Inside the ruins of an Ancient City, which spanned over an area even larger than Alubarna, the Shandians, who had rushed there after the Divine Squad informed them about the discovery, were all assembled in what was once the central plaza, looking at the massive temple in front of them with tears in their eyes.
"Lady Robin asked me to tell you that if you wish to settle here and restore Shandora, you may. However, you should wait until all the ruins have been examined by her." The new Captain of the Divine Squad, McKinley, informed the old Chief.
"Thank you," The old man gratefully said, and then turned around to say some words to his people.
In the last three weeks, a lot of things have changed in Skypiea. And the most significant change was the formation of the new Divine Squad, consisting of Birkans, Skypieans, and Shandians.
What had come to all their surprise was how quickly the God's Army of Enel had submitted to their new God, whom they had not even met yet. And the Skypieans and Shandians had mixed feelings in their hearts when they heard and saw some Birkans cry tears of joy when they learned about Enel's death.
As it turned out, most who chose to follow him did so out of fear and to protect their families. And deep down, they all hated him for destroying their beautiful home and killing people they cared about and remembered.
Of course, there were some who were utterly loyal to Enel, and they had been swiftly dealt with by Robin.
Identifying such people was easy since the Birkans turned on them, begging her for justice, and she only killed the culprits whom she deemed a threat to the people of the country in the future.
Strangely enough, the one that the Birkans and Skypieans had the most grievances against was not one of the Four Priests, but Yama, who was the Commander of the Divine Soldiers who served Enel.
Even Satori, one of the Priests, stepped forward as a witness to the crimes that Yama had committed against the Birkans. The monk had killed his Father and the rest of the Family, and now only he and his two brothers remained. As such, Yama was the first one to be killed.
Of the Four Priests, three got to keep their lives under the condition of life-long Servitude to their new God, which they readily accepted.
The one who lost his life was Ohm, who begged to be allowed to serve the New God and to keep his life, but given the severity of his crimes, and to set an example, Robin killed him without any hesitation, freezing him to his death.
Another big change was the formation of a Group called Sky Guardians, who were named the Protectors of Skypiea, and they were Satori, Shura, Gedatsu, Warashi, Genbo, and Braham.
Shura and Gedatsu were former Priests together with Satori, whilst Warashi, Genbo, and Braham were young Shandian Warriors, the best of the lot, whom the Shandian Chief had suggested and Robin approved of to be accepted as Sky Guardians.
Leading the Sky Guardians as their Captain was Gan Fall, the former God of Skypiea, who had offered his services, requesting to be allowed to serve as the Protector of Skypiea.
Quite a few Shandians were unwilling to see him as the Captain of the Sky Guardians, but once Robin made the decision, they did not dare to raise their objection.
However, to their elation, she announced that after Gan Fall's retirement, the most capable of the Sky Guardians, regardless of their race, would become the new Captain, and all the Shandians pinned their hopes on their youngsters to grab that position of Authority and Respect in the future.
It showed that there was no prejudice against them in their new God's eyes, and as a prideful race of Warriors, they wanted to stand above the rest in Ranks.
The Younger Black also divided the Upper Yard into three territories for the Shandians, Skypieans, and Birkans.
Shandians were granted the central territory by her, the biggest of the three, which included all their historical places, and it was in the Central Territory, inside the region covered in clouds at the base of the Giant Jack Beanstalk, where they discovered the ancient city of Shandora.
So far, the Warrior Tribe had no serious objection against everything that was happening. And why would they have an objection? The fighting was over, they had been allowed to return to their home, and they were respected too.
More than anything, the future of their children was safe.
The Chief, who was briefing his people, suddenly turned to look to his right and smiled when he saw a Giant Puppy running towards the temple, carrying two young girls on its back.
"Oi, Old Man!" The Orangehead happily waved his way, and he laughed as he waved back at her, and in a matter of seconds, they were out of sight.
"Those two are always up to something." The tall Shandian girl, who was about 14 years old, smiled, and the people around them nodded to her words.
They were quite surprised when the two girls suddenly asked them to teach them how to use the Shooters, and Raki decided to help them. But none of them were prepared for what they witnessed next as the two girls only took a few tries, and then they were using Shooters almost as good as their experienced Warriors.
For a Warrior Tribe that respected strength and talent, the two girls had managed to earn their respect in just an hour. And there was hardly anyone who could suppress their smile whenever they came across the two, who were always up on an adventure.
On the other side, at the top of the Temple, Robin was looking at the inscriptions that detailed the history of Shandora, when she sensed a sudden presence behind her.
"Good morning." She brightly smiled as she turned around and then sweetly closed her eyes when her brother planted a kiss on her head.
"Bonney told me that you have been busy." He said and then glanced at the inscriptions, which immediately caught his attention.
"Yes." She nodded and watched him sit as he traced the inscriptions with his hands.
"That's Skypieans, Birkans, and Shandians." He said, curiously raising his brow as he looked at the wings of the people who were drawn on the stone.
"All three of them have the same origin," She informed him and then sat next to him. "I looked into the history of Skypiea. Gan Fall is very knowledgeable about it."
"What did you find?"
"All three of these Races originate from the Moon and they were originally called the Moon Race."
"No relation to the Valorians?"
"Nothing in what I have gathered so far." She shook her head. "The three races left the City of Birka on the Moon and descended to the World after the resources nearly dried out. The three races went their separate ways, and Birka, Skypiea, and Shandora were founded. Whilst the other two were founded on Sky Islands, Shandora was founded on an Earthly Island on the Blue Sea called Jaya."
"Heh."
"Yes." She giggled. "400 years ago, the Knock Up Stream shot it up in the Sky. And Shandora was not a normal place or city, but a very powerful Kingdom. However, they were attacked by the Twenty Kingdoms during the Void Century."
"They sided with the Great Kingdom." He narrowed his eyes. "And they survived the attack."
"Yes. They came out victorious but the Kingdom fell, and after the War, they never managed to grow as strong again. The original Shandorians, including the Royals, were killed. And only a small tribe called Shandia remained. They were left with the legacy and a task."
"Task?"
"Keep thy motive in heart, with closed mouth. We are those who will weave history with the ringing of the Great Belfry."
Sin frowned at those words, getting a hint about what they meant.
"There's a Poneglyph?"
"Yes, and it is in the lost Golden Belfry of Shandora. A Giant Bell made out of Gold."
"Lost?" He grinned and then grabbed her waist before disappearing from the place.
The next instant, Robin gaped as she found herself up on the clouds, looking at a giant Golden Bell, which was resting at the top of the Giant Jack.
"I saw it when I was returning from Birka." He told her and then took her closer to the Bell, on the side where the Poneglyph was embedded in it.
The two siblings read what was written on it with their brows furrowed.
"A Mermaid with the Power to Destroy the World."
"The Ancient Weapon, Poseidon."
Robin and Sin glanced at each other, and then the latter drew his hand to the Poneglyph and closed his eyes, listening to its Voice.
Just like the other Poneglyph in Arabasta, this one also kept repeating the words that were written on it.
"It has been over 800 Years, Sin. Do you think that prophesied Mermaid has been born?" She asked when he opened his eyes, and he nodded to her.
"She's the Princess of Fishman Island." He told her, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Den told me that four years ago, Princess Shirahoshi summoned Sea Kings in a panic when her Mother's life was threatened by a World Noble."
They stayed silent after his words and then looked at the words on the Belfry, right next to the Poneglyph.
"I have come here and will lead this passage to the farthest end of the world. Pirate - Gol D. Roger." Robin read out the words aloud, and they both grinned at the name.
"He did take this passage to Laughtale, believed to be the farthest end of the World, having checked all the Poneglyphs. He possibly created the Rio Poneglyph, containing the Historical Information from all the Poneglyphs he came across in his life." Robin's mind was running wild, but the grin on her face brightened. "Do you think that the Rio Poneglyph, the True History, is the One Piece? His greatest treasure?"
"It is certainly a part of it." He nodded. "But is that all? We will just have to find it out ourselves."
Sin looked at the beautiful Golden Bell and then rose in the air.
"Well then, let's weave the History with the ringing of the Belfry." He grinned as he landed under the Bell and grabbed the clapper, effortlessly pulling it back before swinging it with some might, striking it against the bell, and creating loud rings that travelled far into the Blue Sea too...