Wright vanished into a streak of golden light, disappearing from the laboratory, startling Kuma:
"Is that... the Lightforged Beacon? Admiral Wright can teleport directly?"
"Ah, yes. After all, it was built based on his abilities."
Dr. Vegapunk pulled out a keyboard from beneath the table, tapping rapidly. The table retracted into the floor, revealing a console bathed in golden light.
It was a customized control terminal for the Lightforged Beacon.
"Admiral Wright is an extraordinary man. The Lightforged Beacon... may soon change the world."
...
A flash of golden light illuminated the Raijin, and Wright's figure appeared on board.
"Yo! Enel, nice work! Found something already?"
Enel's eye twitched. This Lightforged Beacon... truly terrifying.
"Some strange creatures... they seem to be sabotaging things, but I can't understand their language."
Pointing at the unfortunate creature sprawled on the deck, Enel scratched his ear.
"My Mantra can only hear spoken words. It doesn't work on them."
"Hmm, let me try."
Wright cast a Holy Light spell, healing the creature, then slapped it awake with two sharp smacks, making Enel grimace.
"&(*&...￥%）..."
"Hmm, all nonsense."
Another pair of slaps, and the creature became more cooperative, bowing—an apparently universal gesture of submission.
"Now we're getting somewhere."
Wright nodded. The creature, surprisingly intelligent, realized the beating was just a means of extracting information and spilled everything it knew.
With his Observation Haki, Wright could directly sense the creature's thoughts, making the language barrier irrelevant.
Though Wright had suspected their identity, the confirmation eased his mind.
Two golden flashes heralded the arrival of Dr. Vegapunk in his white lab coat and the towering form of Kuma onto the Raijin, startling the alien captive.
"That's... Warlord Bartholomew Kuma?! How is he here?!"
"And that middle-aged man... he seems weak... Could it be...?"
Enel raised an eyebrow—this must be the scientist Wright had mentioned, the designer of the Raijin. His connection to the moon was clear.
"Hmm, so this is the Raijin... Judge did a decent job. The real thing looks better than I imagined."
Vegapunk began inspecting the ship, seeing it in person for the first time despite being its designer.
"A prisoner? Interrogation complete?"
Kuma noticed the trembling alien, its humanoid form oddly unsettling.
"Doctor, Kuma, welcome aboard the Raijin."
Wright smiled and nodded.
"Oi, oi! This is my Raijin! Shouldn't I be the one welcoming people?"
Enel muttered, ignored by all three men. The self-proclaimed Thunder God resumed scratching his ear.
"Interrogation's done. This guy... is a space pirate."
"Space pirate?!"
The three men exclaimed in unison. Enel, recalling the skull-and-crossbones flag he'd seen earlier, began connecting the dots. Vegapunk and Kuma remained puzzled.
With a swift chop, Wright knocked the pirate unconscious, clearing his throat under their curious gazes:
"Ahem... what I'm about to say is top secret."
Facing two Warlords and the Navy's chief scientist, Wright gestured outside the cabin:
"This is the moon—the very moon we see from the Earth's surface."
"This is the Vearth, the Divine Realm!"
Enel muttered, earning a glare from Wright. The former God of Skypiea fell silent—he knew the name came from Bilka's legends. The Vearth was simply the moon.
Otherwise, how would he know how to reach it? He'd simply flown straight toward the moon!
"Hmph! The whole moon belongs to this God!"
This time, Enel wisely kept his thoughts to himself.
"These creatures are space pirates—many more of them are scattered across the moon, excavating ancient ruins."
"They're pirates roaming the universe, from a distant place. They crashed on the moon not long ago due to an accident."
"Their ship—yes, a pirate ship that can sail through space—is damaged. They need resources to repair it, but the moon's surface has none."
"Through exploration, they discovered hollow chambers beneath the surface, likely containing ancient relics. They've been trying to excavate them but found little of value."
"So they planned to use more powerful explosives..."
"They already did. I fried them all."
Enel interjected smugly. The captive had been knocked out before the explosion, likely unaware of his crew's annihilation.
"...Alright, then we'll search the ruins ourselves and eliminate the rest of these pirates."
Wright's voice grew solemn.
"Pirates in space... something we never imagined. Even though they're weak, if their allies come looking, or if their backers set their sights on the moon—or the planet..."
Kuma nodded.
"No loose ends. The world is chaotic enough already. No need for extra trouble."
Vegapunk fell silent, then nodded as well:
"Indeed. Their ship and equipment should be studied—then destroyed, in case they have any hidden communication devices."
"Agreed."
Wright approved, tossing the captive to Kuma.
"Make sure they disappear—far away. The moon's location must remain secret."
"Understood... I'll send them on a cosmic journey."
Kuma nodded, impressed by Wright's foresight.
"According to Bilka's legends and scattered records, the moon likely housed a civilization long ago—one with advanced technology... possibly connected to my homeland."
"The Future Kingdom... Baldimore."
Wright nodded.
"We'll need more specialists... I'll call them in. Doctor, Kuma, once you've dealt with these pirates, return and await further orders."
"If you're gone too long, there could be trouble. We'll report once we've secured the ruins."
"Good. Preserve the ruins—they're an invaluable treasure!"
"Understood."
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
Note: This fanfic has been completely translated and is available on my Patreon.