Chapter 96: Giant's Power, He Kicks, I Ram
God's Land, Upper Yard, in the ruins beneath the Giant Beanstalk...
Before a grand and magnificent structure built of giant white stones, shaped like a pyramid-palace.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this Four Eyes sure hides deep." Zoro, one eye open, one closed, sat leaning against a large rock.
He had woken up when Reiner and Nami left, and naturally saw that intimate moment. Besides that...
"But you... surprisingly, you didn't act up," Zoro turned his head towards the other side, teasing, "What, have you renounced women, Curly Brows?"
Click!
"You don't know shit, idiot Moss Head." A flame sparked to life. Sanji unhurriedly lit a cigarette and said coolly, "A true knight would not hinder a princess's happiness for selfish reasons."
"Oh? I actually underestimated you."
Hearing this, Zoro cast a rare glance of approval, saying with interest, "Chivalry, huh? Quite interesting."
"Waaah~~" Sanji, however, suddenly burst into tears. "He actually made a move before me! Damn it! Sooner or later, I'll secretly slaughter him!"
Zoro: "."
"Ara, don't be so disheartened," Robin walked over, patted his shoulder with a smile. "Sanji is so excellent; I believe you'll surely meet your ideal other half in the future."
"Really, Miss Robin~? So you've fallen in love with me after all~~"
"Not at all," Robin waved her hand, smiling.
"Robin's right!" Usopp cheered him on encouragingly.
"Sanji! As long as you can get rid of your lecherous ways, plenty of girls will definitely like you!"
"Then he's done for this lifetime," Zoro immediately interjected mockingly.
"What do you mean, directionally-challenged swordsman!?"
"Hah?! Exactly what I said, pervy cook. Or have you become unable to even understand human language anymore?"
"Looking for a fight, are you, bastard Moss Head!?"
"Bring it on! Been wanting to cut you down for ages, Curly Brows!"
Duang! Duang!
"So noisy!"
Nami descended from the sky, landing two punches, grimacing as she yelled, "It's barely morning and you're already making a racket! Can't you quiet down for a bit, you two idiots!"
Sprawled on the ground, the two wore different expressions. Zoro gritted his teeth, "Damn stinking woman."
"Even angry Miss Nami is so cute~~"
Pat!
"Morning everyone!" Reiner jumped down from the hawk summon, refreshed and invigorated as he walked up.
"Morning, Reiner!" Usopp hopped over excitedly, wiggling his eyebrows and nudging him with his elbow.
"Tsk tsk tsk, quite capable, aren't you? Even managing to handle Nami. Where'd you go just now, aha?"
"Heh, you little rascal." Reiner stroked his chin with a teasing look. "What, want to learn a few tricks from me to use on Kaya later?"
"Y-y-you! What are you talking about!?" Usopp instantly blushed red, stumbling backward in a fluster.
Little Usopp, easily handled.
"Good morning," Robin smiled, greeting the two.
"Good morning, Robin." Reiner smiled, looking around, then gestured upwards with his finger.
"Nami and I just discovered something. You all will definitely be interested, especially you, Robin."
Hearing this, everyone looked up. Besides the giant beanstalk soaring into the clouds and a few white clouds, there was nothing else.
"It's the Golden Bell! Heehee!" Nami walked over to Robin's side, giggling. "It's hidden up there on an island cloud."
"The Golden Bell!"
"Is it the incredibly huge Golden Bell mentioned in Noland's diary!?" Usopp gasped, clearly extremely excited.
"That's right, that's the one. There's even a Poneglyph embedded in the bell stand below."
Reiner stated it plainly. This was also thanks to taking Nami to see the sunrise; otherwise, he really wouldn't have known where to find it.
"A Poneglyph!" More than anything else, Robin clearly valued that unremarkable stone far more.
"Wait a minute!" A voice called out from the distance.
The group followed the sound and saw Wiper, now awake. Hearing their discussion, he immediately rushed over. Even though his face was calm, his movements still revealed his inner excitement.
Until noon...
In the ruins, a large crowd gathered around a tremendously magnificent, giant golden bell in the center.
The ancient-looking Shandian Chief knelt before the Golden Bell, eyes brimming with hot tears. "Disappeared for four hundred whole years! We... we once thought... we could only give up! Never expected!"
After the Skypieans used Rope Clouds to pull down the island cloud hiding the Golden Bell, Reiner's group and the Shandians exchanged information about the Blue Sea and Sky Island respectively.
It turned out that back then, when this island was carried into the sky by the Knock Up Stream, the Golden Bell had fallen onto an extremely high island cloud.
The Shandians' ancestor, the great warrior Kalgara, had made a promise to Noland that he would continuously ring the Golden Bell, awaiting his return.
However, due to the Golden Bell's loss, when Noland later returned to Jaya Island, he neither found the island he once knew nor heard the clear, resonant bell sound that echoed through the heavens. Thus, he believed the city of gold had sunk into the sea.
"It's hard to imagine how desperate he must have felt at that time," Sanji murmured, looking down as he smoked.
The story of Liar Noland, known throughout the North Blue... its full history was finally unveiled today.
And the Shandians, after being swept up to Sky Island, had fought a 400-year war to defend their territory, waiting for Noland's possible return one day.
Noland died without ever knowing his dearest friend was still waiting for him.
Kalgara too, until the end of his life, never knew Noland was executed and slandered for centuries because of their disappearance.
And the instigator of this tragedy... was an unexpectedly arriving Knock Up Stream.
"Waaah~~ I can't take it anymore! Woohoohoo~~"
"Noland wasn't a liar! He was a great hero!"
"A great hero!"
Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp cried their eyes out.
Fortunately, both the Shandians and Noland had descendants who spanned the river of history, brought together by the intertwining threads of fate to this very moment.
"Go ring the Golden Bell, Luffy."
Reiner smiled, patting Luffy's shoulder. "Let Mister Cricket below hear it! This bell sound, awaited for four hundred years!"
"Mm! I know!" Luffy looked up at the enormous Golden Bell, his gaze firm.
"Let's use that move! The one I learned from the giant misters in Little Garden!"
Luffy took a deep breath, bit his right thumb, and blew forcefully into it. His entire right arm immediately inflated rapidly like a balloon.
"Gear Third: Bone Balloon!"
"Wh-wh-what is that!?" The crowd of onlookers, seeing the suddenly appearing giant arm as if they had seen a ghost, were all frightened into scattering to the sides.
Reiner smiled faintly. My Kai he super, he kicks I ram, Judicial Great Hall, one punch smash, Gate of Justice, directly penetrate through, day can be expected! (Translator's note: A nonsensical meme/chant implying overwhelming power.)
Regarding Gear Third, Reiner had actually mentioned it to Luffy before setting sail. However, at that time, Luffy hadn't seen giants and couldn't quite visualize what it would be like, nor did he successfully develop it.
It was only after Little Garden that he began to ponder and develop this move. Although Luffy hadn't started training the two types of Haki with Reiner and the others, he was also thinking of ways to improve his strength, just not as diligently as Zoro.
With Luffy's physical constitution, both Gear Second and Gear Third could be developed early. Luffy himself possessed the will to become stronger, so Reiner naturally shared some ideas with him; there was no need to wait until being thrashed before starting to train.
He was already wondering if Gear Second and Third could be used simultaneously, but the difficulty was very high because the principles behind the two moves placed an enormous burden if combined.
"Here I come, everyone! Make way!" Luffy yelled, arching his giant arm. Everyone retreated, giving him space, waiting in eager anticipation.
Nearby, Wiper roared deeply, "Go for it, Straw Hat! Light the fire of Shandora!"
The next moment, as a red glint flashed in Luffy's eyes, the giant arm, seemingly slow, was in fact steady and swift.
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the giant fist, carrying the momentum of ten thousand thunderbolts, smashed heavily onto the Golden Bell!
DONG—!
The sonorous, high-pitched bell sound pierced into everyone's heart.
Meanwhile, on Jaya Island, ten thousand meters below the White-White Sea...
Splash!
"Old Man! You're back from your dive!" Masira, seeing the splash by the shore, immediately ran up excitedly.
"Tch. Looks like another fruitless day," Cricket scoffed discontentedly, gesturing for Masira and Shoujou to head into the house.
Suddenly...
DONG—!
A long, drawn-out bell sound came from the sky! A clear and resonant bell sound!
"Old Man!"
"It's from the sky!" Masira and Shoujou couldn't help but yell excitedly.
Cricket stood frozen on the spot, staring blankly up at the sky.
Everything he had experienced in his life, the four centuries of his family's suffering, all sorts of fragments, continuously surged through his mind.
For four hundred long years, after his entire family was exiled from their country, his people were displaced, suffering scorn and abuse daily like street rats. How many of his kin, believing in Noland, had set out to sea searching for the city of gold, only to disappear without a trace in the end...
Cricket gazed at the sky, murmuring to himself, "To make a complete break with you... I gambled the latter half of my life on this island... and the result..."
DONG—!
As the beautiful, lingering sound of the bell echoed in his ears, a smile of relief gradually spread across Cricket's face.
"Ai~ Looks like I lost to you after all, Noland..."
Evening. Angel Island. Conis's house...
"We're back!" Reiner and Sanji walked through the door. After returning from God's Land, Conis, representing the Skypieans, hosted their group as a token of gratitude.
Reiner took off the large backpack from his shoulders and upended it.
Clatter clatter~~
A large number of Skypiea Dials poured out. These were what he and Sanji had purchased together, selected from the encyclopedia as Dials usable in the Blue Sea.
Wind Dials and Lamp Dials made up the majority, but he had also specifically sought out and bought some rare Dials from the Shandians.
He also stole a good deal of gold on the side. Why 'stole'? Because it was thrilling, of course!
Could pirates really live on others' charity? As for that giant golden pillar... too much trouble, forget it. Anyway, the gold he plundered was already far more than the petty cash Luffy and the others had "stolen."
"Usopp, catch!" Reiner tossed a small bag towards the living room sofa.
"Ooh! Thanks, Reiner!" Usopp caught it joyfully, poured the Dials from the bag onto the sofa, picked up an instruction sheet from inside, and was about to start fiddling with them.
"Hey hey hey! Don't try them here!" Reiner quickly stopped him. There were two extremely dangerous items inside.
"The one on top is a Reject Dial. Its maximum impact is ten times that of an Impact Dial. I had Blue Ogre and Red Ogre store it full. If you don't want to die here, best not try it lightly."
"Nani!? Ten times!"
Usopp looked terrified, immediately recoiling. "Even using an Impact Dial feels like my hand is about to break! How am I supposed to use this!?"
"Use it when you're about to die. A one-for-one trade isn't a loss."
"Don't say such cruel things, bastard!"
"And the one in your hand... you're holding it backwards," Reiner stepped forward, snatched the wooden handle from Usopp's hand, and said, holding a cigarette between his lips, "This was traded from a Shandian warrior. A Laser Dial."
Reiner walked from the living room out to the balcony, pressed the top of the Dial, and a blue beam instantly shot out, forming a giant laser sword. He turned back, teasing,
"One light swing of this thing can cut down a tree that takes ten men to encircle. Did you know you were almost sliced in half just now?"
Hearing this, Usopp's face turned ashen with fright. The way he looked at the Dials on the sofa instantly changed.
"Hey! Why are they all such dangerous things!? Are you trying to murder me!?"
"Is a weapon still called a weapon if it's not dangerous? Reject Dials are already on the verge of extinction, very rare."
Reiner retracted the laser sword, tossed the wooden handle back to Usopp, and added, "And this Laser Dial belongs to an already extinct type of Dial. The entire Shandian tribe only has this one."
"Anyway, I got the stuff for you. How you use it is up to you. Also, your pocket money for next month is gone. That small bag of rare Dials cost me over seventy million."
"Seventy million!!"
A furious yell erupted, startling Reiner so much his neck instantly shrank. Nami rushed over, fiercely grabbing his ear and berating loudly:
"Just these few little toys! Cost over seventy million! What were you thinking!? If this goes on, the ship's money will be squandered by you sooner or later!"
"Wait a minute! Can things used for battle be called toys!?"
Reiner was dragged across the floor by his ear. Despite looking pathetic, he still retorted loudly and unyieldingly, "Besides! The ship's money has never been short, okay!? The more we spend, the more we get! I'm starting to not even know where to hide it all!"
"Seriously?" Nami couldn't help but loosen her grip, asking tentatively, "How much money exactly is on the ship right now?"
"Excluding today's gold and the cost of purchasing Skypiea Dials... there's still 1.2 billion Beri in cash," Reiner stated proudly.
"Nani! You scored such a huge haul last time!?" Nami gasped.
"Their business reaches all over the world, you know. And it was such a large base."
Reiner stood up, rubbed his ear, sat back down on the sofa, and said, "Anyway, no need to worry about money. Let's get ready for dinner."
"Hmph! Fine," Nami huffed, then pinched his cheek and sat down beside him.
Soon, the group finished dinner and returned to the Going Merry docked at Angel Island to rest.
Night fell. On the stern deck of the Merry, Reiner lay back on a deck chair, hands behind his head, gazing at the stars.
On the tranquil sea surface, the sky, unobstructed by any clouds, was filled with brilliant, twinkling stars.
"This is the first time I've ever seen such a bright night sky," Nami murmured, her head pillowed on his arm, her soft body snuggled against his.
(End of this chapter)
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