Time had taken its toll. Even the books within the ruins had long since perished.
Sakazuki stared at the one in his hand as it crumbled into dust, then gently set the remains down.
Without rushing, he reached for the next book, then another, checking them one by one with patience. But in the end, after going through every single volume on the shelf, he found nothing of use.
All that remained was a pile of paper fragments. Not a single complete book had survived.
'Time...' Sakazuki sighed softly.
He stepped out and moved toward the next room. This part of the ruins felt like it had been built privately by the former owner. It resembled a personal basement. The space was cramped, leaving no room for unnecessary decoration.
The study had held only a single table and chair. The room with the murals had nothing else at all.
Carlo was still in the first chamber, standing in front of the murals, quietly admiring their ancient beauty.
Enel followed behind Sakazuki, glancing around with growing curiosity as they continued to explore.
Two more rooms turned up little of note. One was filled with rusted tools, while the other held golden ornaments.
Then they reached the fourth room, which was noticeably different. The door was larger and more ornate than the others, decorated with intricate carvings dulled by age.
Creeeak—
The rusted hinges groaned as Sakazuki pushed the door open. Inside was a huge bedroom.
To the left stood a three-meter-long table, atop which rested a gleaming, two-meter-long model of a warship. To the right was a collapsed bed, its ruined frame lying beneath shell-shaped decorations that still clung to the wall above.
But what stood directly across from the entrance was a simple table and chair, and the skeleton slumped over the desk, one bony hand still gripping a pen.
Sakazuki didn't pause to examine the corpse. Instead, he walked straight to the model.
It was massive, made entirely of gold, resting on a golden base. A single word was engraved on that base. Though the script differed slightly from modern writing, it was still recognizable—it read: Maxim.
Beneath the model, a wide drawer was built into the table. Sakazuki pulled it open, revealing a thick stack of blueprints inside.
His eyes lit up as he carefully picked them up.
The sheets were completely intact, preserved by some kind of special material. Each had its own serial number, and the first page was a detailed sketch of the complete warship. As he flipped through them, each page broke down different components and how they fit together.
Even without engineering expertise, these plans alone could guide the construction of a powerful flying vessel—provided one had the manpower and resources.
When he reached the final page, there were no technical diagrams. Instead, it was an illustration.
The Maxim warship floated high above an island, its silhouette immense and ominous. Thick black mist spilled from the top, stretching upward into the storm-darkened sky. Bolts of lightning crackled between clouds and earth. At the center of it all, a colossal black thunderball—larger than the island itself—descended with terrifying force.
There was no need to guess what had happened to that island.
Sakazuki neatly restacked the blueprints and placed them carefully on the ground. Then he lifted the Maxim model from the table and set it beside the papers, leaving only the golden base behind.
He placed his hand on the base. Magma burst from his arm, melting the gold instantly.
As he pulled his hands back, a golden suitcase over a meter long rose from the molten remains. He placed it on the table and waited for it to cool.
Only then did he turn to the desk where the skeleton lay.
The person had clearly died while writing. A large black stain had spread across the middle of the desk—likely blood. From the looks of it, the man had been gravely wounded, coughed up blood, and died right there.
Sakazuki gently pried the notebook from beneath the skeleton's arm. To his surprise, the pages held together.
He opened it and began to read.
{Destiny? 800 years later? What a joke!}
{A single word—destiny—buried an entire kingdom.}
{Surrendered without a fight!}
{I can't understand it! I can't understand it at all!}
{Fools!!!}
{Damn that Joy Boy…}
{...}
{...I hate this!}
Most of the page was soaked in dark blotches, but those words still remained.
Sakazuki stood in silence, his thoughts stirring. 'Joy Boy… destiny… eight hundred years later… and the Great Kingdom, huh. But… following destiny? That really is laughable.'
He flipped back a few pages, this notebook wasn't used for daily records. It seemed more like the owner had written down important memories at different stages of life, and there weren't many entries.
The first page was scribbled in crooked, youthfull handwriting.
{Today, I listened to my father talk about the history of our people. I had no idea we were once so glorious.}
{We could freely grant life to machine-like little beings, and there was that massive super warship too.}
{Were our ancestors gods?}
{I'm a descendant of gods!}
{Hehe. I've decided. I'm going to build a flying super warship and head to the land where we used to live!}
{So, today's goal: Learn kinetic energy conversion!}
On the second page, the handwriting had started to look a bit neater.
{Ran into another tribe today, the ones Father mentioned. They have these things on their heads that look like antennae. Weird. I'm not sure if it's hair or part of their bodies.}
{Apparently, there are four different kinds of our people. But two of them went far away to the Blue Sea. I really want to meet them someday.}
By the third page, the writing had become steady and clean.
{Our ancestors were brilliant. Even after years of study, there's still so much I don't understand.}
{Now I get why they chose to migrate. Those living mechanical dolls and gaint ships… they consume too many resources. No wonder the moon's surface is full of giant craters. The inside might've already been hollowed out.}
{I want to design a flying ship that doesn't need so many resources. But the Sky Islands don't have what I need. So… I'm heading to the Blue Sea!}
The fourth page's handwriting had gained a sharper, more confident tone.
{Fifteen years passed without me even noticing. While exploring the Blue Sea, I found the materials I needed—and met the other two tribes.}
{Fascinating. A city made of gold. If I had control over it, how many ships could I make? And the Great Kingdom… where all races live together in peace. It's beautiful.}
{There's even a kind of fruit down here that gives people supernatural powers. The people of the Blue Sea call it the Devil Fruit.}
{I saw a full Devil Fruit encyclopedia at my good friend Joy Boy's place. It gave me my next goal.}
{The Rumble-Rumble Fruit could be the perfect energy source. Too bad I've already eaten a Devil Fruit myself. So, next goal—figure out how to make objects eat Devil Fruits.}
On the fifth page, the handwriting looked mature but messy—signs of an unsettled heart.
{After countless experiments, I've had a few successful cases with Devil Fruit research. I haven't pinpointed what causes success yet, but I'm getting close.}
{What really disturbs me is Joy Boy's Great Kingdom. It's expanding too fast. I have a bad feeling. His ideals are far too ahead of their time. He'll become the world's enemy.}
{What should I do…}
The sixth page was carved deep into the paper. It showed how frustrated the writer had been while writing.
{I've given up.}
{How could I have been friends with that idiot for over thirty years? He never stops talking about destiny.}
{That big, carefree smile... now it just makes me sick.}
{The winds are shifting across the world's nations. I need to prepare. If things can't be salvaged, I have to leave myself a way out.}
As for the seventh page, it was the one Sakazuki had seen first.
He closed the notebook. The information recorded inside had revealed part of the world's truth to him.
He felt a little sympathy for the man who'd written it.
'Carefree... always talking about fate...'
The last two pages had been filled with frustration and regret, the kind that came from expecting too much from someone who never changed.
Just then, Enel's voice echoed from across the room. "Uncle, there's a box over here."
Sakazuki walked over and flicked him on the forehead. Then he reached down, pulled apart the collapsed boards on the bed, and took out a square box that had been crushed underneath.
Meanwhile, Enel clutched his forehead with both hands and shouted, "What was that for?!"
"I'm not that old," Sakazuki replied calmly.
Enel glared at him, still holding his forehead. He said, "Tch! Uncle! Uncle!"
Sakazuki raised his left hand like he was going to flick him again.
Panicking, Enel darted away. Sakazuki let out a faint smirk, which only made the boy more annoyed.
Ignoring him, Sakazuki opened the box. Inside was a strange-looking fruit.
It was round and yellow, with lightning-shaped patterns etched across its surface. Tiny thunderbolt-like stems poked from both ends, and its skin was covered in spiral ridges that shimmered faintly like electricity. Its overall shape looked like a dragon fruit.
That clear marking told Sakazuki everything he needed to know.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Enel stretched his neck, trying to get a glimpse inside the box. He wasn't quite tall enough and eventually gave in.
"Uncle, What's in there?" he asked.
Sakazuki pulled out the fruit and casually tossed it into the boy's arms and said, "Logia-type. Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Eat it, and you'll become lightning."
Enel stared at it, wide-eyed, holding it tightly with both hands. He didn't know what a "Logia" was, or even what Rumble-Rumble Fruit was—but "become lightning" was clear enough.
He suddenly tensed up. This fruit felt incredibly valuable. He hugged it tighter, afraid he'd drop it and damage it.
Seeing his reaction, Sakazuki couldn't help but chuckle. "Why so nervous?"
"I can't take this! It's way too valuable!" Enel protested.
Sakazuki replied, "You don't want it? You found it, so it's yours."
Enel froze. "You're... giving it to me?"
Sakazuki gave a single nod. The boy stood there in a daze for a moment. Then suddenly, he rushed out of the room, running straight toward the chamber with the murals.
Sakazuki stayed behind, continuing to search the place for anything else useful.
...
In the mural room.
Thanks to the patch of magma left behind, the room was still brightly lit.
Carlo, who had been admiring the murals, sensed Enel approaching and turned toward the doorway.
"What's wrong?"
The boy walked over and held out the Devil Fruit. Carlo took it, examining the lightning-like markings on its surface.
"This is... the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"
Enel nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. "Uncle said whoever finds it gets to keep it. But it'd be wasted on me, so..."
Carlo smiled, gently patted his head, then crouched down and handed the fruit back.
"I don't need it. It's better if you eat it, at least you'll have a way to protect yourself. Just remember, you won't be able to swim afterward."
Enel felt the warmth of that big hand resting on his head. For a moment, he was stunned.
It felt unfamiliar... like something out of a dream.
A dream he'd had while watching other people's families. That kind of warmth—like an older brother's, or even a father's…
He shook his head hard, pushing the thought away. Looking down at the fruit in his hands, then up into Carlo's encouraging eyes, he took a deep breath.
Then he took a bite.
And instantly—
An indescribable taste exploded across his tongue and shot straight through his soul. It made his whole body shudder.
He was about to spit it out when a hand suddenly clamped over his mouth, pressing his cheeks in and forcing him to swallow.
Enel looked at Carlo's smiling face in pure despair.
It was all an illusion!
All of that warmth was a lie!
He was definitely a demon! Absolutely!
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!