"Boss, Mr. Edward was your first 'crew member.'"
"Correct."
"Then where's your ship?"
"Foolish! Since when are ships such inconvenient things? What are you riding right now?"
"The Blue-Eyed White Dragon is great, but it's not a ship. Can it dive underwater?"
"Actually, it can. Besides, we're about to start 'diving' right now."
"Nani—gurgle gurgle—"
Amid Robin's startled cry, the Blue-Eyed White Dragon plunged headfirst into the seven-thousand-meter-high White Sea.
The endless Sea Clouds, like an infinite expanse of seawater, instantly silenced the rest of Robin's words in her mouth.
A little-known fact:
The "Sea Clouds" of Skypiea have the same suppressive effect on Devil Fruit users as the actual ocean.
A sensation of weakness invaded every corner of Robin's body, to the point where she could barely maintain her seated posture.
If not for a pair of Clay arms firmly gripping her legs,
she might have tumbled off the Blue-Eyed White Dragon's back, doomed to vanish into this boundless expanse of white Sea Clouds.
When the Blue-Eyed White Dragon broke through the dense White Sea,
Robin suddenly felt lighter. Eyes still closed, the first words she uttered were—
"Did I finally die...?"
"You were just a little short~"
Storm's voice reached Robin's ears at just the right moment.
The archaeologist abruptly opened her eyes, greeted by a vast sea of clouds.
Such a breathtaking natural spectacle could never belong to "hell."
"Boss."
"Hm?"
"You... never mind."
"Not so fast~"
"Huh?"
"The 'ocean' we just passed through is called the 'White Sea.' Now... see the Sea Clouds above us?"
"No—ah—gurgle gurgle—"
When the Blue-Eyed White Dragon pierced through the White-White Sea,
Robin, now thoroughly drenched in white Sea Clouds, looked as if she had endured some indescribable torment.
Completely drained, she lay flat on the dragon's back, lacking even the strength to stand up and retaliate against Storm.
"Boss."
"Hm."
"You... are a bit petty."
"Huh?"
"Are we going through another layer of Sea Clouds later?"
Robin asked with a hint of resignation.
"Will there be sixteen more layers after that?"
"What do you think this is? The Eighteen Hells?"
Storm walked over to Robin, looking down at the archaeologist sprawled on the dragon's back.
"Good news—we've already reached Skypiea, over ten thousand meters up.
"If we keep flying higher, we might end up on the moon.
"Tsk! Gotta say, from this angle, Robin...
"Your skin's a bit dark."
At Storm's final remark,
Robin summoned some inexplicable burst of energy, propping herself up to glare at him.
But the next second, she collapsed weakly back onto the Blue-Eyed White Dragon.
"Huff... huff... My body feels awful. The air's too thin up here."
"That's just because you're out of shape."
Storm shook his head, giving Robin some time to adjust to the high-altitude environment ten thousand meters above the ground.
"Rest for a while first."
The Blue-Eyed White Dragon leisurely flew forward, arriving above God's Island in no time.
The White Dragon soared over the lush forest and into the ruins of the golden city, Shandora.
During Enel's rule over Skypiea,
he had plundered vast amounts of gold from the ruins of Shandora to build the "Ark Maxim."
What should have been a dazzling, magnificent golden city now lay in ruins, a shadow of its former glory.
Storm gazed down from the Blue-Eyed White Dragon at the ancient ruins stripped of their gold, searching for his target.
A massive golden bell, nestled deep within the ruins, suddenly came into view.
There it was!
Storm steered the Blue-Eyed White Dragon toward the golden bell.
By the time they reached its vicinity,
Robin had mostly recovered.
She struggled to sit up, eager to take in the legendary sights of "Skypiea."
But when her eyes landed on the golden bell standing silently atop its pedestal directly ahead of the Blue-Eyed White Dragon,
Robin's eyes widened instantly.
It wasn't the golden bell, weathered by time, that caught her attention.
Beneath it lay a massive stone slab inscribed with strange, block-like characters!
"That's… the Ancient Historical Text!"
"Correct. This is the Ancient Historical Text."
Storm guided the Blue-Eyed White Dragon to land gently near the golden bell.
"Archaeologist, what was it you just called me?"
With the Ancient Historical Text right before her, Robin had to consider whether this might be her only chance in this lifetime.
Sticking to the principle of "seeking truth from facts," Robin looked at Storm and shamelessly flattered him without batting an eye.
"I said… you are the most generous! The most magnanimous boss in the world!"
"Not bad. Think of more compliments next time—I like hearing them."
Storm shrank the Blue-Eyed White Dragon, and the two of them stepped onto the ground.
Robin, ignoring her boss's new request, immediately sprinted toward the golden bell the moment they landed.
In the decade or so since escaping Ohara,
Robin had gone through countless hardships, yet she had only ever seen one piece of the Historical Text.
And that had been years ago…
After leaving the West Blue and entering the Grand Line,
Sand Crocodile, upon learning of her ability to decipher the Historical Text, had recruited her into his ranks.
But Crocodile had never provided Robin with the Ancient Historical Text…
According to Crocodile, there was undoubtedly a piece of the Historical Text hidden in Alabasta.
The royal family of Alabasta—the Nefertari lineage—had guarded that Historical Text for generations.
To obtain it, they had to proceed with caution, taking things step by step—
First, as one of the Royal Seven Warlords of the Sea, he would eliminate pirates and become Alabasta's hero;
At the same time, he would secretly incite chaos to overthrow the king;
Finally, using his status as a Warlord, he would seize the throne and become Alabasta's new ruler!
Robin had to admit that Sand Crocodile's "Operation Utopia" was meticulously planned.
However,
before this grand scheme could fully unfold…
the White Dragon had arrived…
Robin ultimately failed to witness with her own eyes the historical text that Sand Crocodile had spoken of, the one guarded for generations by the royal family of Alabasta.
She had thought she would miss this rare opportunity to encounter a historical text.
Yet unexpectedly, here in Skypiea, there existed such a golden bell!
And such an Ancient Historical Text!
With determined steps, Robin walked to the front of the golden bell.
Beneath its base lay a massive stone tablet, weathered by time.
This was the historical text!
Robin activated the power of the Flower-Flower Fruit, gently brushing away the thick moss covering the ancient inscriptions.
The Ancient Historical Text revealed its true form before her.
Recalling the method for reading the ancient script, Robin began deciphering the contents word by word.
"The ancient weapon bearing a god's name, the location of Poseidon..."
"Hidden in the deepest reaches of the sea, the Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters beneath the waves..."
The ancient weapon—Poseidon!
As she read the words inscribed on the Ancient Historical Text before her, Robin's pupils contracted sharply.
This historical text, located in Skypiea, actually contained crucial information about an ancient weapon!
And not just Pluton, the one Crocodile had desperately sought before.
This was another ancient weapon, one that also bore the title of a "god"—Poseidon!
Robin committed the information from the Ancient Historical Text firmly to memory.
At that moment, Storm's voice suddenly rang out beside her.
"So? Are you satisfied with this Ancient Historical Text?"
"Satisfied? Of course I am!"
Startled, Robin turned to look at Storm, who had appeared beside her without her noticing.
"Boss, is this why you brought me to Skypiea?"
"Correct."
Storm gazed at the Ancient Historical Text, oblivious to the subtle shift in Robin's expression.
The moment the word "correct" left Storm's lips, the light in Robin's eyes dimmed slightly.
So the White Dragon is just like Sand Crocodile... only interested in my Knowledge, in the legendary ancient weapons...
But Storm hadn't finished speaking. Still staring at the historical text, he continued, almost as if talking to himself.
"To be honest, I never originally planned to recruit you, Nico Robin."
"I don't care about this world's history either."
"Whether it's the 'Void Century,' the 'Great Kingdom,' the D Clan, or the 'ancient weapons'..."
"This history has no era. Every crooked page is scrawled with the words 'God saves mankind.'"
"The more you learn about it, the more it disgusts you."
"Between the lines of so-called ancient history, only two words are truly written—"
"Nika!"
By the time he spat out those last two words, Storm's voice was practically dripping with resentment.
Once, he had naively believed the saying that "the Pirate King is the freest man on the sea."
And what had that gotten him?
Hah.
Robin, standing beside him, was utterly stunned.
She knew her new boss was privy to many of the sea's secrets.
For instance, things she had never spoken of—like Crocodile's "little secrets" she had been quietly investigating all along.
For example... the unbelievable news about Jaguar D. Saul's survival that she had never heard before.
But even so...
The "Void Century," the "Ancient Kingdom," the "D Clan," the "Ancient Weapons"...
And even "Nika," a name she had never encountered before...
These ancient secrets.
Not just Robin.
Even the other archaeologists of Ohara back then hadn't researched to this extent!
Robin stared blankly at Storm.
Just who was the archaeologist here?
(End of chapter)