Chapter 135: Dawn

Chapter 135: Dawn

Everyone present looked at Luffy in silence. It wasn’t everyday that he took time to think although he had been doing it a lot more these past few months since leaving Wano. When his lips stretched to each side of his face his crewmates knew his answer before he voiced it.

“We’re doing it. Sanji can’t find All Blue if we don’t, and Franky wouldn’t be able to make Sunny sail on all the seas. I can’t stop here when you all helped me realize my dream and do nothing to help you guys realize yours. Besides… It’s the least I can do for Joy Boy, Roger, and Lili. Making their last wish come true sounds like a great adventure!”
“Yep… We’re blowing up Reverse Mountain. Totally normal.” commented Usopp.
“We’ll have the whole world on our asses.” said Sanji.
“That’s already the case.”
“Jimbei’s right. Plenty of strong opponents to cut down.”
“Of course you’d think that. Yohohoho.”
“There is one thing that doesn’t make sense to me.”

Nami‘s words got everyone curious about what she was talking about.

“The sea level rose by about 200m. For such a thing to happen and so fast the temperature of the world should be way higher than it currently is.”
“You’re thinking that it’s man made?” asked Franky who had his suspicions too.
“Yes. Is it possible that Imu found Uranus?” asked the weather queen.
“No. Only three people knew of its location. Joy Boy, the chief of the Lunarians and me. Perhaps four with Nefertari Lili if Joy Boy told her. However what you said makes a lot of sense. There shouldn’t be that much frozen water on land, despite the Red Line being that big. A quarter of that level is the very best and a generous estimate.” answered Diana.
“Is it possible she could have salvaged some technology from the Lost Kingdom? Or use a powerful Devil Fruit’s abilities?” Robin asked.
“Hmm… The former is unlikely but possible, the D were not all explorers, they were scientists too among them. Some may have reproduced our technology on others islands. As for the latter… There is only one fruit that comes to mind. The Mizu Mizu no Mi.”
“There is a water devil fruit?!” exclaimed Aokiji. “I’ve never heard of it before!”
“You wouldn’t if Imu ate it. She would have been in possession of it for 800 years.” answered Diana.
“That’s such a cheat! She’s the very element that is a direct witness to fruit users!” exclaimed Usopp.

Rick had his own words to share.

‘How did she find it in the first place? Uncle pointed out something interesting. There would have been some records in the world. I didn’t see it in the shop even once. ’
‘She must have taken it from my garden. A few months prior to her attack, the user of the fruit died of old age and the power returned there.’
‘Does it mean she had access to a bunch of fruits?!’
‘Less than what you think, they may have been… A dozen? Less? As for why it’s not in the shop… I noticed that there isn’t anything related to this world’s History. No poneglyphs, no maps, no technology. As if whatever God who sent you here hid all of it.’
‘I had noticed that. I won’t even ask why. There is no way I’d get an answer.’

[Author’s note: He got that right. I wasn’t about to make things easy for him.]

Diana agreed and switched control with him once again.

“How about we think about that later and look at all that treasure around us?” he proposed.
“YEEEEESSSS!”

Nami, with Berry signs in her eyes, moved so fast towards the gold that she may have been faster than Kizaru. Immediately everyone moved. If they let her, she would take everything valuable and be given scraps.

“Move guys! Before that greedy demon takes everything!” Shouted Usopp.
“I’m really glad she doesn’t have access to the inventory.” he whispered to Robin who chuckled at the idea. Nami would be the best thief in the world and the richest very very fast if that was the case.

The both of them went to look at everything else that wasn’t materialistically valuable. The books, the maps, the poses. Robin was dumbfounded when she found a journal written in poneglyphs.

“That’s… That's Joy Boy’s personal journal. Or at least one of them.” she said with awe.
“Lend them to me when you’re done with them?” her husband asked and got a nod in return.

For his part he found maps of islands he had never ever heard before but more importantly a map of the world from 800 years ago. It was wholly different from what people knew now. One thing he noticed was the Alabasta kingdom. Its size was at least three times bigger. One of the maps detailed fertile lands with forests and multiple villages.

“I can’t believe my home looks so beautiful.” Vivi said from his side. She had decided to join Robin and Rick in their search hoping that the answers to many of her questions were among the books and maps her many times great aunt had stored here.
“It can be again. Have Grandpa walk around the desert and you’ll have a forest in no time. It won’t last if there isn’t any water irrigation though but at least it would be pretty.”
“I thought about that too but realistically it’s impossible. Water is too much of a luxury for that to be viable.”

Both of them turned around when they heard a loud click and something made of wood open. They saw Robin with her mouth slightly open in surprise, her hand raised just in front of a bookcase that went inside the wall behind it with a book leaning toward her but not falling.

“Another secret passage?” he remarked the obvious.

Both he and Vivi followed her when she got inside. It was a very small room, barely big enough to hold them all.  A weird shaped key rested on an altar. Above it against the wall as an inscription that Robin read aloud.

“The key to Eden’s heart.”
“Diana says that Eden is the garden where she created and stored the fruits. She refused to answer when I asked about the heart part.”

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She pocketed the key and warned the others about their findings, prompting Luffy to say that their next destination would be the Lost Kingdom. Despite a careful search there were no more secret passages or secret rooms to be found even by the D. All that was left was the mountain of gold, some Adam wood that Diana revealed was actually a tree that originated from the Kingdom and the books and maps. They took everything, including one of the light crystals so Franky could study it.
Thanks to Rick and his gravity one trip was enough to load everything on the Sunny. Before leaving, just like on Lodestar, Garp bloomed flowers outside, all around Joy Boy’s grave. Robin had asked Usopp for some paint and just under the message of her mother, left her own.

“We found our predecessors’ last will and will see it done.” and signed it with everyone’s name.

~~~~~

Shanks, Yassop and Ben went back to the Red Force. When Luffy invited him to visit the kingdom, the former emperor just said that it was not his adventure to partake in but his. He had found his captain’s last message, found his treasure and legacy and that was enough for him. Now he wanted to go and see Ace. Something he had wanted to do since the revelation that he was Roger’s son three years ago. With his duties to his territories he wasn’t ever able to but now that Luffy was in charge he could. Mihawk declined his old rival's invitation to sail with him so he could find a ship to get him wherever he wanted. The former best swordsman in the world wasn’t interested in the Lost Kingdom in the least; what interested him was to teach and see how far Eri would go into the way of the sword.

Just like they did after Wano, the crew went through Calm Belt, although this time they went south to visit quite briefly West Blue Blue, making South Blue the last blue sea for Sunny to sail on. For the second time the Sunny reached the top, this time however Aokiji froze a good part of the water and stuck it in place.

“Now what? I have a difficult time imagining a kingdom used to be here, the space is so… small.”
“That’s because, when I sank the kingdom the mountain broke and fell on top of it like…Hmm.. Like the corners of a map that you fold to make a pyramid out of it.” said Diana.
“So who’s diving in?” asked Sanji.
“Me! And Robin and Diana.” said Luffy.
“But I wanted to go!” exclaimed Chopper, there were only three places on the Shark Submarine III.
“I know but it’s ruins we’re going to explore so Robin is needed and Diana knows the place.”
“... That’s surprisingly thoughtful of you.” noted Sanji.

Getting a laugh from his captain, the three amateur submariners dove into unexplored depths. The passage was narrow for the first few hundred meters then they found themselves in a very wide place.

“Do you think there are any Sea Kings here?” asked Luffy.
“I don’t think so.” replied Robin.
“There weren't any Sea Kings around Dawn during my time and the ways up to the summit are too narrow for them to go through.” clarified the goddess.

They continued their descent without any difficulty providing regular updates to the crew. They saw very tall buildings that looked nothing like they had ever seen and marveled at Diana’s comments about them.

“It’s this way. A bit to the right. Eden was at the center.” she told Luffy who nodded and followed her direction. They arrived above a huge dome.
“It seemed sealed and unbreached. Air must still be inside.” Robin speculated.
“Joy Boy must have done it. He was there by my side when Imu killed me.”
“How do we get inside?” Luffy asked.
“I’ll use gravity to push away the water around the entrance. Lower us to the ground floor.” she said and Luffy did as told.
“Won’t the water pressure be too much? And won’t the space be devoid of air and just be a vacuum?” inquired Robin in worry.
“You don’t have to worry about that, Robin. I put suits for all of you in the back. Put them on and you have one hour of oxygen each.” came the voice of Franky through the den den mushi.
“As for the pressure, it will be difficult but not a problem for me.” she said as she sprouted an arm above the garden’s entrance and used gravity to push the water around it away, just like she had said.
“Wait, how come you could sprout an arm and use gravity inside the water?”
“It’s my soul that holds the command to make every fruit user weak to water, remember? In other words I decide and control who’s affected or not. I chose not to on this occasion.” revealed Diana with a smile.
“So you could make anyone able to swim?”
“No. It only works because I’m aware and inside Rick’s body. It wouldn’t work for anyone else. At least not with only two fragments of soul united. Perhaps if I had more. I would have more power to do so. An unlikely event to happen.”

Luffy nodded and took the diving suit Robin handed to him. Once everyone was dressed properly and multiple checks were made, the trio exited the Shark Submarine III and walked a few feet away to reach the door. Robin handed her captain the key to the door. It was such a small key and a small keyhole for such a huge door. A giant could pass through without any problem.
Turning the key in the lock, lines of light emerged from it, expanding through the whole door in a pattern they couldn’t see clearly because they were too close and the door too big. Diana said that it represented a tree. Nodding at that, Luffy pushed a door open with surprising ease.

“It was lighter than I thought it would be.”
“It’s made of a special material called Graphene. Harder than steel but way harder.”

Entering the dome they saw nothing but dead trees and grass. It wasn’t a shock, that place had been abandoned for 800 years after all. What was a shock was that near some trees were devil fruits still intact.

“My powers are what kept them in prime condition. I’m surprised there are that many left. Some users must have died as I sank everything and the power returned here before the garden died. Imu may not have snatched as many fruits as I thought.” explained the goddess as she gathered and picked them up with a chain of sprouted arms. They were all deposited on the submarine.
“I supposed the heart of Eden is that kind of crypt over there.” Robin pointed out with her finger to the stone edifice beyond a big fountain in the center of the area.
“Yes. It’s the front door. It’s where I retreated out of view from the public. Joy Boy, Imu and I’s home. I don’t understand why Joy Boy left the key like that on Laugh Tale. There is nothing there.”
“Maybe he left something as he escaped?” wondered Luffy.

Going around the dried up fountain they got to the small edifice. Diana was the first to go through after opening the gate. Walking down a few steps they arrived in what could have been called a cozy home. It wasn’t big by any means but big enough for a small family. Diana invited Luffy and Robin to have a look around while she lost herself in memories of better times. Happy times. She could almost see Joy Boy on all four woofing at her with Imu on his shoulder. Their daughter, using her father as a mount, playing a hero set on defeating the evil queen that Diana herself was playing. Others cherished memories of the same kind assaulted her. Now, knowing what their little girl had done made them bittersweet.

“I found something!” Luffy shouted from another room.
“That’s my bedroom.” said Diana, curious.

Robin following her they joined Luffy and were both shocked at what awaited them.

“It’s like she’s sleeping.” said the strawhat captain.
“That’s me.” whispered Diana, prompting Luffy and Robin to look at her in shock.

The woman on the bed was rather tall. Taller than Robin by a wide margin. Her hair was a mix of white and silver and looked like silk. Their length was absurd so much that it made Rick think of Rapunzel though it was not that long in comparison. The woman looked peaceful and asleep but the blood stain on her white dress at the location of her heart indicated otherwise. She had beautiful black horns and if one paid attention, they could discern white angel wings under the mass of hair.

“How is it possible? Shouldn’t your body have decayed long ago?” asked Robin.
“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because I’m a goddess? Or rather because of the species I belong to?”
“You have no idea about it?”
“No, Luffy. I’m sorry I don’t have an answer as to how.”
‘Why did Joy Boby and Lili leave the key on Laugh Tale? Why did they want to find your body? It’s like they believed that you were the one who could free the world. As If Joy Boy knew that either you weren’t dead for good or would be able to come back.’
“I don’t know, Rick. I truly don’t know.” Diana answered aloud.
“What did he ask?” inquired Luffy.
“Why Joy Boy left the key to here on Laugh Tale. He thinks that Lili and him believed that I would be the one to free the world.”
“Your body is still warm but it’s like it’s frozen in time.” said Robin after putting delicately a hand on Diana’s real face.
“Toki…” the goddess whispered with affection.
“Momo’s mom? What about her?” asked Luffy
“She was… She came back with Joy Boy one time after he visited Wano. She stayed and became my friend, confidant and priestess. I gave her the power of time because of her name. It was just a simple joke from me.”
“I thought she could only travel into the future.” Robin remarked.
“The toki toki no mi can do more than that. If traveling to the future was all it could do I would have called it the Mirai Mirai no Mi. No, the fruit could manipulate time in a fashion. It could give her a glimpse of the future but also stop time for something or someone.”
“What about traveling back?”
“Time is linear, Robin. It only goes forward. Toki must have stopped my body’s time. She was there too that day. Oh, Toki, did you read that far ahead? Is that why you made a nearly 800 year jump to the future?”

Rick interrupted her thoughts, having questions on his own.

‘That still doesn’t answer why they believe you to be able to free the world and why your body is important for that.’
‘Had I been in my body I would have had the power to defeat Imu. Providing I got back most of my power. I couldn’t do it at the time. She was my precious daughter, the idea of taking her life repulsed me. That also was before monsters like you and Whitebeard saw the lights of day. Very few developed their fruit power as far as you did. I don’t need to do it myself anymore. Many have the strength, especially you.’
‘I think we should take you with us. Maybe Vegapunk could help?’
‘Good idea.’
‘Yeah. Speaking of ideas I have another one, I think… that you are the One Piece.
“...na?”

Finishing her mental talk with Rick, Diana finally noticed Luffy calling out to her.

“Sorry, Rick and I were having a conversation. He thinks that I’m the treasure left behind.”
“... Is he referring to the One Piece… He thinks you’re it.” stated Robin.
“Wasn't it everything we found on Laugh Tale?”
“I don’t think the One Piece is something as mundane as gold or knowledge, Luffy. Something unique, like the body of a goddess who has shaped the world and has the power to free it is much more likely. I think Roger pranked us all when he said it was his treasure.”
“That sounds like Joy Boy to do something like that. Regardless of what the One Piece is, either me or the treasure found on Laugh Tale, you found it, Luffy, that means you’re definitely the Pirate King.” Diana said with a cheerful smile and Luffy smiled back, happy.

Diana picked up a worn out photo of her and Joy Boy and after talking about with Luffy, her body. It would be a very tight fit in the submarine but Robin would sit on Rick, freeing a seat for Diana. Before leaving, Luffy closed the doors to Eden and locked them. He didn’t want the sea to flood such a place when it was so important to his friend.
When they reached the Sunny and disembarked, everyone was dumbfounded at what they had found. While Rick, who was back in control of his body, brought Dian’s to the infirmary, followed by Reiju, Robin and Luffy told their friends what they found in the Dawn Kingdom.

“What do we do now?” asked Usopp.
“Our objective is still to blow up Reverse Mountain, which means...”
“Going back to Wano.” Sanji finished Nami’s sentence.
“Except we can’t go back there because we don’t have an eternal pose to the island.” said Franky.
“But we have Kin’Emon’s vivre card!” corrected the navigator. “We can go back!”
“Alright, so that take care of pluto. What next?” inquired Usopp.
“Hmm. We should probably warn king neptune of the plan. He wants his people to live on the surface. Where Reverse Mountain will used to be sounds like a perfect location for them.” thought Luffy.
“That left the aftermath to deal with, with Uranus.” added Brook.
“And the navy to deal with. We can’t let the World Government know what we’re planning, not when Reverse Mountain staying the way it is is imperative for them.” Robin remarked.
“Alright. First, we go to Wano, then back to Fishman Island.”
“Then to Alabasta,” said Vivi. “I love sailing with you guys but I must go back to my country to rule. I’ve already been away for far too long.”
“In that case it’s better to first bring princess Vivi home, then visit Fishman island then Wano.” said Jimbei.
“And make a stop at O’hara before fishman island. I promise Kaza to bring Eri back once Luffy found the One Piece.” corrected Rick as he came back on deck.
“But dad!”
“No buts, Eri. I gave her my word and I won’t break it. I never did and won’t start now. However you can always try to convince her otherwise but that’s up to you.”

“Okay! Let’s do that! Aoikiji you can break the ice, we’re going!”
“Aye! Aye, captain.”