Chapter 151 The Last Marble Sculpture
These marbles are far heavier and harder than ordinary marble, making one wonder what their real material is.
After failing to split one of the pieces twice with a Griffin, Shanks became even more interested in the origins of these items.
The same is true of Beckmann; the patterns carved on these marbles are not only exceptionally beautiful, but also completely unlike the traditional patterns of Elbaf.
Compared to Elbaf's aesthetic, this is more like... Beckman thought, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Shanks, who was happily playing with a jigsaw puzzle of patterns.
Although the marble itself was incredibly heavy, the fragments were relatively small, and with the Red-Haired Pirates members being quite strong, the excavated fragments were quickly pieced together with everyone's help.
“This is…” Beckman frowned, “The throne?”
After he finished speaking, he looked at Shanks, who also put away his previous nonchalant expression and looked seriously at the magnificent marble throne lying among the rock fragments.
A throne buried deep in rock and soil, made of a mysterious material of indistinguishable origin but exceptionally hard, carved with exquisite patterns used only by nobles.
Shanks raised an eyebrow, his eyes full of pure interest: "Interesting."
Violet was also studying a fragment of the marble throne. This fragment, located on the lower half of the throne, was not as ornate as the others. Its cold, hard texture rolled in her palm, much like the intriguing puzzle, stirring up waves of tingling sensations that she couldn't ignore.
She tried to put the fragment into her backpack, an attempt she hadn't held out much hope of, but surprisingly, it succeeded this time!
Looking at the lone [Marble Shard*1] in her backpack, Violet finally understood how to move these heavy [Suspicious Marble Sculptures].
"Chop it up and move it?" Beckman nodded. "That's a good idea."
Judging from the weight of those fragments, one can imagine how heavy the complete marble sculpture must be. Perhaps only giants like Loki or Oars Jr. of the Whitebeard Pirates could move it. But the problem is that with their size, it would be almost impossible for them to enter the territory of another Yonko without being detected.
But another problem is...
Beckman looked at Shanks: "Can you cut him?"
Shanks had tried before, but not seriously. Beckman wanted to see if Shanks could cut through these hard marbles with a serious strike.
Shanks considered it for a moment: "We can give it a try."
The Red-Haired Pirates retreated, leaving only Shanks standing in place. He exhaled, raised his hand to grip the hilt of Griffin's sword, and then slashed fiercely at the largest marble shard!
"Gods, beware!"
Conqueror's Haki coiled around Griffin, and as the slash was released, it shot straight toward the pale white marble.
boom--
The ground beneath their feet trembled violently. Beckman, standing next to Violet, raised his hand to shield her from the debris and snow blown by the shockwave.
Wow!
Violet frantically poked at Lox in her mind.
"What amazing swordsmanship! I want to learn it too!"
Rocks: "..." If Rocks could come out like Rosinante, he would definitely hang Violet upside down from a tree and give her a good beating for daring to make such a request.
Doesn't he know whose move "Divine Avoidance" is? It was clearly taught to this brat by that bastard Roger!
Let his cheap apprentice learn Roger's moves? Dream on!
Rocks: "Impressive? Nothing special, just looks good, not that powerful."
Rocks: "I have a sword technique that I used to fight three opponents at once without being at a disadvantage. If you want to learn it, you can beg me. Maybe I'll teach you if I'm in a good mood."
“Lox,” Wilkes said, “you’re talking a lot today.”
Upon hearing this, Lockes suddenly shut up, as if his wires had been cut, refusing to utter a word no matter how much Wille pressed him for details about what he meant by a sword technique far more powerful than the Divine Escape.
Vera: ...
Men's hearts are truly unfathomable; I don't know how Rocks' previous crew members could tolerate him.
As Vale and Rocks were talking, the dust stirred up by Shanks's divine evasion settled down. Shanks stepped forward to examine the results and raised an eyebrow when he saw the two-finger-deep crack on the marble shard.
He didn't hold back at all in that move. He could easily cut through even a piece of sea stone that was more than ten times larger than this fragment, but after hitting these marbles, it only caused a shallow crack.
Shanks glanced at the cracks around the shards, wondering who had broken the marble and how.
Beckman: "It seems that breaking them up and moving them separately won't work."
If even Shanks' full-force attack could only cause this little damage, then it would be almost impossible for Violet to cut the marble sculptures in other places into pieces that she could carry away.
But Violet felt that since the last [suspicious marble statue] in Elbaf appeared in fragments, and these fragments could be put into her backpack, then this setting must be a hint from the game.
Wait, why didn't I hear a system notification sound after digging up the treasure this time?
After thinking for a moment, Violet suddenly realized what was going on and took out the fragment she had been studying in her hand from her backpack, and repaired the last piece of damage.
[You have discovered a mysterious marble statue]
[Search progress for the mysterious marble statue: 4/4]
[All marble shards have been collected]
You have obtained the [Ancient Map]
[Ancient Map]
[An ancient map, imbued with the weight of time, its creation and the secrets buried deep within await your discovery. Transport 4 [Mysterious Marble Statues] to the location marked on the map and wait for the full moon to unlock the [Historical Feast] event.]
[The map where this event is located is a high-risk map; players are advised to proceed with caution.]
Violet looked down and examined the dark yellow map that exuded an ancient aura. A few seconds later, with a serious expression, she rotated the map 90 degrees, and then another 90 degrees.
So here's the problem: how do you tell the top, bottom, left, and right sides of this map? And what do all these annotations say? She can't understand a single word of them.
Beckman leaned closer, studied the text for a moment, and then said, "This looks like... text from a historical document?"
"Historical texts?"
“Yes, scholars from Ohara once sent teams to search for and decipher historical texts, but this action later aroused the suspicion of the World Government, leading to a Buster Order.” This was an absolute secret, a taboo history that could not be mentioned, but Beckman was quite relaxed as he told Violet about Ohara. “So currently, the only people who can decipher these texts, besides…”
"Hmm, no, Kozuki Oden, who helped the Pirate King decipher the Poneglyphs and find the final island on Roger's crew, has passed away. So now, the only one who can decipher the Poneglyphs is probably Nico Robin, the orphan of Ohara."
Robin?
Beckman keenly noticed the familiar look in Violet's eyes when she heard the name Nicole Robin, and he frowned, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Beckman probed, "Do you know Nicole Robin?"
Vera said proudly, "Yes, she's one of my islanders!"
After a long period of careful nurturing by the island owner, Robin transformed from someone who was initially numb and weak, and easily agitated by the slightest disturbance, into someone confident, wise, and strong.
This made the island owner, who had picked up several radish heads, quite proud.
Violet: "Robin will grow into an amazing girl!"
"Pfft!" Shanks couldn't help but laugh out loud at Violet's proud little expression. "You're still a kid yourself, and you're raising other kids."
Shanks had seen Nico Robin's wanted poster; the little girl in the photo looked to be about the same age as Violet.
Vera emphasized, "I am the island owner, the island owner!"
"Very good, very good, Your Excellency the Island Lord is truly remarkable."
Shanks smiled and echoed Violet's words. He squatted down in front of Violet, and his black cloak fell to the ground with his movements, picking up a lot of gravel and dust.
Shanks looked at the black-haired, black-eyed girl in front of him, his smile vanished, and he said seriously, "Vell, deciphering historical texts is something that is absolutely forbidden by the World Government."
“I’m not trying to stop you, but Violet, you need to know the dangers that may arise if you continue to track these marble statues.”
Should we become enemies with the World Government?
Following Shanks' warning, Vale seriously considered whether, with her current strength, or rather, with R'lyeh's current strength, she could protect them.
Seeing Violet's serious, thoughtful expression, Shanks held back for a moment, but couldn't resist ruffling her hair.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m talking about the potential dangers if we’re discovered.” Shanks winked at Violet. “But given how slow the World Government is, they might not find anything at all.”
Nico Robin is a top target of the World Government's manhunt. Regardless of whether anyone secretly helps her on her escape, the fact is that the World Government has been pursuing her for many years without being able to capture her.
"Besides, I'm also a bit interested in these things." Since returning to Mary Geoise a few years ago and having a very unpleasant exchange with Gringu, Shanks has never set foot on that land again.
However, Shanks felt it was necessary to investigate these marbles now.
Four sea emperors, four mysterious marble sculptures... Shanks glanced at Beckman, who nodded knowingly.
This matter certainly deserves further investigation.
Elbaf is, after all, a place where the Red-Haired Pirates' flag flies, so Shanks naturally has a responsibility to keep an eye on these marble sculptures of unknown origin.
Beckman also felt that Vera could wait a little longer.
"At least we need to find a way to break these solid marbles." After all, the territory of the Four Emperors isn't a vegetable market where Violet can easily spend days slowly grinding those sculptures into pieces.
However, what Beckman didn't know was that Violet had a clue as to how to cut through this hard marble. Since even Shanks's divine evasion couldn't easily cut through this hard marble, why not try a different approach—using her Devil Fruit ability instead of brute force?
For example, Law's Ope Ope no Mi (Surgery Fruit)?
Although Luo may not be able to fulfill the island lord's great wish now, Vera believes that the island lord's most trusted deputy will not disappoint him!
-----------------------
Author's Note: While reading God Valley, I couldn't help but laugh more and more. Shanks, all the other Four Emperors are fighting Im, why are you sleeping so soundly? [doge]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com