"Seventy percent of the gold in Shandora was plundered by Enel, who ordered his priests to collect it and store it in his temple.
Another ten percent consists of various golden artifacts, which were swallowed by the Lord of the Sky, Noland.
And the remaining twenty percent is basically all here."
Wiper pointed to a golden pillar lying horizontally on the ground in front of them, explaining to Rorschach and the others.
"This... is this a solid golden pillar?" Law's eyeballs almost popped out of his sockets.
Hibari, Bepo, and the others were all dumbfounded.
Every Marine soldier stood with their mouths agape like hippos, their jaws almost dislocated, staring wide-eyed at the colossal golden pillar lying on the ground before them, resembling a massive city wall.
Even Rorschach was startled by this enormous golden pillar.
Although he had mentally prepared himself, he still couldn't quite maintain his composure, his mouth twitching wildly.
Pamela rubbed her head, measured herself against the golden pillar, and muttered in a muffled voice, "This pillar's diameter is as tall as I am! It's truly astonishing."
More than astonishing.
As a giant, Pamela, though not yet fully mature, already stood over ten meters tall!
This meant that the diameter of the colossal golden pillar before them was nearly ten meters.
And its length was close to fifty meters!
A golden pillar with a diameter of ten meters and a length of fifty meters, if calculated as solid gold, would be 3,925 cubic meters of gold.
The density of gold is 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter.
One cubic meter of gold weighs 19.32 tons.
In other words...
"This golden pillar weighs 75,900 tons?"
Rorschach vigorously rubbed his face, loosening his somewhat stiff facial muscles.
Seventy thousand tons of gold!
How many Berries would that be worth?
Although gold in this world might not be exceptionally valuable due to abundant gold mine resources.
But even if one ton of gold sells for 100 million Berries, this pillar alone would be worth seven trillion Berries.
And this was only a small portion of all the gold in Shandora, the Golden City.
Didn't Wiper say it?
That Enel guy plundered most of the gold and hid it in his temple.
"We're rich... we're rich!" Bepo's eyes were filled with golden light, and he let out a strange cry, leaping up from the ground and jumping onto the colossal golden pillar, lying on it with a idiotic grin.
After a moment of surprise, Hibari helplessly said, "How are we going to take such a huge golden pillar back?"
Law also thought of this problem.
Just the weight of this pillar alone was seventy to eighty thousand tons.
Such a weight, even for Rorschach...
Rumble!
The ground trembled violently, and Bepo, who was lying on the golden pillar, was bounced up by the shaking.
"Whoa! What's happening? An earthquake?" Bepo shrieked, using Moonwalk to dart to Law's side, only to see everyone present staring straight ahead.
Bepo also turned his head and saw Rorschach at one end of the golden pillar, extending both arms to support its base, slowly lifting this enormous golden pillar, which was partially submerged in the ground.
He hadn't even transformed.
The terrifying power within him, like a rampaging volcano, made Rorschach feel an urge to roar like a beast.
A golden pillar weighing tens of thousands of tons, a heavy object that countless people together could barely lift, was now being lifted at one end by his two arms, pulled from the ground.
Rorschach remembered that in the manga, during the Marineford War, Diamond Jozu threw a solid ice block, seventy or eighty meters in diameter, hundreds of meters, slamming it towards the execution platform.
And later, there was even the absurd Strength-Strength Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, which allowed Burgess to single-handedly lift a mountain.
In this world, the superhuman strength of powerful individuals cannot be judged by common sense.
At least at this moment, Rorschach felt that if he transformed into his Azure Kirin form, he could easily lift this seventy or eighty thousand-ton golden pillar.
And it would be very easy.
Boom!
With a world-shaking tremor, the lifted golden pillar was slowly lowered by Rorschach.
He had no intention of moving this thing back now.
Firstly, it was too conspicuous; suddenly having too much money was not good for the Marines.
The Marines, at the end of the day, still served the World Government and had not fundamentally changed.
Secondly, it was indeed inconvenient to transport.
He could carry this pillar, but that didn't mean he could fly with it.
Ignoring Wiper and the others, who were stunned by his power, Rorschach asked Hibari to get the Den Den Mushi. He then walked to a corner and dialed Akainu's Den Den Mushi.
Rorschach had absolute trust in Akainu.
Therefore, he decided to entrust the difficult problem of how to handle the massive amount of gold in Skypiea to Akainu.
"Buru buru."
"Buru buru."
The Den Den Mushi rang a few times and was then answered.
The sound coming from the Den Den Mushi was Akainu's consistently deep voice.
"What is it?"
Looking at Akainu's serious and rigid face simulated by the Den Den Mushi, Rorschach felt an unusual sense of familiarity.
He immediately smiled and said, "Uncle Sakazuki, it's me, Rorschach. Are you in the New World now? I heard from Fleet Admiral Sengoku that Whitebeard and Kaido started fighting over there. How is the situation there now? Are Admiral Kizaru and Admiral Aokiji also with you?"
"The conflict has ended, and the situation in the New World has stabilized again. Borsalino and Kuzan have returned to Marineford, I'm still in the New World."
Akainu summarized the situation in the New World in a few words.
"Is that so? Then... what about Shiryu? Is he your subordinate now? How strong is he? Is he obedient?"
Rorschach then remembered Shiryu, whom he had recommended to Akainu in Impel Down.
More than a month had passed, and he wondered if that arrogant Shiryu had been disciplined by Akainu.
"Just get straight to the point. I don't have time to chat with you."
Akainu snorted displeasedly.
"Uh..." Rorschach's smile stiffened, and he couldn't help but smile wryly to himself. Akainu was still the same.
"It's like this, Uncle Sakazuki, I'm in Skypiea now. Do you know Skypiea? It's ten thousand meters above Mock Town..."
New World, G-1 Branch Island, by the sea.
Akainu, wearing sharkskin shorts, his scarred upper body exposed, sat on a capsized, dilapidated hundred-meter-class warship on the beach, holding a Den Den Mushi in one hand.
Two Sea Prism Stone chains were prominently shackled to his wrists.
Sweat drenched his rock-carved, stern face, and his cold, indifferent eyes now unexpectedly showed a hint of unknown emotional fluctuation.
From the Den Den Mushi he held, Rorschach's cheerful narrative echoed.
"...After we dealt with things here in Mock Town, we took the Knock Up Stream to Skypiea, ten thousand meters up.
Don't worry, there's no danger. With my current abilities, even without the help of the Knock Up Stream, I can control the Fenglei Kirin, built in Water 7, and fly freely in the sky."
"Uncle Sakazuki, have you been to Skypiea? The scenery here is truly magnificent. There are Shandians, Angel people, and all sorts of strange, giant creatures. You really should come and see it sometime. Oh, by the way, do you know what I have with me now?"
"Gold! Lots of it, definitely more gold than you can imagine, Uncle! It's the gold from Shandora, the Golden City, mentioned by Noland, the adventurer from North Blue.
Just this golden pillar next to me probably weighs no less than seventy or eighty thousand tons. How much do you think that's worth?
And this is only a small portion of the total gold here in Skypiea.
Uncle Sakazuki, what do you think we should do with this gold?
Oh, if you want to transport this gold back, I suggest you find some ability users with storage space. That would be much more convenient.
There's a bounty hunter named Ichiro Morishita in Spring Queen Town who has a Zipper-Zipper Fruit ability, allowing him to store many things. You can just mention my name to Jonathan, the Hunter Guild Master, when you get there."
Akainu didn't interrupt throughout, just listening to Rorschach's narration.
It wasn't until Rorschach told him that Hibari had eaten a Cloud-Cloud Fruit (Logia type) in Skypiea, and that he had also captured Enel, who possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability, that Akainu's expression finally showed some emotion.
"Good, that Rumble-Rumble Fruit user must be brought back to headquarters."
Akainu, sitting on the dilapidated warship, curved his lips into a slight smile, his voice deep. "How's your strength now? Are there any difficulties in your training?"
"My strength has improved a bit compared to when I was at headquarters, but not by a lot; I'm still far from being an Admiral. As for difficulties in training, it's still my Armament Haki; it hasn't been able to break through to the advanced level. Do you have any good suggestions, Uncle Sakazuki?"
Rorschach's voice came from the Den Den Mushi, causing Akainu's eyes to shift slightly.
Rorschach's Armament Haki was very unique, different from the Armament Haki of the Admirals.
Although Akainu's Armament Haki was also very strong, it was still far inferior to Rorschach's vast, ocean-like Haki reserves.
Akainu frowned, carefully considering Rorschach's question, before finally giving his reply.
"Your Haki is exactly like Douglas Bullet's. If you want to break through to the advanced level, there's probably only one way: follow the path Bullet took back then."
"The path Douglas Bullet took back then?" Rorschach was startled.
"It means constantly challenging stronger opponents, those who are stronger than yourself, and not like that good-for-nothing Shiryu, slaughtering defenseless weaklings."
Akainu's voice was deep and powerful, resonating as if from within his chest, exerting immense psychological pressure even through the Den Den Mushi.
"Furthermore, you must challenge those who will kill you. Not like in Marineford, where you seemingly fought and battled against high-ranking forces every day, but in reality, you already knew that Borsalino and the others would never kill you."
Rorschach remained silent, listening intently.
"Remember, the battles in Marineford were merely training, not life-or-death struggles. If they were life-or-death struggles, you would have died dozens of times already. To break through your limits, you must constantly challenge them, approach death, challenge death, and overcome death!"
"When your assessment mission is over, come to the New World and be my subordinate. You don't need to worry about the Skypiea gold; I'll find time to handle it. All right, pass the Den Den Mushi to Hibari."
After handing the Den Den Mushi to Hibari, Rorschach fell into contemplation.
Akainu never said much to him.
But each time, Rorschach gained a lot.
Akainu was right.
The training in Marineford, fighting and battling against the strongest combatants in Marine Headquarters every day, seemed thrilling and grand.
In reality, he wasn't in any life-threatening danger.
Among all the high-ranking officers at Headquarters, only battles with Akainu made Rorschach feel that if he didn't go all out and push his limits, he would die from terrifying magma piercing his heart.
As for the others—Kizaru, Aokiji, Zephyr, Sengoku—their fights with Rorschach weren't even as fierce as Garp's.
Kizaru and Aokiji were too lazy to fight hard.
Zephyr and Sengoku taught him as they fought.
And Garp, being a battle maniac, would go all out in a fight, leaving Rorschach lying on the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
After leaving Marineford, Rorschach also experienced a few all-out battles.
But they were just "all-out."
There wasn't that sense of crisis where he would die if he didn't win.
Chinaje and Gulliver, though strong, didn't pose much of a threat to him.
On the other hand, the imprisoned Bullet still left a deep impression on Rorschach.
That utterly wild domineering presence, that bloodthirsty and explosive aura, always gave Rorschach the illusion that even Impel Down's Sea Prism Stone cells could hardly contain that man's violence.
In a place like Paradise, it's not easy to find a powerful individual who harbors murderous intent towards Rorschach and is stronger than him.
The whereabouts unknown Hawkeye could be one.
Issho is strong, but he probably wouldn't try to kill him.
Dragon could certainly kill him, but who knows where he is.
As for the peak powerhouses in the New World, Rorschach didn't consider them.
Are you kidding? Would Kaido come to a rundown place like Paradise to find him?
Seeing a group of Marine soldiers, led by Wiper, flocking to the golden pillar to collect some fragmented golden objects, Rorschach immediately instructed Law to stay and watch the Killion.
He also asked Gan Fall to have the Angel Race artisans bring a sufficient number of wind-dial shells to embed in the lower sides and rear of the Killion.
As for himself, he jumped onto the Killion's deck, took the unconscious Enel with him, and leaped directly, flying towards Enel's temple.
Hibari, who was on the Den Den Mushi, tried to follow, but Rorschach's speed was too great; he vanished in an instant.
Enel never imagined that one day he would be shocked awake from unconsciousness by electricity.
At the center of Jaya Island, in front of the temple beside the base of the gigantic green vine, Enel, wearing Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, was jolted awake from his unconscious state by a surge of electricity Rorschach casually threw at him, his limbs twitching, and he let out a cry of pain.
"You damned Blue Sea ant! How dare you humiliate me like this! Have the guts to unlock these... Sea Prism Stone handcuffs!"
The frustrated and angry Enel just sat up, glaring, and then softly slumped back down.
Feeling utterly weak, he endured the pain of the electric shocks throughout his body, only feeling extreme shame and resentment.
He, a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, was actually being electrocuted by someone one day.
This absurd feeling was like handing someone a spear, letting them hold it, and then having them turn it around and poke him in the backside. It was utterly ridiculous.
It made Enel wish he could dig a hole and crawl into it.
Rorschach looked down at him with a smile, not at all annoyed, and then said something that both astonished and delighted Enel.
"Alright."
With that, a key was pulled from his pocket and clattered onto the ground in front of Enel.
Enel's face showed a look of disbelief.
He couldn't trust his eyes, almost thinking he was dreaming.
Rorschach actually threw the key to the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs to him.
Was the key fake?
This thought involuntarily surfaced in Enel's mind.
But his actions were by no means slow.
Despite his weakness due to the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs, his yearning for freedom made Enel grab the key in front of him and insert it into the handcuff's lock.
With two crisp clicks, the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs shackling his wrists came off.
Feeling his strength and abilities rapidly returning, a look of wild joy flashed in Enel's eyes.
This arrogant Blue Sea man actually dared to give him the key.
Just wait, I'll definitely be back, and then...
Enel's figure flickered, turning into a fragmented bolt of electricity with a crackle, disappearing from the temple entrance. He transformed into lightning and rapidly fled into the distant sky.
In front of the temple gate, Rorschach's lips curved slightly upward; he had expected this.
He raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers. Streaks of electricity shot out from his fingertips, intertwining, and with a grab towards the direction Enel had fled.
Enel, who was flying at extreme speed, suddenly stiffened, his speed plummeted, and he quickly halted in mid-air.
Then, to his horror, he saw the surrounding scenery rapidly receding.
Two or three seconds later, his body, which had transformed into a bolt of lightning and fled, flew back, caught by Rorschach's five fingers at the back of his neck, and was slammed onto the ground at the temple entrance.
Thud!
With a dull thud, Enel grunted, falling onto the Sea Prism Stone handcuffs on the ground. His tailbone hit, and he immediately squeezed his buttocks, his face turning livid from the pain.
"You... what did you do?"
Enel scrambled up from the handcuffs, looking at Rorschach as if he had seen a ghost. Then he decisively changed direction, once again transforming into a tiny bolt of lightning and flying away at extreme speed.
Rorschach, in turn, raised his hand and grabbed again. Electricity swirled around his fingertips, forming an invisible magnetic field that covered an area of several hundred meters, capturing and restraining the electrons that Enel had transformed into, and pulling them back.
Snap!
Enel flew back, as if his fate had been seized by the back of his neck, and was held in Rorschach's hand, his face ashen, his eyes unfocused, and his head slumped in dejection.
"Electricity generates magnetism, and magnetism generates electricity. Magnetic fields confine electrons. I wonder if you can understand this knowledge?"
Rorschach smiled and tossed Enel, who had given up on escaping, aside. He then looked up at the majestic temple before him.
The method of creating small magnetic fields using lightning power was a new ability he gained after his body and abilities had broken through once more.
The emergence of this new ability meant that the lightning power Rorschach wielded was no longer simply electrical attacks but now possessed magnetic properties.
This was almost equivalent to superimposing the abilities of the Magnet-Magnet Fruit on top of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"Enel, where are the blueprints for your Ark Maxim? Bring them out and let me see them. Don't worry, I won't take them for free. In return, I can take you to the true Endless Vearth. Oh, by the way, do you want to become an Admiral? It's very impressive, much more satisfying than being a mere local god here..."
(End of Chapter)
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