Chapter 335

And once power declines...

one will age at an extremely rapid pace—like Sengoku.

Very quickly,

the three returned to the Straw Hat Pirates' base, and everyone gathered around.

"How was it? Did you obtain a new location?" Usopp asked impatiently.

Sima Di had already obtained information on the second Red Road Poneglyph earlier; hindered by the crowd and loose tongues, he had not explained it to everyone—perhaps this is a common flaw of the wise, always trying to minimize variables as much as possible.

"Of course, the second coordinate has been confirmed," Robin nodded.

This made Chopper and the others very excited!

Crocus, however, gave a somewhat bitter smile.

Was it really this smooth?

Back then, he and Roger and the others, in order to steal this rubbing of Big Mom's Red Road Poneglyph, almost ended up staying in Wano forever...

After everyone's emotions gradually calmed down.

Sima Di finally waved his hand,

and a Sagittarius Gold Cloth box with a dark golden hue appeared before everyone's eyes.

Dark gold?

Compared to the brilliant golden hue in Sima Di's memory, it clearly lacked much of its luster.

It seems this is due to the "damage," so the color is dull—originally, I thought it might be missing an arm or a leg.

*Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump*

Debt repayment progress: 【71,000 words / 144,000 words】!

Automatic subscriptions are still short by 3 extra chapters!

74. The Gold Cloth Accepts a Master! Awakening of the Cosmos?

"Di, what is this?" Vivi asked curiously.

"Oh, this is equipment similar to the Hammer of Lei Shen," Sima Di said casually, "As long as one obtains its recognition, combat power can multiply several times on the spot."

In an instant!

Everyone's eyes burned as they stared at the Sagittarius Gold Cloth box!

Everyone had seen the wonders of the Hammer of Lei Shen; could this box of Sima Di's really rival the Hammer of Lei Shen?

Everyone exchanged glances,

and all revealed looks of determination!

"Di! Speak!" Usopp urged, "What are the conditions required this time?"

Vivi and the others also watched Sima Di without blinking, waiting for his answer.

Sima Di hesitated for a moment...

What were the selection criteria for the Sagittarius Gold Cloth again?

It seems the anime didn't say either...

But Sima Di could roughly guess a few conditions.

First is strength!

Logically speaking,

there is no reason for a Gold Cloth to simply accept a bottom-tier Bronze-level person as its master.

But this is the World of Pirates; whether anyone has awakened their Cosmos, in the perception of the Sagittarius Gold Cloth, they are probably all on par.

Secondly, one must obtain official recognition from Lord Sima—that is, the approval of the Pope or the Goddess.

Almost all Cloths carry a meaning of bestowal.

This right of bestowal can also be delegated by the Pope to trainers around the world; most Bronze and Silver Cloths are bestowed by Masters.

But like the Cosmos, this is the World of Pirates.

Perhaps Sima Di, as a half-master, can play this role?

Since he has already allowed the Straw Hat Pirates and others to test it, that is effectively a bestowal.

Then there is the requirement of character; at least one must have no history of great evil.

This condition is actually relatively lenient.

War requires killing; involving innocents is unavoidable, so presumably committing evil within a certain scope can be tolerated.

Cancer Gold Cloth "Deathmask" committed countless evils, slaughtered innocents indiscriminately, and even killed his seniors by following a forged decree.

The Cloth still recognized him as its master.

Until,

Deathmask repeatedly struck down the Goddess's guardians, only then was he spurned by the Cloth.

This must have reached the Cloth's limit of tolerance.

According to the second rule,

does that mean one cannot kill people belonging to Lord Sima?

The entire Straw Hat Pirates crew are adventurers who have saved more than one nation; they definitely meet this condition.

In summary...

"Let fate decide," Sima Di said.

He had no way to analyze these conditions for everyone, so he could only say this.

The Straw Hat Pirates: "..."

That sounds very much like "let fate decide"!

The crowd was at a loss, and could only rack their brains one after another.

Zoro was the first to ask, "What's in that box of yours? You should at least let us know, right?"

Ah, this......

"Didn't I mention it?" Sima Di scratched his head.

"You didn't at all!" Black lines popped over Zoro's head.

He was probably the only person present who had no desire for any equipment beyond famous blades.

—Didn't you see even Luffy was very interested in the Sagittarius Gold Cloth?

Though what interested him was probably not a boost in combat power, but rather that he thought the thing was cool or something.

"Fine, then let me reintroduce it." Sima Di said: "This is the Sagittarius Gold Cloth Box, the battle armor equipped by the Saints. The Cloth has a will, it is alive, so it can often unleash abilities beyond imagination! And if you obtain it, you can gain an entirely new ability."

After thinking for a moment,

Sima Di added, "Oh right, this Sagittarius Gold Cloth comes equipped with a weapon — a golden bow."

Everyone: "???"

A golden bow?

Isn't that just ranged damage?

The crowd instinctively looked at the only sniper on the ship — Usopp.

"Haha! A golden bow? Then it must be mine!" Usopp said full of confidence.

He was the only sniper on the ship!

In the past,

Whenever Usopp was this full of confidence, the very next second a slap in the face was sure to come.

But this time......

"Clack—"

The Sagittarius Gold Cloth Box seemed to sense some kind of will, then the golden box suddenly opened and assembled into the shape of a centaur drawing a bow to shoot, then with a rumble it scattered apart into parts that flew toward Usopp, matching his body and assembling onto him.

"Wow!"

"So cool!"

"Is this the Sagittarius Gold Cloth? Love it, love it!"

The crowd exclaimed in wonder!

All because,

The Sagittarius Gold Cloth was simply too cool!