"This actually works in our favor. Let's go. Before Don Chinjao arrives, we should take a look at the wealth the Eight Treasures Navy has accumulated over hundreds of years."
After listening to Lafayette's report, Kaito Arisawa nodded slightly. With a faint smile, he gestured for everyone to head deeper into the Treasure Jade Iceberg.
Even the survivors had their uses.
After Lafayette hypnotized the remaining guards, it became extremely easy for Kaito to locate the exact place where the Eight Treasures Navy had buried their treasures.
"What an outrageous amount… Is this really the accumulation of hundreds of years?"
"My god! There are treasures under here! How much money could this be worth?"
"We're rich! This time we're truly going to get rich!"
Inside the Treasure Jade Iceberg stood towering formations of frozen crystal walls. Beneath the thick inner ice layer, the group immediately noticed something dazzling.
Even though the ice covering was extremely thick, it could not hide the brilliant glow beneath it.
Gold.
When Kaito and the others reached the bottom of the frozen field, they were immediately stunned by the sight before them.
Looking through the ice, they could see countless treasures beneath their feet.
Gold coins.
Jewels.
Artifacts.
Mountains of wealth piled upon each other, forming shimmering hills beneath the glacier. The scene was spectacular beyond imagination.
Faced with such an enormous amount of treasure, even those who were not particularly greedy for wealth could not help but widen their eyes in shock.
Even Kaito himself felt a moment of astonishment.
If he did not possess absolute authority over his pirate crew, internal conflict over such enormous wealth would have been entirely possible.
"Law, your Op-Op Fruit ability should be able to dig a tunnel here."
Kaito was about to move forward when a thought suddenly occurred to him. He turned and looked toward Law.
Law, who had also been stunned by the sight of the treasure beneath the ice, quickly understood Kaito's intention.
"It should be possible. Let me try."
He stepped forward and approached the section of ice closest to the treasure.
With a casual flip of his hand, he activated the power of the Op-Op Fruit.
Buzz!
A swirling wind formed before rapidly expanding into a spherical energy field that enveloped the ice beneath their feet.
Drawing his sword, Law slashed several times in quick succession.
With each strike, invisible cuts formed in the ice, eventually creating a square-shaped incision.
In the next moment, the section of ice outlined by the cuts suddenly rose upward.
The large block separated cleanly from the glacier and was lifted out like a giant chunk of crystal.
"So it works."
Watching Law successfully carve through the glacier, Kaito nodded slightly.
He realized that his earlier analysis had overlooked something.
There were not only two ways to break through the defense of the Treasure Jade Iceberg.
There was a third.
Devil Fruit abilities.
Just like the Op-Op Fruit.
Except for Armament Haki and seastone, the cutting ability of the Op-Op Fruit was almost impossible to resist.
Even the unusual structure of the Treasure Jade Iceberg could not stop it.
After confirming that it worked, Law quickly continued his work.
Within a short time, he carved out a tunnel leading down through the glacier to the treasure buried below.
The moment the passage opened, the War Pirates erupted into cheers.
Members of the crew eagerly rushed into the tunnel to begin retrieving the treasure beneath the ice.
Soon, mountains of wealth were piled upon the frozen surface.
"This armor is incredible! Not only is it beautifully crafted, it looks like it's made from some kind of special metal. It's unbelievably durable."
"This sword is excellent too. Its sharpness and hardness aren't inferior to a famous blade."
"Whoa! I'm shocked—this necklace is actually made from seastone. I've never seen seastone crafted this finely before."
"Wait a second… there's a Devil Fruit in this chest?!"
The treasure accumulated by the Eight Treasures Navy over centuries was not limited to gold and jewelry.
There were all kinds of rare and valuable items.
Armor strong enough to resist sword strikes.
Weapons whose quality rivaled legendary blades.
Artworks crafted from rare materials like seastone.
And even… Devil Fruits.
As the treasures were carried up to the ice field, Robin and the others excitedly examined the remarkable collection.
Suddenly, Sandy opened a chest.
When he saw what was inside, his eyes widened dramatically.
"What?! Devil Fruits?!"
His voice echoed loudly across the ice.
"What did you say?!"
"Where are the Devil Fruits?!"
"Let me see!"
Devil Fruits had an irresistible attraction.
Especially since the crew had been discussing them earlier.
Hearing Sandy's shout, not only Robin and the other cadres but even ordinary crew members rushed over curiously.
"It really is a Devil Fruit."
"One, two, three… there are five of them!"
"I'll go get the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia!"
"I can't believe the Eight Treasures Navy actually stored Devil Fruits here!"
"I wonder what abilities these fruits have…"
Everyone gathered around the chest that Sandy had opened.
When Kaito and the others arrived, they immediately saw the contents.
Inside the chest lay five Devil Fruits.
Seeing real Devil Fruits lying before them caused everyone's eyes to shine with excitement.
Lafayette immediately used Shave to dash toward the ships on the shore so he could retrieve the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
"Search more carefully," Kaito instructed.
"Check if there are any additional Devil Fruits hidden elsewhere."
Naturally, he was delighted to obtain five Devil Fruits at once.
But the discovery also made him hopeful that there might be more.
Following Kaito's order, the crew began inspecting the treasure piles more carefully.
Unfortunately, even after Lafayette returned with the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, no additional Devil Fruits were discovered.
It seemed that although the Eight Treasures Navy had collected Devil Fruits over the centuries, they had kept them together in a single location.
Those five fruits were the entire collection.
Although Kaito felt a slight sense of disappointment that there were no additional discoveries, he did not regret it much.
After all, obtaining five Devil Fruits in one place was already a remarkable gain.
Not to mention the enormous mountain of treasure they had just acquired.
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