"Drifting through the Sky Route." When Natalie asked the Guardian about its residence, it wrote a few characters on the ground, which Robin translated aloud.
"It has no fixed home? It's been drifting through the Sky Route all this time?" Rosen frowned. Given its abilities, it wasn't impossible. Still, this crushed much of his earlier expectation.
Rosen had Natalie ask more questions—its purpose on the Sky Route, its ability to attach to different elements, the meaning of the key, whether it came from the Void Century, and whether its chip or memory held any records.
Its stated purpose mostly aligned with Rosen's earlier suspicions. Initially, the Guardian's mission was to protect the Sky Route from foreign threats and sea beasts.
But at some point, its orders were altered: it was now to eliminate any group of more than ten surface dwellers, including dangerous pirates.
However, its true primary task had always been to find an inheritor and protect the key. Patrolling the Sky Route was only a secondary function, something the Guardian clearly conveyed.
Its Devil Fruit power was identified as the Attach-Attach Fruit, a Paramecia-type that allowed it to merge with any material substance.
There were limitations on duration and the number of material types it could use in a day, but once activated, it became indistinguishable from the new material—even Observation Haki couldn't detect it.
As long as it mimicked the properties of the material, it was nearly impossible to spot.
When Natalie brought up the key, the Guardian's already rusted frame and inner circuitry began to creak ominously, as if it were on the verge of collapse.
It had existed for an incredibly long time, constantly patrolling the sky. If not for the Attach-Attach Fruit slowing down corrosion, Rosen and the others would never have encountered it.
Whenever it shifted into another material and reverted back, its body would retain its original state.
Rosen's encounter with it was likely bad timing—it had only just set its sights on Salis, possibly before it even initiated action, and then it ran into Rosen's ship.
Beyond its powers, many of its parts and systems were clearly defunct—its voice box included.
Now frail beyond repair, when Natalie asked about the key, the Guardian didn't answer immediately. Instead, it reached out and grasped Natalie's hand, then wrote on the ground with the other: "Are you in danger?"
Robin translated, and Natalie shook her head.
The Guardian's eyes began to blink with light. Based on Natalie's reply and biometric readings, it was analyzing her emotional state and heart rhythm to determine if she was being coerced.
It eventually confirmed her response with a nod.
Then came the sound of mechanical whirring. Its head slowly opened like a blooming flower, metal petals parting to reveal its core.
Everyone gasped in shock: "That's… an Eternal Log Pose!"
Natalie took it, and the others crowded around. Rosen couldn't read the two ancient characters on the device, but Robin's face had already changed.
"Is this the ancient weapon, Uranus?!" Rosen guessed at once. It wasn't even speculation—it seemed like a fact.
Robin hesitated, then nodded. When she saw it, she had considered keeping it secret. She had never imagined something related to the ancient weapons would be found outside the Poneglyphs—especially not an Eternal Log Pose.
On the metal plate of the Eternal Log Pose was a single, simple inscription: Celestial King. It didn't even use the name Uranus.
"Celestial King? Normally, a log pose would point to an island, but this one directly names an ancient weapon. Could it be that Uranus is an island? Or is this just a pointer to its location?" Rosen wondered aloud. The next step was figuring out what era the Guardian came from.
"Exactly how long have you existed? Are you the only one? Do you have records from 900 to 800 years ago?" Natalie asked the remaining questions at Robin's suggestion.
"My core storage has long since degraded. I am not the only one. I don't know how long I've existed. I only have preset tasks. I don't know what happened in those centuries…" The Guardian, while intelligent, based most of its logic on computational processes.
It had no memory—not even of the previous day—only the ability to carry out orders.
Robin was slightly disappointed but handed the Eternal Log Pose to Rosen.
Rosen examined the pointer. While the idea of an ancient weapon was tempting—and he did want to explore it someday—he currently had too many pressing matters.
This would have to wait. After all, the three ancient weapons had never truly appeared in history, nor shown their power. There had to be a reason.
Pluton was known as the most fearsome battleship ever, capable of destroying an island with a single shot. Poseidon was said to be the Mermaid Princess, Shirahoshi. Yet neither had demonstrated their full might.
Rosen decided to wait until he was stronger before trying to wield such dangerous tools. If his strength was insufficient, he might not be able to control it—and if it were exposed, the world could be thrown into chaos.
No one yet knew how powerful Uranus truly was. The Pluton legend said it could destroy an island in one strike, but even that was vague. It remained difficult to measure precisely.
Such force would likely rival that of a Yonko. If Uranus was on the same level, it wouldn't be any weaker.
Though it wasn't a power of one's own, there would surely be countless people vying for it.
Rosen had little faith in powers that weren't inherently his. But if these ancient weapons could be replicated—if, say, Pluton's blueprints still existed and enough resources were gathered—then building multiple copies might be possible.
That would truly shake the foundations of the world.
So Rosen had to be cautious. Besides, he wasn't in desperate need of external power right now.
Crackle… While Rosen and the others talked, sparks flew from the Guardian's body. It seemed its time had finally run out. After its head resealed, it wrote "Eternal Standby" on the ground—then stopped moving entirely.
"Is it dead?" Natalie asked, confused by the silent machine.
"It's probably reached its limit. It's been around too long, and we damaged it during battle," Rosen replied, unfazed. After all, it was still just a machine, albeit a very human-like one.
"If it's only in standby mode, then maybe with proper repair someday, it could recover."
"Let's store it in the warehouse for now. As for this—" Rosen handed the Eternal Log Pose back to Robin. He was worried it might get damaged if he kept it on him, given how often he fought. But Robin was much better at hiding things.
"Boss?" Robin was visibly surprised. She hadn't expected Rosen to entrust her with something this rare and valuable.
After all, it was a permanent pointer to Uranus—possibly leading straight to the weapon or its secrets.
And yet he handed it over so casually? She knew how hard he had worked to obtain Pluton once—how much time and money he had spent, even if he ultimately gave it up.
That alone showed how much he had once desired the power of the ancient weapons. But his recent power growth had been almost ridiculous. Maybe he no longer needed such things.
Still, the trust he placed in her meant even more.
"I'll keep it safe."
"Of course. I trust you."
"If there's nothing else, get ready to rest. Tonight hasn't been peaceful. To ensure we all get some sleep, Daz Bones, you and Sea Cow are on watch. We don't know what dangers lie ahead in the Sky Route—everyone, stay alert," Rosen ordered.
"Understood."
"Heave-ho." …
(End of Chapter)
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