Secrets of Ancient Weapons

Night fell, and the evenings in Alabasta were somewhat chilly. The royal guards that Cobra had sent were yawning while standing far from the Thunder God ship. After a day of surveillance, they had let down their guard around Sanders and his crew, gathering in small groups to pass the time with casual chatter. Suddenly, one of the guards collapsed without warning. Soon after, all of the guards fell to the ground, unconscious.

In the shadows of the night, Sanders, Robin, and Issho emerged. They were headed to the Tomb of the Kings on the western side of the palace. After neutralizing the guards, the group quietly moved toward the temple.

Before long, they arrived at the Tomb.

"Where is the Poneglyph hidden?" Robin asked curiously, scanning the surroundings but finding no sign of the ancient stone text.

Relying on his memory, Sanders walked up to a pillar carved with the image of a catfish-headed figure. With a gentle push, he rotated it, revealing an entrance on the ground.

"A hidden staircase? I see… Even if you searched all of Alabasta, it would be nearly impossible to find this without Cobra personally revealing its location," Robin realized, nodding in understanding.

At the same time, she couldn't help but feel curious. How did Sanders know about such a secret place, one that only the kings of Alabasta would be aware of?

"You can go down and take a look yourself," Sanders said, turning to Robin.

"You're not coming in?" Robin asked.

"I don't need to see it, and Issho can't see, so it's better if you go on your own," Sanders replied, tossing a lamp shell—one of the many varieties of dials he had collected from Skypiea—over to Robin.

Catching the lamp shell, Robin didn't hesitate and descended into the hidden stairwell. Sanders and Issho remained outside, gazing at the night sky in boredom.

"Captain, isn't this supposed to be a place only Cobra knows about? How did you come to know of it?" Issho asked, curious.

"Special sources," Sanders replied casually. He couldn't exactly admit it was because he had read the original story.

Issho didn't press further. Some things, he figured, would become clear in time.

After a while, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairwell. Robin emerged, holding the lamp shell in her hand. Sanders rotated the pillar back to its original position, causing the hidden staircase to disappear.

Clapping his hands together, he said, "Alright, let's head back and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we set sail for the East Blue."

Without saying another word, the group made their way back toward the Thunder God ship in silence. However, just before they arrived, Robin couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

"Captain, aren't you at least a little curious about the whereabouts of Pluton?" she asked.

"Huh?" Sanders turned to her, feigning surprise.

"Robin, you don't still think I'm lying, do you?" he asked. "I really do know where Pluton is. It's in Wano Country."

Robin's eyes widened in shock.

"You really know?!" she asked in disbelief. Up until now, she had thought Sanders was just making things up.

"Of course. I told you, Pluton is in the Four Emperors' territory," Sanders explained patiently. "Wano Country is currently under the rule of Kaido of the Beasts."

Seeing his nonchalant expression, Robin couldn't believe it. She had been doubtful of his words all along.

"And you also know where Poseidon is?" she asked cautiously.

"Mhm," Sanders nodded.

"Poseidon, Poseidon… the name itself suggests it's closely connected to the ocean. Naturally, Poseidon is located on Fish-Man Island," Sanders said with certainty.

"Fish-Man Island?!" Robin exclaimed in surprise, but then quickly realized it made sense. The only place closely tied to the sea and the Sea Kings would be Fish-Man Island.

"What exactly is Poseidon?" Robin asked, her curiosity piqued. She only knew that Pluton was a super battleship, but she had no clue about Poseidon.

"Poseidon is also called the King of the Sea Kings. It's an ability that allows one to communicate with Sea Kings," Sanders explained vaguely.

"Communicate with Sea Kings?!" Robin exclaimed in shock before quickly covering her mouth. Even Issho raised his head in surprise. They were both well aware of what Sea Kings were—massive creatures that lived in the ocean. Most Sea Kings were hundreds of meters long, but some of the larger ones could grow to several thousand meters. If someone could communicate with and command these Sea Kings, even the Marines wouldn't stand a chance. The Sea Kings could destroy anything on the sea.

"This is unbelievable! The power to command such colossal creatures really exists!" Robin exclaimed after calming down. "No wonder it's called Poseidon; it feels even more powerful than Pluton."

"Each has its own strengths," Sanders replied softly. "Pluton is dormant in Wano Country, and it's incredibly difficult to retrieve or awaken it. Poseidon's power isn't easily controlled either."

Sanders knew that Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess, was Poseidon, but at the moment, she wasn't in a position to wield that power. She was far too timid. However, once Sanders acquired the powers of the Float-Float Fruit, which would allow him to make entire islands float, he planned to head to Fish-Man Island and recruit Shirahoshi. Then, with his "Derivation of All Things" ability, he would further hone Poseidon's powers.

"Captain, are you planning to claim both Poseidon and Pluton?" Robin asked.

"Even though I know where Pluton is, retrieving it and waking it up are two entirely different challenges. It might just end up as a decoration," Sanders said with a smile. "As for Poseidon, once we reach Fish-Man Island, she will become our newest crew member."

"A new crew member?!" Robin was taken aback. "Captain, are you saying that Poseidon is a person or, rather, a living being?"

Up until now, Robin had always thought that Poseidon, like Pluton, was an object or a tool. She never expected that Poseidon would be a living entity.

"Poseidon is the Mermaid Princess(Princess Shirahoshi)," Sanders revealed. "Once every few hundred years, a mermaid princess is born who can communicate with the Sea Kings and inherit the name of Poseidon."

Sanders didn't hold back in sharing this information. It wasn't something that could be hidden for long. Despite Robin and Issho having only recently joined his crew, Sanders already trusted them greatly. By sharing such an enormous secret, he hoped they would recognize him as a trustworthy captain sooner.

"A mermaid princess(Princess Shirahoshi)?" Robin was overwhelmed by the flood of revelations. At just over twenty years old, her mind was spinning from all the secrets she had just learned. Neither she nor Issho had expected Sanders to disclose such monumental information so freely.

In that moment, both Robin and Issho fully accepted Sanders as their captain. For him to share such critical secrets with them proved that Sanders was indeed someone they could trust.

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T/N:

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