Chapter 38: Civilization
There were also two guards at the palace's main gate, each holding a long steel spear. On this island, food was scarce, and iron tools were rare. Even the steel spears in the guards' hands made the island's residents envious.
This was the only cave among the thousands on the island that had wooden doors. The other caves had either stone doors or were blocked by rocks, and many caves had no defenses at all. This made Kado suspect that the island might have turned into a utopian society where no one bothered to pick up lost things.
The large doors, which were meant to display status, certainly wouldn't open easily. Normally, people entering or leaving the palace used a side cave. Only when the king himself went out or returned would the wooden doors be opened.
Kado stood before the wooden doors, looking at the shabby, dilapidated gates made from unknown shipwreck debris, and felt contempt. This was supposed to be a royal palace, but the gates were falling apart.
"Hey, kid, there's no food here," one of the guards coldly observed Kado, who was disheveled and wearing tattered rags. The guard knew that this was another castaway. If someone had washed up on Skull Rock Island, they were probably a crazy pirate, and most of the time, these pirates would try to force their way into the palace to become king.
However, the palace was not so easily taken. Even pirates with bounties in the hundreds of millions could not gain the upper hand against the king. The kingdom had been founded 300 years ago by the world's largest pirate, and not only was the king's combat ability astonishing, but the native people of the Naga Kingdom were descendants of pirates, known for their fierce and tough nature. Even pirates with tens of millions in bounty were no match for them.
"I'm looking for Sanchi," Kado said and immediately tried to push open the palace's large wooden doors.
"Another starving castaway," another guard stepped forward, swinging his steel spear at Kado. The sharp wind of the spear made Kado's heart skip a beat. The guards in this kingdom were clearly powerful, even one guard could show such strength.
Activating his Devil Fruit ability, Kado froze the space in front of him, then with a powerful leap, he jumped up and avoided the guard's attack.
"Hey, let's talk this out, I'm just looking for someone," Kado said, sitting on an invisible staircase in mid-air with an expression of helplessness. The guard was too quick to attack, without any regard for reason.
"Devil Fruit user?" The guard saw Kado sitting in mid-air, stunned for a moment. Then, he swung his spear again, aiming to knock Kado down, but he had clearly encountered this kind of ability before. He was no longer as surprised as Kado had imagined.
"Damn, what is this cursed island?" Kado quickly jumped to a higher step. The guard at the door, who was so familiar with the Devil Fruit, was incredibly strong. Skull Island truly lived up to its reputation as the "Sea Kings' Nest." Perhaps the old man who claimed he could capture two or three Sea Kings a day in his youth wasn't exaggerating.
"Are you out of your mind? Stop, stop now, or I'll fight back!" Kado shouted from a lion statue that was about four meters high. However, the two guards ignored him, seemingly crazed, and launched a more aggressive attack.
"Fine, I'm done playing with you," Kado kicked off from the lion's head and crashed into the dilapidated wooden doors.
"Crack!"
The Naga Kingdom's proud doors were immediately smashed open, creating a hole. Kado crawled through the hole, leaving the guards stunned behind him.
Guard A: "Damn it, we let this kid escape."
Guard B: "Don't say 'damn it,' what are we going to do about the hole in the door? Are you taking the fall, or should I?"
Guard A: "Fall? Just fix it quickly. If the King sees this, we're both doomed."
At the mention of the King, Guard B immediately shuddered, then pointed to the hole and said, "What about the kid?"
Guard A: "I don't know. What kid? I didn't see anything. The door has no hole. I didn't see anything."
Guard B stared at him, black lines appearing on his forehead.
After crashing through the wooden door, Kado found himself in a long corridor. Large luminous pearls were embedded in the stone walls, emitting a brilliant white light, like little suns, illuminating the entire corridor as if it were daytime, showcasing the royal splendor.
"Finally, a bit of a palace vibe," Kado muttered, scratching his chin. He admired the scene but secretly wondered whether he should take a few of the pearls. They looked like valuable treasures.
After pocketing a few, Kado continued down the corridor. As before, the further he went, the larger the space became. However, unlike before, this space was clearly man-made, with many murals carved into the stone walls. After glancing at a few, Kado lost interest, as they were just murals glorifying the Naga Kingdom, and he wasn't interested in researching other people's history.
After walking for several hundred meters, Kado noticed some stone holes in the walls, and people were moving in and out of them—likely palace staff going about their daily routines.
Ignoring them, Kado walked deeper. He was worried about running into guards like the ones at the door who might stop him again.
Ahead, a golden light appeared, as if signaling the end of the corridor. Kado quickened his pace, and sure enough, a large space opened up before him.
Although this space was much smaller than the exterior, it still spanned over a kilometer. People were bustling about, and the area was extravagantly decorated. It seemed to be the true heart of the palace.
Looking up, Kado saw a massive golden relief pressing down on him. It depicted a giant turtle with its spiked head raised in a mournful cry, while golden-armored warriors in the sky continuously attacked the turtle's hard shell, leaving huge cracks from which golden blood slowly flowed.
Kado stood frozen in awe, the relief felt almost alive, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure, as if the giant turtle was towering above him, ready to crush him like an ant.
"Damn, is this a miracle?" Kado murmured, trying to suppress his shock.
As if answering Kado's question, a sound came from the nine-dimensional cross on his chest, beeping rapidly, almost as though it was trying to reach the giant relief.
"Beep, beep. Detected seven-dimensional space giant spirit star ruins. Possible residual lifeform energy detected. Would you like to activate the probe function to assess the danger level…"
The nine-dimensional cross continued to emit warning sounds, making Kado's heart skip a beat. After the battle between high-dimensional spaces and the divine realms, everything had been destroyed. Could there still be remnants of their existence here? Or perhaps the giant turtle was a creature from the Giant Spirit Star? Was there a trace of high-dimensional space left in this world? Or were there other relics like the cross on Kado's chest?
The cross on Kado's chest was a huge secret, the product of the nine-dimensional space, and his best protection for returning to Earth, as well as his fundamental means of power enhancement. He had to be cautious with this secret.
The appearance of energy from another high-dimensional space meant there could be others like Kado in this world, people who had acquired relics from other spaces, or perhaps beings from higher-dimensional spaces living here.
Since arriving in this world, Kado had suspected that the strange physiology of the humans, the bizarre creatures, and the mysterious Devil Fruits might be remnants of the war of the gods. After all, the powers of the Devil Fruits were so extraordinary that they could only have been created by divine beings.
If this world truly held many relics from high-dimensional spaces or divine realms, it would explain many things, including the origin of Devil Fruits, the technologically advanced doctor in the navy, and the strange occurrences in the world of One Piece. Could this world have once had an advanced civilization like Atlantis or the Mayan civilization? Could there have been such a civilization in the world of One Piece too?
End of chapter
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