Angel Beach, Angel Island.
The White Dragon smoothly coasted into a secluded, sandy bay and dropped anchor.
Unlike Luffy's crew, who were immediately greeted by Conis and Pagaya right after crashing onto the beach, Bardock's crew didn't see a single local when they disembarked.
Closing his eyes, Bardock swept the area with his Observation Haki, rapidly mapping out the surrounding geography. "This island is called Angel Island. It's the primary residential hub for the Skypieans. Just across the clouds from here is a much larger island composed entirely of solid dirt and ancient ruins. They call it 'Upper Yard'—the 'Island of God'. That's the other half of Jaya. The Golden City of Shandora is hidden deep within its jungles."
"So this island is full of Skypieans? I wonder how they look different from us Blue Sea dwellers? Let's go check it out!" Perona cheered, her usual gloominess completely replaced by the sheer novelty of a floating city.
(Technically, they had already seen a Skypiean—the grumpy old tollbooth lady at Heaven's Gate—but everyone unanimously chose to ignore that memory.)
"Alright, let's head into the main city," Bardock agreed, pointing down a well-paved cloud path based on his Haki feedback. "There should be a bustling commercial district in that direction."
As they walked down the road, they soon encountered a signpost.
"Lovely Street? Wow, whoever named these roads really lacked creativity," Sai chuckled.
As they strolled down Lovely Street, they began to spot numerous Skypieans. The locals all possessed small, white wings on their backs and wore their hair styled like insect antennae. However, upon seeing the heavily armed, wingless Blue Sea dwellers, the locals immediately backed away, watching them warily from a distance.
It wasn't until they entered the bustling heart of the market district that the merchants' sheer capitalistic drive overpowered their apprehension.
"Heso! Welcome, travelers from the Blue Sea! What would you like to buy?!" "Heso! Come try our delicious, authentic Sky Island cuisine!" "Heso! Freshly caught Sky Lobster! It's an absolute delicacy! Buy one today!" "Heso! Sky Island Dial Specialty Store! We have everything you need!" "..."
"Hahaha, hold on! Give us a second to look around," Bardock waved off the enthusiastic merchants, turning back to his crew. "Alright, everyone, free time! Go explore, buy whatever catches your eye, and have fun. The dirt we brought up here is practically a limitless credit card, so don't worry about the cost."
"Yay! I'm going to go buy some of that weird blue juice!" Chopper cheered, licking his lips and pointing at a vibrant fruit stand. His reindeer nose guaranteed those fruits tasted amazing.
"I'll go check out the local bookstore. Sky Island literature must be fascinating," Robin smiled, already spotting a quaint little shop down the street.
"Let's go look at the Dials!" Leo and Mansherry buzzed with excitement, zooming toward the Dial specialty shop.
"Make sure you're all back on the ship before sundown. Bonez, Sai, Perona, you guys go have fun too," Bardock instructed, before wandering off himself to sample every single weird, bouncy street food he could find.
That evening, the entire crew returned to the White Dragon. Nobody bothered cooking dinner; they were all completely stuffed from gorging themselves on Sky Island delicacies all afternoon.
They brought back a massive haul of Dials: Lamp Dials, Water Dials, Tone Dials, Flavor Dials, and Breath Dials. Unfortunately, they were all just standard, civilian-grade utility Dials. The highly lethal combat Dials were strictly regulated by the 'God' of the island and weren't sold in public markets.
After playing around with the bizarre, magical shells for a while, the crew retired to their cabins. Tomorrow was the day they officially commenced their operation. Since Upper Yard was deemed a 'Holy Sanctuary' where trespassing was punishable by death, they decided to liquidate their dirt supply first before invading the restricted zone.
The next morning.
Bardock had severely underestimated just how utterly desperate the Skypieans were for 'Vearth' (dirt). Word of mouth spread like wildfire. A crew from the Blue Sea was trading genuine, high-quality soil!
Within hours, nearly the entire population of Angel Island had swarmed the beach where the White Dragon was docked.
Bardock ruthlessly capitalized on the demand. He traded handfuls of dirt exclusively for extremely rare, high-value Dials, ancient blueprints, and precious raw materials. He managed to secure several 'extinct' Dials from desperate collectors, including the legendary Reject Dial. As for combat Dials—Flame Dials, Heat Dials, Flash Dials, and Impact Dials—he hoarded so many that his personal armory was likely more heavily stocked than Gan Fall's divine guards.
By the time the last bag of dirt was traded away, both Bardock and the citizens of Angel Island were absolutely convinced they had robbed the other party blind. Where else could you find such an incredibly lucrative business?
When the White Dragon finally pulled away from the beach, hundreds of Skypieans waved tearful goodbyes, loudly begging them to bring more Vearth the next time they visited.
Once they were clear of the residential island, Bardock commanded the Flying Nimbus to wrap around the hull and lifted the ship high into the sky. He planned to secure the legendary Golden Bell first before dealing with the current 'God', Gan Fall, and the Shandian warriors.
Meanwhile, on the soil of Upper Yard, a fierce, bloody battle was currently raging between Gan Fall's Divine Guard and the Shandian guerrilla warriors.
This brutal turf war had been raging for 400 uninterrupted years. Countless lives had been lost on both sides. Even the legendary Great Warrior Kalgara had died on this battlefield, desperately fighting to reclaim his stolen homeland.
Currently, Gan Fall was deeply exhausted by the endless bloodshed. He genuinely wanted to cease hostilities, eradicate the hatred, and establish a peaceful coexistence between the two races. Unfortunately, the core demands of the Shandians were completely irreconcilable with the survival of the Skypieans.
The Shandians wanted to violently reclaim their ancestral homeland, ring the Golden Bell, and protect the Poneglyph. The Skypieans believed the massive chunk of solid earth was a divine miracle gifted to them by God; they absolutely refused to surrender the Vearth.
Since neither side was willing to concede a single inch of Upper Yard, diplomatic negotiations were completely impossible.
The battle raged on. The Shandians were incredibly fierce, fearless warriors, completely unparalleled in jungle guerrilla tactics. However, the Divine Guards were well-equipped, highly disciplined, and possessed a massive numerical advantage.
Although the Shandians were the aggressors in today's skirmish, barring any unforeseen miracles, Gan Fall's forces would eventually wear them down and secure another victory for the Skypieans.
At the very peak of the Giant Jack—the colossal beanstalk that pierced the center of Upper Yard—was an area completely inaccessible to both Skypieans and Shandians alike.
The Flying Nimbus gently carried the White Dragon up through the dense cloud cover, finally arriving at the apex of the beanstalk.
As Bardock looked around the isolated cloud-island, a brilliant, blinding flash of golden light caught his eye.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Light of Shandora. The legendary Golden Bell. It truly is a masterpiece," Bardock murmured in genuine awe.
Resting alone on a small patch of island cloud, perfectly preserved despite sitting there for 400 years, was the colossal Golden Bell of Shandora. It was completely cast from solid gold, dwarfing the White Dragon in sheer size and grandeur.
As the ship drew closer, the crew noticed a massive, perfect cube of indestructible dark stone firmly embedded in the gold directly beneath the bell.
"That's... another Poneglyph! We actually found it this easily?!" Robin gasped, staring at the ancient text. It was almost anti-climactic! She was incredibly glad she had aggressively forced her way onto Bardock's ship.
Robin immediately leaped off the ship and ran up to the stone block.
"We are those who will weave history... with the ringing of the great belfry..."
Robin quickly translated the passage, but her expression slowly fell. Once again, it wasn't the True History she was so desperately seeking. "Bardock. This Poneglyph is exactly like the one in Alabasta. It only details the location of another Ancient Weapon: Poseidon."
"Poseidon, the Sovereign of the Seas. A Mermaid Princess born once every 800 years who possesses the terrifying ability to communicate with and command the Sea Kings," Bardock casually dropped the massive lore bomb before Robin could even finish reading the text.
"Wait, what?! An Ancient Weapon can be a living person?!" Perona gasped, her eyes widening. "I thought they were all massive, destructive machines like Pluton! If a mermaid is Poseidon... what the heck is Uranus?!"
"Robin! Look over here! There's more writing carved into the gold next to the stone!" Leo, who had flown up to the bell on a beetle, shouted down from above.
Robin quickly used her powers to sprout eyes next to the dwarf. Unlike the indestructible Poneglyph, these words were roughly carved directly into the gold, and they looked relatively recent.
Robin read the carving aloud. "I have come here and will lead this passage to the farthest ends of the world... Pirate, Gol D. Roger."
"Gol D. Roger?! The Pirate King?!" Sai yelled, staring at the carving in absolute shock. "He actually came all the way up here?!"
Robin stepped back, her mind racing as she pieced the puzzle together. "I will lead this passage to the farthest ends of the world..."
"I understand now," Robin breathed, her eyes shining with absolute clarity and renewed determination. "The True History isn't written on a single stone. You have to find every single Poneglyph scattered across the world, read their passages, and weave them together into a single, cohesive narrative. Only then will the Blank Century be revealed! Pirate King Roger must have gathered all the passages and taken that knowledge with him to Laugh Tale!"
For the first time in twenty years, Robin finally saw a clear, undeniable path forward. Her lifelong dream wasn't a fool's errand. The True History existed. She just had to follow in the Pirate King's footsteps!