Silt, seaweed, and drifting debris covered the ruins of ancient Wano. Buildings that had once stood tall eight centuries ago were now little more than hollow shells. Most of the wooden structures collapsed with a touch, crumbling into rotten dust.
"Soaked for eight hundred years… if Pluton were made of wood, even Adam wood would've rotted. And if it were steel, it might've corroded away completely," Golden Lion Shiki muttered, unease flickering in his eyes. After all their efforts tearing down the wall, had they only uncovered a useless wreck?
"The Celestial Dragons' so-called National Treasure is still functioning. The ancients wouldn't hide Pluton here if it couldn't endure. They must've had a preservation method," one of the crew argued.
"Don't waste time guessing," Brook said sharply. "Look at Noah, the Ship of Oaths on Fishman Island. That vessel has rested beneath the sea for centuries without harm. Pluton will be the same. Search. A ship of that size cannot stay hidden forever."
His voice brooked no argument. Joy Boy's writings had made it clear: Pluton would one day rise alongside Poseidon and the Man of Destiny to challenge the World Government. Brook didn't care about prophecy, but he believed in utility. Pluton had a role to play—and he intended it to be his weapon.
Vegapunk's eyes widened as they pushed deeper into the ruins. "This… incredible! Ancient Wano wasn't a backwater at all. Look at this machinery! The architecture! It's more advanced than most islands today."
Brook nodded thoughtfully. "It makes sense. Egghead—what they now call the Island of the Past—lies close by. Back then, it was the heart of a technological giant. Wano, its ally and neighbor, would've shared in its advancements. With that foundation, it could safeguard Pluton."
But questions gnawed at him. Wasn't Pluton said to have been built in Water Seven? Weren't its designs guarded by the shipwrights there? If that was true, then perhaps even Water Seven had once belonged to the great kingdom of old.
Why, then, had Pluton been sealed here instead of returned to Water Seven after the war was lost?
Brook's thoughts spiraled. Among the Twenty Kings, the Donquixote had come from Dressrosa in the New World. The Nefertari ruled Alabasta in the Grand Line. Together with eighteen others, they united to crush the ancient kingdom. Yet the Nefertari refused to ascend to Marijoa, carrying with them a Poneglyph that recorded Pluton's location.
The connections were maddening. The Kozuki clan had carved the Poneglyphs. The Nefertari had taken one to Alabasta. The ties between them were thick with betrayal and secrecy.
Brook clenched his jaw. "Enough. History can rot with the corpses of the past. What matters is Pluton. As long as I wield it, the rest is meaningless." His gaze hardened. Even if Joy Boy's will pointed to Luffy, even if Poseidon's rebirth favored someone else, Brook cared nothing for destiny. Whoever stood in his way would be crushed.
"Brother Brook!" Hiruba's voice rang out, urgent. "I've spotted something. Beneath this industrial zone—there's a hollow. A massive hidden chamber!"
Excitement surged through the crew.
"Go," Brook ordered. "Dig it out. Find Pluton for me."
The Hell Pirates surged forward, tearing into the ground with brute force, powers, and weapons. Wano's citizens, emboldened by curiosity, poured down from Mt. Fuji's slopes into the newly uncovered ruins.
"This… this was where our ancestors lived?" Elderly villagers wept as they gazed upon the ruins, their voices trembling. For them, it was like seeing ghosts. The younger generation, however, saw only the vast stretches of land—a prize waiting to be claimed.
Shimotsuki Toramaru and his clan stood at the gap carved into the city wall, watching the waves roll against the open sea. No longer hemmed in by waterfalls, the horizon stretched endlessly.
"At last," Toramaru murmured. "From now on, Wano can sail freely into the world." His eyes gleamed. The sea called to him, filled with rivals and legends waiting to be challenged.
"Brother Toramaru," said Token, the Hakuma daimyo, eyes sharp with calculation. "This gap will become the most prosperous place in Wano. The first true port. Shouldn't we secure it for ourselves?"
Toramaru shook his head. "We wait for Lord Brook's command. He rewards loyalty, and punishes betrayal. If we serve faithfully, we'll gain everything we desire."
Elsewhere, Kozuki Sukiyaki stood silently, cloaked in the garb of Fugetsu Shinrope. The secrets of Wano weighed heavily on him. He had guarded them as tradition dictated, passing them down without truly understanding. Now, with the walls shattered and the seas open, the tide of history could no longer be held back.
Fugetsu, wounded but alive, looked on bitterly. Had he known that opening the country would restore the vast lands of ancient Wano, perhaps he would have stood with Oden. Instead, he had been cast aside, a hollow title his only reward.
---------
The Hell Pirates unleashed their full strength, blasting open the hidden chamber. Dust and stone gave way to a vast, hollow space—and inside it, a colossal shadow loomed.
"It's huge!!!"
"It's made of steel… so heavy! Can this monster even float on the sea?"
"Look at that cannon barrel—thicker than a tower! That thing could erase an island with a single shot!!"
"Yohohoho~! Vegapunk, hurry and get your people aboard! See if it can still run!"
"Leave the floating to me!" Shiki roared, laughing wildly.
"Gurarara ~ what a sight. A warship this size… were its crew giants?" Newgate bellowed in awe.
"Celestial Dragons… your doom has come," another crewman sneered.
"Ohhh~, I want it! If I could turn this into one of my Homies… imagine Pluton as my personal weapon!" Linlin's eyes glittered with greed.
The four fallen angels spread their wings, carrying scientists across the steel giant's vast frame. Excitement and terror rippled through the crew as they approached the legendary ancient weapon.
"I never thought I'd see Pluton with my own eyes… I can die without regrets!" one scholar cried.
"Stop gawking and get moving!" Redfield barked, watching as Vegapunk was escorted into the control room.
The scientist's fingers trembled as he hovered over the consoles. "So many levers… dials… the layout is magnificent. Everyone, move carefully! There could be automatic defenses."
Brook's voice cut through the clamor. "Stay sharp! We don't know if this ship has countermeasures against intruders."
As he strode across the immense deck, his mind turned. Why had the Twenty Kings destroyed Egghead, yet spared Wano? Was it because Im's 'national treasure' couldn't touch this land? Or had the Nefertari clan hidden Pluton so well that even Im never discovered its true resting place?
"Darkness under the lamp," Brook muttered. "And the Nefertari refusing to join Marijoa… how convenient."
The deck stretched endlessly, wider than any ship Brook had ever seen. He exhaled slowly. "Bigger than an aircraft carrier… more like a space battleship. Is this really the technology of this world?"
He chuckled bitterly to himself. Hades, Osiris, Pluton… the gods of the underworld line up at my feet. Truly, I'm the king of Hell.
With a wave of his hand, he summoned a gate of ghosts. A torrent of spirits rushed out, seeping into the battleship's steel halls to probe for hidden traps. Through them, Brook shaped a three-dimensional awareness of the ship's interior.
Then—he froze. His eyes widened, and his aura flared violently, rattling the air.
Everyone stiffened. "What is it?!"
Brook coughed lightly. "…Nothing. Keep going."
But inwardly, his thoughts spun. He had felt it—a fleeting spark of soul energy. Was it a ship spirit? A will born within this steel?
He thought of the Going Merry, the Straw Hats' beloved ship that had manifested its own spirit. Was that truly born from affection, or the strange power of the Sun God Nika's influence? If a simple caravel could birth a spirit, what of this monstrous warship?
Brook narrowed his gaze. If Pluton has a soul… could it resist me? Or even control itself?
The ground trembled.
"Boom…"
Metal groaned, and the colossal battleship began to rise from its cradle. Water and dust poured away as Pluton stirred after centuries.
"Hahaha!!! Pluton is reborn!" Shiki shouted, using his powers to lift the giant vessel. The steel behemoth floated upward, piercing the shadows of the ruined cavern.
On the ruins below, samurai and commoners alike gaped in horror and awe.
"It's… alive!"
"Look at it! Bigger than the Shogun's palace!"
"This—this is our ancestors' legacy! Why give it to Brook? It belongs to Wano!!"
A reckless gangster cried out, only to be cut down instantly by his comrade, terrified the Hell Pirates might overhear. No one dared provoke Brook's wrath.
Kozuki Sukiyaki's face drained of color. "So it's true… Pluton. Our clan guarded it, yet I never dreamed…" His voice shook with awe and despair.
Fugetsu Kamisawa glared bitterly at him. All these years you clung to isolation while this power slept beneath us. Oden was right—useless, cowardly fool.
Across the land, the daimyo—Toramaru, Token, Hyogoro, Ashura—stared in silence. The enormity of Brook's ambition settled in. This was his goal all along.
The steel fortress rose higher, until its shadow blanketed the ruins of ancient Wano. Finally, Shiki guided it to rest at Onigashima, where Vegapunk's teams scrambled to study its systems. Giants were put to work cleaning and maintaining the hull, their awe plain in every movement.
Below, the ruins remained dim under the oppressive city walls. Light barely reached the drowned streets of ancient Wano, reminding all that much of the land remained sealed in darkness.
On the deck, Brook turned to Vegapunk. "Forget navigation for now. Shiki can keep it afloat. Focus on the main cannon. Can you fire it?"
Vegapunk's eyes shone with feverish curiosity. "Lord Brook… I must tell you, it feels as if Pluton itself resists us. It's… alive. Intelligent. This machine thinks."
Brook's gaze hardened, but before he could reply, Linlin stormed forward, frustration blazing in her eyes.
"Brother Brook! My soul power won't fuse with it. Pluton rejects me! I can't make it into my Homie—it already has its own soul!"
[TL: Check out my new fanfic, Soul Land: Thunder Dragon God (Douluo Dalu).
Join Yu Tianlin of the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan on his rise to the top no system, no shortcuts, just pure talent and hard earned power.
If you want classic Douluo energy with thunder dragon might, give it a read.]
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