Chapter 180: Gus (4k)

"The sky was shattered by a giant fist, followed by fragments of the island raining down from the heavens. The southern side of Skuld Island was completely destroyed, and the resulting massive tsunami caused over eight hundred deaths, with more than a thousand people missing..."

"A massive golden ark descended from the sky, and the God descended from Heaven with winged angels at his back. Since then, the constant disappearances of people on Skuld Island ceased, but in their place... was the ruthless slaughter of the evil god."

"Rumors suggest that the world's greatest swordsman, 【Hawkeye】 【Mihawk】, has been missing for over half a year. Some believe that 【Hawkeye】, like 【Sand Crocodile】, may have been involved in some heinous incident and was erased by the World Government..."

For several days in a row, Bai Cangshu did not act rashly; he began to dig for intelligence on this world bit by bit.

Bai Cangshu browsed quickly through a hodgepodge of newspapers and magazines, extracting the information he deemed useful, one piece at a time.

These records and articles were interspersed with a great deal of useless and contradictory information. For example, some said the terrifying tsunami two years ago was caused by the fall of a giant island from the sky, while other reports claimed the tsunami originated from the aftermath of a battle between two terrifying powerhouses on the sea.

There were also discrepancies regarding the time of Enel's appearance. Some believed the golden ark descended from the sky a week after the tsunami, but others said that long before that, the sea had already been controlled by thunderstorms, and nearby merchant ships and pirate ships had been destroyed.

Bai Cangshu was certain that hidden within these reports must be some truth regarding the changes in this world, only the recorders were mere mortals, lacking a sufficiently high perspective to see the truth clearly.

Like the nearby Mock Town, Skuld Island was not a member of the World Government; in fact, this small town did not even belong to any country. The current 【God's Kingdom】 was something claimed by Enel.

It had always been in a state of anarchy, managed only by a town-born clan of peacekeepers.

Bai Cangshu delved into the reasons for this and discovered that the origins of Skuld Island's residents were very mysterious. They first arrived to settle on this island over four hundred years ago, and the historical records of Skuld Island itself only went back to that stage.

From this, Bai Cangshu made an inference.

The residents of Skuld Island were originally the Sandia people of Jiaya Island from four hundred years ago. As Jiaya Island was pushed directly into the Sky Island by the Knock-Up Stream, the indigenous people and the kingdom of Jiaya Island split.

A portion of them came to Skuld Island to cultivate and multiply, eventually becoming an independent island. Because of the characteristic of this sea area where massive Knock-Up Streams occurred from time to time, for four hundred years, it had not suffered from the ravages of war, nor had it been dominated by other nations, much less incorporated into the territory of the World Government.

"Sandia..."

Bai Cangshu's hands moved like phantoms, quickly flipping through the magazines and newspapers again. He discovered another strange point.

After the Sky Island fell, those Sandia warriors completely vanished. Were they all killed by Enel? Or were those people the same existences that had turned into ghosts along with Kori...

The more Bai Cangshu dug, the more he felt that there was a massive problem hidden within this world.

And the opening of all these mysteries was likely related to these ghosts and the complete disappearance of the entire population of Alabasta.

There was some Reincarnator holding a prop or ability with some terrifying power who activated that prop or ability in this world, ultimately causing terrible destruction and change. That guy probably gained great benefits and eventually left, but at the same time, the influence of that ability continued to this day.

Moreover, Enel likely knew what happened at the time, because this group of ghosts now constantly hovered around 【Golden Town】, and Enel had also strangely remained on the island for two years without leaving.

Bai Cangshu looked up, feeling that to unravel these mysteries, find the hidden truth of this world, and seize the greatest benefits, he still had to enter 【Golden Town】.

But the sound of thunderstorms in the outer sea had long since vanished. Regardless of whether the Navy Vice Admirals had successfully retreated or died in battle, Enel was once again free of constraints at this moment.

Bai Cangshu's eyes flickered. Watching the daylight fade outside the window, he had an idea.

He stood up and walked out. Cindy, who had just found some more newspapers from outside, saw him and her eyes lit up.

"Big guy, are you finally going to save Uncle Lieao and the others?!"

Bai Cangshu glanced at this girl who seemed unable to feel the gloom, nodded, but then added,

"It's just to get the corpses out. Those guys can't be saved."

Cindy lowered her head and wiped her eyes. When she looked up again, the big guy was already gone. She returned home and found that the big guy hadn't eaten the food she had prepared. She soon broke into a smile, grabbed an apple that was only rotten on one small side, and took a big bite.

Bai Cangshu had keen senses; in the night, he quickly noticed that group of guys who were also acting stealthily.

This group of Navy elites likely all had physical attributes exceeding 10 points. Pressing against the wall, they easily vaulted onto the three-meter-high roof of a shop.

Vergo appeared on the roof of the shop without even bending his knees much. He kept a cold face, showing none of his usual absent-mindedness.

Whoosh!

A slight sound of breaking air rang out. Vergo didn't look back, raising his hand to catch a stone shot from behind him. He half-turned to see it was that young man from the G51 Branch, waving at him from two hundred meters away.

Vergo made a gesture, signaling the squad to hide in place, while he himself moved quickly, appearing before Bai Cangshu.

Bai Cangshu looked at this Navy Vice Admiral with his incredibly lean and muscular body. The opponent was very strong, likely the strongest among the Doflamingo family executives, with formidable taijutsu and mastery of Haki, having once beaten Trafalgar Law until he had no power to fight back.

"Do you want to save Doflamingo?"

Vergo's pupils constricted, and instinctively, he threw a punch at Bai Cangshu's head.

Boom!

The air seemed to explode. Bai Cangshu tilted his head, but his cheek was still cut by a small wound from the force of the wind. He wasn't annoyed, just smiling,

"Vergo, don't be so excited. We have the same goal."

Vergo leaned forward slightly, his whole body covered in Haki. He looked at the Bai Cangshu before him, having already sentenced the other party to death in his heart; no one could survive after knowing the secret between him and Doflamingo.

But for now, he wanted to see what kind of trick the other party was playing.

Bai Cangshu stroked his brow; the wound on his cheek had already healed instantly. Pretending not to feel the intense killing intent, he said,

"If you want to save Doflamingo, you should cooperate with me. Otherwise, if you make a move now, I don't mind shouting that guy's name out loud."

Bai Cangshu wore an indifferent smile, but Vergo unclenched his fist. He could feel that the person in front of him was weaker than himself, but he couldn't guarantee that he could kill the other party before they could call out that name.

Once that guy appeared, he would likely never have another chance to save the Young Master.

"What do you want to do?"

Vergo's face was cold, his voice low.

Bai Cangshu shrugged his shoulders and said,

"Didn't I say? I want to go into the temple and 【Golden Town】 to take a look, but I need someone to lure that guy out."

"In return, I can find evidence to convince the higher-ups that 【Golden Town】 truly exists, and I'll save Doflamingo while I'm at it, if he's still alive..."

Vergo's expression was gloomy. Bai Cangshu continued,

"Actually, although that guy is powerful, there are indeed weaknesses in his personality."

"He cares too much about whether others respect him, so every time someone mentions his name or speaks ill of him, he gets distracted and goes to deal with it, whether it's by long-range bombardment or going out in person, without considering at all whether he's being lured away from his base..."

In Bai Cangshu's view, Enel's arrogant personality had many hidden dangers, but unfortunately, his current strength was far from Enel's. Without mastering Haki, he could only rely on energy attacks like the Dodon Ray to fight Enel.

But how could a single energy attack compare to a monster who could control lightning at will?

Whether it was mobility, sensory ability, or destructive power, Enel was overwhelmingly stronger than Bai Cangshu.

Moreover, Enel's fighting style was a poor match for Bai Cangshu, who relied more on close-quarters taijutsu. Judging from Chaton's performance in his fight with Enel, Enel had already developed his own combat pattern.

He no longer confined himself to half-baked gold-transmutation taijutsu, but instead relied on his ability for rapid mobility, always maintaining a distance advantage to carry out large-scale attacks.

In his current form, Bai Cangshu does not have very good combat methods.

Vergo was silent for a long while, then finally nodded; he understood Bai Cangshu's meaning—this guy likely wanted his own squad to release information everywhere to distract Enel and eventually lure Enel away.

The reason Vergo agreed was because he also realized that he had to sacrifice his subordinates to have a chance at confirming the safety of his Young Master before the Navy launched a full-scale attack.

Afterward, Bai Cangshu saw the elite Navy of the G5 Branch scatter and begin using communication tools to contact the outside.

Bolts of lightning appeared, and finally, accompanied by some terrifying laughter, Enel left the Shendian.

Bai Cangshu watched as Vergo, like a phantom, entered the Shendian in an instant; the large dog 【Holy】 did not even have time to let out a sound before being struck down by Vergo.

Watching this scene, a strange smile appeared on his face, and he then pulled out a high-explosive grenade, took aim, and tossed it casually.

He naturally knew that Vergo did not trust him and would enter the Shendian himself to search for Doflamingo.

But Bai Cangshu himself had never truly placed his target on the Shendian.

He only needed a sufficiently powerful combat force to effectively attract Enel's attention.

Boom!

Before the explosion occurred, Bai Cangshu had already severed three Pillars and taken three corpses away from the plaza in front of the Shendian.

The violent explosion at the entrance of the Shendian instantly drew Enel's attention; a flash of electricity lit up, and an explosion occurred once more.

After dumping the three corpses in the White District, Bai Cangshu quickly suppressed his breathing and pulse, then slipped into those mountains.

This time, he had to see clearly the truth hidden within the 【Golden Town】.

Bai Cangshu's speed was incredibly fast, constantly utilizing the ability of the 【Rakshasa Ghost】 to glide, and within a few breaths, he had already arrived at the 【Golden Town】 ruins he had seen last time.

Large swaths of buildings made of gold turned the valley illuminated by torches into a golden glow.

Some Sky Islanders with wings were patrolling while holding weapons equipped with special shells.

But Bai Cangshu was like a ghost, stepping entirely within the blind spots of their vision, entering silently.

Behind the ruins of the Golden Town, he followed those torches and moved rapidly inward.

He walked without making a sound, and with his breathing and heartbeat also completely vanished under his control, if not for the shadows swaying under the torchlight, he would have been exactly like a non-existent ghost.

Crack!

The moment the muffled thunder exploded, Bai Cangshu also flashed out from the shadows, his hand-blade slashing repeatedly, and several members of the God's Guard patrolling there fell instantly.

He crossed the long Huangjin Tongdao, his heart already realizing the anomaly here; logically, a Golden Town that fell from the sky should not be preserved so perfectly—could it be that Enel recast the Golden Town?

Did Enel have the necessity to do such a thing?

Soon, the sound of explosions over at the Shendian began to weaken; not knowing if Vergo had already been defeated, Bai Cangshu quickened his pace, finally emerging from the passage to find he had arrived in a vast plaza made of gold.

In the center stood a pyramid, a pyramid that was truly made of gold.

The Great Commander of the God's Guard, dressed in white robes, sat leaning against the base of the pyramid; what made Bai Cangshu feel strange was that the opponent's hands and feet were all bound by Golden Chains, tied beneath the pyramid.

Seeming to sense Bai Cangshu's approach, this Sky Islander with very wide white wings on his back opened his eyes.

Bai Cangshu's pupils constricted; the opponent's eyeballs were pitch black, with no whites of the eyes visible at all.

"You have come..."

"Guts, I felt your aura..."

Guts?!

A flash of inspiration struck Bai Cangshu's mind, but before he could confirm it, the opponent slowly stood up, dragging the chains; only then did Bai Cangshu see that the lower half of this Sky Islander was no longer human, with four thick, brown lower limbs extending from the opponent's white robe.

Because of the existence of the Golden Chains, this guy could not walk too far forward; he simply stood in front of the pyramid and swayed left and right twice.

"Old friend, does your Soul still refuse to rest in peace?"

"Then come and kill me; only by killing me can you find peace!"

The next moment, the white-robed guy suddenly grabbed his own left hand with his right, tearing with force; as the muscles moved, Bai Cangshu saw that the opponent's muscles were also completely different from a human's.

He then took that severed arm and threw it violently toward the direction where Bai Cangshu was located.

Bai Cangshu dodged lightly.

Splat!

The arm smashed against the gold, dark blood flowed out, and a pitch-black Spirit began to spread.

【You have suffered the erosion of the Youjie, and are undergoing a Spirit check...】

【Check passed, you have exempted yourself from this erosion.】

Crack!

In the sky, blue thunder lit up; Bai Cangshu felt a stinging sensation on his scalp. He threw all the high-explosive grenades in his Backpack directly at the pyramid, turned around, activated Instant, and sprinted directly toward the passage.

The last sounds he heard were the wild laughter of the white-robed person and the angry roar of Enel.

"Demon, you cannot escape!"

Enel's voice was like thunder; he transformed directly into a bolt of lightning, grabbed the entire set of high-explosive grenades, flew instantly into the sky, and then they exploded.

Bai Cangshu also vanished instantly into the aura of the God's Guard.

(End of this chapter)