Chapter 471: Meeting the Poneglyph Again
The golden bell rang out, and the song of the earth spread from the sacred ground across the entire Skypiea.
The brilliant sound echoed in Ian's ears, but his heart was filled with emotion. He said to Enel, who stood beside him, "See? Even ordinary people have their persistence! Everyone has their own greatness!"
Enel said nothing. When he first saw the golden bell, his eyes had lit up, thinking of some way to get his hands on it. But as he watched Wyper strike the bell with such a life-risking intensity, he felt a sense of shock for reasons he couldn't explain.
The Shandians had been hiding on the fringes of Skypiea for so long. They fought against the Skypieans, against the Blue Sea people, and against Enel, the so-called god. Enel had never taken them seriously, dismissing them as nothing more than skulking rats. Whenever he detected them through his Mantra, he would casually strike them down with a bolt of lightning. He had never truly understood these Shandians.
Yet now, this very group of Shandians was ringing the song of the earth from the clouds above his palace...
If humans could achieve this, then he, the 'god,' could not. Enel's mood grew increasingly dejected.
It could be said that Ian's appearance had completely shattered Enel's illusion of being a 'god.'
"You neither kill me nor drive me away. What exactly do you intend for me to do?" Enel raised a hand to wipe the bruise at the corner of his mouth and asked Ian.
Ian looked Enel up and down, his gaze making Enel feel uneasy. After a moment, Ian said, "My pirate crew is missing a capable enforcer!"
Yes, Ian's positioning for Enel was that of an enforcer.
In Ian's pirate crew, the current high-end combat power was limited to Fujitora. But Fujitora was older than Ian and served as the first mate, diligently assisting Ian in managing the crew. He already had enough on his plate, so Ian couldn't always take him along to fight everywhere.
As for the other members of the Dragon Hunter Pirates—those slaves Ian had brought out of Mary Geoise—they weren't specifically trained for combat. Though many had considerable strength, their primary role was to ensure the crew's logistics. After all, one or two people couldn't operate a large ship. A vessel needed enough sailors to scrub the decks, move supplies, repair sails, and often gather intelligence. All of this required manpower.
A crew like the Straw Hat Pirates, where just a few people could sail across the sea, was truly blessed by fate...
So Ian had always felt he was missing a 'enforcer' who could follow him into battle at any time and play the role of the villain.
Originally, Ian had set his sights on Crocodile. But Crocodile had once been a Warlord of the Sea, equal in rank to Ian. With his pride, under normal circumstances, he would never join Ian's crew.
And as it turned out, Ian's guess was correct. Crocodile would rather go to prison than seek help from Ian, who was right there in Alabasta at the time...
Now, having been swept up by the Knock-Up Stream due to Luffy and the others' adventure and ending up in the Skypiea where Enel ruled, Ian felt that Enel might actually be a suitable candidate.
This guy was incredibly arrogant, but he had real strength. In simple terms, he could both taunt and fight—the perfect MT enforcer!
What made it even more interesting was that Ian's abilities completely countered Enel's! That was the best trump card. So Ian had decided from the start to bring Enel into his crew.
Of course, Ian also understood that if he allowed Enel to cause massive destruction on the island, Enel's villainous reputation would be cemented, and it might not look good for Ian to have him join the crew. Ian himself couldn't tolerate an irredeemable scumbag in his crew. That was why he had taken Enel down before he could use the Ark Maxim to unleash the Raigo.
This was actually reducing Enel's sins. However, the consequence was that the grand battle that should have taken place in Skypiea was thus averted.
Ian didn't know if this was good or bad. He guessed that without Enel as a formidable enemy, the residents of Skypiea wouldn't have a deep impression of the disaster. The process of reconciliation with the Shandians might also face many more obstacles.
But fortunately, Gan Fall was there. As the former ruler of Skypiea, Gan Fall had been working to eliminate the hatred between the two sides.
If a powerful figure could help them sit down and negotiate calmly, peace on the island might still come...
That was also why Ian had brought Wyper and the others to find the golden bell without any conditions or demands. The Shandians had been fighting for four hundred years to relight the flame of Shandora and fulfill the last wish of the Great Warrior Calgara. That pent-up frustration must have been unbearable. If they didn't let it out, they would continue to be extreme.
In Ian's view, compared to the original history where Luffy rang the golden bell, it was perhaps more fitting for the Shandians to ring it themselves...
Wyper rang the bell for a long time until he could no longer strike it. He knelt before the golden bell, weeping uncontrollably like the other Shandians.
"Ian, can I go treat him?" Chopper, held in Reiju's arms, couldn't bear to see Wyper's bloodied arms and turned to ask Ian.
Ian nodded. "Go ahead!"
Chopper jumped down from Reiju's arms and trotted over to Wyper's side to treat his arms. After venting his emotions, Wyper seemed to have lost his hostility toward the Straw Hat Pirates and didn't refuse Chopper's treatment.
At that moment, Ian noticed a gaze fixed on him. Turning his head, he saw Robin's hopeful eyes.
Ian smiled and said, "Go ahead. You're not mistaken. The base of the golden bell holds the Poneglyph. I told you I would take you to find them. Now is the time!"
Robin gave Ian a charming smile and walked toward the golden bell.
She had been drawn to the inscriptions on the base of the golden bell the moment she first saw it. For Robin, who had been tirelessly searching for the Poneglyphs, seeing those familiar characters before her filled her with immense excitement.
However, she hadn't known what Ian intended to do by bringing the Shandians here, so she had held back. Only now, after obtaining Ian's permission, did she eagerly approach.
As Robin reached the base, brushing aside the moss with her slender fingers to reveal the deeply carved characters on the massive stone, Wyper slumped his arms and murmured, "This... this is the Poneglyph? The stone tablet our ancestors swore to protect?"
"Yes!" A voice came from behind. Wyper turned and saw Ian approaching.
Ian stood behind Wyper, glanced at Robin, who was studying the Poneglyph, and said to Wyper, "Your mission is over. This companion of mine is the only historian who understands ancient text. She will pass on the contents of this stone tablet and the true history..."
Wyper looked at Robin's back in astonishment, hardly daring to believe it. Robin turned back and gave Ian a smile, as if thanking him for his trust.
After a while, Robin walked over to Ian and said, "This stone tablet records the location of the ancient weapon with the name of a god—Poseidon, the Sea King..."
Though she knew the stone tablet contained information about an ancient weapon, Robin did not hide it. She honestly told Ian, "If you want to know, I can tell you..."
Ian waved his hand. "No need. Keep it in your heart. If it ever becomes useful, tell me then!"
"Alright, Captain!" Robin smiled slightly, raising her hand to her forehead in a salute to Ian.
Just then, a Shandian guerrilla pointed to a spot beside the stone tablet and said, "There are the same characters carved here. Is this also a Poneglyph?"