Leaving

"So… the City of Gold really was blasted into the sky… instead of sinking to the bottom of the sea?" This thought flashed through the mind of Noland’s descendant, the captain of the salvage crew, like lightning. Then he saw the towering waves raised by the falling island crashing toward their ship.

"AAAAAHHH!"

After a round of screams, the entire ship broke apart. Fortunately, people in the One Piece World were all remarkably tough, and as members of a salvage crew, every one of them was an expert swimmer and diver. At least there were no casualties from the massive wave.

"What was that sound?" Yota frowned and looked over, immediately spotting the chestnut-haired uncle.

"This guy… he seemed to be Noland’s descendant, the one who had always wanted to dive down and salvage the City of Gold?" Seeing that unmistakable chestnut-shaped hair, Yota recalled a few more memories.

"Forget it. I should collect the gold first."

Watching the chestnut-haired uncle swimming frantically toward them with a fanatical expression, Yota had no interest in speaking with him. He simply spewed out a great deal of black mist, shrouding more than half of the City of Gold.

A moment later, as the black mist flowed back, most of the gold on the island had been drawn into his Dark Space.

However, Yota did not take everything. At the very least, he left the Golden Bell untouched. He also did not absorb the Shandora people’s own gold jewelry and other golden personal belongings into the Dark Space.

The Shandora people were not actually weak. After equipping themselves with large quantities of Sky Island dials, they had even become stronger than the pirates on Jaya Island. As long as an overwhelming amount of gold was not discovered, they could still protect their wealth.

The only uncertain matter was the Golden Bell. As Jaya Island’s greatest work of art and the Light of Shandora, it might attract Great Pirates the Shandora people could not handle. But it was practically their spiritual symbol, so Yota deliberately left it for them, lest they complain.

When Yota returned to his original form, he saw a large group of Shandora people, families in tow, who looked as though they were about to kneel before him. Their faces were filled with excitement.

Before they could speak, Yota said directly, "I helped you bring Jaya Island back down. I’ll take the gold on the island as payment. We’re even."

The previously excited Shandora residents looked at one another. Before Jaya Island had been blasted up to the Sky Island by the Knock-Up Stream, they had lived as isolated natives and had little understanding of gold. They only considered it a decent material, so no one felt particularly heartbroken over it.

Other than the Golden Bell, which symbolized the Light of Shandora, along with their own gold ornaments and personal possessions, they did not care much about things like golden halls and gold bricks.

"My lord, that gold cannot express our respect for you. If you are willing, why not join our banquet?"

In the Pirate World, banquets could be said to be the most universal form of celebration among all nations and races.

Ever since Yota came to the Pirate World, he had attended a banquet every few days. When he was with the Whitebeard Pirates or the Spade Pirates, there had practically been a banquet every day.

They won a battle? Well, let’s hold a banquet to celebrate. They lost a battle? Well, let’s hold a banquet to comfort ourselves.

They escaped Marine pursuit, so they held a banquet. They were not discovered by the Marines, so they also held a banquet. Their opponent had bad luck, so they held a banquet. They themselves had bad luck, and they still had to hold a banquet.

There were all kinds of pirates in this world. Some robbed and looted, some fought for justice, and some simply loved adventuring alone. But there had never been a pirate who disliked banquets.

Even a cool and aloof lone pirate like Hawkeye still had to drink a few cups whenever he met Red Hair.

Other than death or capture, no matter what happened, pirates responded with a banquet.

"Hahaha, I’m so happy! Sob… So the City of Gold really wasn’t a legend. My ancestor wasn’t a liar!" The chestnut-haired uncle, whom Yota now knew was named Montblanc Cricket, drank heavily as he wept with joy.

After Cricket revealed that he was Noland’s descendant and had been searching for the City of Gold all this time, the Shandora residents happily invited him to join the banquet as well.

Noland had been a great benefactor to the Shandora people. Even after being blasted up to the Sky Island, they had never forgotten their promise with him.

Yota took a light sip of the low-alcohol fruit wine, a smile appearing on his face.

Only in the Pirate World, where everyone’s nature was relatively straightforward, could a promise remain unforgotten for hundreds of years.

In the Naruto World, promises were little better than waste paper. Even things like armistice agreements could be torn up without a second thought.

Overall, the Naruto World might have had more order than the Pirate World. Aside from the Ninja World War, it generally maintained an ordinary social order.

Yet when it came to individual personalities, fickle, profit-driven ninjas had far more complicated minds than pirates, most of whom simply saw good as good and evil as evil.

Someone like Blackbeard could be considered the pinnacle of villainy in the Pirate World, but he probably would not even rank in the Naruto World. Pick any spy ninja at random, and their acting skills and patience would be no worse than his!

"So I still prefer the atmosphere of the Pirate World!"

The grand banquet lasted an entire day and night before finally coming to an end.

It was also because of this banquet that, before leaving, Yota gave the Shandora residents some protection. Using the Soul-Soul Fruit, he subdued a giant snake on the island known as the Lord of the Sky and turned it into a Homie.

The giant snake had not been weak to begin with. After becoming a Homie, both its strength and intelligence increased considerably. On top of that, Yota left the Spring Fruit to Shandora’s great warrior, greatly increasing his strength as well.

With the two of them together, Shandora’s strength was nearly on par with some pirates worth over a hundred million in bounty. With that level of strength, they could basically protect the City of Gold, even after most of its gold had been taken by Yota.

As Yota and the others’ Azure Dragon once again sailed through the waves, a clear, melodious ringing drifted over from behind them.

"So that’s the Golden Bell, the Light of Shandora? It really is pleasant to hear." Violet leaned against the railing on the deck, a smile on her face.

"Yes, it’s truly beautiful… Too bad it’s the lifeblood of those Shandora people." Charlotte Pudding clicked her tongue regretfully.