producing soft, rustling sounds.
The delicate orange tree trembled in the fierce wind.
The gentle glow of the ship's lanterns enveloped the room, while the sound of waves lapped softly against the hull.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
The next morning, Ivan stretched lazily, rose slowly, casually adjusted his collar, and walked step by step onto the deck. Leaning against the railing, he gazed absentmindedly at the distant sea.
He had only been standing there for a moment when a clear voice came from behind.
Tashigi hurried forward and asked in confusion:
"Vice Admiral Ivan, you're awake. Have you seen Nami? I haven't seen her at all today, and she's not in her room either."
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