Chapter 473: Joy Boy and Imu
"Where should I start."
Brett sat on the clouds, even creating a cloud backrest behind himself so he could lean back comfortably.
"I suppose I should start with those winged aliens who came from the sky."
Aokiji lay opposite Brett. Akainu sat cross-legged beside him.
Their facial expressions were completely different. Aokiji still looked lazy, while Akainu looked very solemn.
But the same thing was that both were now listening seriously to Brett's story, occasionally making comments.
"Winged?"
Aokiji said in surprise. "Sky Island people?"
"You're saying they're aliens?" Akainu was very skeptical.
"Though you two might find it somewhat bizarre, the facts are indeed so."
Brett raised his right hand and pointed at the sky. "There was originally a country on the moon."
Aokiji's eyebrows raised slightly.
"If you two don't believe it, later when there's time I can take you to dig up ruins on the moon."
Brett said casually.
That Enel guy could fly directly to the moon on his leaky ship. Brett figured he probably could fly straight up too.
"That was approximately nine hundred years ago."
Brett said. "That country's name was Birka. The reason this country relocated to the surface was probably because the moon's resources were exhausted. It could no longer support the nation's development."
"So they built a very, very large ship, abandoned their original country, and boarded this ship to come to the surface."
"A ship?"
Aokiji asked curiously. "A large ship capable of carrying an entire nation must be quite a remarkable vessel, right?"
"Indeed very remarkable."
Zephyr sighed, then looked at Aokiji. "Didn't you just witness it?"
"..."
Akainu and Aokiji were simultaneously dumbfounded.
"You're saying..."
Akainu forcefully suppressed his shock. "That thing is a creation of that nation called Birka?"
"Not entirely, but the foundation is indeed it."
Brett nodded lightly. "Unlike the surface people who trained their bodies at the time, what the Birkan people were proud of was precisely their technology."
"They brought something called science to this sea."
That was the first time the surface welcomed an unprecedented era of change.
Birka descended from the sky. They established a nation where the Red Line is now located, using the terrifying military power of the giant ship floating in the sky to deter the people at sea.
At the same time, they offered technology to pursue peace.
After experiencing their homeland's destruction, the Birkan people gradually came to believe science was something to make the world better.
They were willing to share their knowledge with the people at sea, letting this world's ignorant people embrace civilization.
The sea never lacked visionaries. Among the surface's natives, many realized technology's power. Under the Birkan people's inclusive attitude, these people flocked to Birka to study.
Birka at the Red Line's summit gradually became the world's center.
This situation continued for decades.
During this time, the entire world's technology level underwent great development. Many who completed their studies at Birka returned to their own countries, bringing technology back to their homelands.
"This world never had such a period."
Brett said with some sentiment. "Science's spread gradually let people overcome harsh natural conditions, let people's resources gradually become abundant. Humanity began unprecedented expansion. Originally unknown sea areas began being explored. Islands originally unknown first appeared before people. People originally knowing nothing about each other began connecting for the first time."
"You could say that time was this world's Great Age of Exploration."
"Sounds like a truly beautiful era."
Aokiji said with some sentiment.
"Roger said the same thing."
Brett said with a smile.
"Eh? Roger?" Aokiji froze.
Akainu was even more shocked. "Brett, could it be that you..."
He'd been wondering how Brett knew this history.
Nearly nine hundred years ago. Wasn't that during the Void Century?
Brett had no intention of answering. He just continued on his own. "But unfortunately, stories with beautiful beginnings often don't have beautiful endings."
"Speaking of it is somewhat laughable. The two people who pushed that brilliant scientific era to its peak weren't true scholars. Their names are now unknown. Let's call them this."
Brett said. "Joy Boy, and Imu."
"Joy Boy?"
Akainu frowned. "That legendary Joy Boy?"
"Joy Boy was an unconventional man."
Brett's lips curved. "He wasn't even a scientist. His life's dream was to hold banquets on all islands across this sea."
"The sea's most reckless man. That's what people called him."
"Forever bold and unrestrained. Forever free."
"Opposite to him was Imu, almost the ideal scholar in people's eyes. Rigorous, dignified. Though research ability wasn't particularly outstanding. But as some great nation's heir, plus an actually smooth-talking personality, this person thrived in this country."
"Im even became a high official of Birka."
"The turning point for everything was probably around that time."
Brett thought. "Though Birka was also called a kingdom, it had no royal family. Because the homeland's decline was due to the royal family's reckless mining. So when leaving their homeland, Birka also ended the royal family's era."
"The once high and mighty royals returned to the mortal realm from then on."
"Birka entered an era of elder republic. Precisely because of this, after the world gradually welcomed development, Birka's people began feeling that what the surface lagged behind in wasn't just technology, but also systems."
"At that time, the sea was still in the slave era. Though they bled the same red blood, slaves and people seemed separated by an unbridgeable chasm."
Brett sighed with deep feeling. "Even worse off were minority groups like us Fish-Men, merfolk, and giants, who constantly suffered oppression."
"Birka's scientists thus began calling for the sea to abolish slavery, stop racial discrimination. What they wanted was a beautiful era where everyone was equal."
"Sounds good." Aokiji sighed. "But change isn't easy, right?"
"Birka had no intention of interfering in other nations' internal affairs."
Brett said. "Their actions were limited to publicity and calls."
"However, at this time, a certain recklessly charging man's actions brought change."
Brett became somewhat unfocused. "Joy Boy. This man who always refused to accept any constraints smashed everything he found distasteful to pieces."