Chapter 115 The Second Royal Treasure
Marco didn't have the "royal second generation" status of Katakuri, who could command countless Homies with a single call, so he could only obediently dig with Violet and the others, taking turns digging with shovels.
To be honest, although Violet confidently assured him that she could dig something out, Marco didn't believe her.
Putting aside the fact that this is the Whitebeard Pirates' hometown, in order to prevent anyone from taking action here in order to get revenge on the Whitebeard Pirates, the crew of the Whitebeard Pirates would check this place from the inside out and from top to bottom every once in a while. There was no way that there was any treasure buried in the ground that they hadn't discovered.
Take the treasure map that Vera provided, for example. The unprofessional, simplistic drawing style and the overly deliberate aging made Marco want to ask Vera if she had been scammed at some street stall.
Ever since Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King, uttered those words on the guillotine, scams disguised as treasure hunts have become popular at sea.
Violet insists that the treasure map was obtained from the treasure on the Moby Dick.
Marco, who was in charge of sorting out those treasures: How come I didn't know?
Besides, what era are we living in? There are already so many varieties of Den Den Mushi (snail phone mushi). Would anyone still draw the location of treasure on a treasure map?
Pirates also need to keep up with the times; it's not the Rocks era anymore.
A certain Lox remnant: Sneeze!
However, just as the four of them had dug a pit more than two meters deep, and Marco, covered in dust, was about to call a halt and have dinner first, Sabo's pure gold shovel, which he had stuck into the soil, struck something different from the soil, making a crisp "clink" sound.
Violet: "Finally, finally we've dug it up!"
Luo Wensheng also looked up and saw his island master's face covered in mud, resembling a cat.
Luo's fingers twitched, feeling an unbearable urge.
He stepped forward, pulled the handkerchief Sabo had used to express his dissatisfaction with the island lord being distracted by the unknown birdman from Vera's pocket, slapped it against Vera's face and rubbed it hard a few times, then stepped back amidst the island lord's squeals and cries, nodding in satisfaction as he watched Vera's fair face return to its former glory.
He tossed the soiled handkerchief to Sabo: "Take your own things."
Unlike Law, who has the power of the Convenience Fruit to protect him, and unlike the island lord, who has someone to help wipe his face, Sabo's once handsome face was now covered in dust: "..."
If you're a germaphobe, just use the Op-Op Fruit to wipe the dirt off the island owner's face, don't use his handkerchief!
Violet ran quickly to Sabo's side and looked expectantly at the spot where he was digging: "It must be here, hurry, the treasure is about to come out."
Marco suspected that Sabo had dug up a rock, but seeing Violet's expectant little face, he glanced up at the sky and decided not to be the spoilsport, so he joined them in digging.
The more Marco dug, the more serious his expression became.
The grayish-white statue was slowly unearthed from the soil, and judging from the erosion marks on the statue, it was definitely not buried here recently.
[You have discovered a mysterious marble statue]
[Search progress for the mysterious marble statue 2/?, a history and future have been secretly rewritten]
After the statue was completely unearthed, Vera heard a system notification, along with another puzzling notification.
Like the one in the Kingdom of Worlds, the unearthed statues were pale in color, huge and heavy, making one wonder what kind of creature sculpted them.
The statue buried in the Great Kingdom is a piece resembling a stage pedestal, while the one buried on the Sphinx is a piece carved from four marble blocks, depicting pages of a book on a thick pillar.
The classic Doric column is carved with intertwined thorns and roses around its perimeter, and at the top it is enlarged to form a circular tray with a thick book in an open position on a tilted shelf.
Upon closer inspection, some text remained on the marble books, but like the damaged bases, the text had been violently destroyed, making it impossible for them to even discern what the text was.
Marco squatted down in front of the sculptures with a serious expression, reaching out to slowly brush his hand across the pitted and damaged marble pages.
"These are... knife marks?"
Violet moved closer to Marco and looked at where he was pointing, only then realizing that the damage on the pages was indeed different from that on the base.
The damage to the statue in the World Kingdom, including the damage to the base of these four statues, looks like it was caused by an explosion, with huge breaks and cracks. The marks left on the pages, on the other hand, look more like those made by a sharp object such as a dagger.
Marco gestured and affirmed, "It must have been caused by first extensively damaging it in some way, and then repeatedly slashing it with swords, daggers, or similar objects."
Given the incredible hardness of these marbles, the person who damaged them must have been driven by extremely strong emotions to leave a mark on them.
Marco clicked his tongue in amazement and circled around them, saying, "I didn't expect there would actually be something there."
He found it incredible, after all, Sphinx Island was just an ordinary island on the Grand Line, apart from giving birth to his father. Marco couldn't figure out why anyone would bury these things here.
Violet looked at Marco with little hope: "Can you determine when it was buried here?"
Marco shook his head: "There's nothing we can do." If it were wood or paper that rots more easily, it would be fine, but with marble this hard, Marco doubted that there would be little difference whether it was buried for a few years, a dozen years, or several decades.
"Perhaps asking my father will give me a clue."
After all, Dad was the native of Sphinx Island.
Violet felt that the possibility of Mr. Newgate knowing was very low. She had told Mr. Newgate in advance that the trip to Sphinx Island was for treasure hunting. If Mr. Newgate knew something, Marco, as the guide, would not have shown such surprise.
Violet tentatively clicked on the teleport option, and as expected, she received a message that her movement speed was reduced by 99.99% and that she could not use teleportation magic.
"It seems necessary to make a trip to Wano Country."
Marco showed an expression of disapproval.
"I think you should know that Wano Country is in a state of isolation."
Wano Country is located in the New World and has been in a state of isolation for many years; even warships are not allowed to approach it.
Of course, this closed state is not absolute.
Seastone, the natural enemy of Devil Fruit users, is a specialty of Wano Country. They also possess seastone forging technology that is far more advanced than that of the outside world, enabling them to forge hard seastone into nail-sized pieces.
Any seastone products available on the market were obtained either before Wano Country entered a period of national isolation or through some secret channel of exchange.
However, such clandestine channels only trust familiar faces. It would be impossible for Violet, a rising Shichibukai who has never gained their trust, to enter Wano Country through this channel.
not to mention……
"Vil, you're looking for treasure with your eyes closed, but the Beast Pirates aren't just reading newspapers with their eyes closed."
If you can't even remember the faces of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, you might as well retire early. With such severe dementia, you're not suited to be a pirate.
But Violet didn't think it was a big problem.
Given that Katakuri was able to stay at Marineford for several days without anyone noticing anything amiss simply by changing his gender, Violet felt that wearing a mask, changing her clothes, and finding a way to dye her hair would be enough to fool most of the NPCs in the game.
"Hey, you..."
Seeing that Vera was determined, Marco didn't know how to dissuade her, so he could only compromise and say, "If you really want to go, tell Izo before you go."
The captain of the 16th Division is from Wano Country, and the information he provides can greatly help Violet's infiltration.
“Anyway,” Marco said, pressing down on Vera’s shoulder, “this thing appearing in Dad’s hometown means it’s not just about you.”
"We will also help with the investigation."
“So if anything happens…” Marco tapped the Den Den Mushi that Violet had in her backpack, “please contact us anytime, okay?”
While they might not be able to storm Onigashima and rescue Violet, they could certainly cause some trouble for the Beasts Pirates, allowing Violet to escape in the chaos.
"What?!" Violet was unhappy with Marco's attitude, which made it seem as if she was bound to have her true identity discovered and be slinked away in disgrace. "I'm sure I won't be discovered."
Marco stared silently at the sulking Violet. If Violet's goal was to make a quick in-and-out run, rush into Wano Country, storm onto Onigashima, kick the hungover Kaido, and then rush back, then she might actually succeed.
But secretly sneaking in to investigate a treasure buried somewhere unknown? Is it really okay for Violet to do that, given her personality?
I have a feeling that the "sneak in" will visibly deteriorate to an unbearable degree.
Marco remained silent, Marco pondered deeply, and Marco made a decision.
"Let's have dinner first," he said. "Nothing is more important than eating."
Like other islands in the Four Seas and the Grand Line, the local residents of Sphinx Island rely on the mountains and the sea for their livelihood and have a very skilled set of seafood cooking techniques.
To welcome the "distinguished guests from the Whitebeard Pirates" and three unfamiliar children, the residents of Sphinx Island prepared a sumptuous dinner for them while they went up the mountain to dig for treasure, and set up a bonfire feast for them in the island's largest open space.
...The good news is that there was no mandatory self-introduction or performance segment, which relieved Vera, who occasionally suffers from social anxiety when faced with such situations.
She, Luo, and Sabo sat by the campfire, eating roasted meat and seafood, watching Marco weave through the crowds, giving medical consultations.
Wearing a comfortable open-front shirt and glasses, Marco, with his gentle smile, looked just like a professional doctor.
Violet's gaze lingered for a moment on Marco's overly muscular chest and abdomen, as well as the Whitebeard Pirates' symbol on his chest.
Hmm, this doctor must not have the troubles of medical disputes.
Marco, busy with treatment, didn't forget about Vil and the other two. After walking around for a while, he casually sat down next to Vil, carrying a wine bottle.
The smell that Violet caught on Marco was that of disinfectant, charcoal, and... alcohol?
Vera sniffed, certain that the strong smell of alcohol wasn't coming from the bottle in Marco's hand, but from Marco himself.
Wow! A drunk doctor!
Marco tilted his head back, picked up the bottle, and drank the rest of the liquor without even raising his eyebrows, as if it were water.
Violet looked at the Sphinx Island residents who were peeking over: "They are very grateful to you."
"They should be thanking you, Violet."
Marco turned his head and looked directly into Violet's eyes, speaking earnestly. The campfire draped him in a honey-colored veil, and the firelight and Violet's figure were reflected in his eyes, making it impossible to tell whether he was looking at the girl who had repeatedly created miracles before him, or at the sunset hanging high in the sky.
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell them about how you treated your father."
The residents of Sphinx Island are grateful to him partly because he occasionally comes to the island to provide free medical care and clean up dangerous pirates and sea kings around the island, and the other half stems from his identity—
Whitebeard Pirates' First Division Commander and Whitebeard's Personal Physician.
The people of Sphinx Island were unable to repay their father for his protection, so they transferred their gratitude to Marco, who was responsible for taking care of their father's health.
But Marco knew that the real hero who healed his father's hidden injuries was Violet.
Vera waved her hand dismissively: "It doesn't matter, and didn't you already pay me?"
The rewards from the [Unsinkable White Whale] mission have made Violet a glittering little rich girl to this day.
Violet could tell whether sacks of gold coins were more important than a useless title.
Violet was serious; she genuinely didn't care about such empty fame.
"Oh dear, don't say such sentimental things! By the way, Luo, Luo is also a doctor, Marco, why don't you take Luo to practice?"
Looking at Ronaldo, who was being pushed out as a shield with a blank expression, Marco looked at Vera with tenderness.
He's still just a child; there's really no need to rush things.
...It's a child, yoi.
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Author's Note: The Wano Country arc is about to begin! [Exaggerated praise]
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