Chapter 122: Pure Gold, At Last

For a sea king as colossal as the anglerfish, Conqueror's Haki wasn't useless but it definitely wasn't as effective as scaring off a Sea King near East Blue.

This beast, large enough to carry multiple islands inside its belly, wasn't quite on the scale of Zunesha, but it had still evolved a partial immunity to the shock of Conqueror's Haki.

What it felt now wasn't fear, but something closer to wariness and rage.

"That size…"

Little croc's voice trembled as a few drops of cold sweat slid down her face. If it weren't for Ozz's powers stabilizing the Oro Jackson, just the pressure from that mouth opening would've sucked the entire ship in like a whirlpool!

Hovering in the sky, Ozz kept the ship aloft as his scarlet eyes locked onto the gargantuan sea king below.

He had no interest in taking a stroll inside its mouth.

His enormous Observation Haki swept across the beast's massive head and its glowing, golden-yellow lure. But to his disappointment…

Despite its size, it wasn't pure gold.

Which, now that he thought about it, made sense.

Pure Gold was a miraculous substance born of rare chance. If there were enough of it to make up a whole island, that would've been the real anomaly.

"…Even Lord Bonbori can make that face?"

The blonde little girl clung to the ship's railing, watching the anglerfish churn up the ocean below with wide, astonished eyes.

"You haven't found it yet?"

Mihawk unsheathed Yoru from his back. His hawk-like eyes swept the sea from above like a predator surveying its prey.

"No luck. This thing's internal structure is massive. Even with Observation Haki, finding it in there is a nightmare."

Ozz furrowed his brow. Inside the anglerfish, three internal islands, tangled organs, and sprawling veins were all laid bare under his Observation Haki.

But locating the Pure Gold among that chaos was like finding a needle in the ocean.

"Stall it for a bit."

"…Got it."

With a glance at Ozz, Mihawk leapt onto the bow of the Oro Jackson, his gaze locked on the depths below.

"You guys… are you seriously…?"

Olga couldn't tell exactly what they were doing, but she had grasped enough to know it involved the Pure Gold. She tried to step forward.

Only to be yanked back by the collar, caught on a golden hook.

Dangling helplessly in the air, she kicked and struggled, but to no avail.

"Oi, pipe down, brat. Make another peep and I'll drop you."

Crocodile casually removed the cigar from his lips with one hand, while the other held her in place. He didn't even spare her a glance, eyes fixed on Ozz and Mihawk.

Above, Mihawk ignored the cold winds whipping past him. His loose white shirt billowed around his black hair as he slowly raised Yoru

A single slash, laced with black and red lightning, roared across the sky like a blade that could cleave the world itself.

Zing!

Splorch!

A gash opened on the anglerfish's massive lure. Instantly, a waterfall of golden light burst forth!

The beast roared in fury!!!

But all it did… was roar.

Then, desperate, it opened its mouth wide to catch as much of the golden torrent as it could, spinning furiously in place.

At least it hadn't fled into the abyssal depths yet.

Stomach acid. Bones. Beasts…

Who knew how long this thing had lived, or how many islands it had devoured?

Ozz swept his Haki through again and again until finally, amid a crowd of dinosaurs, he spotted something odd:

A man disguised as a dinosaur.

A scientist.

Ozz didn't react much. If he were a typical power-hungry tyrant, maybe he'd snatch the guy and force him to mass-produce Pure Gold.

But to Ozz, that just sounded like trouble.

The man's only real value was his knowledge of creating Pure Gold. Ozz had no interest in making the whole world immortal just having enough for himself and a few others was plenty.

Keeping someone like that around would only attract the attention of the World Government… and worse.

Even so

Immortality… it wasn't like he couldn't be tempted.

But then his Haki swept across a stretch of land, and he sensed something different.

A hidden ruin.

"Finally."

He ignored the countless traps Observation Haki saw through them all and locked onto a single glowing object buried deep within.

There it was.

"Ultra Blink: Baton!"

With a burst of speed, a golden object the size of a fist appeared instantly in Ozz's hand.

The moment he held it, a strange sensation surged through him.

His entire body… changed.

At a microscopic level, his Observation Haki detected it clearly: his metabolism had slowed to a crawl. He could still digest and move but it was as if everything had frozen. Unchanging.

"So this is… Pure Gold…"

And he wasn't the only one reacting.

Olga's eyes went wide behind her glasses.

"T-That's…!"

"Yep. Pure Gold."

Hang it in your room, it could power your house like an eternal lightbulb.

Mission complete, Ozz had no plans to stick around. He returned Olga and her dinosaur-disguised father to reunite.

Then, just for good measure, he instantaneously teleported the heads of all the island's creatures.

So they could "reunite" with their bodies.

Then he placed them in a safe environment to live out their days his way of thanking the scientist for creating Pure Gold in the first place.

"So… this is Pure Gold?"

Ozz handed each of them a tiny piece. Mihawk and Crocodile stared at the gold specks in their palms, each no bigger than a sesame seed, then shot Ozz a look.

"What's with that face? That little bit is plenty."

At their request, Ozz fused the golden specs into their personal accessories.

Mihawk embedded his into the tiny dagger he wore around his neck. Crocodile embedded his into a ring.

"Word of warning: don't wear it all the time. This stuff halts your body's development…

Which means yes, it can make you immortal but it'll also stop you from growing. That little girl earlier? She's over 200 years old."

"Nani!?"

They instantly put the gold away.

Especially Mihawk. He hadn't reached the peak of swordsmanship yet how could he risk stagnating forever?

Soon after, they returned to Sabaody Archipelago. Ozz distributed bits of the Pure Gold to his trusted circle even Doffy got a piece.

Apparently, when Doflamingo received it, he spent a long while in his room fufufufu-ing like a madman.

Then immediately expanded his black market Devil Fruit operation.

Inevitably, word reached the World Government.

But that was as far as it went. After all, only a handful of people in this world were privy to such high-level intel.

And of those few, Imu didn't need it. The Five Elders didn't need it.

Only a handful of Celestial Dragons might care.

That's why, in the original story, the only ones dispatched to find Pure Gold were CP0 and a few Navy ships. There were no Admirals. No God Knights leading the charge.

Because those who truly held power… were already immortal.

Let the others scramble all they want it wouldn't change a thing.

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