When did Uranus first enter everyone's field of vision?
That would have to go back to Sea Calendar 1516, when Rowen accompanied Garp on a trip to the Flower Capital.
The internal chaos in the Flower Capital was mixed with the resentment of a "big nephew," the ambition of schemers, and the greed of nobles. But in essence, it was nothing more than a smokescreen to cover up Baroque Works' excavation of a Poneglyph.
Digging into forbidden ancient knowledge, an act that defied the world itself, was cleverly hidden in plain sight. "Nation Robber" Crocodile was already well practiced at this.
Plotting to steal a nation in pursuit of Pluton while simultaneously uncovering clues to Uranus' existence perfectly illustrated the phrase human greed knows no bounds. In the end, he fell to rotting away in Impel Down, dying exactly as he deserved.
And the information about the existence of that Poneglyph was precisely what the Celestial Dragons, via Donquixote Doflamingo, had told Crocodile.
So the question arose…
How did Doflamingo know these things?
Through what means could a man in his thirties or forties learn secrets buried for hundreds, if not thousands, of years?
…
"So this is your trump card, Imu!"
Walking across the moon's rugged surface, Rowen felt the tremors coming from deep within the planet beneath his feet, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
There was an astonishingly powerful force down there, but as the lunar artillery fired, that power was also weakening at an equally astonishing speed.
The energy problem that once plagued the ancestors of the Skypieans also plagued Imu.
Otherwise, he would have long since used Uranus to blast Rowen into pieces.
That's right!
Through the Eye of the Firmament, with the entire moon encompassed within his perception range, Rowen was absolutely certain, the moon beneath his feet was the true "Ancient Weapon," Uranus!
As for that so-called virus, though its true nature was unclear, it was nothing more than a decoy.
A deliberate ploy exposed by Imu to mislead the world!
It might indeed be a powerful weapon, but it was not Uranus!
Human ancestors created Pluton, the people of Angel Island built Uranus, and the merfolk controlled the Sea Kings.
This, this was the true secret of the three Ancient Weapons!
"Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon), we've captured these fellows inside the ruins."
Kong stepped forward. Behind him, soldiers escorted a group of strangely shaped creatures. They were dressed like proper people, yet each of them had the head of an animal.
Without Enel's arrival, the space pirates had successfully occupied the lunar ruins, constantly extracting resources.
But clearly, even they had not touched the planet's true secret.
"Kill them. Just a bunch of space pirates."
Rowen waved his hand indifferently, not sparing them a glance.
"Wait! You can't kill us! We're members of the Jerca Pirate Alliance! We have priority excavation rights!"
A humanoid wolverine pirate screamed in terror, trying to intimidate Rowen with a name no one had ever heard of.
Boom!!!
Black-red lightning burst forth, blooming across the desertified planet.
A terrifying, suffocating pressure seized everyone's throats. With not a shred of emotion in his eyes, Rowen said:
"So what?"
He was prepared to execute gods, what did a few space pirates matter?
Whether it was the planet below or the entire universe, fists were the only truth!
Ignoring the pleas for mercy behind him, Rowen walked to the edge of a meteor crater and looked down at the small robots inside, shattered beyond recognition.
As expected, they were the robots created by Dr. Tsukimi of Karakuri Island. They had come to the moon to avenge the doctor, who had been so frightened by a lunar explosion that he choked to death on dumplings.
But without Enel, they were naturally no match for the space pirates.
"Lunar ruins… the 'Ancient City' Birka!"
Rowen murmured softly.
"Install the energy cores of the Peace Pacifistas into the center of the ruins, then have people try to refuel the core of the ruins… If my guess is right, this thing can move."
Hearing this, Tsuru's eyes lit up.
"Then doesn't that mean…?"
"Yeah, exactly. Otherwise, did you really think that with nothing but this barren planet, the lunar people back then could have developed such a highly advanced civilization?"
The development and evolution of civilization was never something that could be achieved with just a Michelangelo alone.
"So it must be able to move, constantly searching for new resources, essentially a spaceship!"
A smile curled at the corner of Rowen's mouth. "No wonder Imu valued the Peace Pacifista Project so much. So that's what it was all for."
What was the core of the Peace Pacifista Project?
Devil Fruit transfer experiments?
That was nothing but a joke.
A smokescreen meant to obstruct anyone from discovering the truth.
Energy was the real objective!
More importantly, Imu saw the possibility of restarting the lunar ruins in Vegapunk.
Every field has its specialists, Imu was not truly omniscient. Only Vegapunk, with scientific prowess five hundred years ahead of the world, could possibly bring Birka back into operation.
And now, this thing belonged entirely to Rowen.
With the land area of the lunar ruins, it would be enough to relocate the vast majority of the population.
Naturally, that would only happen if it became necessary.
Buzz!!
Across the massive moon, the vibrations gradually subsided. Kizaru appeared behind Rowen, covered in dust, and reported:
"Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon), the Scientific Force has successfully halted the energy output. The remaining energy is no longer sufficient to activate it again."
"That's good. I'll leave this place to you."
Rowen nodded, stepped forward, and vanished from the spot.
Tsuru and Kizaru froze. After a moment, Tsuru asked with a trace of apprehension,
"If I'm not mistaken, that was Lord Soryu (Azure Dragon)'s… Blink?"
Blinking from the lunar ruins, where could he even go?
"Well… I'm not really sure either."
Kizaru shook his head awkwardly, glanced at the enormous blue celestial body ahead, and couldn't help but shiver.
Hey, hey, this Blink distance… you've got to be kidding me, right?!!!
…
Blue Sea, Grand Line.
With the massive pillar of light descending from above, Imu successfully suppressed Mountain Ancestor. Six clones seized the opportunity and unleashed a frenzied barrage, smashing its shell apart and sending flesh flying as Mountain Ancestor screamed in agony.
However, the good times didn't last.
All of a sudden, the light pillar vanished abruptly, as if a water dragon's tap had been twisted shut.
"As expected!"
This outcome didn't surprise Imu. From the moment he activated the orbital weapon, he knew the resurrected Rowen would never allow him to continue controlling it.
Once fully powered, the weapon known as "Uranus" blasting straight through the entire planet would only be a matter of time.
"But it doesn't matter anymore!"
Uranus was short on energy, Pluton had been crippled by a tsunami, and the Sea Kings had been forced into the depths near Raftel, of the three Ancient Weapons most capable of threatening him, one was broken, one was ruined, and one was sealed away.
All that remained was the purest contest of life and death.
"Didn't you want to see my true power?"
"Then I'll let you see it!"
With that, Imu raised his head and met Mountain Ancestor's gaze as it struggled back to its feet. A massive black halo suddenly manifested behind his back.
It was contradictory, but reality was just that.
The blackness shot outward like light itself. Wherever it spread, everything was dyed pitch-black, even the seawater was no exception.
If Devil Fruits were likened to bacteria, then Seastone, formed from Pyrobloin keratin particles, would be white blood cells.
But this darkness was a terrifying virus that even white blood cells could not devour!
The black shadows around him suddenly let out wails, tilting their heads back as they rapidly dissolved. From their mouths poured bands of light like miniature galaxies, all of which surged into Imu's body.
Then, the black halo abruptly contracted, revealing a much younger, powerfully built body.
Swirling patterns of various Devil Fruit colors emerged across his skin. Imu stared at Mountain Ancestor charging toward him and clenched his fist.
Creak!!
Bang!!!
Mountain Ancestor, whose massive body rivaled that of some small planets, was slammed flat to the ground by an unknown force!
(End of Chapter)
This novel is finished, and I have posted all the advanced chapters on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395