RNP Chapter 204 Entering the Dungeon, the Secret of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit
Chapter 204 Entering the Dungeon, the Secret of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit
Chapter 204 Entering the Dungeon, the Secret of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit
After receiving information from the four priests, the rescue team quickly formulated a plan.
The Straw Hat Pirates head to the old dungeon where Gon Fall is believed to be imprisoned.
The two Indian spirits and Tescatlipoca, master and servant, created chaos outside to draw the attention of the Angel Island garrison.
Angel Island has changed dramatically.
The cloud-top buildings, which were originally full of freedom and whimsy, now have more ornate carvings and golden patterns with Hindu influences, and the air is filled with a faint sandalwood scent and the faint rumble of thunder.
Most of the residents walking on the street had either fanatical or numb eyes, and wore white robes that represented God's chosen people. Occasionally, patrol teams would pass by, their sharp eyes scanning every passerby.
Using the cover of the clouds and the blind spots created by Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit ability, the rescue team carefully avoided the main road and stealthily made their way towards the area on the edge of the island known as the Abandoned Training Grounds.
"Can you feel it?" Karna suddenly whispered, his calm eyes sweeping over the seemingly harmless clouds around him.
"These clouds contain extremely faint traces of lightning, like an extended sensory network."
Roger grinned: "Gurarara, it seems that the Heavenly Emperor has a very tight grip on his territory. However, this level of perception isn't enough to detect us."
Sure enough, the closer they got to the training ground, the denser the surrounding clouds became, and the more active the lightning element contained within them became, even occasionally condensing into tiny electric snakes that darted through the clouds.
Clearly, Indra's power is actively monitoring this area.
"The entrance is just ahead." Robin pointed to a ring-shaped, cloud-like structure covered in cracks, which appeared to be an ancient gladiatorial arena.
Now it is abandoned and dilapidated, the entrance is like the mouth of a giant beast, deep and dark, guarded by two chosen ones of the gods who are clad in heavy armor and wield lightning halberds.
"Two guards, let's finish this quickly." Zoro placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Leave it to me." Roger laughed heartily, and his figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
In the next instant, he appeared behind the two guards, his hand gently striking down.
The two guards collapsed to the ground before they could even sound an alarm.
"Let's go!" Luffy took the lead and rushed into the dark entrance.
The dungeon is a labyrinth, blocked by cloud beasts. The interior of the dungeon is not a simple passage, but a maze made of ancient clouds and coral rocks.
The passageways were intricate and dimly lit, with only the occasional glowing shellfish embedded in the walls providing illumination.
The air was filled with a musty smell and a strange, static-laden fishy odor.
"This way," Weber suddenly spoke, the serpentine scales on his arm emitting a faint purple glow in the darkness, seemingly pointing the way.
"I don't know why—maybe it's because of the elf I summoned—but I'm reacting to the atmosphere here. I hate this feeling of being locked in by order."
Following Weber's directions, the group quickly navigated the maze-like passages.
However, they hadn't gone far when a deep roar suddenly came from the passage ahead.
Several cloud beasts, composed entirely of dense dark clouds and with golden lightning flashing in their eyes, leaped out from the shadows!
They are guardians created by the divine power of Indra. They have no physical form, but they can release paralyzing electric currents, and their claws are sharp enough to tear steel apart.
Some of them resemble cheetahs, swift as lightning; some resemble giant bears, incredibly strong; and some resemble floating jellyfish, emitting a paralyzing field of lightning!
These are all guardians empowered by Indra's divine power, making them difficult to harm with physical attacks, and they can also control lightning.
"It's the Guardian Beast!" Sanji leaped to his feet. "Lamb SHOT!"
Sure enough, although his kick could penetrate the cloud beast's body, it only caused its form to disintegrate slightly.
The enemy quickly coalesced again, which only angered them.
"Physical attacks are ineffective!" Zoro frowned; his slashes were no different.
"Let this old man stretch his muscles!" The Golden Lion laughed and attacked, unleashing two incredibly domineering slashes.
In an instant, the golden lion sliced a cloud beast in two, then looked at Roger smugly as if showing off.
But at this moment, Roger laughed heartily. He didn't even draw his sword; instead, his fist was covered with an invisible layer of domineering aura, and he threw a punch!
boom!
The powerful shockwave did not spread, but instead condensed into a beam, directly shattering the cloud leopard's cloud body and annihilating its core lightning!
Roger, beaming, pointed to his unsheathed sword, indicating that Golden Lion still needed more practice!
Zoro and Sanji also faced their respective targets.
Zoro's slash was imbued with Armament Haki, finally able to effectively damage the cloud beast. With a flash of light, he cleaved a cloud bear into rolling clouds.
Sanji's kick, wreathed in scorching flames, shattered the lightning jellyfish that tried to approach, like a branding iron.
However, there were quite a few cloud beasts, and after they were scattered, the dense clouds around them seemed to be slowly replenishing their energy.
"Let me do it." Karna stepped forward calmly, simply extending his index finger, and a tiny but extremely concentrated ray of sunlight shone from his fingertip.
With a gentle swipe, a thin golden ray of light swept across the sky. Any cloud beast touched by the light, regardless of its size or shape, instantly vaporized and disappeared as if it had been thrown into the core of the sun, without even a chance to be replenished.
"Tsk, the power of the sun is just right for dealing with these damp clouds," Zoro commented, sheathing his sword.
The flames surged forth as if they were alive, and all the bodies of the dark clouds boiled and evaporated violently as if they had encountered their nemesis. The lightning within let out a mournful cry and then went out completely.
The last few cloud beasts were burned to ashes in the blink of an eye, leaving not a trace.
"Truly worthy of being the son of the sun god." Roger nodded approvingly.
"Attribute advantage makes things twice as effective."
Having dealt with the cloud beast, the group continued deeper into the area.
Deep inside the dungeon, the oppressive atmosphere grew stronger, and one could even faintly hear the dragging of chains and painful groans.
This place is clearly imprisoning many Sky Islanders who are rebelling against Indra's rule.
Guided by the powerful scales on Webber's body, they finally found a solitary cell located in the deepest part of the dungeon.
The heavy marble gate was tightly shut, inscribed with intricate lightning patterns, clearly sealed with a powerful seal.
"Is Gan Fall inside?! Alright, everyone step back a bit!" Luffy couldn't wait to bang on the door.
"Wait, Luffy! There's a very strong seal on this door." Robin carefully examined the lightning patterns. "Forcibly breaking it will definitely alert Indra!"
Karna stepped forward again, placing his palm lightly on the door panel. The intense but not violent solar divinity was slowly released, like warm sunlight melting ice and snow. Under the influence of the solar divinity, the golden lightning patterns quickly dimmed, their structure collapsed, and they eventually became completely ineffective.
The entire process was silent, demonstrating his exquisite control over power.
Zoro stepped forward and unleashed a powerful slash, cleaving the heavy marble door open as neatly as if it were tofu, causing it to collapse inwards with a deafening roar!
The scene inside the cell came into view instantly.
The former god Gan Fall was tightly bound to the wall by specially made sea stone chains. His beard and hair were disheveled, his armor was damaged, and his face showed fatigue, but his eyes were still sharp and clear like those of a weathered eagle.
Standing before him was Enel, who carried the Magatama Thunder Drum on his back, his face expressionless, but whose body was surrounded by extremely unstable lightning, and whose eyes were filled with struggle and humiliation!
Hearing the sound of the door being broken down, Enel turned around abruptly.
When he saw Luffy and the others, his eyes first flashed with disbelief and shock, which was then replaced by overwhelming rage.
"It's you?! You damned Qinghai insects! How dare you—trespass on the God King's territory!"
The lightning on his body surged violently, transforming into a giant thunderbird that swooped down on the crowd!
However, despite its fierce appearance, the Thunderbird's core exhibits a noticeable sluggishness and incoordination, resembling the movements of a marionette.
"Gum-Gum-Gum—Giant Thunder Axe!" Luffy was fearless.
Nika's awakened form made him completely immune to lightning. His huge rubber feet, wrapped in Armament Haki, slashed down like a battle axe, forcefully kicking the Thunder Bird apart!
"Enel!" Luffy roared.
"You idiot! Don't you know you're being controlled? Wake up!"
"Shut up! You ant! I am a god! I—" Enel roared, but his words stopped abruptly. His body trembled violently, and a look of pain flashed across his face, as if something within him was forcibly suppressing his will.
The struggle in his eyes intensified, even revealing a hint of desperate plea for help.
"Enel—" Gan Fall's weak yet clear voice rang out, carrying a compassion that seemed to see through everything.
"It seems that even the one behind you cannot completely erase your consciousness. Is this agonizing struggle your last vestige of dignity as a god?"
Ignoring Enel's abnormal state, Luffy quickly walked up to Gan Fall.
"Uncle! They're talking about you, aren't they! Tell us quickly, what exactly is the Heart of the Clouds? Where is it? We need it to defeat Indra!"
Gan Fall's gaze swept over Luffy, over his powerful companions behind him, and lingered for a moment on the scales of the dragon Frigid and the features of the Shandians on Waver's body.
Finally, an unprecedentedly bright light burst forth in his cloudy eyes—a light that seemed to see hope in breaking the deadlock.
He took a deep breath and began to speak slowly and solemnly, as if reciting an ancient epic.
"The Heart of the Clouds - Children, it is not what you imagine, a jewel hidden somewhere or a magical artifact."
Everyone listened intently.
"It is a living legend, the heart that has been beating for millions of years in this white sea."
Gan Fall's voice echoed with a distant resonance.
"What we Sky Island people call the Core of the Clouds, you Shandians might describe as the Navel of the Earth—the source of the Earth's ley line energy!"
"Earth ley line energy?" Robin immediately grasped the core idea. "The foundation that sustains the Sky Island's existence?"
"It's much more than that," Gan Fall shook his head.
"It is formed from the immortal will and vast life essence of the ancient being Cassila after its fall. It is the foundation that supports this miraculous land suspended at an altitude of 10,000 meters, where the sea of clouds flows and all things grow."
"It is formless and intangible, existing at the foundation of this space, a bridge connecting the sky and the blue planet, a concrete anchor point for the laws here!"
Weber looked shocked: "Wait a minute, is the Cassila you're talking about the god Cassila? Why is it different from the version I heard?"
Gan Fall gently shook his head: "Perhaps the legend has already begun to crack during the Hundred Years' War."
"If we want to find more complete and systematic clues, we'll probably need to find a scholar who is familiar with all the history of Skypiea—"
He looked at Luffy and Waver, his gaze deep: "Indra, this emperor of another world, wants more than just rule."
"He wants to completely transform the Sky Island into his Hindu divine realm, an ordered heavenly kingdom that follows his will entirely. To do this, he must find and control the Heart of the Cloud Sea, twisting and reshaping it into the cornerstone of his eternal throne!"
"If successful, the Sky Island will completely lose its identity, and all living beings will become mindless supplicants within his divine kingdom!"
Everyone gasped in shock, finally realizing just how terrifying Indra's true scheme was.
"Where is it? How do we find it?" Luffy asked anxiously, his fists clenched.
Gan Fall's gaze shifted back and forth between Luffy and Waver.
"Warriors of Shandira, the lights of Shandora that you have protected for generations, the golden bell that guides the way—their true meaning goes far beyond mere illumination and fulfilling a four-hundred-year-old promise."
"It is more than just a coordinate; it is a beacon on earth, a landmark set up by your ancestors, pointing to the heart of the sea of clouds!"
Weber's body trembled violently, and it was as if a thunderclap exploded in his mind, instantly connecting many fragmented legends and mural patterns!
Gan Fall then looked at Luffy and Robin.
"We Sky Islanders have guarded the secret of the Cloud Core for generations. It requires a specific key to be perceived and touched."
"The 'illusory reflection of the serpent god's altar in the heart of the cloud' mentioned in the historical text—I understand now!"
His voice rose, brimming with the excitement of discovering the truth: "The Serpent God Altar refers to the sacrificial site in Shandia, related to the ancient Sky Lord Cassila!"
"The Heart of the Clouds requires the corresponding key on the Sky Island to reveal its reflection—that is, the path to its true hiding place!"
"Only by combining the tokens and legends of the two races, and by resonating the earthly beacon of Shandia with the sky key of the Sky Island, can the gate to the Heart of the Cloud Sea be opened!"
"As for that key—" Gan Fall's gaze became extremely solemn as he looked at Enel, whose body was trembling slightly and whose struggle was becoming more pronounced.
"Perhaps, they are beings of the same origin as that god-king from another world."
"That is, Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit power, which originated from an ancient civilization and can power the Ark Maxim."
"And it is inextricably linked to the ultimate secret of the infinite land he seeks. Perhaps that is the key to the gods that touches the core of the clouds!"
Enel heard the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and the Infinite Earth, and as if struck by lightning, he suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with an unprecedented light mixed with shock.
And—a trace of his own ultimate desire!
The lightning around him went out of control again, but this time, it seemed to carry a hint of resistance.
Just then.
Rumble! ...
Some of the light was mixed with shock.
And—a trace of his own ultimate desire!
The lightning around him went out of control again, but this time, it seemed to carry a hint of resistance.
Just then.
Rumble! ...
The entire dungeon, no, the entire Angel Island, and even the White Sea above, began to shake violently, as if the end of the world had come!
An indescribable, vast, and majestic divine thought, carrying the anger of the heavens, exploded in the depths of the soul like billions of thunderbolts, crashing down and locking onto the dungeon!
A will, seemingly formed from the convergence of countless thunderous sounds, roared directly into everyone's minds.
"To explore the power of thunder is to explore the authority of the Heavenly Emperor."
"You ants who dared to steal God's authority—you deserve eternal damnation!"
Indra, the true will, descended with a fury that could crush everything!