Half an hour later.
"So, you're saying that the river outside, the one bubbling hot, is the legendary Nether River?" Rowen looked surprised.
After half an hour of questioning, he finally managed to extract some interesting information from this group of petroleum monsters.
These monsters were not outsiders; they were the workers responsible for building the tomb back then. They were also followers of the tomb's owner, a fallen noble from West Blue, who also dabbled in piracy.
Three hundred years ago, the Noble Pirate Captain died of a severe illness, and according to his wishes, they built a tomb on the spot to bury him.
As loyal servants of the tomb's owner, they sealed the stone door towards the end of the tomb's construction, deciding to stay behind to accompany the captain.
Such loyalty was touching.
However!
They didn't die.
When the tomb was being built, the river below the cliff wasn't the hot spring river bubbling with bubbles like it is now; it was just an ordinary underground river. The construction team used to drink water from there.
Like in the story, after drinking from the river, there were no immediate abnormalities. But when the first person mutated, they sealed the stone door, and there was no way to escape.
Originally, there were nearly a hundred people on the team, but in the end, only thirteen... no, now there were nine survivors who had mutated.
They had been trapped in the tomb for three hundred years, experiencing despair, disappointment, and finally, numbness when they realized they couldn't die or escape.
But they always remembered their mission: to protect the master's tomb.
It sounded like an inspiring story, but Rowen didn't sympathize with them.
Initially, the construction team of nearly a hundred people couldn't have all been pirates.
Surely, most of them were genuine workers, lured and forcibly buried together with promises of gold.
Pirates, after all, were pirates!
Naturally, Rowen didn't care about that. What he cared most about was the river outside...
Wait a minute!
"Did all of you originally come in here to be buried? Did anyone escape?"
"Well..."
The first person to speak looked at his companions and nodded, gritting his teeth. "Yes!"
"The Vice Captain, who was also the Captain's younger brother, wanted to take the Captain's treasure and start afresh. We stopped him... but there was a group of traitors who had the same idea and managed to escape while we were distracted. We didn't catch up to them."
"I see! The owner of the treasure map has been found..."
Rowen bit on his cigar, grinning.
Since ancient times, wealth has moved hearts!
Foolish loyalists were few in number; faced with such vast wealth, it would be a miracle if no one was tempted.
Especially relatives, who would naturally feel entitled to inherit their loved one's legacy.
Smiling, Rowen continued. "So, your Vice Captain and the traitors, did they also drink from the Nether River?"
"That's right!"
The man said bitterly. "So we are very resentful. Since we're alive, he must be alive too!"
"Sir! Please spare us, we want to seek revenge on him!"
Betrayal at sea was different from a kingdom coup.
Once you set sail, there was no turning back. Everyone's lives were tied to the same ship, so there was no room for betrayal.
For traitors, the rules at sea are more cruel, and the will is stronger.
"No, there's no need. I think he's probably dead." Rowen said lightly, turning to the temporary commander with a puzzled look, and said, "Go and see if Rebeke is dead or not. If he's not dead, bring him in... If he is dead, bring him in too."
"Yes!" The temporary commanderreolied with a puzzled expression on his face before hescratched the back of his head and strode away.
"So..."
Watching him leave, Rowen picked up a Seastone embroidery needle from the ground. In the workers' gazes, which were like they were staring at God for the nth time, he calmly asked, "Tell me about the origin of this thing. Is it a specialty of your country?"
Was there a country in West Blue capable of processing Seastone to this extent?
That needed to be investigated thoroughly.
"This..."
The monsters looked at each other, then shook their heads. "Sorry, sir, we really don't know about this."
"Oh?"
Swish!
The Dragon Crescent Sided Halberd tore through the air with a "sizzle", sounding like thunder exploding, stopping by the ear of the person who spoke.
"I'll give you one chance to reorganize your language, pirate!"
After the temporary commander shouted the words "Vice Admiral Soryu," both sides understood each other's identities, and Rowen was reminding them that his patience was wearing thin.
"Sir, we really don't know where this thing comes from."
Another pirate in front said with a mix of sadness and bitterness, "The reason why the Captain became a pirate in the first place was because the King was also coveting their origin... The Captain refused to comply and was subsequently accused of treason and wanted."
"We only know that when the Captain was young, he visited the Grand Line once and brought back these Seastone products. Including this time we set sail, it was also to seek help from the people who gave him these Seastones."
Hearing this, Rowen frowned.
Although he wasn't an interrogation expert, he could tell these people weren't lying.
When people lie, they reveal many small movements, which wouldn't be as calm and composed as they are now, mixed with a sense of righteousness and indignation.
"Has the trail gone cold?"
"Never mind, what's important is not what happened, but what I got."
With this in mind, Rowen played with the Seastone embroidery needle in his hand, beckoning, "You guys, pack these things up."
With that said, a mass of gold began to wriggle, forming a small box about twenty centimeters square.
At this moment, Rebeke, with his limbs twisted strangely from being beaten, was carried in and thrown on the ground. He stared in astonishment at the mountain of gold piled up in the cave, trying to lift his head.
"The legends of our ancestors are true after all!"
"That's right, the Nether River treasure you've been hiding for years is all this!"
Rowen stood up, biting his cigar, and began to use his Devil Fruit ability to control the Gold Dome, reassembling it into bricks.
Seeing both sides remain silent after the meeting, he smirked.
"Aren't you curious why I'm so sure that the Vice Captain is dead?"
"He should be able to give you the answer."
...
In the underground world, in the cliff canyon.
The excavation team commander gasped for breath as he climbed up, lying on the ground panting heavily. "We've not failed you, sir!"
The commander propped himself up, using his weak arms to tremblingly pull out a rusty iron plate from his arms. "There was indeed a mechanism here before, used to fetch water from the river below. From the freshness of the cut, it was deliberately damaged not long ago."
"And this..."
The commander undid his coat pocket and picked up a damp notebook.
It was a summary of the beliefs about the Lord of the Nether River, belonging to a thorough cult. Rowen only glanced at it briefly before losing interest.
"Rebeke, you've taken the wrong path!"
The old scholar, now 86 years old, had nearly lost his life to a severe illness when he was 75.
Life and death moments can be terrifying.
The surviving Rebeke changed as a result.
Because his ancestors had truly encountered the Nether River and turned into monsters, Rebeke, fearing death at the end of his life, wanted to find the Nether River for a chance at continued life. According to the ancestral legends, he came to Alabasta and stayed there for ten years.
However, with the unpredictable changes in the desert terrain and three hundred years passing by without detailed maps, it was impossible to find the Nether River with just bits and pieces of information.
In his increasing despair, Rebeke, on the brink of collapse, went astray and began to believe in the Lord of the Nether River, hoping for a response.
And then, he saw the familiar relief on the tomb door, which gave him the chance to fulfill his dream.
How should I put it?
Perhaps it's human nature?
After becoming a monster and confirming the existence of the Nether River, Rebeke remembered the legend of the noble pirate's treasure, intending to kill and silence others to claim it all for himself.
But he picked a fight with the wrong people.
And now, everything had turned to dust, his soul broken.
"Well, it's none of my business!"
Rowen stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing down into the dark abyss of the canyon below.
"Nether River, let me see what you really are?!"
(End of this chapter)
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