Translator: PapaSmurf0700
Early the next morning, Bai Ye was abruptly woken by Luffy's boisterous shouting: "Everyone! Get ready to go on an adventure!" Standing atop the remains of last night's bonfire, Luffy stretched out his arms wide, his face alight with excitement.
Usopp, his voice groggy and strained, protested, "Hey, hey, Luffy. It's barely dawn. We were up late at the banquet; I need more sleep this morning." But Luffy, arms crossed and unyielding, laughed off the complaint, "Hahaha, no way."
Suddenly, there was a thud—a stone, thrown from out of the blue, struck Luffy on the head, knocking him to the ground. Nami, fuming and hands on her hips, stormed over and scolded him, "Idiot, don't you know that girls need their beauty sleep? Why are you making such a racket so early?"
Luffy, unfazed by the stone, brushed himself off and got back on his feet with a cheeky grin. "This morning, the old grandpa and the masked man are coming to the island," he declared proudly. "There's so much interesting stuff here and gold too. It would be bad if they got it all. That's why we need to leave now—we're pirates!"
Luffy's explanation seemed to do the trick. Nami's interest was piqued instantly at the mention of gold. Although she didn't fully grasp Luffy's plan, the promise of treasure was enough to motivate her. It's funny how, despite often being clueless, Luffy always knew just what to say to get Nami on board.
Before Luffy could utter another word, Nami was already rallying the crew, her voice cutting through the morning air like a bell: "Everyone, let's go!"
She then cooed sweetly, "Sanji~" which instantly prompted Sanji to spring into action, his loyalty unwavering: "Understood, Nami-san, I'm at your service.". He turned to Zoro: "Mosshead, wake up, now!"
Zoro, jolted from his sleep, grumbled disorientedly: "Ha?!!"
Luffy, meanwhile, had been worrying unnecessarily. After he and the others had spoken with Conis about their plans for another adventure in Upper Yard, Gan Fall and Wyper—representatives of the Sky Islanders and Shandia tribe, respectively—had quickly agreed to let the Straw Hats explore to their hearts' content. They understood the value of the adventure to Luffy and his crew and were content to wait a little longer. In fact, they decided to use this extra time to prepare a special surprise for the Straw Hats.
Finally, after some chaos and rushing around, the Straw Hats crew managed to gather together. However, not everyone was in their best shape.
Chopper, clinging to Zoro's pants, looked rather drowsy and said, "Zoro, I'm so sleepy." Zoro, without much fuss, naturally hoisted Chopper onto his back, murmuring with a hint of irritation, "Really... you are too troublesome."
Similarly, Merry was struggling to keep her eyes open and eventually dozed off on Bai Ye's back. Bai Ye, noticing her struggle, suggested gently, "Merry, you could go rest on the Golden Merry." However, Bai Ye felt a bit like a dad making suggestions to a stubborn child—quite an odd feeling since he was still very much single.
Merry, caught between sleep and wakefulness, shook her head and mumbled, "No, do not want... Merry... want to go on an adventure... with everyone, not... alone..." Her voice trailed off into silence as she fell deeper into sleep.
Understanding Merry's desire to stay with the group even in her tired state, Bai Ye decided not to argue. Instead, he subtly used his qimen technique, the Wind Trigram, to enhance her comfort, ensuring she could sleep peacefully as they continued their adventure.
As Upper Yard was vast, the Straw Hats decided to split up to cover more ground. They agreed to regroup at the "skeleton's right eye," a landmark near the golden city.
In terms of team formation: Nami and Luffy paired up, both driven by their strong interest in gold, making them a natural duo for this adventure.
Robin chose to team up with Bai Ye, who had Merry comfortably nestled on his back. Robin believed that Bai Ye's deep familiarity with Upper Yard would lead them quickly to the historical relics she was eager to explore.
Sanji, feeling a bit left out as the beauties of the group had already chosen their companions, wiped away a tear and set off on his own.
The last group formed somewhat by default. Despite Zoro's protests that he wouldn't get lost, Usopp, slightly skeptical, joined him. Right from the start, Usopp had to correct Zoro's course.
With the Straw Hats' typical lively banquet concluded the previous day, tranquility returned to the area. The only signs of life were a few cloud wolves, who were now dozing peacefully where the festivities had taken place.
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The rapid growth of trees in the forest, combined with the fact that the Shandia lost their homes four hundred years ago, has led to much of the island's historical heritage being buried by the forest. As a result, Robin and Bai Ye had to exert considerable effort to uncover the first relic.
Standing before them was a towering stone monument, over ten meters tall, adorned with inscriptions and human faces. Bai Ye observed, "It appears to be a monument from the Golden City."
Unlike the ancient texts Robin was accustomed to deciphering, the inscription on this monument was in a language Bai Ye could understand. Robin, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it must have been erected by survivors after the city's destruction."
As Robin approached the monument, she carefully examined the engravings. Despite the monument's surface being weathered with cracks and signs of age, it still held a wealth of information. After a close inspection, Robin confirmed, "The name inscribed here is 'Shandora,' the same as mentioned in Noland's logbook. It refers to an ancient city."
As Bai Ye approached the monument, he spoke with a sense of reverence, "Shandora in the 402nd year of their calendar appears to have been a very prosperous city." The mere sight of the stone tablet evoked a profound sense of history.
Robin, absorbed in deciphering the inscriptions, suddenly realized, "Is this the year 402 of their calendar?" She quickly connected the dots, "That means their downfall was exactly 800 years ago—a time that coincides with the blank century, a period not recorded anywhere else in the world."
Her eyes lit up with excitement as she turned to Bai Ye, "This could mean there's a Poneglyph here on this island." Robin's expertise in archaeology shone through as she made the connection from just a few clues.
Bai Ye inwardly admired Robin's deductive prowess. Nodding in agreement, he added, "Yes, if our earlier assumptions hold true, Shandora could very well be part of that great kingdom. And according to the history you studied in O'Hara, the Poneglyphs were likely created by the descendants of that kingdom to convey the truth to the world."
With a thoughtful look, Bai Ye then gestured towards the south, where the Golden City lay. "This city, destroyed eight hundred years ago yet still spoken of by its descendants, likely holds such a relic."