"So... Golden City was really washed up into the sky instead of sinking to the bottom of the sea?" Mont Blanc Cricket, a descendant of Noland, had this thought flash through his mind as he stared at the massive waves created by the falling island, rushing toward their ships.
"Ahhhhhh!"
With a chorus of screams, the entire ship was torn apart. Fortunately, in the world of One Piece, people are built tough. They were all skilled swimmers and divers, so despite the monstrous waves, no casualties occurred.
"What was that sound?" Shin frowned, turning to look just in time to see a man with chestnut-colored hair.
"That guy... he looks like Noland's descendant, the one who's always trying to find the Golden City?" Recognizing the distinctive hairstyle, Shin recalled some vague memories.
"Forget it, let's collect the gold first."
The chestnut-haired man was frantically swimming, his face filled with fanaticism. Shin had no intention of engaging with him. Instead, he exhaled a vast amount of black mist, covering most of Golden City.
After a while, as the dark mist retracted, most of the gold from the island had been absorbed into his dark dimension.
However, Shin left certain things untouched. The golden bell remained in place, and he refrained from taking the personal gold ornaments and jewelry of the Shandora people.
The Shandora warriors were not weak. After equipping themselves with various shellfish from Skypiea, their strength had already surpassed that of the pirates on Jaya Island. As long as the bulk of the gold went unnoticed, they would be able to defend their remaining wealth.
The only uncertain factor was the golden bell, the most revered artifact on Upper Yard and the symbol of Shandora's spirit. Shin intentionally left it behind to avoid unnecessary conflict.
When Shin reverted to his original form, he saw a large group of Shandora people gathered before him, their families in tow. Many were on the verge of kneeling, their faces filled with emotion.
Before they could speak, Shin addressed them directly. "I have helped you move the island back down. In exchange, I'll take the gold on the island as my reward. That way, we'll be even."
The excited Shandora residents exchanged glances. Before Golden City had been propelled into the sky by the knock-up stream, Shandora had been an isolated nation. They knew little about gold's actual value and regarded it simply as a useful material. Thus, they felt no great loss.
Except for the golden bell, which symbolized Shandora's legacy, and their personal gold ornaments, they had no attachment to the golden buildings and bricks.
"My lord, that gold alone cannot express our gratitude! If you are willing, please join us for a banquet!"
In the world of pirates, banquets were the universal way to celebrate.
Since arriving in this world, Shin had attended more feasts than he could count. With the Whitebeard Pirates or the Spade Pirates, banquets were practically a daily occurrence.
They won a battle? Time for a feast. They lost? Have a banquet to lift spirits. They escaped the Navy? Banquet. An enemy suffered misfortune? Celebrate with a feast. Even their own bad luck warranted a banquet.
Pirates came in many forms—some were thieves, some were chivalrous, and others sought adventure alone—but there had never been a pirate who didn't enjoy a banquet.
Even an aloof lone pirate like Mihawk would drink a few rounds when he ran into Red-Haired Shanks.
Aside from death, capture, or tragedy, a pirate's response to any situation was always a banquet.
"Hahaha! I'm so happy! Boohoo! The Golden City is real! My ancestor wasn't a liar!" The chestnut-haired man—whom Shin now remembered was Mont Blanc Cricket—was drinking and sobbing with joy.
After Cricket revealed his lineage and his lifelong quest to find the Golden City, the Shandora people enthusiastically invited him to the banquet.
Noland had once been Shandora's great benefactor. Even after their island was flung into the sky, they never forgot their promise to him.
Shin took a sip of the fruit wine, a faint smile forming on his lips.
'Only in the world of pirates—a world where people are relatively straightforward—could a promise last for centuries.'
In contrast, in the Naruto world, promises were as flimsy as scrap paper. Even treaties were torn apart on a whim.
Overall, the Naruto world had more structure—outside of the occasional ninja world war, society maintained a semblance of order. But on an individual level, ninjas were fickle and pragmatic. Compared to the clear-cut morality of most pirates, the complexity of ninja politics was exhausting.
A schemer like Blackbeard, who was the epitome of villainy in the pirate world, wouldn't even stand out in the Naruto world. The average spy ninja had better acting skills and more patience than him.
'Yeah, I definitely prefer this world's atmosphere.'
The grand banquet lasted an entire day and night before finally concluding.
Thanks to the celebration, Shin decided to offer the Shandora people some extra security before leaving. Using the enhanced Soul Fruit, he tamed a giant python known as the Lord of the Sky, transforming it into a Homie.
The python was already formidable, and after its transformation, both its strength and intelligence grew significantly. Additionally, Shin gave a devil fruit to the strongest warrior of Shandora, further bolstering their defenses.
Together, the two provided Shandora with enough power to rival pirate crews with bounties in the hundreds of millions. With this newfound strength, they could protect the remnants of the Golden Land that Shin had left behind.
As Shin and his crew set sail aboard the Azure Dragon, riding the waves once more, a deep, resonant sound echoed from behind them.
"Is that the golden bell? The light of Shandora? It's beautiful," Violet murmured, leaning on the deck railing with a smile.
"Yeah, it's really something..." Charlotte Pudding sighed wistfully. "It's unfortunate we could not take it since that object is considered their national treasure."
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