Eldorado (3K)

Hidden Side Quest: Unfulfilled Promise

Quest Description: Marine Lieutenant Corey promised the young girl Cindy that he would bring reinforcements to rescue Skuld Island, but he died helplessly. His Ghost begs you to fulfill that promise in his stead.

Quest Objective: Liberate all of Skuld Island from the rule of God Enel.

Quest Reward: Based on completion rate, receive at minimum a C-rank Anomaly Point and 5,000 Dimensional Points.

Bai Cangshu had indeed heard that in certain places, unusual electromagnetic phenomena could produce observable events known as Ghosts.

But in the real world, such things were usually explained as images being electromagnetically recorded under an extreme coincidence of circumstances, then replayed under specific conditions, creating so-called Ghost phenomena.

Captain Corey, who had appeared before Bai Cangshu now, clearly did not belong to that category. He was not merely an image; he could communicate with him.

"First, tell me how you ended up like this."

The storm at sea was still raging. The massive tempest connecting sky and ocean seemed to have drawn a little closer to Skuld Island.

This sea region was probably close to the area in the original story where the Knock Up Stream occurred. The weather here was extremely violent.

Corey recalled the past.

"I was too arrogant. I thought that guy was a complete idiot, so I planned to use my identity as a Marine to pretend to cooperate with him, then find a chance to defeat him using Haki and Seastone, but…"

Corey clutched his head, his form growing blurry.

"I can’t remember…"

"When I woke up, my corpse was already in that giant snake’s stomach."

Bai Cangshu’s expression changed. This differed from his earlier guess. Could it be that the Lord of the Sky had not fought Enel after falling?

And how Corey had become a Ghost… there were likely more secrets hidden behind that.

In the One Piece World, there were not only things involving souls and the dead, such as the Soul-Soul Fruit and Yomi-Yomi Fruit, but also special spiritual entities like Ship Spirits.

The world itself probably allowed for the existence of spiritual beings.

Therefore, it could not be ruled out that Corey had become a Ghost after being killed because of his obsession. But that possibility was low. Countless people in the One Piece World died with lingering obsessions. If they could all become Ghosts, the Celestial Dragons would probably have long been surrounded by who knew how many of them.

"Celestial Dragons…"

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Bai Cangshu. He had thought of a plan that could ensure the outside world would direct both its attention and a great deal of force toward this island.

Crack!

Suddenly, another bolt of lightning fell from the sky. This time, it struck the distant outer sea. Bai Cangshu did not know what had drawn Enel’s attention again.

At that moment, his heart and breath gave a faint beat, perfectly synchronized with the thunderclap.

"I can agree to your request, but on one condition: you have to help me find a place."

After hearing Bai Cangshu’s words, the Ghost nodded. Then, together with the spreading fog, it vanished. Like the occasional weather phenomenon that appeared at sea, the fog swiftly swept across all of Skuld Island.

It rolled over the vast mountain ranges regarded as forbidden ground, over the anxious towns, and over the dilapidated harbor at the rear, littered with shipwrecks.

Bai Cangshu had actually more or less realized that the sunken merchant ship at the start was not merely background for the reincarnators to enter the scenario. It was also a hint.

Under Enel’s rule, this island had become a forbidden zone.

Nearby ships could be bombarded at any time.

That, in turn, replenished the island’s population, which was constantly dwindling due to lightning strikes.

Bai Cangshu looked at the dying but still-living Lord of the Sky and lowered his right hand. Since he had decided to oppose Enel, now was not the best time to kill this giant snake.

He still had a page of Please Don’t Die in his Backpack, capable of completely healing someone on the brink of death. At certain moments, this enormous python, massive as a mountain, could serve an additional purpose.

Following the fog, Bai Cangshu moved with light steps. Each time his foot touched down, his body seemed weightless as he leaped dozens of meters. Whether on treetops or tiny rocks, he could stand steadily, showing no sign of weighing over 170 kilograms.

Following the white mist that seemed to fill the entire island but gradually converged in one direction, Bai Cangshu quickly crossed the whole mountain range.

In the valley, he saw collapsed ruins and gleaming golden structures.

Eldorado…

Enel saw himself as a god. He did not care for wealth, but he was accustomed to linking his powers with gold, using intense heat to smelt and shape it, and using gold as a weapon that could change however he wished.

He had even used enormous amounts of gold to build a pure golden ark.

But gold itself represented immense wealth, and at the same time… disaster.

Bai Cangshu silently entered the valley.

You have come into contact with Special Construct: Eldorado (Purple).

When you have held complete control over Eldorado for more than 7 days, the space will determine that you have obtained ownership of Eldorado. You will then gain control over Special Construct: Eldorado.

Current Ownership: 0%

Bai Cangshu’s ears twitched. He clearly heard the footsteps of a large patrol force. They were probably the so-called God’s Guard.

These people were not particularly strong, but making a move here could very likely draw the attention of the priests and Enel.

Bai Cangshu drifted like a phantom, gliding over the patrol’s heads. Then, beside a collapsed golden building, he picked up two gold bricks.

Broken Gold Brick

Quality: White

Description: A product of the Eldorado ruins, gold of extremely high purity.

Effect: Possesses considerable trade value.

Note: This item contains insufficient informational content and cannot be taken out of this world.

Bai Cangshu weighed them in his hand, then leaped into the air and glided away like an eagle.

Inside the filthy sewers, Olgins and the others no longer had their earlier ease and leisure.

Priest Shura’s appearance had once again made them aware of the danger.

"Although that dangerous guy took Shura’s corpse away, the fact that Shura noticed this place means someone has already become suspicious."

Leo analyzed the situation calmly.

Old Hank clutched his shoulder. With no medicine available and the environment being so filthy, his wound had begun to show signs of infection. And now, he could no longer expect the little girl to steal medicine.

"The little girl has probably been watched because she keeps stealing from the market."

Having once lived by petty theft himself, he understood the unspoken rules of towns very well.

The ones watching the little girl were most likely not the vegetable sellers, but other groups of pickpockets in town.

Those people had quieted down after Old Hank’s group was destroyed. But as time passed, they had begun stirring again.

Especially since the little girl was not very skilled. Most of the time, she could only steal food because the older women deliberately turned a blind eye. Once those people saw that, they naturally became active again.

And they had pushed the little girl out as a target.

Olgins’s eyes darkened, his gaze fixed on the distant sewer entrance. The big-nosed Marine appeared there, looking at them as he spoke.

"Shura is dead. This place can’t stay hidden for much longer. When the little girl comes next time, Olgins, take her and leave. Find another place to hide."

His body was hunched, and there was little life in his eyes, but Leo and Barnaby both rose and saluted him.

The man was named Lucido, a Marine branch major. Corey had been his subordinate.

That day, he had received Corey’s final communication. But when he reached the target waters, all he saw was a sunken warship and the entire squad dead.

Corey, the Marine elite who had once gone to Marine Headquarters for special training, had not even left behind a corpse.

At first, Lucido thought Corey had survived. After sending a request for reinforcements to his superiors, he led people into the area.

But in the end, at that forbidden place, he only saw the roaring Corey swallowed alive by a giant snake, never making another sound.

While all the other squad members opened fire on the giant snake and the man radiating lightning in the sky, Lucido had been terrified. He chose to turn and flee.

Because of that, he escaped the lightning strike that descended from the sky.

With that single strike, within a radius of hundreds of meters, nothing remained but the charred stench.

The scorched smell of human flesh. The foul odor of the air.

Everything had been blasted apart.

Because he had not fled far enough, the terrifying voltage pierced his body, leaving him with muscle spasms ever since. He could no longer grip his gun tightly enough to aim.

Lucido looked up and saw that the man standing in the air had not even glanced at him. The man had not attacked him. He had merely casually struck the area with the most people.

Those elite soldiers who had served in the Marines for nearly ten years, those old comrades who had fought side by side with him and battled Bounty Criminals more than once, had all turned to charcoal together, without even leaving behind a final word.

That feeling left Lucido unable to stop trembling.

His confidence had been completely destroyed.

There were too many monsters on the sea. It was not a stage where someone like him could run wild. For the first time in his life, he understood that with absolute clarity.

But today, he had watched that man casually punch the equally formidable Priest Shura to death.

From the nearly undisguised, indifferent killing intent of that person, Lucido had strangely found a sense of balance.

Those monsters did not care about the lives of people like them.

But other monsters did not care about their lives either.

Only monsters could fight monsters. Only one kind of indifference could oppose another.

"Listen, Leo, Barnaby. I want you to risk your lives with me for one final effort."

"I want the two of you, together with me, to use Den Den Mushi tonight and send out contact signals from three different locations at the same time."

"Whether we falsify military intelligence or cry and beg them, we need reinforcements!"

"Special Operations Member Cindy will wait for the reinforcements."