The third passageway was narrow, dark, and sloped steeply downwards. There was no room for debate, no time for cautious exploration. With another ominous groan from the cavern ceiling, Jack, being the largest and perhaps the most impatient, grunted and plunged into the opening first. Smoothie, after a quick, appraising glance at Gunnar, followed, her movements surprisingly agile in the confined space. Gunnar, heart pounding, took a deep breath and slid in after them.
It wasn't a passage; it was a chute. Smooth, polished obsidian sent them hurtling downwards in a dizzying, uncontrolled slide. Gunnar yelped as he bumped against the sides, the darkness absolute. He could hear Jack's curses ahead and Smoothie's surprisingly calm, if slightly irritated, breathing behind him.
The slide ended abruptly. They were spat out, tumbling and disoriented, onto a hard, unforgiving surface. Gunnar groaned, pushing himself up, his limbs aching. When his vision cleared, he gasped.
They were in a vast, circular chamber, its walls, floor, and ceiling constructed entirely of gleaming, solid gold. Intricate carvings of mythical beasts and celestial patterns adorned every surface, catching the faint light that filtered down from above. High on the domed ceiling, several other dark openings were visible – more chutes, presumably.
But the opulence was tainted by a grim reality. Scattered across the golden floor were a dozen or so desiccated bodies, pirates by their tattered attire and rusting weapons, their expressions frozen in masks of terror or agony. Some were crushed, others impaled by golden spikes that had seemingly erupted from the floor.
"Well, this is… festive," Jack rumbled, dusting himself off, his earlier animosity momentarily forgotten in the face of this grim discovery. "Looks like we weren't the first to find this little gold mine."
"And it seems the previous visitors didn't fare so well," Smoothie observed, her gaze sharp, already scanning the room for traps. "Someone, or something, has been here. And recently."
"This place… it's a tomb," he murmured.
As if summoned by his words, a section of the golden wall slid open with a grinding, metallic groan. From the darkness beyond, heavy, rhythmic clanking echoed. Then, a figure emerged.
It was a golem, a mechanical monstrosity forged from black iron and tarnished gold, easily ten feet tall. Its single, cyclopean eye glowed with a malevolent red light. Its limbs were thick, piston-driven, and one arm ended in a set of vicious, rotating gears, the other in a massive, crushing clamp. It was an ancient, deadly guardian.
"Intruders detected," a synthesized, emotionless voice boomed from the golem. "Sanctum breached. Eliminating threats."
"So much for a quiet treasure hunt," Jack snarled, hefting his spiked club. "I'll smash this tin can!"
The golem charged, its movements surprisingly swift for its bulk. Jack met it head-on, his club crashing against the golem's iron hide with a deafening clang that sent sparks flying. Smoothie flanked it, her sword a silver blur, seeking a weakness in its armor. Gunnar, knowing he couldn't match their direct power, tried to use his elemental abilities, sending blasts of ice to try and seize its joints, and bursts of fire to try and overheat its mechanisms.
The golden chamber amplified every impact, every metallic shriek. The golem was relentless, its attacks powerful and precise. It swatted Jack aside with its clamp-arm, sending the All-Star crashing into a golden wall. It parried Smoothie's strikes with surprising dexterity, its gear-arm a spinning whirlwind of destruction. Gunnar's elemental attacks seemed to only momentarily inconvenience it.
"This thing is too tough!" Gunnar yelled, dodging a swipe from the clamp that would have crushed him. The golden walls around them were starting to buckle and crack from the force of the battle. The entire chamber was groaning.
"The structural integrity… it's failing!" Smoothie shouted, narrowly avoiding a downward smash from the golem. "This whole place is coming down!"
Indeed, massive cracks were spiderwebbing across the golden ceiling. Chunks of gold began to fall. The floor beneath them trembled violently.
"There!" Gunnar spotted it – another opening, a narrow passage at the far end of the chamber, partially obscured by a toppled golden statue. "An exit!"
"Forget the tin can!" Jack roared, scrambling to his feet, a trickle of blood running from a cut on his forehead.
They made a dash for the opening, the golem still relentlessly pursuing them, the chamber collapsing around them. Smoothie, with her incredible speed and agility, reached it first, Gunnar right behind her. They squeezed through the narrow passage just as a massive section of the golden ceiling crashed down where they had been standing.
They stumbled out into another dark, narrow tunnel, the sounds of the collapsing golden chamber echoing behind them.
A deafening crash, followed by a furious, pain-filled roar, answered him.
"My leg! The damn machine… it's got my leg!" Jack's voice was strained, desperate.
Smoothie and Gunnar exchanged a look. They could hear the golem's relentless clanking, the sound of tearing metal, and then a final, sickening, crushing sound, followed by an abrupt, chilling silence.
Jack just got crushed.
She looked down the new, dark tunnel. "We keep moving."Finally, a faint light appeared ahead, growing steadily brighter. The tunnel opened into another chamber, this one smaller than the golden deathtrap, hewn from rough, dark stone. And in the center of it, looking distinctly out of place and rather annoyed, were Perospero and Cracker.
"Perorin! Smoothie! And the little… husband!" Perospero exclaimed, his relief evident, though his saccharine smile was a bit strained. "Fancy meeting you here! We thought we were the only ones clever enough to find this… less gilded route!"
Cracker, leaning against a wall, his biscuit armor slightly chipped, grunted. "This place is a bore. No decent fights, just endless tunnels and dust." He eyed Gunnar and Smoothie.
Gunnar's attention, however, was drawn to the center of the chamber. There, resting on a simple stone pedestal, was a large, dark tablet, its surface covered in strange, angular script. Unlike the decorative carvings in the golden temple, this looked like a direct inscription, a message.
"What's this?" Gunnar murmured, approaching it cautiously.
"Some old rock," Cracker scoffed. "Can't even eat it."
"It's a language, Cracker-nisan," Gunnar said, his brow furrowed. He recognized the characters. It was English, the language of Earth. "I… I think I can read this."
The others fell silent, watching him. Even Smoothie looked on with a flicker of curiosity. Gunnar traced the carvings with a hesitant finger, sounding out the words, his voice echoing slightly in the stone chamber.
"It speaks of… King Azmuth," Gunnar read slowly, "ruler of this forgotten kingdom. He possessed a great treasure… the 'Heart of the Sun,' which granted him… unnatural longevity and the power to shape the very earth, and turn stone into Gold."
"The Philosopher's Stone!" Perospero breathed, his eyes gleaming with avarice.
Gunnar continued, "It says… 'My kingdom fell, betrayed from within. My Heart, I could not let it fall into unworthy hands. It lies now within my final sanctuary, the Sky-Piercing Spire, protected by my ultimate guardian, the 'Aegis Sentinel' – a colossus of metal and fire, wielder of star-beams and earth-shattering thunder.'"
Cracker snorted. "More robots? This island is obsessed with them."
"There's more," Gunnar said, his voice growing graver. "'To awaken the Spire, to call it forth from its slumber beneath the sands, one must activate the 'Sun Dial Mechanism' within this very antechamber. A lever… it speaks of a lever. Pulling it will raise the pyramid from the ground, revealing the path to the King's tomb, and the Stone.'" He scanned the rest of the tablet. "But it warns… the Aegis Sentinel is formidable, far more powerful than any guardian before it. It says… 'Only those of purest heart or overwhelming might should dare to face it, for its sole purpose is to guard the King's rest until the stars themselves fall.'"
He looked up from the tablet, his golden eyes troubled. "A pyramid rising from the ground… a super-robot shooting lasers and bombs…"
"Perorin! This is fantastic!" Perospero clapped his hands, his earlier fear forgotten. "The Stone is within reach! We just need to find this lever and unleash this… Aegis Sentinel! A little laser-show won't deter the Big Mom Pirates!"
"A lever, then," Perospero mused, already scanning the antechamber with greedy eyes, his earlier fright forgotten. "And then a glorious, shining pyramid full of treasure! This is more like it, lick-lick!"
"Hold on," Smoothie interjected, her gaze sharp and cautious. "The tablet warned of an 'Aegis Sentinel.' 'Wielder of star-beams and earth-shattering thunder.' We should have a plan before we awaken something like that. Rushing in blindly is how Jack met his untimely end."
Cracker scoffed. "Plans are for weaklings! We find the lever, we unleash the robot, I smash the robot, we get the Stone! Simple!" He pounded a biscuit-armored fist into his palm.
Gunnar, however, sided with Smoothie. "She's right. That first golem was tough enough. This 'Aegis Sentinel' sounds like it's on a completely different level. We need to at least consider—"
He was cut short by a sudden, intense wave of heat that washed into the chamber, making the air shimmer. The faint light from the bioluminescent fungi seemed to dim, and a menacing, crimson glow began to emanate from the tunnel they had just exited.
A figure stepped out, silhouetted against the molten radiance. Tall, imposing, clad in a Marine admiral's uniform, his face set in a grim, implacable expression. Tendrils of magma dripped from his fists, hissing as they hit the cool stone floor.
"Akainu!" Perospero shrieked, his sugary composure shattering.
"Admiral Sakazuki!" Smoothie's voice was tight, her hand instantly going to her sword. Cracker swore, his biscuit soldiers beginning to form around him.
Gunnar felt a cold dread grip him. He remembered this man from the stories, and about this Marine's brutality. This was the architect of "Absolute Justice," a force of nature fueled by relentless, burning conviction.
"So," Akainu's voice, a low, volcanic rumble, filled the antechamber, "the dregs of the pirate world gather to pilfer ancient treasures. How predictable." His glowing, magma-filled eyes scanned them, lingering for a moment on Gunnar. "And an alliance of Yonko filth, even in its infancy, cannot be tolerated."
"What do you want, Marine dog?!" Cracker snarled, stepping forward.
"Justice," Akainu stated simply. He raised a magma-wreathed fist. "And the eradication of your kind. Starting with the linchpins of this… unholy union." His gaze fixed on Smoothie, then on Gunnar. It was clear his orders, or his interpretation of them, were to sever this new, dangerous tie.
There was no time for plans, no room for negotiation. Akainu lunged, a torrent of molten rock erupting from his fist, aimed to incinerate them all.
"MOVE!" Smoothie yelled, shoving Gunnar towards the only other visible exit – the dark, downward-sloping tunnel mentioned on the tablet, the one that presumably led to the 'Sun Dial Mechanism' and the Aegis Sentinel.
There was no choice. Cracker, Perospero, Smoothie, and Gunnar scrambled, diving headfirst into the darkness of the chute just as Akainu's magma blast slammed into the wall where they'd stood, filling the antechamber with searing heat and the smell of burning stone.
It was another dizzying, uncontrolled slide, steeper and longer than the last. They tumbled through the darkness, the roars of Akainu and the sounds of further destruction echoing faintly from above. This chute, however, didn't deposit them gently. It spat them out into open air for a terrifying moment, then dropped them hard onto a cold, metallic surface.
They found themselves in a colossal, spherical chamber, even larger than the golden tomb. The walls were made of a dark, unknown metal, pulsating with a faint, internal blue light. Runes, similar to those on the tablet, glowed softly across the surfaces. And in the center of this vast space, dominating everything, stood the Aegis Sentinel.
It was breathtakingly terrifying. At least fifty feet tall, its form was sleek yet immensely powerful, forged from the same dark, pulsating metal as the chamber. Its limbs were articulated with an almost organic grace, but its power was undeniably mechanical. Its head was a smooth, featureless dome, save for two massive, multifaceted lenses that now began to glow with an intense, ruby-red light – its laser eyes. Cannons and missile pods were integrated seamlessly into its shoulders and forearms. It stood motionless, a silent, ancient guardian awaiting its activation, exuding an aura of unimaginable destructive potential.
Gunnar, Cracker, Perospero, and Smoothie picked themselves up, staring in stunned silence at the dormant colossus. The air hummed with latent energy.
"Sweet Mother of All Candies…" Perospero whispered, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and avarice. "It's… magnificent."
"And deadly," Smoothie added, her hand never leaving her sword.
Before anyone could say another word, a familiar, searing heat filled the air behind them. With a crash of falling debris, Akainu landed in the chamber, his magma-coated form radiating pure menace. He had followed them.
"Nowhere left to run, pirates," Akainu growled, his eyes fixed on them, ignoring the giant robot for the moment.
The Aegis Sentinel, as if sensing the intrusion, or perhaps Akainu's own volatile power, began to stir. Its red eyes flared brighter. A low, powerful hum emanated from its core.
The vast, metallic chamber became an arena of desperation. Akainu, a walking volcano, advanced, magma dripping from his fists, his eyes burning with zealous fury. Before them, the Aegis Sentinel's ruby-red optic lenses pulsed, its internal mechanisms whirring to life with an ominous hum.
"This ends now, Charlotte!" Akainu snarled, his primary target clear. He launched a **"Dai Funka" (Great Eruption)**, a colossal fist of molten rock, directly at Smoothie.
Smoothie reacted with lightning speed, her massive sword a silver blur as she met the attack. "Liquidate!" she roared, attempting to absorb the moisture from the surrounding air and channel it, but Akainu's magma was too intense, too overwhelming. The impact sent her skidding back, her blade glowing cherry-red from the heat, a searing pain shooting up her arm. Her elegant dress was singed, her composure momentarily broken.
"Perorin! Biscuit reinforcements!" Perospero shrieked, frantically creating candy walls, "Candy Maiden!", trying to form a barrier, but Akainu's follow-up magma blasts melted through them like butter.
Cracker, however, met the challenge head-on. "Honey Pretzel!" He clapped his hands, and a legion of his nigh-indestructible biscuit soldiers, armed with pretzel spears, charged Akainu. "You'll have to go through me, Marine dog!"
"Insignificant insects!" Akainu roared, unleashing a "Ryusei Kazan" (Meteor Volcano). Fists of magma rained down, incinerating biscuit soldiers on impact, turning them to smoking crumbs. Cracker himself took a glancing blow, his biscuit armor cracking, a pained grunt escaping him as searing heat breached his defenses.
Gunnar, knowing he was outmatched by Akainu directly, focused on creating diversions. He channeled his power, his right arm blazing with fire, his left crackling with ice. "Frostfire Barrage!" He sent a chaotic volley of elemental projectiles towards Akainu, hoping to distract him, to give Smoothie and Cracker an opening. Most were contemptuously swatted aside or evaporated by Akainu's intense heat, but one icy shard managed to strike the Admiral's shoulder, causing a hiss of steam and a flicker of annoyance in his molten eyes.
It was then that the Aegis Sentinel fully awakened.
Its ruby eyes fired. Not projectiles, but twin beams of concentrated, searing red energy – the "star-beams" the tablet had warned of. They weren't as wide as Kizaru's lasers, but they were incredibly focused and seemed to cut through anything in their path. One beam sliced through the spot where Cracker had been standing moments before, carving a molten trench in the metallic floor. The other swept towards Akainu.
The Admiral, surprised by this new threat, was forced to momentarily disengage from the pirates. He met the laser with a wall of hardened magma, which sizzled and smoked under the intense energy but held. "**Meigo (Dark Hound)!**" He launched a wave of obsidian-hardened magma at the Sentinel.
The Aegis Sentinel, with surprising agility for its size, sidestepped the attack. Missile pods on its shoulders opened, unleashing a volley of "earth-shattering thunder" – concussive warheads that exploded with deafening force, shaking the entire chamber.
The pirates were caught in the crossfire. Smoothie used her Devil Fruit to try and absorb the moisture from one of the exploding missiles, mitigating some of its concussive force but still being thrown off her feet. Perospero screamed as shrapnel from another blast tore through his candy armor, leaving a bleeding gash on his arm.
"This is a madhouse!" Cracker bellowed, reforming his biscuit soldiers even as they were being destroyed by both Akainu's magma and the Sentinel's weaponry. He took a direct hit from a smaller concussive blast, sending him flying into a wall, his true, more vulnerable form momentarily exposed before he could regenerate his armor.
Gunnar, seeing an opportunity while Akainu was focused on the Sentinel, tried to press his advantage. He channeled more power, the red and blue veins on his arms blazing. He felt a deeper, more primal energy stirring within him, the echo of Ymir. He focused it, trying to replicate the earthquake punch he'd used on Ikki, but his control was still too raw. Instead, a wave of disorienting, contradictory energy – freezing heat and burning cold – erupted from him, aimed at Akainu's legs. "**Polar Schism!**"
Akainu, distracted by a laser beam from the Sentinel, stumbled slightly as the bizarre energy washed over him. It wasn't enough to injure him seriously, but it was an irritant, a distraction he didn't need. He snarled, turning his molten gaze back to Gunnar. "You irritating little gnat!" He launched a smaller, faster magma fist.
Smoothie, seeing Gunnar in peril, moved with incredible speed. She intercepted the magma fist with her sword, the metal screaming in protest, but she held her ground, her knuckles white. "He's my husband, Admiral. You'll go through me first." The words were spoken with a cold fury, a possessiveness that surprised even herself.
The Aegis Sentinel, meanwhile, was not idle. Its laser eyes swept the chamber, forcing everyone to scatter. Then, its chest cavity opened, revealing a glowing, pulsating core. A high-pitched whine began to build.
"It's charging something big!" Gunnar yelled, his senses screaming danger.
Akainu, recognizing the threat, temporarily abandoned his pursuit of the pirates. "Absolute Justice will not be denied by a pile of scrap metal!" He gathered his magma, preparing a devastating attack of his own.
The battle had devolved into a chaotic three-way melee. Smoothie, nursing a severely burned arm and multiple cuts, fought with a desperate elegance, her long legs and sword a whirlwind of motion as she tried to fend off Akainu while dodging the Sentinel's attacks. Cracker, his biscuit armor constantly shattering and reforming, was a battered but unyielding bulwark, absorbing blows meant for others. Perospero, despite his injuries, was using his candy powers to create shields and try to gum up the Sentinel's joints, with limited success.
Gunnar, his body aching, his reserves dwindling, pushed himself harder than ever before. He focused the frostfire, creating icy patches to trip Akainu, fiery explosions to distract the Sentinel, anything to buy his… his allies… a precious second. He took a searing laser graze across his shoulder, the pain making him cry out, but he stayed on his feet.
The chamber was a hellscape of molten rock, laser beams, explosions, and the clash of steel against metal and magma. Injuries were mounting. Akainu's uniform was tattered, his face grim, but his magma power seemed inexhaustible. The Aegis Sentinel, despite taking several powerful blows, showed no signs of slowing down.