Half of the island had been carried high into the stratosphere by a violent, upward-surging stream of seawater, eventually becoming the legendary sky island known as Skypiea.
Along with that massive chunk of earth, the indigenous Shandia people, the unique flora and fauna of the jungle, and countless ritual artifacts and historical relics had all ascended into the White Sea.
Standing on the deck of his ship, Raleigh patted his head, carefully recalling the fragmented details of the past he held in his memory.
In ancient times, the complete Gaya Island had resembled a massive human skull floating upon the waves of the Grand Line.
It was a geographical marvel.
However, accompanied by a miraculous ocean current—a once-in-a-ten-thousand-years wonder of nature—the skull's cranium and face had been blasted into the sky.
The fragment left behind on the sea's surface, the part men now called "Jaya," consisted entirely of the skull's lower jaw and teeth.
The little boy standing before him watched Raleigh with eyes that had turned completely red.
He was a descendant of the cursed line, a child who had grown up in the shadow of a "liar."
He never expected that after four hundred long years, there would still be someone—especially a high-ranking Marine—who believed Mont Blanc Noland was not a fraud.
His already reddened eyes now streamed with complex tears of grief, relief, and newfound hope.
"Th-thank you for your trust, sir," the boy stammered, his voice thick with emotion. "Our ancestors would be overjoyed to know this. They died under the weight of that lie, still staring at the sea."
Four hundred years could change the very shape of the continents, but some things remained stubbornly unchanged even after four centuries.
Since Noland's public execution, the sole purpose of the Mont Blanc family's existence had been to persist in grueling archaeological research.
They lived as outcasts, refused to let such a glorious figure in their family history remain a laughingstock, and spent their lives diving into the dark depths of the ocean searching for a city that wasn't there.
Raleigh looked at the boy with a steady, encouraging gaze. "If you've recovered your strength, could you tell us the true story of your ancestor, Noland? I believe it must be an extraordinary tale. After all, in the formal written records of the World Government and the North Blue, many details were glossed over or turned into a fairy tale for children."
The little boy looked at Raleigh with a moved heart.
He stood up straight and respectfully bowed his head, his voice gaining a strength it didn't have before.
"Marine sir, thank you for recognizing our ancestor. It means more than I can say."
Then the boy raised his head, his expression becoming resolute, his eyes filled with deep, burning admiration as he began his narration.
"In his personal journals, my ancestor Mont Blanc Noland recorded that he crossed the treacherous Grand Line twice. To most sailors, the Grand Line is a graveyard full of unimaginable dangers, but in my ancestor's eyes, these were merely minor hardships encountered during a grander journey. He was a botanist, an explorer, and a warrior."
The Marines on the deck drew closer, forming a silent circle around the boy, captivated by the gravity of his words.
"During Noland's second voyage across the Grand Line, his fleet set sail at night to escape a rare and heavy storm. By a stroke of fate, they arrived at Gaya Island. To avoid further damage from the storm, Ancestor Noland secured his ship at the natural port and went ashore with his crew."
"It was at that exact moment that he encountered the Shandia tribe. They were in the midst of a dark ritual, preparing to sacrifice a young girl to a giant serpent to cure a plague that was rotting their people."
The boy clenched his fists. "Ancestor Noland was a man of science and compassion. He considered this an extremely foolish and ignorant practice. For the sake of that poor girl, he single-handedly stopped the sacrifice, defying the entire tribe. When the island's 'sacrificial deity' finally appeared, Noland did not flinch. He sliced through the great serpent, the one they called Kashigami, with a single, masterful stroke of his blade."
A collective gasp went up from the younger Marines. The boy continued, his voice rising in pride.
"Because Ancestor Noland saved the girl and killed their god, he was forced to confront Kalgara, the Shandia's strongest warrior and a man of terrifying power. Although Ancestor was eventually stabbed by Kalgara's spear while he was distracted protecting the girl, he didn't fail."
"Even while wounded, he worked tirelessly to find the medicinal herbs needed to cure the 'Tree Fever' plague. During a sudden earthquake, the earth split, and Noland was trapped between two shifting masses of land. To free himself and continue his mission, he actually used his raw strength to lift and shift part of the island's crust."
"Since Ancestor solved Gaya Island's plague and saved their people, the Shandia tribe eventually realized their error. They regarded him as their best friend, their 'Great Brother,' and following his advice, they abolished the practice of human sacrifice forever. After that, Noland stayed for a long time in Shandora, the most magnificent and spectacular city on Gaya."
"It was there that he saw the Golden Bell and the legendary gold artifacts. The rest of the story... the part about the King of Vira coming to find the gold and finding only empty sea... you already know."
The little boy told the story with such brilliance and passion that two hours passed before anyone noticed the sun had shifted in the sky.
Though the duration was long, the captivating nature of the tale made everyone unconsciously overlook the time, completely immersed in the vision of Noland's adventures.
Through the boy's narration, the image of a bold, helpful, sociable, and incredibly powerful man formed in every Marine's mind.
"My God, it's simply unbelievable!" one soldier exclaimed, wiping sweat from his brow.
"To have crossed the Grand Line twice four hundred years ago... that man was a monster of the seas," another added.
"I believe in Noland's deeds now. He definitely wasn't the 'Great Liar' from the North Blue rumors, but a truly remarkable hero who was betrayed by circumstance."
Raleigh didn't interrupt the soldiers' discussion, though a faint smile played on his lips.
Truth be told, while he respected Noland's legacy, his primary concerns were more pragmatic.
He knew that atop that missing half of the island sat the top-tier Logia-type Devil Fruit—the Goro Goro no Mi—and the future "God" Enel, whose innate Observation Haki was a prize beyond measure.
Raleigh wanted them all for his own ambitions.
However, after the brief moment of excitement, the boy's mood quickly sank again.
He looked down at the old, tattered sketches in his hand. "Even though we have these stories, and we have the gold artifact I found, it doesn't prove where Shandora went. The world will just say the gold was moved before we got here. We need more evidence to clear his name."
Hearing this, Raleigh's lips curved upward into a sharp, knowing smile.
"Reginald, bring me a nautical chart of Gaya Island immediately."
"Yes, Raleigh-sama!" Reginald barked, quickly fetching the required parchment and a pen, delivering them into Raleigh's hands with a crisp salute.
Raleigh spread the chart flat on the wooden table, the sea breeze fluttering the edges.
He pointed at the current, jagged depiction of Gaya Island.
"Look closely at this chart. What does the shape of Gaya Island look like to you in its current state?"
The boy paused, leaning over the table, his eyes tracing the coastline. He looked for a long time before saying uncertainly.
"Looking at the way the land hooks and the jagged rocks at the southern edge... I think it resembles human teeth. A lower jaw, maybe?"
Raleigh snapped his fingers, giving the boy an appreciative, sharp look.
"Good eye. You recognized it at first glance."
Then, taking the pen, Raleigh began to draw with a steady hand. He didn't just trace; he reconstructed.
As the pen moved across the paper, he added a massive, rounded cranium and a nasal cavity above the "teeth" of Gaya.
Within seconds, a well-defined human skull appeared on the map.
The boy's breath hitched. His heart hammered against his ribs.
"This... this is... Ancestor wrote in his notes that he saw the gold in the skull's right eye! He said the city was 'within the eye'!"
The boy shouted the words, his voice cracking.
For hundreds of years, the Mont Blanc family had been trying to decipher the secrets in Noland's writings as if they were cryptic riddles or metaphors.
But no one had ever considered that perhaps Noland's words weren't riddles at all.
The original reference points had simply been lost to the sky.
Putting down his pen, Raleigh pointed at the newly drawn skull's face.
"If many years ago, an unprecedented rising current—the Knock-Up Stream—appeared beneath Gaya, it is highly possible that the island was split. The skull's face flew up, while the jaw stayed down."
He looked up at the clear blue sky.
"This is why, after searching for four hundred years, no one could find the city of gold. It wasn't at the bottom of the ocean. It was above our heads the whole time."
Raleigh smirked.
If not for his memories of a past life, even he might have struggled to believe it.
But the City of Gold was waiting there, hidden in the clouds.
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