บท 40: Jaya Island, Heading to Skypiea!
He planned to go to Skypiea.
There were several things he needed there.
One of them was Enel, the user of the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit). Whether recruiting him as a crew member or killing him to obtain the Devil Fruit, it was a win-win deal for Sanders.
Another was the technology contained in the Ark Maxim.
The third was the ancient city made entirely of gold.
He wanted to build his own power, and having no money simply wasn't an option.
The vast amount of gold in Shandora would be enough for his initial needs.
There were two routes to Skypiea.
One was through the regular sea route, departing from the White Sea, which would lead to encountering numerous sky islands along the way.
The other was by using the monstrous Knock Up Stream near Jaya Island.
The normal route would take too much time, and Sanders wasn't interested in that. So he chose Jaya Island.
Before his ship even reached the shore, Sanders saw a castle-like building on the coast.
Upon landing, he quickly realized that the "castle" was merely a massive wooden board painted to look like one. Behind the board was a small house.
This was the residence of the descendants of Mont Blanc Noland, the famous "Liar King."
Sanders had come specifically to find them.
Although he knew that the Knock Up Stream would appear, he needed someone familiar with it to tell him when.
After waiting by the shore for a while, a man with a diamond-shaped face and a chestnut-shaped hairstyle leaped out of the sea.
This man was none other than Mont Blanc Cricket, the descendant of Mont Blanc Noland.
Cricket had spent his life fighting against fate, trying to prove the existence of the City of Gold and break the curse on the Mont Blanc family.
When he saw someone standing on the shore, he was surprised.
"Are you looking for me?" he asked.
"I intend to use the Knock Up Stream to reach Skypiea, so I've come to ask for your help," Sanders replied directly.
"Skypiea? That's just a legend," Cricket scoffed, mocking himself.
"Besides, using the Knock Up Stream is way too dangerous. One misstep and your ship will be destroyed, with no survivors. You should give up."
"Skypiea is real. The City of Gold that Noland spoke of is real as well," Sanders countered.
"You know about Mont Blanc Noland, the 'Liar King'? Then you should know that all of that is just a myth," Cricket said, lighting a cigarette.
"The City of Gold was blown to Skypiea by the Knock Up Stream. That's why it disappeared," Sanders explained.
Cricket froze, his hand holding the cigarette paused. He stared at Sanders.
"How do you know that?"
Up until now, Cricket had always believed that the City of Gold had sunk to the bottom of the sea. The gold he had salvaged from the ocean seemed to support this theory.
But now, someone was telling him that the City of Gold had been blown into the sky by the Knock Up Stream.
"I've been to Skypiea," Sanders lied smoothly, knowing it would make his story more convincing.
"You can reach Skypiea by departing from the White Sea," Sanders added.
"You've actually been to Skypiea?!" Cricket's expression grew excited.
Because of his ancestor, Mont Blanc Noland, his family had been scorned for generations. His childhood experiences had made him determined to settle things on Jaya Island, even at the cost of parting ways with his former comrades.
Now, hearing someone say they had been to Skypiea meant that his ancestor hadn't lied.
The City of Gold really existed!
"I've been there. I have no reason to lie to you," Sanders nodded.
He took out his bounty poster, holding it up with a grin. "Besides, you're not important enough for me to deceive."
Cricket's eyes widened as he stared at Sanders, comparing him to the image on the bounty poster.
"Two billion… four hundred million?!"
"You... you're that Sanders who escaped from Impel Down?!"
Cricket couldn't believe the young man standing before him was the infamous pirate with a bounty exceeding two billion berries!
Sanders pocketed the bounty poster and said, "That's me. Now you believe what I've told you, right? Noland wasn't lying."
Power commands credibility.
What a prominent figure says is naturally more convincing than what an unknown person says.
With a bounty of over two billion berries, there weren't many people in the world with a higher bounty than Sanders. In the eyes of the sea, he was a major figure, and his words carried weight.
Cricket stood in stunned silence for a moment, mumbling to himself.
"Noland wasn't lying."
"Skypiea really exists!"
"The City of Gold is real!!"
Then he burst into an emotional shout, his eyes brimming with tears.
For 400 years, his family had endured the weight of unjust accusations.
For four centuries, they had borne the insults and ridicule of others.
His ancestor's story had even been turned into a fairy tale, spread across the North Blue.
But now, at last, the truth had come to light!
His ancestor hadn't lied!
The City of Gold truly existed!
If anyone else had told him this, he wouldn't have believed it.
But the man standing before him was different.
This was a pirate with a bounty of over two billion berries, a great figure of the sea.
As the man himself had said, Cricket wasn't worth lying to.
Sanders silently watched the emotional Cricket without interrupting him.
Years of suppressed emotions needed an outlet.
After a while, Cricket calmed down and bowed deeply to Sanders.
"Sorry for my rudeness. Thank you so much for bringing me this news."
Sanders replied, "You're welcome. I need your help as well."
"The Knock Up Stream is extremely dangerous. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Cricket asked once more, not wanting the person who brought him such good news to perish at sea.
"No need. Just help modify my ship and tell me when the Knock Up Stream will erupt," Sanders said, shaking his head.
With his strength, even if he failed, he wouldn't die.
"Alright. I'll make some modifications and have someone take you to the Knock Up Stream," Cricket agreed, seeing that Sanders was adamant.
Soon after, Cricket called his men over and they made the necessary adjustments to Sanders' ship.
Once they had calculated when the next Knock Up Stream would occur, the Saruyama Alliance escorted Sanders to the eruption site.
Before departing, Sanders told Cricket that, if he had the chance, he would ring the Golden Bell.
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T/N:
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