Olga turned her head just enough to steal a glance at her father. She saw him happily leading the strangers deeper into the tunnels without even sparing her a moment of comfort. Her resentment only deepened.
But she had no choice. Golden Lion Shiki carried her like a sack of potatoes into the laboratory, and there was no escape even if she wanted to.
Myskina Acier busied himself with disabling traps as they walked, carefully guiding Brook and the others toward the depths of his lab.
The instant Brook laid eyes on the Pure Gold, he strode forward with uncharacteristic haste. He lifted the oval-shaped lump sealed inside a transparent glass container. The special solution surrounding it kept its dazzling brilliance suppressed, preventing the room from being bathed in blinding light.
"Magnificent," Brook murmured. The Pure Gold glowed faintly in his hands. "With this much, hundreds of rings like the one Olga wore could be crafted."
Charlotte Linlin leaned forward, her eyes wide with greed. "Brother Brook, if we each had one of those rings… would we truly stay young forever?"
"I believe in Brother Brook!" Stussy added, her voice laced with hunger. Even with her techniques to maintain her beauty, the thought of unending youth was irresistible.
"Jihahahah!" Golden Lion Shiki's laugh cracked into madness. "With immortality, the world will fall into our hands! The World Government will crumble before us!"
Even Redfield and Newgate couldn't hide their interest. Eternal youth was a treasure that could tempt anyone, even the strongest.
Brook turned the glass vessel in his hand, his tone calm yet sharp. "Pure Gold can indeed grant youth and long life… but Vegapunk will need to study it. Nothing in this world is perfect. From what Acier has told me, Pure Gold slows the body's time itself, preserving it. But if that's true… then what of our strength? Would our growth stagnate as well?"
His gaze darkened. "If its light truly freezes our progress, then we must first reach the peak before using it. Otherwise, immortality would be nothing but a gilded cage."
The crew exchanged glances. They were still young, their power climbing by the day. None of them wanted their rise to be cut short.
"No problem," one of them said firmly. "Strength comes first. Without it, we can't protect the Pure Gold anyway!"
"Good." Brook nodded. "For now, Shiki, take the lab. Float it back to our territory—and if possible, retrieve the Lantern Fish's corpse as well. It will feed Hell Island for years."
"Hahaha! Leave it to me!" Shiki roared, already plotting how to haul such a monstrous prize.
Brook turned to the ship's doctor. "Crocus, treat this girl. Cure her Emperor Fever. She won't need the Pure Gold ring anymore. Let her live as a child should."
Crocus didn't hesitate. With medicine and his Healing Fruit, he drove away the disease that had shackled Olga's life.
Her small hands trembled as she tugged off the ring and held it out to Brook. "Can I really… grow up? Can I really leave this place?" Her eyes shone with tears of hope.
"Of course." Brook's tone softened. "You will live on Sky Island from now on. Eat well, laugh freely, and grow as you were meant to."
Olga's joy overflowed as she dreamed of food and sunlight outside the Lantern Fish's belly.
Brook pocketed the Pure Gold ring, its light still sharp enough to draw every eye in the room. He also stripped the ring from Acier's finger. The man had enjoyed its blessing for too long. Until he proved his worth, the treasure would stay in Brook's keeping.
Only the Hell Pirates' core members—or those who made legendary contributions—would earn the right to wear Pure Gold and claim immortality.
With the prize secured, Brook led his crew out of the Lantern Fish's stomach. The rest was left to Shiki.
---
On Golden Island, Charlotte Linlin and Stussy handled the Pure Gold like children with a forbidden toy, marveling at the ease of their triumph.
"Even the Celestial Dragons don't have such treasures," Linlin whispered greedily.
"Only by following Brother Brook do dreams come true," Stussy added.
To them, Brook wasn't just a captain. He was a god.
"Brother Brook," Redfield asked, his tone measured, "do you think the Five Elders—or that shadowy figure, Im—already possess Pure Gold rings?"
"I can't say," Brook replied thoughtfully. "Pure Gold isn't the only path to eternity. The Operation Fruit, for example, can grant eternal youth through surgery. There may also be a Life Fruit or some other ability that stretches existence."
Stussy leaned in closer, her eyes burning. "Brother Brook… tell us more. Do you know of any other ways to live forever?"
Brook's gaze turned toward her, and a faint chuckle rattled in his chest. "Yohoho… perhaps. One, as I said, is the Operation Fruit. Another is only a legend: the bones of the Millennium Dragon. They say those bones can extend life by centuries."
Stussy clung to his arm, feigning innocence. "Then tell us where to find them, Brother Brook~"
Linlin slammed her massive hand down, shaking the island. "Then we'll hunt them both—the Operation Fruit and the Millennium Dragon! I'll raise a whole flock of them!"
Brook allowed himself a knowing smile. "The Millennium Dragon roosts on Warship Island, in the East Blue. If fortune favors us, we may even find its eggs."
The crew's laughter rolled across the island like thunder, the promise of immortality burning in their eyes.
----------
The Hell Pirates' hunt for the giant island-eating Lantern Fish in the waters of Alchemi Island stirred old memories among the world's powers. Whispers spread quickly.
Could it be that Brook and his crew had seized the legendary Pure Gold, the treasure said to grant immortality?
While speculation grew, the massive Lantern Fish was already hauled back to Doragonzo Island under the flag of the Hell Pirates. Its enormous lanterns were carved apart by Brook himself and delivered to Ballon Island, where Vegapunk prepared to extract every trace of Pure Gold hidden within.
Perhaps there would be a surprise in how much could be purified.
Vegapunk also studied the Pure Gold ring Brook had brought, dissecting both its functions and its flaws. Myskina Acier was placed under his command, tasked with assisting the research. Could they rediscover the method to create Pure Gold?
But secrets of that scale never stayed buried for long. The Hell Pirates' flying fleet was impossible to ignore, their every move tracked by spies. The raid on Alchemi Island had been witnessed not just by rival powers but by ordinary islanders. It was only a matter of time before rumors flared.
Soon, intelligence agents from across the seas converged on Doragonzo and Ballon Island, each desperate to confirm whether Pure Gold had truly resurfaced.
None were more stirred than the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Upon hearing even fragments of the tale, they dispatched waves of CP agents to infiltrate Brook's domain.
---
Red Line, Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle
Inside a towering, opulent hall, the heads of several Celestial Dragon families gathered. They wore lavish clothes and their hairstyles rose proudly toward the ceiling. Unlike the lesser nobles, they did not even bother with the transparent bubble hoods.
"Everyone here knows the legend of Pure Gold," declared the patriarch of the Charles family, his voice trembling with excitement. "We have wealth, we have power. What we lack is eternity. Only immortality escapes us."
Even they, the so-called gods of the world, could not escape the cycle of life and death.
"Over the years, Lord Im has only extended the lives of the Five Elders," another patriarch muttered bitterly. "But we—generation after generation—still wither like ordinary mortals."
"Hehe… and the Hell Pirates," another said, venom in his tone, "are enemies of the Ross family. One of our precious descendants was slaughtered by those filthy pirates. A humiliation!"
"Then buying Pure Gold from Brook outright may not be possible," the head of the Feigalan family suggested. "If money could solve it, we would pay any price. But the Hell Pirates are too strong now, even the Marines suffered defeat against them."
The patriarch of the Ross family slammed a fist on the table. "Bah! We do not even know if Pure Gold truly exists in their hands, and already you talk of buying it? Better we kill Brook and take it all for ourselves!"
The words sparked fury across the chamber.
In ages past, the Celestial Dragons would have already moved to claim such a prize, no matter who held it. Their pawns in the underworld were already stirring, ready to strike if Pure Gold surfaced.
"Hahaha! Ross, your family has no claim here. If Brook won't sell to you, perhaps he will sell to us. At worst, I'll trade him two top-tier Devil Fruits. For immortality, who would refuse such a bargain?"
The hall erupted with murmurs. To them, Devil Fruits were trinkets compared to the chance to live forever.
"Or," Ross spat through clenched teeth, "we unleash the National Treasure itself and obliterate the Hell Pirates. If I cannot have Pure Gold, then no one will!"
"You fool!" another leader barked. "Would you destroy the Pure Gold as well? And do you provide all the keys to the National Treasure by yourself? Hehe…"
"Calm yourselves!" an ancient Celestial Dragon wheezed, his frail hands trembling. His time was nearly up, and the hope of Pure Gold was his last thread. "If it truly exists, I will never forgive anyone who dares destroy it. The Ope Ope no Mi has not appeared in centuries. I cannot wait that long!"
The chamber filled with warnings and threats, most of them directed at the Ross patriarch. Even alliances meant nothing compared to the lure of eternity. If Brook truly possessed Pure Gold, they would betray one another without hesitation to seize it.
The Ross patriarch stormed out in fury, his cloak whipping behind him.
"Humph, that old fool still thinks he can defy us," one sneered. "His spies are already ours. Useless!"
"Indeed. I even had my eye on that CP0 candidate from the Ice Witch clan," another complained. "But instead of coming to us, she was given away to the Hell Pirates. An asset of that level, wasted!"
The decrepit elder raised a hand. "Enough. This council is over. First confirm whether Brook has Pure Gold. Once it is certain, then act. By coin, by trade, or by blood—we will claim it."
The families dispersed, each rushing to contact spies in the New World, particularly their allies in the underground dark world.
Elsewhere, other long-standing forces scoured their ancient records of Alchemi Island. Only families with deep histories even knew the name Pure Gold. The younger powers remained ignorant, blind to the storm about to break.
---
Information from across the seas reached Brook's ears through Moore Thomas.
"So, the news is out," Brook murmured, his tone heavy. "I had hoped to profit quietly. But now, the whole world is staring."
It was proof enough of how much weight immortality carried in the eyes of the old powers.
"The best way to divert their gaze…" Brook's eyes narrowed, his voice dropping to a whisper. "…is to start a war. Rocks, are you ready to strike at the Navy… and God Valley?"
Brook's laugh echoed faintly, sharp as steel. "If you won't move quickly enough, perhaps I should add the spark myself."
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