"How was I just now?" Hancock asked with a playful smile.
Karl chuckled.
"Very convincing. I almost believed it myself."
"Really?" she beamed. "It's all thanks to your teaching. But… will they truly accept it?"
Karl nodded calmly.
"They don't have a choice."
"We've already shown enough mercy."
He reached into his system space and pulled out a massive object.
A colossal golden bell.
Ancient.
Weathered.
Covered in moss.
Hancock blinked.
"So this is the Golden Bell?"
Karl nodded.
"Yes. Once it rings, their promise to Noland will finally be fulfilled."
Carrying the Bell
"Need help?" Hancock asked.
Karl smirked.
"I was born with divine strength."
He lifted the bell onto his shoulder.
Each step left deep impressions in the ground.
The bell weighed several tons—
And yet Karl carried it steadily toward the Shandian village.
Cloud Hidden Village
The chief sat in despair, staring at the petrified warriors.
Only that terrifying woman could restore them.
Then—
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Heavy footsteps shook the earth.
The chief looked up—
And froze.
The Golden Bell.
Ancient inscriptions.
The sacred carvings.
"You found it…?"
Karl sighed deeply.
"I'm sorry."
"She is strong-willed."
"I tried persuading her."
"I couldn't change her mind about reclaiming Apayado."
"But…"
"She agreed to return the Golden Bell to you."
"To fulfill the 400-year promise."
He glanced toward Hancock, then back at the chief.
"If you refuse—"
"She will destroy it."
"And leave your people petrified."
The chief immediately waved his hand.
"No."
"You've done enough."
"The Golden Bell has been lost for centuries."
"I accept her condition."
Karl raised a brow.
"You understand relocation will be necessary?"
The chief nodded solemnly.
"Our people will need time."
"And we don't know how to descend."
Karl smiled faintly.
"I'll handle that."
"I'll ensure your safe return to Jaya."
The chief gripped Karl's hands.
"Thank you."
The Bell Rings
Ten minutes later—
Hancock restored the petrified warriors.
Holy Light revived the unconscious.
Confusion filled the air—
Until someone saw it.
"The Golden Bell!"
Wyper stared.
Even he couldn't deny its authenticity.
The chief placed the striker in Wyper's hands.
"Strike it."
"Fulfill the promise our ancestors could not."
Wyper's hands trembled.
"Chief…"
"Do it."
Voices echoed around him.
"Ring it!"
"Ring it, Wyper!"
"Ring it!"
For a brief moment—
It felt as if the ancestors themselves were whispering.
Wyper roared—
And swung.
Clang—
The bell's voice was deep.
Magnificent.
Endless.
It rolled across the village—
Across Upper Yard—
Across all of Skypiea.
The sound transcended four hundred years.
Answering a long-lost promise.
Sending farewell to Noland.
Like a beacon in the night—
Like a guiding flame in the storm—
The Light of Shandora burned once more.
Tears streamed down Shandian faces—
But they smiled.
Their ancestors had waited.
Their predecessors had waited.
Now—
Their generation fulfilled it.
Angel Island
Gan Fall closed his eyes.
So did the citizens.
The bell's resonance—
It felt carved into their very souls.
To them—
It was the voice of God.
Near Jaya – The Blue Sea
Montblanc Cricket paused before diving.
At first—
He thought it was imagination.
Then—
He heard it clearly.
A distant, magnificent bell.
"Boss! Do you hear that?!"
Cricket smiled.
"Yes."
He closed his eyes.
The promise had been answered.
"When you return to Jaya, what image will you have of us who disappeared?"
"Wait a little longer."
"We will light the fire of Shandora here."
— Great Warrior Kalgara
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