Chapter 184: Treasure Chest from the Sky

The monotonous and repetitive journey across the seas always called for something to pass the time.

After the mast ship left Twin Island and sailed into the open seas, Gaya buried herself in the historical tome she had brought along, completely engrossed. In less than half a day, she finished reading the book in its entirety.

With nothing else to do, Maude took the book from Gaya and started reading it himself.

Among the various accounts of time and transformations described in the book, what piqued Maude's interest the most was the tale of a giant wielding an axe.

A single swing split Twin Island? Not horizontally, but vertically.

The book didn't specify how deep the cut went.

When Maude had first landed on Spring Island, his attention had been entirely captivated by the "Yin-Yang Giant Tree," leaving him little time to observe the cliffs along the coast.

But upon reflection, those cliffs indeed had a smoothness reminiscent of tofu, a feature that corroborated the contents of the book.

If not for this historical tome, Maude would never have made the connection—nor would he have imagined that the contrasting climates of spring and winter on Twin Capes were the result of a single swing from the unnamed giant.

For those familiar with the strength of top-tier powerhouses, splitting an island in two wasn't particularly shocking.

But to cleave a winter island, perpetually engulfed in snowstorms, and bring forth half a "living" island in one swing? That bordered on the unbelievable.

It was this incredulity that intrigued Maude so deeply.

Unfortunately, several passages in the excerpt had been deliberately obscured.

From the context, it was barely possible to infer that the erased sections pertained to the number of years since the giant split the island and the giant's name.

After carefully reading the excerpt, Maude closed the book slowly.

In this vast world, both in the past and present, there was never a shortage of strange people and remarkable tales.

"History, huh…"

Thinking about the history of this world, Nico Robin's image surfaced in Maude's mind.

Luffy's journey should still be about a year and a half away...

At this point in time, Robin was likely working under Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

As Maude's thoughts wandered to Crocodile and the Baroque Works, his mind began to drift.

Before entering the Grand Line, Maude had considered taking the route leading to Little Garden. His intent was to hunt down the two giants residing on that island.

If he had chosen that path, the starting island would have been Whiskey Peak, where Baroque Works held sway.

In that case, an encounter with Crocodile would have been inevitable.

However, the matter of changing ships was more pressing, forcing Maude to forgo the Little Garden route.

Even so, he resolved to obtain a Log Pose pointing permanently to Little Garden after the ship swap.

At the start of his Grand Line journey, Maude had no intention of missing out on the two giants of Little Garden.

To him, those giants weren't just lucrative prey—they were also ideal sparring partners to hone his strength.

Missing such an opportunity would indeed be a pity.

Maude's wandering thoughts gradually shifted from the giants of Little Garden to Crocodile's underlying motive for targeting the desert kingdom of Alabasta: the ancient weapon Pluton.

"Ancient weapons, huh…"

Maude shook his head slightly.

Even with foreknowledge of such valuable information, it was impossible for him to meddle with such volatile matters at this stage.

The same went for Nico Robin, who could decipher Poneglyphs. She, too, was a ticking time bomb.

As Maude indulged in these scattered thoughts, the ship suddenly rocked violently, and the sky darkened at a visible speed.

"Here we go again…"

Maude rose from his deck chair and walked to the bow, observing the suddenly raging waves and the heavy black clouds rapidly converging in the distance.

Such abrupt weather changes were commonplace in the Grand Line.

And every encounter tested both the ship and its crew.

Usually, as long as Lafitte didn't request assistance, Maude was content to remain idle.

Facing the surging waves, the mast ship plunged headfirst into the storm, appearing to teeter on the brink of peril.

"Boom!"

A thunderclap tore through the dense black clouds above.

The brief flash of lightning illuminated the tumultuous world, allowing Maude and his crew to clearly see the shifting cloud formations.

The churning black clouds hung low like treacle, stretching downward into dense masses.

Each cluster of clouds flickered with lightning, torn into various shapes by the violent winds.

"The clouds… are descending?"

Watching this phenomenon, Maude's expression changed.

Barely had he spoken when another thunderclap roared.

Under the momentary lightning, the wind-driven descending clouds were unmistakably moving in their direction.

This peculiar sight brought an inexplicable sense of pressure to the crew.

Before Lafitte could devise a strategy, the surging sea underwent another dramatic change.

Streams of water rose from the ocean, rushing toward the descending black clouds in midair.

More precisely, the seawater was being "sucked" into the stormy clouds above.

As the streams of water connected with the black clouds, they instantly transformed into waterspouts crackling with electricity.

These rapid developments, occurring in mere seconds, sent a chill through the crew.

The Grand Line once again showcased the terrifying power of nature.

"Jim, hard to port!"

Having swiftly assessed the ocean currents, Lafitte issued a precise command to Jim.

Hearing Lafitte's instructions, Jim's arms bulged with veins as he frantically turned the helm, fighting against the resistance of the raging waves.

Thanks to Jim's frantic maneuvering, the mast ship tilted to the left.

At that moment, a wave carried by the current rose unexpectedly, perfectly aiding the ship's turn and helping it avoid the looming maelstrom ahead.

Within ten seconds, Maude and his crew narrowly escaped disaster.

But the storm was far from over.

With Lafitte commanding the ship, Maude ran to the starboard side, where he observed dozens of waterspouts rising rapidly from the sea.

Under Maude's watchful eyes, the waterspouts converged, forming a colossal whirlpool that siphoned massive amounts of seawater.

Amid the flickering lightning, Maude glimpsed several battered ships being tossed around within the whirlpool.

The rotting hulls of those ships were quickly torn to shreds.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Maude's gaze sharpened as he noticed a piece of debris hurtling toward the mast ship.

To prevent damage to the ship, Maude activated Moonwalk and leapt into the air, prepared to intercept the incoming debris.

"A treasure chest?"

Initially intending to kick away the flying debris, Maude hesitated upon recognizing it as a treasure chest bound with iron chains.

Quickly retracting his foot, he caught the chest with both hands and landed back on the deck.

In such perilous circumstances, stumbling upon a mysterious treasure chest brought mixed feelings to Maude.

The chest felt heavy in his hands. Its wooden body was reinforced with iron bars and wrapped tightly in rusted chains tangled into a chaotic knot.

Nestled within the knot of chains were two ghastly pale skeletal hands, their stark whiteness contrasting sharply with the rust-stained chains.

Glancing at the embedded skeletal hands, Maude surmised that the chest's former owner must have met their end in bitter defiance.

In the ever-changing Grand Line, scenes of extreme highs and lows were far from uncommon.

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